God cannot be bought off. ( 1 Peter 1 v 18-19 ) 1

 The first sermon I preached in England was from the book of Micah chap 6 v 8 , it reads ,'He has told you,O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you. But to do justice, to love mercy,and to walk humbly with your God'. Micah ministered during the reign of 3 kings of Judah, 'Jotham , Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Bear in mind that the nation of Israel split in two under the rule of Rehoboam ,Solomon's son, it was  a judgement caused by the sin of Solomon.It is to these two nations that Micah spoke to, telling  them God's judgement was coming, and it did. but their was also a degree of hope,things would change eventually.Micah answers the question,as to what the Lord required from the nation.would multitude of  sacrifices be the answer?, the answer was no. David Prior writes ,' This notion of atonement by means of costly gifts,of virtually buying God off , dies very hard in the human heart'.The Roman Catholic church sought to do this in the selling of indulgence,the more you give the less time you spent in purgatory.a man called Simon in Acts 8 thought the gifts of God could be bought with money, he was rebuked severally by Peter. There is a saying everyone can be bought,but let me assure you, God cannot be bought off.Peter sums it up like this ,'You were not redeemed with corruptible things,like silver and gold,from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ,as of  a lamb without blemish and without spot', (1 Peter 1 v 18- 19)

Are you blind? ( John 3 )

 Have you ever wandered why when you talk to JWs, Mormon's, that no matter what one says from the scripture,they refuse to accept it. Also why did the religious leaders failed to recognise Jesus for whom He was,their Messiah  .In present Israel there is a group of Jews called Hasidic Jews,and most of the men spend their days studying the Torah ,the first five books of what we Christians call the Old Covenant scriptures,they also  fail to  recognise their Messiah?.What is obvious to the Christian, ,is not obvious to them, why can't they understand,why?,but they don't.Paul writing to the Christians at Corinth declares,' And we have received God's Spirit (not the worlds spirit), so we can know the wonderful things  God has freely given us (1 Cor 2 v 12)then he follows it up by saying,'But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand what the Spirit means'. (v 14).Our Saviour was faced with people who like the Hasidic studied the scriptures, the Pharisees,the separated ones, the defenders of the Law.This is what Jesus said to them,  You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the scriptures point to me. Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life'.(John 5 v 39- 40). The fact is,it is not enough to know the scriptures,you must know the Christ of the scriptures as your Saviour.

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The best thing you have ever done. ( John 11 v25 )

Are you a rational person? most people are rational to some extent, some people choose not to be,for whatever reason .They ignore reality,and they do foolish things with dire consequences,they  do the lottery ,instead of paying into a pension scheme.They refuse to be vaccinated even though it has a proven record of being an effective means of protecting one from certain illnesses.People still smoke even though it is potentially very dangerous, instead of being rational and saying no ,and of course we have the flat earth society,very rational, I think not .Many people who are Christians,stop believing certain Christian beliefs because they seem irrational.Doctrines like the deity of Christ,hell ,certain moral things,they may even reject the resurrection of Jesus,in fact an awful lot of non- Christians,believe when your dead that's it. In spite of the fact that Christ rose from the dead,so many people will not believe, because they do know of anyone who was truly dead and come back  to life.There are those who believe that the body can be resuscitated,  so they have their bodies frozen..As to Christs resurrection Jesus foretold that He would rise again Matthew 27 v 62 - 63 ., and the fact is He did, after his resurrection he was saw by over 500 people 1 Corinthians 15 v 3ff,the result is, all who put their faith in Christ,even though they die they shall  live again,with a new body in that place that Christ has gone to prepare for all who believe in Him. It will be best thing you have ever done,and the most rational thing,if you would believe in Him.

Shedding blood. ( Exodus 20 v13 / Joel 3 v19 - 21)

When Cain murdered his brother Abel,the Lord said,'What have you done?, Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.'.This followed by these words ,'Now you are under a curse  and driven from the ground which opened its mouth to receive your brothers blood from your hands'. Genesis 4 v10- 11. It is said that visitors to Babylon ,and to other Chaldean towns and cities, saw unrivalled magnificence and grandeur. They were hugely impressed by what they saw, but all they could see was splendid buildings. God looked at the city and saw bloodshed'.Think of all awful violence perpetrated in the history of mankind,,the innocent blood that has been shed. David Prior writes,' Human blood has a voice. When it is shed,it speaks,its voice cries out to God,God responds to human bloodshed with a curse on those He would prefer to bless. The voice of every victim cries out to God.Their agony rings through the streets and squares,through the marketplaces and corridors of power. They reach the throne-room of heaven and rend the heart of God. He, therefore,  decrees that all such enterprises will be doomed to frustration and to failure'.

