I know my sheep. [John 10 v 14 ]

The Lord is my shepherd[ Psalm 23v1 ]Now most of us dont know much about a shepherd, in John 10 we have things mentioned that help us to understand their role. In verse 3 we read that the shepherd knows his sheep by name, in the shepherds eyes they are not just a number.The worlds population is reckoned to be 7 billion ,we do not know how many of them are Christians,but the good Shepherd Jesus does ,he knows them by name. Next we read that He leads them,He goes before them ,and here is the important thing,the sheep follow Him. Now it should be a great comfort to have the assurance that Jesus our good shepherd is leading us. Joseph H. Gilmore wrote,/He leadeth me, O blessed thought. O words with heavenly comfort fraught. Whate,er I do, where,er I be. Still tis Gods hand that leadeth me/.This is a blessed thought, a great comfort, but has this implication for His sheep, for we may not appreciate what this fully means, for the hymn goes on to say./Sometimes mid, scenes of deepest gloom. The vital thing for us all,I believe is to trust, the one who is leading. I read this story recently,/ A two story house caught fire, most escaped but a little boy panicked and ran back upstairs and into his room. Suddenly he appeared at a smoke filled window,crying like crazy. His father ,outside ,shouted, jump son, jump, I,ll catch you, but daddy the boy cried, I cant see you.His father called, I know son, but I can see you./For that little boy if he was going to be saved , he would have take a leap of trust, it is the same for us all we are called to trust the one who is leading.
A prayer..../Lord I would clasp Thy hand in mine
Nor ever murmur nor repine.
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since tis my God that leadeth me. Amen.

The new covenant.[ Jeremiah 31v31 ff/ Hebrews 8 v13ff]

David declares ,that the Lord was his shepherd[ Psalm 23 v1],yes it was possible even under the old covenant to have this very personal relationship with God. During the period of the old covenant fellowship with God was possible ,but this fellowship included adherence to the ceremonial laws, the offerings,the Sabbath keeping. But when we come into the new covenant these things are swept away, and for those who put their trust in Jesus ,there is a relationship with God, that is free from legalisim, and the only barrier is sin.Through the good Shepherd, Jesus, we can come boldly into the presence of a God[ Hebrews 4 v16 ] who accepts and loves us freely and unconditionally. These words of a poem declare a wonderful truth,/ Near, nearer I cannot be, for in the person of His Son, Im just as near as He/,amazing but true.
A prayer..../Dear Father in heaven , for Your unconditional love in Jesus we thank You. Amen/

The Lord is my Shepherd. [ Psalm 23 ]

We will begin looking at the 23 rd Psalm , next to the Lords prayer , the 23rd Psalm must be the best known of the scriptures. So let us commence our study. ...../ The lord is my shepherd, consider how wonderful these words are, and yet how amazing. A little boy whispered into the ear of his new born baby sister,tell me what the God is like, for I have forgotten. What knowledge people once had of God is long forgotten most people are like Pharaoh, who declared, who is the Lord/ I know not the Lord [ Exodus 5 v 2 ].There is a darkness throughout our land, Christmas is but a commercal occassional, we who are Christians continue to tell people the true message of Christmas,but to little avail, these are not words of despair, for I believe in the Sovereignty of God. They are as it is, I wish it was not so, but alas Santa is as real to most people as our dear Saviour. Unless God reveals Himself, the dark ignorance will continue, such is mankinds condition they have forgotten what God is like.
A prayer..... Dear God we ask that in Your mercy,that You shine into the darkened hearts of people , and bring them to a true knowledge of Your Son Jesus. Amen .

