Tag: miracle

February 19th 2023: Graham John

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Mark 8:1-10 The Feeding of the Four Thousand

This miracle may initially seem like a carbon copy of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 recorded in Mark chapter 6, but it is not. There are sufficient differences in the details to make it clear that Mark is talking about a different event. He is not repeating himself.

One important detail is the composition of the crowd; the people who benefitted from the first miracle were predominantly Jews, whereas those who benefitted from this second miracle were predominantly Gentiles. Mark makes this clear by mentioning a few geographical features. Jesus is not in the land of Israel. In chapter 7 we read that left the land of Israel and made His way to Tyre and Sidon. Here, He is still travelling in Gentile lands, lands considered unclean by Jews. In Matthew’s gospel we’re given a parallel account and strong hints that Jesus is still in foreign lands. When Matthew reports the reaction of the crowds to some of the miracles Jesus did there, he says the people glorified the God of Israel. That wouldn’t be said of Jews, they worship the God of Israel anyway. The Gentiles didn’t worship the God of Israel until they met the Lord Jesus. Jesus is still on this extended missionary tour, in Gentile lands north of Israel. Christ’s interest in the Gentiles must have encouraged the first readers of Mark’s gospel. We believe it was written and read first in Rome and the Roman countries.

Compassion and Concern:

The first thing we learn from this passage is the compassion and concern of the Lord Jesus to reach out to Gentiles, to reach out to the non-Jews. Jesus says here, ‘I have compassion on the crowds.’ (Mark 8:2a). He has compassion on the crowds, to reach out to unclean Gentiles, as the Church has stretched out and expanded around the world. Christ commanded the apostles in the Great Commission to make disciples of all the nations. This, of course, extends all the way down to include us – unclean Gentiles of the 21st century.

Jesus is willing to feed both Jews and Gentiles. It reminds us, as Paul puts it, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28).

As far as salvation goes, the old boundaries, including national boundaries, have been done away with. Both Jews and Gentiles, if they are to be saved, must depend totally on the Lord Jesus Christ, who has mercy on them. Whoever we are today, wherever we come from, whatever our background, we can come to the Lord Jesus today in our spiritual longing. We see Christ’s concern to reach out to sinners. The gospel call is ‘whosoever will.’

The Lord Jesus is still the same today. He has the solution to all our sins. All we need to do is trust in Him, cast ourselves upon Him, and depend totally on that atoning blood that was shed for us at the cross of Calvary.

 Maybe you stand outside of the Kingdom today, maybe you don’t belong to the people of God. You can’t offer Him any previous merits, yet you too may come to the Saviour with a sure and certain hope that He is willing to do for you what He has been doing for two millennia – taking, receiving and welcoming new friends from among the godless Gentiles. Here is the Saviour who goes into the unclean lands, touches them, delivers those oppressed by the devil, feeds the crowds with just a few morsels – just as He did a few chapters earlier, among the Jews, the 5,000.

The invitation of the gospel here has its root in the compassion of the Lord Jesus. His compassion is mentioned most, out of all His feelings. His compassion is mentioned frequently. It’s the foundation of our salvation. We see compassion and concern for the unclean Gentiles.

The contradictions in the faith of the disciples:

In this situation, the disciples feel perplexed. Had they forgotten how, just a few weeks earlier, they fed the 5,000? They were involved in that miracle. So how could the disciples, who had been remarkably used in a similar miracle, be so completely out of depth here? What’s the problem?

May be, we shouldn’t be too hard on these disciples. How many times have we forgotten the mercies of the Lord? How many times have you been like these disciples, contradicting yourself, irregular in your following the Lord Jesus? This is most understood by those who have had lapses in their faith. The Lord reveals Himself to us, answers our prayers, reveals His compassion and love. He is still transforming us. Once we promised Him unfailing allegiance. A month or few weeks pass and we are drawn into trying circumstances, finding ourselves questioning, ‘Is there a God in heaven?’ Or we find ourselves planning and arranging our own deliverance, as if the Lord wasn’t carrying us up, bearing us up. Or we find ourselves anxious about a situation, as if we had no friend in Jesus, as if there was no mercy seat, as if there was no throne of grace to go to. Subconsciously, may be we find ourselves asking, ‘How can God possibly help in this situation?’ In other words, we are just like the disciples.

