Moving into a New Year

Notes from a sermon heard on Sunday 30 December 2012

Deuteronomy 2 verses 1 – 13

“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”

God of heaven is evaluating the travels of his own people, assessing the progress of his own people.  If God was to lay the plumb line against this life of mind would he be able to say “you are exactly where I want you to be today.” 

The course that God had set.  As God sees this people God knows where they were at.  He knows where we are at this morning.  Maybe others think we are in a different state but God comes with great encouragement, not to beat us down, he has looked at where you are living, what you are doing and says “I want to consider that you have been at this mountain long enough, I want you to move northward.”  God is opening up another avenue for us and all he wants from us is obedience.  He has so much for us if only we would surrender to the course of God.  These people were no longer striving, they were settled in their ways, they are encircling this mountain, wandering.  God sees a people no longer conquering but comfortable.  We too can become like that – settled in what we are doing instead of seeking out the plan of God.  God has set a course for us.  As we look into another year we need to find out what that course is.  It must have been wonderful for the children of Israel to come out of Egypt, to see God deliver them.  God said he would raise up a man – Genesis 15 who would be blameless and he would make this man like the stars in the sky.  Genesis 15 verses 13 and 14 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”  This all came to pass exactly as God had told Abraham.  In Moses’ day the people had to separate a lamb, take its blood and mix it with hyssop then apply it to the doorposts.  The firstborn of every family would die that night in Egypt but if the angel of God saw the blood applied to the doorposts then he would pass over that particular household.  God delivered his own people out of the land of Egypt, he set them on a course to a land of blessing.  This was only the beginning.  God had so much for his people to enjoy.  God brings us out of the world through the simplest method we could ever understand – his own Son.  Why?  Because he loved us.  Not because we have earned it but rather he merited it to the Lord.  He took his only Son and sent him into the world.  There on the cross of Calvary God’s son, the perfect one, gave his life the he might reconcile us unto his Father in heaven.  Why?  That I might simply call on him to be my Saviour. I simply have to come as a child today, own up to the sin in my heart, trust him to save me.  That is all we have to do today.  From that moment God puts a purpose in our hearts.  Do we know the plans of God for our lives today?  The moment God took the children of Israel out of Egypt he set them on a course to enjoy his blessings in a new land.  God has set us free from the world but what is his plan for our lives?  The only way to know it is to get before him and ask him to reveal it to us.

The concerns of God for his people.  God is looking here at this people who were looking up this mountain.  This is where they are at after 38 years of wandering.    God comes with encouragement and direction.  The people were so glad the day they left Egypt but now God wanted them to move northward.  Am I glad for the day God saved me?  God didn’t just deliver them that day but daily he went with them.  Exodus 13 verses 21 and 22 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and b night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”  God is still with them, he hasn’t forsaken them.  God wasn’t prepared to lead them through the land of the Philistines even though it was a shorter way.  God knew the moment they saw conflict they would long for Egypt.  Day by day God assures us of his presence.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  All we have to do is learn to trust him.  He has given us his Holy Spirit that he might not leave us comfortless and to lead us into all truth.  Deuteronomy 2 verse 7 “for the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.”  God knew where they had been.  They had lost direction.  Is it possible that we have lost direction today?  Did God leave them?  No he wanted them to get back on course again.  He knew how long they had spent in that area.  For some of us in our daily lives we can lose that sense of direction.  It can be a moment of unbelief - we have been told something by God and we have pondered on it but we are still not obeying it.  Maybe it is a mountain of regret or fear.  God tells you to give up this mountain.  Maybe it is a case that you don’t want to go any further, want to live exactly the way you are.  On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter didn’t want to leave that place.  As he looked at these 3 great men he said “it is good for us to be here, let’s make 3 tabernacles and dwell here for a while.”  The Lord said “no we have to go down into the valley again.”  There is a work which the Lord wants you to do today.