                                                                 ' Jesus said'

                                    'All who take to the sword will perish by the sword'

It is finished ( John 19 v 30 )

 The last words our dear Saviour spoke before He died on the cross was ,'It is finished', John 19 v 30,some say it was His triumphant cry,or it is accomplished.In other words He had completed His Father's  will,  the work of salvation was complete,nothing can be added, nor should be added to it,yet people do. Some of the epistles reveal that there were people who wanted to add to the gospel, the book of Colossians dealt with people who said ,yes you have trusted Christ, but you need something else. CP  2 v 16 - 23 ' . Many great artists are never satisfied with what they do,likewise we may be perfectionist,our best as we see it,is flawed,we always want to do better, we may think that what we do is good ,but we are not satisfied. Christ came into this world to do the Fathers will,to keep the law of God perfectly,and to die on the cross ,that was the will of God for Him,and He did it perfectly,it is blind folly to think you need to do your bit to be saved, you don't,why because Jesus paid it all.

                                                    'But God  forbid that I should boast

                                                    except in the cross of our Lord Jesus

                                                                     Christ.'

                                                               Galatians 6 v 14.

                                                 

Our substitute. ( Romans 8 v 32 )

 I just read yesterday that Jerusalem was built on Mount Moriah, in fact Solomon constructed the first temple on it.It is also believed to be the place where Abraham at the command of God took his son Isaac to sacrifice him ,we read about it in Genesis 22.Abraham laid him on the altar and was about to kill him,when an angel intervened, and told him not to do it,it had been a test, Would Abraham obey God?,did he fear God?,the answer was yes,God is to be feared and reverenced ( Matthew 10 v 28 ),and indeed obeyed. On the way to be sacrificed Isaac asked the question,' where is the lamb for the burnt offering?', Abraham replied ,'God  himself will provide the Lamb'( v 8), and He did, for just after God stopped him offering  Issac,Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket,Abraham took that ram and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son .The ram became a substitute,it took the place of Issac,it is in Romans 8 v 32,we read something God did,'He did not spare His own Son , but gave Him up for us all'. In your mind look on the cross were Jesus died,on that cross He took the sinners place,He would bear the punishment for us sinners,so that we would not have to bear it. One could say much on this,but what I would say,God in love gave His Son Jesus ,that you might be saved from going to hell,believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,and you will be saved.

                                               ' By his death Jesus paid our dreadful debt'

                                                                Wm.S. Plumer

Hosea ( Psalm 81 v 7 - 16 )

Hosea the prophet had a bad marriage ,he married a promiscuous woman, Hosea loved her dearly,but it made no difference.God was in it all.The loving husband and the unfaithful wife has a deep spiritual meaning,it illustrated God's faithful love, to the unfaithful nation of Israel. Time after time God forgive Israel,and time after time they did the same wicked thing,turned from Him,to other god's and wicked ways.Thy suffered greatly for their sinful ways,they never appeared to learn to be faithful,and to walk in holiness .They had only themselves to blame, Derek Kidner writes ,'Sin not only alienates ; it saddles one with guilt,and guilt is written all over this nation, not only by the shamefaced looks that normally betray it, but by the very brazenness that would deny it.' One has said that God knows the worst about us,and yet persists with us'.  God is merciful,but there will come a point that is if mercy is  spat on, it will give way to judgement,only God knows that point, it will happen, Genesis 6 v 3. The last verse in the book of Hosea reads,

                                           'Who is wise? Let him realise these things.

                                            Who is discerning? Let them understand.

                                            The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous

                                             walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them'

                                                            Someone wrote.

                                                 'To turn aside from Thee is hell,

                                                  To walk with Thee is heaven '

Rituals { Galatians 5 v 1 - 6 )

 Bruce Milne writes the following as regards the rituals of non- Christian religions,here is what he writes ,' Whenever people depend upon fulfilment of ritual observances to alleviate their consciences before God. These  rituals of the non- Christian  religions cannot cleanse the heart. Jesus alone is the way to God, empty ritual, however, can arise also in the context of the Christian faith. Receiving baptism( by whatever mode), taking communion( in whatever church) attending worship (with whatever regularity), offering prayers (of whatever length ), giving money(  of whatever amount), in themselves, do not, have not,will not, and cannot save us from our sins and their inevitable judgement.' None of these things can save us,only Christ can do that.