Be faithful, and trust God.[ Proverbs 20 v 6 ]

Earlier in the day I took a funeral service, my neighbours mother had requested ,that I take her funeral. I felt anxious but the Lord helped, and the mourners expressed appreciation. In preperation for the service they had requested no hymns, this sort of threw me hence the anxiety,did they want a secular funeral service?. Well I am not into secular funerals so I just went ahead and prepared , I read some scriptures and spoke on the 23rd Psalm, and finished reading that lovely old hymn, Abide with me. Tomorrow I will highlight my 3 points from Psalm 23,the lesson I learnt from this experience,we must be faithful, and trust God,for inspite of my forebodings, it appeared to go well.
A prayer...../Dear God it is so easy to feel intimidated ,help us by Your grace,to trust You, and be faithful in Jesus name Amen /

The secret of success [ 1 Corinthians 2 v 1 -5 ]

After engaging with someone in a conversation about Christianty, I came away feeling I had make it sound to complicated, I found myself saying why cant I make it more simple , why indeed.It was the great apostle Paul who wrote of his ministry to the people at Corinth wrote that his message and preaching were plain, he did not use lofty, clever or persuasive speech. [ 1 Corinthians 2v 1/4]. In fact he writes to feelings of weakness, fear, and even trembling, so we could ask the question, how was his ministry so successful?.As a preacher I can really identify with Paul, sometimes one feels so inadequate as one comes to minister. Now here is the secret of his success, the power of the Holy Spirit [ 2v 4 ], not Pauls personality,not fancy speech, as the Message puts it, none of these things, it was the power of God. I remember someone pointing to a preacher of note and his success, I pointed out it is God who saves, and to God should go the Glory. Once Dr Chalmers was congratulated on a great speech to a crowded assembly. Yes, he said, but what did it do?.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us to continually realize that the secret of our Christian life and
ministry is the person and power of Your Spirit, in Jesus name. Amen ]

A shrug of the shoulder. [ Romans 1 v 18 - 32 ]

It was the prophet Ezekiel who spoke to the exiles in Babylon, he was moved by the Spirit of God to challenge Judah as to their sinful behaviour. The exile which lasted 70 years was a judgement for sin, the exiles in Babylon and those left in Judah had sinned greatly ,and it is in chapter 16 ,Ezekiel is declaring unto them their sin ,comparing them to a harlot. It is v47 he says ,/as if that were a very little thing/,instead of seeing what they were doing for what it was, awful and terrible ,they as it were shrugged their shoulders as if it didnt matter, they go on to commit even worse sins.Is this not a picture of this generation,adulterary, homosexuality,cheating in sport, many dont appear to be concerned with what they do, just as long as they get away with it. Their evil behaviour did not stop at what they had done, no, they went on to commit even worse things.So it is if the sinner is not challenged as to their bad behaviour ,they will go on to commit even greater sins.How does a person become an alcoholic?, by taking one drink, every sin starts somewhere , and we may shrug of any thing that may challenge us,and act as if what we are doing is not important,but sin of any kind should never be seen as a little thing,for as the Jews found out to their cost ,that their is a big price to pay.
A prayer...../ Dear God help us not to take sin lightly,to confess and forsake it,in Jesus name
Amen. /

That first step. [Romans 4 v 17 - 21 ]

Basil D Olivera died , he was a cricketer, he origionally came from South Africa, but left because of the apartheid laws,he was then 28. He came to England and became an England cricketer ,when he was chosen to play for England,to play against South Africa, he was refused entry , the result was, England pulled out of any future test matches.until the release of Nelson Mandela, it was said of him he succeeded against the odds.Many people have succeeded against the odds, to some extent I feel that it could apply to myself ,mybe today you are facing difficulties, no job, no qualifications, apparently no chance. Mybe you have an idea to develop something you feel strongly about, and there are those who say you have no chance of succeeding, they may be right but then they may be wrong,everything may be against you, but if God is in it, it can and will succeed, God will not wave a magic wand,it may require hard long years to succed, let us remember the road to success starts with that first step, so prayerfully take that first step.
A prayer..../Dear God save us from despair ,help us to see with Your help, there is always hope
and that we can succeed against the odds, in Jesus name we ask this. Amen /