Telling others ( Romans 1 v16

 One of the fastest growing church's in the world is Iran,but there is a price to pay,and many are paying it,here are a few names, Vahid Hakkani, Behnam Irani, Mohammed Roghangir ,Alireza Seyyedian,,they are just a few of the people who have served time in prison. Here are another few names, who are serving time in prison Joseph Shabazian (10 years)   ,Mina ( 6 years) Malihe ( 6 years).There are so many more we can mention,in some other Islamic countries to convert to Christianity brings with it a death sentence.Yes the church is growing in so many parts of the world but there is a price to pay, In Acts 1 v 8,our Saviour said to those early disciples and to all His church,' But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem,and in all Judea and Samaria, and even  to the remotest part of the earth'.This has not been rescinded ,what Jesus said all those years ago,still stands.How did they do it ?by the power of God's Spirit, and they did it,turning the world upside down, even conquering the great Roman Empire.Not with weapons of war but by the power of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

                                               Let us not be ashamed or afraid

                                              to proclaim the gospel'.

                                              

                                                

The enemy within. ( Acts 20 v 25 - 31 )

 In Acts 20 the Apostle Paul give a farewell talk to the Ephesian elders, in it he mentions a number of things, the hardships that he would face,he reminded them that he been a faithful minister of the word of God.He also warned them to be on their guard against those who would come into the church and cause  much harm to God's people,he called them savage wolves. He also said there would be those from there own number who would distort the truth ,their motive being to create a following of their own. And so it was and so it will always be,Paul during his three years with them continually warned them of these things. There are many ministers  in the UK who are faithful to God's word,but unfortunately there are many who are not. They hold dubious teaching and they side with the morality of the world,these are in the major denominations. If one's theology is wrong,it will effect so many things, when I mentioned to a minister that homosexuality was a sin he said that was my opinion,it is not my opinion,it was his opinion, what I said was based on the word of God . Often it appears the church is in more danger of those within, than those who are outside the church.

                                                     'Beware of the enemies within'.

The divine persistence. ( Luke 15 )

 Our Saviour said I will build my church,and that he will do,nothing and no one can stop Him, Dale R. Davis,writes of the victorious sovereignty  of the covenant God' God is in the business of saving people,and it is wonderful how he brings that about.D R. Davis tells the following story,' During the time of Charles Spurgeon's ministry in England the 19th century,an evangelist in England  was asked to go to a public house to see a landlord's wife who was dying. When he saw her she was rejoicing in Christ as her Saviour, he asked her how she had found the Lord.'Reading that', she handed him a torn piece of paper. It was part of an American newspaper containing an extract of one of Spurgeon's sermons. That extract had led to her conversion. He asked her where she had got the newspaper. It was wrapped round a package sent from Australia.So do the math;  A sermon, preached in London, conveyed to America,an extract reprinted in an American newspaper,that paper sent to Australia, part torn off .for the package being sent to England, and, after all the twists and turns, bringing the word of grace to that wife of a pub keeper'.

                                               'This divine stubbornness should be of immense 

                                                comfort to us- it tells us  among other things that nothing ,

                                                 no human rebellion, no human stupidity can stop

                                                God's kingdom plan. God is so stubborn that He 

                                                will make sure Jesus reigns over all the earth'.

                                                                    Words by D.R.Davis

                                                

Because of Jesus (Ephesians 2 v 18 )

 Suddenly the unexpected happened,Moses was minding his father-in -law's sheep,when he noticed something  strange a bush was on fire, yet it was not being consumed. Then out of that bush a voice spoke'Moses! Moses! it was God speaking, Moses replied,'Here I am'. Then God spoke again,'Do not come any closer,' 'Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy ground'.'We read about this encounter in Exodus 3.an encounter with God,at this stage God was not revealing Himself as Abba , which is a very personal name for God, like daddy.Although  that is true,God is holy and awesome,and must always be treated with reverence.When Christ came and give his life up for us, all who have  trusted Jesus would be brought into a wonderful close relationship with God, Catesly  Paget wrote.

                                                    'Near,so very near to God,

                                                     Nearer I could not be;

                                                     For, in the person of His Son,

                                                     I, am as near as He.

Because of Jesus we have wonderful access into the presence of God,so let us not hang  back in fear, but let us come  boldly to the throne of our gracious God.There we will find grace to help us when we need it most ( Hebrews 4 v 16)

Are you a Christian? ( 2 Thessalonians 3 v2 NLT)

 Are you a Christian? that's the question I asked a neighbour this morning,it turns out she is not a Christian,but her mother is.She mentioned that she tried to live to a certain  Christian standard,she sounded a genuine person.She sounds like someone who is almost a Christian ,but of course she is not. I mentioned  briefly the  consequences of not knowing Christ, there is no substituted for that.One may be a good living person,but one will never be a perfect person,do you know any perfect people?,I don't,I have lived 79 yrs,and have not  met or known a perfect person.Perry Como sings a song called 'I'ts impossible',the fact is it's impossible to be perfect,no one has a perfect score card.Most of us know about the  commandments,they were not given by God as a means of salvation,but a means of bringing us to salvation. One must look not just look at the letter of the law, but the spirit of  the law. God considers how we think as well as what we do,what are our motives,is our hearts pure?.I have met some people who say they have never sinned,they are not telling the truth ,for God's word say's for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All this is meant to bring us to a place of conviction of our sinfulness,and our need of forgiveness,and to the one who alone that can save us Jesus. When you trust Him as your Saviour then you are a Christian.

It is a thing most wonderful. ( Isaiah 53 )

Most of the pictures of Jesus on the cross show a sanitized Jesus,with hardly a mark on Him, in spite of   the fact that he had been brutalized,battered and beaten,nearly flogged to death, He wore. a crown made up of large thrones on his head.He would have been an awful sight to behold. Isaiah wrote of his suffering in Isaiah 52 v 14,'His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form marred beyond human likeness'. Of course it didn't stop there , for on that cross He bore the punishment for our sins,the wrath of God that was our due was laid upon Him, if we had been at the cross,we would only have seen part of what He suffered.What great suffering ,what great love, William W. How wrote the following.

                                                         

                                                        'I sometimes think about the cross,

                                                        And shut my eyes,and try and see

                                                        The cruel nails and crown of thorns

                                                        And Jesus crucified for me.

                                                        But even could I see Him die,

                                                        I could but see a little part

                                                        Of that great love, which like a fire,

                                                        Is always burning in His heart.

The cross of Christ. ( 1 Corinthians 1 v 18 - 31 )

  In his book,'The cross of Christ',John Stott  writes how the cross eventually became the universal  Christian symbol,he says,' The choice by Christians of this symbol was central to their understanding of Jesus,neither  His birth nor His youth,neither  His teaching  nor His service, neither His resurrection nor His reign, nor the gift of the Spirit, but His death,His crucifixion'.Now we are not denying the importance of all those things ,but without Christ death on the cross,all those things would mean nothing. The reason Christ came  was to die on the cross, without the cross we have nothing, I stress that again.There is no gospel of the Holy Spirit,it is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,it was Christ  who suffered and died on the cross,we are cleansed by His precious blood, we are forgiven on the bases of His death.On that cross He became our substitute,instead of us being punished  for our sins,He bore the punishment,meaning no longer would we be under under the wrath of God.( John 3 v36/ 1 Thessalonians 5 v10).

                                               'Christ crucified is God's power  and wisdom'