                             ' Not what my hands have done, can save my guilty soul,

                               Not what my toiling flesh hath borne, can make my spirit whole.

                               Not what I feel or do,can give me peace with God,

                               Not all my prayers and sighs and tears, can bear my awful load.

                               Thy work alone O Christ, can ease the weight of sin,

                              Thy blood alone,O lamb of God,can give me peace within.'

                                                          Horatius Bonar.

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Temptation ( 2 Timothy 3 v 18 )

 In  2 Corinthians 10 v 4, we read,'The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary , they have divine power to demolish strongholds.'  As Christians we are in a warfare against ,the world ,the flesh , and the devil,it is important to remember that.The good thing is we have a powerful helper,God,His word,and prayer, we have not been left to cope on our own,we have been given  everything we need for a godly life  (2 Peter 1 v 3),Christ has not left us orphans,we have the wonderful Holy Spirit within us,He can help us to overcome all those things arrayed against us.The devil is ever active,24/7 yes he does not have a day off so we must be on our guard.The devil is our enemy remember that,and so it is important that we know our enemy,in 2 Cor 2 v11 we read in regard to Satan,'we are not ignorant of his schemes'.He came to tempt Jesus when he starving Matthew 4 v 2, so he tempted Him on that ,Jesus reminded him that we need more than bread,we need Gods word.He tempted Eve as regards what God said Gen 3 v 3-4,so many people who are Christians are believing his lies\,remember the Devil is a liar.indeed the father of lies,( John 8 v44.).We need not be overcome by this tempter, we are told that we can resist the Devil (James 4 v 7),but to do that effectively we must submit ourselves to God ,that means depend on Him,be obedient to Him,in other words ask the Saviour to help you,He is willing to aid you,He will carry you through.

Temptation 3 (Isaiah 41 v 10)

Now we have been considering something that we all experience, when we are faced with temptation,the question is,will we yield to it or resist it?  The words of a hymn come to mind ,'Yield not to temptation for yielding is sin'.When we give into it,we sin,and that that effects our relationship with God,and it is vital that we repent of that sin,and confess to God ,and if we do God will forgive us ,no matter how awful that  sin was,he will forgive and restore us to fellowship.( Isaiah 1 v18/ 1  John 1 v 9). Again we consider the words a hymn,  'Ask the Saviour to help you......He is willing to aid you,He will carry you through'. Remember God is only a prayer away,His ear is open unto your cry and He will help you, also the effects on you and others if you yield to temptation, you will be remembered by people not for the good you have done,but for the wrong you have done. Also if we sin ,having yielded to temptation,we have to live with a guilty conscience,and live in fear of being found out,it can be very painful. It is not inevitable that we will yield to sin,God can withhold us from sinning  (Genesis 20 v6 ).

                                                'Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin,

                                                 Each victory will help you some other to win;

                                                 Fight manfully onward ,dark passions subdue,

                                                 Look ever to Jesus,He'll carry you through.'

                                                                 Horatio R. Palmer.

Temptation.2 ( Genesis 3 v1-7 )

 Now let us consider the source of temptation,I will let Jame answer first of all.' Let no one say when he is tempted, ''I am being tempted by God'',  for God cannot be tempted by evil,and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ( James 1 v 13 - 14) The word tempt literally means to prove or to test, one writer puts it like this ,' Let no one who is tempted (to sin) say that he  is tempted by God,'' God does not tempt anyone to sin.'James points out that our fallen nature which we all have ( Jeremiah 17 v9 ) is one of the root causes of us yielding to temptation..James puts it like this we get,'carried away and enticed by our own lusts.'  'Even as Christians we can give house-room to our evil desires, in the Lords prayer we have the following words,' Lead us not into temptation'( Matthew 6 v 13),but alas so often we run blindly into temptation,did not Judas do this?,the answer is yes.Now the other source were temptation comes is from Satan ( Matthew 4 v3 / 1 Thessalonians  3 v 5) He is a heartless being who is described as being like a roaring lion who wants to devour us.( 1 Peter 5 v8 ) The devil is not  seen by the world as a real being,but to us Christians we are in no doubt that he exists. We will continue this next time.

