Tag: gospel

June 12th 2022: Adrian Brake

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Philippians 1: 12-14

Nowhere, in all its 66 books, does the Bible ever say that when someone becomes a Christian all their problems disappear. Quite the opposite.  The apostle Paul warns that it is through many tribulations that we must enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus said to the disciples, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b). Jesus Christ was a ‘man of sorrows.’ If we are His disciples and follow Him and walk in His footsteps, we too will be people of sorrows. Paul says Christ suffered and was glorified. He says we shall reign with Christ and be glorified with Him if we also suffer with Him.

We live in a fallen world, a world that groans under the curse. On day, God will remove all that but for now we are impacted by the effect of the Fall. But, whilst also giving us a helpful does of reality saying there is suffering for the people of God in this world, the suffering anyone of God experiences, the Bible also gives us things to help to anchor us. Our troubles have a shelf-life; they are the troubles of this world and will not follow us into the world to come.

The Bible assures us God is in control, even of His people’s sufferings. God will not abandon us to our sufferings. He is present with us. He has purposes in people’s sufferings. God redeems the suffering of His people for a glorious purpose. God, through suffering, works to bring about great and precious fruits.

You have a painful experience of one kind or another, in ways which we cannot understand at the time. But we live by faith in God’s promises and God brings out of that painful experience something that is for the individual’s own benefit.

But I want to bring to you something perhaps we don’t often think about – God uses an individual believer’s painful experiences to benefit somebody else. He uses suffering and the anguish that we go through, to bless and to profit another person, to bring them to faith in our Saviour. Our suffering in this world can create gospel opportunities that wouldn’t be there otherwise. Our painful experiences can actually be used and be instrumental, in God’s hands, in people’s conversions. Do you want to be an evangelist? Perhaps, even a difficult experience may make you one.

Philippians chapter 1 is an example of a trial with an evangelistic purpose.

“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” (Philippians 1:12-14).

Paul says, ‘I want you to know brother, the things which have happened to me, happened for the furtherance of the gospel. What happened to Paul? He is speaking of the opposition he had encountered in his ministry, and the suffering that that had brought upon him.

Interestingly, in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul catalogues for the believers there, everything he had suffered, simply for being a servant of Christ. One thing he mentions here, and in Philippians, he was imprisoned, in confinement. When Paul wrote this letter he was under house arrest, confined, unable to leave because of his preaching the gospel. He refused to deviate from his task of declaring Jesus to be the Messiah, the Saviour of sinners.

Paul was confined, in a home. He would have been guarded 24/7 by Roman soldiers. Not just any Roman soldiers, the palace guard, who were amongst Caesar’s premier soldiers, the elite. This gives an indication of how much of a threat Paul was regarded in the world of his day. He had the top men guarding him, really tough men. It is possible he was actually chained to them, or that may be a metaphor to speak of his confinement.

The Philippians have heard of this. Paul had a good relationship with this church. He was involved in planting that church (Acts 16). He had maintained a good relationship with them. That comes out in the opening verses of the chapter (verses 3, 4 & 7).

He evokes God as a witness, “For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:8). Paul had a close relationship with this church, “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.” (Philippians 4:1). He loved them deeply. Why? He had fellowship with them in the gospel, “for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,” (Philippians 1:5). He saw in the Philippians a passion for Jesus Christ. He was drawn to them. Don’t you feel that when you see people with a passion Christ? You want fellowship with them. These were people who had come to know, love and serve Jesus Christ.

He speaks in verse 7 that they themselves may have suffered for the gospel. They were dear to him, and he was dear to them. They had supported his itinerant ministry. When most other churches had left him to his own devices, the Philippian church had invested in Paul, showing how serious they were about the gospel. Despite being poor believers materially, they supported and provided for him.

They had head Paul was in a serious condition, confined whilst he awaits a verdict about his future, will he live of will he die, will he be executed or set free? He is in a very difficult position. The Philippians have sent to Paul a man to help, Epaphroditus, later mentioned in the book, “Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need,” (Philippians 2:25). He has a gift from the Philippians. No doubt, Epaphroditus came not only with a gift and prayer, but also to find out more to give news back to the Philippians, to inform their prayer, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,” (Philippians 1:12).

Paul says it has been a major step forward for the work of God. They might have thought it was a disaster; the gospel had benefitted immensely from Paul’s travels. Having seen Paul’s fruitfulness in planting churches and encouraging people, all of a sudden Paul can’t get out to preach in the market place and the synagogue. He is stuck in this accommodation, under house arrest. Surely, the work of the gospel was being curtailed. Were the enemies of the gospel succeeding? But Paul says, ‘If only you knew! In ways which you couldn’t have anticipated, God has turned the table on His enemies.’

In verses 13 and 14 Paul explains two ways in which his confinement under house arrest has been beneficial to the gospel, how it has created opportunities for people to hear and know Christ, which would not have happened otherwise.

Firstly, “So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ,” (Philippians 1:13). The people guarding Paul, and others, have come to hear that he is there because of his testimony to Jesus Christ. There were 6 hour shift patterns for the guards, so Paul saw many soldiers in a 24 hour period. As they were with him, he talked to them of Jesus Christ. He preached the gospel to the palace guard and to all the rest. It seemed these soldiers had spoken to other people. The soldiers were passing the message on. “All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household.” (Philippians 4:22).  Paul gives greetings to the Christians in Philippi, but especially to those of Caesar’s household. It would seem people in Caesar’s household had come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It would appear that it was Paul’s confinement that was instrumental in this.

Caesar’s household would never turn up at the synagogue or the market place to hear Paul preach. So, what does God do? He takes Paul and puts him in their midst. He puts Paul in Caesar’s household – in confinement with access to those prison guards. Paul had a ‘captive audience!’ Comically really. They thought he was captive, but they were captive because they had to be there and they had to listen to what Paul way saying. Paul had a captive audience in the Roman army, in the palace guard, who then spreads it. If Paul was going to get the gospel message to Caesar’s household, it would only happen by him becoming their prisoner. Paul would never have had the opportunity to witness to them, to declare Christ, in any other way. Paul’s confinement was by God’s sovereign appointment. By God’s sovereign appointing, Paul gets this opportunity to witness into the heart of the enemy. It would have been a difficult experience, but it was a trial with an evangelistic purpose.

This was one way in which Paul had a difficult experience which turned out to benefit others and to create gospel opportunities. It gave him access to places he wouldn’t have had access to otherwise.

