The good, great and chief Shepherd

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2026 – PASTOR DENIS LYLE

 

John chapter 10 verse 11

The Lord Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd." The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I want you to take note that he's the good shepherd

 

Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20

“Now the God of priests, the God of peace that brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you, that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. So, he's the good shepherd. And now he's referred to as the great shepherd.

 

1 Peter chapter 5 verse one

”The elders which are among you I exhort who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God. Isn't that the responsibility of the elder or the pastor? Feed the flock of God which is among you. Taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, so he's the good shepherd, that's my past. He's the great shepherd, that's my present. He's the chief shepherd. That's my future. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory.”

 

Psalm 23 - The key to happiness.

“The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yay, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

 

No visit to the city of Memphis would be complete without calling to see Graceland, the home of Elvis Aaron Presley. And so while we were there a few years ago preaching in Eastville Baptist Church, we were taken one day to Graceland. The tour of the home and the surrounding area was most informative. Elvis Presley was born in the humblest of circumstances in a two- room house in Tupelo in Mississippi on the 8th of January 1935. He and his parents moved to Memphis in Tennessee in 1948. Elvis was brought up in a Pentecostal church and no doubt he heard the gospel of saving grace. He became the undisputed king of rock and roll. By 1956 he was an international sensation. Globally he has sold over 1 billion records more than any other artist. His American sales earned him gold platinum and multi-platinum awards for 150 albums and singles. And as John and I toured Graceland that day, we saw his home, we saw his piano, we saw his memorabilia, we saw his many cars, his motorbikes, we saw his airplanes, and we even saw his grave. And as we walked away down the avenue from Graceland, we were sad. For as we walked down the avenue, all I could hear John whisper in my ear, "He had it all, but he had nothing. He had it all and yet he had nothing." How different was Clara Tear Williams. She lived in a one room shack with a dirt floor, curtain walls, and an oil lamp. She had a day supply of food in her cupboard. Her money was found in a covered bowl beneath her bed. One day, a friend asked her to pen a poem, and she wrote these words. "All my life, I had a longing for a drink from some clear spring that I hope would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within. Hallelujah, I have found him whom my soul so long as craved. Jesus satisfies my longings through his blood. I now am saved.”

 

Tell me tonight, how many satisfied people do you know? People can have everything this world has to offer and yet not be satisfied. The Bible says, "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied." It's not just money that will satisfy. Nothing will satisfy but the Lord. And yet I believe in Psalm 23 we have the key to happiness. This psalm has been a companion at the fire side, at the bedside, at the graveside. It consists of 118 words, actually only 55 words in the original Hebrew. And yet it sums up all our needs in life and the abundance of God's grace. It begins with the Lord and it ends with forever. What could be better than that? While it consists of 118 words, 116 of those words are devoted to explaining the first two, the Lord. You see, this psalm is all about the Lord. Here is how David faced life. And in writing a psalm, he shows us and he gives us the secret to facing the days that lie ahead. What was David's secret? The man who wrote almost half of the Psalms. What was his secret? His secret was the Lord. His fixation. He was captivated with the Lord. He was able to face life. And all that life threw at him because of the Lord. My friends, 3,000 years have passed since David first sung this song. And yet it is as fresh today as though it were just composed. The relics of David's life lie among the debris of the ages. The harp, the banner that he used to uplift in the name of the Lord, the sword with which he slew the great Goliath, the book of the law which was his meditation all the day long. All these lie among the debris of the ages, but this psalm lives on forever. These words touch us. They inspire us. They comfort us not as an echo from the past but as the voice of a living friend.

 

This psalm is easy to divide. Preachers always love divisions and headings and outlines but this psalm is so easy. Talks about life talks about death talks about eternity. Simple, isn't it? Life, death, eternity.

 

If I were to ask you tonight, what's the secret of a blessed life? I wonder how you would respond. David would say, "The Lord is my shepherd." You see, the heart of the gospel lies in these personal pronouns. There's all the difference in being able to say, "The Lord is a shepherd, the Lord is the shepherd,” and being able to say, "The Lord is my shepherd." Is the Lord Jesus tonight your shepherd? Is he? Do you want to know how you can find out? Well, let me ask you the question. Is the shepherd your Lord? You see, the only way for you and I to be able to say, "The Lord is my shepherd," is for you and I to be able to say, "The shepherd is my Lord." Is the shepherd, the Lord Jesus, your personal Lord and Savior? You see, my friends, the need for this shepherd is obvious. I mean, you know how the Bible describes us? The Bible describes us like this. The Bible says, "All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath led on him the iniquity of us all." Now, you think about a sheep tonight. And when you think about a sheep, you realize that a sheep is not one of the smartest of animals. A sheep is dumb. It really is. I wonder, have you ever gone to a circus and seen a trained sheep? Well, lions are trained and horses are trained and monkeys are trained and elephants are trained. But a sheep, why? Because a sheep is not too smart. You say, "Dennis, hold on. I was the top of my class at school. You misunderstand me." My dear friends, I'm talking tonight in spiritual terms. I wonder tonight, do you look like Nicodemus? Are you intellectually sharp but spiritually dumb? You see, a sheep is dumb. A sheep has no sense of direction. It nibbles. It gets lost. It gets away from the flock. It gets away from the shepherd. Do you realize tonight that you're lost, separated from God because of your sin? Sheep is dumb. Sheep has no sense of direction. Sheep is dependent on the shepherd by nature, my friends. Each of us because of our sin are separated from God. Sin like a barrier or wall rises between us and God. A sense of our guilt makes us afraid of him. A sense of God's holiness keeps us at a distance from him. And the very first question that we need to ask tonight is this. How can I draw an eye to God? How can I be justified? How can I stand in the right before God? How can a sinner like me be reconciled to God? And the Lord Jesus stands before us and he says, "I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Because tonight, like sheep, we're dumb. or directionless. We're dependent. We need the shepherd. We need the Lord Jesus. I wonder tonight listening to me here or online, my friend. Do you realize your need of Christ? I wonder, have you made the most important discovery of all, the discovery that you're a sinner by nature, by practice, by birth? Have you come to see that Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross dealt with the sin question in its totality and for eternity and through the cross he opened a way back to God? I wonder have you heeded the word of God repented of your sin and trusted Christ as your Saviour.

 