Temptation 1( Matthew 26 v 41)

Every day many people pray,'Lead us not into temptation',whither we pray those words or not,the fact is we will all face being tempted,that means everyone,of every age,of every colour, of every nationality. Temptation does not go away,it will be with us till the day we die,it is only then will we get rest from it.There is no place were you won't be tempted,Adam and Eve were tempted in  paradise,one can tempted when one is praying,or sitting in church. There are no,no go areas,as regards temptation,going into religious order is no guarantee,that you wont be tempted.If you were a castaway on a desert  island you would will still be tempted.Ministers of God ,religious activity will not shield them from temptation,that may make them more vulnerable.I want to stress this very important point,being tempted is not a sin, no matter how wicked and evil it is,it only becomes a sin ,when one yields to the temptation. We will continue to consider  this subject next time 

Galway (Ephesians 2 v 1- 22 ) 1

On the west coast of Ireland there is a city called Galway, it is an old city,the meaning of the name Galway means ,    'Town of  foreigners,', I suppose it goes back to when it was a town.I suppose the fact that I come from Northern Ireland and now live in England I could be classed as a foreigner,although I have never felt that I am foreigner,Writing to the Christians at Ephesus Paul reminds them of their former condition as Gentiles, that like all the unsaved , they were spiritually  dead in their sins,and all that meant. It didn't stop there there for he goes on to say as regards their position, 'that they were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the  covenants of the promise,without hope and without God in the world'. There was deep hostility between Jews and Gentiles ,especially on the Jewish side ,who considered them no better than dogs created by God to be fuel for the fires of hell.So they were alienated  from  God's people Israel. Unfortunately Israel forgot to their shame that they were meant to be a light to the nations,the kingdom of God was never meant to be an exclusive club, we will continue looking at this next time.

God requires. (Micah 6 v 8 ) 2

We looked at what God required from Israel,not sacrifices ,but a life manifesting godliness , Barns in his commentary says this,' Trouble not thyself as to any of these things, burnt offerings, rams,calves, without thee. for God seeketh not thine,but thee; not thy substance, but thy spirit; not ram or goat but thy heart'. Micah mentions three things God requires from us ,' To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God'.(Micah  6 v 8) . Consider the first,'To act justly',the bible has so much to say about justice,and how important it is,a number of years ago the Bible society published a Bible which highlighted those scriptures that stressed  justice. If we have not shown justice to others,the result will be that God will not show mercy to us,God is a just God,He will never act in an unjust way,and He expects the same from us.Likewise,mercy,God is merciful,he expects us to be merciful,in fact He says ,'Blessed are merciful for they shall receive mercy',(Matthew 5 v 7).Last but not least ,we are ,'To walk humbly with our God'. Pride is a sin,pride of race, pride of possessions,pride is a sin. To be followers of Christ, we must walk as He did, CP ,Philippians 2 v 5-11. Let us not forget that our lives must manifest the reality of our salvation,the evidence that we are truly Christ's.

The greatest treasure. ( Matthew 13 v 44 -46 )

  'You may take away from me my life, but you can never take Christ from my heart',these words were spoken by a Korean martyr before his execution by the communists'. These words  bring such a challenge ,it reminds us were our true treasure lies,Christ, when you have Christ you have the greatest treasure in the world.The vast majority of people are blind to that fact and value the things of the world,to the exclusion of  Christ,and are poorer,for all that.What have the billionaires got?,many envy them,but the poorest Christian is richer than them,Our beloved Saviour said,'what does it profit a person if they gain the whole world,and  loose their soul?, Judas was a disciple of Christ,Christ considered him a friend,but Judas loved money,and that destroyed him,in Christ he could have had it all,the eternal blessings of heaven,but when he betrayed Christ he lost all that.When you have Christ you need never fear death, for we are told when we come to go through that dark valley He will be with us,and like that dear Christian who was martyred,even death cannot rob us of Christ.A young man said to me,if you have food and a roof over your head ,then everything else is a bonus, that's true  but the biggest bonus is to know Christ,He is the greatest treasure anyone can possess.