Secondly, Paul writes, “And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” (Philippians 1:14). Paul was in Rome, under house arrest. There was already a church in Rome, but it seems there was much timidity, and they were intimidated into silence. But Paul says, through his confinement, something wonderful has happened; they have become confident by his chains. His imprisonment had made them much more confident and much more bold to speak the word of God without fear. How would that have happened? They would have seen the way God was upholding the apostle Paul. Under house arrest, Paul couldn’t leave, but he could have people coming to him. Some of these brethren, no doubt, would have come in to speak to Paul and pray with him. They would have seen in Paul, Jesus Christ upholding him, Paul knowing the peace of God that passes all understanding, guarding his heart and mind. They would have seen it was not easy serving Christ, but they would have seen in Paul, God’s protecting hand. They knew that if God was going to be with them like He was with Paul, then they too could speak the word boldly, without fear. Through Paul’s suffering, people would have seen in him the power of God – not for great miracles but through him being sustained. Previously, the church was not doing its job because of fear. Now, the church was emboldened and empowered. The gospel is now being spread in Rome.

They could have thought, how is the gospel going to get in greater power to Rome? Many might have thought the answer would have been to invite Paul to speak in the synagogue and in the market place, invite him to address people there. But no. God sits Paul in one room, for people to find him there. How is the gospel going to get out that way? Well, Paul will get access to people in that place he wouldn’t get access to otherwise, and the emboldened church, though seeing what has happened, will get the gospel out. Through Paul’s difficult experience, gospel opportunities were created.

There’s a very important statement Paul makes, “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,” (Acts 20:22). Paul’s final words to Ephesus. At a later date, the Spirit has told Paul he will suffer. He then says, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24). Paul was single-minded. He had a ministry given to him by the Lord – to tell others the good news of sins forgiven by Jesus Christ. He is prepared to lay down his life for that. He knew there was trouble ahead. But he knew he had a commission. He didn’t cling to his life. Paul would literally be a living sacrifice. He offered himself a living sacrifice to God.

Being fruitful in our witness to the Lord will inevitably bring pain and heartache. Sometimes, God leads us into difficult experiences to create gospel opportunities. For example, in one sense it’s sobering and in another sense it’s thrilling, to think that God is at work through everything. Could it be that, perhaps, at some point the Lord will take us into hospital with a serious illness? It would be very painful and difficult. Or it could be a loved one in hospital with a serious illness, which would be very painful and difficult. But in that hospital are other patients and medical staff, who would never think of darkening the doors of the church. Patients and medical staff who, if a tract came through their door, would throw it straight in the bin. But God has a magnificent purpose, to take a person and bring them into the Kingdom. But how on earth are they going to come under the gospel if they will not come to a church? Or they will not receive literature, or come to a church fun day or anything like that? How are they to get the gospel? Could it be through a believer going into the same ward as them? Or a believer being one of their patients? Or through a believer going in visiting and having opportunity with other patients and medical staff? A difficult experience, creating a gospel opportunity. The Lord, in redeeming that painful experience, brings about the birth of a brother and sister into the family of God.

The story of Romanian evangelical priest Richard Wurmbrand is a stirring one. Boy, did he suffer. But boy, was he fruitful! Who knows, in time to come, the way things are going in our nation, we might find ourselves in prison for the cause of Christ, and gain access in that way, into places we wouldn’t have had otherwise?

Through the difficult experiences of Paul, and of us, people see the truth of God displayed. They see a reality, not just words spoken on a Sunday. They see the reality of God in a person’s life, in a believer’s life, as they suffer. They see not just sorrow and pain, but peace, anchored and sustained by the keeping power of God. People say, ‘I don’t understand it. I see other people suffering with the same condition, but there’s something different about you, in the way that you are able to go through this.’ It can make people sit up and think. Perhaps the Lord will use it. A gospel opportunity.

In the first three centuries there was great persecution brought upon the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Roman Empire. Many believers were martyred in horrendous ways. But there are documented examples of people who attended the executions, the burnings and giving to the lions, who were utterly amazed at the grace God gave believers as they went through that. And some of those watching, actually came to faith in Christ because of it, who were then themselves executed.

Who knows that God may use our lives in that way, sending difficult experiences so that we become a stage for God to demonstrate His power, even in people’s suffering, that it may turn other people’s hearts? Our challenge is this – and it is very much something we work towards – can we really say, to any measure with Paul, ‘Take my life.’ Or are we, ‘No, Lord. I’d love to be a witness for you, I’d love to be involved in evangelism, telling others about Jesus, but not through a difficult experience that will be a gospel opportunity, out of which will come a new brother and sister in the family of God.’

Are we willing, in light of what God has done for us, to offer ourselves to Him in that way? Did not Jesus give His life so that we might come to know Him? Christ suffered incredibly for our salvation. We are to practice Christ-like selflessness and sacrifice for the good of one another. Difficult experiences are part and parcel. We can’t escape them. But isn’t it good to think how the Lord can redeem them?

May God help us in these days and give us our Christ-like perspective. We are here for Him, for the work of the gospel. May we give our lives, whatever happens, in His service.

March 13th 2022: Paul Daniel

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Acts 26: How Christians ought to respond when asked about their faith

What are we here for? Penuel Chapel has been around for 200 years. Here in Acts chapter 26, as Luke writes his account and the explosion of the gospel, he writes different accounts of how people speak about Jesus. Paul, in presenting the gospel 2,000 years ago, is no different to presenting the gospel today. We are called today to present the gospel, to tell people. As we look at Acts chapter 26 we see Paul behaves very godly in the way he speaks.

Godly evangelism is patient. Are you a patient person? We live in this culture of everything being fast-paced. We order something today, it arrives tomorrow. Paul had been in prison for two years for preaching the gospel. Felix didn’t know what to do with him, so he left him in prison. Here, two years later, in chapter 26, we have an account of what Paul said when he was given the opportunity to speak to King Agrippa, “So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defence,” (Acts 26:1).

King Agrippa, a Jew has been called because Felix didn’t know what to do with Paul. When Paul is given the opportunity to speak he says, “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defence today against all the accusations of the Jews,” (Acts 26:2).

How would you feel if you had been put in prison for two years for something you hadn’t done, and when you are finally given an opportunity to speak and give a defence for yourself, what would you do? What does Paul do? He starts talking about the gospel. He tells King Agrippa he wants him to listen to him really patiently, that he is fortunate he can present his defence to him. Pauls asks King Agrippa to listen to him patiently. The fruit of the Spirit is patience. God Himself is patient. The New Testament reminds us that God is patient, and with the Lord, “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8). So, this is two days ago. When the first church started, that’s two hours ago!

