Pride ( Micah 6 v 8)

I was watching an old movie on Henry 8th ,and they have Henry saying,'I'm the King of England,when I pray God answers'.What a proud statement that is,so very opposed to what the word of God teaches.James 4 v6 reads,'God opposes the proud,but shows favour to the humble.This verse tells us a very important thing about a proud person ,God opposes such a person,he detests such a person,Goliath was such a person and we know what happened to him (2 Samuel 16).Nebuchadnezzar was full of pride and made a boast,as he look out over Babylon,he said,'Is this not great Babylon I have built as the royal residence,by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?' What followed God judged him by driving him out to the  fields ,to live with the wild animals and to eat grass' (Daniel 4 v28 ff.) Herod sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.The people shouted out,'This is the voice of a god, not of a man,and immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down,and he was eaten by worms and died' Because he did not give glory to God(Acts 12 v19 -24) We see in all this the sin of pride and it's consquences

The day of the Lord (Acts 17 v 31)

Zephaniah is speaking God's word,most of it is about the day of the Lord, a day of judgment that was  coming.chap 1 v 10 - 13 .Gordon Bridger writes that  what is being said was a word of judgement to the  business community.they were going to loose everything,even there own lives.God does not ignor sin wherever it is found.Often in history fortunes were made from exploiting those they employed,it still goes on,especially in poor countries.The industrial revolution brought great changes and prosperity for some,but for many they were exploited, even children.Verse 12 reads,'At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent'. Nothing is hid from a holy God. They were thinking ,''The Lord will do nothing good or bad''. Alec Motyer describes what they say as practical atheism,they were saying what we do, does not matter to God'' Isaiah the great prophet spoke of those who were religious but their religion,was but a sham. 'They were very religious read Isa 1 v 10- 17,to an onlooker they were doing all the right things,but there was an onlooker who saw beyond all their false religion,saw the evil things they were doing,their religion was a sham religion,and God the onlooker was going to judge them,  but first of all he pleads with them to repent ,God does not delight in Judging people,but he will if he has to.

                                                                'Read Isaiah 1 v 18-20'

                                                          

Get understanding (Psalm 119 v 14-16)

Psalm 119 v 34  reads ,'Give me understanding,so that I may keep your  law,and obey it with all my heart'. Not just the ten commandments,what about the sermon on the mount, there is so much we need to learn and understand.We read how God give to Solomon a wise and understanding heart; (1 Kings 3 v12),so as to rule his people.There are so who attend church have very little understanding of the word of God.When I started Bible college I had very little understanding of the word of God,but I hungered for an under- standing of it.We can learn much from our ministers,but it is also important that we personally get an understanding of God's word. Ps 119 v 16 reads ,'I will not neglect your word',don't let dust gather on your Bible,I'm afraid many do.So the Psalmist desire is for God to give him understanding of  His word,but he goes on to say, 'and obey it with all my heart'. If obedence is just words it is not obedience,if obedience is not sincere it is not obedience,if obedience is not total it is not obedience.

Risky ( Luke 12 v13 -21)

Gordon Bridger  tells  of a Bishop called Sandy Millar and an elderly lady aged 101 who had just become a Christian, she said to the Bishop,'Don't you think it's wonderful that I've come to Christ at my age'The Bishop  thought for a moment,and then said ,'It's wonderful- but risky'.Yes in a sense it was risky,going all those years without him,we can never presume on the mercy and grace of God,it is a dangerous thing to leave it so long.I remember working with an elderly man who used go and hear Ian Paisley speaking,and how moved he was with the message, even shedding tears,but he never made a decision for Christ.Again I remember a member of my church who had witnessed to someone and the person put it off,and she thought of the words of a hymn by D.W.Whittle,'Room for pleasure ,room for business,But for Christ the crucified, Not a place that he can enter,In your heart for which he died'.If you are not a Christian and you die without him that it is very serious,it is very risky thing to do, hell is real,don't put it off,trust him now.

Read. (Psalm 119 v33ff)

 Let us consider words from Psalm 119v 33ff ,the 119th Psalm has 176 verses ,the theme of it ,is the word of  God. Verse 33 begins ,'Teach me your decrees,O Lord;I will keep them to the end'.It is Spurgeon who writes,'Alas for those who will never taught', especially in relation to the word of God. Sad to say many Christians  do not read the word of God, even though the word of God tells us,'Man shall not live by bread alone, but on  every word that comes from the mouth of God' (Dt 8 v 3/Mt 4 v 4)King Henry V111, ordered that a Bible would be placed in every church,for the use of the people.After he died ,his daughter Queen Mary became  Queen,she was stern Roman Catholic,ordered that the Bible was not allowed to be read in English. A young man William Hunter was found reading the Bible,he said he was just reading for comfort,but he was thrown into prison,and later he was burnt at the stake.In many countries having or even reading a Bible, could end up with you being put in prison or even being put to death'.

                                                        'How much do you value God's word?'

Opinions ( Psalm 42 v 1-5)

 We are bombarded with all sorts of opinions daily especially on  You Tube, I  have a son who holds opinions on so many things,I try to avoid getting into a conversation with him on certain things.Just recently someone voiced an opinion that in ten years  AI will destroy the whole human race.Many are voiceing opinions  on AI  ,and then on a lighter level if you follow football everyone has an opinion.We have people say,'If you want my opinion',of course you may not,but  they will still give it.So many opinions can be very unsettling,as  Christians remember this vital truth, God is sovereign, He rules over all things,yes there will be wars and rumours of wars,there will be distasters,catastrophes, and mulitudes of other things.In peoples own personal lives,marriage breakdowns,deaths,I will stop there I don't want to depress you,and yet we cannot escape the fact that is the way life is.Frederick Langbridge wrote a poem with the following words in it,'Two men looked out through prison bars,one saw the mud the other saw the stars'.Which one are you?or which one am I?Where are you at this time ,what's going on in your life ?is it frightening? difficult,dangerous,overwhelming?,change your vocus,don't look at the mud,or even the stars. look to your God ,as the Psalmist reminds us,'God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.' (Ps 46 v1 ) and v10 tells us ,'Be still,and know that I am God;'

                                                       'Replace your feelings ,with 

                                                        faith in the living God'

Perfection. ( Matthew 5 v 38-48)

 Always remember the best of men and womem are all imperfect,remember that preacher in the pulpit he is not perfect,I am not being cynical.But the fact is as long as we live none of us will be perfect,there are degrees of perfection,and there are degrees of evil.We should not despair ,but rise to the challenge  which our Saviour said ,'Be perfect, therefore,as your heavenly father is perfect'( Matthew 5 v 48) One writer says the word perfect,has the meaning,of complete,whole,or fully grown.These words spoken by Jesus, are a command,must be obeyed,even though we struggle and fail in our struggles,we must never give up,this quest to be perfect.Proverbs 24 v16 reads,'For though the righteous fall seven times,they arise  again'. Someone said the following,'Even good and godly people experience failure ,commit mistakes,and even sin,like David did ,and Peter.Jesus knew we would still sin that is why he taught us ,to pray,'forgive us our trespasses'. (Matthew 6 v 12) Praise God we can recover from our sins,when we repent and ask for forgiveness in Jesus name. We imperfect Christians must never give up by the grace of God in pressing on to perfection.