Tag: Christian

January 26th 2025: Paul Daniel

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Matthew 9:9-13 Whose friend are you?

I’m going to ask you a political, rhetorical question. Do you like Donald Trump? In my work I travel a lot. I go to America once a year. It’s really interesting listening to people’s views on Donald Trump. Some people say they do not like him. However, if you ask the question after he has become president, sometimes people change their answer. They may change their mind about him because he is now in a position of political power and can do things for them. As I get older, I can be friends with someone, but only for a short time. People in politics have a short term of four or five years. The next person can come into power and change what the previous person has done. Your view on people can often depends on what you can get out of them. However, with Jesus you can have a relationship that goes on into eternity. This is to have an everlasting life, beyond death.

  1. The awesome call of Jesus.

When we look at this story of Matthew being called we see we the awesome call of Jesus. Here is an invitation to be a follower of Jesus, not for now but for all eternity. Before this, Jesus calls a paralytic to follow Him. The gospel is full of Jesus calling people from all different walks of life to follow Him. Here, He calls a tax collector. By his very reputation, the tax collector was doing things people didn’t like. He worked for the Romans, took more money than was due and pocketed the rest for himself. Jesus calls sinners, the unexpected, to be His friend. This is what this passage of scripture is all about.

The Pharisees question why Jesus calls sinners to follow Him. Maybe you can think of people in the world, in your community, who you may not like or get along with. We can sometimes have a Pharisee within us. Where can God call people to be His friend? What background, what environment can Jesus reach? As a Christian, think of people that are very difficult to reach. Yet Jesus can do the impossible. Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him, to become His disciple. That’s what it means to become a Christian – to become a learner. To spend time with Him, to come and ask questions, to learn what it means to follow God. It means to worship God, to glorify Him, and please Him rather than yourself.

Matthew leaves everything behind. He puts Jesus first. He denies himself. In denying himself he is showing that he puts Jesus first. There is a complete transformation. A tax collector’s life would have been someone who was all out for themselves. What does he do? When Jesus was having a meal in Matthew’s house many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Jesus and His disciples. Incredible! Here is someone who’s showing that they’ve got a complete transformation in the way they think. Rather than thinking about himself, he is showing hospitality. He is throwing a meal in his house.

There is a challenge for us as Christians in how we follow Jesus. Do you remember when you were first converted, when you were thrilled that God had invited you to follow Him? Your eyes were opened. You were shocked that God would be inviting you, knowing what you will like. Maybe you had hidden, secret sins. You wanted to pray, talk to Him. Yet, sometimes a Christian life starts as a big flame, then other challenges come and you were not so enthusiastic to tell your friends about Jesus, to change the way you live. We need to pray about our discipleship.

The call to follow Jesus is not just to be a convert, it’s about learning. As you start a new year, what would you like to learn more of this year? What would you like to learn more of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? What you want to know more about Jesus, the author and perfecter of life? How do you want to change in your thinking, in your practise?

Matthew throws a great big party. As you know more about Jesus, it should make our appetite want to follow Him move. The awesome call of Jesus.

  • The awesome fellowship with Jesus.

What is the point of the call? It is to be with Jesus, to have friendship with Him. The Bible calls it a reconciliation. God calls us back to Him, to be right with Him. He wants to be with us. We have a relationship with Him.

What do the Pharisees, who were so critical, see? They saw a party. Joy. They saw Jesus enjoying being with sinners and them enjoying being with Him. The awesome fellowship with Jesus. We often talk about what it is like to be a Christian. Sometimes, words are not enough. It needs to be seen. People need to see the difference Jesus has made in our lives.

Is our fellowship with Jesus visible? What does it look like to have fellowship with Jesus, to have your sins forgiven, to testify of the work of the Spirit in your life? The Pharisees saw something they didn’t expect – joy, transformation, a tax collector who was not looking out for himself.

Sometimes, we can be really miserable Christians. What do people see when they see us? Do they see that joy, something different? How do we as churches show we are full of joy? We have a challenge to ourselves. Does the world see the party atmosphere? The awesome fellowship with Jesus.

  • The awesome request from Jesus.

As they have this meal, the Pharisees come, the ones who are full of ritual (v.11). The awesome request is to go and learn (v.13). The Pharisees are incredibly offended. They must be right and Jesus wrong. Fellowship with Jesus offends them. The Pharisees were well- taught but Jesus says, ‘You need to go away and learn what this means,’ “But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (v.12-13).

We all need to go away and learn what this means. “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6). What God wants is not just your repeated sacrifices, but mercy. What is mercy? The way of getting into a relationship with God, that God doesn’t treat us as our sin deserves. He shows us mercy and wants us to be merciful. He does not want hypocrisy. He wants a genuine relationship where we want to worship Him, where we want to be with Him, to have fellowship with Him. He wants a genuine heart. He wants a relationship, not sacrifice. He wants a relationship, not rituals.

Jesus says, ‘Go and learn.’ Isn’t that wonderful? Let’s go and learn what it means to have salvation. Our tradition doesn’t give us a relationship with God. Our religion doesn’t give us a relationship with God. Our Christian heritage doesn’t give us a relationship with God. It is mercy.

Sometimes, we have many things we can do as churches, many outreaches. Be careful what we’re asking people to do. We are inviting people to come to Jesus, sharing what it means to come and follow Jesus. What does Jesus want you to do? It is not what I want, but what does Jesus desire from me. We are called to follow Him. Therefore, we are called to learn from Him. We have many friends but He is the most important friend, Jesus friend of sinners. You and I will fail Him. But God, in His wonderful plan, is patient with us. He is full of compassion. He calls us to come and be His friend.

October 22nd 2023: Dylan Brady

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Acts 4:32-36: The Family of God

Families are complicated. No families in this broken world are perfect. The church’s family is something we see throughout scripture. The Church is God’s family. It sheds a new light on our relationship with God. It brings us closer to other believers. Yet some of the church are not easy to love. Society is becoming more and more individualised. In our secularised society, breaking away from the confines of family and community are encouraged. This moves us away from life together. We are doing more and more things alone. Headphones are used to watch t.v. and movies alone. Decisions are made independently. The Biblical challenge of loving family and church seems radical. Christians we meet in the New Testament are varied in ages, backgrounds and temperament. Each one has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. But that doesn’t mean we can be a lone ranger.

We can sometimes treat church as a social club, stopping if we don’t like it. A church is the family of God and needs sacrifice. You may move away but must always be part of a church family. A church family is of one heart and one soul, a family united around the Lord. In Act 4 we see the people were to serve others. Throughout the pages of the New Testament, we see striving together for God’s people. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10).

How can I spot a Christian? John tells us you can tell who is another Christian by how they treat other brothers and sisters in Christ, “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10). A personal, private faith without interacting with other believers is unbiblical.

How do we become part of this family? Are those born to Christian parents, Christians? It is a privilege to be born into a Christian family, but it doesn’t automatically make you part of the family of God. To belong to it, you must be born again. There are two ways of joining a family; you can be born or you can be adopted. Can you imagine Nicodemus’ face when Jesus told him he needed to be born again? Why does Jesus use the picture of new birth? When we become Christians we start afresh. We are born into new circumstances. We have a new heavenly father. Birth isn’t something you can claim credit for. We don’t boast in our birth, it just happens to us. In the same way, we don’t earn our salvation. We are saved by grace and grace alone. It is through Jesus that God becomes our Father.

The process of God becoming our Father is described as adoption. Adoption is a process when someone is helpless, alone, so often in need, is graciously made part of a new family. they are treated as flesh and blood. You may not look like your parents physically, but as you spend more and more time with them, you pick up traits and habits, and act more like them. That’s an incredible picture of what God does to the Christian. God is kind and merciful. We’ve been given this wonderful privilege of adoption – not because of anything we have done, not because we’ve earned it, or there’s anything special about us.

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12). It is all submissive language. The Spirit tells us that we are God’s children (Romans 8). The spirit works within our hearts. When we become Christians we trust in Jesus and realise how sinful we are, and that He covers our sin. God sees us as He sees Jesus. God the father is our father.

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He started with those amazing words, “Our Father.” What does that make Jesus? “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50). He’s a wonderful big brother. We share the gifts He has been given by the Father. A Christian shares a family resemblance. As time goes on you will look more like the heavenly Father and look more and more like your older brother Jesus. We are part of the same family, all over the world. There is a wonderful privilege – how quickly we get on, despite cultural differences. Brothers and sisters. Wonderful!

If we inherit this new, global family of Christians, how do we treat our own family? We have a duty to care and respect for our parents – as we live in their home and as we care for them as they get older. Paul says these strong words, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8). The example of the care we have for our families is seen in Jesus on the cross, as He tells John to take care of His mother Mary as if she was his own mother. In marriage we are to love and honour each other in the same way as Christ loves the church.

Our commitment to truth may lead to division in our families. When a Muslim converts to Christianity he is cut off from his family. Sometimes, the gospel will come between families, but the Lord Jesus must always come first.

10 ways to show love to our Christian family:

  1. Come to church.
    A family that never sees each other is still a family, but in name only. They become distant. We need to spend time with each other. Come to bless others, come to encourage fellow believers.
  2. Pray for each other.
    Commit people around you to God. If you don’t know how to pray for them, ask them. They may say they need prayer for a doctor’s appointment. Pray for this and then the following week ask them how the appointment went.
  3. Eat together.
    Jesus ate and drank with people with such frequency, people called Him a drunkard and a glutton. We need to bless others with food and good conversation, and be blessed by others.

4. Share.
Whether it be lifts, food, time or in other ways. See that everything you have as a gift from God and you are merely passing on that gift.