Sir James Simpson was the guy that discovered chloroform. In fact, he made many scientific discoveries throughout his life. And he was asked at the end of his life, “sir, what's the greatest discovery that you've ever made?“ You know what he said? “The greatest discovery that I have ever made was this, that I was a lost, guilty, hell deserving sinner, and that Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners, is my Saviour. I wonder, have you made that discovery? The need for this shepherd is obvious. Ah, but look again the nature of the shepherd is glorious. You see in John chapter 10, the Lord Jesus Christ unlocked the mystery of the 23rd Psalm when he said, "I am the good shepherd." The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Now listen, when he said, "I am," he was saying, "I am God." When he said, "I am the good shepherd," he was saying, "I am man." You see, my dear friends, if you're going to be satisfied tonight, three aspects of your life have to be met. The past, the present, the future. And those three aspects of your life can be met tonight in the person of Jesus Christ. You see, he's the good shepherd. He says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." We've often heard of sheep dying for the shepherd, but we're less likely to hear of the shepherd dying for the sheep. And yet is that not what the Lord Jesus did? Do you realize tonight that Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, the one who was eternally God, equally God, essentially God? Do you realize tonight that he died for you? Do you realize that he died taking upon himself the punishment for all that is sinful in my life? “He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary, suffered and died alone.” Now when Christ died as the good shepherd, he was taking the penalty of our sins – “for the wages of sin is death.” That's what Christ paid. And my friend tonight, your sin will be pardoned in Christ or punished in hell, but it will never be overlooked. Unless you have a good shepherd who died for your sin, you'll never escape the wrath of a righteous God. But listen tonight, he's not only the good shepherd, he's the great shepherd. The Bible says, "Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead." As the good shepherd, he died for us. But as the great shepherd, he rose from the dead for us. I mean tonight, what good is a dead shepherd? Christ died for our sins. He carried them to the cross. He took care of the penalty of sin. Ah, but when he rose from the dead, he takes care of the power of sin in my life. I wonder are you here tonight and you're maybe hesitant about trusting the Lord. Maybe you're fearful tonight. You would say, “Dennis, well, I would love to become a Christian and I would love to become a follower of the lamb, but I just couldn't keep it.” My friends, he does the keeping. He saves me and he keeps me. He's the good shepherd. That's my past dealt with. He's the great shepherd. That's my present dealt with. Ah, but look again. He's the chief shepherd. Peter says, "And when the chief shepherd shall appear." You see, my dear friends, the great shepherd and he had to be great to do it. Christ died for us as the good shepherd and he had to be good to do it. He died for us as the great shepherd. And he had to be great to do it. He rose for us. But as the chief shepherd, one of these days, he's coming to the air to take from the world his own. He's going to take us out from the very presence of sin itself. Think of it tonight. The good shepherd, that's the penalty of sin dealt with. The great shepherd, that's the power of sin dealt with. The chief shepherd, that's the presence of sin dealt with. Ever wonder what the world is coming to? Economic instability, political uncertainty, social disorder, natural and evil. What is this world coming to? Is a question that's on many minds tonight. Maybe the question that we should be asking is this. ‘What is coming to the world?’ For it is the growing conviction of many that the countdown to apocalypse has already begun. But listen tonight, if you're saved, you needn't fear. For Christ is coming one of these days to take us out from the presence of sin itself. Now that's life.

 

But look at death for a moment. The secret of a happy death is realizing the presence of the shepherd. Ah, David is coming to deal with a reality now. He says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

 

John McNeill was a great Scottish preacher. And during his early teens, he was a ticket clerk at a train station. He used to work late on a Saturday night to 12. And there was a seven mile stretch between the train station and his home. And between that stretch there was a place known as the valley of the shadow. And one night John wanted to be home for the Lord's day. He started out on that seven mile stretch. And when he got to this place that was known as the valley of the shadow, his feet couldn't hardly hit the ground. He was flying. The adrenaline was flowing. He was scared as he was running into the darkness. Out of the darkness of the night, there came a voice that shouted, "Is that you, John?" And out of the darkness came his dad. And with his father's hand upon his shoulder and his father's footfall hitting the ground beside him, John feared no evil because all that made home was with him. One of these days, dear friends, you and I are going to walk through this valley if the Lord does not come. But David says, "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." Now, even as Christians, we don't like to discuss death, but we need to learn to deal with death.

 

Almost every week when our grandchildren were a lot smaller, I used to take them down into Moira Parish Church to the graveyard. And when the little ones were smaller, they would say, "Well, what are these granddad and what's this?" You know what they're like? They're full of questions when they're young. And I would say, "Well, these are graves." And people who die are buried there. And I would say, "Look at that grave. It's got an inscription on it. It's got a scripture verse upon it. And that person that died there, they must have been a Christian.” And you say to me, " How awful filling a child's mind with such things." No, it's good to have those thoughts. We're not trying to scare our children, but we want them to understand the reality of life and death and eternity. And when we're caused to think about death, God uses that to stress to us the brevity of life and what we should be doing with our lives. Death is a fact we need to accept. Do you notice how David begins verse four? He says, "Yea" He doesn't say ‘nay.’ He wants us to see the death is a reality. If the Lord Jesus doesn't come soon, each of us in this building, we're going to go through the door of death. Solomon said in the book of Ecclesiastes, “to everything, there's a season, a time to every purpose under the heaven, a time to be born, and a time to die. Just as surely as there's a time to be born, so the Bible says there's a time to die. We cannot escape it. Death. It's actual. You see what David says?  It's a reality. We speak of statistics tonight and I could give you a lot of statistics about death, but let me just give you one. One out of one die. Did you get that? One out of one die. Death is actual. And then it's individual. David says, "Yea, though I walk, not they walk." You know when a preacher starts talking about death, do you know what happens in the human mind? They say that mind says yes tell them about death preacher tell them about death. But my friends what we must realize this is this I must I may be the next one to die. It's actual but it's individual. It's personal and but it's something else. It's not only actual. It's not only individual. It's problematical. The problem with death is this. That you and I doesn't know when it's going to happen. “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” David was talking about a valley here. It probably was the one he kept that brings you down from Jerusalem to Jericho. And David the shepherd is going through that valley with his sheep. And he doesn't know from one moment to the next moment what is going to happen. You see, for David, for us, we live at a step at a time. It was David himself that said, "There is but a step between me and death." The old man, the young mother, the little child may drop its t toys to grapple with the iron strength of death. I must preach as a dying man to a dying man and woman. I don't know, my friends. This may be the last message that I'll ever preach, but this may be the last message that you will ever hear. You remember James's words. He says, "What is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little while and then vanishes away." We count our birthdays. We count our years at every birthday. But God tells us not to number our years. He tells us to number our days. After all, we live at a day time. And they rush by so quickly the older we go. Have you ever thought about death? Have you ever thought about your death?

 

Let me tell you how Gandhi, the man who led India to independence, faced death.  Some 15 years before his death, he wrote in his journal. “I must tell you that all in all humility that Hinduism as I know it entirely satisfies my soul and fills my whole being.” However, just before his death, he wrote, "My days are numbered. For the first time in 50 years, I find myself in the slock of despond. All around me is darkness. I'm praying for light." What a contrast to the American preacher DL Moody.  As his loved ones gathered around his deathbed he caught a glimpse of the coming glory and he said, "Earth is receding. Heaven is opening. God is calling. I must go. This is my coronation day. This is my triumph." How will you face death? Saved or lost without Christ? Moving towards heaven or moving towards hell. I said this psalm is all about life. It's all about death.

 