Paul is patient. He’s been in prison for two years. How patient was God with us? Think of the many times you’ve heard the gospel, of the many times you would come to chapel, to youth club or the times a friend would come and talk to you. How patient is God with us. As Christians, we are to be renewed in the image of God, to reach people with the good news of Jesus. Here Paul takes the opportunity to say to King Agrippa what Jesus had done for him. King Agrippa was a Jew so Paul talks to him in a way he would understand. King Agrippa knows the history. What kind of nation do we live in now? Penuel is celebrating its 200th anniversary year. What kind of nation was Penuel 200 years ago? Nations change. We might have to approach people in a completely different to even 30 years ago, therefore we need to be even more patient.

What does Paul want? His freedom or King Agrippa’s freedom? Even though Agrippa is religious, he needs the forgiveness of sins. Even when Festus says, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind,” (Acts 26:24b), Paul politely responds saying, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words.” (Acts 26:5). You see the work of God and the Holy Spirit in Paul’s life. He is patient and understands.

Be ready to go, to be on standby all the time, wherever God has placed you. Be ready to give a reason for the hope we have. As we come week in, week out, being shaped by the Holy Spirit, in the image of our Creator, we are called to be patient, to be gentle, to know what to say in different circumstances. So, when you have an opportunity to speak about your faith, be on standby, be ready to be godly, ready with a reason for the hope we have. My friends, as we come week in and week out, we learn more about God’s Word. We’ve been shaped by the Spirit, we’ve been shaped by God’s Word. We’re being remade in the image of our Creator to be more like Him. Be patient. Be gentle. Know what to say in different circumstances, so that when you’re getting your haircut and you’re having a conversation which may become deep and meaningful, you’re ready and you’re alert. When someone pops round for a cup of coffee, and they are worried about something, they want to talk to you because they trust you because you know you’re going to listen because you’re alert. They know you want an opportunity to speak into their lives and say something of what it means to not be anxious and put your trust in Jesus.

I wonder what Paul was doing for the two years whilst he waited in prison? Godly evangelism is patient.

Godly evangelism is God’s message to all of us. Paul starts telling Agrippa about his conversion on the road to Damascus, when he was ready to persecute Christians, he meets God. This is his story. Godly evangelism starts with us. God came to Paul. God came to save him. Paul was elite, but even he needed to meet Jesus. He followed the law to the letter, but even he needed Jesus. Paul himself was a sinner who needed saving, “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” (Acts 26:9).

Saul was convinced, obsessed as a Pharisee, that he was right and everyone else was wrong. He realised he himself was opposing God. Sometimes, we can give off the wrong impression of what it is to be a Christian. We can sometimes forget what we are living for and saved from. It is God’s message to all of us. As Saul meets Jesus He says, “But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:16-18).

God’s message is for all of us. Jesus Christ says, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 26:14b). Christ says He wants Paul to take the good news of the gospel to the ends of the Earth. He says, ‘I am going to send you so you can go and share this message so that blind eyes can be opened, so people can receive forgiveness of sins. So, Paul was there to tell them God’s message. This was Jesus’ message. This was Paul being an ambassador. This was Paul taking the only message he could have.

There is no other variation, no other gospel under which men and women, boys and girls can be saved. There is no other name under heaven in which there is salvation, “For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.” (Acts 26:26). This is transparent. Jesus Christ was put on a cross. It was witnessed. Jesus Christ died. It was witnessed. He really did die. They really did put His body in a tomb. And many saw the risen Jesus – the same Jesus with holes in His hands and feet, His scars. This is truth, an historical account. Paul says to King Agrippa, ‘You can see for yourself.’

Isn’t it wonderful that here, in the year 2022, we are able to pray for people and want to do Godly evangelism? We can invite people to examine the message for themselves. 2,000 years ago, there was no printing press. We have Bibles, the gospel, literature, tracts, all forms of opportunities. There is the internet: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TicTok. There are different opportunities, different means that God has given the Church so that His message can go to the ends of the Earth, not in a corner.

Paul is communicating God’s message that He wants to go out. In Acts 17:1 the Bereans were pouring over Scripture. We need to be more like the Bereans; they were asking questions, looking intently into scripture. We need to be like the Bereans. We need to show that there is absolute trustworthiness in this gospel message, by making sure it is God’s message, not ours. Look at the small details. Go back to basics. When we package the gospel message we can distort it, give a distorted view. We need to be careful that what we present is Jesus Christ and Christ crucified. When we present Him to the world so they can turn from darkness to light, you can never be disappointed with that. For all of us, all of us, have fallen short. All of us have sinned. Godly evangelism is patient. Godly evangelism is for everyone.

Godly evangelism persuades people to follow Jesus. Paul here is trying to persuade King Agrippa, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” (Acts 26:26-28).

Anyone can come to church. Anyone can wear the right clothes. Anyone can say the right things. This is not just information; it is the gospel that transforms. We commit to following Jesus and being obedient and, just like Paul, we want people not just to come to church but to follow Jesus. Imagine you package up the gospel message and the impression that someone gets is that being a Christian, being in heaven is about one really long church service. It isn’t though, is it! It’s about being with God, it’s about being with Jesus.

Paul is trying to persuade Agrippa. When King Agrippa says, ‘If you think you’re going to persuade me in such a short time,’ Paul responds, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.” (Acts 26:9). Paul says, ‘However long it takes, that you would be persuaded by God to follow Him.’

If you’re not somebody who is a Christian, I can’t convert you. I can give you all this information and I can say that God wants you to follow Him, but I can’t do it. You need God to persuade you. The Bible says if you seek God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, you’ll find Him. He will not turn you away.

For those of you who have got friends or family who are still in the dark, still outside the Kingdom, He wants you to try and persuade them. He wants to work in you and through you. When it is a struggle, you need to pray for them – short or long.

You may say, ‘I’d love to reach people with the gospel. I’d love to be patient. I’d love to share the message of the gospel as God intended. I’d love to persuade people, but I haven’t got any friends. Well, we need to get some friends, to be more friendly.

We could say, ‘Well, I’m not as patient as I’d like to be and sometimes, I can be sharp with my words, and it comes out all wrong. The Bible says we have to be careful about our tongue and pray for self-control.

You may say, ‘I know I should share the gospel but I actually I’m cold in my faith. When I come to church, and I come to weekly meetings I don’t feel that close to the Lord. Pray that God would make our calling and election sure and that we would grow to love him more.

Some of us will say, ‘I’d love to share the gospel but I’m just too busy. Remind yourself that God says, ‘Don’t store for yourself treasure on earth where moth and rust are going to destroy.’ (Matthew 19:21a). Store for yourselves treasure in heaven.

