Lost. ( Luke 19 v 10)

When I was very  young a church held  a meeting  in which  the children sung a song,I suppose I remember it because I started crying,but I do remember the song we sung,It was written by Jim Ed Brown,here are some of the words to it,''W'e poor little lambs who have lost  their way,Baa,baa,baa, Doomed from here to eternity,Lord have mercy on such as we'.It is in Isaiah 53 v 6 we read,' All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way'. That scripture tells us something very important, that we all are like sheep that are lost , consider the word all ,that encludes everyone, and that means everyone  is not going God's way, but our own way.just consider the state of  humanity,and ask yourself why.? From the moment our first parents sinned we started to go away from God,and so it continues.But the good news is this that Jesus has come to seek and to save that which is lost. (Luke15 v3-7 )The fact is God loves the lost so much so that He sent Jesus into this world to seek and to save that which was lost,but it cost Jesus everything,when He died on the cross for sinners like you and me.

                                             'I would not do without you, O Saviour  of the Lost,

                                              Whose precious blood redeemed me,at such 

                                               tremendous cost,

                                               Thy righteousness my pardon,Thy precious blood 

                                                must be,

                                                 My only hope and comfort,my glory and my plea.

                                                              Words  Frances Ridley .Havergale'

Be still. ( Psalm 46) 3

 One last look at Psalm 46 and verses 8-11, over verse 8 we could put the words,' Consider and tremble',  When God moves against a nation ,there is no hiding place,Sodom and Gomorrah is a witness to that,(Genesis 19)God is to be feared,when  Nineveh heard that God's judgement was coming upon them ,fear filled their hearts,they took it very very serious,and rightly so.God has not changed,the nations of the world should take note.From God the great and awesome one who judges and destroys,to the God who can make wars to cease,yes he can, it's sad when we hear people say,I can stop the wars,as if they are God,it is all about them,what they can do,the pride of man ,is the folly of man,Hitler made the boast that the Third Reich would last a thousand years,it lasted 12 years. We are told that God opposes the proud,but shows favour to the humble (1 Peter 5 v 5). Next we move on to v10 ,it starts with two words,'Be still ',unlike the ungodly whose hearts are failing them for fear,the children of God must look beyond the natural,to the spiritual, to our God who is sovereign who brings princes to naught,and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing(Isaiah 40 v 23)So last but not least we come to verse11,  which reads,'The  Lord Almighty  is with us,the God of Jacob is our fortress' .Just before John Wesley died he was heard  to say these words,'The best of all is God is with us', and he repeated it again'.

                                                       'Be still and know that I am God'

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Gods Word.( Hebrews 4 v12 ) 2

 Let us consider v 4-7,of Psalm 46.He speaks of a river that makes glad the city of God. There was no river in Jerusalem,but it represents an image of God who is with God's children,and is a source of peace and calmness,a picture of security amidst all the conflicts and turmoil that is in the world.I remember many years ago a missionary from Nigeria shared the following,'It was a time of great conflict,and he was very afraid for his life,he had a severe headache,that was when God spoke to him from Psalm 34 v7,'The angel of the Lord encamps around  those who fear Him;and He delivers  them'When he read that he lay down and went asleep. Commenting on v6 'He lifts His voice,the earth mealts,' Spurgeon says,'How mighty is the word of God! How mighty the Incarnate Word! O that such a word would come from the excellent glory to even now melt all hearts in love to Jesus, and to end for ever all persecutions, wars, and rebellions of men!

Therefore. ( Psalm 46 ) 1

Psalm 46 was known as Luthers Psalm, he lived in dangerous times,and often when times were difficult and dark he would sing this Psalm. Likewise when the friends of the reformation were dispirited ,Luther would say ''Come let us sing the 46th Psalm'.I think sometimes in our desire to make eveything up to date,with our modern songs,which I don't mind,but in so doing we miss out the blessing of singing the Psalms.This Psalm was not written by David but by the Sons of Korah.It is divided into 3 parts v1-3/4-7/8-11.  Verse 1 reads ,'God is our refuge ,and strength,an ever-present help in trouble.' We live in a troubled world ,but  in all our troubles we have God whom we can call on,in all our times of trouble.Then you have one of those 'Therefore's'because our God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble,we should not fear,even though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the sea,though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake (shake)with their surging'.