There is a challenge God gives to his people - “turn northward.”  It is God who gives the command.  It would mean conflict, difficult days, trials, hard work but it was God who commanded it.  God knows where you and I are today.  He knows we are long enough in one place.  Moses led the people out of Egypt some 40 years earlier but it wasn’t the time to move into the Promised Land.  God knows the timing for you today.  Maybe this mountain gave them some sort of security.  Maybe depended on it, felt safe with it.  They had done all God had asked them to do and now felt vulnerable.  Sometimes we go through with God and then we feel out on a limb.  Peter sought to make 3 tabernacles – he wanted to enjoy the presence of the 3 men there on the Mount of Transfiguration but he had to leave that mountain.  The first thing Peter faced when he came down the mountain was the man with the demonic son.  We cannot live in the mountain of blessing for ever.  God wants us to move on with him.  Are you giving your all to the Lord today?  Will you let him lead you every day until you have finished the course laid out for you?

Moving on in a New Year

Deuteronomy 2 verses 1 – 13

“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”

God of heaven is evaluating the travels of his own people, assessing the progress of his own people.  If God was to lay the plumb line against this life of mind would he be able to say “you are exactly where I want you to be today.” 

The course that God had set.  As God sees this people God knows where they were at.  He knows where we are at this morning.  Maybe others think we are in a different state but God comes with great encouragement, not to beat us down, he has looked at where you are living, what you are doing and says “I want to consider that you have been at this mountain long enough, I want you to move northward.”  God is opening up another avenue for us and all he wants from us is obedience.  He has so much for us if only we would surrender to the course of God.  These people were no longer striving, they were settled in their ways, they are encircling this mountain, wandering.  God sees a people no longer conquering but comfortable.  We too can become like that – settled in what we are doing instead of seeking out the plan of God.  God has set a course for us.  As we look into another year we need to find out what that course is.  It must have been wonderful for the children of Israel to come out of Egypt, to see God deliver them.  God said he would raise up a man – Genesis 15 who would be blameless and he would make this man like the stars in the sky.  Genesis 15 verses 13 and 14 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”  This all came to pass exactly as God had told Abraham.  In Moses’ day the people had to separate a lamb, take its blood and mix it with hyssop then apply it to the doorposts.  The firstborn of every family would die that night in Egypt but if the angel of God saw the blood applied to the doorposts then he would pass over that particular household.  God delivered his own people out of the land of Egypt, he set them on a course to a land of blessing.  This was only the beginning.  God had so much for his people to enjoy.  God brings us out of the world through the simplest method we could ever understand – his own Son.  Why?  Because he loved us.  Not because we have earned it but rather he merited it to the Lord.  He took his only Son and sent him into the world.  There on the cross of Calvary God’s son, the perfect one, gave his life the he might reconcile us unto his Father in heaven.  Why?  That I might simply call on him to be my Saviour. I simply have to come as a child today, own up to the sin in my heart, trust him to save me.  That is all we have to do today.  From that moment God puts a purpose in our hearts.  Do we know the plans of God for our lives today?  The moment God took the children of Israel out of Egypt he set them on a course to enjoy his blessings in a new land.  God has set us free from the world but what is his plan for our lives?  The only way to know it is to get before him and ask him to reveal it to us.

