While visiting my youngest son and family,we went to see our grandchild performing with other children it all very well.But during it my mind wondered to a dear friend of mine who is very ill,so I started to pray for him, my prayers were mingled with my tears,As we walked into the auditorian I looked at the people, gathered,and thought if only I could preach to them and tell them about Jesus.Now coming back to me praying for my friend I also started praying that God would use me to be a winner of souls. I remember reading of a preacher known as ,''Praying Hyde'', who was remembered for his famous cry,''Give me souls,O God, or I die',and I prayed that in my prayers.Psalm 126 v 6 reads ,'He that goeth forth and weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,bringing his sheaves with him'.
'Dear Lord give us a hunger and
a thirst for the souls of men and
women,who are perishing.
Can you remember when you first prayed to God? I remember one of my earliest prayers ,I was very young and I was in bed. My mother and Father had separated, so this was the background to my prayer.I spoke to God about not having father but I had Him as my Father.It has always been so precious to me ,it was not that I followed Him all my life at times I did not,but God did not give up on me ,and wonder of wonders He brought me back to Himself 61 yrs ago. I suppose there is to a degree the essence of the story that our Saviour told in the parable of the lost son in my experience.God has given us the ability to make a choice.I remember so clearly a moment when I turned away from my loving Heavenly Father,I regret that but I'm so grateful that He drew me back to Himself . Everyday we make choices,that may appear obvious,but some choices are more important than others . If you are not saved,you need to make the most important choice in all your life.You may be a good living person but you are still a sinner and you are on the broad road that leads to destruction your destination is Hell,accept Christ as your Saviour.Then like me you may have wandered away from your loving Heavenly Father,for whatever reason,He has not given up on you, He still loves you,make the right choice now.
The Beatles sang a song with the words ,'All you need is love', it was a world wide hit with six hundred million records sold . But love without truth ,or love without morality ,or love where God is excluded? The world loves many things,gods who are not god's, People love their country, their pets,their cars, their families ,and so we could go telling what people love, and yet do not love God.One has not to be carried away by a wave of sentimentality,God loved the world by giving His Son,their response was they nailed Him to a cross.Of course many non Christians do loving things,and we applaud them for that,but they do not love the Son of God. We cannot cut God out of the picture, multitudes, do,as if to say He doesn't matter, He should take first but He is left out in the cold.Ask them this question would they be prepared to die for God, The apostle of of love John wrote the following,'This is love; not that we loved God,but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our Sins.
'Such love!Such grace!Makes the pieces come falling into place,
Breaks through the darkness, turns on the light,
Making blindness give way to sight, your love has conquered,
Has set us free to become all You've called us to be,
Healing the wounded,making us stand,bringing peace and a sword in your hand.
And no power in the universe can separate us from the love of God.
We're Yours forever with nothing to fear,
Willing slaves to the love that brought us here.' ( Words Dave Bryant)
I have just read an article in a news paper on a man called Bear Grylls's he has written a book that has become very popular.Im interested in a number of things he said.As a Christian we must be discerning,and judge all things which by God's word.This unchanging revelation must be our guide,take one of this mans statement about Jesus he speaks about Jesus being on the wild side and being a 'savage warrior' .That is not what He was,he never was out of control and as for being a savage warrior,nothing could be further from the truth,He was meek and lowly of heart Matthew 11 v29,As regards politics He never involved Himself once in politics, He said his kingdom was not of this world, John 18 v36. Then this man said something which I have heard people say to me many times,'you don't need to go to church.'he appears very ignorant as to what the church is ,it is,not a building,the church is the people of God,In Ephesians 5 v25 we read,'Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for it'.The church is all Christians, they are our family, he writes that he doesn't go very much to church saying that God is not found there.Here again he is equating the church with a building, instead of God's people,and has not read what Jesus said, in Matthew 18 v20,'For where two or three gather in my name,there I am with them'.As regards sexuality,he clearly thinks that Jesus had no problems with peoples sexuality, but he did for he told the women caught in adultery,'go and leave your life of sin' John 8 53ff. Because Jesus didn't mention many different sins it is clear that there are moral boundaries that God has set up ,and if we Igor them ,we are sinning,
Proverbs 27 v 1 reads,'Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring',so wrote Solomon. Who are the boasters?,they include everyone.Unfortunately, even Christians do it,yes we do. we all seem to ignore the obvious,the uncertainty of life,yet we rush on in our blindness, confident that we do not need to acknowledge God in all our ways to direct our paths Proverbs 3 v6.The poet Robbie Burns wrote,'' The best plans of mice and men go awry'' (amiss)As the Titanic was sailing on its maiden voyage, someone said that it was ''Practically unsinkable''.The fact is life holds no certainties,ignoring that brings dire consequence, Charles Bridges wrote as regards our eternal destiny,and our neglect of our souls, ,'Heaven and Hell are no trifles.Tomorrow presumed upon today neglected,ruins all. Standing on the brink of a precipice,how precious the moment for prayer,ere the door of mercy is closed for ever! We can make our plans ,but make them prayerfully, acknowledging our dependence on our God and so glorify Him.
