We all have opinions. ( Colossians 3 v 16 )

It is Chuck Swindoll who makes the following comment, that everyone has opinions, that are formed in one to three ways. ( 1 ),  On what others have taught us.  ( 2 ) Information and insight from what we read.( 3) From experience.' And then he adds ,' Rarely , however, do I see people base their opinions on a serious, in-depth, careful examination of scripture'.. When our Saviour began His ministry he was well aware of  the teaching of the religious leaders, so much so that there teaching on the scriptures, had  made the actual scriptures, null and void. He said to them on one occasion,  'You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions'. (Mark 7 v 9 )  If we are Christians we must let the word of God be our guide. Psalm 119 v 105 reads 

. 'Your word is a lamp  to guide my feet and a light for my path.' One person puts it like this, 'By  your words I can see where I am going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path'

                                            Let us read Gods word,live by that word,

                                            obey that word, honour that word,

                                            proclaim that word, praise God 

                                            for that word.

                             

Free at last. (2) ( Colossians 1 v 13 )

Now let consider freedom,and  ask the question ,am I not free?, I live in a democratic country, surely I am free, yes in many respects you are, and it is something to be treasured ,and be grateful for. But lets ask the question again',am I free?', when Jesus said to the Jews,' Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free', they protested ,saying,' We are descendants of Abraham. We've never been slaves to anyone. How can you say,'The truth will free you'?. What does the word mean?Free? free from what?.  Jesus give them the answer, and this is what He said,'everyone who sins is a slave of sin'. John 8 v 36.Now we are all with out exceptions sinners Romans 3 v 23, so it follows , we are all slaves to sin. There is only one person ,who can forgive our sins, and set us free from the power of sin Jesus.You may be carrying the hidden burden of guilt, come to Christ and He will forgive you, your sins.He will also set you free from the power of sin, for whom Jesus sets free, is free indeed.

                                             Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,

                                             Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come!

                                             Into Thy freedom , gladness and light,

                                             Jesus, I come to Thee!

                                                 ( William T. Sleeper)

                              

                                                             

9

Freedom( 1 ) ( John 8 v 36 )

The movie ,'Braveheart', is about freedom,and the nation of Scotland seeking to win freedom from English rule.The main character in the movie  was William Wallace played by Mel Gibson ,it is a very inspiring part he plays. I want to highlight a number of things said by the character W.W ,first his speech to his army as they faced the English ,he asked them a question ,'What will you do with that freedom?'. it is a very good question, as one looks at history, as regards nations,and those movements that promised freedom, when freedom was won, the people found themselves with new oppressors. In the 18 th century the french revolution took place,and it ushered in what was know as the ,'Reign of Terror',led by Robespierre.  It is an unfortunate fact we do not always do what we should, with our so called freedoms,be it on a national level or a personal level.The prisoner when freed ,often goes back to their old ways, it is just a repeat performance,people when challenged about their smoking, would say ,'I can give it up I've done it many times.' Let us consider two aspects of  salvation, ( 1 )Forgiveness. (2 ) Freedom,which we will consider next time.

Transgender ( Psalm 139 v 13 - 16 )

 I want  to touch on the subject of transgender, I do not do this to stir up animosity,but rather to express my views on the subject.I want to quote you something I read in the Times newspaper,  by a Labour MP, she is writing about her conversation with a transgender person, she called her a trans woman,here is what was said ,'I  suppose there's  the upside of not having  periods' . And she said to me,''The thing is, I'd really, really love to have a period'. That woman was a woman to me, but neither of us was under any illusion that we had the same biology'. So lets consider what was said,by the trans person,who said they would love to have a period,The MP had mentioned earlier how there were times that  she had to go home from work because she had her period. In my mind I could hear millions of women  crying out to the trans person,' take mine, take mine',no woman wants to have periods.Lastly consider what the MP said last ,''they did not have the same biology'', biology takes in a lot of things,our bodies are different, our bodies define our gender, not our minds. When I look at my body in the mirror I see that I am a man, likewise when my wife looks at her body she see's that she is a woman. I repeat it again, it is our bodies that defines our gender, not our minds.Lets not confuse the issue, God who  made male and female, made no mistake.

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.