Some might say,’ I struggle to share the gospel because I’ve lost my confidence, you need to remember that Jesus Christ died for you, and He died for us whilst you were still a sinner.

Some will say, ‘Sometimes I feel as if I’m looking around at my friends and the world and I’m convince that actually they’ve got greater problems, that they need friends, or food, or money.’ Praying for common grace is really important, that our friends do have everything they need. We need to pray for common grace that they would be looked after, that they would have shelter, clothes and help. We need to pray for common grace.

But common grace and saving grace are two different things. My friends, we must try and persuade people to follow Jesus. God has promised an eternity for those who follow Him and those for those who don’t. Paul had met with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. He was convinced he needed to be patient with people and to take every opportunity as he ought.

When God says in His Word, one day He will make everything new, God’s people will live with Him and be with Him forever. He calls us now, as Christians, to go into all the world. You don’t have to go far, go into Roch. God calls people to be patient with them and to share God’s message with them, to try and persuade them. Keep praying, whether it’s short or long, that they would come and put their trust and faith in Jesus. Pray that, as verse 18 says, that they would come and find a place amongst those who are sanctified. Wouldn’t that be wonderful! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your neighbour, your work colleague, your granddaughter, your grandson, your children, parents, might come and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Despite whatever may happen to them in this life, that they had a place set apart for them and God will make everything new.

July 18th 2021: Paul Daniel

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Acts 5: 12 -42

We are sitting here, on a lovely sunny day in Roch, because two thousand years ago men and women stood and were beaten for the sake of the gospel. It is a privilege to come together, knowing that others before us took a beating so they could share the gospel, and then their sons and daughters could share the gospel, and their sons and daughters could share the gospel, and we have that beautiful privilege of meeting in freedom today.

This passage of scripture is quite challenging. I don’t know how you would respond if you were living at that time, and you were told not to go and tell people about Jesus, or you would be put into jail. What would you do?

The Book of Acts, Luke’s second volume, records for us what the early church was like. Luke’s first volume, his gospel, tells us all that Jesus did and taught. His second volume, Acts, tells us all that the risen Jesus did. So, we see here is Acts of the Apostles, or you could say, Acts of the Risen Jesus. We now look at everything Jesus did through His Spirit. He has ascended into heaven, and He sent His Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit lives and dwells in His people and they are helping His people live for Him. When you open the book of Acts you realise that there is a small group of people who follow the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the people who turned the world upside down. You and I stand on their shoulders.

Has God’s Spirit changed? Is the Holy Spirit who helped Peter on the day of Pentecost, when he preached to thousands, changed? Has God’s mission changed, to save a people for Himself? Has Jesus Christ changed? Has the cross changed? Is the cross not the same cross that Jesus Christ bled and died on and that is the only means and way of salvation? Has anything really changed? No! Nothing has changed. When Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, the Bible says He is waiting to return. We live in the last days, waiting for Jesus Christ to return. God’s Spirit has not changed and the cross stands still as the only means of salvation. God’s mission has not changed. He desires a people for Himself, even from Roch. The Commission has not changed. God has not changed. Until Jesus returns our mission hasn’t changed – we are called to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Take the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and share it with others who do not know him.

Pray drives evangelism. The apostles were doing many signs and wonders, and people were being healed. In chapter four, the apostles had already been arrested (4:29-30). They prayed and their prayer was answered. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If you believe this and have a God-Man who intercedes for you, you can pray to Him. The apostles prayed and were able to do extraordinary things. If you think, ‘Well, I couldn’t do that,’ you would be right. But God can! Christ healed a blind man, the deaf and the lame. God can do all those things because He is God. Evangelism is driven by prayer. God is the one who opens all the doors, who gives us opportunities, the one who answers our prayers. It is ludicrous, as Christians, we don’t pray to the God of heaven, the giver of all things. Pray for an opportunity to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Evangelism is about speaking life. The apostles were arrested because they were preaching and they were healing. They were doing all sorts of wonderful things. But the High Priest didn’t like it, the Sadducees didn’t like it. They arrested them (v.17). They put them in a public prison. But an angel of the Lord brought them out and said, ‘Get on with it! Go and stand in the temple court and speak to the people words of life.’ (v.19). The apostles got together (v.21). Did they have a big discussion whether they should obey the angel? No. An angel of the Lord comes and tells them what to do and they do it. They are obedient and they go. At the Ascension Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and a cloud hid Him from their sight as they were watching. Immediately two angels come down and said, ‘What are you doing looking at the sky? Why are you looking up there when you should be looking all around you and getting on with the task of evangelism?

Evangelism is about speaking life. It is so important that an angel of the Lord comes and breaks them out of prison and tells them, ‘Get on with it.’ My friends, this is not a message about purchasing some goods, what colour paint you should buy, what your homes or gardens should look like. It has got nothing to do with this. This is about the words of life. This is about life that every one of us needs, that we live in a beautiful but broken word, that sin has entered in and the wages of sin is death. We experience sin in our bodies and we get old and we creaky and things fail. Yet Jesus Christ came to deal with the problem of sin and death. The good news about the gospel is not just having your legs healed and about being able to see. There is much more than that. It is about having this new life where you have a relationship with God, where you will know Him now and forever, into eternity. We are called to go out and give the words of life. Jesus Christ is the only way. There is no other way in which men and women, boys and girls can be saved. We need to know what God is calling us to do, what is He calling us to be more urgent about in our speaking to others?

Evangelism is driven by prayer, evangelism is about speaking life, but evangelism is about what God is doing. The apostles go back into the temple courts (v.27) and once again they are brought back to the Council, questioned and told, ‘We strictly told you not to teach in this name, yet you are doing the things we told you not to do!’ And they reply, “We must obey God rather than men,” (v.29). Scripture calls us to obey the authorities. In one sense, they are obeying the authorities. They get arrested and they don’t oppose being arrested. They let themselves be arrested. There is one thing we cannot disobey and that is we must be obedient to the laws. But here they are in Acts chapter 5 saying they must obey God rather than men. Even though they are told not to speak in the name of Jesus, they say,’ No, we must obey God, because here are the words of life that people must hear, for there is no other name.’ That’s what Jesus did, isn’t it? He obeyed the will of His Father, not His own. There, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was sweating drops of blood, knowing what He would go to, yet He did it, “Not My will but Yours.”

You and I face many dilemmas today, we are faced with complicated situations. We live in a very privileged society, in a very privileged country where there really isn’t that much dilemma about obeying God. We have freedoms, and as we have these freedoms we are not challenged, are we? There is no-one really threatening to put us in prison here in Roch. Don’t get me wrong, there might be cultural variations, there might be regional variations, there might be other variations, maybe a part of a city where it might be more difficult. But it is not about what is happening there, it’s about what is happening here. What is God calling you and me to do?