The walking wounded 2 ( James 4 v 11 - 12 )

 There are many Christians who one could class as the walking wounded,yes they have had their sins forgiven , by trusting as their Saviour, so they are saved. But that does not ,mean that they don't carry hurts from the past, caused by many things,or even hurts since they became a Christian. First of all very it is very important, we do not judge them. Some Christians do judge people, the best example of that is ,Jobs friends, Job  was suffering tremendously ,he was bereft of all his children,he experienced the loss of all his wealth, and lastly he experienced physical suffering. His friends judged him saying  he must  have sinned,yes like of us he was a sinner,but his suffering was not for any particular sin he had committed,yet they judged him,instead of comforting him, they made him more uncomfortable, instead of  easing his pain,they increased it.Sad to say we Christians sometimes treat the Christian walking wounded, with little sympathy,understanding, and love.If we are like that, let us resign from that club,and let us do all we can to support them, they may find healing, they may not,like dear old Paul,so do  not judge them for lack of faith,consider in spite of their woundedness they are still going on with the Lord,and trusting Him in spite of their difficulties. The poet William Cowper who wrote many wonderful hymns, suffered from bouts of serious mental illness,wrote the following in one of his hymns from the book of Habakkuk.

                                  'Though vine nor fig tree neither, their wonted fruit should bear,

                                  Though all the fields should wither,nor flocks or herd be there,

                                   Yet,God the same abiding, His praise shall tune my voice;

                                   For, while in Him confiding,I cannot but rejoice',

The walking wounded. ( Isaiah 61 v 1 -3 ) 1

Bruce Milne in his commentary on John gospel writing on the words Christ said,' He  is the Lord of the mission and is to be found still at the frontiers where his people confront and minister to the wounds of the world'. We live in a broken world,all around us our broken wounded souls,their wounds are hidden from us, we who are Christs are called through Christ to minister to them, These wounded souls are two fold the non-Christian, and yes, to the Christian,yes both need to be ministered to.The non-Christian needs the medicine of the gospel,you remember in Mark 2 v1ff were four men carried their friend to Jesus ,He was in a house,but large numbers of people prevented them getting to Jesus. The men carried their friend unto the flat roof,they  took up tiles from the roof and let their friend down to were Jesus was ,and it says ,when Jesus saw their faith,He said to the sick man,'Son your sins are forgiven'. He then went on to heal the man,one can do all sorts of things to help people ,and we should,but we must never loose sight that the greatest need of mankind is Christ, who alone can forgive sins. If Christ had only dealt with his physical condition, it would have only been temporary,for eventually he would have died like all of us,and he would not gone to heaven. Fanny Crosby wrote a hymn with these words ,'Pass me not ,O gentle Saviour, hear my humble cry, heal my wounded,broken spirit,save me by your grace'.That is the healing that the walking wounded need.

OUR warrior King. ( Revelation 6 v 1-2 )

 It is remembrance  Sunday in which we remember those who fought and died in many wars,my grandfather was wounded in the first world ,my uncle was a prisoner of war in the Korean war,and my oldest brother fought in Sarawak against communist. But let us remember the greatest war that has ever taken place,and the greatest sacrifice ever made was Calvary.There was so much at stake ,mankind enslaved by sin and Satan,prisoners  ,without hope and without God,hell beckoned ,heavens doors were firmly closed.The answer ,the only answer to that situation was for Christ to come forth and do battle,with sin ,Satan,and death.There was no one else that could do it,and so our courageous Saviour went forth and won the victory,a victory that brought hope to a fallen race,a victory that brought a way back to God from the dark paths of sin,and opened a door in which all could go in.

                                          'There is a green hill far away ,outside a city wall,

                                           Where the dear Lord was crucified ,who died to save us all.

                                           We may not know, we cannot tell, what pain He had to bear,

                                            But we believe it was for us,He hung and suffered there.

                                            He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good,

                                            That we might go at last to heaven, saved by His precious blood.

                                            There was no other good enough to pray the price of sin,

                                            He only could unlock the gate of heaven, and let us in.

                                            O dearly, dearly has He loved,and we must love Him to,

                                            And trust in His redeeming blood,and try His works to do.'

                                                                'Words by C.F.Alexander'

Persecution ( John 15 v18 - 25 )

I receive information as regards the persecuted church,people being murdered ,one minister wrote the following\, 'In our country death has become a daily meal'.What sorrow fills those words,but it reminds us what our lovely Saviour said,'If the world hates you,keep in mind that it hated me first......I have chosen you out of the world, That is why the world hates you........ if they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.  John 15 v 18 - 19. Bruce Milne  writes of the Christians in the early church  suffering in the most appalling ways , slaughtered by the thousand,at times with a refinement of cruelty which numbs the mind. He also writes of one church leader who said,' So much popular Western evangelical  religiosity is so shallow and selfish. It promises so much and demands so little. It offers success, personal happiness,peace of mind, material prosperity; but it hardly speaks of repentance, sacrifice, self denial, holy lifestyle, and willingness to die for Christ'. BM writes ,' Following Jesus is not a game.' I will leave you with words from a poem by Amy Carmichael.

