The storm ( Matthew 28 v 20)

 Let us continue to look at Mark 4 v  35 - 41 ,the disciples are in a boat in a storm ,and Jesus was in the boat asleep. The disciples were in this situation because Jesus had told them to cross over to the other side of the lake, and they obeyed. None of then thought for a moment that they would be in danger, after all Jesus  was with them, and there he was asleep, what could go wrong?. Donald  English writes the following.' Forms of Christianity  which encourage and promise a life of continual success, excitement and growth  will not only lead to frustration and despair; they actually point  the disciple towards the wrong goal in the Christian pilgrimage. It is enough that Christ goes with us on our journey. We do not judge his care for us, nor the state of our discipleship, by the roughness of the seas over which we sail. We  'rejoice in the Lord', not in our currant  circumstances.

                                          Wherever  He may guide me,

                                           No want shall turn me back;

                                           My Shepherd is beside me,

                                           And nothing can I lack;

                                           His wisdom ever waketh,

                                           His sight is never dim;

                                           He knows the way I taketh,

                                           And He will walk with me.  ( Words  A. L, Waring)

He cares. (1 Peter 5 v7 )

 We don't travel much by boat now, except  a trip on a ferry, but I do remember many years ago crossing the Irish sea with my  four lads, and it was a bit rough ,and I felt a little bit queasy, but did not feel in any danger. It reminded me of what is    recorded in Mark 4 v 35 - 41, when the disciples were in a small  boat, Jesus  was also in the boat. He must have been very tired ,for we read that he fell asleep ,but then we read that a fierce storm arose, and it looked as if they were all going to drown. So what  did they do?, they  went and woke Jesus, and they said to him,'' Teacher , do you not care that we are perishing ?. It seems a hard unreasonable thing to say, we must not judge them, if we felt we were in danger of  drowning, we may just react the same. Could it be that you are in a storm, and you may be saying, were is Jesus  in all this? ,it appears to me he doesn't care. Of course he cares, he always cares. A Frank .E. Graeff  wrote the following words..

                                             Does Jesus care when my way is dark,

                                             With a nameless dread  and fear?

                                              As the daylight fades ,into deep night shades,

                                               Does he care enough to be near.

                                               O yes He cares, I know He cares,

                                               His heart is touched with my grief;

                                               When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,

                                                I know my Saviour cares.

How would I like to die? ( Acts 21 v 10 - 14 )

 As I was out walking I spoke to God about dying ,I said  Lord let it be painless, but then I thought, whatever  way I die let me glorify You. An Egyptian Christian  declared , ''Now is our Joy complete'', when the bodies of her two sons had with others suffered martyrdom, were  returned for burial.  In her loss she was able to express joy at her sons honourable death. Although Peter failed his lord by denying him, it was Peter who had said that he would lay down his life for Jesus, when our Lord rose again ,he met Peter and told how he  would die, John 21 v 18 - 19. In doing this , C. Swindoll says Christ was telling Peter , he would be granted a Christ worthy death, that he would  '' wear '' a cross to his own honourable death.'

                                              Mans chief end is to glorify God

                                              in life and in their death.

                                 

Be not wise in your own eyes. ( Proverbs 3 v 6 )

 There is one verse of a poem by Robert Burns which goes,' The best laid plans of mice and men, Gang aft agley'. The  ending is written in a Scottish dialect, what the poet is saying,' No matter how well you plan ,there is no guarantee of success'.  I have always followed what Proverbs 3 v 6 teaches ,'In all your ways, acknowledge  Him , and He shall direct your paths.' I wonder how many Christians do this. Yet it is the clear teaching of scripture, we may not have given it much thought ,sometimes when faced with something  major, we may pray. We may feel that the normal everyday happenings, are not important to pray about, yet how do we know ,but that the the ordinary, may turn out to be very important. We may think that God is to busy to be be bothered with these apparent insignificant things, but not so, in thinking like this, we are bringing God to our level. No let us obey the clear instructions given to us in this verse. As another scripture instructs us to be not wise in our own eyes (Prov 3 v 7 ), let us lean not on our own understanding. God loves to be consulted, so let us to do just that, consult Him, and as He has promised, He shall direct our paths.