We are just like the disciples, they are just like us. We’ve let down our God, we have failed to be watchful, we haven’t trusted in His daily care. We’ve allowed doubts to enter in. It’s not just us, we see this in those who crossed the Red Sea. In the desert they start to complain – after a miraculous deliverance. They cry out, as if the Lord hadn’t proved His presence. Even Moses starts to falter later on when they cry out for food. He feels the burden of leadership.

After we’ve already experienced God’s blessings, we soon forget. We fail to allow the beam of light from the past to enlighten the present. People of faith use the deliverance of the past to change the present. David uses past deliverances to fortify his present troubles, “And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” (1 Samuel 17:37). Faith uses the ammunition of the past in present day challenges. Do you and I rely on the Lord’s deliverances in the past? Or are we unused to trusting in the Lord in this practical, everyday way?

You shouldn’t shun the opportunities that God gives us to prove Him. Think of the widow who threw her last mite. That was an act of faith born of a lifetime of trusting God, seeing how He rewarded those who trusted in Him. The Lord, who noted her service and sacrifice, would reward such faith. She trusted Him in the past and she trusted Him for tomorrow.

As Christ calls us to take His gospel to the dark, pagan world outside, we might feel cry with the apostle Paul, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ We feel our inadequacy so often. Our resources are so diminished, yet Christ is in the habit of multiplying our insufficient means again and again and again, like the loaves and the fish. He uses weak, frail disciples to turn the world upside down.

A complementary way of viewing this incident:

Augustine, a great man of God, suggests another way of looking at the words of the disciples, which complements what we’ve already said. He says that the perplexity of the disciples arose not through any unbelief in Christ’s power, but from their doubts as to whether Christ was willing to exercise His power among these idol-worshipping Gentiles. This corresponds with stories in the book of Acts. Years after Christ had ascended, after the day of Pentecost, God had to almost force-march the church into evangelising among the Gentiles. No-one had a vision for the Gentiles. No-one. No-one prayed with a burden for the Gentiles. No-one. Despite the great commission, there are doubts as to whether God could work among the Gentiles, whether He wanted to!

The Saviour will feed these unclean, pagan nations with His words, with His gospel. He will draw them after Himself. He will lead them to belong to a greater community than they presently know – whether they were Jews or whether they were pagan Gentiles. He will lead them to belong to a kingdom that will endure, a kingdom that will never go into exile, a kingdom that will never be improved upon, never replaced – the Kingdom of those who have been washed by the precious blood of Jesus. Sinners were now being renewed by the transforming work of the Spirit of God, submitting to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus went to the outcasts, the rejects, the despised Canaanites, the Gentiles. We have to follow His example, to further His mission field, to build His Kingdom among the Gentiles. That is our roll. Christ’s compassion is mentioned for our benefit. We hesitate. We hesitate to walk in Christ’s ways. We should remember, when we doubt, our Saviour is full of compassion. He will remember our sins no more. He will supply all your truest needs. No-one has ever found the bottom of His well.

When we are weary, as we often are, we should remember our Lord’s compassion. He knows what it is like to live in a world like ours. He has been here. He has stepped in our shoes, into a world that weighs us down, a world that makes us feel frail and feel our tiredness. He never forgets. We forget often, His grace, his mercies, His compassion, His love. He never forgets His forgetful people. His compassions fail not, they are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness.  

January 1st 2023: John Scanlon

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2 kings 5:1-19

This was a great event in the life of Elisha, which is described in detail. The amount of detail shows that God wants us to pay particular attention.  “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4). Presumably, the intention of the Holy Spirit for us is to give particular attention to reading this passage of scripture. It tells us of how Naaman was healed from leprosy.

The man who was the subject of this miracle was commander-in-chief of the Syrian army, the commander of an army of a very powerful nation. Very often Middle Eastern kings were afraid of their generals because of the position of power they were in. But this is not how it was with Naaman; he was esteemed by his master. Their relationship was good. The writer tells us this man was honourable. But he was also a leper. He was a man of considerable success. By him, God had won great victories for Syria.

“Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honourable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valour, but a leper.” (2 Kings 5:1-2).

This is interesting. This man was a pagan, an idolater. He was wicked and self-centered. But all victories were given by God because God rules this world. He makes use of the wicked as well as the righteous. Naaman was a mighty man of valour. He was a very imposing man. He was brave, daring, fearless – yet he was a leper. He was becoming a pitiful, repulsive object.

