To late ( Hebrews 4 v 7 )

I am just coming to the end of my study on ,'Heaven and Hell, using the  Bruce Milne's book from the ,'the Bible speaks today series,'It is an excellent book and worth while to have, and study ,I found chapter 19 ,very instructive,it deals with ,the final judgement,the scripture reference is Revelation 20 v 1- 15.As you would imagine it is a very solemn subject, it is sad and indeed serious that many ministers ignore this vital subject,indicating they don't agree with it, or else they don't have the courage of their convictions to preach it. I will possible write again on this subject,in this chapter we read that the dead , great and small ,are standing before the throne,this is none other than the judgement seat of Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5 v 10). The only hope you and I will have on that day to escape the awful judgement that will be pronounced ,is that while living we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour,if we have not done this ,then  it will be to late,our doom will be sealed.

Don't give up. ( Luke 18 v 1- 8 )

Then Jesus told His disciples to show them that they should always pray and not give up, then he goes on to to teach them a parable, to illustrate the importance of this truth,read about in Luke 18 v 1 .It is R. C.Sproul who  quotes a speech by Winston Churchill made during the 2nd world war when England were facing the threat of invasion by Germany. He said this,''Never give in,never give in , never, never, never, never,- in nothing, great or small, large or petty- never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense''.When it comes to prayer we can come to the place  of giving in ,for different reasons, so Jesus is teaching us ,exhorting us not to give up. Whatever difficulties ,obstacles,disappointments ,we may be facing,He is telling do not give up, pray to the last moment in your life and to the last breath in your body.

Our weak efforts. ( Matthew 10 v 42 )

J.B. Phillips draws out the following in relation to our service for God,'Let nothing move you in the as you busy yourselves  as you busy yourselves in the Lords work. Be sure that nothing you do for Him is ever lost or wasted'Bruce Milne goes unto to say,'Every kingdom work, whether publicly performed or privately endeavoured, partakes of the kingdom's imperishable character. every honest intention, every stumbling word of witness, every resistance of temptation, every motion of repentance,every gesture of concern, every routine engagement, every motion of worship, every struggle towards obedience, every mumbled prayer, every thing, literally, which flows out out of our faith relationship with the ever Living One,will find its place in the ever-living heavenly order which will dawn at his coming. It is, and will be, so utterly worthwhile- because he rose.'

We try ( 2 Timothy 4 v 1 - 5 )

Again let us consider  further 2 Corinthians 5 v 11,'Since ,then  we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men'. We try, we may not succeed, but we must try, we may not be very gifted but we must try,we may be laughed at, but we must try.Yes we must try ,

Accountable ( Ezekiel 2 v 7 )

Following on from yesterdays message  concerning 2  Corinthians 5 v 11 ) 'Since we know what it is to fear the Lord we  try to persuade men'. I was struck by those words ,' we try to persuade men', looking back on my Christian  ministry, and my personal witnessing to people,all I can say I have tried like the great apostle to persuade men ,women and children,of their need of Jesus.Early on in my Christian life I was struck with the words God spoke to Ezekiel  in chap 2 v 7, '' You must speak my words to them,whether they listen or fail to listen.''I am not accountable for results I am only accountable as to my faithfulness''.Yes I will keep on trying.

Faithfulness ( Ezekiel 3 v 16 ff )

In 2 Corinthians 5 v 11 we read,' Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men' R.V.G. Tasker writing on this verse explains it in the following way,'Paul's' primary work is to persuade man of the truth of the gospel ( see Acts 18 v 4 ,and 28 v 23 ); and had he not continually 'walked in the fear of the Lord' ( see Acts 9 v 31 ) , he might have yielded to the temptation to curry favour with his hearers by whittling down his message to suit their tastes'. There is also that temptation to play to the gallery,but we cannot do that,we must be faithful to our calling to speak  Gods word,taht means the whole of Gods word.I do not get speaking in the church  I attend because of what I preach,I preach about sin,of heaven and hell, and the importance of people making a decision to trust Christ, for I know that one day I will be accountable as to my faithfulness in my preaching.

