Pat. ( 1 Timothy 4 v 12 )

 There are people that God brings into ones life,that bless us ,my mind goes back 56 years, when I came back to the Lord. In that church there was a man called Pat Kitchen, who befriended me,and help me at that crucial time in my life. Pat  became a friend, his ministry in the church was children's work,there was lot of children in the church in those days,a large Sunday school,a very well attended children's   meeting.  Pat and another lovely brother called Wes  run that meeting, as time went on I became involved. Pat always did his best to help me and encourage me,in my Christian life, Pat eventually became a full time worker in CEF, Child Evangelism Fellowship,until he retired. He may be retired from CEF  but he is still serving the Lord,in what way?well he shared with me recently how every day he spends 3 to 4 hours in prayer.Pat has got Parkinson disease ,but my, he is such a lovely Christian, a living example as a follower of Jesus. Paul writing to young  Timothy,said this,'Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  ( 1 Timothy  4 v 12) Let us all remember that people need to see Christ, manifest in all our lives.

I miss Him . ( Song of Songs 5 v 16 )

 When Charles Templeton was in his 8os,he was interviewed,he was asked the question,how did he assess  this Jesus,he was still an agnostic,yet this is some of what he said,''He was the  greatest human being that ever lived .He was a moral genius,his ethical sense was unique. He was intrinsically the wisest person,I've ever encountered. His commitment was total,and led to his death,much to detriment of the world. Although it may sound strange,but I have to say,'' I adore Him''. There have been many wonderful people,but Jesus is Jesus' Charles at this point became emotional and tearful and his voice began to crack,as he uttered the following words,''I...Miss...Him ''.Those final words are so very tragic,so very sad, 'I miss Him',all that man said about Jesus,was grand ,but there so much more could be said,that He was the Son of God,who became the Son of Man,who became obedient to death on the cross,for sinners like you and me,Don't you miss Him,accept him as your Saviour, and if you have got away from Him,come back to him,He will receive you with open arms.

A tale of two men. ( Proverbs 3 v 5- 6 )

 I don't suppose you have  ever heard of Charles Templeton, during the 1940 s/50s he was a fellow evangelist with Billy Graham.He had a dynamic ministry that even surpassed Billy Grahams ,many thousand came to know Christ through his ministry.He changed when he attended a semiar ,there he began to have a crises of faith,especially the account of creation,he could not reconcile this with evolution.The result was, he declared himself an agnostic,and ceased being an evangelist.He spoke to his friend Billy Graham challenging him as regards his belief,in creation.Billy replied,''I believe the Genesis account because its in the Bible''. I've  discovered something in my ministry; When I take my Bible literally and proclaim it as the word of God, my preaching has power. When I stand on the platform and say,'God says,or the Bible says' The Holy Spirit uses me,there are results. I've stopped questioning and accept the Bible as Gods word.I don't know about anybody else,I've decided that's the path for me'. In this age that we live in,so many ministers are like Charles Templeton, so many things they do not believe, in the Bible,We thank God for Billy Graham,let us follow in his footsteps,and have faith in Gods word.

Heaven . ( John 14 v 1- 6 )

I do not imagine a lot of people give a great deal of thought about heaven, people differ as to what they believe, as to what will happen when they die.For some there is no after death,for others it is  reincarnation,for others there is an after life,I fall into that category.As a Christian I believe in an after life,why do I believe this, because of Jesus who returned to heaven , Acts 1..As a Christian I am not on a road leading nowhere,I have a destiny ,a sure and a certain hope,one commentator writes of a world going nowhere.The Bible speaks of Christians longing for a better country,a heavenly one,it will be better in every way than this world,rest assured of that,no more death,no more suffering.I am not sure what Gods plans are for us in heaven ,but I know it will be wonderful,eternity will be glorious.The Bible says ,'if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied' . ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 19 ),but of course we have hope, of a wonderful glorious future ,because of Christs resurrection .Which leads me on to answer the question ,how do we get to heaven?,We read in Colossians 1 v 27 these profound words , 'Christ in you the hope of glory'.without Christ in you there is no hope of glory. In the words of a hymn ,'Christ died that we might go to heaven,saved by his precious blood'. If you desire to go to heaven then ask Christ to be your Saviour,to forgive you, your sins,when you do that,the barrier to heaven is removed,you become a Child of God,and you will receive a wonderful welcome home.