Whenever we come across the word ‘leper’ we come across ‘Selah.’ We should stop and pause, consider what we are reading. Leprosy is chosen in God’s word as a symbol and representation of sin. Of all the diseases mentioned in the Old Testament, it was only with leprosy there had to be a ritual of a special cleansing. The leper was thrust out of the congregation of God’s people and had to stay outside the camp until he was healed. It was lonely the leper that, when he was clean, he needed to be certified by the priest that healing had taken place.

Three whole chapters of Leviticus are devoted to leprosy. Like many diseases, it can start as an insignificant event. Many forms of leprosy are inherited. Sin is also inherited. Leprosy begins in a person and has no pain; you can have it for months before it becomes obvious.

It is only in the later stages it becomes obvious what it is and it becomes contagious. Some leprosy spreads rapidly, even affecting the bones. Leprosy is a living death, and in all cases, it leads to banishment. It affects every part of the person. Like sin, it spreads rapidly and banishes someone from God. It is the curing of such a leper we come to today, and we also learn something of the cleansing of sin.

The contributor to the miracle.

Naaman was quite unable to cure himself of this burden. There was no cure for this wasting disease, but God’s providence is already at work. One day, as head of the army, Naaman would have travelled into Israel. A little girl was snatched from her parents – all in the providence of God. Look at the contrast between Naaman and the little girl. Naaman was a Gentile, she was Jewish. Naaman was a great man, second only to the king. The little girl was a maid in his household. We don’t even know her name. After this passage, she is not mentioned again. Naaman was a commander, the girl was the lowest of all the slaves of the nation. Naaman was a leper. She knows the cure.

God has a reason for every earth-shattering event. We don’t see it at the time. We may see it sometime later. This little girl wasn’t resentful of her treatment. There was no bitterness in her heart. She shows concern for her master. She made the most of her opportunities. She speaks of how leprosy could be healed. God is in charge and decreed the leper would be cured. The maid’s words were received and acted on. God works in the hearer.

Mistaken views about a miracle that is to come to pass.

When it comes to the Word of God, people think they know better. Naaman is now mis-directed and sent to the wrong place – the King of Israel, “Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” (2 Kings 5:5). People are troubled by their sins and go to the wrong place. When Naaman went off to his cure, he took with him immense riches, an enormous sum of money, “So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.” (2 Kings 5:5b). He thought he could contribute to his own healing. He took more wealth than a whole community would need.

The King of Israel’s response to the letter was poor; he didn’t give it to God. He didn’t even remember there was a prophet in Israel. That little servant knew better than the King.  Elisha sends a message to the King. He gives clear instructions what needs to be done.

Naaman goes to the prophet, with all his might, “Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.” (2 Kings 5:9). It is an impressive sight, but he is still a leper. Verse 10 shows what is required for this miracle to take place, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” (2 Kings 5:10b). Naaman felt he was a great man who deserved special treatment. But he needed cleansing in the same way as everyone. There is only one door. Elisha didn’t even come to the door. He didn’t need to see the man’s self-importance. As far as Elisha is concerned, there’s just a leper, not a commander. He would do nothing to show deference to this man’s rank.

The Word of God is to show he is nothing in the eyes of God but a sinner. There is no help until he recognises it. Naaman needs to come down from his high horse and plunge himself where God’s spokesman tells him to plunge. He has nothing to pay, nothing to contribute. All he needs to do is obey and trust in the power of God.  No man can give the pardon we cry out for. The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin.

The prophet treated this man as if he were a nobody. If men, like the commander of the army of Syria, get treated as nobodies, they get cross. Naaman did! His pride was wounded, so he turned away angrily. He had just been told to humble himself. Whenever we tell that to unsaved people and point out that there is nothing they can do for themselves, we get the answer we hear from Naaman, “Behold, I thought.” That was his problem. Every sinner has his own idea of how he should be cleansed. This man, in his arrogance, thought he knew better. Naaman wanted things done on his own terms. He was concerned for his own honour. Humbling himself was not part of his plan.

Naaman had received what no king had been able to give him – full directions in how to be cleansed. But he had his own ideas for healing. No-one could touch him until a priest declared him clean. He needed to know the power of healing comes from God, not man.

Naaman thought of the rivers of his homeland. Eventually, Naaman tries what the prophet says and went into the River Jordan in obedience. Six times he dipped himself in the river and nothing happened. But on the seventh time there is a public testimony that God’s word is true. His body was cured, “So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.“ (2 Kings 5:14). Now Naaman seeks Elisha out and calls himself Elisha’s servant. He is transformed.

