Save our planet. ( Isaiah 9 v 6 - 7 )

 Save our planet ,that's  what we hear   regularly ,we are told  of the dangers if we don't do something, at times like this we ask the question, where is Superman ?,or even John Wayne.  Yes the hunt is on for a saviour, who is it going to be ?,  science ?, well as I  appreciate what they have done during this time, but  was it not science that developed mustard gas, nuclear weapons. Well what about the politicians ? unfortunately we may get a Hitler or a Stalin,  or some other nice person like that. Sometimes one is tempted to think ,is it worth saving?, let's  personalise  this, are we worth saving ?.God thinks so, how do I know?.  In 1644 the Puritans , banned Christmas, yes they had their reasons, they said it was a time of  immoral behaviour, and other things. Well  as a Christian I realise that Christmas  for many is  not about Christ, yet in spite of that I am glad we have  a Christmas celebration. If we can look beyond , Santa, gifts, food ,etc, we may for a moment catch a glimpse of a miracle,  in the person of a baby. We may ask the question , what's so special about that little child ?.  His name  is Jesus, it is the same name as Joshua in the OT , and it means Saviour, this little  child  would grow to become the Saviour of the world. For what this world needs is a Saviour, He came  to rescue all mankind, from sin, Satan, and death, and through his death and resurrection he did that, so I would invite  to trust him as your Saviour.

                                                       

                                          

                                                   

The black hole . ( John 4 v 1 - 26 )

 Karl Marx's said that ',religion was the opium of the  people', in other words he likened it unto a  drug, So  he is saying that all who are religious are drug addicts ,the question is, are they?. Of course they are not, but what I would say, that mankind is an addictive being, be it politics, religion, gambling, food, etc. I believe that  mankind has a want within him, and so he tries to satisfy that want, it is like a black hole, that sucks everything in, only to find the hole is still there. The book of Ecclesiastes tells about a king ,who denied himself  nothing .yet he remained unfulfilled, and declared it all meaningless like chasing after the wind. He further wrote something very interesting ,that God has set eternity in the human heart. ( Ecc 3 v 11) Derek Kidner writes', Nothing we desire has any  permanence, unlike the animals ,  immersed in time....we know something of eternity ,enough at least to compare the fleeting, with the forever.' Was it Alexander the Great, who when he conquered so much, said,'' no more worlds to conquer'' ,people  sometimes say there is nothing on the the TV to watch, even though there is a vast amount of channels, showing so much. It is Augustine who wrote,' Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee' Pascal wrote, 'There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of  every man, which cannot be filled by any creative thing, but only by God, made known through Jesus'.

The scars remain. ( Psalm 55 v 22 )

 After  forty years of happy marriage John Newtons wife died, it  was a great loss, death has an unreality about it, one moment that person is there the next moment they are gone. One can find it hard to understand ,if only one could just  hear their voice again . When God created mankind we were never meant to die, but sin changed everything. Yet through Christ death and resurrection  ,death will die, vanquished for ever. Until that day we will grieve over the loss of a loved one, in time it will be easier, to some extent, time is a healer. After a while ,John Newtons  friend William  Wilberforce inquired how he felt  at the loss of his dear wife Mary, John replied,'' God has healed the wound. But the scar remains''. I suppose that sums it up, the scars remain, but one day the scars will be no longer, when God will wipe away all tears, and all pain will cease. Until that day ,Gods amazing grace will enable us to live with the scars.

Imagine ( Romans 3 v 10 - 23 )

 Walter Mitty was a fictional   character, he indulged in fantastic daydreams, there is bit of  Walter Mitty in us  all.  There was a song called ,' If I ruled the world', written by  Leslie  Bricusse, it has words like ,'Every day ,would be the first day of  Spring, every man would be free as a bird,'. Then a lot  of people love  the song  by John  Lennon, 'Imagine', it has words like, '' Imagine there's no heaven , its easy if you try.no hell below us, Imagine all the people living in peace.no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man. You may say I'm a dreamer'. These songs are all Walter Mitty songs, because  they  are not based on reality, no matter how much you dream they are not  real. Lets look at life as it is, stop daydreaming, lets face reality, because sin and  its consequences are real, just today I received a scam email , sent by real people who don't care about  the wrong they are doing. You and I are going to die, that's reality, let us not be taken in by the Walter Mitty's of this world, let us not become Walter Mitty's , Walter Mitty was a fool, I believe there is a heaven, there is a hell, The historical Jesus  died on a cross, why?, because He knew the reality, he knew our lost condition, He is our only hope, only  in him our sins can be forgiven, only in him  can we freed from our  sins, only by trusting him can we saved ,and go to heaven.

I Know ( 4 ) ( Acts 16 v 30 - 31 )

 In Christ ,God has provided for your salvation ,it is not Christ plus, no it is Christ alone, through his death all your sins can be totally forgiven, you will not have to face the wrath of God, and you will go to heaven. It is as simple as that, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved ( Romans 10 v 14 ) Jesus said I give unto my sheep eternal life.(John 10 v 28 ) We are saved by grace alone through faith alone, not of ourselves, it is a gift of God,   not of works, so that no one can boast. ( Ephesians 2 v 8 - 9). Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,( John 3 v 36 ) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son ,that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. When we trust Jesus we are taken from the place of uncertainty ,to the place of certainty, no longer  will we live in that place of fear, and dread of oncoming judgement, you shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Augustus M. Toplady , wrote ,'Not the labour of my hands, can fulfil Thy laws demands; Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow; All for sin could not atone ,Thou must save, and Thou alone' 

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 )