We have this word of life, and we are living in not difficult days but complex days. With God’s help, we will all know is it that God is calling us to do.

Evangelism is driven by prayer, evangelism is about speaking life, evangelism is about what God is doing in and through us. God is the one who is saving. Finally, the way we live can really help (v 38-39). The apostles are persistent, they are not giving up, they are willing to be put into prison time and time again. If it is from God, God is not going to fail. If this is from God, don’t get in the way or you will be opposing God.

My friends, as you and I live out our lives, as we go about sharing the gospel, the way we live really can help people to hear the gospel. You and I might not have a single conversation with somebody this week, but the way you live really can influence the way people listen to the gospel.

Evangelism is driven by prayer, evangelism is about speaking life, evangelism is about what God is doing in and through us as we are obedient to Him, and the way we live can really help us in our evangelising.

March 8th 2020: Owen Jones

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Owen Jones - March 2020“I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:14-17

We reach the heart of the Epistle of Romans in chapter 1, in verses 14-17. All we see here is worked out; the Lord Jesus made statements concerning coming Himself in John’s gospel, the ‘I am’ statements, His claim to deity.

When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ we see He claims to be none other than God Himself. And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:14).

We are going to look at 3 ‘I ams’ of Paul:

I am bound (verse 14)
I am so eager (verse 15)
I am not ashamed (verse 16)

I am bound:Paul is under obligation. He saw his Greek culture and philosophies. He was bound to bring the gospel to them, to tell them. He has something more to give to them then they have now. He owes it to them because God has saved him, justified him by grace. In light of this vast blessing he owes it to the Greeks and barbarians to tell them. There is a sense in which we are bound to tell others. Do we feel under any obligation as Christians to tell others, to share your testimony? Let’s be like Paul. An obligation has been laid upon us by God.

I am eager: Paul is saying there is a readiness – go anywhere, do anything. There was a yearning, a burden for Paul. He was ready but God prevented him going at that time. Paul prepared to preach the gospel to people in Rome. We see that the people he wanted to go to were God’s people in Rome (Romans 1:7). Paul wanted to go to the difficult areas.  There is no greater privilege than telling the Lord’s people, in encouraging them. Paul was eager to come to them. Christians need to be preached to evangelically; we are not past the delight to be preached to.

I am not ashamed: This is  the very heart of being, it is based in the gospel. Paul is immeasurably and unspeakably proud of the gospel. There is an ironical statement here, a litotes (an ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary). The gospel is the only news that can bring the hopeless any hope at all. We see the power of God, dunamis. We get the English words dynamic and dynamite from this word. Dynamite has a dual role; it has a destructive power and a constructive power, to knock down and to build up. What needs to be destroyed in the lives of men? Every barrier raised against the gospel in your heart. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can do that, there is no other philosophy. Then, when everything is being blown down, something begins to grow. The foundation that is laid – the gospel. The Word of God, the gospel, is the power of salvation to whoever believes.

Paul saw the gospel for everyone who believes, wherever you come from, whatever age. This gospel alone will bring you to God. As for our works, achievements, trying to work for salvation, God says ‘You’re bankrupt!’ Look to Him. When Christ died upon the cross He died for the unjust. He is our righteousness. Trust Him and He will clothe you with His righteousness. Where do you stand? Do you stand in righteousness before God right now? It is a righteousness from first to last. My righteousness is God made. It is from heaven. Nothing you and I can do can make us righteousness. “Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God?” (Job 9:2) Be unspeakably proud of this gospel, bring it to men!

January 19th 2020: Thomas Kitchen

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Thomas Kitchen-Jan2020Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
    vindicated by the Spirit,
        seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
    believed on in the world,
        taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3:16

There are lots of mysteries in the world, for example the Bermuda Triangle; lots of aircraft have flown into this space only to disappear. The Antikythera was an analogue computer of 100 BC used to determine the position of the stars and planets, yet it is a mystery why it would be about another 1000 years before this technology was found and used again. Turning to this passage to day (1 Timothy 3:14-16) we are going to focus on verse 16. What is the mystery of godliness?

This is a verse short verse yet it is packed with such a lot of truth. The gospel, the good news, is explained here, and the importance of the church is explained.

“He was manifested in the flesh.” This is evidence that Jesus really is God. He didn’t start life as a man, He has always been around, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). It is wonderful to hear this gospel. This wonderful news doesn’t begin with one of us. This is someone who became flesh, this is Jesus, who created everything we see, know, hear, taste and feel.  Jesus comes into this world He created and lives among humans, the ones He created. So many have no idea He is the creator of their own soul and body. He is the one who is above all, God incarnate. We see glimpses of this across the Old Testament – with Adam and Eve. Moses, the prophets. Then Jesus comes, God in the flesh. He showed Himself to us completely. In Isaiah 40:12-15 we see humanity’s worthlessness against the King of Kings.

It is utterly astounding what Christ did for us in coming into the world. There is lots of build-up in the Old Testament, glimpses and clues, but now Jesus has come salvation is put into action, the plan worked out before time itself. Jesus – fully God, fully human.

“He was vindicated by the Spirit.” He was justified by the Spirit. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit – the third person of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This speaks of Jesus being blessed. God is pleased it is His Son carrying out this work of salvation for us. He is pleased with His Son, who is without sin, who is justified and perfect to carry out this task. It had to be Jesus, the Son of God. He was willing to do His Father’s will even though it was hard for Him. But He knew what it would accomplish – the saving of His people.

“Seen by angels.” This is an odd sentence at first glance. You would have thought it would have been seen by men and women next. But this phrase is important. It is talking about God the Father’s hand in guiding Jesus. Angels were there at His birth, ministered to Him in the wilderness, at the Garden of Gethsemane, when He rose from the dead and went back into heaven. Angels were with Him every step of the way.

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world,  taken up in glory (1 Timothy 3:16).

God is there in the entire process, working in us, through us and for us.

“Proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world.” The nations refer to Gentiles and Jews. The Gentiles are everyone other than Jews. Jews considered themselves to be very different and holier than others. Jesus Himself was Jewish and was brought up with Jewish customs. This matters because Jews considered themselves to be a chosen people which brought them above and beyond other nations. But Jesus wasn’t like that, He knew that no person in the nations was holy. We are all sinful, we are all a drop in the bucket (Isaiah 40:15). But one of the best things about the gospel is it is for all. There are certain blessings in the Old Testament for Jews, but the New Testament is opened up for all. The gospel is proclaimed to all, not just the Jews. It is an invite for all to come to Jesus Christ – and only Jesus Christ. The gospel is for all languages, all peoples, all nations and all tribes. That is how heaven is described.