5. Bear one another’s burdens.
Celebrate and cry with one another. In family life we will see births and deaths. We will see weddings and funerals, heartbreaks and happiness, people joining the church and people leaving. There will be disappointments and joyful surprises. Jesus was there for the hard times and the good times. He wept with Mary and Martha as they mourned their brother’s death. He celebrated with a new couple in Cana as He turned water into wine. He was filled with joy as He received the children, as He saw faith in the life of the centurion. Be there for the hard times and the good times. Share one another’s burdens as believers.

6. Serve alongside one another.
When we serve in church, when we welcome on the door, share refreshments, do the children’s work, cut the grass, whatever it might be, we grow closer as a church. When we do so, this strengthens and unifies us. We do it because we serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

7. Be competitive.
The Bible encourages this. Show kindness (Romans 12). Jesus says, in the Sermon on the Mount, to go the extra mile. Go and out-do each other in being loving.

8. Encourage one another.
When we fail and when we fall, we need to encourage each other. Do not go and give people empty flattery, point them to Christ. Remind them that they are sons and daughters of the living God.

9. Forgive one another.
In times of hurt and sadness, don’t harbour grudges. Be quick to forgive.

10. Be honest with one another.
True and authentic Christianity requires us to be true authentic, to be willing to be vulnerable with others when things are difficult for ourselves. Also, be willing to ask those uncomfortable questions if it is done in love.

Here are 10 things we can do, there will be many others. Let us be clear, that removed from Jesus there is no point to any of those things. We can only do these things effectively through the work of the Spirit. The Christian faith is extremely practical. The transformation that goes on within the Christian heart will result in outward action. There are 59 specific ‘one anothers’ in the New Testament, which gives us great insight into how the Lord sees us living with each other.

The people sitting next to us must be more than strangers that you share a pew with an hour a week. They are your brothers and sisters. It is a great challenge. Through Christ’s death and resurrection we have been born again. We have been adopted and now have a heavenly Father and a new family. It is all through Christ, not through anything else. Not through church attendance or who our parents are, it’s all through Christ. In Christ alone.

May 28th 2023: Sam Pritchard

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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

In this passage of scripture you can take something normally negative, sad and difficult, and find it’s actually good, that there is hope in the sorrows of life, there is peace and there is comfort. This morning I am going to talk to you about death, to show that even in pain and misery our God remains holy and perfect. He is the One with a plan and a purpose. The point of church is it’s real, practical and alive. We will all experience, in some form, the pain of loss – whether we’re watching a loved one, an accident, or a diagnosis. This is real, lived-out theology.

What is the Christian to do when we respond to the worst thing imaginable? There is a famous saying, ‘There are only two things in life which are inevitable – death and taxes.’ Many people would say they’re terrified of death, which is for them a great unknown. What is it like? What happens? There is confusion. Not knowing about death creates further confusion.

  1. We are informed people.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) We are informed people. We are a people who have been revealed by God the truth of death. We don’t face it alone, without understanding. We are informed for a reason and a purpose. Fascinating! Christians have hope. In the midst of the hardest trail we will ever face, we have hope.

Death is the great enemy, the great separator. Christ is greater! One day, there will be no more death. We have spiritual life in Him because He has given it to us. I know who my Saviour is. He is still goodness, the gospel is still true. Even in the worst things imaginable, my Saviour is alive.

“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). This verse explains to us what we believe. Do you believe? Can you say that I believe this Jesus really lived, died, rose and is really coming back? The hope, the peace – it’s only there if you have confidence, truth and belief in Jesus. The root and stem of peace in all circumstances is knowing who Jesus is and believing He has done what He has said He has done.

Jesus rose again. Outside of Jesus, you don’t have peace. Friends, Christ has carved out the way for us. He has already died and risen again. We are not doing this alone, we are following Him in the path He has already walked. Without Him, there is no hope, but with Him, all who call upon the Lord will be saved. “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:24). That’s the power of Jesus Christ. For all those who trust in Jesus’s life, death and resurrection, we have hope.

  • We should declare it.

“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15). Because we believe in Jesus, we have something to say. We have an answer, a solution, a hope. We hold onto this verse. The whole of scripture is God inspired. Every word is from Him. There is something unique, Paul says here, “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord.” Was this the Holy Spirit working in him, from speaking with other believers? I don’t know, but it is important. It is not our thought, it comes from authority from the Lord, from the one who has lived, the one who has died for us.

For those who have already died, before Jesus returns, they will not be forgotten about. Jesus’ power is so mighty that all who are in Him are safe. I encourage you to read the Bible more. When someone dies their body will rot away but their soul immediately returns to God. The second a person passes away, their soul is with God, in the presence of the Saviour who loves them. Those who are in Christ who have passed away are with Him. What a thing to declare. There is hope for everyone who turns to Jesus Christ.

  • The Lord Himself.

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

The return of Christ cannot be compared to. Our Saviour is coming back. There are so many people working out the mechanics of what it will look like, they forget Jesus is coming back. The one who died for you is coming back. When we see Jesus, what we’ll care most about is we’re with Him! What can be greater than to be in the presence of our Saviour? The Lord Himself will come for His people. What confidence we have!

The great shout, the sound of the trumpet – what will it be like? I don’t know. But the whole point is seeing my Saviour. I can’t imagine what it will be or what it will look like. We don’t understand it or fathom the glory of that day when Jesus returns. What matters is, are we living as if God keeps His promises? We know Jesus is coming. Are you ready to meet Him, for the day when Jesus returns? So many people think they are ready for everything. Are you ready for His return? Are you ready for that great judgement day?

  • When the Lord appears what will happen?

“Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This is the grand reunion when God reunites us who have sinned, with Himself. He will unite us forever. We will be with Him. The idea of being caught up means He will intentionally come down and bring us to Him.

We will meet Him in the air. Breath-taking! The word ‘meet’ describes the official welcome of honoured guests. When we meet Him it is an intentional meeting. All who believe in Jesus will be with Him. What does this meeting look like, to meet in the air? I have no idea. It will be a once in eternity event. Unique. This is Jesus Christ coming back, God returning to have the final victory. It is the end of human history and the beginning of spiritual eternity. We can’t understand it.

God, in His infinite wisdom, plan and order, is coming back for us. Our feeble minds can’t comprehend it, but one day we will witness it and live it! The risen, resurrected, conquering Lamb, whilst we were still sinners, looked at us in love. We will be overwhelmed by Him.

At the end of verse 17 we see what everything revolves around – we will always be with our Lord. There will never be a moment when we will not be with Him. We’ll be in the presence of the Lord.

  • Encourage one another with the truth.

 “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Those whom Christ died for will never be forgotten but will be with Him forever. Therefore, in the struggles of life, encourage one another with these words. Our God is coming back, and nothing will separate us from the love of God.

March 12th 2023: Paul Daniel

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Psalm 1

The first psalm sets the tone of how we are to read the psalms, in your walk with God, in your experiences, your emotions, your knowledge and your worship. It’s the gateway to the psalms.

Have you ever had an argument with your husband or wife? Sometimes, we are told that we do things, but we tend to do easy things. We tend to put off the more difficult things and don’t want to do them. Easy things we like, we’ll do without question. There are things that are hard to do, and we put them off.

If you’re a Christian, do you really want to be a committed Christian? There are degrees of being committed as a Christian. You might be a Christian but are you committed to being one? Being a Christian is a gift of salvation. Once you’ve been saved, are you committed to your walk with Jesus?

Psalm 1 sets the tone of what it looks like to be a follower of God. The follower of God is fully committed,

“Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;”
(Psalm 1:1)

This person is wholly committed to following the Lord. It’s a challenge to us. How committed are we? Is our Christian life deliberate? We can be passive as we listen to preaching and join in singing. Do we engage? What do I need to repent of, to delight in the law of the Lord, day and night? As we come to Psalm 1, what does the Christian life look like to be blessed? God wants us to be a happy believer. It’s a psalm about being blessed. If you’re a committed Christian, in the sense that you are wholly committed to the Lord, you will find blessing. But the reverse is also true. If you’re a Christian and not fully committed to the Lord, you will probably find yourself in paths that are not going to be blessed and take away your blessing of salvation.

Psalm 1 was written in the context of an Israelite worshipping the Lord. What does God say in the Old Testament about following Him? “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11: 26-28) That was the pattern for Israel, if they followed the Lord they would be blessed, that they would be rescued from Egypt. They were told that if they followed the Lord and obeyed His command, that is the path that leads to blessing. But if you don’t do that, it’s going to end up badly.

We see in Ephesians 1 the New Testament context for us, Christians today, who have every spiritual blessing in Christ, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.  In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.”  (Ephesians 1:3-4). Extraordinary!

As New Testament Christians we’ve been spiritually blessed with every spiritual blessing. You’ve got it all! You might not have the sort of career or house you’ve always wanted, but if you are a Christian you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. You have redemption. You have been forgiven. You have God living in you. You are truly blessed.

When we look at Psalm 1. The first question we ask, in the context of being a New Testament Christians, is ‘Are you happy? Are you blessed?’

The world tells us that we are happy if I …. It’s conditional. Sometimes, it’s an economical term; it’s a relative measure – I’m happy compared to my neighbours because I have more than them. For us, what does it mean to be blessed?

“Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;”
Psalm 1:1

God is completely happy in Himself: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we listen to God, this is what it looks like to be blessed. To be blessed is to consider the company we keep, the direction of that company and the environment. If we persistently keep the company of the ‘counsel of the wicked,’ standing in the way of sinners, sitting in the seat of scoffers, there is a direction of travel here. To walk – that’s a kind of dabbling a little. Then standing – mixing with. Then to sit is to get cosy with it.