Whose first in your life? ( Matthew 8 v 18 - 22 )

 Consider what one of the greatest challenge we face in life,LOVE,   Consider what Jesus taught ,'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it.Love your neighbour as yourself. ( Matthew 22 v 37 - 39 ). Are not these the most challenging words in the Bible,the first one tells us , (and these two verses are commands)that we are to love God with our total being. The words of Jesus to Peter comes to mind,when he said,''Do you love me more than these'',apply that to the first commandment about loving God. How do you feel when it is pointed out from scripture that we are sinners?,do you protest your innocence?,you do not think you are  a bad person ,you would not cheat anybody,you are a good husband, father,a good son and daughter,neighbour, etc, but that is not facing up to the question as regards loving God.I put it to you that no one loves God as they should, that is very serious,because it is challenging ,it is saying that you are a sinner.That has serious consequences ,Jesus faced people with  what really was first in their lives,when he said these challenging words,'follow Me',money got in the way,religion got in the way,family got in the way,what is getting in your way?.Jesus was truly God and truly man,and when you refuse to follow him ,you are clearly showing, that you do not love God,and that you are a sinner.

Working your Ticket (2 ) ( Colossians 1 v 19 - 20 )

 We continue on considering the one who said ,''I have come to do your will, my God'',Jesus knew why he had come,in John 6 v 38 we read him saying,''I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me''.Well it entailed a number of things,to finish animal sacrifice,because as the book of Hebrews tells us in 10 v 11,'they can never take away sins'. one commentator writes,'Offerings which can never take away sins, can only be repeated'.The answer, Christ would become a sacrifice for  sin (John 1 v 29 ),on the cross, and his last words were,'' It is finished''.The sacrificing of animals was finished, His sacrifice effectively dealt with sin,in that he bore the wrath of God,that rests upon everyone (John 3 v 36 ) This means when we trust Jesus as our Saviour are sins are forgiven, and the wrath of God is lifted from us,and we are saved from wrath to come. In conclusion, no animal sacrifice,no pilgrimages,no good works,can save us,no matter how sincere we may be,all for sin cannot atone,we cannot work our ticket to heaven,it has to be, 'Nothing in my hands I bring ,simply to Thy cross I cling;' (Words A.M.Toplady )

Working your ticket. ( 1) ( 1 Timothy 1 v 15 )

 I  watched a video oh  the Hajj ,pilgrimage, and all the things they have to do ,seven in all, when they complete it, a message comes over the Tannoy system ,telling the Muslim pilgrims that allah had forgiven them their sins.It seems that so many religions,including the cults stress the need for doing works of some sort in order to be saved. The JWs are expected to do so many hours door knocking,a good question to ask them ,who are they seeking to save?.The Christian religion tells us clearly that there is absolutely nothing one can do ,to save ourselves.That includes good works,religious practices,prayer ,church attendance,religious rites,like circumcision,baptism,or whatever. The reason being that none of these  can cancel one sin,yes not one,likewise the sacrifice  of an animal is useless so why does the Bible tell us that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness ? (Hebrews 9 v 22 ),in Psalm 40 v 6, we read,'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire',because they were ineffective in dealing with sin.what was needed was needed was a sacrifice that would effectively deal with sin.v 6,continues by telling us of someone who would deal with sin effectively,it is Christ speaking (Heb 10 v 5 ) ,'You don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, ''look, I have come to do your will, my God''. As it is written about me in the scriptures. I take joy in doing your will'.( We will continue this next time.)