God had made Jesus Christ salvation for all. This message for us is ‘Come to Jesus Christ.’ He is not just an example for us, He not only bore our sins and we start with a clean slate, He took all our sins and gave us His robe of righteousness. He takes our filthy rags and He gives us our royal robes. One day, if we are trusting in Him, we will be with Him, worshipping Him face to face. We will be perfect, with a new body, eternally with our God. What a day that will be!

“Taken up in glory.” This, of course, refers to Jesus going up into heaven. He rose from the dead, showed Himself to many people, to many witnesses, and ascended into heaven. Jesus was taken up into glory to be at the right hand of His Father where He prays for those who trust in Him. Jesus also had His trials, His difficulties. He can empathise with us. He is now praying to the Father for you. This is the glorious message which can never be destroyed. He gives you the faith you need. God does it all, He is the one who raises us from our deadness in sin, He is the one who opens our blind eyes. It is God who brings us back to life (Ephesians 2:1).

What is the mystery of godliness? Looking back to the original language, the Greek word for mystery is mystírio. This is something that is unknown unless God reveals it. What has been revealed to us? The person of the Lord Jesus Christ – who He is, what He has done on the cross. He has been revealed to us. It is unknowable unless it is revealed by God. We can know Jesus for ourselves because God has revealed this to us through His word, the Bible. Of course, there are mysteries we can’t fully understand – for example our Creator God being nailed to a cross, bleeding and dying. This is fact we can’t understand completely. We know this happened but we have to decide if we are going to submit to Him and worship Him forever.

He was raised to glory. One day He is coming again. Every knee will bow. The mystery of His glory will be revealed. Then it’s heaven or hell. Knowing about the gospel is all well and good but it has to go to our hearts. Knowledge without repentance is just a torch to light you to hell, “Knowledge without repentance will be but a torch to light men to hell” (Thomas Watson). If we know the gospel but do nothing about it, then all that knowledge is lighting our way to hell. There are many reasons why sinners go to hell, but there is only one reason sinners go to heaven – they have been washed by the blood of Jesus.

There are Christians who say they know everything they need to know, but we need to be reminded of the gospel every day. We need to hear God’s word, to pray and to preach to ourselves out loud, on our own, reminding ourselves what the He has done for us, what the gospel has done. Say to yourself, “He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world,  taken up in glory,” (1 Timothy 3:16). No matter what happens, that is our hope. Our identity is in Christ. If our identity is in marriage and our marriage breaks down, we lose our identity. If our identity is in our job and we lose our job, we have lost our identity. Preach to yourself and you will be encouraged and helped by the Spirit.

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

August 5th 2018: Ian Middlemist

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Ian Middlemist-July18-Hebrews 3:7-19

In Pilgrims Progress John Bunyan names people appropriate to their character. Christian tries to persuade Obstinate that their city is about to experience the wrath of God. The answer to this is the Bible. Obstinate thinks Christian is mentally unbalanced and returns home. Obstinate is hard-hearted, a grumbler. He has a lack of faith and will refuse to turn from his ways. In the Old Testament we read of a whole generation marked by their obstinacy (Hebrews 3:16).

God’s patience with man will one day come to an end. Often, in this life God gives to man what he wants. Today we have the greatest opportunity – to turn, if we will not harden our hearts.

This letter to the Hebrews addresses the problem of apostasy. Believers are reminded of Israel’s failure in the wilderness. We must go on believing day by day, serving, living in the gospel. We must come to the cross,  rely on the cross, day by day. Are we still believing in the gospel?

What is the gospel? To believe in the gospel you believe in Jehovah alone who sent His own Son into this world. He lived a perfect life. We have not lived a perfect life. We have fallen far short of the glory of God. But Jesus died once for all our sins – sins past, present and future – sins are forgiven. We are joined to Him by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. We would be lost without Him, but Jesus has personally joined Himself to us therefore we must look to Him.

We’ve gone wrong – messed up. But now, because we’re in Christ, we’re where we ought to be – living in Christ. When you’re in Christ, you’re the person you’re meant to be. We must live in Him, joined to Him in faith. That’s how we experience dynamic growth.

In Hebrews 3 we see the reflective working of Psalm 95. This psalm was regularly preached each Sabbath day in the early church. The Sabbath is the day of rest, a day of resting in the Lord, trusting in Him to do it all for you. This Psalm is a reference to those unhappy events of Exodus 17 and Numbers 20. The people forgot their previous deliverance and complained about present difficulties. God was deeply grieved by His people’s doubts and loyalties, so they did not experience the Promised Land. It is a warning. Do not harden your hearts and fail to look to Jesus Christ so that you can enter into rest. Don’t let troubles of this world divert you away from the gospel. Turn afresh to Him now before it’s too late.

There’s a great opportunity. There is a contrast with Moses and Jesus (Hebrews 3:1-6), followed by another contrast, this time between Moses and the Israelites (Hebrews 3:7). The Israelites were not faithful, they wanted things their own way. They had been set free from the bond of the Egyptians, yet this was not their greatest opportunity. They entered the Promised Land – still this was not their greatest opportunity. There is a rest that is coming that is better – rest in Jesus Christ. You can enter God’s rest today. Now!

Opportunities in this life are here just for the moment. Too often we miss out because we are waiting for them to fall into our life whilst they are tapping on our shoulder. Respond to the call to turn and trust in Jesus Christ. The Israelites thought life would have been better in Egypt, but they were living in a fantasy world, not reality. There is nothing better than Jesus Christ. Respond today. Turn to Him today. True rest will be yours.

How do we turn? Hear, believe, obey and share the Word of God.

Hear. Psalm 95 is quoted three times; ‘hear’ the Word. Don’t listen to this world, to sin. Tune into the sounds of heaven. Daily we need to hear the Bible. We need to be people of the Word. We need to spend time daily hearing heaven. Pay less attention to the sounds of this world.

Believe. The person who listens to this world will certainly fall away from the living God (Hebrews 3:12). Believe in what Christ has done.

Obey. Act upon the Word immediately, not tomorrow. We’re under grace, we must obey.

Share the Word. Daily, we need to follow the Lord, exhort one another. It’s a daily exercise. In the New Testament there is nothing of Sunday, only Christianity. Here is a picture of daily exhorting – through visits, meeting up, phone calls, texts, letters, offering practical help. This is to be done daily, urging one another not to be distracted by sin. We think people are OK because they are sitting in the pew. The world is powerful, be aware of the seriousness of sin. Daily encourage and exhort one another. Let’s learn from the Hebrews of old and not harden our hearts. We must turn to Jesus Christ. Let’s encourage one another to turn away from this world and focus on Jesus Christ.