                                 'Hast thou no scars? No hidden scar on foot , or side or hand?

                                 Hast thou no wounds? Yet I  was wounded by the archers , spent,

                                 Leaned me against a tree to die; and rent by ravening beasts that

                                 compassed Me, I swooned.hast thou no wounds?

                                 No wound? no scar?  Yet as the Master shall the servant be,

                                 And pierced are the feet that follow Me;

                                 But thine are whole; can he have followed far,

                                 Who has not wound  nor scar'

                                

                                

                                  

The holiness of God.(John 1 v 29 )

It appears nigh impossible for us to fully grasp the holiness of God,because we also can't grasp the seriousness of our sin .In God's eyes all sin is repulsive, He abhors it,He hates it,He detests it.Often we  just  think  of sin on its own,but sin and  the sinner go together,you cannot have one without the other. It is not possible for any one to have a relationship with God if their sin has not been forgiven,that means heaven is shut to you,whoever you are,it makes no difference. In Romans 1 v 18,we read ,'The wrath of God is revealed against all the godlessness and wickedness of people'.This means that the wrath of God  rests on everyone whose sins have not being forgiven.(John 3 v36 )Sin and holiness can never go together,they are at odds with one another. Our attitude to God's holiness should be one of fear,as Bruce Milne points out as regards the terror of the holiness of God,even as a Christian,we should always walk in the fear of a holy God,because you are saved don't think God will overlook your sin. CP John 13 v10.God will chastise His erring Jesus.(Hebrews 12 v 7ff, and yet one will still be saved,because of the cross of Christ, If you are not saved then as I pointed out hell awaits, there is hope,for God in His mercy has provided a way for you to have a relationship with Him by having your sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ.

The holiness of God. ( Isaiah 6 v 3 )

 God is holy, I have never heard a sermon on the holiness of God,I find that very strange,I wonder why?,of course it is mentioned by most evangelical preachers in their sermons,but as I have said I have not heard anyone preaching on that subject. The hymn writer wrote'Only Thou art holy'.this applies to all the Godhead ,Father ,Son,and Holy Spirit'.In 1 John 1v 5, we read,'God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all'. J.I.Packer writes,When John says that God is 'light', with no darkness in Him at all, the image is affirming God's holy purity'. He also writes,'Every facet of God's nature and every aspect of His character may properly be spoken of as holy, just because it is His. The core of the concept however is God's purity,which cannot tolerate any form of sin '.(Habakkuk 1 v 13 ) It is important to stress there is only one God  Isaiah 46 v9, we don't have two different god's,the God of the OT is the God of the NT. When man sinned that created a major problem, for sin separates us from God. It means there is a gulf between us and God, (Isaiah 59 v 2/ John 3 v 36 ) and that includes every human being.The holiness of God will never change,that will never be compromised,unlike humanity who see holiness as something oppressive,that takes the fun out of life,ignoring the fact that much we engage in ,destroys life.We will look at this next time, I will leave you with this thought,the holiness of God is something to be feared,Bruce Milne writes of the terror of the holiness of God.

Fear not. ( Hebrews 13 v 5 - 6)

I was looking at what some people are saying as regards  the elections in the land of the free,USA, some were expressing fear,indeed  one can understand that,not just for that great country,but for the world. The war in Ukraine, climate change,and so the list goes,in the UK the government are doing their best to help people,but they cant help everybody financially.There are so many things that cause us to be afraid and we can't make light of them.As a Christian I at times have felt fear different ,I am 78 I have had my moments when I have been afraid, I have not always smiled in the storm. Looking back at my life I have taken risks,some would have said foolhardy, stepping out to go to bible college  for 4 yrs with no money, it proved to be difficult and testing, we had a young family to care for,but God brought us through. I come from a troubled land,we lived through the troubles,God looked after us. I will always remember coming to England to be a minister,we had a little car,and we drove down from the ferry in  Scotland, that morning I read these words,in my daily reading, 'He laid them on safely' (Psalm 78 v53) 'Behold ,I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.  (Exodus 23 v 20). In spite of not having a satnav, of getting a puncture,and the fan belt getting loose,we reached our destination.

