Boldness [ Matthew 28 v 18 - 20 ]

We have all heard of the saying ,/ a bull in a china shop/,meaning to act in a way that does more damage than good, sometimes in our zeal to be a witness for our Saviour, we act unwisely, and hinder the cause of Christ. Now having said that, there is place for boldly witnessing for Jesus,and indeed it is necessary, we read in Acts 4 that when Peter and John ,were arrested for witnessing, and when they were brought before the Jewish leaders, that they were amazed at their boldness. In Matthew 10v16, our Saviour said we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves, ask God for that wisdom, and He will grant it[James 1 v 5 ], and let us not intimidate any one.and also let us ask, the Holy Spirit to empower us. So being filled by the Spirit, endued with the wisdom of God,and having a humble spirit , let us boldly witness for Jesus. [ Dear Lord grant us wisdom , power, and humility ,that will enable us to be Your bold witnesses Amen ]

Glorifying God. [ 1 Corinthians 10 v 31-33 ]

It is said that mans chief end is to glorify God, and this is true , in the healing of the man born blind from birth[John 9 ], and in the death and raising of Lazarus [John 11 ], and indeed in the death of our Saviour, the glory of God is manifest. All these three people were involved in suffering, and it was in their suffering that God was glorified, so this brings a challenge to all who are suffering, will God be glorified in this suffering?.Suffering involves many things,poverty, unemployment, sickness, and many other things. In 1 Corinthians 10v 31ff, we have the challening words ,/whatever we do , do all for the glory of God/, my study Bible says, / Our actions must be motivated by Gods love, so that all we do, will be for His glory. Keep this as a guiding principle by asking, is this action glorifying God ?,or how can I honour God through this action/. [ Dear God if my chief end is glorify You, grant me the grace to do this in the name of Jesus , Amen ]

The Gospel. [ John 1 v10 -13/ Romans 6 v23 ]

The term Gospel means good news, I have been pointing out our condition and its consequences, I have not been pointing out this to depress you, no more than a doctor means to depress their patient, when he tells them they have a serious illness.Their is much spiritual ignorance about, so many confusing voices, it is the task of the minister, to proclaim Gods truth, clearly, and lovingly.Yes we are sinners, but the good news is that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, our sins can be forgiven, we can be set free, we can know peace with God, we can recieve the gift of God which is eternal life. No matter how messed up our lives, no matter how far we have fallen, the good news is ,Christ is able to save to the uttermost, all that is required from any of us is to see our need. If today God is speaking to you, I would like you to pray the following prayer. [ Dear Lord Jesus I am trully lost, I come to you in all my need, please forgive my sins , and be my Saviour. Amen ]

Man know thyself . [ Isaiah 6 v 5 ]

Yesterday we considered the consequence of sin, there is much more could be said about that, one just has to read the newspaper ,or watch a movie, or your neighbours, or even, whats most important to look at oneself. The consequence of sin is all to apparent , so many lives destroyed by sinful habits,I was talking to a friend on the phone, this week and he told me about a person who had committed murder,but let us remember again what Jesus taught , to hate someone is the same as actually murdering them, to look and to lust is equivalent to actually committing adultery , the consequences of sin is very evident in this world, and none of us have escaped its effects, mybe as you read this , you are only to aware of sin, and its consequence, well there is hope , for you and indeed for everyone, tomorrow[ dv ] we will consider Gods answer. [Dear God we are only to aware of the effects and consequences of sin in this world and in our own lives, we ask that you would help us to be open and honest about our condition, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

Consequences [Hebrews 9 v 27 ]

Yesterday we considered sin, following on in this theme, I want to us to think on sins consequences, for the world and us as individuals.Consider every war, every conflict, every adultery,every criminal act,every sexual abuse, every wrong thought, and so on, all these are the consequences of sin, we who are sinners sin.The further consequences of sin is ,seperation from a Holy God, if sin remains unforgiven, this seperation continues after we die.[Luke 16 v 19-31 ], Hell is not something we have made up, it is not something I like speaking on, but as a preacher I must be faithful to my calling, Hell is not something just to scare us, it is a reality, it is a possiblity for all those who continue on in their sin, sin unforgiven will be judged, I am only the messenger, only a sinner saved by Gods grace, I did not invent Hell, I believe it to be a reality.[ Dear God help us to see sin for what it is, and help us to see that You will judge our sin, for You are Holy, in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

Sin [ Romans 3 v23 ]

My son who is a street pastor, was asked by someone, does God forgive sins?somehow it did not occur to them that, God forgives sins. To us, of the older generation we take it for granted that God forgives sins, but we live in different times, the whole idea of sin, has taken on a different concept, so let us try and clarify what sin is.God has 10 commandments we read of them in Exodus 20, when we break them, we sin, in fact Jesus brought a deeper meaning to the law, when He taught,that if we think wrongly in our hearts this is also sinful, [ Matthew 5 v21ff ]. In 1John 3 v 4 we read, everyone who sins is breaking Gods law,and the fact of the matter , everyone of us has broken Gods law, [Romans 3 v23 ]. [Dear God help us today to realize what sin is, and with that realization, begin to seek after You, that our sins may be forgiven in Jesus name we ask this Amen ]

God the helper [ Psalm 121 ]

I preached twice yesterday in two local churches and God helped, I have been preaching for over forty years, but it still is a challenge, but here is the simple truth , God helps. Psalm 46 v 1, tell us that,/God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble,/whatever you may have to face today, divorce, unemployment, illness, remember God is a helper.As I look back I remember so many times in which God helped me, financially,and in many other ways, His help has not dried up,whither it is preaching a sermon, or coping with some problem,He is still there help. So today dont despair call upon Him in your need, and He will help you,ask Him to help you ,in the simple things, and the big things. [ O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be our defence while life shall last, and our eternal home ,in Jesus name we ask this Amen ] [ The words of the prayer are by Issac Watts ]