February 25th 2018: Paul Daniel

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Paul Daniel-feb 18Philippians 3: 1-15

It is crucial to repeat messages. Even Paul said, right at the beginning of this chapter, “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me.” Have you ever been conned? We live in a society where we shop online. People put reviews online, sometimes complaining because they don’t want anyone else to get conned. When you look at this chapter, it’s all about Paul writing to the Philippians to safeguard them from being conned. It’s a joy to him to remind them.

C.S. Lewis said Jesus is either a liar, a  lunatic or Lord. If He really is who He says He is, you can’t afford to ignore Him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). When you consider what Jesus says, is He trying to con people into following Him? Paul is trying to safeguard the people into following Jesus, not being conned by others. Jesus fulfilled all righteousness. He died on a cross, not because He was guilty, but so others could be forgiven of their sin. He rose three days later and later appeared to others before ascending into heaven. Today, there is a God-Man in heaven who intercedes on our behalf. Paul wants to make sure people don’t get confused. The moment you think you can’t get conned is the moment the devil begins his work. It is necessary to repeat the gospel message.

Paul warns us to watch out for legalism. Listen to Paul. He was circumcised on the eighth day as God’s law required. He was chosen by God, part of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, full of tradition, wanting to do everything in every area of his life. He was a Pharisee, one of those who would take God’s word so seriously, they started making their own laws. He was righteous under the law. Paul wanted the people to listen to him. All his qualities and heritage (verse 7), he counted as loss, as rubbish. Here is the one person you think ought to listen to, yet he says all his achievements are worthless because he knows that those things can’t make you righteous before God. He knows if you try and work so hard to keep the law, you are under a curse. No-one is justified by works. Achieving all these things, as impressive as they are, doesn’t deal with sin – separation from God. The wonder of the gospel – none of us deserves anything but God’s judgement and curse – but Christ comes to redeem us, to buy us back by becoming a curse for us. When He hangs on the cross He deals with all that stands against us.

How do you measure yourself? We measure ourselves often by what people say. The real measure is what people can’t see or can’t hear – when no-one’s eyes are on us, what we think inside our minds. It’s all the hidden sins. God sees and hears everything. Do we measure ourselves by what we portray ourselves to be? God sees us as sinners who have broken His law and are under a curse. Yet He still loves us, sent His Son for us, and is still willing to keep us. All that we are and all that we’re not, and all that we’d like to hide, God still loves us. Let’s not con ourselves and be conned.

What does Paul want to do when he sees all his achievements as rubbish? He wants to count everything else as loss, he wants to know Christ, to know his Saviour. Nothing else compares, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” (Philippians 3:7). It’s a really hard thing to say that you count everything as loss. Knowing Jesus is worth more than my health, my house, bank balance, friends, my reputation, anything else. In the context of eternity, all that we strive for lasts a short time. Knowing Christ, being with Him for ever and ever, is our desire. Stop investing in yourself, don’t rest in earthly achievements. Pursue Christ and His kingdom. Seek Him. Be satisfied in Jesus and in Jesus alone. Don’t think you can find life and eternity and resurrection apart from in Jesus, in Christ. Don’t be conned, don’t miss out. Paul doesn’t want anyone to miss out (verses 11-15). He’s pressing on to what lies ahead. We want to see Jesus. We need to hear the gospel and share the gospel. We want people to come to Jesus and put their faith in Him.

February 11th 2018: Dave Evans

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Dave Evans -Feb 18Philippians 1:27 – 2:15

There is something special about the Christian life, the way we’re called to behave. This passage is broken into various exaltations:

1:27   ‘Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel.’                  2:4      ‘Let each of you look not only to his own interests.’
2:12    ‘Work out your own salvation.’
2:14    ‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing.’

In the very centre of the whole section the Apostle sets before us the very foundation of why we should behave in this way, ‘Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 2:5). Paul is pointing us to the Lord, our Saviour, and His behaviour. Paul reminds us that our Christian life isn’t something that’s simply outward. Our thoughts and actions work themselves out in our outward behaviour.

In verses 5-8 we read of our great example. We must always be clear that the gospel in not just simply Jesus as our example, it is clear the gospel begins with the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour of sinners, ‘She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ (Matthew 1:21). Until we have committed ourselves to Him for forgiveness He can never be an example to us. But having become Christians, knowing the forgiveness of sinners, Jesus then becomes the supreme example of behaviour. His mindset is to be our mindset, our foundational attitude, our whole approach to the Christian life.

Verses 6-11. What do we see of the mind of Christ in these verses? Our Lord’s humility, His amazing self-denial, is exhibited in these verses. Firstly, in verse 6, ‘He was in the form of God.’ We see the great, permanent, unchanging nature of Jesus. Paul is saying the Lord Jesus Christ has always been in the form of God, that He is divine in every way, the co-equality of our Saviour.

It’s only when we realise how high He is we realise the depth of His humility. Equality with God was His by right but He did not cling to it, He made Himself of no reputation. When the plan of salvation was made in eternity, He took the form of a servant and came in the likeness of man. It’s staggering! The Lord of glory should become a man, a God-Man, who walked among the people of this earth. He came to be born as a bond servant – born in a stable into a humble life. This is no other than the Lord of glory! The Lord Jesus Christ, though He became a man, did not cease to become God (verse 8). He set aside so much of what was His by right yet He was ever God.

What did He give up? In heaven Jesus had no guilt, no burden of sin, but in becoming the God-Man He took upon Himself the burden of guilt. He gave up the riches which were His. His outward earthly life reflected the depths to which He humbled Himself. He was dependent on friends and disciples to give Him a place to sleep. He remained truly divine, became a servant so that our salvation might be possible. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death on the cross.

It’s a staggering thought that the gospel takes the Lord of glory to the cross to die an agonising death in our place. The cross was horrific, a death reserved for slaves, rebels, the most  vile of criminals. It was the cruellest of deaths at that time. No Roman would talk about it, such was the horror. Our Saviour’s sufferings go deeper; He not only suffered physically but also He suffered God’s judgement. In those three hours of darkness God poured out His wrath on His Son. He bore all that, humbled Himself so that we might be forgiven. Have we come to realise for ourselves what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for lost sinners? Do you see He died for you sin so we could escape the awfulness of Hell and judgement?

