I know ( 3 ) ( Isaiah 53 v 10 )

 Light has come into the world ( John  3 v 19 ),here  it is speaking about Jesus who is called the light of the world ( John 9 v 5 ). Jesus  came from heaven, born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, the scripture foretold of His coming  C P, Isaiah 7 v  14/ 9 v 6 / Micah 5 v 2  .  Every Christmas we celebrate this great event, but why should He come? ,what was the purpose of  His coming , the answer  ,'He will save his people from their sins'. That problem that man caused was going to be solved by God, through Jesus his Son, only God could solve it.. This Jesus would lead a sinless life, that had to be, as we will see , the purpose of his coming ,was clearly foretold in the Bible, CP Isaiah 53/ Psalm 22.It was John the Baptist who declared, 'Look ,the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world'. How was he going to deal with sin? ,it is important to make clear ,that Jesus knew why he had come. CP  John 8 v 28/ Matthew 16 v 21/. And so it came to pass, they took him and crucified him, why the cross, why this awful death, Well his death was for judgement for sin, whose sin ,not his ,but your sin ,my sin. God cannot overlook sin ,there is always a price to pay for sin, the wrath of God that abides on mankind, C P, John 3 v 36,that means we would all be going to Hell. So Jesus bore the wrath of  God, so that all who trust in Jesus would not have to bear it.. (We will continue this tomorrow)

Does God test us? ( 1 ) ( Matthew 22 v 34 - 40 )

God does test his people , here are a few examples,   ( 1)   Abraham, in Genesis 22 we read how God  spoke  to him, and this is what  he said, '' Take your son , your only son , whom you love - Isaac-  and go  to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice  him there  as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you''.  Consider what God  said, and ask yourself , how would you feel if these words  were spoken to you. Isaac was a child of promise , Gen 17 v 19, he loved Isaac , but how  much did he love Him?. Remember  what our Saviour said to Peter in John 21, '' do you love me more than these ?,who or what was our Lord referring  to?, was  it his business, as a fisher man?, it was Peter who said to the other disciples, '' I am going out to fish'', the rest followed him. our employment is important to us, Jesus could have been pointing to the other  disciples, and was saying, do you  love me more than them, I am  sure that we all appreciate the importance of friends. The great test, in relation to our love for our Saviour,  boils down to how much do we love him?  

                                                  Lovest thou Me, lovest  thou Me, more than these ?

                                                  Modern times have brought many blessings,

                                                  People live in  wealth and luxury ,

                                                   But the Master still asks the question,

                                                    Lovest  thou Me, lovest thou Me,

                                                    More than these ?.

                                                                        ( Words by Emie Hassie ) 

I know (2) ( Romans 3 v 9 - 23 )

 Continuing from yesterday, and how one would get to heaven, I guarantee you will get to heaven but first of all, I want you to do something, I want you to pray in your own words,. asking  Him to help you, as you look at what we are dealing with.  I want to take you back to two people in a Garden, they were sinless, but then they disobeyed God. So sin entered this world and paradise was no longer, everything had changed, I mean everything, no longer were those two people innocent,  their whole nature had changed, all who   would follow would have same fallen nature.  This would effect mankind's relationship with a holy God, the result we would  die physically, and spiritually, we had become sinners. There are no perfect people, for as the Bible tells us, all have sinned and come short of God's glory. ( Romans 3 v 23).While we are in this sinful condition, we cannot have a relationship with God who is holy, nor can we enter heaven. So that leaves us in a very  dreadful condition, facing only one thing  judgement , Humankind's fallen nature ,is spiritually dark ,in other words they do connect with what God says in his word, instead they invent their own word, their own spiritual  leaders, or they reject any concept of there being a god. In fact the world is at war with God, and  intent in doing things their way, which inevitably means sinning against God. The following words sum it up, 'Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.( John 3 v 19 ) ( We will continue this next time)

I know ( 1 ) ( Ephesians 6 v 19 )

