Don't be shut out ( Matthew 25 v 1-13)

In the church that I am part of  were meeting for prayer,we split up into groups,the group that I was in had three children,and each member of the group prayed including the children.One little boy prayed for the old people in the church,he prayed about then going to heaven and having a good time,it made me smile,but of course everyone who has trusted Jesus as their Saviour, will have a good time. Let me ask a question,will you be there?,You can be, if,yes ,if, you trust Jesus to be your Saviour. It's as simple as that.but here is what you have to consider,what will eternity be like for those who are without Christ. Here is what the prophet had to say in Isaiah 8 v 22,'they will be thrust out into utter darkness.' There will be no welcome sign for them, that well known singer Bob Dylon wrote a song with these words in it,'Knock, Knock,knocking' on Heavens door',if you have not trusted Jesus as your Saviour,no amount of knocking, will do any good, if you die without Him you will be shut out.

Neutral you cannot be. ( Luke 18 v 18ff)

 On my car I have a neutral bottom on my gear stick,so when I put it in neutral it is not going forward nor reversing.  Switzerland was neutral during the 2nd world war, in others words, it didn't take sides.There was a moment in Israels history ,which we read about in 1 Kings 18 v21 when they were faced with a choice. Elijah was the prophet,and he had brought the people together,there were also 850 false prophets present. Israel were worshipping the God's of the false prophets,but they would also be worshipping Jehovah. So Elijah ushered a challenge to Israel, here is what He said,'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him'.He was telling them ,'that they  cannot have  their feet in two opposing camps',and that is what they were doing,Elijah told. them they had to make a choice.Let us move on to Marks account of Jesus before Pilate ,he saw that Jesus  was not guilty of any offence ,and it came to a point when the people had a choice,between  a murderer and Jesus ,the crowd wanted the murderer set  free.Then Pilate asked them,'What shall I do,then ,with the one you call the king of the Jews?' their reply was 'Crucify Him'. (15 v12)When confronted with Jesus there can be no neutrality we must make a choice.The words of a hymn by A B.Simpson reads,

                                                         'What will you do with Jesus?

                                                          Neutral you cannot be,

                                                          Someday your heart will be asking,

                                                          What will He do with me?'

A man on a mission ( Isaiah 6 v8)

 It  was said that by the end of Paul's life,it is estimated,he had travelled some ten thousand miles,this may not seem much when you compare to the 250,000 miles that John Wesley covered.But they are significant for travel was more arduous , and he faced so many dangers in his travels,in 2 Corithians 6 v3ff he leaves a record of the hardships he faced,here is a list of those things he suffered,'Troubles, hardships and distresses,beatings,imprisonments,riots,hard work,sleepless nights and hunger, Read also 2 Cor 1 v 8-9,  he also had to cope with a severe ailment, 2 Cor12 v 7ff.What drove him?well he had an unique encounter with the risen Christ,we read about it in Acts 9 . He was on a journey to Damascus on a mission to persecute Christians, when a light flashed around him ,and he fell to the ground,and he heard a voice saying,'Saul.Saul, why do you persecute me?,he asked ,'Who are you Lord?,the reply was,'I am Jesus', whom you are persecuting'.from that moment on he was a man on a mission to the then world .He no longer saw Jesus as a false Messiah, but the real Messiah,a Messiah that had not come with an army to defeat Israels enemies,and to reign over them, but a Messiah not just for Jews ,but as a Saviour  for this world.The flood gates were wide open, and so Paul went forth to bring the message of Salvation .There are very few Paul's about,but we all have our part to play in spreading the gospel. 

                                                       ' Here I am,Lord,Is it I Lord?   

                                                        I hear you calling in the night,

                                                       I will go Lord,if you lead me,

                                                      I will hold your people in my heart.'

                                                                  Words  Dan Schutte.                                              

Abide with me (Luke 24 v 28-29)

 During the Second World War,an army sergeant  called Pat Mc Guinness who fought in North Africa  ,used to get his men to sing,to soften the hatred caused by war.He would finish his sing-song with the hymn.''Abide With Me''.written Rev Francis  Lytie'',sad to say he was killed by a young sniper. The hymn is still sung every year at a major sporting event. I remember reading it ,at a funeral I once took ,it is so meaningful, The first verse stresses ,'That when other helpers fail and comforts flee,Help of the helpless,O abide with me. The next verse highlights the transience of life.Verse three emphasizes how much we need God's presence every passing hour in the light of all we as Christians have to face.Verse four declares that with God's presence,we can face whatever comes, in fact we can triumph over,our last great enemy even death. I will leave the last verse with you.

                                                 Hold Thou thy cross before my closing eyes,

                                                Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;

                                                 Heaven's morning breaks and earth vain shadows flee;

                                                 In life,in death,O Lord,abide with me'

Be an encourager ( Isaiah 41 v10)

The Duke of Wellington's cook gave notice and left him. He was asked why he had left so honourable and well paid position. His answer was,''When the dinner is good the Duke never praises me,and when it is bad he never blames me;it was just not worth while''.Looking back at my school days,I can't say any any teacher actually give me any encouragement.In fact I was told later when a friend told the principal that I had become a minister,he replied that he never thought I would amount to anything. Many a life has been changed by a word of encouragement, we need to encourage others,early in my Christian life I had a dear friend called Pat Kitchen,he was a lovely Christian man he encouraged me so much. While my wife and I were at Bible college, there were people who helped us financially,one lady let us use her caravan ,for a holiday.But most of all I was encouraged by God's promises, and for most of my Christian life ,I had a devotional called 'Daily light,'it is just full of scripture .When we as a family set off  from Northern Ireland to come to  England,I read these words,'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 v20)those words encouraged me so much.

                                                                 'Lets be encouragers'

Hallelujah ( Jonah 2)

Leonard Cohen wrote a song that has become very popular ,it's call Hallelujah which means 'Praise the Lord',it's about love,loss,faith and the human struggle.and the last line reads'It' a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah'.I can't identify with the words of an old song which reads,'Now I'm happy all the day',because I'm not happy all the day.I think we need to be very honest  to ourselves and to God.I visit people ,an old lady a lovely Christian who was married for a long time,and then her husband died.She has good support, but when evening comes,she is on her own. Another man I visit suffers from mental illness,he is a lovely Christian,but he struggles, We all struggle at times,we wish we didn't but we do,so what can we do?, we can offer up the sacrifice of ' a broken Hallelujah', for we are told,'The sacrifices of God  are a broken and contrite heart,these O God, you will not despise'  (Psalm 51 v17)

This troubled world ( Psalm 42 v 5)

 In John 14 v1,we read ''Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me''. A dear friend of mine,speaking about the trinity said,'when we speak one we speak to all' So it is when we are in difficulties and we call on Jesus,the triune God becomes involved. Jesus was going to leave them ,so He speaks these wonderful words ''Let not your heart be troubled;you believe in God, believe also in me''.They would see their Saviour crucified,but as God lives,so He would live,and all that would mean. Matthew  Henry had this say as regards the words Jesus uttered.'They could not follow  were Jesus was going deep sorrow would fill their hearts.He commands down those boisterous winds and waves, saying.''Peace be still. Let not your heart be troubled.  Though trouble surrounds you on every side,yet be wise,be watchful, and keep trouble from your hearts, And that you may do so, believe in God, and in His providence; believe also in Me,and in my grace . And you will be kept from fainting by believing'', ...And those who believe in God need not be cast down and disquieted , as those have reason , be who are strangers to Him, who have no dependence on Him or communion with Him'.The unbeliever who is without God has no hope,the believer has a sure and certain hope,so let not your heart be troubled in this troubled world.