                                                   'Troubles there are many,some our very great,

                                                    but our God is greater'

Look ( Luke 23 v 26 -43)

 Charles Hadden Spurgeon  was  born June 19 , 1834,he was born into a godly family,his grandfather,and father we're both ministers, so was he a Christian?. No he wasn't, when he was about fifty  he wrote ,'Grace does not run in the blood'.Everyone needs to trust Jesus as their Saviour, everyone ,yes even children. It wasn't until he was 16 that he became a Christian, he struggled against becoming a Christian, and then he struggled as how he could become a Christian,then by the grace of God things changed.One Sunday he was hindered from going to his fathers church,and he found himself in a Primitive Methodist Chapel were an unlearned Methodist rose to give a brief message on Isaiah 45 v22''Look unto to me and be ye saved,all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else''. He addressed Spurgeon personally.to look to Christ and to obey the text....It wasn't a matter of lifting a finger,or a foot,or going to college or being rich,Look,Look,Look,the man said,look to Christ and live.'Spurgeon did just that and trusted Jesus as his Saviour.'

                                                 'Have you looked to Jesus to be your Saviour?'

Deep darkness ( Psalm 27 v1 )

                                                 'Who among you fears the Lord

                                                  and obeys the word of his servant?

                                                  Let the one who walks in the dark,

                                                  who has no light, trust in the name

                                                   of the Lord and rely on their God.'

                                                                 'Isaiah 50 v10'

The most godly people have experienced very dark times or as one person put it ,they find themselves in situations of '' deep darkness'',even to the point where ''not even a glimmer of light guides them''.William Cowper was a very lovely Christian,yet for most of his life he suffered from mental illness,(always remember it is an illness,so don't  judge Christians who are mentally ill') There was one period that lasted for 5 years without a glimmer of sunshine.But he wrote a hymn with the following words,' Sometimes a light surprises,the Christian when he sings; It is Lord who rises with healing in His wings; When comforts are declining,He grants the soul again, A season of clear shining,To cheer it after rain'.The book ,'The Hiding Place',tells the story of the Ten-boom family who were imprisoned for helping Jews, Corrie and Betsie were together during that time. All their possessions were taken from them,but Corrie managed to keep a Bible, in the midst of all their suffering  Corrie said,'The blacker the night around us grew,the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the word of God'.

                                                  'May God's word sustain us in our 

                                                                darkest night'

                                         

The will of God. ( Romans 12 v1 - 2)

 A dear child of God became very ill to the point of death ,said 'that he had no fear of death,for Christ had died.but he prayed for recovery,if it was God's will'. When our dear Lord took that tremendous step to come from the glories of heaven to a sin cursed earth, it was to do the will of God,He would let nothing stand in the way of that,be it family, friends, foes,or whatever. He knew why he had come and He knew what it would cost him,yes the price He would have to pay, a death on cross,a shameful death,an horrendous death.Horrendous in the physical suffering,but it went much further than that ,He would 'drink the cup' the Father had given Him(  John 18 v11) what is our Lord referring to? we find the answer in the following scriptures ,Isaiah 51 v 18 , Jeremiah 25 v 15-28 , which speaks of a 'cup of wrath.' Consider that ever human being dwells under the wrath of God  (John 3 v 36) ,we all face the wrath of God when we die,hell is real,but in drinking that cup Christ would suffer the wrath of God,so that those who trust Jesus would escape God's wrath.All this was involved in Christ  doing the will of God,whatever you and I as Christians face,we must follow in the footsteps of our Saviour submitting  to the will of God,it may mean a recovery from illness,it may not,it may mean that God will open doors ,but it may not,we can apply it to so many areas of life.

                                        Jesus prayed,'Father ,if  you are willing,

                                        take this cup from Me; yet not my will,

                                        but yours be done'.

                                                        Luke 22 v 42