Worries ( Psalm 55 v22 )

 Are you worried about tomorrow?are you fretting about that operation you are going to have? I'm not pointing the finger at you, for I worry at times,inspite of the fact I've been following the Lord for over 60 years.The fact is we live in an uncertain world, even though I have come through many difficulties,I still worry.  Here is the most important thing, I don't stop at my worries or my fears,I seek the Lord,the  word of God says ,'The Lord is compassionate and gracious.....for He knows how we are formed,he remembers that we are dust' Psalm 103v 8/v14.We are also told that we have a great high priest who feels sympathy for our weaknesses, (Hebrews 4 v 15)The disciple who followed Jesus were not perfect,likewise even the great theologians like John Calvin, writing about Luther said,'He lacked control and allowed himself to be worked up into a rage far to quickly'but Calvin also confessed he was like that himself.'God loves his imperfect children,so go to Him with your worries. Then the next thing I do when I worry,I go to God's word,looking for assurance as regards the things I worry about,God knows how weak we are,that's why we He has given us so many  wonderful promises,to reassurance us,to comfort us,in our times of trials,when we are worried about so many things,Remember  those wonderful promises are not just wise sayings they are Gods words given to His children.The worried non-Christian does not have that advantage,so hang unto  that promise of God , like grim death ,don't let the devil rob you of the assurance they bring ,and he will  try,stand on God's word as if your life depended on it, and God will see you through.

                                                     'Make God your first port of call

                                                      not your friends or family,when

                                                       trouble comes'

Drastic measures. ( Isaiah 52 v 13 - 15 /John 1 v 29)

 Christ death on a cross seems at first glance a very drastic means for God to use,but the fact is ,mankinds condition is so drastic it took a drastic solution to deal with it. John Calvin believed that sin could not be fathomed, counted or measured,and was thus infinite.So it is that those who die without their sins being forgiven will hold unto their sin for all eternity.Someone has said the following,'God is an eternal an infinite being (Psalm 90 v2 ) that means that all sin requires an eternal punishment'.Look out on our world today ,read the history of the 20th century,this is never going to change. It is impossible to name all the different types of sins there are,and the ravages and damage they bring with them ,or the offence they cause a holy God.Someone has said, 'every sin committed has disatrous consequences'. Here is the good news God's mercy is infinite.Again let me quote someone,' Infinite mercy means incomprehensible mercy,infinite mercy does not mean condemnation,but hope in Christ''.That drastic means that God brought in through the death of His Son on the cross tells us that no matter how sinful we are,we can receive mercy,forgiveness and eternal life,when we trust Jesus as our Saviour.

                                                    'Blessed is the one whose transgressions

                                                     are forgiven,whose sins are covered'.

                                                                    'Psalm 32 v1'

He is Lord ( 1 Samuel 15 v 22 )5

 'Help us,Lord Jesus not to fool ourselves by only calling you our Lord but not doing the Fathers will,and trying to be your followers in our own terms' (Amen)We come to the last  thoughts by me on the prayer by a lady in the church I attend'. For our Saviour the will of God was vital,not to be trivaled with, not to be taken lightly, the reason He came, was to do the will of God His Father.He knew if He did not fulfill it, the consequences would be unthinkable for all humanity.He never compromised ,and He bore it though to the bitter yet glorious end.We must follow in His footsteps,we call Him Lord,what does not mean for you and me?  The word Kurios (Lord) in the NT has the meaning of deity,(John 20 v28),it can also mean owner  in 1Corinthians 6 v 20 , we read'we are not our own ,we have been bought with a price'.that means His will must be our will it is not optional,to go against it, is rebellion and sinful.The will of God in all our lives is not negotiable,He expects us to do it.The last part of the prayer speaks of trying to be a follower of Jesus on our terms. To think like that is absolute folly,we are not to dictate to God,if he says somthing is wrong then we are not to do it,morally or whatever.When we start to dictate the terms then we are usurping king Jesus rule in our lives.