Ah but David goes a step further. It's all about eternity. Eternity. He says, "Surely goodness and mercy like two sheep dogs follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." David's thinking about heaven. He's thinking about the tabernacle of the house of God- “the dwelling of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God. Here David's moving from the sphere of the temporal and he's moving into the sphere of the eternal. Three vital questions confront us all tonight. They're very simple. Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? Can I just remind you tonight there is an eternity? While the word eternity appears only once in the Bible, the concept of eternity appears time and time again. Eternity is an attribute. It's a perfection of God. God's existence is without beginning. It's without ending. You remember what the psalmist says. He says, "From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." Paul says, "The things which are seen are temporal." The things that I see with my visible eye, the river, the flowers, the buildings, the house, they're temporal. But the things which are not seen, God, Christ, heaven, hell are eternal. You see that great unseen state of existence which lies beyond the grave is forever. It doesn't matter in the sense well it does but for a moment it doesn't matter whether it's joy or bliss whether it's heaven or hell whether it's pleasure or pain in one sense it's completely unlike this world it is forever there in the great eternity there's no change there's no decay there's no annihilation there's no alteration. Whatever is beyond the grave is eternal it's everlasting. The great American and preacher cried out. “I stand on the shores of time and cry out, "Eternity! Eternity! How long art thou?" When 10,000 times, 10,000 years are passed, eternity will have just begun. Look ahead tonight. How long have you got? One year, 5 years, 10 years, 50 years? Then what? Those years will soon be over. Then eternity. Do you recognize that there is an eternity? Do you realize that the things that are seen are only temporal and you're moving into a sphere that's eternal? There is an eternity. May I remind you tonight that you, like David, must spend eternity somewhere. You must, for the time will never come when you will cease to be. You will be somewhere throughout the endless cycles of eternity. As death leaves me, judgment will find me. Moreover, my friend, you have a soul tonight. I wonder, have you counted the cost if your soul should be lost? One day the body will die. You'll put it in a grave. It will decay. Ah, but the soul made in the image of God will live for eternity. That's why the Lord Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" My friend, tonight you have a soul that's precious, a soul that's eternal, a soul that's immortal, a soul that will exist in bliss or woe in paradise or perdition or heaven or hell. Tell me this. What are you doing with the soul that God's given to you? Are you preparing that soul for the great eternity? Have you come to the cross? Has that soul been washed in the blood of the lamb? There is an eternity. You will spend eternity somewhere. Where you spend eternity will be in heaven or hell. Christ said, "And you shall seek me and die in your sins, and whether I go, you cannot come." He says, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” And where you spend eternity will be determined by what you do with Jesus Christ. Think of what Christ said. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Eternity. If you accept Christ as your Saviour, you'll spend eternity with him. If you reject Christ as your Saviour, you'll spend eternity without him. Life, death, eternity. Let me just pause for a moment. Think of what eternity is going to be for us as the Christians. Think of the knowledge that we'll have there. Paul says, "Now we know in part, but then shall we know, even as also we are known." The tangled network of life will be unravelled. And I bless the heart that planned and the hand that guided. Think of the knowledge that we're going to have there. Think of the friends that we're going to see there. One of the first persons that I want to see in glory apart from Christ is my dad. How he prayed for me when I was in the in the far country. How he sought God for me. I just want to see him again. But think of the Saviour that we'll see there. What a moment it will be when faith will give way to sight. And we shall see him as he is.

 

Life, death, eternity, the key to happiness.

 

One time a little girl was called in Sunday school to quote the 23rd Psalm. She got up and said this, "The Lord is my shepherd. I've got all I want. I've got all I want. That's the key to happiness. Not the things that he gives us, not the blessings that he bestows upon us. My dear friends, it is the Lord himself who is the secret of satisfaction. Jehovah, Jesus, is my shepherd. I've got all I want. Let me ask you in closing tonight, is the Lord Jesus your shepherd? Years ago, a preacher was out on the highlands of Scotland and he came across a Scottish lad, a little shepherd boy, and sitting down beside him, he asked him, "Did he know the 23rd Psalm?" The wee boy says, "Of course I do." The preacher said, "Well, what's the opening verse?” “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” The preachers said, "Not so quickly. Let's take it off like this. Let's take it off on your left hand. The Lord is my shepherd." And he paused and he said to the wee boy, "Is the Lord Jesus your Saviour? Is he your shepherd?" And that preacher explained to that little Scottish shepherd boy the way of salvation. And before he left, he trusted Christ. And before he left, with his right hand, he was grasping the fourth finger of his left hand. Christ had become his personal shepherd. The following winter, there was a severe storm. One day the sheep and the shepherd didn't come home and the search party was sent out and they began to dig the sheep out from the snow. And then they came across the wee boy, the little body of this wee shepherd boy. And there they saw him with peace on his face and with his right hand he was grasping the fourth finger of his left hand. Such was his last thought. Do you see how David commences the psalm with the Lord? Do you see how David concludes the psalm with the Lord? Tell me tonight, do you know him? I'm not asking you tonight, are you a Baptist, an independent Methodist, whatever denomination you are tonight, you could be all of those and die and go to hell. I'm asking you tonight, do you know Christ? Can we truthfully say, "The Lord is my shepherd and I will dwell. Surely I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

 

3 Significant days in the life of the apostle Paul

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2026 - JOHN WEIR

ACTS 9

I think you would all agreed that our lives are made up of many defining days. There is the day of our birth, the day we start or finish school, the day we get our first job, the day we pass our driving test, the day we get married, the day we buy our first home, the day we retire from a job. Memorable days, significant days. The Bible says "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Every day is precious. The older you get the more thankful you become. Did you thank God for another day today? Some people didn't see today, they went out into eternity. Thank God for a brand new day every day. Every day brings us closer to eternity. Very soon we are going to see the Lord. I don't want to have any regrets when I see the Lord face to face for the first time. I want to hear the words "well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of thy Lord." Paul had many wonderful days. He was known as a saint, a scholar, a scribe and a soul winner. Paul was a man conquered by Christ, consumed by Christ, committed to the cause of Christ. He had 3 big defining days.

First the day of his conversion. It was the most important day in his life. The day when he met the Lord. He was a converted man. In Acts 9 we read how he met the Lord on the Damascus road. A day he would never forget for the rest of his life. When you meet the Lord you never forget that day. Conversion is a real thing. It is a miracle. I remember hearing the gospel for the first time at 19 years of age. I walked into the Metropolitan Church, was convicted of my sins and met the Lord that night. I remember asking the Lord to save my soul and going the next day to the Faith Mission shop in Belfast to buy my first bible. I couldn't wait to get to the church meetings on a Sunday and prayer meetings during the week. The Holy Spirit came into my life. He gave me a new heart and a new mind, a new tongue. The places I used to go I didn't want to go to anymore. Are you genuinely converted today? Maybe you had Christian parents and you went to church every week. You heard the gospel. You attended Sunday School. Maybe you accepted Christ as Saviour there or maybe it was in your bedroom or in a mission. It is the most important thing you can ever do. Matthew 18 verse 3 "Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." If you are genuinely converted there should be a change in you. You cannot meet the Lord and still be the same. As the hymn says "What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought, Since Jesus came into my heart." The conversion of the apostle Paul encourages us. No-one is too hard for the Lord to save. Maybe you are praying for many people in your family and they are still not saved - never give up on them. Notice that the apostle Paul was converted suddenly - verse 3. Do you know anyone who has been converted suddenly? Many people share their story that they were converted suddenly. They had no real interest in the gospel at all. Someone invited them to a meeting and they went to please them. Then suddently they were converted. The Lord broke in to their lives. They had no record of reading God's word, or praying. Paul was going to do the devil's work - verse 1. He was putting Christians in prison. He stood against everything that Christians stood for. He spent his life causing havoc in the early church. The devil had him blinded, deceived. Paul was very religious before he was saved - a Pharisee, from the tribe of Benjamin. He knew all the Jewish law and was taught by Gamaliel. But for all his religious upbringing he did not have God's salvation. Do you know someone like that? Many people are very proud of their church. They attend every week, partake of the Lord's Supper but they do not know God's salvation. The devil can deceive people through false religion. "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 1 verses 12 to 14)  Paul would never forget those awful days. He thanked God for saving his soul. He was proud to be in the family of God. Are you proud to be in the family of God? As we come into God's house, his special place where we come together as God's people, let us praise his lovely name for what he has done in our lives. Acts 9 verse 4 - the Lord saw what this man was doing. He knew what he was doing. Saul was his Hebrew name, Paul his Greek name. The Lord called his name twice. Has the Lord had to do that to you to get your attention? Maybe he has had to call you more than twice. Isn't it lovely to hear God's voice? For us there is the voice of salvation. Sometimes we hear his voice for service. It might mean you are to go into full time service. Or maybe he will ask you to do something for him in the background. Maybe the Lord will ask you to do a job for him this week. Maybe it will mean visiting someone and explaining to them the way of salvation. "My sheep hear my voice and I know them  and they follow me" (John 10 verses 27 and 28) Maybe you are hearing his voice in relation to his service. Maybe you haven't a lot of offer and yet you ant to offer yourself to God today, There are multitudes around this church who need to hear God's voice. They are spiritually dead, under the judgment of God. We have to go out and reach them. Did you reach anyone this last week? Did you buy anyone a bible? Did you invite someone to come to church? "The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few." Did you know that the most popular funeral hymn is "I did it my way"? Jesus is the only way to be converted. There are so many people attending church who are not yet converted. There are some churches where people never hear they have to be converted. The greatest tragedy in the ministry is not an empty pulpit but a full pulpit occupied by a man who has never truly been born again. Paul was encouraged as a young convert. Barnabas encouraged him. Ananias encouraged him. The disciples of Damascus encouraged him. The disciples in Jerusalem encouraged him. Be an encourager today. Think of those who encouraged you when you first were converted. Paul was also humbled in his conversion - verse 4. He fell to the earth. He recognised he was a sinner. A lot of people don't see that. The first defining day in Paul's life was the day of his conversion.