The concerns of God for his people.  God is looking here at this people who were looking up this mountain.  This is where they are at after 38 years of wandering.    God comes with encouragement and direction.  The people were so glad the day they left Egypt but now God wanted them to move northward.  Am I glad for the day God saved me?  God didn’t just deliver them that day but daily he went with them.  Exodus 13 verses 21 and 22 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and b night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”  God is still with them, he hasn’t forsaken them.  God wasn’t prepared to lead them through the land of the Philistines even though it was a shorter way.  God knew the moment they saw conflict they would long for Egypt.  Day by day God assures us of his presence.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  All we have to do is learn to trust him.  He has given us his Holy Spirit that he might not leave us comfortless and to lead us into all truth.  Deuteronomy 2 verse 7 “for the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.”  God knew where they had been.  They had lost direction.  Is it possible that we have lost direction today?  Did God leave them?  No he wanted them to get back on course again.  He knew how long they had spent in that area.  For some of us in our daily lives we can lose that sense of direction.  It can be a moment of unbelief - we have been told something by God and we have pondered on it but we are still not obeying it.  Maybe it is a mountain of regret or fear.  God tells you to give up this mountain.  Maybe it is a case that you don’t want to go any further, want to live exactly the way you are.  On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter didn’t want to leave that place.  As he looked at these 3 great men he said “it is good for us to be here, let’s make 3 tabernacles and dwell here for a while.”  The Lord said “no we have to go down into the valley again.”  There is a work which the Lord wants you to do today.

There is a challenge God gives to his people - “turn northward.”  It is God who gives the command.  It would mean conflict, difficult days, trials, hard work but it was God who commanded it.  God knows where you and I are today.  He knows we are long enough in one place.  Moses led the people out of Egypt some 40 years earlier but it wasn’t the time to move into the Promised Land.  God knows the timing for you today.  Maybe this mountain gave them some sort of security.  Maybe depended on it, felt safe with it.  They had done all God had asked them to do and now felt vulnerable.  Sometimes we go through with God and then we feel out on a limb.  Peter sought to make 3 tabernacles – he wanted to enjoy the presence of the 3 men there on the Mount of Transfiguration but he had to leave that mountain.  The first thing Peter faced when he came down the mountain was the man with the demonic son.  We cannot live in the mountain of blessing for ever.  God wants us to move on with him.  Are you giving your all to the Lord today?  Will you let him lead you every day until you have finished the course laid out for you?

30/12/2012 LIMC am

Moving on in a New Year

Deuteronomy 2 verses 1 – 13

“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”

God of heaven is evaluating the travels of his own people, assessing the progress of his own people.  If God was to lay the plumb line against this life of mind would he be able to say “you are exactly where I want you to be today.” 

The course that God had set.  As God sees this people God knows where they were at.  He knows where we are at this morning.  Maybe others think we are in a different state but God comes with great encouragement, not to beat us down, he has looked at where you are living, what you are doing and says “I want to consider that you have been at this mountain long enough, I want you to move northward.”  God is opening up another avenue for us and all he wants from us is obedience.  He has so much for us if only we would surrender to the course of God.  These people were no longer striving, they were settled in their ways, they are encircling this mountain, wandering.  God sees a people no longer conquering but comfortable.  We too can become like that – settled in what we are doing instead of seeking out the plan of God.  God has set a course for us.  As we look into another year we need to find out what that course is.  It must have been wonderful for the children of Israel to come out of Egypt, to see God deliver them.  God said he would raise up a man – Genesis 15 who would be blameless and he would make this man like the stars in the sky.  Genesis 15 verses 13 and 14 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”  This all came to pass exactly as God had told Abraham.  In Moses’ day the people had to separate a lamb, take its blood and mix it with hyssop then apply it to the doorposts.  The firstborn of every family would die that night in Egypt but if the angel of God saw the blood applied to the doorposts then he would pass over that particular household.  God delivered his own people out of the land of Egypt, he set them on a course to a land of blessing.  This was only the beginning.  God had so much for his people to enjoy.  God brings us out of the world through the simplest method we could ever understand – his own Son.  Why?  Because he loved us.  Not because we have earned it but rather he merited it to the Lord.  He took his only Son and sent him into the world.  There on the cross of Calvary God’s son, the perfect one, gave his life the he might reconcile us unto his Father in heaven.  Why?  That I might simply call on him to be my Saviour. I simply have to come as a child today, own up to the sin in my heart, trust him to save me.  That is all we have to do today.  From that moment God puts a purpose in our hearts.  Do we know the plans of God for our lives today?  The moment God took the children of Israel out of Egypt he set them on a course to enjoy his blessings in a new land.  God has set us free from the world but what is his plan for our lives?  The only way to know it is to get before him and ask him to reveal it to us.