We all want to go to heaven. ( Acts 16 v 30 - 31 )

Johnny Cash was a famous and popular singer,he had a Christian background,him and his wife  used to sing with Billy Graham.I watched his last interview before he died, and the interviewer asked him about his views on heaven and hell.His answer was simple and uncomplicated,he replied, ''We all want to go to heaven''. Let me ask you a question, do you want to go to heaven?,you don't want to go to hell?. Nobody wants to go to hell,  I witnessed to a couple recently,when I mentioned hell they acted if it didn't matter.Sad because it does matter, do you want assurance that you are going to heaven?. well the answer is very simple,first you cannot enter heaven without you sins being forgiven,secondly the only way our sins are forgiven is by trusting Jesus,who died that we might be forgiven,and go at last to heaven.So ask Him to forgive your sins,accept him  as your Saviour and you will go to heaven.

Decision time ( Acts 16 v 31 )

My friend and I were talking about evangelism,he recounted how years ago he got tired of preachers making appeals for people to trust Christ.Then he told he had a dream, it was the only one like it, he ever had,in the dream hr was walking along the sea shore,when he noticed an angel walking beside him.He spoke to the angel as to why he was there, the angel said I want you to catch fish.As they came to certain fishermen casting in their nets. The angel told him to pick up a net and cast it into the sea ,this he did, and did it perfectly,he turned to the angel thinking he would be congratulated,instead the angel said, 'yes you did it well, but why did you not pull in your catch',and with that he awoke.It is not wrong to challenge people to come forth and trust Christ as Saviour, otherwise they may not come.

Prickly. ( James 4 v 1 - 12 )

A friend of mine bought a rose bush ,called fellowship,and she said it was the most prickly rose she has ever had. One of the precious things about being a Christian should be fellowship a bond of like minded people ,who share in a common faith. Share their love for one another,care for one another,pray for one another,stand together in the struggles of the Christian life.That is way it should   be,in the words of an old hymn,' We share our mutual woes,our mutual burdens bear,and often for each other flows ,the sympathising tear,' yes that is way it is meant to be. But sad to say sometimes what we get is a prickly rose  called fellowship,where love is absent our presence resented. The apostle wrote and thanked the believers at Philippi for their  support, and that it was good of them to share in his troubles ( Philippians 4 v  14),that's fellowship, may none of us be like that rose bush my friend bought that had a name called Fellowship ,but was like a prickly hedgehog.

Two Gods ( Exodus 20 v 3 )

Coming back to my conversation with the JWs, it appears in order to undermine the word of Gods teaching on the deity of Christ,they say Christ was a God,not almighty God.So in actual fact they are saying that there is more than one God.Jesus is a God but He is not almighty God. The fact is the Jews did not believe in gods,although so many times they turned to the gods of the nations around them, and were judged for it.In Isaiah 44 v 6 /8 we read these very important words and these words cut across what the Mormons believe and what the JWs believe.,'This is what the Lord says Israel's King and Redeemer the Lord Almighty. I am the first and I  am the last, apart from Me there is no God./..........You are my witnesses. Is there any God beside me? No, there is no other Rock,I know not one'. As a Christian I believe in one God,Father,Son and Holy Ghost.the blessed Trinity.I again remind you of what Luther said,that reason is the enemy of faith.

Two things.. ( John 3 v 16 )

Again while on holiday I had an opportunity to speak to four lovely girls from Ulster,after talking about were in Ulster they came from,I mentioned the reason I live in England,to be a minister.This opened a way for me to speak a short word of witness.Here is what I said,''We need Christ for life and for eternity''.I then said to them ,'remember that ,they said they would.'.It was Martin Luther who mentioned two things ,''Every man must do two things alone,he must do his own believing ,and his own dying''.

Is it in the Bible?. ( Matthew 22 v 29 )

Recently on holiday in Malta with my wife and brother-in-law,and we passed a group of people wearing a little tag with the words on it ,'Love never fails''.Out of curiosity I asked one of them if they were a church,he replied they were, Jehovah witnesses .We moved on our walk and then sat down for a rest and to enjoy the sea view,I noticed a couple not for from us sitting having a bit lunch, I could tell they were JW's so I made my way to them prayerfully. I opened up a conversation with them ,they were a nice couple, they had their little boy with them,they come from Macedonia,and were  attending a conference,inviting us to go which we declined.They were surprised that I studied my Bible,mentioned how few people did,which is true.Our conversation ended by me asking them two questions,( 1 )Was the Christ that they believed in , the Christ of the Bible ?. ( 2 ) Was the salvation they believed in,the salvation that was in the Bible?, and of course the answer to the two questions is ,it is not.