When we read this story, we see our own experience. The only way to be healed is to come to God in humble obedience, in humble repentance, and be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. To be cleansed from our spiritual leprosy we need to humble ourselves. The only way is God’s way. Let us walk in that way.

August 22nd 2021: Peter Gleave

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Luke 9:10-17 ‘You Give them something to eat.’

This miracle is so important, so important that it is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. Therefore, you and I really need to take note what Jesus wants us to learn from it. The disciples arrived back from their mission trip and come to Jesus to tell Him all about what they have been doing. It seems to have gone well. They preached the gospel, they healed the sick and they cast out demons. They’ve done the very thing that Jesus wanted them to do. Even Herod, the King, was stirred into wondering who this Jesus was.

When you and I go on mission, there’s a mission taking place this week here in this church, we are used by the Lord. Very often we’re on the mountaintop. We are really excited about what God has been doing and allowing us to be a part of. The disciples came back and reported to Jesus, very excited.

 Such times are often followed by tiredness. Many pastors taken Monday off because, having preached on Sunday, they get excited in the pulpit. After, they get tired physically, emotionally and spiritually and take Mondays off to rest. Jesus knew this and says, ‘We’re going to rest and recuperate. We’re going to get into a boat and we’re going to go to across the lake, to the north-eastern corner and we’re going to have a time of rest at Bethsaida. There’s a nice, quiet spot and we’ll have some time together.’

It is part of our mission, as we go out and do what Jesus wants us to do – sharing the gospel and meeting the needs of the people – there are times when you and I need to rest, relax and recuperate. As part of that resting, it is absolutely vital that we spend time with Jesus alone, that we spend time talking to Him in prayer, that we spend time reading His Word and allowing Him to speak to us. The psalmist reminds us, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ There are times when we need to be off mission and we need to be resting, relaxing and recuperating in God’s presence, prayer and studying His Word. To give out, it is necessary to take in.

Sadly, we can get stuck in either one of two extremes: some don’t rest from mission and they risk burning out, some do nothing but rest from mission and risk missing out. Neither extreme is right, neither extreme is good for us. We need to get the balance right and ask ourselves, ‘Have I got the balance right between mission, and resting and recuperating, spending time with Jesus?’

Jesus and His disciples landed. They got to the shore and pulled up. The disciples were getting out of the boat and already there was a crowd of people there. The crowd had heard about Jesus. They were running from village to village around the northern part of the Sea of Galilee. By the time Jesus and the disciples got there, there was a huge crowd waiting for Jesus, wanting to know more about what He was talking about. They got people who were ill and wanted Him to heal them. They had heard all about what he had been doing, they wanted to know more about Him. The disciples too had been out, and no doubt the word had spread even further. People were, no doubt, excited about what the disciples had said and so they wanted to know more about this Jesus.

I wonder, what would you do with such a great opportunity? You’ve gone off to rest and relax and suddenly there’s a great crowd there. What would you do? Would you perhaps send them away? Would you, maybe, wait for another day?

In verse 11 we find that Jesus welcomed them. He spoke the gospel to them. He told them how He could make a difference in their life. He also healed those who needed healing. Jesus did exactly what he had sent His disciples out to do: twofold ministry – to share the gospel and to meet people’s needs.

We are called to do exactly the same. Imagine, if you sat in your garden, resting and relaxing, and 890 people came to you needing to hear about Jesus. They bring with them all their physical problems, their cancers, their difficulties, their debt, their incurable diseases, their depression, their anxieties, their addictions, their guilt of past sins.

If you live in Roch, that’s pretty much the reality of the situation you’re in. Because, on your doorstep there are 890 people in Roch in need of hearing about Jesus. I’m pretty sure that every one of those 890 people will, at some time, have a physical need that they need help with. Do you send them away or do what Jesus did and meet their needs?

Over the last eighteen months, Covid has caused a lot of people to ask questions about what life is all about. Many are affected by it physically and spiritually. People don’t want the isolation anymore. Young people are depressed because they can’t go out and live life as they want to. Families are suffering economically because the loss of work and furlough and all sorts of different things. Of course, 2,000 years ago there was no NHS on the shores of Galilee. There were great physical needs in that crowd, alongside the spiritual needs that they come to Jesus with. I want to suggest to you that very often, if we can meet the physical need of somebody, we get the opportunity to share the gospel and meet their spiritual needs as well.

