Scripture Alone ( Acts 17 v 10 - 12 )

 One of the most popular ministers in the 19th century was a Baptist preacher called  Charles Haddon Spurgeon, his popularity was world wide, Many preachers would love to have such a popular ministry,as one listens to some preachers especially in America ,with their mega gatherings ,one would wish that they were not so popular,in their dubious teaching,and their graving after material gain, and as one observes the vast numbers attending their gatherings it is sad that they appear so gullible,with no real spiritual discernment..It appears the easy way out ,not to think, to not search the scriptures.It is not a new thing ,millions in their ignorance have let their church do their thinking for them,believing that their church knows best,all they have to do is go along with what their church teaches, and they will go to heaven,of course there is always the threat hanging over them, if they don't, then they will be lost..The reformation began when godly men started to read the scriptures,the result was they saw that what their church was teaching was contrary to Gods word. One the cries of the reformation was ,'Scripture Alone',when preachers start saying things that are not in the word of God,or that are contrary to Gods word,beware, it is time to speak out ,and get out.,for they are destroying the very foundation of our faith.

Preparation ( 1 Timothy 4 v 15 - 16 )

 A friend of the family is doing some decorating for us,as I watched him at work, I was impressed by the  preparation he did..As a preacher I realise more and more the importance of  sermon preparation,good sermons  don't just happen.Before David became the shepherd King of Israel ,he was a shepherd of  sheep, that was God's preparation.God does prepare us for whatever role he has called us to do,but that does not mean we have nothing to do.Gold medal winners, don't just happen, if  God has given you a gift then he wants and requires you to develop that gift, that means hard work. Marriage  I believe is a gift from God ,but we must work at it continually,so many people don't take into consideration the challenge of marriage, the hard work it entails to make a marriage work. It is only in fairy tales that people live happy ever after,remember a marriage will struggle to survive if  husband and wife don't work together,  God is there to help us,if we are willing to seek his help.Now lets consider preparation in relation to our spiritual well being, for we who are Christians .Let me ask you a question,what preparation should we make as we face each  day?,the world rushes on,but we need to pray,we need to read God's word,we need to remember the words of our Saviour that without him we can do nothing, for we are not just living a life, we are called to live a Christ like life.

Faith or ( Hebrews 11 v 6 )

 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. ( Hebrews 1 v  3 )Let me ask you is God an evolutionist? ,the answer is simple, no He created.Then the cry goes up even by so called Christians ,but the scientist  say,but have you ever considered that those same scientist  deny the existence of God. Let us consider what L.d'Etaples has to say, in which he contrasts ,faith and human reasoning,' Reason does not attain to faith, but grace, which is superior to reason, provides it. What reason provides is , moreover,obscure and weak;  whereas  what grace affords is clear and strong; and so the trusting man of faith commits himself  to God, not to his own reason,to divine truth, not to the possibility of his own cleverness, and his position is spacious, not narrow. He who is  unwilling to leave behind the possibility of his own reason encloses himself in a dark and confining prison where the sun of grace does not shine and  life- giving faith is not found. O ' divine faith , wonderful foundation of life, strong support of hope, anchor of devotion and shining cord extended from heaven, seizing which we climb to him who is above and beyond all altitude.'

The wow factor. ( John 4 v 1 - 26 )

 The only time I have seen the Grand Canyon is on the TV ,or in the movies, it is situated in N. Arizona,it is over 200 miles long,and is about a mile deep, the Colorado river runs along its base. I have a friend who visited the canyon,seemingly there are platforms that take one right out over the canyon.My friend shared his experience, as he walked unto one of the platforms,he felt a wow factor,it was amazing..So he walked along and walked out on another platform, felt it was great,I cannot remember how many more platforms he went out on,but by the time he got to the last one,the wow factor had gone.There are so many things like that,when we purchase a car,or we see some new technology, or  some scientific discover. Children soon discard their toys, the wow factor soon goes,the greatest example of a person loosing the wow factor, is found in the book of Ecclesiastes.The book is about a King  who tried everything, I mean everything,and all he ends up saying,''everything was meaningless''.A certain footballer said there is only so many watches one can buy,why is mankind always chasing after that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?,the truth is this ,if they found it , it would soon loose the wow factor. In John 4 our Saviour spoke to a women who came to a well to draw water ,He said to her,whoever drinks of the water from that well would thirst again,but whoever drinks the water I  give them will never thirst.  Are you thirsty?have you discovered that the wow factor is gone from your life?, 56 yrs ago Christ changed my ,like many there was a deep longing  that the things of this world could not satisfy. 'O Christ in Thee my soul has hath found, and found in Thee alone. The peace ,the joy I sought so long, the bliss till now unknown. Now none but Christ can satisfy,none other name for me; There's love  and life and lasting joy,Lord Jesus ,found in Thee'