To follow the path of the ungodly – standing, mixing and sitting – there’s a direction to the path. There’s a cosiness to the direction of unhappiness. The path of being blessed is staying well away from what is evil and wicked, running a mile away from it. Instead, to be blessed is,

“but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.”
(Psalm 1:2)

My friends, we can sometimes look at the world and think that what it means to be truly happy, to be truly better, is to maybe have what they have, or maybe what the tv adverts say you should have because it’s good for you. But to be truly blessed is to delight in God and His ways. God is the Creator is the one who made us, the one who loves us. God is the one who wants to protect us. He sent His Son to do just that. If you do that, look at what happens,

“He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.”
(Psalm 1:3)

Yes, we are thinking of the Old Testament here, where there was a blessing followed by obedience. But what does it look like for Christians today? If we look at the imagery we see a tree that looks healthy; it’s planted by a stream of water, it yields it’s fruit in season and grows as it should. There are signs of life.

For today, there’s a sign of life, health, stability. When Israel was not being obedient, they were full of problems. When they repented, they had a period of peace and blessings. When we’re Christians we want the things of God, we cling to the promises of God, who is able to provide all things.

Secondly, we see that stepping away from God leads to chaos,

“The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”
(Psalm 1:4)

It’s an image of wheat and chaff. When the wheat is thrown into the air the chaff falls away and the wheat falls down. The chaff in the wind goes all over the place. When you step away from God there is chaos. It’s not the same picture you see in verse 3, where there is a picture of stability, of health and of order. Consider what the world takes offence at, what churches sometimes do. Stepping away from God’s will leads to chaos. It is chaos when God’s ways and God’s laws start being re-written. It is chaos when God’s plan, the Creator’s plan, starts to be re-read and re-ordered in many different ways.

The law of the Lord is for everyone. When you tinker with God’s Word it says it will affect the next generation and the generation after that. Whatever we decide, whatever we teach, stepping away from the Lord can lead to chaos. Don’t’ step away from God’s Word.

Finally, as a Christian, are you aware that there is no in-between, no grey area?
 
“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.”
(Psalm 1:5-6)

It’s God’s way or it’s chaos. There is no opinion. It is God’s Word. God very clearly defines for us His Word. Nothing is subjective. There is no philosophy that we’re meant to listen to. There’s no politics. There is no opinion. God is the one we need to listen to. The righteous will be watched, the righteous will assemble. If you are a Christian you have this wonderful inheritance, this wonderful hope that we are heading to. We are going to be with Jesus Christ, we are going to see Him face to face. We will have that ultimate blessing of no more pain, no more mourning, no more sickness, no more death.  We will be with Him.

The ungodly, the unrighteous, will not stand. This is why we have to take the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth. There are no ‘what-if’ scenarios. Either you walk with the Lord or you don’t. It’s why, when churches are looking for a pastor or calling a pastor, it’s not whether you like him or not, or whether he does this or is able to do that. Those things matter but it’s not what it’s all about that. What matters is that the church asks someone to come who is going to preach the word of the Lord in a way that people will listen. This is what it means to be blessed, to meditate on the Lord both day and night. It’s getting somebody who can teach and when they teach, we listen. He’s going to be able to teach not just in here, but out there as well because you want everybody to hear the Word of the Lord.

When we come to church we don’t sit on top of the Word, we sit under the Word. In Titus chapter 2 Paul talks to younger men and older men, younger women and older women, to the whole congregation, about what can often happen as we grow in our Christian walk. As we get older we can start to get grumpy and stop wanting to listen. Keep listening. He says to the women things like ‘don’t drink too much, don’t slander, don’t gossip.’ He talks about things that you and I are very prone to, which leads us to start challenging God’s word. We say, ‘Well, actually I’m a Christian but I don’t want to submit to these particular things.’ My friends, there are no grey areas.

To be blessed is to be obedient to God’s Word, to be in that path where God calls us, where we find peace, contentment and joy. The Christian life is not an easy life. But when you start to see those signs in your Christian life where things are not going maybe as well as they should, in the sense where something in your own Spirit does not sit right, God is asking you to deal with it. Come to Him, do not ignore it. Work out whether it’s because it’s external, whether it’s actually something to do with others – that we’re standing in the wrong place, or where we’re sitting where we shouldn’t be.

There are common things that you and I do, as Christians, which eat away at that blessedness that we’ve been given. There are certain things that we might experience as Christians, that often happen, which take away that joy that we’ve been given. We have every spiritual blessing in Jesus Christ, why would you want to move away from that? Sometimes, it comes down to our attitude. “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:13-18).

When you find, as a Christian, you are slightly unsettled, when there’s something eating at you and you don’t feel peace or joy and you’re restless, it becomes an obsession and you’re troubled by it. Just ask this, is it your attitude coming from heaven? Is your attitude out of purity? Is your attitude after this wonderful peace that you can have from God Himself? We sometimes lose that joy, that blessedness, because our attitude is not from heaven but from a selfish heart.

Then, there’s anger. Anger takes away that blessedness and joy. Listen to James again, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (James 4:1) James talks about quarrels and fights. When we argue and when we fight, James says it comes from our desires that battle within us. Is it the other person or the frustration that comes from within? Often or not, the reason we get angry is not because what someone else has said but because we’re frustrated with our own inability. God calls us and challenges us when we’re unsettled and fired up, just don’t look at the other person, look at yourself.

Anger and anxiety grates at you. It troubles you. You can’t have that sense of joy of the Lord that is yours. Philippians 4 reminds us to, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7).

God wants to bless us. Yes, we’re anxious and worried, but God says to come to Him. You have received every spiritual blessing. Pray with thanksgiving, and God’s peace will guard you. My friend, when we find ourselves walking away from that path of blessing, that spiritual blessing in Christ, it unsettles us. If it doesn’t unsettle us, we might have walked too far. What are we called to do? We are called to come back, look at our hearts, then look to the Lord.

The Lord Jesus Christ left glory. He lay aside His own happiness. He put that aside so that He could go to the cross for you. When He went to that cross for you and me, He went so that you and I would be fully blessed. He did it so that we could be one with the Lord. He did it so we could be one with each other. Sometimes, how pathetic I can be, and how pathetic you and I, as Christians, can be. We forget that God sent His Son in order to bless us. He wants us to keep staying close to Him, both day and night. He doesn’t want us to dabble and to go back. He doesn’t want us to get angry and troubled, to fall out and to overthink anything. He wants us to stay close to Him. When we stay close to Him we will find that peace, joy and contentment. One day, it will be complete and we will stand in the assembly of the righteous.

October 22nd 2022: Chris Rees

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200th Anniversary Service of the founding of Penuel Baptist Chapel. Saturday night service.

To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/tfl84n4xObU

Colossians 1: 1-20

What a joy it is to be with you, a real privilege. I trust we gather as churches in Pembrokeshire to be with you and thank God for all that He has done, and to trust that the Lord will be with us in a very special way, and to be with each one of us in our fellowships tomorrow (Sunday) as we would meet together. He has been so faithful. It’s a testimony that we are here tonight – 200 years since people first met on 23rd October 1822. That is a testimony of His goodness and faithfulness. We have been blessed with fellowship and we’ve been blessed with coming together on many occasions.

What we have tonight is a reading taken from God’s Word, from Colossians chapter 1. The thoughts I’ve got are this: of a body without a Head. Then tomorrow morning, a member without a body.

When I was asked to preach on the occasion of your 200th anniversary, I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to have to say something good about Penuel, Roch.’ I thought very hard, it took a long time (laughter from congregation). Then it came to me – you are good singers in Penuel, Roch (more laughter). Then I thought that over the years we’ve had good fellowship, warm fellowship. We thank God for that. We can thank God for the witness that’s been here all those years. I wondered what else I could say that’s really good. I thought what’s really good about Penuel, Roch is that it’s in the county of Pembrokeshire, and how we need such a gospel witness. We’re thankful for every church which is within Pembrokeshire. But then I began to think about what is really good about the church, the best about the church, is the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ.

For all the influence and for all the witness, for all that this church has meant within this community for over 200 years, the best of all is the Head of the Church. Glorious things are spoken, Zion, city of our God. Glorious things are spoken about God’s Church. As we come today, we want to mark the best of this church here at Penuel. And it is this – the Head of the church.

We are living in strange days. In the church we talk not about the Head, but we talk about the hand. We talk about what we’re doing, what we’ve achieved, what we’ve done. We talk and we advertise in many different ways, of all that we can be and can do for a community.

Magazines have photos of people’s faces, not hands, because the glory of your body is your face. As a church, as a people, we have something to show to this community and tell. It’s not the elbow power, it’s not the works of our hands, but it’s the glorious face of our wonderful Saviour.

If there’s anyone here tonight who has got something they can say, who can pick a fault, point a finger, be disappointed in the life of church, there’s many faults and many failings, I would ask you simply tonight to look to the Head. Look to the Head and I assure you there is no failure or blemish in Him, “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.” (Colossians 1:18).

I want to speak to you tonight of the importance of the Head. If we lose our head, we lose our glory, “18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.” (Colossians 2:18-19).

When Paul writes this letter to Colossae, he knows the problems of people having false teachings and false humility. He starts with this great hymn of praise that begins in verse 15, “15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 1:15) He begins to spell out who He is, Jesus Christ, who walked on this earth. He tells us of his relationship with God – He is the image of the invisible God.