                                                          ' King of my life,I crown Thee now,

                                                           Thine shall the glory be;

                                                            Lest I forget Thy thorn brow,

                                                             Lead me to Calvary'

                                                               'Words J.E,Mussey'

A need to be changed, ( Job 23 v10)4

     The prayer.'Lord we confess that when we look at ourselves,we must recognise that we are so far from the best  version of ourselves,from the person who you want us to become, because we keep taking steps back and withdraw ourselves from you.' Oh for a consistent Christian life, it's one thing being seen in Church singing lustly, looking like butter wouldn't mealt in ones mouths,we all are to some extent Jekyll and Hyde's .Of course that's where sanctification comes ,in that process that God  uses to make us more like Jesus.Joseph, Jacob son suffered so much ,but before he would be raised out of his suffering and be exalted to be next to Pharaoh ,his character needed to be purged from dross by the  prison experience, that experience   would qualify him for the task that lay ahead,and of course make him a more holy person. God has ways of changeing us,they are often  painful . Before the rough diamond becomes a thing of beauty ,the roughness must be removed, God has a purpose, and its this , as I have said ,that we may be conformed to the image of God's Son.

                                                          ' Have Thine own wat Lord,

                                                            Have Thine own way,

                                                             Hold o'er my being

                                                             Absolute sway,

                                                             Filled with Thy Spirit,                                

                                                             Till all can see,

                                                              Christ only always living in me'

                                                                     ' Words A,D,Pollard'

What you do with the riff raff? ( Romans 5 v 6 - 8 )3

 The prayer,'Dear Lord ,we don't why you chose us; probably  because we are the weakest of all and therefore you can show your great power through our weakness'.Yes is a good question,in 1 Corinthians 1v26 ff gives the answer. 'Brothers and sisters,think of what you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards,not many were influential;not many were of noble birth. But God chose  the weak things of the world to shame the strong.God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not to nullify the things that are'. So that no one may boast before Him'. We  were chosen from the riff raff of this world,what you do with the riff raff of this world?,what did God do ? He saved them by His grace through Chrst His Son.No one can boast ,no one,whatever we are now as Christians,whatever hights we have been raised to,we are what we are by the grace and mercy of God.

                                                    ' The vilest  offender who truly believes,

                                                      That moment from Jesus a pardon 

                                                       receives.'

                                                           ' TO GOD BE THE GLORY'

Being a disciple ( Matthew 10 v 37 - 39 )

'Thank You that you've called us to be your disciples and that we not left on our own' (words from the prayer} What is a disciple? ,one person describes being a disciple in three ways,(1) Reorientation which means changing our focus and direction  ,before we become a Christian we focus on so many things,often wrong thing following every whim and fancys,but now our focus must be on Jesus (2)One who responds to the call of Jesus,whatever that  may cost,and whatever that may mean.In many parts of the world it means being consider a traitor, being hated,that's the price of being a disciple, Words of a song comes to mind,'I have decided to follow Jesus,though none come with me,still I will follow'. ( 3 ) One who listens to Jesus teaching and lives it out daily.All Christiasns are disciples of Jesus,but the important thing is this,we are not left on our own,He will be with us at all times,strengthening us, guiding us, and helping us.

                                                  'Take up your cross and follow Me.

                                                    though it bring shame and agony

                                                    though men forsake and turn  away'

                                                     

                                    

                                                  

That I may know Him. ( Colossians 1 v 9 -10 )1

 ' Dear Lord Jesus ,this morning we come to praise you for this day and for everyday that is given to us an oportunity to get to know you more and to grow in faith, ' These words are the beginning of a prayer I heard from a lady in our church',her prayer blessed me,I will share more of her prayer with you,in the coming days,She thanks our Lord  for this day and everyday,yes everyday is a gift from God, for it is an opportunity to get to know God more.J.I.Packer wrote a helpful  book called ,'Knowing God',that's important,it is not a hard task, God, believe it or not is friendly,we declare that when we sing that old hymn ,'What a friend we have in Jesus ,'I have two lovely grandchildren ,my son and his wife adopted them,they were very young when they were adopted, so they will never really know their birth parents because they will not have a relationship with them. When it comes to God  we need to develop  a relationship with Him,that means getting to  know Him.We get to know Him in so many ways by prayer that's simple,by reading His word,these will help  us to know God , and also help us to grow spiritually. Also as we trust God every new day we get to know that he is faithful,that He is your loving  heavenly Father , unlike some fathers, He will never do us any harm ,only good.So let us each day use it as an opportunity to know our God more and as we get to know Him more we will grow spiritually.