The answer ( Romans 5 v 1 )

 This question is asked in Job 9 v 2  ,'But how can a man be righteous before God?',that's a very important question,consider one of the greatest of the prophets Isaiah.He had a vision of  God,a Holy God,and was so overcome ,he cries out,'Woe to me,...I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips  ( Isaiah 6 v 5 )',Then consider the greatest of the apostles,Paul ,who declared himself to be the worst of sinners ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )  When the Bible says ,all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,no matter who we are. The answer to the question ,can a man be righteous before God?,is no, it is beyond us,so how can we be justified and accepted with God?. The words of the disciples come to mind,''who then can be saved?''our Saviour give this answer, ''With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible''( Matthew 19 v 25 - 26 )Only God has the answer, and the answer is  Jesus, in 1 Peter 3 v 18 ,we read,'For Christ also hath once suffered for sins,, the just ,( righteous man ) for the unjust (unrighteous ones),that He might bring us to God'.First of all we note He died once,only once, it cannot be repeated ,that death on the cross was for sins,He was sinless, it was for sinful humanity..  On the cross Christ took the  place of sinners ,and bore the sinners punishment,that means when we trust  Jesus,we are free from Gods wrath and judgement,in other words we are Justified and  accepted by God. Charles Wesley wrote,' No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all  in Him ,is mine.Alive in Him, my living Head,and clothed in righteousness divine. Bold I approach the eternal throne,and claim the crown,through Christ alone'.

Spiritual cancer. ( Romams 3 v 23 )

 John Stott writes, 'Salvation is a comprehensive term ( Past) Justification . (Present ) Sanctification. (Future) Glorification. Consider Justification,what does it mean?,it is a very important question ,it involves our standing,and acceptance before a holy God..How can a person achieve this?,first of all no one  can,if you are religious and keep all the rules of that religion,that will not give you a right standing and acceptance with God. If you are a moral person, and most people think they are ,human morality fails also, The term ,the milk of human kindness comes to mind,I recently met a man who said he was not a sinner, and then he went on to relate how he had helped someone ,that also will fail. Why you may ask do all these things fail,for none of them deal with the real problem that we are all sinners,it is no use saying ,well no one is perfect,that's right,but that term is often a way of ignoring the more serious truth ,that we are in Gods sight ,a sinner. Our sin cannot be expunged by anything we can do,no matter how sincere we are,and so the problem remains,which means we have no standing or acceptance with a holy God..That means we will never go to heaven and we will go to to hell.The answer to our sinfulness can only be  dealt with if first of all we acknowledge our sinfulness,to stop minimising it,it  is to serious,to do that.sin is spiritual cancer,it is fatal, you cannot beat it,the result is certain,eternal separation from God,and that is more awful than one can ever imagine..There is an answer to this problem we will consider it next time.

New growth. ( Hebrews 12 v 4 - 12 )

 In Yorkshire England,there are estates were grouse are reared,the birds nest on the ground among the heather, these estates are run as a business,people pay to come and shoot grouse,they don't shoot them on the ground, but people I think they are  called beaters, walk among the heather and scare them into the air. Now in order to maintain the heather,part of it is set on fire,they do this to encourage new growth. If you read the Bible you see people who experienced  good times,but they also  experienced great trials,  indeed our dear Saviour told us that in the world we would have tribulation, ( John 16 v 33 ) ,even now many dear Christians are experiencing great tribulations.In the  that old hymn,'God leads us along, by B.Gaither, we read how He leads,'Some through the waters, some through the flood,but all through the blood.Some through great sorrow ,and all the day long'.Why such trials? well there is a reason, the man of God ,Job who was experiencing great trials,declared ,'but he knows the way I take;  when he has tested me,I shall come forth as gold' ( Job 23 v 10 ). The fact is, in our trials God is with us,and through the trials he will purify us, a verse from a hymn ,puts it like this.'When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie. My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design,thy dross to consume , and thy gold to refine'Yes .like the heather, the fire that God brings into our lives,it is to encourage new growth.