Am I significant?. (John 3 v 16 )

 The population of this  world is reckoned to be 7.9 billion people, that's a lot of people, it makes one feel insignificant,after all what is the importance one person. Am I of any  value ?,am I just a number ?,do we matter?. Consider the universe ,the vastness of it is beyond any of us to take in,the number of galaxies is reckoned to be about 2 trillion, the Milky way is reckoned to have 40 billion stars.The question one could ask, are we  of  any significance?.The answer to the  questions, as to the significance,of  us ,as individuals, is ,yes. To understand the truth of this we must have faith in as Brennan  Manning puts it,'The divine incomprehensibility', 'God'.  Without Him nothing would exist, this incomprehensible being, made all things, and it appears that all the planets, stars,and Galaxies are  in some way just ornamental, and this little planet earth and its inhabitants are vital in Gods estimation. In fact one day all the galaxies with their planets and stars ,and planet earth will cease to exist, and will be replaced by a new heaven and earth, where all who know Christ will exist. As to the here and now, are we as individuals significant? yes we most definitely are, Consider that most significant event in human history ,  the death of Jesus on the cross, this was God intervening, to save men and women, As to our insignificance, Augustine put it like this,'If you were the only person on planet earth, Christ would have suffered and died for you', You are significant to God ,but is he significant to you?,have you responded to His great love for you?, by seeking Jesus as your Saviour?

What if. ( 2 Corinthians 4 v 16 - 18 )

I heard a song for the first time I would like to share it with you. it is sung and written by Laura Story called ,'Blessings'.

                                       We pray for blessings, we pray for peace

                                       Comfort for family,protection when we sleep,

                                       We pray for healing, for prosperity,

                                        We pray for your mighty hand to ease our suffering,

                                        And all the while, you hear each spoken word.

                                          Chorus                                        

                                         Cause what if  your blessings came through raindrops

                                         What if your healing comes through tears,

                                          What if a thousand sleepless nights,are 

                                          what it takes to know your near,

                                          What if  trials of the life, are your mercies in disguise.

                                          We pray for wisdom , your voice to hear,

                                          And we cry in anger, when we cannot feel you near,

                                          We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love,

                                           As if each promise from your word is not enough,

                                           And all the while, you hear each desperate plea,

                                           And that we'ed have faith to believe .

                                           When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win,

                                           That pain reminds this heart,

                                           That this is not our home.

                                            What if my greatest disappointments,

                                            Or the aching of this life,

                                            Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy.

                                            What if the trials of this life,

                                            The rain, the storms, the hardest nights ,

                                             Are your mercies in disguise.

                                             

                                          

Not by chance. ( Proverbs 20 v 24 )

I believe in the providence of my sovereign God, who works all things after the counsel of His will ,Ephesians 1 v 11,in other words there are no chance happenings with my God. When a door we expect to  go through , closes,it is He who shuts it, whom am I to argue, His will for me and every child of  God is perfect and acceptable,He makes no mistakes.See his providence child of God in all the affairs of your life, and know  of assuredly that He is in control. Let me illustrate an incident in my life,my internet was not working,so I phoned my provider,and I spoke to a nice young lad called Kieran, he was only 21.During the time talking through the problem of my internet,I managed to turn the conversation to spiritual things. He told me he had been Christened as a child,but confessed to be being totally ignorant as regards Christianity.  So I had the precious opportunity to tell him about Christ, I said I would pray for him ,he thanked me,He did help me to sort out my internet,and after I  finished the call, I prayed for him. I thought about my internet,it was no chance thing that it broke down, it had a greater purpose, of  telling that young man about Christ.

An ordinary man.(Jeremiah 17 v 9 )

I share with you the following, from one of  Charles Swindoll's books,'A journalist asked the question as regards Adolf Eichmann ,the Nazi architect of the Jewish Holocaust,'How is it possible for a man to act  as Eichmann did? Was he a monster? A madman? Or was he perhaps something even more terrifying; Was he normal?. Yehiel Dinur , a Jewish  concentration camp survivor who testified against Eichmann  at the Nuremburg trials, admitted that when he first laid eyes on the man, he was overcome with a terrible thought. It was not a godlike officer who sent so many to their deaths. Eichmann  was an ordinary man. Dinur said, ''I was afraid about myself . In that moment I saw  that I am capable to do this. I am exactly like he'' The journalist Mike Wallace summed it up with this penetrating summation; Eichann is in all of us.'' C.Swindoll  wrote the following ''Our only hope is honest confession, humble repentance, sincere faith, and complete  submission. When we confront the terrible truth about ourselves, we will find that God is greater than all our monsters''

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.