                                                 ' Let me each day ,know Thee as thow art

                                                                Love Thee supremely,

                                                                 Serve Thee wholly,

                                                                  admire Thee fully'

                                                             From the Valley of  Vision.

The cry of God.( Psalm 95 v 7-8 )

 They made a movie about an American called Desmond Doss,he served as a combat medic in the war against Japan.He was a very brave man  for which he recieved the ,'The medal of honour' by President Trumen.During a battle he was in with all the shooting ,and bombs going off, he prayed,'Father I can't hear your cry',and then he heard a wounded soldier cry out.Where is God's cry coming to you from,or from whom is God's cry coming to you from?,are you listening.,are you listening?are you prepared to respond to that cry?.Great movements start by someone responding to the cry of God in the shape of wounded ,dying, lost humanity.George Mullier,Dr  Barnardo, heard the cry of needy children,The founder of 'Stand by Me' a children ministry  working in eight countries,heard the cry of God when his elderly father said to him ,you must do something,and David responded. William Booth heard the cry of God and he responded ,and the Salvation Army came into being.Isaiah the prophet heard the cry of God ringing out,'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?,and immediately he responded ,by saying ,'Here am I . Send me.!'(Isaiah 6 v 8)In a world full of lost sinners,are we listening to the cry of God,Jesus said the labourers are few,spiritual  darkness covers this world ,and the awfulness dreadful consquences that brings.,the cries can be heard, if one is listening,are you listening?are you willing to respond?

Theocentric. ( Isaiah 40 v 21 -28_)

 I learned a new word today,'Theocentric',it means that God is the central aspect of existence,and having Him as the focal point of our attention ,in our thoughts and feelings. Lets face it most of us leave God out of so much,As regards the unbeliever He is not in their thoughts,from when they get up in the morning,till they go to bed at night. For them He does not exist, they are born,they live their lives,they die and that's it.As  a Christian how do you veiw life?,how do you veiw what is happening to you now?is God brought into it?. When you have difficulties and trials ,what do you see?,just the difficulties and trials,full stop,is God in it all?,or not it all?.I am reading the story of Joseph ,hated by his brothers,sold into slavery,put in prison on false charges. Yes he felt the pain of what happened to him,but it is obivous he never lost sight of God,he never let bitterness destroy him ,or hatred for his brothers,or for the woman who lied and caused him to be put in prison,When Samuel told Eli the high priest that God was going to judge him and his sons,he  brought God into it,and declared ,'He is the Lord; let Him do what is good in His eyes.( 1 Samuel 3 v18) How do you see the worlds situation? chaos,frightering,out of control,and you hear yourself saying where is God in it all?, judge not the Lord by feeble sense.,Yes there is so much in this world ,that declares man rules,and that's it. no it is not so.God continues to be the central aspect of exsistence,and He should be the focal point of our attention, our thoughts,and feelings.

                                                             

Conclusion (2 Timothy 2 v 9 / Hebrews 4 v 12 ) 5

 We come to consider the last of our weapons in this conflict against  our enemy the devil,it is  'The sword of the Spirit' which is the word of God,(Ephesians 6 v 17 ) Stott points out,'Of all the six pieces of armour or weaponry listed, the sword  is the only one which can clearly be used for attack as well as defence'.First of all we must equip ourselves by reading and knowing the word of God.We assume that most Christians will read the word of God,but not all do, so they are putting themselves at a disadvantage.It was Cromwell's  Ironsides who fought with a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other.As one writer says we can never defeat God's enemies or win God's battles without God's word'. Read your Bible,know your Bible,and it is helpful to memorise it   We can also add to the weapons prayer 6 v 18.as John Stott comments ,it can be seen as a unnamed weapon. Because the warfare we are engaged in is continual,so we must pray continually,

                                                    'Restraining prayer,we cease to fight;

                                                     Prayer makes the Christian's armour

                                                      bright;

                                                      And Satan trembles when he sees

                                                      The weakest saint upon his knees.'