So, do you continue to sit chilling in the garden, or do you prepare to do something about the 890 people on your doorstep? How do we get the balance right between not resting from mission and risking burnout, and doing nothing but rest from mission and risking missing out? Ask yourselves, when was the last time you met the physical needs of someone in Roch? When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone in Roch? If it’s been a while, maybe you’re at one extreme, spending too much time resting and relaxing. When was the last time you went along and spent time with Jesus alone? When was the last time you purposely spent time with Him reading the scriptures and talking with Him? If it’s such a while since that happened, then maybe you’re doing too much of mission and not spending enough time with Jesus.

I know we have all got family responsibilities, we’ve got work, we’ve got leisure time to include, but Jesus sent out these disciples with a great urgency. There is an important imperative for you and I to include these things in our daily lives. Jesus has commissioned us to go out urgently with the gospel, to meet people’s needs and to share the truth about Him. It has got to take priority in our daily lives.

I’m going to suggest to you the answer to the balance problem is that every day we should be spending time with Jesus alone, and every day we should be spending time meeting the needs of people in our villages and in our homes and around us, sharing the gospel with them and meeting their physical needs. If we do that, we’re probably going to get the balance right.

Jesus ministered for a while out there. The people came with all their diseases, and it was there He met their needs. In the late afternoon the disciples wanted to send the crowd away; they were in a remote place with no food. At first, it might seem reasonable. But did they really think Jesus didn’t already know they were in a remote place, or not know the people’s needs? Did they not realise that Jesus knew the vast crowd was likely to get hungry? Had they forgotten that it was Jesus who had given them authority and the power to go out in the first place, to share the gospel and to heal people? If they thought this through, they must have realised that Jesus, the Son of God, who they had witnessed do other miracles, would in fact, be able to meet the needs of this great crowd.

Maybe you think in a similar way of the 890 people on your doorstep? Maybe your response is similar to the disciples? Maybe it’s a practical, thoughtful response – we can’t meet the needs of 890 people when we have only got a few members? We’ll pray that the Lord sends along some more workers and then we’ll go and do it? Or maybe you’re tired and weary and think, ‘Well, they’ll still be there next week, or next year.’

Whatever the disciple thought, they probably weren’t expecting the reply that Jesus gave them. This is what He said, “You give them something to eat.” In the Bible, the Greek emphasis is on the word ‘You.’ Having this practical mindset, the disciples started to respond to Jesus’ command. They found a boy with five loaves and two fish and told Jesus. They said, ‘We could go and buy some food.’ Philip calculated that if they were going to go and buy food, it would have taken eight months wages, and all they would have got was a bite, which was hardly worth having.

They had completely forgotten the mission they had been on and reported back to Jesus earlier that day. Let’s not be too hard on them. The disciples had had seen Jesus heal individual people but never witnessed a miracle they were about to see. Let’s not forget how like them we are. Sometimes we forget the blessings we’ve experienced and where they come from. We forget that God has blessed us in the past in our churches. We forget that 199 years ago this church was planted in a village where there was no church. After nearly two hundred years, the work has been ongoing.

We forget God has been meeting our needs week in, week out, throughout our lives, both as individuals and as a church. Consequently, we turn to ourselves for answers. Friends, Jesus knows the scale of the problems. He knows the issues that you’re facing. He knows all the issues for you personally and you as a church. Jesus has the power and authority to give you what you need to feed 890 people in Roch. You, yes you, give them something to eat. When we don’t look to Jesus and start to look inwardly, we become inadequate and ineffective. We need to remind ourselves that when we work in Jesus’ authority, miracles can happen. God’s kingdom can be built here in Roch.

This miracle has its roots in the Old Testament – when God rescued His people from Egypt, out of captivity, and took them to the wilderness. There, where there was no food and no water, He fed them daily for a long time. Never once did He let them down.

God’s chosen people had their needs met every day. Now Jesus was going to do exactly the same for this for 5000+. He was also going to meet the two-fold need of the disciples: spiritually, He was going to remind the disciples of who He was and physically He was going to feed the twelve of them too, as well as all the thousands of people who were there. God is a God of provision. On this day, at a remote place, Jesus was going to identify Himself as God. He was going to remind those of a Jewish ancestry to look back and see how God had provided for His people in the desert and how He, too, today, was going to do the same thing. Jesus was going to remind them that He is one with God. He was going to provide their daily food, right there, right then.