Sam Ryder ( Luke 15 v 11- 32 )

 Sam Ryder  a popular singer said,'I'm still an idiot, but  I'm nowhere near as much of an idiot as I once was',I can identify with that, I suppose we can all identify with these words, well I hope we can. Buying a car brings its pitfall,I have never bought a new car, so a number of years ago we bought a particular car,it was a small inexpensive car,and was semi-automatic,we went and looked at it, it appeared a nice little car,so we bought it,but as we were driving away,it didn't appear right.the seller assured  us it was alright.Well we had it for a while,not very satisfied with it.So I enquired as regards this car from a local dealer,I was not  not happy with what he told me,so we traded it in for an other car.Well recently I asked myself the question, what did I do wrong when I bought that car ?,the answer was very simple ,I hadn't asked for a test drive,That should be priority when you buy a car,what an idiot I was,hopefully I won't make that mistake again. When I was a lad I was following the Lord, but I remember the moment I walked away from Him, what an idiot I was, If only I had not done that,if only,but I did,yet God is the God of the prodigal.and in mercy He brought me back to Himself,could be you once walked away from Christ,or your struggling spiritually and thinking about walking away,don't be an idiot like I was, its not worth it.

                                                     'There are no advantages in walking 

                                                       away from Christ'

Desert island Disc .(John 14 v 6 )

 There is a program on the radio, called 'Desert Island Disc,' it has been going for 80 yrs, still popular,The baes of it,is as follow's,imagine you were cast away on a desert,what ten pieces of music would you like to have with you?. All sorts of personalities have appeared on the program,they play part of each piece of music,then they are asked what luxury would one like on their desert island,and what additional book they would choose,as each castaway automatically gets the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare.One recent castaway the author Sue Townsend said,'I won't need the Bible or Shakespeare,you can keep them'. Because the book I am taking is better than both of them,it is ,' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole,Aged 13 '   3/4 's, she said that the Bible was an uptight  bag of woe. It is very sad to hear someone speak in such a way, as regards the Bible.,for it is the most important book of all time.It tells us so much,that we need to here,and if ignored has dire consequence .The Bible is important,for it tells us about Jesus who died on the cross so we can be forgiven, sets us free,who saves us from Hell,not only that , he will take us to heaven.

What's the answer?. 2 (Psalm 119 v 98 )

 Last time we considered the importance of prayer ,as we are faced with so many challenges in this troubled world,the next thing we need to stress is the importance of God's word.It might surprise us to know that many Christians fail to read God's word, there are a number reasons for that,but whatever the reasons are,it's vital that we begin to read God's word. The word can help us in relation to sin,Psalm 119 v 11, reads,' I have hidden your word in my heart that I  might not sin against you'.How do we hide God's word in our hearts? by reading it,studying it,memorizing it, Spurgeon writes,'If we keep God's word in our hearts ,it will keep us from sin'.When Eve doubted God's word she fell into sin, every time Satan tempted our Lord ,He answered him ,by the word of God,so the devil never got a foothold.It is in v10 we have the following words, 'do not let me stray from your commands',when you stray from God's word you stray from God, I have seen it happen in so many lives. For the Christian the word of God gives comfort ,faith,a reason to live,an assurance that God is with them,In Psalm 119 v 105 we read that the word of God is a lamp unto our feet,and a light to our path. When we walk in the darkness there is always danger that we will stumble. While driving recently at night,I was struggling to find my way home,but I have a satnav ,and it was such help,the word of God is our perfect satnav, it will guide us through this dark world,safely home.

What's the answer?. ( Luke 18 v1 ) 1

The world is a very uncertain place, in these last number of years we have had Covid still ongoing, Ukraine still ongoing,and all the problems it has brought with it.We have political problems in our country,and the world is full of problems ,sickness,death depth,crime,and so we could go on.Paradise has been lost, what can we do?,as a Christian stay close to God,pray,pray and pray.I read this recently as regards our dear Saviour ,that He was in constant communion that His prayer is His life. In all His thoughts He stands constantly in His Fathers's presence'.We can only hope  to get through this life ,like our Saviour did,by  constant communion with our loving heavenly Fatherly.The hymn writer said that prayer was the Christians vital breath,let us make it so.

                                                       'From every stormy wind that blows,

                                                       From swelling tide of woes,

                                                       There is a calm, a safe retreat;

                                                       'Tis found beneath the mercy seat'

                                                                  James Montgomery.