 In an old movie a black lady spoke in response to what someone said, ''In a 100 yrs we will be wearing golden slippers,'' then she added,'' I  hope''.  I believe she was talking about going to heaven, I wonder do you think you are going to heaven?. Can anybody be sure they are going to heaven?, what does it depend on?. Are you like that dear lady, who added, 'I hope', and what do we have to do to get to heaven?.  Let me say this, I know how one can get to heaven, I can give you a sure certain answer, no if 's, or but's, or a maybe, or I hope. Is this not wonderful, that one can know for certain, how they can go to heaven. Say I said to you, I can tell you a sure and certain way you can become rich, I have special knowledge, and say I was able to convince you, to take my word, and you did, and you got rich, and you would say amazing I am so glad I listened to him..  Now lets return to the question as regards heaven,   and the knowledge I possess to  tell you how you can get to heaven. I want you think about this,  after all everybody wants to go to heaven, nobody wants to go that other awful ,terrible place, do they?, do you?. So  I invite you to return tomorrow ,and we will consider this further.

Eternity ( Hebrews 9 v 27 - 28 )

 A novelist , in one of her books, has a character who will not stoop to do certain things that others do, '' I  know'', she said,''that some day the great thing will come into my life, and I want to keep myself fit to take it''. William Barclay said,'' We must live forever in the shadow of eternity'',  everyone who has ever lived and who will live, will enter the eternal realms, and stand before God. For the many they will not have made any preparation for that moment, they never really give it to much thought. During their life time, the wrath of God lay upon them, John 3 v 36,there in eternity they will realise what that means, no pleading, no tears will change that, no excuses will cut any ice with God, as his justice is declared, they will be sentenced ,not for a certain amount of  time, for time as we know it ,will no longer be. Forever they will exist ,in utter loneliness, utter hopelessness, utter despair. Is it not time that you started thinking about eternity, and trust Jesus to save you?, before it is to late.

Coming Home. ( Luke 15 v 11 - 24 )

 I was greatly encouraged when I heard Charles Swindoll say,'that he had never met parents ,who did everything right'. Why should it encourage me? ,because one my biggest regrets is ,I made more  than my fair share of mistakes,when bringing up my children for which I am truly sorry.The good thing is the boys have grown to be fine men, in spite of my mistakes. I of course have made many other mistakes in life,no end of them,but then who hasn't made mistakes, I am reminded of that popular song by Edith Piaf, which goes,'No,no regrets,No I will have no regrets'. I am not sure what she means by that,but most us have regrets,take buying a car,what can you do with regrets? try not to make them again. learn from them, but we must not let them rule us. What is the biggest mistake I ever made?,I would say it was when I went away from the Lord,there are no advantages in doing that. In those away years I took on habits, and accumulated mind sets that were not good,did things, I should not have done.Was I still saved ? only God knows,what I do know is , God in his mercy restored me to Himself,and that has made a profound difference to my life,for the better.There is an old hymn by W.T.Kirkpatrick,which reads,'I've wandered far away from God , now I'm coming home. The path of sin too long I've trod,Lord I'm coming home. Could that be you?, is it not time for you to come home?.

Loneliness . ( 2 Timothy 4 v 16 - 18)

 Seemingly one of the saddest things during this coronavirus is loneliness, this is not surprising,God himself said it was not good for man to be alone. In this overcrowded planet,it is sad that there are so many lonely people,I am reminded of words from the Beatles song Eleanar Rigby,'all the lonely people ,where do they all come from?. The ,Lonely Hearts Club is full,the fact is, we are social beings, in  the 1950's there was a popular song ,and it began ,'When you 've got friend and neighbours, all the world is a happier place  .Friends and neighbours ,puts a smile on the gloomist face'. But times have changed,in many ways ,we seldom if ever, enter our neighbours homes.Now we have the coronavirus,and people are more isolated, and lonely,not just the old,it is affecting people of all ages.Is there an answer,a way that people can be helped?, many people are buying a pet,the sale of dogs have increased greatly,I am sure this can help.I have felt loneliness in my life ,that has eased,with me,as I have grown older.my relationship with God   greatly helps, after all as a Christian ,we sing what a friend we have in Jesus,that's true,he is a wonderful friend. Unfortunately for the vast amount of people He is shut out of their lives,I wonder could it be, that one the things God is speaking to us about,is, His importance?.We seek everything ,and everyone and we don't seek Him, the Bible says ,'seek the Lord while he may be found,call upon him,while he is near',why don't you do that?.