What God has done before, God can do again. What God has done before in Roch, He can do again. What God has done before in your life, in your church, God can do again. It doesn’t rely on you, it relies on your willingness to give what you have. You may feel as if you’ve only five loaves and two fish, and nothing else to give. But what Jesus wants is for you to give your all. He wants you to give yourself. He wants you to commit your time, your talent and your treasure to Him. He wants you to give all to Him.

The Lord wants you to give what you have, to yield what you have. We may feel that we don’t have the resources to meet 890 people’s needs. The truth is, we don’t. But God does. He simply wants you to surrender all you have to Him, which, of course, He gave you in the first place. Your time, your talent, your treasure is only what God gave you in the first place, and He wants to take it and to use it.

When the disciples had surrendered to Jesus all that they have, in the Master’s hands it became something much more. Picture the scene: He organised the people into groups of 50, sitting on fertile land. In front of all, He takes what was there, five loaves and two fish, and looks up to heaven, give thanks and breaks the bread. In looking up and giving thanks to God, Jesus acknowledges the source of power, God Himself. When we look up, when we give thanks, when we acknowledge the source of power and authority by which we do the work of God, we don’t look inwardly. Look up.

Jesus kept breaking the bread and the fish, and He kept on giving it out. He distributed it to the disciples. They gathered round and they went on to give them something to eat. You give them something to eat. He kept on giving and He kept on giving. From these five loaves and two fish He just kept on multiplying.

Jesus could have done this entirely on His own, but He chose to involve the disciples in this miracle. In exactly the same way, in His kindness, He chooses to involve us in mission. Why? Simply so that we can experience the joy of service for the King of Kings, so that we can learn the lesson that the disciples did about trusting in the Almighty, and about the power of Jesus in meeting the needs of the people.

There is enough in the gospel for every one of the 890 people who live in Roch village. Jesus died for every single one of them. His blood is sufficient to cleanse and to save them all. God has already shown that He is prepared to give His power and His authority to you, for you to be able to give them something to eat. What He wants is for you to surrender all.

Whatever this church needs to reach 890 people, God will provide – workers, a pastor, finance, skills, talents, abilities, youth work, even an extension to the building. God already knows what the needs are, He knows what the issues are. He has the means to more than meet them. What He wants is for you, yes you, to give them something to eat. He doesn’t want our excuses, He doesn’t want what we don’t have, He doesn’t want us to be burned out, He doesn’t want us to be missing out. He wants what you do have. No matter how small in your eyes, He wants it willingly, completely, unreservedly given to Him.

There’s an opportunity this week. There’s a mission taking place in your church, doing the very thing we’ve talked about. Support it. Pray for it. Get involved. Do whatever you have to do to reach those children in this community, starting tomorrow. Apart from that, you’ve your own mission, spending time everyday looking for opportunities to meet someone’s physical need and their spiritual need, but equally spending time with God alone in order that you can do that.

This is your 200th year of service of your church in this village. I want to set you a challenge. Just think about this for a moment. Think of your 200th anniversary next year. Just imagine if every one of you brought one other person to Christ as their Saviour. The church would be doubled in size by this time next year. There’s a challenge for you – to go and evangelise and try and point people to Jesus; every man, woman and child in this community.

Imagine 890 people on your doorstep, grouped together in the street. Imagine going to them with the bread of life, knocking on their door to show them and to tell them about your love for them and about the love of the Saviour for them, how you want to meet their physical needs, and then getting the opportunity to meet their spiritual needs and tell them why you are doing it – because you love them because the Saviour loves them. He wants them to have life in all its fullness and that He is more than able to meet all their needs in this life and the next. Imagine, it happens so often that you’re bringing people to know Jesus into this church on a regular basis, to the extent that you have to start a building programme to make the church even bigger. It’s entirely possible.

Make sure you balance your time right, spending time with Him. Make sure you spend your time right by speaking to people about the gospel, meeting their physical needs. Don’t send them away. Keep going. Give all that you have. You, yes you, give them something to eat.