Confusion ( Romans 1 v 18 - 32 )

There is a program on the BBC called songs of praise,and just recently it featured a same sex marriage,I ask why?.Why is this being pushed upon us?,it is something totally at odds with what the Bible teaches, why our so called Christians running with this?,we can understand societies position.   they are not Christians,for them God and His word does not matter. They deny creation, for chance,it just happened by chance, chance is nothing,and it can do nothing. From a lot of muck and gasses somehow it all happened.There is an old saying that states ,that there are none so blind as though who do not see,or should  I add,who do not want to see. The fact is, it is impossible that it just happened, or could happen.or may happen,not in ten billion ,billion , billion years .And yet even some so called Christians believe it just happened.When God is rejected,and when His word is rejected,people will end up in confusion, morally,intellectually, and spiritually,and then it becomes a case of the blind leading the blind.

Backsliding ( 51 )

As a young lad I followed the Lord then there was a point when I stopped and I became a backslider, I read these words recently,'Backsliding is a sad possibility in every Christians life'. Sad to say it was for me,but it goes on to say,'but there is always a way back'.There was for me,and if you are a backslider there is for you,it is wonderful how gracious God can be.If one reads the history of Israel we see a nation that continual went away from God, in other words they backslid, but when they repented and sought forgiveness, God forgive them and restored them, the prodigal was restored and welcomed home,with words of kindness and love. ( Luke 15 v 11 ff  )Here is the word of the Lord for all who have have gone back, ''I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely  '' ( Hosea 14 v 4 )

Through it all. ( 2 Corinthians 12 v 7 - 10 )

There are reasons if we are a child of God, that trials,afflictions come into our lives,after all God is sovereign, and as the hymn writer wrote, 'Every joy or trial, falleth from above'. We are not God's playthings ,we are his children, and He loves us,he will not cause us to experience   needless pain.It is in that blessed  book of the Psalms we read,'It was good for me that I have been afflicted', how many of us can say that?,why was he able to say those words?,well here is what follows,'that I may learn thy statutes'.There is gospel song which was very popular years ago,called ,'Through it all',the last verse and chorus  reads,'I thank God for the mountains,and I thank Him for the valleys., I thank Him for the storms He bro't me through.For if I never had a problem I would-n't know that He could solve them, I'd never know what faith in God could do.  Through it all. Through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God; Through it all, Through it all, I've learned to depend upon His word'

Amazing ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 18 - 31 )

It is amazing that God met with this man of dubious characters, this man became a child of God, His name means, deceives,and he lived up to his name, cheating his brother out of his fathers blessing ( CP Gen 27 ) that is why his brother wanted to kill him. Yes it was Jacob who was chosen by God to be one whom God would bless with many descendants,who would be granted the promised land,and from his descendants the Messiah would come.and through that Messiah all the nations of the earth would be blessed. ( Genesis 27 v 14 ) Al this would come through this Jacob, Gods ways are past finding out, but Gods ways are perfect. He chooses the poor of this world,( James 2 v 5 ), the foolish,the weak, the lowly,and the despised,that is you and me. None of us can boast, to God alone be the glory,it truly is amazing.

A pillow. ( Psalm 23 v 1 )

I have for a while been suffering with a sore neck,caused by the pillows I have slept on, I have just purchased pillows filled with duck feathers and down,this is third lot of pillows I have purchased ,here's  hoping they will help eradicate my neck pain.In Genesis 28 we read of Jacob who left home in a hurry,because his brother wanted to kill him.He was instructed to leave where he lived by his mother and father,and go to a place called Haran, to his mothers relatives. He  obeyed them and set of  on his journey , on his way  there he rested at a certain place,to sleep for the night.,and he used as a pillow a stone.( rather him than me).During the night things began to happen,he had a wonderful dream from God, in which the Lord spoke to him and promised to bless him and his descendants.  when he  awoke he realised God had met with him.It is significant that God met with this man on his own, Joyce Baldwin writes ,' no longer was the Lord the God of his father,but Jacob's own God'.Remember our fathers God, our fathers Saviour must become our God and Saviour.