Then he begins to tell us of His relationship to this world, that all things were made through Him and by Him. Then he begins to tell us of His relationship with His Church. If you want to know what Christianity is all about, it’s about Him.

Do you know what used to happen many years ago when we went to little places like this? A preacher would get up into the pulpit and would speak to you and would talk to you about Him. They would explain to you that Jesus Christ, who walked on this earth, is the invisible God. They would preach to you and tell you of the glories of His person, that He is the One who made everything – your life, your body. They would tell you of what He has done, what he has achieved. You find it in verse 14, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” They would preach to you of His perfections and of His glory.

When a person becomes a Christian, isn’t it one of the great truths that begins to sink into your mind, Jesus Christ is God. God who came in the flesh but all God. True God. He is the maker and creator of all things. He is the Head of the body. If you lose your head, you lose your glory. The glory of the Church is the Head of the church.

We are not here to preach what the church can do for you, we’re here to tell you what Christ has already done in our lives and in this place. What you need to know is that everything that Jesus Christ is, His relationship to God, His relationship to this world, is His relationship to the church. The blessings of the church here at Penuel is its Head.

When a church loses it head, it doesn’t just lose its glory. These people were getting lost in their mind and in their thinking, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (Colossians 2:8-10) 

When we talk about the headless chicken, some people look at the church and you can get the feeling that it’s like a headless chicken. It’s going this way and that way. It has no idea of where to go and what to do. Why is that? It’s very simple; we’re more concerned with the hands than the Head. We’re marching to the drumbeat of this world. We’re marching on the agendas of the day. We’re marching to the voices all around us. You need to know, He is the invisible God. He is the Head of the Church. That’s the great statement – we know someone who is in that position. His person is glorious. You need to know of Jesus Christ and the position which has been given to Him. He became a servant. He is our prophet, our priest, our King. He also became Head of the Church. He is the One who is going to come and judge the world. He is the boss!

What can happen in the life of any church, any people, is that so often, as we listen to the voices of others and not the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ, mad things take place. We believe, sometimes, that the church is a democracy. Whatever Jesus Christ has said in this book (the Bible), we’re not taking a vote on it! It is not open for discussion. When Jesus says, ‘Go,’ it’s not an option. He is the Head of the Church. We are living in those days, like in Israel, not knowing what direction it is going in. The position of the Head of the Church was not given to the third person of the Trinity, but to the One who laid down His life for you, who bled for you. As much as we need of the leading of the Spirit in our lives, we will never be against the direction of our Lord and of our Saviour.

When you lose your Head, you lose your glory. When you lose your Head, you lose your sense of direction and perspective. We are in days when the foot is telling the Head what to do, where hands are telling the Head what to believe, when sheep are leading shepherds. We have no direction. Our Head is the One who came to this earth, who died, rose, ascended into heaven, appointed on the right hand of the Father, that He would govern His church.

The third thing we learn is that the Head is where our nourishment and life comes from, “And not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.” (Colossians 2:19).

The Head gives us nourishment and life. If you lose your Head, as a church, you have got no life. You can lose various limbs of your body and live, but you can’t lose your head and live. “He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.” (Colossians 1:18).

All life comes from Jesus Christ, all life flows from Jesus Christ. Everything that Jesus Christ was for creation is also true for His Church, His new creation. This Lord Jesus Christ is the one in whom we live. When that is severed there are dead churches. The Church in Sardis had a reputation for being alive but was dead. How is this? Well, when you are no longer united and growing in the things of Him, where you have taken away, where other things have come in and you are no longer looking to Him, there can only be death.

“He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” (Colossians 1:18a). He has always been in the beginning. He is the firstborn from the dead. He is the one who is first. He is the one who has life.

The reason there is a church here in Penuel is because He is the one who has life. There remains a church here because Christ rose from the dead. I’m told one of the great realities of the gospel is the existence of the Church, that there’s a people who worship Him, who know Him, come to Him and praise Him. It is because of the one who died and rose again and lives now. There is power! The power that worked in that grave conquered death.

He is the One who has conquered death. He is the one who made the way through the grave. He is the One who has ascended back to the Father. The everlasting doors were opened up to Him. The Lord Jesus Christ has made a way, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruit. He is not the last born, or the second or third. He is the firstborn, so He is the one who has given life to everyone who comes to believe in Him.

One day, when we die, that is not the end. We will be like Him. This decaying body will be like His glorious body. He is the one who has life, He is resurrection life. He is the One who began that life in you when you first became a Christian. It’s a bad thing if you lose your Head – you lose your glory, you lose any sense of direction, you lose all life.

We see something else here, “that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.” (Colossians 1:18b). It’s very practical. The reason the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who He is, the position He has got, all that He has done in conquering death and taken our sin, is that He is the life of this church in all things.

There are many things in the life of the Church, but He should be the supreme One in everything – in all that we do, in the decisions that we make, the worship that we have, the direction of it all. The One who was despised, forsaken, rejected by men, the crucified Christ, is the One now who has been risen by the Father. He should simply be the first, the circumference of everything, at the centre of it all. That’s the best of Penuel, Roch. That’s what it’s all about.

In your life, Jesus Christ is to have the first place. He should be first in all decisions we make. Jesus Christ has never been second. He never came to be second in anyone’s life. He never came to be third or fourth on anyone’s agenda. When you get up in the morning, who is going to be first, who is going to have the pre-eminence? When you think of all your plans you’ve got, just for tomorrow, who is going to have the pre-eminence?

We live in mad days. When we come to church, we still only think of ourselves. – what things mean for ‘me.’ I understand that. But shouldn’t He be first? The first thought in our worship, the first thought in our praise. In one’s life, always put God first. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

A body without a head has no identity. It is not even a body, it’s a torso. The Head should be the One we are thinking about, the One we are praising, the One that we are looking to for our direction and our leading. In your life, if you don’t know Jesus Christ there is no glory in your life, your head can be hanging in shame. I assure you that my head can hang in shame – but my Head is in heaven! It’s full of glory! And although I may look to myself, I can look to Him. Do you know something else? In your life, if you don’t know Jesus Christ, you are walking this way and that way. You don’t know if you’re coming or going. You have no direction.

This night, if you don’t know Jesus Christ in your life you are spiritually dead in the world. There is only One who has made a way from this dead, decaying, dying world. The firstborn has made it – from the dead, out from the grave, victorious into heaven.

The best thing about this church in Penuel is its Head. The best thing about our churches in Pembrokeshire is we are small, we are weak, we are little, and we haven’t got much. But we have a great Head who is seated on the throne. For Him, may it be all the praise and all the glory. Amen.

Sunday afternoon August 7th 2022: 200th Anniversary Service: Jonathan Thomas

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To watch this service click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/D01LcP8ZoGk

Song of Songs Chapter 2

If you’re a Christian, I want to ask you some questions. They may seem strange and you may not be sure of the answer. You might not even agree that my questions are appropriate. If you are a Christian today, you know you are saved, but do you know you are special? You know that God has chosen you, but do you know He cherishes you? You know that you are redeemed, but do you know that Jesus relishes time with you? You know that God loves you, but do you believe He likes you? I wonder what you think of those questions? I’ll be honest, I struggle with them. It’s as if the gospel is good but I struggle to believe it’s great.

This morning we looked at the barrier to spiritual intimacy of knowing Christ; we just can’t believe that God would love a sinner like me. It is something that we all struggle with. But then there’s a time that comes when we realise that that’s exactly the gospel – I’m not loveable but He loves me. He has made me lovely and now I can rejoice because everything I have is His and it all depends on Him. We see that the answer to how we view ourselves is this great exchange – that He takes my sin and gives me His righteousness. So now everything I have is Christ’s.

But then, as we come into the Christian faith, even though we understand that we are in Christ, and even though we cherish Him, it’s possible to hide from true intimacy with God. There’s a barrier. Let me show you what I mean. Songs of Songs 2, verse 1, she says, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” He replies, “As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.” (Song of Songs 2:2) I feel for this young woman. What we have here is a continuation of the conversation in chapter 1. She is making a bold statement which we misunderstand today. We think she is quite confident! Actually, at this time and in this location, the rose and the lily were the commonest of flowers. They just sprung up everywhere. It’s like saying, ‘I am a daffodil.’ She is saying ‘I’m pretty – pretty common.’

I think the reason we struggle with the opening questions are because we feel, ‘I am loved because the church is loved.’ We struggle with individual language. We are happy with corporate language. We are happy to have the church be the bride of Christ, but we struggle to bring that to us. There is a danger here; we must remember that we are united to Christ, but by being united to Christ we are united with all other believers. You have to remember that you are part of the church. Galatians 2:20 says, “I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” One of the wisdoms of the Christian life is learning both – Christ loves the church and vice versa. It’s so important to try not to think of ourselves as a common Christian but a special saint – but no more special than any other saint. We are all equally priced because everything we have is based on Christ. What we tend to do is, because we all have the same, we lower it. I’ve got three boys so whenever I give them the same, they don’t want it. One of them wants to have more than the other. Having the same thing as everybody else makes it seem not special. We need to understand that all of us having the same Christ does not make it not special. It’s still special.

One of the implications of this thinking is that we can become Christians who don’t believe that God is interested in us. Think of Jesus as a doctor who gives us life-saving surgery. Sometimes, you see people doing an ultra-marathon because they had a car accident, and a surgeon saved their life and saved their leg. They then want to raise money. You also see it with the RNLI – someone was going to drown, and these men and women go out and save their lives. You see photos or television programmes of them being reunited and saying, ‘Thank you so much.’ Often, we can think of Jesus like that. He’s done an amazing thing but then it’s over.