Secondly, the day of his commitment. Some people I know are converted but they are not always committed. It is hard to get people committed. You can get them out to church on Sunday morning but never see them at the prayer meeting or at the outreach activities. Acts 9 verse 6. Paul asked the Lord "what do you want me to do?" He made it personal. Have you ever done that? What is the purpose of my life? Paul goes to the right person and asked the right question. We have no record of the other men on the Damascus road ever asking that question. Some people are like that - committed to the work of God but others will let them get on with it. Other things take priority. God's work is a special work and it is the best work to be involved in. We are serving the King of Kings. Too many Christians are inconsistent. Faithful people are a thing of the past. We need those kind to build up the work, to keep the work going, all playing a part, all unique, all with different gifts and abilities and talents. We all need to be encouraging one another, supporting each other. We recently moved to Ballyclare, into a new housing estate and it has been wonderful to see new houses built around us. Everyone on the building site has a part to play in getting the houses built, finished and ready for moving ito. We all have to work together in God's work. We all individually have a part to play. Paul was committed. He was prepared to suffer - verses 15 and 16. He was a "chosen vessel". Ananias was told of the great things Paul would have to suffer for God. The Lord was going to use Paul but he would suffer for it. The Lord has people like that. They suffered many things. 2 Corinthians 11 "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." It was blow after blow after blow and we read in 2 Corinthians 12 of his "thorn in the flesh". But then we read "my grace is sufficient for thee." Perhaps you are involved in God's work and at present you are going through trials. Claim the promise of God given to Paul. Paul was still committed. He preached to big crowds and small ones. He preached to Jews and to Greeks. The motto of his life was simply "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." The Lord uses ordinary people, failures, people who are willing. "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." Whatever the Lord has given you today be committed. You might not always be successful but your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The third day was the day of his crowning. One day Paul would go home. He would finish his journey and see the Lord face to face. Commentators are not sure how old Paul was when he died. Some say he was between 60 and 65 years of age. Paul said in 2 Timothy 4 verses 6 to 8 "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." Paul would go into the presence of the Lord. His trial would be over. He would see the Lord face to face. He was not afraid to die. Have you ever been with someone who is afraid to die? Sometimes I have been with people and meant to be the encourager but instead they have encouraged me. Paul would be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ. In scripture there are 5 crowns mentioned:

The incorruptible (or imperishable) crown - 1 Corinthians 9 verse 25

The soul winners crown - 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 19

The crown of righteousness - 2 Timothy 4 verse 8

The crown of life - James 1 verse 12

The crown of life - 1 Peter 5 verse 4

Paul's service didn't prevent him from suffering. The Lord allowed him to go through those trials. He was beheaded and the Lord allowed that to happen. He was in prison and the Lord allowed that. Think of the different people in scripture - Joseph, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul and Silas. They were there because they loved the Lord. There are many in prison today for their faith - will you pray for them? They will die today for their faith. 

3 defining days in the life of the apostle Paul. Let's keep pressing on until the Lord calls or comes. I am sure you have heard saints of God who just want to go home, home to heaven. That is the hope we all have. To be promoted to glory soon. Let us die well. Let us finish well. Let us serve our day and generation to the best of our abilities today

The Gospel to the Gentiles

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 9 AUGUST 2026 pm – PASTOR H CASKEY

Acts chapter 13 verse 42 – 49

Turning here to the 13th chapter here of the book of Acts. We see here the apostle Paul and Barnabas they have been separated. It tells us that as we go back to the beginning of the chapter, it tells us there in verse one, “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers as Barnabas and Simon and was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch and Saul.” Then it says in verse number two, “as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work where onto I have called them." And so they were separated, and they were sent forth to preach the word of God. It tells us in verse number five, it says, "And when they were at Solamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews." And then in verse number 14, it says, "And now they come to Antioch." So they have moved on. They're in Pasidia now and “they went into the synagogue there. And it was the Sabbath day.” And this is a wonderful sight that we have here because we see these two preachers, these two followers of Christ, and they're going into the synagogue and they take their seats in the synagogue. And when they take their seats in the synagogue, the leader of the synagogue, he gets up and he goes through what he has to do. first and foremost, he reads, he prays or whatever the case may be. But then seeing Paul and Barnabas sitting there, he looks over to them and he says, "Men, if you have a word, then bring it now." And so they get up and they bring a word. And then we read where Paul and Barnabas, they take them down through the history of the Jewish nation. And they take them right from Egypt, through the pilgrimage and the wanderings and they bring them right to the cross of Calvary and they take them right to the empty tomb where the Lord Jesus Christ had risen. And you know, no matter where we begin at, we must always come back in our preaching to the cross of Calvary. We must always come back to the empty tomb because therein is the power of God this evening. Acts 13 and verse number 42, it says, "And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next season." You see, dear friends, there was a hunger here for the word of God.  I want to focus on that little phrase in verse number 42, “these words might be preached the next Sabbath.”