'Run not before Him'
There are many examples of what it cost to follow Jesus,I mention a married couple who were members of the church that I attended in Belfast,their names were Fred and Ina Orr,he was known as Freddy. They were very gifted people,I was not at the church when they attended,later on I did meet Freddy,and was blessed through his ministry.They both felt the call of God on their lives,and ended up being accepted by the 'Acre Gospel Mission',to go to Brazil. When travelling to their destination in Brazil, Ina became unwell and died, Fred became unwell also but survived,He was advised by a doctor to go home,but he stayed,and for the rest of his life he served God there.Yes there is a cost in following Jesus,everyday I pray for many people,who are suffering greatly because they are followers of our dear Saviour.
'Remember it is the way of the cross
that leads home'
I want to highlight three things we should remember
1
Remember what Paul said in Philippians 3 v13 ,'But one thing I do :Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead.And Paul lived that out in his life,and so should we.We cannot change our failures,our past hurts, and disappointments, we have all have them,let us not become a slave to them,I believe the essence of what Paul is saying is don't dwell on them,put them behind you, if we don't it will hinder our present efforts,and our future progress.
2
Remember what David said,' I was young and now I am old,Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread'.I remember saying to a person,'The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want'(Ps 23v1),he laughed at me,but it is true.The God of David ,is my God,and he is your God, 'our Saviour said 'do not worry 'Mt 6 v25,and then He repeats it again ,'v31 'So do not worry', He is telling us that our heavenly Father will care for us.
3
Remember what our Saviour said,' I am the light of the world.Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness,but will have the light of life.'This is a dark world and there is much darkness all around us,remember Jesus will be with us ,He will be the light in our darkness,his presence will be with us,and His word shall also be with us,let that word be a lamp for our feet,and a light on our path.(Psalm 119v105)
Why did Israel get into so much trouble? what does God say was the problem? 'But you have not listened to me',( Judges 6 v6)yes God did speak to them,but they did not listen.It's like what a wife say's to her husband',you don't listen to me.' We may laugh at that,and identify with it ,likewise when a parent speaks to their children,we can identify with that if you are parenting,and they do not take it seriously , they don't listen. How much more should we listen to God when we read His word,or hear his word ,if we did, them we would avoid so many things that would harm us. Let us ask us ourselves the question, am I listening to God ? am I obeying what He says?,Are you in trouble,could it be that God is saying,the reason you are in trouble is because you did not listen to me.Be humble enough and ask forgiveness,put it right with God, now.
?
In Leviticus 10 v 10 Aaron is instructed that he and his sons must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean'. These words were spoken after Aaron's sons had disobeyed God 10 v 1-2 ', fire came from the presence of the Lord and consumed them\, and they died before the Lord'You can imagine that many liberals will cry out against what God did ,and they will say that's the God of the OT,they appear to forget that Christians believe in only one God, Malachi 3 v 6 tells us 'For I am the Lord I change not'. James 1 v 17 speaks of the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows' And in Hebrews 13 v 8 we read,'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,today,and forever'.these words affirms His diety.The verses in Lev 10 v10 tells us that God is not neutral as regards sin,and there are many passages in the NT show this.The sons of Aaron disobeyed God (Exodus 30 v 9 )When anyone disobeys God they are sinning,even if you are a Child of God. Aaron's sons offended God's holiness,the reason why they were possible drunk (cp Lev 10 v9) Drunkenness has caused a lot of misery,drinking alcohol is not a sin (1 Timothy 5 v23) but being a slave to it is ( 1Corinthians 6 v 9 -10)
Let us consider the wrath of God we apply it mainly to humanity ,but lets consider it in relationship to Jesus.All humanity is under the wrath of a holy God ,there is nothing we can do to change that , so where does Jesus fit in this?,let us consider Him,first He was truly human but was also God manifest in the flesh. in Matthew 1 v22 we read,'They will call him Immanuel which means God with us,He is the one Isaiah wrote about in 9v6 as being the Mighty God,everlasting Father', there are other OT references to Christs diety ,Psalm 110 v 1/ Psalm 45 v7/ Isaiah 7 v1. There are many other scriptures that declare Jesus to be God in the NT,so why did He come and as Charles Wesley wrote ,'How the incarnate Deity; Our God contracted to a span'?because He loved this world (John 3 v16) a world where every human being is lost, judgement awaits.The good news is this 'He will save his people from their sins',the next question we need to ask is how was He going to do that?It is in Hebrews 9 v 22 we read 'the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness' Cp Lev 16 v14.So it is in Hebrew 9 v27 we read,'so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many. Jesus would have to die that also included taken the punishment for our sins ,He became our substitute bearing the full wrath for the sinners sin.In trusting Christ we are no longer under the wrath of God for Jesus bore the wrath of God for us' Cp Isaiah 53 v 10.