The point of conversion is not the end of the story, it’s the start of the story. That’s the complication of the fairy tale ending. When we come to Christ, that’s not the ending. Fairy tales end with the wedding and then they all lived happily ever after. But I want to know what happened then. That’s the problem; we create a society where everybody thinks the happy ever after is the boring part that we’re not interested in. But actually, that’s the bit I’m fascinated by.

What does it mean to know Christ now that you are united with Him? Because of this view of ourselves being quite common, as she has in verse 1, we can end up not wanting to spend time with Jesus because we  think He doesn’t want to spend time with us. We’ve got this transaction of salvation and we leave it there. Because of this, she comes to the point where she actually hides from him. In verse 14 he says to her, “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” She is hiding from him.

I think, as Christians, sometimes we can hide from Jesus. You have a problem so big that deep down in your heart you’re thinking, ‘I’m in this problem because of me. I’ve created this.’ We don’t pray about it, we don’t go to Jesus about it.

I want to talk about the relationship between union and communion. So far this weekend, I have been teaching union with Christ. It’s the biggest doctrine in the New Testament and it is the most important. That’s why Paul keeps saying, ‘In Christ.’ You are united to Christ. Jesus has done everything and now we are in Jesus. We are united to Him. If you are united in Christ and in Him, you are as sure of heaven now as you will be when you get there. He has us and we are His.

But within our union with Christ, which is unchanging, unmovable and utterly secure -nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus – there is communion with Christ. Within the union there is experience of communion in Christ, of spiritual health and vitality. This covers a whole host of things: you can feel it, it can be peace in the midst of confusion, it can be balm to the soul in the midst of hurt and pain. We need to grasp that within the union we have with Christ, He wants us to have communion with Him.

The Lord Jesus invites us to abide in Him, to draw near to Him, to come to Him. What we tend to do as Christians, which causes us lots of heartache, is judge our union with Christ on our communion with Christ. For example, if I feel Christ, I must be secure in my faith. But it’s like being on a spiritual roller coaster all the time. You can be high on a Sunday morning, feeling the Lord loves you and you are going to heaven. Other times, on Saturday nights, you can be in the depths of despair, feeling Jesus doesn’t love you and you don’t know if you’re going to heaven or hell. When you base the judgement of your union with Christ on your communion and experiences of Him, it is up and down, up and down. Never do that.

Our communion with Christ and enjoyment of Him comes from our union: I can know Christ because I am united with Him. Because I am united with Him, even if I can’t feel Him, I am secure. Isn’t that wonderful! Even if I don’t feel the Lord Jesus, He still loves me. I am His. If we get our union with Christ right, we can go for this invitation of intimacy, of communion with Christ, knowing Him in our weakness and in our sorrows, in our joys and in our difficulties. We can ponder, spend time with the Lord, meditate on scripture, allowing our minds to wonder. We have this communion that we are invited to. This communion is based on how amazing Jesus is.

She sees herself as lowly, common, but he responds in verse 2 by saying she is “a lily among brambles.” He is saying, ‘My darling, among the young women, you are special to me.’ We need to see Jesus. If we see Jesus, we will know our union more and we will enjoy our communion more. This is something that open to all Christians. It looks different for so many Christians. Sometimes, Christians talk about it in two stages; there’s a time when they were a Christian but they weren’t enjoying God, and then something happened and they enjoyed God. For most Christians though, I think it’s just steps, experiences, different seasons of life and experiencing the Lord in those different seasons. And that looks different for everybody. The wonderful thing is the Lord meets us where we are.

There are three things we see about Jesus in this passage. Firstly, when she looks at the king, she sees him as her protector. Jesus is our protector (verses 3 & 6). She sits in his shade. He protects her. It’s a lovely picture of protection and embracing. It’s a picture that is repeated in scripture in lots of different ways, particularly with the church. One of my favourites is in Revelation 1. John, as a persecuted Christian, is given a vision of heaven. The curtains of heaven are rent so he can look in. Although he’s being persecuted, he can see a great throne, a higher throne. Everything is going to be OK. You get this amazing vision where the church is there, represented as lampstands and Jesus stands among them. Wonderful! All the churches in Pembrokeshire, Jesus stands among them. Then we see Jesus holds the churches in His hands. Is He standing there or holding the churches? Both! Then, whilst He is standing among the churches and holding them in His hands, John is falling down on the floor as if dead, so Jesus places His hands on John’s shoulders and says, ‘Don’t worry. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.’

The Lord Jesus is our protector and He is amongst us.  We remember the words of the Lord Jesus, ‘I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, no one will snatch them out of My hands.’ Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If you know Christ is your protector, and you are safe and secure in Him, in your union, you can enjoy communion.

In verse 6 we read, “His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me.” Wonderful protection and embrace. Does that mean we will never get sick? No, you’ll get sick. Does it mean you’ll never get persecuted? In all probability you might get persecuted and have problems for being a Christian. You might get into difficult conversations. But it does mean that Jesus will never leave you and He will keep you forever. Even if we don’t trust Jesus in difficult times, He still has us. He is our protector.

Jesus is not just our protector, He is also our provider. “Let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love. Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.” (Song of Songs 2:4-5). “My beloved is mine and I am his.” (Song of Songs 2:16a). He is the provider. Everything that is his is hers. He brought her to a banquet, to a public feast. He is giving her food and recognition. Food is a time of celebration. Here he is celebrating her, providing for her. We pray for the Lord to provide, but we also remember the Lord Jesus is the bread of life. He provides Himself. We should want Him.

When it comes to this kind of union, we must make sure we do not get it wrong. When we think of relationships, we can think of a symmetrical, equal, mutual relationship. That is not the case. We haven’t all brought something equal to this relationship. Jesus has brought His righteousness, His love, His eternity, His beauty, His holiness, His sovereignty. What have I brought? My sin and my need. We don’t come symmetrically, but in our union we are one and all that is His is mine. It’s phenomenal, isn’t it?

Thirdly, we see that Jesus is our pursuer. In verses 8-15 we see the king comes leaping across the mountains and hills. He’s really excited. But then in verse 14 he says, ‘My dove is in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside.’ It seems to me she is hiding. She really wants the Lord but there’s something stopping that. She’s building a wall, this cleft of rock around her. She knows he bounds towards her, she knows that he loves, but yet she’s in the cleft of the rock.

This is the great struggle of the Christian life; I know the Lord loves me, I know the Lord will forgive me, I know the Lord is gracious, yet will I confess that sin? No. Why? Because deep down, I’m not sure He will forgive me. I know the Lord is calling me to do something, to step out in faith, to trust Him, to follow Him, to give my all to Him in that certain area of my life, but will I do it? No. Why? Because I’m not really sure He is the provider.

Here, she remembers what the Lord is like, and she see that he is a pursuer. She has built this wall, but he comes. See how he comes to her – this is really important. We hide from the Lord and when we don’t believe we can come to Him, listen to how He comes, “My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.” (Song of Songs 2:14). Do you believe that your voice to the Lord Jesus is sweet and that your face is lovely?

When we build walls between us and God, He doesn’t come and bulldoze them down. He doesn’t come and say, ‘How dare you build a wall, don’t be so silly.’ He comes and wants her to being the walls down, he wants her to see him. Hosea is so similar because there’s this marriage picture being used when Israel has gone away from the Lord completely. Yet the Lord says these wonderful words, “I will allure her.” (Hosea 2:14). He is the one who comes and says, ‘Speak to me. I want to hear your voice. Come before me. I want to see your face.’

In verse 11 we see what she remembers about him, “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the seasons of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” What we call experience in our communion with Christ of going away, backsliding, a wilderness period, which there can be so many reasons for, in Revelation it is talked of as ‘being cold.’ A winter has come in our relationship with the Lord. The wonderful thing is, if we call to Him, the winter is over. The flowers come out. The wall can be brought down. We can stand face to face. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me.”

Friends, is the Lord calling you to open the door? Is the Lord calling you to speak to Him again? Have you grown cold? Have you built a wall and you’re willing to go this far but no more? The Lord says, ‘Come to me. All that is mine is yours and you are mine. I love you. I want you to enjoy me and to know me.’ The Lord will meet you in the way that you need Him.

June 19th 2022: Andy Christofides

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“And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ (Luke 13:23-25)

The book ‘Practical Religion,’ by J.C. Ryle won my heart and challenged me, as it looks at the practical side of being a Christian. One of the first chapters brings us to Luke chapter 13. Jesus was heading towards Jerusalem. There was a lovely turning point in Luke’s gospel where, at last, the disciples have understood who Jesus is. That great declaration has been made, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus told them that His Father in heaven had revealed that to them. If you understand who Jesus is, it’s a miracle. You might say, ‘He’s a great man, a great teacher,’ but it is only the Spirit of God can convince you He’s the Creator of the universe. It was a shock to me, it came suddenly to me at the age of 19.

His disciples had got the point that He is the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the second person of the one Triune God, one being but mysteriously three persons, distinct in their persons, yet one in their essential essence. It’s the Father who sent the Son and the Son who came in the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s the Son who died on the cross, not the Father. It’s the Spirit who oversees it all. It’s the Son who rose from the dead. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ who is reigning and will return one day. Are we ready for that day?

Why did Jesus ever come to this planet? From the point where the disciples understand who He is, He starts to teach them why He has come; He is going to die. Jesus set His face like a flint towards Jerusalem.

As He is on His way to Jerusalem with the disciples, there is a crowd around them. Someone asks a theological question of interest then melts back into the crowd. We don’t know who he was or what he was about. ‘Lord,’ he says, ‘are there few who will be saved?’ We hear nothing more about this man.