The promise of Scripture is all who come to Him will be saved. This humility is our example, our standard. That’s a staggering thought for us. If Christ could humble Himself in such a way, how willing must we be as believers to humble ourselves in our Christian walk, that we exhibit the humility of Christ in our life? Loot to the Lord Jesus Christ, the great standard. May we be those that follow His example and glorify Him.

OCTOBER MISSION 2017

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In October we will be holding our first Mission Weekend – Friday 20th October  – Sunday 22nd October, yay! 🎉 

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On Friday 20th October we will be welcoming Annmarie Miles (http://www.annmariemiles.com/) , an Irish Author and Speaker to our Ladies’ Curry Evening . This is a great opportunity to learn about the Christian life through Annmarie’s testimony – ‘This is my story. This is my Song’

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You are warmly invited to our Penuel Men’s Breakfast. It is a great opportunity to come and learn more about the Christian faith and get to know the members of Penuel.Our Guest Speaker is Stuart Dainty, Farmer & Pastor of Libanus Evangelical church, Swansea. Cooked & Continental Breakfast provided. A warm welcome awaits!
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On Saturday afternoon we are so looking forward to families from the local community joining us for our Family Fun Afternoon  As well as a beautiful park to play in, there will be a bouncy castle, face painting by the talented Gabrielle Swales Face Painting Artist​, crafts,  balloons,🎈 a Bible story by guest speaker Andrew Christofides​ and an amazing football cage kindly loaned to us by Scripture Union Cymru​.🥅 Enjoy a sizzling BBQ and chat over a cup of tea. Come along and join in the fun! A warm welcome awaits! 🎊🎉

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September 24th 2017: John Funnell

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John Funnell - Sept 17Ruth 1:1-22

The world is changing, and there is all sorts of political unrest. It is much the same as it was during Ruth’s life. She lived during the period of Judges, when Israel had no king. As a people they were fighting to survive against foreign influences, foreign gods and foreign invasion.

You will see the word “Moab” a lot in the earlier verses of our reading. “Moab”, is essentially a word for “Foreign”. Foreign means. “Bad”, “Bad”, “Bad”, “Bad”! But not in a racist way – the entire book is about how Ruth, a foreigner, is welcomed into God’s family. ‘Foreign’ here means ‘away from God and His promises.’ You can almost replace the word ‘Moab’ with ‘away from God.’

So what we see here is a tale of a man called Elimelek who takes his family away from God (which is bad) and away from their identity at the same time in history when God’s people are battling for it. Elimelek takes his family away from his people because of a famine. Essentially, he goes away from God for profit, for worldly gains. And such a decision brings complications.

We are told in these verses that in God’s land there are lots of men, but away from God, the men die. In God’s land there are women getting married and having children, but away from God, women (Naomi, Ruth and Orpah) with no husbands or children. Elimelek went away from God, left His identity and as a result he suffered the consequences for it! Death!

Naomi becomes desperate so she thought best to go back home, back to God which is? …good! As she embarks on her journey we then read ten verses of goodbye. It is like a train station goodbye. Naomi in verse 8 tells her daughters to go, and blesses them in the name of God. The daughters wished to come with Naomi so in verse 11 she reiterates further why they should go from her.

“Stay with your people and find husbands.”

It would appear Naomi has learned her lesson on leaving her own kin to go to the foreign land. A lesson that cost her all the men in her life!

She obviously did not want her Moabite daughters in law to suffer the same.

V13 the Lord’s hand has turned against me – Naomi says before graciously sending them away in tears.

A touching moment……or is it? If we look at the context we see Naomi is in the mire! We know from Deuteronomy, Israel had provisions for their widows.

Naomi, would have also known the shame that was ahead of her as a returning Jew, who left her people at a time of great need (famine) to go to land of a sworn enemy, Moab for profit.

So, I propose, with the context in mind, that this loving “train station” goodbye is not what it seems. I believe Naomi was in fact preparing for her homecoming! She was concerned that returning with two foreign Moabite women would cause her even more shame? “Naomi’s back and she allowed her Jewish sons to marry Moabites!”

Could this be why Naomi was sending her daughters in law, Ruth and Orpah away? Not in love, but to ease her return back to God? This knowledge changes this dialogue into an argument!Naomi’s tone changes from v6 to a desire to feed her family, to (v12) palming them off on other men!

Naomi is not pleading with her daughters-in-law to come to the God who provides for His people. No! She is clearly trying to persuade both Ruth and Orpah of the many material benefits they will have if they stay in Moab (v9) a new home and a husband!

On Ruth’s insistence to stay, Naomi’s reply in verse 15 becomes a rather coarse and short reply. Naomi clearly does not want her daughters in law, the baggage of her past shameful choices to come back with her.

But as we read Ruth remains honourable and faithful and insists (v16) that She wants Naomi’s God to be her God too! V18 ends the discourse…..“Naomi stopped urging her”. What you have here is a car ride home with a loved one just after an argument.

So how does this argument between two women, thousands of years ago help us today? We are all like Naomi. We have all disobeyed God, gone to foreign lands and done terrible things. And going away from God is always…..bad!

When we realise what we have done is wrong, we then have a desire to repent, so say sorry to God and come back to Him. Often with big ideas of how to make things right by ourselves, we often try to hide our shame, our daughters of Moab, from Him.

But God sees all and knows all and on the cross as He hung naked between two criminals, He took the shame for you, that you deserve for you wrong doing and in His resurrection He beat it!  And if you give Jesus your shame, He can turn those things that once damned you into greater blessings. He can turn a foreign daughter of Moab, Ruth, into a grandmother of Christ Himself!

Do not think that you can’t come to God until you have sorted yourself out. Do not think you have to wait to be an adult before accepting Jesus into your life. Do not try to hide your Moabite daughters’ in-law from Him as you prayerfully return!

He will accept you today for how you are – warts and all! Give yourself over to Him completely and He can turn your problems into wonders of grace for His Glory!

This is the Gospel! The good news! That God saves sinners! Of which I am chief!

Ruth in faith came with Naomi – and that faith lead to God’s embrace. As you will see if you read the rest of the book, Ruth is welcomed in and marries Boaz and her identity changes.

She has a child called Obed, who was the Father of Jesse, the Father of David!

Ruth the Moabite – the Moabite! – becomes a direct ancestor of Jesus Christ our Lord as a result of her faith! Imagine what God could have done if Naomi let Orpah came too!

Do not be like Naomi is here and let your past and present sin hinder your relationship with God today. Do not wait until your life is good enough for God, before coming back to Him, because it will never be good enough without Him.

Bring your shame (your daughters of Moab) to the cross and see God Bless you.

Come to Jesus today and ‘instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance.’ (Isaiah 61:7)

Amen