A good person. ( Romans 3 v 23 )

Augustine  said,''There are many who, according to a custom of  this life, are called good people,-good men, good women , innocent, and observers as it were of what is commanded in the law; paying respect to their  parents ,  abstaining from adultery,  doing no murder, committing no theft, giving no false witness against any one, and observing all else that the law requires-yet are not Christians..... Pagans may say, then,We live well.  If they enter not by the door, what good will that do them ?''. The answer is nothing,for  although people from a human point of view  may be considerate good,they  are sinners,and they need a Saviour, who alone can forgive sin. Let us not be deceived into thinking that some people don't need to be saved,even those we would class as being good.We rightly say no one is perfect,but it also true that no one is sinless,and what do sinners need they need a Saviour, and  Jesus is the  only Saviour ,there is.

                                         'Human goodness,does not mean human sinlessness'

I came ,I saw ,I conquered ( Romans 8 v 37 - 39 )

 It was said that Julius Caesar utter the following words,'I came,I saw ,I conquered',he was a great general , who won many battles.I thought on his words, and thought of someone so much greater than him Jesus ,  but unlike Caesar He did not come with an army,no, He came himself. Where did He come from?,from heaven,and He came to fight a battle, to destroy the works of the devil 1 John 3 v 8,and to destroy the power of death,and  the power of sin.That which Caesar could not destroy.As we see the history of humanity those three  things are every evident.Look out the at  the world,what do you see?, take the blinkers off,look at reality,oh yes we cannot see the devil, but there is plenty of evidence that he exists,sin and death are only to real,and we are affected by them,we are born without hope and without God Ephesians 2 v 12.  But Christ came to change all that, and He did  it in a strange way ,by dying on a cross, there sin was dealt with,and there death was dealt with,as was manifested by His resurrection .It means that the devils power can be broken in our lives,sin can be forgiven,and death will not have the final say,death will eventually die,but we who have trusted Jesus shall live.

                                                 'Jesus came, He saw,and He conquered'

I exaggerate not. ( Romans 5 v 6 - 11)

A  survivor of the Holocaust attended the trial of one person involved in the Holocaust,and as he looked at him he said, he saw an ordinary man,and that upset him,and he thought ,that could me standing their.The problem of all us is ,we underestimate our fallen human nature.We all know the saying,'there but by the grace of God go I',so true, the scripture tells us a very important truth  ,' The heart is more deceitful than all else,and is desperately sick;Who can understand it'. Jeremiah 17 v19,in v 10, we read ,' I, the Lord, search the heart',only God knows the full  fallenness of our human nature,and the dreadful potential towards evil that dwells within,  potentially there is a Judas Iscariot in all of us, it is as serious as that, I do not exaggerate.We are all sin sick souls, in fact as we are born, we are dead spiritually, separated from a holy God by our sinful condition.  The problem is, no human being has the answer, for our sickness,yes mankind finds answers for many things, but only God and He alone,has the answer of humanities sinful condition, left to ourselves we are lost and hell beckons.God has provided the answer through Jesus death on the cross,if you are not Christian I urge you to trust Jesus as your Saviour ,He alone can forgive you  your sins,and set you free .

We are all His favourites. ( Acts 10 v 34-35)

There is a modern song with these words in it,'You raise me up to more than I can be',those words struck a cord in me.It reminds me what God do for us ,that is lift us up. In Psalm 40 , we read some wonderful words,

                                          'I waited patiently for the Lord;

                                          And He inclined unto me,

                                          And He heard my cry.

Note those words I waited patiently,we are all in a hurry,except God, are you in difficulties,and your saying, why is  God not answering my prayers?, because we have need of patience,learn that the lesson.Then we read  that God  heard his cry,dear child of God,it is not a vain thing to wait upon the Lord in prayer.Next we read,

                                           'He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,

                                            out of the miry clay,

                                            And set my feet upon a rock,

                                            And established my steps.'

David was in dire straits ,he describes it as being like being in horrible pit,stuck in miry clay, it seems that there was no escape,that his number was up, unless the Lord would answer his prayer,and the wonderful thing is ,He did..What He did for David He can do for you,but you may say He did that for David, he was a special person,but God has no favourites, all God's children are precious in His sight, we are all His favourites.

                                            'It is no secret what God do,

                                            What He's done for others,he

                                            can do for you.'