What do you think when you hear the word compassion? there are a number of meanings ,'a feeling for those who are suffering,and for many that's were it stops,just a feeling.I read the following description of the word compassion,'It is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering'.A strong desire to do something,it is illustrated so wonderfully by our Saviour ,in Matthew 14 v 14ff ,He saw a large crowd,He had compassion on them and healed those who were ill,he followed it up by feeding them .In Luke 7 v11ff,He witnessed a funeral procession,a widow woman had lost her son,we read,'His heart went out to her'then he raised him from the dead,a wonderful description of compassion.Someone said that compassion is a verb,a doing word.Of course you may say I can't perform miracles,that's right but we can do something,if we have the where with all ,we can do something,it is not always about money,When my son had to have an operation for cancer, people from his church brought meals for his family.
'Let us turn our feelings of
compassion into action'
I listened to what a person was saying at our home group,the conversation had arisen as regards a person in our fellowship who is married ,he and his wife had lost a son whom they had looked after for 40 yrs,the son had special needs.Coming back to that person he could not understand why the brother was still grieving over his loss.As a person who lost a young wife many years ago, I still remember her and am sad at times,I know that grief can be long lasting,time eases the pain,but we never forget,nor should we,it doesn't control my life,for I know she is in heaven,and that's the most important thing.That person who could not understand why that brother had not got over his sons lost, had not walked in that brother shoes, but one day he will understand,so let us not judge people,let us pray for them .
'' Beware of the ides of March'' is a famous warning from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar,telling the Roman dictator to watch for danger on March15th. The day he was famously assassinated .The warning was added by Shakespeare,it never really happened,but if it had been uttered would he have heeded it?,we will never know. Many people have ignored warnings,of real dangers,and have suffered the consequences. One of the most well known warning in the Bible was given to Lot and his family,just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,they were told ,'Flee for your lives! Don't look back' (Genesis 19v17) Lot's wife for whatever reason looked back,and suffered the consequences,but there were other people in this chapter who were warned Lots sons-in-law, but they treated the warning as a joke,but soon found out that it was no joke. When God gives a warning we ignore it to our cost,the preacher is given a solemn responsibility to warn people of the dangers of ignoring God's warnings,They have to warn people of the dangers of sinful behaviour,not to cross God's moral boundaries,and the consequences if they do . This is a challenge not just to the unsaved, but to the saved,when it comes to sin God will act,heed the warnings.
There are those who say as regards the Gospel you can't preach the gospel every time you preach,the sad thing is many so called ministers never preach the gospel. As regards those ministers who don't preach the gospel they will be held accountable, I remember being at a funeral service at a crematorium and I was so sad that the minister had not really spoken about Christ, and afterwards I spoke to him and I challenged him. All Christians have a responsibility to be witnesses for Christ,but a minister should be a minister of the gospel, God has entrusted us with that responsibility, of telling sinners about Jesus Christ. Responsibility brings with it accountability. We must be not be intimidated ,showing neither fear or favour,but be faithful,to the charge that has been given unto us.People need to be saved,saved from what?,there fallen condition and its consequences.. What is their condition? they are sinners ,I include myself in that,and what do sinners need,they need their sins forgiven ,what is the consequences,so many peoples lives are in ruin because of their sinful ways,only Jesus can break the power of sin,and set people free. But there's more , in the novel 'the Scarlet pimpernel,the question is asked,is he in heaven? is he hell?. It is very clear that if one dies without Christ you will go to hell,if you trust Christ you go to heaven.