                                                                   William Cowper

Assurance of Salvation. ( John 10 v 27 - 30 )4

 Lets consider our next weapon in Ephesians 6 v 17,'The helment of salvation',in Isaiah 59 v 17,it is used as a metaphor to describe salvation.Knowing we are saved and going to heaven sustains and strengthens us to endure whatever comes our way, Paul who endured so much and would die a martyrs death could face it because he was saved , in 2 Timothy 2 v 11- 12, he writes,' If we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure ,we shall also reign with Him'. All through history Christians have suffered for Christ  ,from being eaten  by wild beasts,burnt at the stake ..I am sure we are all aware of the suffering of God's people in so many countries at tis time. Apart from that suffering  life for all of us means that we will  experience long painfull illness'es and so many other things.Our salvation is a anchor to our souls,Paul declares these encourageing words''I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us'. ( Romans 8 v18 ) Also we have the assurance that yes we are going to heaven, and the wonders of that,but also we shall not be going to hell .Our Saviour speaking to the church of Smyma, a church that was enduring afflctions and poverty,He tells them ,' Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.I tell you,the devil will put some of you in prison to test you,and you will suffer persecution for ten days . Be faithful ,even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victors crown.( Revelation 2 v 10)

                                                  ' It will be worth it all when we see Jesus'.

We shall overcome. ( Isaiah 12 v 2 )3

Let us continue to look at the weapons we have to aid us in our battle against,the devil and all those under his control,the next one we want to consider is the 'The shield of faith',(Ephesians 6 v16)this is described as a defence against the firey darts of the evil one.   William Barclay describes it as a great oblong shield that protected  the soldiers from darts dipped with tow and dipped in pitch,it was a vital part of their armoury.As Christians our faith is always under attack, by doubt,and multitude of other things,and even from ourselves,yes there is enemy within and the enemy without.In 1 John 5 v4  we read,'For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world,even our faith'.Today whatever your circumstance  have faith in God,in His word ,in His promises,and in His faithfulness.

                                                       'Begone unbelief! My Savioiur is near

                                                        And for my relief will surely appear.

                                                        By prayer let me wrestle  and He will perform;

                                                        With Christ in the vessel I smile at the storm.'

                                                                              John Newton.

.

Our weapons. (Colossians 1 v 13)2

We saw last time how we are in a unrelenting where there will be no let up . The scripture we have been looking at is Ephesians 6 v 10ff.  2 Corinthians 10 v 4 tells us that in this battle the weapons that we have at our dispoal are not the weapons of the world but they have the divine power to demolish strongholds.  It is in Ephesians 6 v13 -18. we have them set out ,there are 6 of them,the first one is,'the belt of truth'It was Richard Nixion in an interview as regards charismatic politicians,' he said he didn't rate them,he was more concerned what they stood for'  So it is as Christians we must not to be swayed by charismatic preachers,we must always be guided by truth.There must be no ,compromise as regards truth,in this battle truth must prevail.Next we have ,'The breastplate of righteousness,this covers the front and the back , John Stott writing on this declares,'No spiritual. protection is greater than a righteous relationship with God.,' Before we trusted  Christ ,we had no righteousness of our own,Isaiah 64 v 6,reads, 'All our righteous acts are like filthy rags'.But when we trust Christ the Lord becomes our righteousness Jeremiah 23v 6 /1 Corinthians 1 v 30'.This means as JS writes ,'We can stand '.before God not condemned but accepted',the devil has no answer to that. The next weapon is,'Shoes for our feet',Stott uses the word ,'boots', such as a Roman soldier would wear,he calls them gospel boots, indicating a readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace.Let us remember there is no more beautiful thing, than to proclaim the gospel of Christ,it is that Gospel that delivers sinners from Satan's power. (We will continue this next time)

                                                                 Isaiah 52 v 7.