The concerns of God for his people.  God is looking here at this people who were looking up this mountain.  This is where they are at after 38 years of wandering.    God comes with encouragement and direction.  The people were so glad the day they left Egypt but now God wanted them to move northward.  Am I glad for the day God saved me?  God didn’t just deliver them that day but daily he went with them.  Exodus 13 verses 21 and 22 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and b night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”  God is still with them, he hasn’t forsaken them.  God wasn’t prepared to lead them through the land of the Philistines even though it was a shorter way.  God knew the moment they saw conflict they would long for Egypt.  Day by day God assures us of his presence.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  All we have to do is learn to trust him.  He has given us his Holy Spirit that he might not leave us comfortless and to lead us into all truth.  Deuteronomy 2 verse 7 “for the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.”  God knew where they had been.  They had lost direction.  Is it possible that we have lost direction today?  Did God leave them?  No he wanted them to get back on course again.  He knew how long they had spent in that area.  For some of us in our daily lives we can lose that sense of direction.  It can be a moment of unbelief - we have been told something by God and we have pondered on it but we are still not obeying it.  Maybe it is a mountain of regret or fear.  God tells you to give up this mountain.  Maybe it is a case that you don’t want to go any further, want to live exactly the way you are.  On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter didn’t want to leave that place.  As he looked at these 3 great men he said “it is good for us to be here, let’s make 3 tabernacles and dwell here for a while.”  The Lord said “no we have to go down into the valley again.”  There is a work which the Lord wants you to do today.

There is a challenge God gives to his people - “turn northward.”  It is God who gives the command.  It would mean conflict, difficult days, trials, hard work but it was God who commanded it.  God knows where you and I are today.  He knows we are long enough in one place.  Moses led the people out of Egypt some 40 years earlier but it wasn’t the time to move into the Promised Land.  God knows the timing for you today.  Maybe this mountain gave them some sort of security.  Maybe depended on it, felt safe with it.  They had done all God had asked them to do and now felt vulnerable.  Sometimes we go through with God and then we feel out on a limb.  Peter sought to make 3 tabernacles – he wanted to enjoy the presence of the 3 men there on the Mount of Transfiguration but he had to leave that mountain.  The first thing Peter faced when he came down the mountain was the man with the demonic son.  We cannot live in the mountain of blessing for ever.  God wants us to move on with him.  Are you giving your all to the Lord today?  Will you let him lead you every day until you have finished the course laid out for you?

30/12/2012 LIMC am

Moving on in a New Year

Deuteronomy 2 verses 1 – 13

“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”

God of heaven is evaluating the travels of his own people, assessing the progress of his own people.  If God was to lay the plumb line against this life of mind would he be able to say “you are exactly where I want you to be today.” 