I heard recently of a minister who refused who to baptise a man ,many people knew this man by reputation that he was a scoundrel who had not repented of his sins .It was John the baptist who challenged the religious elite whom he felt were very wicked,that they should bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3 v8) John spoke of another who would baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire,the one he spoke of was Jesus .Cp 1 Corinthians 12 v 13 which reads,'For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body whiter Jews or Gentles slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink'.Water baptism is not for the unbeliever,but for the Christian,it is a personal confession of ones faith in Christ. It is saying I have died with Christ,my old life is gone, and as Jesus was resurrected and so I am also resurrected to live in newness of life,dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus
'I give myself to Thee
My Saviour and my God,
To be Thine own for evermore
O help me to renounce
The hateful works of sin,
The empty vanities of life,
The flesh that strives within.
Words Emily Symons
I want to bring to some thoughts from Isaiah 50,Israel is in captivity in Babylon,and they are complaining that God has forsaken them,in fact they are saying ,he has divorced them.Of course this was rubbish He had not forsaken them but He had dealt with them because of their sins ( v1) The prophets had spoken to them but they did not listen,and just kept on sinning.We expect that of the unsaved but they were the people of God, they should have known better. In verse 2 God declares He had come to them ,but He got no answer they turned a deaf ear to Him,He reminds them of His power that could save them,with those well known words,'Is my hand shortened at all, that cannot redeem them, reminding them of His power. Never underestimate the power of God ,He is all powerful,He can save the chiefest of sinners ,hear what the apostle wrote,
'Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves
full acceptance; Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners of whom I am the worst'
1 Timothy 1 v15
So it's all over for another year, one has to laugh at the words of a song, ',I wish it could be Christmas every day' imagine the turkey dinners we would consume,I dread the thought. Now back to reality back to the future,it goes without saying we don't know what the future holds, but there is someone who does, ''God'' Thats very important to be reminded of that, but He is not just a spectator, He is a sovereign God who rules and reigns over all things,if that is true why?yes that why again. Tozer writes that He is all knowing, all powerful,and absolutely free. Consider the last one absolutely free.We do not have the answer as regards ,'the riddle of permitted evil'. or the mystery of permitted evil. The Westminster Confession tells us,'His not the author or approver of sin,nor is he blameworthy for it' .Because God is sovereign we can have hope,our times are in his hands,that means the good times and the bad ,and some very bad time.Bad things happen to God's children,in Philippians 2 v29 we read'For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him,but also suffer for Him'.Romans 8 v28 tells us that all things work together for good to those who love God'. All things, yes even evil things, I may not understand these words,but we must exercise faith in our sovereign God and His will for our lives,and not to give up on God, whatever the new year brings.
'I know who holds the future,and He'll guide me with His hand,
With God things don't just happen,everything by Him is planned;
So as I face tomorrow with its problems large and small,
I'll trust the God of miracles,give to Him my all'.
As we enter the new year ,I would like to mention three things,that I feel are very important for all Christians ,including myself,I'm not sure if I mention them before ,.even if I had,I want to mention them again
'The first one'.
The apostle Paul writes the following ,'But one thing I do : forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead' (Philippians 3 v13 )The apostle had a long history ,full of so many things,he wrote 14 epistles if you count Hebrews,which I do,a tremendous achievement by any standard.He established a number of churches, suffered so many things in his effort to spread the gospel,of course he also had discouragements . But he does not linger on those things,he refuses to dwell on them,he does not become a prisoner of the past,nor should we. Unfortunately many of us are so caught up with past that we do not move forward,
'The second one'
It is very simple yet very challenging, 'Pray,Pray,Pray', in Ephesians 6 v 18-20 the apostle Paul mentions prayer 5 times.each bring a challenge to us,a challenge we need desperately to rise to.Make the coming year a time of communing with God,tell Him everything.
'The third thing'
Last but not least,don't starve your soul,read the word of God, memorise the word,get to understand the word of God ,use the available helps to do that,and most of all rely on the Holy Spirit. The word of God is food for your soul,so don't starve it. Our Lord Jesus said 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God' (Matthew 4 v 4.)