                                      'How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet

                                      of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace,

                                      Who brings good tidings of good things, who proclaim

                                      salvation,Who says to Zion,Your God reigns!

                                                                

None of us are civilians. ( 1 Peter 5 v 8-9 )1

We don't go far on in the Christian life before we are faced with temptations,that is why our Lord taught us to pray ,'Lead us not into temptation',but it does not stop there,for it goes on to say,'But deliver us from the evil one' (Matthew 6 v 13)  The devil does not  give up on those who were once his captives,and so he is ever seeking a way to bring them back into his fold. So we must not let down our guard,Paul when he came to the end of his days,said,'I have fought a good fight',(2 Timothy 4 v7)  He speaks of the Christian life in militrary terms, in Ephesians 6 v 11,we read,'Put on the full armour of God,so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes'. The word schemes has with it the idea of one who is lying in wait for us,and he will use every means he can to bring us down,yes the devil is a schemer. Paul goes on to tell us how we can be overcomers,even against our most powerful enemy the devil. We are not left defenceless as regards our hatfeful enemy.Paul says  that this is a spiritual  battle we are in,and it goes beyond mere flesh and blood enemies.The devil will  use all those who are under his control to destroy us. One person writes the following ,'This is no afternoon athletic contest that we will  walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps,a life and death fight to the finish against  the devil and his angels.'  To say the least its a bit scarey,but let us quit ourselves like children of God,we shall overcome by God's grace, just as Paul overcame so much.

                                            

                                             'We are in God's army ,and their

                                              must be no surrendering to our

                                              enemy the devil'

                                               

Is it worth while? ( John 6 v9)

I love to see bees in my garden, the bumble bees are lovely,I looked up some interesting things about them,how they navigate,they have five eyes,four wings and six legs,and that during their lifetime they each make 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey.It appears a poor investment,  hardly worth their effort, but let us look at the bigger picture,in a honey bee colony there are up to 50,000 bees.There's a verse in the Bible that says ,'never despise the day of small things,a young lad gave his lunch ,and  over 5000 people were fed (John 6) I often think does my giving make much difference in the work of God in helping people ?when one thinks of the immense need  in some place, surely my little can't do much good.If that was all they were getting it mybe wouldn't, but I know I am not the only one giving and that makes a big difference.So dont feel that the little you give  is of no consequence,added to what others give,it can really make a difference. And yet coming back to that young lad who gave his small lunch, who knows how God will bless whatever we give,be id ever so small ,Let us not  limit it to money,a kind word,a short word of witness,or a cup of cold water.Do what we can, be it ever so small as unto God, he will not despise the smallness of whatever  we do.

Moses the historian. ( Luke 1 v 1-4)

It is Leupold who calls  Moses the historian,oh yes he was more that, but he was a historian.An event occured in one of  China's official Protestant churches, a minister on Easter Sunday declarded  the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to be an undeniable historical event,this was a brave statement by that man to make . If our faith is not based on true history ,then we have nothing, it's untrue, if there was no Moses then everything we believe in is not sustainable.Writing about the resurrection the apostle Paul declared ,'If Christ has not be raised , our faith is futile.....and we are of all people most to be pitied',  (1 Corinthians 15 v 17-19). As regards the resurrection, Paul states these wonderful facts, that Christ rose from the dead,and after his resurrection he appeared  to Cephas,and then to the 12,then he appeared unto 500 of the brothers and sisters at the same time,though some have died since, but most of them were still living ,He then appeared to James ,then again to the apostles.Paul finishes by saying and last of all He appeared unto him'(1 Cor 15 v3-8)These are the historical facts , we are not distorting history,in the Bible we are being told what actually happened. As David Prior writes,'We constantly need to reiterate the heart of the gospel, and that involves taking a firm grip on the historical facts'.One of my sons said that the Jewish peoples exsistence is evidence that there is a God,how otherwise could they have survived. Their whole history tells of a people who faced  extinction time after time,but it didn't happen.