Many people want to speak about points of theology. On many occasions they are a smokescreen, a distraction from the one thing that’s necessary. There are different points of view, for example on dress codes, of what the preacher should wear to church. Is it a key issue? The question here is a good one, ‘Are there few who will be saved?’ But Jesus takes the opportunity to address the whole crowd, not just the one man. The punch line is this, whether there are few or many who will be saved, you make sure you are saved.

‘Strive to enter through the narrow door.’ Strive! There is a time coming when many will try but will not be able to.

In these three verses there is a door, a command and a prophecy.

A door. Jesus says, “Strive to enter.” There is a door. Here is the door which we can go through and enter eternal life. Is there a time when you went through the door of life eternal? Once I’ve gone through that door it guarantees I’m going to enter a glorious place called heaven. I’ll have eternal life, I have peace with God, my sins that are many have been forgiven. Why have I done the things I’ve done? We’ve all got a problem. We sin because we are sinners. Some say babies are born neutral. But they are born with a bias, wanting their way. This leads to sin. We have to teach children to do the right thing. It’s a wonderful thing for fathers and mothers to train children in the way of the Lord. When we go through this particular door, sin, which is such a burden, is rolled away.

It’s a narrow gate that leads to heaven. Sin is a problem. It’s a deep chasm, a vast gulf. But the good news from Jesus isthere is a door! What an amazing thing in such a world as this, with war, economic chaos and where anything goes, there is a way back to God. Sin is the barrier. God is holy beyond our imagination, heaven is pure. There is no way we can get there ourselves, but thank God there is a door and Jesus is the door:

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9)

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5).

This morning, you’ve come into the chapel. How did you come in? I came in through the front door. Straight forward. What’s the way to heaven? There’s a door. Jesus says there’s a difficulty with the door. It’s narrow and you couldn’t take a bag through it. You have to go one by one. To get to heaven you have to renounce sin. When you trust in Jesus and go through Him, He counts you as righteous because He sees His Son covering you. In actual fact you are still a sinner – a saved sinner. Because you have new life, you desire new things, to please God. Little by little, He transforms us. You leave your desires to sin at the gate. You can’t go through that gate with your sin, your own agenda, what you want – what university you want to go to, what kind of job you want, what husband or wife you want, what house you would like to have. You leave that at the gate. You go through alone and Jesus meets you. You put everything in His hands and ask, ‘Lord, who do you want me to marry? What university do you want me to go to? What job do you want me to have? Where do you want me to live? You put everything into His hands. You walk with Him.

It’s a narrow door. You go through one by one, leaving self and sin, the worldliness of my agenda. Through that door is Jesus. We should commend Jesus to people. The early church was a beacon. See how they loved one another. After all Paul says about the gospel to the Corinthians and the gifts of the Spirit, he says he will now show the most excellent way – love. ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Notice this, it’s only attached to this – ‘by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another.’ The world needs to see that Christianity actually works. Love is the outwards expression of the reality of truth. Despite our differences, it’s a command of the Lord Jesus to love one another.

Jesus is the only door. There is no other way. He is the only way to heaven. It’s Jesus or not at all. It’s not religion that gets you there. It’s not church-going that gets you there. It’s not morality. It’s not doing good – life by human standards. Why? Because God’s standards are perfection, purity. His righteousness is beyond our imagination. Human morality is like stinking rags. What gets us to heaven? Is it my repentance? Is it my turning from sin to God? No. Is it my faith that gets me there? No. It’s not my faith. It’s not my works that gets me to heaven. It’s Jesus. Jesus. Jesus only. He died that we might be forgiven. There was no other good enough to pay the price of my sin. Have you gone through the door, trusting His redeeming blood? Don’t think your works get you through.

Zechariah 13:1 is a lovely prophecy, “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” Zechariah is looking forwards to Calvary. We’re looking back on Calvary. That fountain was opened up. Same Old Testament. It certainly saved us who go back to it. The door is wide open now. At some point it will be closed. We are all encouraged to come.

Many of the most unlikely candidates have gone through that gate. A man called Manasseh, in the Old Testament, was a wicked, wicked man. Totally amoral. He even offered his own children as living sacrifices to the false god Molech. What a dastardly, evil, wicked man. But late in life he saw the door and he went through it. Saul of Tarsus, a wicked man who persecuted the church, approving of people being stoned to death, went through the door. It’s amazing.

Here’s a question, not ‘Lord, Lord, are there few who will be saved’? but ‘Lord, what must I do to be saved?’ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Open the door and you shall be saved. Not ‘Are there few or many?’ but ‘What about me?’

What a privilege it is to have a door at all. For the angels who fell and were cast down to Earth, including the prince of demons, the arch angel, glorious in beauty, there is no door. But for us there is a door.

Are you saved? Have you been trough the door? If you are saved and have been through the door, be thankful. Thankful has ‘full’ on the end. Be full of thanks. Does my life express that I’ve been through the door? Am I full of thanks to Him? Does my love overflow to my fellow believer and to the world around about me? Focus on the door. Go forward in confidence in Him. Be thankful.

If you’re not a Christian, don’t hang around. Jesus says, ‘Strive to enter.’ Don’t say, ‘I tried’ and it didn’t work. If you knew there was a million pound behind a certain door, you wouldn’t try and give up, you’d try again. Jesus says, ‘Strive.’

Jesus expands on this. The time is coming and many will try and won’t be able to because that door will be shut. It’s not shut now. It’s open. Strive to enter through the narrow gate.

June 5th 2022: Alun Johnson

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Psalm 23

I wonder if you’ve ever found life hard? Some people have been dealt a really difficult hand of cards. Life doesn’t seem to work; everything seems a struggle. Russell Brand, who I do not agree with most of what he says, made an insightful tweet when he said, “Society is collapsing and people are starting to recognise that the reason they feel like they’re mentally ill is that they’re living in a system that’s not designed to suit the human spirit.” In other words, human beings aren’t designed for modern life. It’s not just on an individual level; as a nation, Covid 19 Pandemic raised the level of difficulty in our lives. In recent days, in Ukraine, millions are caught up in a senseless war.


The 21st century Christian life is becoming difficult for us. Places of work can be difficult for faithful Christians. We are being increasingly marginalised for being a Christian. Afghanistan is number one on the Open Doors watch list of persecuted churched. It says, ‘With the Taliban in power, it has never been more dangerous to be a secret Afghan believer.’ For persecuted Christians in places such as North Korea, South Sudan, Somalia, life often hangs by a thread.

If you don’t believe in the God of the Bible, know Him personally through Jesus Christ, then your source of help will be different to Christians. You may look at self-help or book a holiday. These might help in some way. However, in many ways, these might only be good for a short-term solution. The Christian, in contrast, has Psalm 23. What a refuge this is in a time of trouble. The Christian has the person Psalm 23 talks about. Not anything, in all the world, not even death itself, can shake the shelter that this person provides.

Psalm 23 is very well known. The words are familiar, but are the truths equally known? Psalm 23 is a psalm of confidence. There’s lots of imagery, lots of comforting pictures being painted: green pastures, quiet waters, a cheering banqueting table, but our greatest focus should be on the great person mentioned here. He is pictured firstly as a shepherd, then a host.

The Shepherd
Apparently, the ten million sheep in this country account for ½ of the entire UK flock. A quad-biking, whistle-blowing shepherd today is very different from the shepherds of the Ancient Middle East. However, whether ancient or modern, the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is the same. They are totally dependent on the shepherd for food, water and protection. Without the shepherd, the sheep would not last long. It was in this sense that ancient near-eastern societies saw their own kings. It was not uncommon for them to be referred to as shepherds of their people. The kings would shepherd their people by ruling justly and wisely. It is very interesting that David, the shepherd turned king, saw God as his own king and shepherd.

The picture we get of God here is fantastic. He is a protecting God, He is a caring God, He is a sacrificial God, He is a providing God. He is not distant. Here, David is speaking of the Lord in such a personal way. Here is a God, even though He transcends the universe, has dealings with David on an individual level.

At the start of the Psalm, God is called the Lord, or Yahweh. This is the name He gives when He passes in front of Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:6). Here is a God who is a covenant-making God who maintains love to thousands and forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin. Here is a God who is not leaving the nation of Israel to their own devices, to die out in the desert. He is shepherding them to the Promised Land.

The Lord is my shepherd. Here, I think, is another level of relationship – God is not just the God of Israel, but here is a God who deals with individuals. David goes on to say, ‘I shall not be in want.’ The result of God’s care for him is he has everything he needs.

Verses 3 and 4 expand on God’s care for His sheep.

“He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:3-4

God acts. He proves it by what He does. Do you see how complete God’s provision is? In these pastures the sheep would have food, water and rest. In the pastures and watering holes sheep would not need to move to have what they need to be sustained.

‘He restores my soul.’ This is not only physical rest but spiritual rest too. In his life, God is leading David along straight paths. The idea of ‘Paths of righteousness’ continue that picture of ease. In his life, God is leading David along right paths, straight paths, not crooked ones. The language of covenant – that agreement, that relationship between God and Man – comes again through that phrase, ‘For His Name’s sake.’ God has bound Himself to His people and to the individuals who are part of God’s people (Exodus 3:12). What is fabulous is that God’s care for David is not limited to the green pastures but also to dark valleys too. The shadowy ravines – even there – there is a close relationship between David and His Lord.