Sunday Afternoon August 1st 2021: 199th Anniversary Service: John Funnell

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Mark 8:22-26 Jesus heals a blind man at Bethsaida

Jesus came to Bethsaida, a small fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, an area where Jesus worked a number of miracles and was well-known. It was no surprise that people came to see Jesus and see this blind man. Notice what Jesus does in verse 23. He gets shown this blind man to heal and takes him out of the village. Jesus is God, author of all creation. He can heal this man there and then, but He didn’t want to cause a spectacle. This man is blind, vulnerable and not for entertainment. Jesus deals with him quietly, lovingly.

How does He heal him? He does it with touch. The word ‘hands’ is used three times. Jesus nurtures and guides him through this ordeal. Jesus uses His saliva (v23) to assist the man. Why spit? To show His love. If you burn your finger in the kitchen or hit it with a hammer, what is the first thing you do? Stick it in your mouth. If your son or daughter is dressed in new school uniform and has chocolate on their cheeks, what do you wipe it off with? Spit? You only use your spit on yourself and your children you love. If I saw toothpaste on your cheek this morning and went to wipe it off, you would think it a bit odd, but you wouldn’t think twice if I did it to one of my children. What we have here is a clear sign of Jesus’ deep-seated love for sinners like you and me –  a love that brought Him down from heaven to this fallen and broken earth, so he could so wonderfully and intimately clean us up. He touched this blind stranger as if he was His own son. Beautiful, isn’t it.

This afternoon, has called you away from your busy lives. He has called you out of the village, away from consumers, away from your worldly distractions and desires. He’s pulled you from your sofa and television to come here, by His grace, to His church. By His Spirit He enters into your heart. He comes to you as if you are the only person in the universe and says, “My child, I love you, and on the cross I gave my all to wash away your sins, so you can see me.”

Jesus takes this man away from the crowd and gives him His undivided attention. He heals him. What does he see? People like trees walking around. Is there any symbolism of walking trees? No. The blind man simply answers Jesus’ question as honestly as possible. Possibly, he saw his friends in the distance. Jesus then restored his sight fully.

The same, unchanging God is asking us to do the same; in the chaos of our busy lives, He is asking us, ‘What do you see when you come to Penuel Church?’ Be honest when you come to answer this question. I’ll tell you what I see. I don’t see trees here at Penuel. I see real people who love Jesus. United, rational, sensible people. People once blind to God but who now see clearly. When I come here, I meet with sincerity and honesty. You are all tangible proof of godly worship.

If you are struggling with your faith, your vision is blurred, look around. You might be small, but you are alive.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” CS Lewis quote.

Friends, you are so blessed to be in this church. Look to Jesus. Be honest with Him. Be clear and real with Jesus and He will guide you.

July 15th 2018: Gerald Tait

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Gerald Tait July 18‘I believe in miracles.’

The first miracle Jesus performed was at the wedding in Cana, turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). This took place about the third day of Jesus’ ministry. He had walked from Jordan to Galilee. Joseph, his earthly father, had passed away (there is no mention of him after Jesus was 12 years old). Mary might have taken on his official role.

Jesus, his mother and disciples were attending a friendly family wedding in the little village of Cana. We don’t know whose it was. Mary had some authority, but realised Jesus was special. When the wine ran out she told Jesus. He replied, “Woman.” This gives her the highest possible dignity, showing her maturity.

We see the honesty and obedience of the servants as they obeyed Jesus’ instructions, filling the six stone jars with water and drawing some out for the master of the feast. When did the miracle happen of turning water into wine? When Jesus spoke? As the servants drew out the water? There’s an economy with God’s power; when the Israelites were given manna in the dessert they collected it daily, just enough was provided for each day.

When miracles happen, three things always happen:

  • There is an elevation of suffering. Here, we see the elevation of disgrace of not being able to provide common curtesy of providing for the guests at the wedding.
  • There is a prophetic emblem. Here, the wine is the emblem of our communion.
  • There is prophecy. Who better to produce the miracle than Jesus, who grew as a tender plant, a vine?

In this miracle we see the end of Jesus’ servitude to his mother. Until then, the divine God had been subservient to His mother. Now, being baptised by John and honoured by His God, His ministry has started.

Of course, we have the miracle of Calvary. In Ephesians 1 we read of the power that God exerted in bringing Jesus to life, God breaking into a sweat to raise His Son from the dead. An even greater miracle is of you and I. We are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. You and I can look back over 2,000 years of this happening. Millions have been converted. It’s an ongoing miracle. One day you and I will drink the communion wine with Jesus in heaven, standing in a brand new robe of righteousness.