Ichabod ( Revelation 2 v 5 )

Recently another denomination  voted to allow same sex marriages, so that makes two,these two denominations have been experiencing a steady decline in attendance.Many of there ministers could be called liberals,in other words they are weak in relation to biblical beliefs .Why has this happened?well the so called ministers have all been trained at the Bible colleges,I was fortunate the college I attended was true to God's word,so the question one needs to ask,are those colleges faithful to God's word, I strongly doubt it. It is a tragedy that so called Christian leaders have run with error.What every Christian must realise that when they fail to be true to God's word,there are  consequences .The Psalmist declared ,''Do not let me stray from your commands'', (119 v 10 ). It is the word of God that is a lamp to our feet, and a light for our path'(  Psalm 119 v 105 ) . We never come to the  place as Christians, where we can  ignore God's word, if we do, we will wander from the truth.One of Israels greatest kings did that,a man endowed with godly wisdom, his name was Solomon, it was he that brought disaster upon God's people . ( CP 1 Kings 11) When we forsake God's word , our epitaph will be ,'Ichabod' , meaning .'God 's glory has departed'.  ( 1 Samuel .4 v  21 )

One Day. ( Revelation 21 v 1 - 5 )

Imagine living in occupied Europe during the 2nd world war,secretly listening to the BBC ,for a hint that the end of the oppressive rule by Germany would end. Imagine being a Christian in a land were you are persecuted,your children are picked on at school,imagine.Imagine all the suffering that's going on ,the terrible injustices ,the sickness,the afflicted the oppressed,the abused,and so on, and so on.We hope the world is getting better,and then we hear the news.As I was on my daily walk these thoughts came into my mind, and I heard myself saying ,one day,yes one day it will all change, for Christ is coming again,the new heaven and earth will replace the present universe,yes one day. On that day sin will be no more,sickness will be no more,injustice will be no more,tears will be no more, one day,yes one day,the words of scripture come to mind,even so ,come Lord Jesus..(  Revelation 22 v 20 )

The biggest liar. ( Romans 5 v 12 )

I wonder who you would consider the biggest liar ever,we can as we look at history,see different candidates, I could think of Hitler,in one of his speeches he said he was not be a threat to Belgium,or Holland,it was lies,as those countries soon found out. When Neville  Chamberlian came back from Munich,having appeased Hitler in order to get a an agreement of peace with Germany, he got off the plane  waving a signed paper,assuring the British public,it gave an assurance of ,'peace in our time', it was a brazen lie by Hitler,as we and the world soon found out.So was he the biggest liar ever?,no the biggest liar ever was Satan also known as the Devil, we read how he deceived Eve ,he as  much as said God was liar ( Genesis 3 v 4 ).Unfortunately Eve believed  him ,and so sin entered the world,with dreadful,awful,devastating, consequences for the whole of mankind.  Remember God cannot lie ( Titus 1 v 2 ),but unfortunately the Devil is still fooling people,  instead of believing God they follow in Eve's footsteps, and you know where that leads to, spending  eternity in Hell with the Devil and his angles ( Matthew 25 v 41 )

A tale of two cities. ( Isaiah 53 v 5 - 6 )

You may not have heard of Sydney Carton ,well he is one the fictious characters from the novel,'A tale of two cities', written by  Charles Dickens. It is set in the time of the French revolution,Sydney is a cynical drunkard,but he falls in love with Lucie  Minette, he tells her ,but she informs him, that she is about to become engaged to a Charles Darnay, he confesses he will always love her and if she needed him to let him know.Charles Darnay was a french noble man, but had renounced his title, he ended up taken residence in England , mean while the revolution breaks out n France,Charles feels he has to return to France,on his return he is arrested and sentenced to the guillotine.Sydney travels to France to see if Charles can be freed, but this came to nothing,so Sydney devises a scheme that would enable him to exchange places with Charles ,who is smuggled out of the country, Sydney goes to the guillotine,before he dies he says,''It is a far, far better thing I do,than I have ever done. It is a far ,far better..rest than I have ever known''.Whither we die by the guillotine,old age,sudden death if we know Christ we can have a sure and certain hope for eternity,a far, far better hope, because of Jesus who took our place on Calvary on that cross.