First of all, I want you to think of the priority of the message. Here were a people and they realized in the depths of their hearts that they had never heard anything like this before. Here was something that they wanted to hold on to and they wanted to hear it again. Their request was a simple one. They came to the preachers and they said, "Is it possible that we might hear this again next Sabbath?" The priority of the message. Remember the woman whenever she was at the well? There she tasted of the water that the Lord could give her. That water that would bring everlasting life. She left the water pot that she had brought out of her house to fill. But she had heard something that day that thrilled her soul and she left it all behind her. She couldn't wait any longer. She had now tasted of that water of God's salvation. But do you remember whenever she went out into the city what she said to the men of the city? She just simply said this, "Come and see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is this not the Christ?" There was a priority about her message. That priority took her away from the well that day to tell others about it. She didn't go back into her own home. Instead, she left the well that day burning with this ambition and with a great burden in her heart to tell others about the message that she had received. Why? There was a priority, but there was an importance about it. Come and see. This man that told me all things. Their request was a simple one. They wanted to hear the same words again the next week. They weren't interested in looking after the preachers. They wanted to hear the message. They knew there was a priority here. They knew there was an an importance here about this message. One of the old preachers of a bygone day, he told the story of how he had been preaching in his church on a particular Sunday morning and he was booked to do a little mission hall that was not far from the church in the afternoon. In the congregation there was a lady who was visiting in the area. She had come over from England and she had heard so much about this preacher and she wanted to come along to the church to hear him. She heard him and then she heard that it was announced that he was preaching in this little mission hall just that very same afternoon. And she thought to herself, "Well, this is great. I'll go along and hear him again." And so she went along to the mission in the afternoon. And the preacher got up and he read his text and he preached the same sermon that he preached on the Sunday morning in the church. And of course whenever the lady was going out she shook his hand and she said “you know I have travelled all the way from wherever it was in England. I heard you were preaching in your church in the morning and I came to hear you but she says you have so disappointed me this afternoon. You just preached the same message word for word as you preached this morning." And the old preacher looked at her and he said, "Well, ma'am," he says, "More fool you for following the preacher." You see, it's the message that's the important thing. It's not the preacher, it's the message that's important. These two preachers had stood up, had taken their congregation down through the whole history of the nation, bringing them right to the cross and to the empty tomb. And the people realized that they had never heard anything like this before. Do you remember Lydia? She left off trading in Philippi that day because she heard about the little meeting that was going on just outside Philippi, just at the riverside. She went along and sat down with the other woman folk and the apostle Paul got up and began to speak. She heard what the preacher said, but something very special happened to Lydia as she sat there listening to the word of God. It tells us that the God of heaven reached down into that very meeting, singled Lydia out and opened up her heart that she was able to receive the word of God and be gloriously saved. It tells us in verse 48, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and they glorified the word of the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life." In verse 38, it says, "Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." You see, they were hearing something new. They realized the importance of this message because Paul had explained it in such a simple manner. He says “In this man, in the Lord Jesus Christ you have eternal life because he came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost and on the cross of Calvary he died.” He died for your sins. Then he took them to that morning at the empty tomb. He took them there and the stone was rolled back and the ladies looked in and the angel said, "You seek the living amongst the dead. He's not here because he has risen." This was the message that these people needed to hear. That's the same message this evening. That message has not changed. It's the message of God's salvation to you as you sit and listen this evening. Because the God of heaven, he loved you with an everlasting love. And he took his only son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem you from a lost mankind and to save your precious soul. What a wonderful message this is. Think of Jeremiah, the prophet in the Old Testament scriptures. In chapter 37 Jeremiah is in prison. The people didn't like what Jeremiah had to preach. He was preaching about judgment that was going to come upon the nation. The false prophets were saying, "Listen, judgment's not going to fall." Jeremiah was saying, "You're going to be in Babylon for 70 years." The false prophets were saying, "No, if we do leave Jerusalem, it'll be for maybe two years, and the Lord will bring us back again." But the people didn't like Jeremiah's message. And so, they had him cast into prison. And Zedekiah the king, sent privately for Jeremiah. He wanted Jeremiah to be taken out of the prison house and brought into his presence. He said to Jeremiah secretly in the house, he says, "Is there any word from the Lord?” Here was a man who was beginning to think now about God's word more seriously. I wonder, have we ever sat down and thought about God's word more seriously and what it means to us? A young man took a call to a big busy city church. He felt overwhelmed by it. He felt that he wasn't up to the task. He spoke to his father, a learned man in the word of God. "Dad I've been called to such and such a church in the city. I don't really know whether I'm up to the task." "How do you mean, son?" "You know, Dad in that church, it's a great big congregation, but it's a university city. If I get up into the pulpit and start to preach to that congregation, when I look down, there are school teachers there. There are professors in law there. There are barristers are sitting there and bank managers, financial advisors and judges sitting there. When I look down, I'm overwhelmed. What would I bring to a congregation like that?” And the old father responded, "Son, preach the gospel. That's what they need." And you know, that's what we need this evening again, even in our land. Didn't Jesus say, "Man shall not live by bread alone." “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word will never pass away?” Jesus came to Capernaum and the crowd gathered around and what did Jesus do? He preached the word unto them. Think of Cornelius. He was sitting in his own little home in the attitude of prayer. He was a man that was well thought of, a man of high esteem, a man who did many, many good things. He was a very religious man, a very devout man, but he wasn't saved. All of a sudden, there was someone standing in his midst. God had sent an angel right down to where Cornelius was. And the message for Cornelius was simply like this. “Send for Peter." The angel couldn't explain the way of God's salvation to him. But the message was “send for Peter. He's in Joppa. And when he comes, he will tell you words whereby you might be saved.” Whenever Cornelius heard that, he didn't tarry. He sent off some of his soldiers to find where Peter was. And whenever Peter heard that this man was looking for him, he didn't delay either. He came at once to where he was. And there he spoke to Cornelius and the gathering that he had brought in because Cornelius realized the importance of the message and the priority of the message. He realized that his little family and his neighbours needed to hear this. He gathered them all in. As Peter began to speak and explain the gospel, the Holy Spirit came and that whole house was turned upside down with the gospel

Notice the plainness of the message. Paul begins his message by taking his congregation down memory lane. He takes them right down into Egypt and speaks of those years of slavery. Then he speaks of the wilderness and how God provided for them. He speaks of the conquering of the land of Canaan. He speaks about the river Jordan been dried up for them to enter in. He speaks about Jericho and the city that fell before them. He brought all these things before them and then he brought them to the cross. A message that was easy to understand. The Apostle Paul when he spoke to the people in Corinth, said “Christ sent me not to baptize.” There was a debate and an argument about the ministry of Paul and the various preachers there in Corinth. Paul said, "My baptismal ministry is not important. I did baptize. but that's not important. Christ sent me to preach the gospel. Not with wisdom of words, lest the cross be made of none effect." Paul explained that the Lord Jesus Christ called him on the Damascus road and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then he was sent forth to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words, but the plainness of speech." Paul realized that he didn't need to use flowery language. He didn't need to dress up the gospel message. The central theme of the gospel message is the cross. Here's what Peter said. “Christ also hath once suffered for us, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit.” He went on to say, “who in his own self bare our sins on the tree.” Your sins and my sins were laid upon the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered, he bled, and he gave his life for you, taking every sin of this old world. I wonder tonight, have you claimed that? Have you come to the Lord Jesus Christ this evening hour? Have you cried out unto him, "I have sinned and I've come short of the glory of God, but my sins have been taken from me and placed upon my Saviour on the cross. And I believe it tonight." In Acts chapter 2, we see there the plainness of speech again. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They came out onto the streets and they began to preach with other tongues and the nations of the people could hear the word of God. And then there were those who started to object and Peter stands up and says “these men are not drunk. This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel." And he took them right back into the Old Testament scriptures, into the book of Joel, and he began to explain what was happening before their very eyes. And they cried out, "Then what must we do?" And 3,000 souls were gloriously saved.

Notice here the power of this message. This is the message that they wanted to hear. You see, they listened to it on the first Sabbath day, and then they said, "Can we hear this again?" It had a great effect on them, the first Sabbath, but they wanted to hear it again in the second Sabbath. So, we see here the power of the message. It says in verse number 38, "Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins." Paul says, "That's our preaching for you. Through this man, we preach the forgiveness of sins. Not through anyone else, not through a church that you may belong to. Not through doing the best that you can and living the life that you want to live, not through reading the Bible and praying, but through this man, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and his willingness to come into this world to seek and to save that which was lost.” Is there any wonder Paul could say, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel." He says, "I'm not ashamed of it." Now, he says, "I'm ready to go to Rome. And I'm ready to preach the gospel in this great intellectual and academic city. I'm ready to preach the simple message of the gospel that Christ has crucified and Christ has died and Christ has rose again from the dead because that is the power of God onto salvation.” Do you remember in Mark's gospel chapter 2 how the four men had a friend that couldn't walk? They took that man and placed him on a little stretcher and they carried him? They had heard that the Lord Jesus Christ was in Capernaum and they took him to where the Lord was. There was a  crowd around the house and they couldn't get into the house, so they just went up onto the roof and they made a hole and they lowered the man down. They began to look up and they could see all that was happening and they could see these men lowering this man down in the stretcher. The Lord saw their faith in doing so. But they lowered that man down and the Lord said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee." And the religious leaders, my they were up in arms. “Who can forgive sins but God only?” they cried out. And Jesus says, "Well, is it easier for me to say, thy sins, be forgiven thee or to say to this man, take up your bed and walk?" You see, the Lord had the power to forgive sins. That's the message that we proclaim this evening. That through the Lord Jesus Christ, you and I can be forgiven of our sins. that you and I can have our home secured in heaven this evening. Isn't that what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 "My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