‘Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.’ The shepherd would have had that rod to fight off predators. It was also divine protection and sustenance, and also divine disciple. What amazing trust in the Lord. It begs the question, ‘What about us?’ Think how much light we have with New Testament scriptures. John 10 – the shepherd being spoken of here is Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11). Do you believe that He lay down His life for you? Do you know Him? If so, then Psalm 23 is for you!

Have you noticed in John 10, before that great statement, Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10b). The life of the Christian is the best life. Jesus really is all that you and I will ever need. Paul writes, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” (Philippians 4:11) Wow! What a statement! When we know Jesus, nothing in the world can get close to Him. There really is no-one like Jesus.

Other scriptures speak of Jesus the Shepherd, such as Isaiah 40:11,

“He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.”

He tends His sheep. He gathers them. Notice the verbs. This isn’t sentimental rubbish. This person is also the sovereign Lord, who comes in power. He knows exactly how to deal with His sheep, which is why life with Jesus has soul restoring green pastures and quiet waters. Therefore, for the Christian, they are not floundering around in the darkness. Even when death is close by, they fear no evil because Jesus is with them. Do you love Jesus more than anything else in this world? Life is hard, it really is. But hold onto Him, knowing that He is holding onto you.

The Host

This Psalm just gets better and better as you go through it. If you thought that the metaphor for the Lord as the shepherd was a rich image, then how about the picture painted in verses 5 and 6 of the host?

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.”
Psalm 23:5

I wonder if, as evangelical Christians, we’ve forgotten that David’s experience of His Lord was like being at a banqueting table? For David, with his God, he was having the time of his life. What is our experience of our Lord? Is life with our Lord like being at a feast or a lavish celebration, or is it rather dull and  dour, a kind of spiritual drudgery? David is a guest at the Lord’s table. He is an honoured guest, having his head anointed with oil.

The table is prepared in the presence of David’s enemies. It suggests that the Lord has brought before David his own enemies, his vanquished enemies, to watch in envy as he sits down to his meal. What a lavish banquet this is. His cup overflows, blessings are piled on David’s life. He is receiving more than enough on his life. David has God Himself. For David it is only the Lord who truly satisfies. It fills him to bursting. Is it possible for it to get better for David? Yes! It does. It’s not a temporary measure,

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.”

Psalm 23:6

Quite a statement! God’s overflowing blessings to David will follow him all the days of his life. It will never leave him alone. It gets better again. It’s one thing to go for a meal, but another to stay for ever, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” David’s confidence swells up to eternal life. The blessings never end.

Compared to the Christian, David, along with all Old Testament believers of Hebrews 11, only saw from a distance, what we have. David’s experience of his Lord is multiplied to us this side of Calvary. We also are invited to a table. We are also given a cup that overflows. We also are going to an eternal hope.

At the table of the Lord’s Supper, we are continuing that Last Supper that Jesus had with His closest friends. As the disciples reclined with Jesus at the table in such an intimate setting, we too, as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, do something similar. We are celebrating the fact that Jesus’ substitutional death on the cross was so effective, so powerful, so complete, that the dividing wall between a sinful man and a holy God was completely knocked down. In faith we can step into the Holy of Holies and enjoy an intimate relationship with the one true and living God.

We can know God as our friend. In a way, it’s almost as if we are feasting with Him in the presence of our vanquished enemies. You know, Christians, we have vanquished enemies? We have three of them: sin, death and hell. Our sins, not in part, but the whole, are nailed to His cross, and we bear them no more. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, o my soul! Death, the grave, have no victory, no sting because Jesus lives in the power of an endless life. He has broken the power of death once and for all. For the Christian, there is no fear of hell. Jesus has already told us in John 14, ‘Don’t let your hearts be troubled, trust in God, trust also in Him.’ In His Father’s house there are many rooms and right now, He is preparing a place for us. That is where we’re heading.

Does the Christians cup overflow? Yes! Why should it surprise us at what the Lord has done? Perhaps because we’ve normalised the blessings that we have received. Perhaps we’ve become used to the fact that we’re saved? It’s a terrible thing but it’s easy to do.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, do you ever sit down and think about what you are and what you have? Does it not make us absolutely in awe? We’re saved! We’ve been washed, we’ve been sanctified, we’ve been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God, and now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It is all of Him. It’s all Jesus’ work, which means whatever accusation Satan throws at me, nothing will ever change my standing before God. Which is why the Christian can sing with David,

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.”

Psalm 23:6

In Christ, God’s treatment of His own is constant: goodness and love, goodness and love, goodness and love to the end. Remember, the Christian has been adopted into God’s family. If you’re in the family, you never have to leave. When this passing world is done, we will continue to live in the house of the Lord forever. Hallelujah!

I absolutely love 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” This is just spectacular. Of course, our cup overflows. This Psalm is the experience of those who can truly say that the Lord is my shepherd.

If you’re not a Christian here, do you want the Lord to be your shepherd? Do you want Him to be with you through the valley of the shadow of death? Do you want your cup to overflow? Do you want God’s goodness and love to pursue you all the days of your life? Do you want to dwell in the house of the Lord forever? You can have it all! Amen.

May 30th 2022: Ian Middlemist

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Ephesians 2:11-22

The purpose of the Church.

You can look at taller buildings using an electric drone. Gou can see on screen what the drone is looking at, see how it is looking up there. How is the church looking from up there today? How is it looking from God’s perspective? How is our heavenly Father looking at us today? What do you think of when you think of the church? You can go on a computer and zoom in on Google Earth, zoom into London, into Canary Wharf, into the Bishops Gate area and see enormous, magnificent office blocks made out of glass. Bishops Gate was largely obliterated in the Blitz. There’s a large church – St. Helens. When you see it from the office blocks it looks tiny. Some of those office workers, on their breaks, high up, can look at the little church down there and wonder why it’s there. Worshippers can look up today and ask how they fit in. I encourage you today to raise your vision to God’s perspective. Hi is the one who has created the church for His own glory.

The church is a heavenly assembly.
The church is an earthly assembly.
The church is for the glory of God.

The church is a heavenly assembly.
The New Testament translation of church is ‘ecclesia.’ It actually means an assembly. We’re assembling today. Assemblies in schools haven’t happened for the past two years because of Covid. Schools can now come together, one school, one message. The New Testament has two kinds of assemblies, one is in heaven and one is on earth.

The universal church gathers in heaven, the local church gathers on earth. The Church is fundamentally a gathering. This must be first in our thinking. The local Church is equally important, but the invisible, universal church must come first.

When you become a Christian you become part of the universal church. You didn’t join the church. Scripture invites us to see things from His perspective. Jesus Christ has joined not just individuals to Himself, but a people, all invited to Him. When Adam and Eve sinned, the immediate effect was division occurred. Their relationship and communion with God was broken. They became afraid of Him, uncomfortable before Him. They hid, hoping to disappear from the face of the planet. The relationship suffered. God seeks out that unity between human beings. Because of this rebellion there was no harmony. But God came through His Son, to have a people He will cleanse and purify. Today, He is calling a people out of this world, out of dominion of Satan and death, to be His people in oneness.

He has raised us up with Him, “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:6). Upon saving us, He has given us a place in God’s heavenly throne room.

“12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (Ephesians 2:12-16).

What are the two groups? The Jewish and the Gentile groups. God is uniting these two groups through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. United together, one in the glory of heaven. If you’re sitting with Christ in heavenly places, you are also seated with the heavenly assembly.

The earthly assembly.
This is the local church. God’s purpose is that His heavenly church, one in the Spirit of God, show up on earth through the existence of local churches. God has declared us righteous in heaven, seated with the saints. It’s real, in the here and now. He has declared us righteous for the here and now. Earth, this globe, this time – May 2022, matters to God. We are not merely to be thinkers of how we live out our lives, we’re doers and need to get on with it. Our God acts in this world. Look at Jesus Christ Himself – how God demonstrated His love, not merely by making declarations of His love. But Jesus became a man, entered into this world, came in flesh.

As soon as a Christian becomes a member of the heavenly assembly, they want to become part of the earthly assembly. They want to become part of the local church. They want to be with other Christians, wanting to be in a local church. We put on the heavenly, we get involved. We’re putting on the new self, working it out with other Christians. The glory that is done to the Lord will be revealed to the world through His church. Membership in the universal church must become visible in the local church. Committed Christians, committed to one another. The ideas of a Christian who doesn’t want to become part of the church is impossible.

The purpose of the Church.
Some will emphasise that the church is heavenly; what matters is we’re walking with Jesus, trying to do our best. Others will say that the church needs to be active. The Protestant Reformation say it was possible for someone to be part of the visible, local church without being part of the church of Jesus Christ. These days, we seem to emphasise the local church.

We’re united with all churches, one with other churches. The church is universal. The Almighty God has created the church. He has brought it into existence. What is the purpose of the church? We’re here today for the glory of God. So easily we can be caught up with the concerns of the day – evangelism, bank accounts, so much so we forget we’re here for the glory of God. We’re here today to glorify Him and Him only.

The church is not ultimately for seekers. It doesn’t exist for those enquiring about the gospel. Jesus did pay attention to the needs of crowds and unbelievers. He teaches them (John 6). There’s a danger we become more and more like the world if we exist to be attractive to the world.

The church doesn’t exist to be more attractive for the disciple either. It doesn’t exist for the Christians. The church doesn’t exist for you. We’re not to go around taking surveys for our needs. We’re not to ignore people’s needs but our goal and purpose is for the glory of God.

Our God has come down to us and reached us, lifted us up to the heavenly places. All of our needs are found in Him. We’re here for Him. The church exists in the people of God. Lour primary occupation is the glory of God.