Holiness (3) ( 1 Peter 1 v 5 - 6 )

 God is holy we are not, so how can we be accepted by Him, first of all it is by faith in  Christ, and that alone, no pluses no add-ons. The wonderful C.H. Spurgeon, was troubled for a long time, as regards how could he get saved? ,so one Sunday morning, in the providence of God, he found in a Methodist chapel. He was miserable, the preacher stood up and spoke, the text used was Isaiah 45 v 22, 'Look to me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth'. The preacher challenged Spurgeon to look, and he did that, and was saved, it was a look of  faith ,by a desperate young man. So Christ saved him, his sins were forgiven, not only that ,the Lord Jesus righteousness was transferred to him ,it became his possession, and indeed  this applies to all who trust in Jesus .CP. Jeremiah 23 v 6/ /1 Cor. 1 v 30 /2 Cor. 5 v 21.So let us return to our original point, in Phil 4 v 2 of standing firm, we have mentioned the importance  of truth, now lets consider ,standing firm in holiness. the challenge the word of give is in 1 Peter 1 v 15 - 16 .'But just as he who called us  is holy, so be holy in all you do; For it is written; ' Be holy, because I  am holy'. It is a big challenge, but we must it take on board, pray about it. About our language, our thought life ,the things  we indulge in, consider all unrigtheousness is sin. The pornography must go, the drugs must go, living in sin must, the cheating must stop, holiness must be our watchword. How can we do this?, well as a Christian we have the holy Spirit who dwells within us, He will help us to be holy.

Stand firm (2 ) A holy God.

 Last time we looked at standing firm as regards truth, not let us consider ,standing firm as regards holiness. Now it is not a word you hear on the media, or even with your everyday person, or even in the church.  But it is mentioned in the word of God ,in relation to God , as to His being. Tozer writes of the holy Trinity, let me also stress, because it is important God is a triune being, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  This a great mystery, Tozer writes  'Our sincerest effort to grasp the incomprehensible mystery  of the Trinity must  remain forever futile'. We must humbly accept by faith this mystery, and in worship and adore ,One God in Persons Three'. As to his being He is holy, Isaiah 6 v 3,we read ,'Holy , holy, holy  is the Lord Almighty, likewise in  Revelation 4 v 8. That holiness shuts out humanity from having a relationship with Him. Again in turning to Tozer, who writes,' There is a relative and contingent holiness which He shares . with angels and  with redeemed men on earth as their preparation for heaven'. The unsaved have no part in this, it is foreign to them, because of their sinful nature, and their natural animosity towards a holy God and His ways and His will. We will continue this next time.

Stand firm ( Jude v 3 )

 Rudyard Kipling wrote ,in his famous poem, IF', 'If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs'. So many Christian are loosing the plot, even Christian leaders. In a number of Pauls letters, he challenges Christian ,'to stand  firm', Philippians 4 v1/ 1Cor 16 v 13/ Gal 5 v11/  1 Thess  3 v 8 /2  Thess  2 v 15.  A young child can easily be knocked over, but we are who men and women of faith, are called to stand firm. Truth is absolutely vital, make no mistake , it makes me sad as I have viewed on TV what some  preacher come out with. It is not only the cults that we have to contend with, in these days, they are the  enemies within. I asked my minister was he an evangelical?, he replied, 'it depends what you mean ',he knew what I meant. William Barclay was a very popular Christian writer, I have all his NT books, I received much help from them. I realised he was not clear in certain things, but when  I bought his autobiography ,I discovered he did not believe in the deity of Christ, was a universalist, did not believe in Christ being our substitute, he wrote of obliterating hell. The miracles would also be a problem with him, it is obvious that he did not  stand firm , as regards truth. If we don't believe the truth ,then we believe a lie, and if we don't stand firm for the truth, we are betraying the faith that has been handed down to us, from Him ,who is Way, the Truth ,and the Life. ( John 14 v 6 )