There is the prize of this message. In verse number 43 we read “now when the congregation was broken up and many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who speaking to them persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.” The prize of this message is to see men and women gloriously saved. Saul of Tarsus could point to a very place in the road. If you had said to this young man Saul of Tarsus, “where were you saved?” He could take you out that road and he could come to this place and he says it was right there. You see, that's the prize of the message of the gospel. If you had to say to Zacchaeus, “Where were you saved?” He could take you to Jericho. He could take you down that street and he could take you to that tree and he could say it was there that I was saved. The woman in John chapter 4, she could take you to the well. It's important tonight, dear friends, as we come to the close of a gospel message can you look back upon that day when you were saved? When you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your own and personal Saviour? The story is told of a toll man sitting in his little cabin. It's the dead of night and then a stranger comes down the road and the toll gates are down.  The stranger calls into the little cabin but there's no reply. And so the man jukes down below the barrier, looks in through the window, and the toll man is fast asleep. He wakes him up, and the toll man apologizes. He says, "I hear the call so often, I just sleep through it." How many tonight are sitting in this province at the end of a gospel meeting or a gospel mission and they have heard the call so often that they've just fallen asleep. Make sure that you are saved by God's grace.

 

God's Sustaining Grace

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 9 AUGUST 2026 – PASTOR HENRY CASKEY

GENESIS 49 VERSES 22 TO 26

 

This is a wee portion of scripture that has been on my mind for some time concerning Joseph. And I want us to consider something just this morning in these verses that we find about the life of Joseph himself. Joseph's life as we go through it is a life that touched many, many people. We think of the many, many different situations that he found himself in. And Joseph in those situations as you read through them was a blessing to others. And isn't it lovely this morning that we can come and compare our lives this morning? And we ask ourselves the question this morning, is this life of mine, is it a blessing to others as others look upon it? Do we do something for them? Joseph, of course, was the second youngest of the family of 12. Jacob his father and his mother Rachel had died when he was only a young fellow. Jacob himself is now an old man. He has encountered many trials. He's encountered many problems, many difficulties. Some things that he encountered, he made them of his own making. But you know sometimes life can be like that. You know sometimes life can be turned upside down so very, very quickly. You and I can have burdens this morning. You and I could be going through a tunnel this morning that seems to be so dark and so long and there seems to be no end to that tunnel. Isn't it wonderful this morning to know that God knows all about your situation this morning? God knows everything about you this morning. Whenever Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was, do you remember what his answer was? He says, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been." Jacob met many trials. Do you remember what Job said when he was speaking about his life?  "Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upwards." Sometimes we want that that cozy bed of roses, don't we? We don't want anything to come in sort of to trouble us. But that's not what life's like. Here's Jacob. He's an old man now. He gathers his family around about him. He's going to speak to every one of them individually about the days that lie ahead for them. And it is to this very tribute that he pays to his son Joseph this morning that I want to look at this morning. What does he say about Joseph here in verse number 22? He says, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall." And of course, whenever we look at Joseph, we see this picture of Christ. But you know, this morning as I look at Joseph here, I see him now and he serves for me as this picture of the child of God. And I want us to think of him this morning.

 

I want to think of the subject of Joseph here. As Jacob sees him, Jacob is looking at his son Joseph he has some fond things to say. He wants to pay a tribute to him. And he says he's a fruitful bough. The subject about Joseph this morning is the life that Joseph lived. And you know, we ask ourselves is the life that I'm living is it glorifying to God? Is it a blessing to others? I'm not talking about my life here in the pulpit getting up to stand to preach. I'm talking about my life tomorrow morning and right through to Friday evening again. Is it a blessing where I go, can people look at me and say there's a man of God, there's a woman of God, whatever the situation would be and can someone say when you go into a home or I go into a home, ‘my it was good to have that person just for those few moments for my life seemed to be lifted up a wee bit.’ That's the sort of a person Joseph was. That's why Jacob could say he's a fruitful bough. He's planted in good soil. He's beside a wall and his fruit is going over the wall. You see, what's Jacob doing here? He's recounting the 17 years which he missed out on the life of his son. From that day that Joseph walked away from his father to go out to find his brethren to take them some victuals and to find out how they were and Jacob waves farewell to his son and he never sees him again for some 17 years. Here he is at the end of life now he's looking into the face of his son and he's recounting all those years that he missed out on him and all those years that he learned about Joseph and he could now say “you're a fruitful bough.” Jacob heard nothing of him. In fact he believed the report of his brothers that Joseph was dead. Is it any wonder he's looking into his son's face here with amazement? Jacob's heart is so full of praise to God for his son and for the blessing that he has been. He has learned about the twists and he has learned about the turns of his son and the suffering that he's had but realizes something very, very special. The fact that behind all those twists and the fact that behind all those turns of his son that Jacob could see the hand of God in blessing through it all. Isn't it wonderful to think this morning that behind our lives, no matter what happens, God is there. Isn't it wonderful this morning to think that the times in the past week when we come up against a situation that we didn't fully understand and we couldn't get to the bottom of it. We didn't know why it was there. We couldn't know what was happening. God was behind the scenes. And God was using your life in that situation and using my life in that situation just to touch others and to bring the blessing of God to others and to other homes. I think of Esther. Do you remember the story of Esther and how that that little Jewish girl from nothing grew up to become the queen. You see, God was using that young girl in a mighty, mighty way. The nation of Israel had to be delivered at that time. And Esther was the girl that God was going to use. And in all those little twists and turns in Esther's life, God was behind it all, bringing it all together. And that's what God is doing here for Joseph. He's going to bring Joseph to the pinnacle of the Egyptian power and position. But he had to go through all the turmoils to do that. Jacob likens his life here to a tree that's been planted. He likens his son's life to a tree that's bringing forth fruit for the owner. But notice the fruit that's hanging over the wall. You see, that's for the benefit of others. That's for the weary passer by who isn't able to afford the fruit that's behind the wall. But over the wall, the fruit is hanging and he can pluck it and take it and find it for his own nourishment. Remember in John chapter 15, Jesus said, "I am the vine and ye are the branches." You see, God not only wants you and me this morning to bear fruit in our lives. He not only wants us to bear fruit in our lives, but he wants us to bear fruit in abundance. Jesus here speaks in that portion of you and me as bearing fruit. And then he speaks of bearing much fruit and then he speaks of bearing more fruit. That's what he wants this morning. From the moment that you bowed the knee, from the moment that you took the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and as your Lord, I wonder what that experience was for you. Was it in a gospel mission? Was it in a little church service? Was it sitting at the fireside or whatever the case may be? I have a friend who was saved at the big wheel of a tractor. He had been out at gospel meetings some 50 odd years ago in a little tent that had been erected by the Faith Mission and he was there night after night and he'd been hearing the gospel and had been coming under conviction of sin. But it was one day when he was out in the tractor ploughing the field and he just got halfway across the field and he stopped the tractor. He got down by the big wheel of the tractor and he sat down and he called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and God saved him in the middle of that field. I wonder what it was like for you this morning. For me, it was sitting at a funeral service as the preacher preached and gave out the invitation "Where would you be if you were in this box today?" And I realized that. I wonder where it was for you? Have you got that real genuine conversion this morning? Maybe it was sitting at the fireside. Maybe there was nobody else around you. Maybe you just came to that point where you realized you needed to be saved. I was speaking to a man the other day who I had been visiting from about Christmas time. He had been very ill in hospital. He's 90 years of age. I remember speaking to him and we read and prayed and coming away from his house I said to him "Listen, it's a simple task, but it's a serious task." And I explained how to get saved and never thought another thing of it. I came back about a week later to speak to him again. And we sat down. Oh, he says, "But by the way, I forgot to tell you." He says, "I got saved”. At 90 years of age. He just went to his bed one night and he put his head in the pillow and he thought to himself, "I need to be saved." And there and then he sought the Lord Jesus Christ as his own personal Saviour. I wonder where it was for you. But now that wasn't the end. Whenever you got up off your knees after trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and as your Lord, that wasn't it over. That was only the beginning of your walk with Christ. And God has much more for you. And he wants you this morning to bear fruit. Joseph's life is like this fruitbearing life. The tree is planted in the very best soil. I'm sure the person that planted that tree picked the perfect spot for it and he would plant that tree in very fertile soil. He would make sure it's watered well because without the water it would just die. And you see that's the same thing for you and me. Whenever we trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we were planted into the life of Christ. We need the water, the water of his word, the water of communication, the water of seeking his face in prayer because without that we just shrivel up and we die. Can you imagine the person that planted this particular tree that Jacob has in his mind? He would come out and he would look at the tree and he would be delighted at the way that's growing. But it just didn't stop there because the fruit that was bearing down on the other side of the wall was used for the benefit of others, for the weary passers by. And that's what God wants of you and me this morning. Oh yes, our lives need to glorify God, but they need to be helping others as well. The spotlight is on my life. The spotlight is on your life to see if it's pleasing to God. Are you and I where God would have us to be? God plants us to the benefit of others. Are you and I in that place this morning? Are we there? Are we saying, "Lord, what about me this morning?" I think of Elisha. Do you remember how Elisha passed by this this little home and in this little home there was a man and his wife who invited him in as he passed back and forth. One day the man's wife was sitting and turned to her husband and she said “I perceive that this is a holy man of God that's passing by us continually.” You see she saw something in his life. She maybe heard something in his talk or whatever the case may be. But she realized that here was someone who was so different from the other people that she saw around about her. This man stood out. He was a holy man of God. God was using this man in this situation in this little home just to touch this little family. Is that what God is doing for you this morning? God's using you to touch others. Remember the boy with the loaves and the fishes. There he was sitting amongst the crowd of people on the hill that day. The Lord Jesus Christ had been preaching and somehow the people had get caught up in this preaching and they forgot what time of the day it was. But there was a long journey home and Jesus realized that this is a people that needs to be fed. So he said to the disciples, "What what have we got? Go out and feed them." Philip thought to himself, “you know, if we had a man's wages for a full year we could never feed this amount of people." And yet Andrew is going out through the crowd and he sees this one little lad and he's opening up his little meal that his mom had no doubt given to him that morning. And as he opened it up, Andrew looked at it. He says, "Son," he says, "Would you give that to the Lord Jesus Christ?" Can you imagine that boy getting up with his little loaves and his fishes? And he's looking all around and he says to Andrew, "What for?" And he's thinking about feeding this multitude of people. He says, "How would this meagre little lunch of mine feed all this multitude of people? It wouldn't in his own hands. But once he placed them in the hands of the master, once he placed them into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord blessed them, he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples and they passed it around and the multitude of people were fed. That boy came that morning sitting just amongst the crowd. But what he had he placed in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ and it touched the multitude and you know it is still touching people today because there are still people who are getting saved through the reading of that portion of scripture with that boy handing all into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our lives are still being touched by it and still being encouraged by it.