What a wonderful thing it is to be part of the church. It’s our joy to discover that. It’s wonderful to be built on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. We have a church that is firm and secure. None can destroy His church. Praise His Name.

April 24th 2022: Jonny Raine

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Acts 14:1-20

The harder the job, the bigger the power that is needed to accomplish it. We have no power to sort ourselves out, we need a great power from outside. Humanity needs the supernatural power that comes from outside ourselves, from a powerful God.

Why is the gospel the power of God? Because our salvation is absolutely impossible for us. It is impossible for us to put ourselves right with the God who made us and own this universe.

It is important for us to do what is right in our lives and to make amends for wrongdoing. As human beings, we need the infinite power of God to step in. The conflict in the Ukraine – how on earth can anyone sort out that mess? We can’t sort our problems out on our own. We need the infinite power of God to fix us. In Jesus coming into the world, He took it upon Himself all that we deserve. All the wrongdoings that we have committed, He took upon Himself, the hell that humanity ought to pay for. He took that upon Himself for all of us who will believe in Him. That’s the kind of power that is required to fix humanity. Not only that, but as we are remembering last Sunday, the infinite power that raised Jesus from the dead, that’s the kind of power that kick starts the Christian life. If you believe that Jesus died and rose again, that he did so, so that you can be made new in Him, then that’s the power that will begin to work in you. The power that will give you life, the power that will give you a new relationship with God, so you can call Him Father. If you want that power, accept that Jesus died for you so that you could be forgiven and that He can give you a new life.

Once we have come to experience that power in His love, the Christian should be so overwhelmed by what they’ve experienced in the power of God through Jesus making them new, that they want to tell everyone. We all have different ways to share the gospel. We can look at people in the bible like Paul and Barnabas and we can think, ‘Well, I’m not like that.’ It’s probably a good thing. God has made us all different. We are all going to have different ways that we’re able to share the gospel with other people, ways of sharing this good news of God’s power that saves people.

Many of us don’t have the gifting to stand up in from of hundreds and thousands, like Pauls and Barnabas did, to travel round from city to city, to undertake great risks, to live off almost nothing, except handouts whenever they could get them, trying to make ends meet in whatever way they could. But every true Christian will, in their own way, try and share the good news of Jesus with as many people as they can, and doing that by God’s power. That is what we are going to be exploring today as we look particularly at verse 8 onwards, as Paul and Barnabas venture on.

Paul and Barnabas are now in Lystra. It is their fist journey of travelling around and sharing the gospel. Whilst they are there, they are obviously talking about Jesus, in a public square. A man is sat there, someone who has never been able to walk in his life. He is listening to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:8). Paul must have been given insight by the Holy Spirit into the man’s spiritual condition. He has faith that is beginning to work in him. He has faith to be healed. So, Paul tells the man to stand up and walk. And he does. He is instantly healed. The man jumped up with vigour.

To what extent does God heal today? There is a spectrum of opinion. God’s power should be shown by His people. God can, and does, heal people today. Certainly, if the Holy Spirit prompts us to see someone who needs healing, we should respond to that. However, it is not something that happens all too frequently. But that doesn’t mean we don’t show God’s power in other ways. We all ought to be showing God’s power in other ways.

Isn’t God’s power shown in someone who has a chronic condition but doesn’t get bitter and grumpy about it but oozes grace, even as they have to endure the condition they live with for the rest of their lives? Isn’t that God’s power that enables a person to be like that?

We see God’s power at work when someone first becomes a Christian, no matter what their background. This is evident when someone comes from a rough background, perhaps someone from a background of addiction and abuse, yet they are enabled to leave that behind as they come to Christ. Isn’t that the power of God?

God’s power is shown through a couple who have been married for forty years and have remained faithful to each other, enduring the various ups and downs of married life, sharing God’s love with one another.

God’s power is shown in a teenager who resists the various temptations of peer pressure that are on offer – peer pressure to do this and to do that in the way that the world does. God’s power is shown in the integrity of the employee who doesn’t give in to the temptation to fiddle the taxes or to do this and that wrong, perhaps as even their boss is encouraging them to do. Instead, they act with integrity throughout their employment.

In all of these, and in so many other ways, God’s power is shown through the Christian. It is not just through the miraculous that God’s power is shown. It is shown every day in our lives in very simple and ordinary ways as we live for Him.

Some of these ways that we show God’s power are going to be seen by the world around us. Miracles provoke amazement in people. This might be rare. But when we live by God’s power it will be seen by the world. When they know that we are Christians, operating out of God’s power, it will be seen by the world. At the very least, surely that will provoke curiosity. It may even cause them to ask you, ‘What’s different about the way you live? What is it that drives you?’ That may then lead on to further conversations about the gospel, as it does here with Paul and Barnabas.

As we move on, what we see is that we need to explain God’s power. It’s not just about showing God’s power, we need to use words and explain God’s power.

(Story of Guy Gomer – mistaken identity). Paul and Barnabas get mistaken for Greek gods. It’s understandable. The people have just witnessed this great miracle – a guy that they know who has never been able to walk is suddenly able to walk by Paul just speaking to very quickly to him. They’ve witnessed this incredible display of power. What’s more, there is a local legend, which comes from a nearby city, which was visited by two gods, but the people didn’t recognise the gods, they didn’t honour them and so they endured their wrath. So, the people of Lystra, having this story in the back of their minds, thinking that Paul and Barnabas are perhaps these two gods, go all out to pay homage to these two supposed gods. They think of them as Zeus and Hermes. The temple for Zeus is just outside the city of Lystra. They call for the priests to come in. They bring garlands, and oxen to offer sacrifices

In that chaos, Paul and Barnabas jump in and tear their clothes, a sign of sorrow and anguish. Then, they speak a mini sermon, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” (Acts 14:15).

Paul and Barnabas are very quick to explain why they are there – to share the good news. They are speaking to a non-Jewish audience, so they start with the basic concept of God – God has made everything. The one true, living God has made everything and to worship anything else is useless, missing out on worshipping the one true, living God.

Idol worship is still here, although our idols are much more subtle. Human beings are made to worship. If we’re not worshipping the one, true God, we will worship other things: money, children, job, success, hobbies, lifestyles. These are not wrong but it’s when we begin to treat these things as the greatest things in our lives that they become an idol. When we look at it that way, then idol worship is just as prevalent here, in Pembrokeshire, as it was 2,000 years ago in Lystra. People today need to be alerted to the fact that we are worshipping useless things. If we are not worshipping the true living God, then our worship is useless. If they are all we hope for and value, they are idols. God ought to be our true source of hope.

People’s lives are busy and there is no room for God. If we realise we are putting our value on useless things, then we push them out of first place and we make room for God. Very often this needs to be the first point we bring people; we might explain it in different ways, we might be so direct and abrupt with them, but it is something we need to explain to them.

The second point of the mini sermon is in verse 16, “In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.” God has been patient with people. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve. He deals with us lovingly and cares for us. He patiently waits for people to come to Him.

The third point is that God has shown Himself through being loving with people, “Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17). He gives rain, allows crops to grow, provides food for His people. We may have heard of Zeus, the god of thunder and the sky. He was also the god who gave rain. Paul is saying it is not Zeus who gives rain but God. Hermes was the god who delivered messages from the gods to human beings. But Paul and Barnabas say it is not Hermes who brings God’s message, God gives you His message Himself through the way that He provides for the world.

God is the one true, supreme God. He alone should be worshipped. To worship anything else is useless. He is patient and loving, waiting for people to come to Him. He reveals Himself through the way He loves and cares for the world and provides for human beings. He has immense power to care for this world.

As Paul says, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20). No-one can say they never had a chance to know the one true God. He has shown Himself through the world that He has made. He has shown Himself through the way He provides food on this planet for us to enjoy. As Christians, if we try and connect with people and share the good news of Jesus, this may be our starting point. There is a God who is worthy of worship and He loves us. He has shown Himself in the world He has made.

Thirdly, we need to persist by God’s power. It’s not just about showing God’s power in our lives and explaining God’s power in our words, it’s about keeping on going by God’s power.

At the end of this story, people stir things up – Jews from other towns, who turn the crowd against Paul and Barnabas, “But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.” (Acts 14:19).

The Christians, presumably, are praying for them. Paul gets up and goes back to the city where they have just tried to kill him, “But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.” (Acts 14:20). He stops for a day then goes back to Derbe. It would have been so easy for Paul to give up. He gave them the gospel then goes back into the city. He goes on by God’s power. God is empowering him with the task he is to do.

We are unlikely to face that kind of opposition, but we will face opposition, people giving us the cold shoulder. It is hard to keep going sometimes. It is hard sharing the gospel with people who have rejected it. Even when it is tough, by God’s empowering, we can keep going. The good news is, there was a church formed in Lystra. When we’re reading it now, it doesn’t look like there would be a church. It looks like they left and no-one was saved. But actually, there were people who became Christians. There are return visits to Lystra where there is a church, where there are people who have come to follow Jesus. And gather together as a church. Maybe that day after Paul got stoned and went back into the city, some people became Christians? Maybe just one or two believers who then shared the gospel with others? One way or another, God worked to bring people to know Himself. By His power, as He worked through what Paul and Barnabas had done, people became Christians.

May God help us. May God give us His power to enable us to show His power at work in our lives, as we simply live the Christian life. May God, by His power, help us to explain what He’s done in our lives, to explain the good news that there is a God who is worthy of worship, who has shown us His love and kindness through providing for us. May we keep on going, even when it’s hard, when we rely on His power, may be digging deep to the power that is available to us by the Holy Spirit who lives in every believer. May He empower us to do His work and to keep on going, even through tough times.