Leaving a Legacy. ( Revelation 14 v 13 )

 When Angola received its independence, a civil war broke out,which lasted on and off for 27 years,the suffering was immense over 500,000 people died,one of the legacies of that conflict is that of  land-mines,about 1,000,000,about a 100,000 have been dealt with. What a terrible legacy,war leaves,as an Ulster man I know only to well the legacy left by the battle of the Boyne in 1690.There will come when you and I will die,what sort of legacy will we leave?.You may not have heard of Stuart King,he died recently aged 98,he was the founder of the,'  Missionary Aviation Fellowship'. a wonderful organization.They work around the world with many humanitarian organisations,helping so many needy people, it also promotes the gospel.  What a wonderful legacy,started by that one man,which many hungry ,sick poor people ,will thank God for.Now let us return to ourselves ,what sort of legacy will we leave,how many poor people have we helped?how many people have we pointed to Christ?.Remember we are not Stuart King,but we can leave   a legacy,that will   touch others even after we die,a legacy of love,of faithfulness,of holiness,of kindness.

My world ( Hebrews 11 v 24 - 26 )

He came from a rich family,he excelled in his studies,his father was so proud of his son,and this is what he said,''Son the world is your oyster''.This saying means 'You can achieve anything you wish in your life and go anywhere you want.The world is there for the taking ,that saying was first penned by the one and only William Shakespeare.What  is your world ?,on holiday recently I spoke to a number of people and their world is fishing.Fishing, it can be sport,art,family stamp collecting,sex,drugs,gambling,what is your world? It was Alexander the great who said,no more worlds to conqueror, it reminds me of a title of a movie,'This world is not enough'.God made us for a greater purpose,that is to glorify Him ,if we choose anything less than that ,we are missing the mark,and will be losers, not just in time but for eternity  Eric Liddell,said this,''Many are missing something in life,because they are after the second best''.I see so many wasted lives,and I say to myself ,if only they knew my Saviour If you are a Christian,enjoy your fishing or whatever,but don't let it become your world let your Saviour become your world.

Don't be fooled ( Exodus 20 v 1 - 6 )

The  rooster was a proud animal ,when I crow, he said , the sun comes up,all the animals believed him,for it appeared to them ,that this  was true,for as the rooster said,,every time the he crowed the sun came up. So the rooster became a creature to be feared,and even to be worshipped,and so the rooster exercised great power,and he began to believe that he was god.He started to bring in rules and regulations,some were very oppressive,he also did not like the pigs,so he started a hate campaign against them.So the animals joined in ,the horse would kick the pigs,and the cows would poke them with their horns,cruelty became the order of the day.There was only one thing to do  said the rooster ,we must find a way of getting rid of those filthy animals,so things became worse and worse,for the poor pigs.Then it happened,the rooster,who had been up the night before,partying fell ill,and could not get up out of his bed. Now this caused the animals to panic,the sun is not going to come up,but to their relief it did,and then it happened,the rooster died,but the sun kept coming up everyday,and then the penny dropped,and gradually the animals realised that the rooster was not a god,he was but a rooster. Let us remember, none of us are god's,and that there is only one God,and He alone is to be worshipped and obeyed.

Death shall die ( 1 Corinthians 15 )

 John Dunne was born in the 16th century during the reign of Queen Elizabeth,in his latter years he became dean of St. Paul's,he is remembered as being a poet of note,he wrote those words,'No man is an Island'.I happened upon a verse of another poem he wrote,the poem it is called,'Death be not proud', Bear with the English,the punch line at the end is wonderful,  'Death, be not proud though some have called thee,mighty and dreadful,for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,die not,poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me. From  rest and sleep, which but thou pictures be, Much pleasure,then from thee much more must flow;And soonest our best men with thee do go -  Rest of their bones and souls' delivery. Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,And dost with poison,  war, and sickness dwell, And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well ,And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we  wake eternally;And  Death shalt be no more, Death thou shalt die.' In Revelation  20 v 14,we read,'Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire.'

Truth Unchanging ( 3 John v 4 )

We have been considering Hebrews 13 v 8 .'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever',P'E.Hughes writes,'If Jesus Christ is unchanging, so also is the truth concerning him, with the consequence that there can be no place for differing and discordant doctrines.In Christ we have the completion as well as the source of faith.' There are  things, as Christians , we will differ on,secondary things,but there are truths,doctrines that we are expected to hold fast to.Truth is of the utmost importance,the belief in the Trinity, that God is one God, but three coeternal consubstantial persons,the Father,the Son( Jesus Christ)and the Holy Spirit- as 'one God in three Divine persons' The incarnation of Jesus, ,one who was truly man and truly God,his sinlessness, his death on the cross as a sacrifice for sin,his bodily  resurrection,and his ascension to heaven and his return to judge the quick and the dead..We could also mention hell,and that all who have not had their sins forgiven, by trusting in Christ,will be condemned to that awful place for eternity.There are many other truths I could mention,and in my daily notes I do write on them,we must hold fast to God's truths,they are unchanging,beware of ignoring this.( Revelation 22 v 18 - 20 )

He never changes. ( Malachi 3 v 6 )

 Let us continue on about change, in Hebrews 13 v 8,we read,' Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever'.Unlike us, Jesus did not have a fallen nature,he was sinless.That qualified him to become our Saviour, P.E.Hughes writes that in Hebrews 13 v 8,we see the unfailing reliability of him who is our Saviour.These words were written about 2000 years ago,but they are telling us that here and now in 2020, our Saviour has not changed. There is a song ,sung by the great Nat King Cole,call ,'When I fall in love', and  it goes unto read,'it will be forever',when most people get married, that's what they want,but as the song goes unto say,that for many ,'love ends before its begins,and that to many moonlight kisses ,seem to cool in the warmth of the sun'.The unchanging Christ ,loves  his children with a love that will never change.Also he will always help us, that will never change. When we are told that Jesus does not change, we are being told that he is divine,he is God,it is  called immutability,and that this can be only said of God. So we worship Him who is our wonderful Saviour,and rejoice in his unchangeableness.

Change ( 1 Corinthians 6 v 9 - 11 )

 I remember when I was young my uncle asked this question,'What is everything doing?' I said growing old'.I wonder is everything changing?,I know I am,change is part of life, for all creatures ,life changes ,society changes.The industrial revolution changed human history,but there is something about humanity that does not change, his fallen nature.No matter how educated and civilised we become,that fallen nature will still manifest itself . One of the most civilised countries in the world was Germany,the home of the reformation,and yet in the 20th century ,an evil arose in the nature of a political group,that would commit unbelievable evil,and many other Eastern European countries joined in.We are sometimes lulled into a belief that humanity is moving upward and onward,but we are not,,we have not changed in our ability to sin.Why am I  always stressing our sinfulness? ,because it is a fact,the bible does not lie, when it tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.The beast within has not changed,and will not,unless one comes to know Jesus as their Saviour.In 2 Corinthians 5 v 17 we read, 'Therefore,if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,old things passed away,and look,new things have come'. He can change you, and it will be for the better.