 

Not only do we see the subject of Joseph here, but I want you to notice the source of Joseph's life as well. We see how he handles himself in every difficult situation, every situation that he's in. We need to look closely at the interpretation here because Jacob interprets it like this - he's a fruitful bough by a well. What was the source of Joseph's life? What was the source of this tree that Jacob was thinking about? It was the well. It wasn't so much Joseph, but it was where Joseph was drawing his power from. And that's such an important feature here. I see this tree as a tree planted, but where do I see the source of the goodness and the fruit coming from? It's drawing from this well that is so close. The roots are established. The roots are going down deep underground. And the drawing from the well is the unseen item that's providing the growth of the tree. Isn't that amazing? Jacob sees this in his mind's eye. He's picturing his son Joseph. He's picturing him just as a tree that's planted there. The roots are going down and drawing the water that brings forth the source of life to that tree from the well that is near at hand. If there was no water there would be no fruit. Jacob puts it so well. By a well, he's like a tree by a well. You know, that speaks to me of the close proximity of that well. It speaks to me of the nearness of it. It was such an important feature. The tree wasn't miles away from the well. It was beside it. You see, the one who planted that tree knew exactly what that tree would need. And it needed to be beside a well. It needed to draw the water from the well to provide the fruit that was needed. It speaks to me this morning of the importance of a close relationship with God. I always remember an old Christian just shortly after I got saved saying to me one night, he says, "Keep short accounts with God." I didn't even know what he meant. And it wasn't until later on whenever you gain a bit more experience that you learn these things. But now I realize what he did mean. We need a close relationship with God. You remember how Jesus explained that relationship again in John 13. Says, "I am the vine." And he says, "Ye are the branches." And it says, "He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit," and we often pray this, don't we? He says, "For without me, you can do nothing." Imagine being separated from Christ to try to do the work that God has for us. I think of that day of Pentecost. Do you remember whenever there was just a little band of ordinary people that had trusted the Lord Jesus Christ and they met together? They met together there because the Lord had said to him, he says, "Ye tarry in Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." Do you remember how they gathered together and there they were with those words of the Lord Jesus Christ in their mind, in their heart, and they were sitting waiting for this promise? Perhaps they just didn't fully understand the promise, but they were waiting for it. The Lord said it would come and so they were waiting for it. And then it says in verse four in Acts chapter 2, it says whenever that Spirit came, it says they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Then they went out onto the streets and began to preach. And they were preaching in such a way that every person, every nation heard the gospel, heard the good the good news of God in their own language. But they hadn't the power to do that themselves. It was whilst they waited and whilst they were filled with the Holy Spirit that whenever they come out onto the streets, God gave them the power even to do that. They began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. God was using them. They couldn't do that before. They were drawing from the well of the Holy Spirit. They were drawing deep from the wells of the Holy Spirit on that particular day. Remember how in Acts chapter 4 their ministry was called into question? And there they were. They were standing before the leaders, the Jewish leaders on that particular day. It says in Acts 4 verse 8, "then Peter said unto them." But there's a something before that. It says, "Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost said unto them." He was able to educate those religious leaders.

He was able to rebuke what they were saying, but he could only do that under the anointing of God with the infilling of the Holy Spirit. You see, he was

drawing from the wells that particular day of the Holy Spirit. Isn't that like you and me this morning? Whenever we get into a situation, into a debate with someone and they bring up something and you answer that person but you think to yourself afterwards, “where did I get that from?” It's the Holy Spirit that just gives you that answer. That's what happened Peter on this particular day. He's filled with the Holy Spirit and he's listening to these religious leaders and they're calling into question their preaching. It tells us that Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, began to rebuke them and he began to educate them. This is the same Peter that just a few days before this was in the garden with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that he walked afar off. He hadn't many answers that day. The Bible says that he went in to that judgment hall and three times he was asked about the Lord Jesus Christ and he denied ever knowing him. What's the difference now? He's standing here rebuking these religious leaders. How can he do that? He's doing it because he's drawing from the wells of God's Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God. In Acts chapter 13, Paul recognizes the attempts of Satan to pervert the ways of God. Paul had been preaching that day and the leader of the local government wanted to know more about the Lord Jesus Christ and the faith that Paul was preaching about. But there was a man there that tried to keep that leader of the government away from the faith that Paul was preaching about. But Paul recognized the situation that day. Acts chapter 13 verse 15 the Holy Ghost brought joy into the disciples lives that day. We need to be drawing from that same well this morning. What does Paul say the fruit of the spirit is? He says it's love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

 