The course that God had set.  As God sees this people God knows where they were at.  He knows where we are at this morning.  Maybe others think we are in a different state but God comes with great encouragement, not to beat us down, he has looked at where you are living, what you are doing and says “I want to consider that you have been at this mountain long enough, I want you to move northward.”  God is opening up another avenue for us and all he wants from us is obedience.  He has so much for us if only we would surrender to the course of God.  These people were no longer striving, they were settled in their ways, they are encircling this mountain, wandering.  God sees a people no longer conquering but comfortable.  We too can become like that – settled in what we are doing instead of seeking out the plan of God.  God has set a course for us.  As we look into another year we need to find out what that course is.  It must have been wonderful for the children of Israel to come out of Egypt, to see God deliver them.  God said he would raise up a man – Genesis 15 who would be blameless and he would make this man like the stars in the sky.  Genesis 15 verses 13 and 14 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”  This all came to pass exactly as God had told Abraham.  In Moses’ day the people had to separate a lamb, take its blood and mix it with hyssop then apply it to the doorposts.  The firstborn of every family would die that night in Egypt but if the angel of God saw the blood applied to the doorposts then he would pass over that particular household.  God delivered his own people out of the land of Egypt, he set them on a course to a land of blessing.  This was only the beginning.  God had so much for his people to enjoy.  God brings us out of the world through the simplest method we could ever understand – his own Son.  Why?  Because he loved us.  Not because we have earned it but rather he merited it to the Lord.  He took his only Son and sent him into the world.  There on the cross of Calvary God’s son, the perfect one, gave his life the he might reconcile us unto his Father in heaven.  Why?  That I might simply call on him to be my Saviour. I simply have to come as a child today, own up to the sin in my heart, trust him to save me.  That is all we have to do today.  From that moment God puts a purpose in our hearts.  Do we know the plans of God for our lives today?  The moment God took the children of Israel out of Egypt he set them on a course to enjoy his blessings in a new land.  God has set us free from the world but what is his plan for our lives?  The only way to know it is to get before him and ask him to reveal it to us.

The concerns of God for his people.  God is looking here at this people who were looking up this mountain.  This is where they are at after 38 years of wandering.    God comes with encouragement and direction.  The people were so glad the day they left Egypt but now God wanted them to move northward.  Am I glad for the day God saved me?  God didn’t just deliver them that day but daily he went with them.  Exodus 13 verses 21 and 22 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and b night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”  God is still with them, he hasn’t forsaken them.  God wasn’t prepared to lead them through the land of the Philistines even though it was a shorter way.  God knew the moment they saw conflict they would long for Egypt.  Day by day God assures us of his presence.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  All we have to do is learn to trust him.  He has given us his Holy Spirit that he might not leave us comfortless and to lead us into all truth.  Deuteronomy 2 verse 7 “for the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.”  God knew where they had been.  They had lost direction.  Is it possible that we have lost direction today?  Did God leave them?  No he wanted them to get back on course again.  He knew how long they had spent in that area.  For some of us in our daily lives we can lose that sense of direction.  It can be a moment of unbelief - we have been told something by God and we have pondered on it but we are still not obeying it.  Maybe it is a mountain of regret or fear.  God tells you to give up this mountain.  Maybe it is a case that you don’t want to go any further, want to live exactly the way you are.  On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter didn’t want to leave that place.  As he looked at these 3 great men he said “it is good for us to be here, let’s make 3 tabernacles and dwell here for a while.”  The Lord said “no we have to go down into the valley again.”  There is a work which the Lord wants you to do today.

There is a challenge God gives to his people - “turn northward.”  It is God who gives the command.  It would mean conflict, difficult days, trials, hard work but it was God who commanded it.  God knows where you and I are today.  He knows we are long enough in one place.  Moses led the people out of Egypt some 40 years earlier but it wasn’t the time to move into the Promised Land.  God knows the timing for you today.  Maybe this mountain gave them some sort of security.  Maybe depended on it, felt safe with it.  They had done all God had asked them to do and now felt vulnerable.  Sometimes we go through with God and then we feel out on a limb.  Peter sought to make 3 tabernacles – he wanted to enjoy the presence of the 3 men there on the Mount of Transfiguration but he had to leave that mountain.  The first thing Peter faced when he came down the mountain was the man with the demonic son.  We cannot live in the mountain of blessing for ever.  God wants us to move on with him.  Are you giving your all to the Lord today?  Will you let him lead you every day until you have finished the course laid out for you?

30/12/2012 LIMC am

Moving on in a New Year

Deuteronomy 2 verses 1 – 13

“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”

God of heaven is evaluating the travels of his own people, assessing the progress of his own people.  If God was to lay the plumb line against this life of mind would he be able to say “you are exactly where I want you to be today.” 

