Paradise regained. ( 3 )( Revelation 21 v 1 - 8 )

Again we are borrowing the title for my message from Milton's book,Paradise regained, he writes,

                                                          By one man's disobedience lost,

                                                          Now sing,/ Recovered Paradise,

                                                          To all mankind,by one man's

                                                           Firm obedience.

That man was Jesus, Romans 5 v 19, reads,'For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so also through the one man the many will be made righteous'. Hodge writes,'The disobedience of Adam....was the ground of being placed in the category of sinners' and' the obedience of Christ was the ground on which the many are to be placed in the category of the righteous'.When we trust Christ  as our Saviour by faith, in His finished work on Calvary, everything is changed. We are no longer excluded from a relationship with God, we are now His children (John 1 v 12), we have free excess into His presence. The barrier of sin has been removed. In our old state we lived under the wrath of God (John 3 v36 ) that is gone, no longer are we facing judgement ( Hebrews 10 v 27 ) Paradise has being regained through Christ, we can look forward to that new heaven and new earth where all things will be new.( 2 Peter 3 v 13 )

Paradise Lost (2 )( Genesis 3 )

 I have borrowed the title from Milton's ',Paradise  Lost', considered one of the greatest poems in the English language,it deals with , in the words of Milton,

                                             Of man' first disobedience,

                                             And the fruit , brought death

                                             into the world, and all our woe.

In Genesis 3  we read of the most terrible event to have ever taken place, for into that earthly paradise sin entered,which brought death ,and woe's, upon all of us.Romans 5 v 12, reads,'Therefore, just as sin entered into the world through one man, and this way death came to all men, because all have sinned.' Sin must never be looked upon in a light manner. Let us consider its effects on planet earth.Where everything was in harmony, not now, as God said, CP Genesis 3 v 19 - 19. no longer would it be environmentally friendly, I was surprised to learn that in England's green  and pleasant land, there are plants that are highly dangerous, some can even kill . I suppose my favourite flower is the rose,a beautiful flower, but most rose's have thorns.There are to many things to mention that can do us harm, it is a wonder that any of us survive. Not long after the expulsion from Eden, the first murder took place,,and the animosity within  humanity, continues daily. But the most lasting effects of mankind's fall was the effect it had on our relationship with God. There are people who do not like the word sin, and that we are all sinners,but we are, every last one of us. Sin is a great offence to a holy God,it cuts us off from Him, in time and in eternity,and that is a great tragedy,but as we will see next time,in the words of Milton ,paradise can be regained.

Paradise .(1 ) Genesis 1 v 1 .

I have a little garden,I weed ,I water,I feed, I cut,oh yes, nice gardens don't just happen, but it is rewarding,when I finished working on my garden,I sit down and admire it,it gives me pleasure.In the beginning God our creator, when He had finished  His work of creation, He declared ,' That it was very good'.it looked good,and it was good ( Genesis 1 v 31 ) . It was a perfect work,a finished work,as John Calvin writes,'There is in the symmetry of God's works the highest perfection, to which nothing can be added'.There was a perfect harmony in everything, no note of discord, no imperfections, everything was pleasing to the eye.Such was the world at its beginning,and into that world God placed the man and the woman He had created, in a garden called Eden,Eden means delight ( Genesis 2 v 8). A place as one person puts it, of pristine or natural beauty. there they dwelt in harmony with each other,  it was to all intents and purpose an earthly paradise.That couple were sinless ,and so they had a perfect relationship ,with God  who is sinless,there was nothing between, no sin and no guilt.no fear.,no shame ,no death, everything in the garden was rosy. If only it had stayed that way,if only, we will continue this next time.

Is that all there is? ( Proverbs 4 v 18 - 19 )

 I like football, or as it can be known also as  soccer,every year the contest called the,' F A cup',takes place . often after watching it,I used have an empty feeling. It reminds me of something I read recently, of  a famous baseball player,whose team had won the championship,to him it felt like an anti climax,and  he is reported to have said,' Is that all there is?'.  As I said ,I like football, but I am grateful that's not all there is, my thoughts turn to a man who from a human point of view, had everything, Power, wealth,women ,etc, he even was granted great wisdom by God. Then he acted foolishly, sinfully,and he lost sight of the meaning of life, he became very cynical, his name was Solomon.Charles Swindoll writes,'He had pushed God out of his life,' and he felt it, and expressed it, in words like this,'Meaningless ! Meaningless!......   Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless'. Next time when you go to a funeral service, or you see a hearse, ask yourself this question, is that all there is?. There is a greater  purpose in life,it can only be found in God ,through trusting Jesus as your Saviour. When you do that, then like a blind man who has suddenly regained his sight,  cried out,' I can see, I can see'.

Poem ( 1 Peter 5 v 7 )

 I found this little poem on the fly leaf of a tattered old Bible that belonged to my dear first wife,it did not tell me who wrote it, but I would like to share it with you.

                                                   Through every moment of the day,

                                                   Whate'er may meet thee on life's way,

                                                   This thought shall be thy strength and stay,

                                                                        He cares.

                                                   When shadows veil the fairest scene,

                                                   And pleasures fade that might have been,

                                                   On the unchanging Saviour lean,

                                                                        He cares                         

                                                  He marks thy steps, He goes before,

                                                   From this time forth for evermore,

                                                   Then from thy heart let praise outpour,

                                                                        He cares.

New phone. ( Romans 3 v 23 )

 I bought a new phone awhile back. I liked my old phone, and I  hankered after it, eventually  I  went back to the place I purchased my new phone, and asked If I could transfer what was on my new phone, to my old phone, he said no, explaining to me why. He then said ,''you have to move on'', I thought about what he  said and I saw the wisdom in those words .Many people embrace change, but many of us want to hold unto the past.Many years ago the Presbyterian church in Ireland updated their hymn book,my oh my, that caused a stir,there were those who could not accept this.The fact is , we live in a world  that is always changing, and we must learn to adopt, it is the only way,or should we say, it is the only sensible way. we must move on. I am sure there are many fine  Mennonite Christians, all I  can think of  is ,why  do they still live in the past?.  Well, so be it, but what should never change ,for us as Christians, is truth, the fact is humanity will always be sinners, who need the Saviour our Lord Jesus Christ, that will never change.

The impossible( 2 )( John 11 v 40 )

During Jesus earthly time on earth ,He performed many miracles, we only have a select few recorded, CP  Mark 1 v 32 - 34/  3 v10 . Consider the sickness that prevailed in those days, and the demonic activity. the hopelessness of those people, no doubt they would have come from  everywhere to be healed, and Jesus did just that. He performed miracles, not only did He heal, but He raised the dead, what  was humanly impossible ,but He did it. He actually did feed 5000 plus ,and about 4000 other people, with a few loaves and fishes. God is the  God of the impossible, ,no one is able to perform miracles, except God, when it comes to so called faith healers, they are people who often are nothing more than charlatans, and lovers of money. I am careful what I am writing, people who are reading this may have loved ones who are dying, yet I believe Jesus can heal today, he still does the impossible, He is  the same yesterday, today, and forever,  He has not changed. I mention healing but there are many other impossible situations, Jesus  is able to deliver, to provide, to make a way ,were there is no way,

                                                          Have faith in God.