The scope of Joseph's life, Joseph's life was going to tell in other places. His life was going to be a benefit for others. That's what Jacob sees here. He's looking back over his life and he knows the benefit that Joseph was to others. This young man was destined for the throne of Egypt. That's where he was. But to get there, he must go through a lot of trials. And maybe the trials and difficulties that you're going through this morning are because God is bringing you through, to put you into a position that he wants you into. We might take a shortcut. We might not want to be in that position, that we don't want the trials that we have to go through first. Do you remember Joseph had to put up with the hatred of his brothers? They plotted and planned against him. He had to go through that dark deep well experience. We read in one of the psalms how he was pleading with his brothers to lift him out of this but they ignored him and they walked away from him and they left him in that place. A young man of 17 years of age. His whole world turned upside down in the matter of moments. But God was using that and God was with him in that dark place. He must go through that experience. He must go through the degrading situation of coming into Egypt and being sold in the marketplace. Of Potiphar coming and eyeing him up and down and putting his hand into his purse and paying a price for him. That must have been so degrading for him. And then he came in Potiphar’s house and Potiphar's wife taking a longing for him and telling all sorts of lies about this young man of 17 years of age, of what he tried to do to her and getting him imprisoned and put into the prison house. And God was with him. Joseph had to go through all this to take him to where God would have him to be. There was no shortcut. There was no easy way for it. These were lessons that this young man, Joseph, had to learn. And yet all the time his life is bearing fruit. For two years he was in a prison house waiting. He had spoken to the butler and the baker to ask them that whenever they went back into the palace that somehow he would be remembered and they forgot about him. Maybe that's how you feel this morning. Sometimes we can feel like that. You know, sometimes we can feel we're set aside and we're forgotten about and nobody really knows anything about us, but God does. God has you in that situation this morning. And he's going to bring you through into the position that he would have for you this morning. He must overcome all these things. He must go through all of that to get where God would have him to be. Oh, we love the shortcuts. But there's no shortcuts if we want to go through with God. And all the time, this young man's life was bearing fruit. God was bringing him into a position to save a nation, his own nation. That's what God was going to do for him. And the fruit of his life was touching others. It touched Pharaoh because when he looked at this young man, he knew that the Lord was with him. And God brought him through and Joseph was able to sort out that whole governmental problem of that great famine that came into the land. The scope of Joseph's life. Is that your scope this morning?

 

As we come to the close of our meeting, think of the trials and the testings that you're going through, it's because God has brought you that way. Your life has been touching others and God isn't finished with you yet because there's more for you to be done. Let trust and pray this morning as we come to the close of our meeting that we just don't close the Bible and just walk away. But maybe this morning that we might say, "Lord, it's a difficult pathway I'm on, but you know all about it. But Lord, will you bring blessing out of my life today to all that I come in contact with?” And the L

The 3 musts of John 3

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 2 AUGUST 2026 pm – MR JOHN WEIR

JOHN 3 VERSES 1 TO 18, 30 – THE 3 ‘MUSTS’ OF JOHN 3

 

John 3 is one of the most famous chapters in the bible. 36 verses in total. John Luther called John 3 verse 16 the heartbeat of the bible. When you become a Christian you have a desire to read the word of God, you cannot wait to get to the Sunday services. The bible is a tremendous book. We must read it every day. It is good to have a bible reading plan and take time to read all the bible. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Imagine meeting some of the prophets in heaven and being asked by them “what did you think of my book”? It is important to keep the word of God and it is important that we respond when we hear the word of God.

 

Firstly, the “must” of salvation – verse 7 “Ye must be born again”. Some people get confused about being born again. Some people talk about being saved, converted or regenerated. They all really mean the same thing. Nicodemus is told he must have a spiritual birth. In the Greek it means to be born from above. Have you had a spiritual birth? That is the requirement Jesus makes. To be in the kingdom of God only the Holy Spirit can perform this in the heart of man. There are many ways to the cross, every testimony is different but it is important we get to the cross and God’s salvation. Ephesians 2 tells us we are dead in trespasses and in sin. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 4 tells us we are blinded by the god of this world. You can talk to people about many things – the weather, farming, shopping for instance but when they hear you talk about the gospel, salvation and the Holy Spirit they don’t want to know. In verse 8 we read about the wind – “it bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” We don’t know where the wind is coming from but we see its effects. We can see the leaves moving, we can feel the hair on our heads moving, we can see cut grass blowing. When a person is genuinely converted there should be a change. When you meet the Lord you are not the same. “What a wonderful change in my heart has been wrought, since Jesus came into my heart.” Before conversion there is conviction. The Lord can use many things to convict us but it is important that we preach the word of God. We live in a day and an age where people try all sorts of gimmicks to get a crowd into a building. “Being born again not of incorruptible seed.” There are a lot of people who know the word of God but are not saved. They know the gospel inside out and back to front but are not living for the Lord. Nicodemus knew the Old Testament. He knew all about religion but he was outside the kingdom. I wonder how he felt when Jesus told him he need to be born again. John Wesley was preaching God’s word and was never converted himself. He read Luther’s Preface to the Romans and there were Moravians on the ship when his heart was strangely warmed. He went everywhere preaching the word and many churches were founded. The converted man gets a new heart, a transplanted heart. When you get saved there are certain places you used to go to but don’t go there anymore. We don’t talk like that anymore – why – because we want to please the Lord. The Lord was direct with this man – “you must be born again.” Reverend Wiliam Haslem was an Anglican Vicar in Cornwall. In 1851 he was preaching his own sermon when he was converted. He was preaching on the verse “what think ye of Christ?” Some saw he had now been converted and shouted “the parson is converted. Hallelujah!” The congregation erupted with joy. We read of many ministers converted during the 1859 Revival.

 

Secondly, the must of suffering – verse 14. The Lord Jesus is speaking of his death. Maybe the problem is that Calvary’s cross becomes all too familiar. We sing the hymns, read the bible but does it ever cut our hearts? Do you think about the cross? Are any tears shed? That is sometimes the problem. We become too familiar. Never forget the suffering and agony of Jesus as he hung on the cross. To be saved we must come by the way of the cross. The preacher must uplift the Saviour. He shouldn’t be promoting himself or his denomination or his own achievements. Salvation is totally and completely in him and him alone. “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me.” Here the Lord speaks of Moses in the wilderness. Nicodemus knew all about the Old Testament and where this story came from (Numbers 21). Sadly in the Israelite history there were ungrateful hearts. The Lord used this story to explain his death. When I think of all Jesus went through for me, how he shed his blood for me, was beaten, mocked and humiliated more than any man. Reflect back on Calvary – he died there for you and me.

 

Thirdly, the must of submission – verse 30 “he must increase but I must decrease.” The words of John the Baptist. He knew when he began his ministry he would fade out. He didn’t want the limelight. Loads of people want that tonight. Stay in the background. Some of the best Christian people are there in the background. Everyone wants to be famous today. John the Baptist wanted to decrease. Stay humble. Sometimes people get big headed and proud. Some people in God’s work don’t know when to step aside. John the Baptist knew. We are not building our own kingdom but God’s. He knew he had to fade away. When our time is over we should bow out gracefully. John the Baptist was a wonderful character. He was full of the Holy Spirit in the womb. His father was Zechariah and his mother Elizabeth. People flocked to hear this rough man. He was uncouth but he had the touch of God on his life. That is why people wanted to hear him. He had God’s approval on his ministry. He told people to repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Maybe we have never repented of some secret sin. John ate locusts and wild honey, his clothes were made of camel hair. John the Baptist had the touch of God on his life. Maybe because he was humble. If we stay that way the Lord can use us. He must increase and I must decrease. The 3 musts from John 3 – the must of salvation verse 7, the must of suffering verse 15 and finally the must of submission verse 30.