The course that God had set.  As God sees this people God knows where they were at.  He knows where we are at this morning.  Maybe others think we are in a different state but God comes with great encouragement, not to beat us down, he has looked at where you are living, what you are doing and says “I want to consider that you have been at this mountain long enough, I want you to move northward.”  God is opening up another avenue for us and all he wants from us is obedience.  He has so much for us if only we would surrender to the course of God.  These people were no longer striving, they were settled in their ways, they are encircling this mountain, wandering.  God sees a people no longer conquering but comfortable.  We too can become like that – settled in what we are doing instead of seeking out the plan of God.  God has set a course for us.  As we look into another year we need to find out what that course is.  It must have been wonderful for the children of Israel to come out of Egypt, to see God deliver them.  God said he would raise up a man – Genesis 15 who would be blameless and he would make this man like the stars in the sky.  Genesis 15 verses 13 and 14 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”  This all came to pass exactly as God had told Abraham.  In Moses’ day the people had to separate a lamb, take its blood and mix it with hyssop then apply it to the doorposts.  The firstborn of every family would die that night in Egypt but if the angel of God saw the blood applied to the doorposts then he would pass over that particular household.  God delivered his own people out of the land of Egypt, he set them on a course to a land of blessing.  This was only the beginning.  God had so much for his people to enjoy.  God brings us out of the world through the simplest method we could ever understand – his own Son.  Why?  Because he loved us.  Not because we have earned it but rather he merited it to the Lord.  He took his only Son and sent him into the world.  There on the cross of Calvary God’s son, the perfect one, gave his life the he might reconcile us unto his Father in heaven.  Why?  That I might simply call on him to be my Saviour. I simply have to come as a child today, own up to the sin in my heart, trust him to save me.  That is all we have to do today.  From that moment God puts a purpose in our hearts.  Do we know the plans of God for our lives today?  The moment God took the children of Israel out of Egypt he set them on a course to enjoy his blessings in a new land.  God has set us free from the world but what is his plan for our lives?  The only way to know it is to get before him and ask him to reveal it to us.

The concerns of God for his people.  God is looking here at this people who were looking up this mountain.  This is where they are at after 38 years of wandering.    God comes with encouragement and direction.  The people were so glad the day they left Egypt but now God wanted them to move northward.  Am I glad for the day God saved me?  God didn’t just deliver them that day but daily he went with them.  Exodus 13 verses 21 and 22 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and b night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”  God is still with them, he hasn’t forsaken them.  God wasn’t prepared to lead them through the land of the Philistines even though it was a shorter way.  God knew the moment they saw conflict they would long for Egypt.  Day by day God assures us of his presence.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  All we have to do is learn to trust him.  He has given us his Holy Spirit that he might not leave us comfortless and to lead us into all truth.  Deuteronomy 2 verse 7 “for the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.”  God knew where they had been.  They had lost direction.  Is it possible that we have lost direction today?  Did God leave them?  No he wanted them to get back on course again.  He knew how long they had spent in that area.  For some of us in our daily lives we can lose that sense of direction.  It can be a moment of unbelief - we have been told something by God and we have pondered on it but we are still not obeying it.  Maybe it is a mountain of regret or fear.  God tells you to give up this mountain.  Maybe it is a case that you don’t want to go any further, want to live exactly the way you are.  On the Mount of Transfiguration Peter didn’t want to leave that place.  As he looked at these 3 great men he said “it is good for us to be here, let’s make 3 tabernacles and dwell here for a while.”  The Lord said “no we have to go down into the valley again.”  There is a work which the Lord wants you to do today.

There is a challenge God gives to his people - “turn northward.”  It is God who gives the command.  It would mean conflict, difficult days, trials, hard work but it was God who commanded it.  God knows where you and I are today.  He knows we are long enough in one place.  Moses led the people out of Egypt some 40 years earlier but it wasn’t the time to move into the Promised Land.  God knows the timing for you today.  Maybe this mountain gave them some sort of security.  Maybe depended on it, felt safe with it.  They had done all God had asked them to do and now felt vulnerable.  Sometimes we go through with God and then we feel out on a limb.  Peter sought to make 3 tabernacles – he wanted to enjoy the presence of the 3 men there on the Mount of Transfiguration but he had to leave that mountain.  The first thing Peter faced when he came down the mountain was the man with the demonic son.  We cannot live in the mountain of blessing for ever.  God wants us to move on with him.  Are you giving your all to the Lord today?  Will you let him lead you every day until you have finished the course laid out for you?

30/12/2012 LIMC am

What would Jesus say to men and women if he was here on earth today?

Notes from a sermon heard on 25 November 2012

Luke 9 verses 18 – 27

If Jesus was here on earth today what would he have to say to men and to women?”

If Jesus was standing here in our midst I wonder what he might have to say to you and I.  Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today and will be for ever.”  As you ponder through the pages of the word of God the most important thing at its heart was that of direction.  In the Old Testament scriptures when God inspired Moses to stand before the nation of Israel as he was near the end of his days.  He addressed that crowd of people with the words “I have set before you the way of life and death, a way of blessing and of cursing.”  Jesus told his disciples “follow me” as they tended their nets in the boat.  Matthew sitting at the tax collectors desk one day met Jesus who told him “follow me”.  Direction was important for Jesus Christ.  We are only going to pass through this life once.  There are only 2 places to face in eternity – need to be careful in which destiny our soul is heading.  “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9 verse 23.  What direction are you going in tonight?  Have you trusted Christ as Saviour?

A serious consideration.  Jesus is asking something specific – “if any man will follow me.”  He is asking for people to follow him.  We find the characteristics of the person who will follow him “let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”  Which way are you travelling?  There is no point in ignoring it.  The reality is we are not all following Jesus.  The devil will make us think we are alright, on our way to heaven and home.  Have you ever given it any consideration?  The moment you were conceived you were a sinner.  Every one of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  Heaven’s door is closed upon our faces.  The prophet Isaiah said sin was like a wall separating us from God.  The first prayer the Lord hears is the sinners prayer.  Confession before God of heaven, acknowledge sin against God.  Remember the Pharisee who went up to God’s house.  He thought he was best in the world and looked down at the publican beside him.  He thanked God that he wasn’t like this publican.  The publican couldn’t even lift his head to heaven, he smote his breast and asked the Lord to be merciful to him a sinner.  Have you acknowledged your sin?  This is the thing we need to give close consideration to.  Consider the state you are in and where we are going too.  Isn’t it wonderful to consider the one called Jesus?  If you are looking for another way into heaven there is none.  John the Baptist came upon the scene, preaching the word of god as great multitudes gathered in Jerusalem.  They were there for the feast of the Passover.  John the Baptist thought it was a great time to catch the people’s imagination.  The people’s minds were on the lamb slain and blood spread on the door posts of the house of the children of Israel living in Egypt.  When God saw the blood he would pass over that house.  The people were now coming centuries later to remember that lamb slain on that night.  As Jesus stepped out from the crowd John said “behold the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.”  Only one that can take you into heaven and home, break the power of sin in your heart and take you into the splendours of heaven and glory.  His name is Jesus Christ.  Have you ever come to him?  Considered him, realised you have come short of the glory of God?  Has there ever been a time when you have invited Christ into your heart and life?  Jesus told the story of the man who went out into the field.  There was something different about this field.  It could make him richer than anything he could imagine.  He took a look at himself and he sold all he had so he could come and secure this field.  You can secure Jesus Christ in this meeting, give up everything that is holding you back and come to the Lord Jesus Christ.  The man realised he could never have that field while he held on to his possessions.  You have to give up your sin to come to Christ too.

A call for strong conviction.  Notice when this challenge come – verse 18.  He asked them saying “whom say the people that I am.”  Who did the people say that I am?  Took a strong conviction because after this the Lord says “him that will follow me let him take up his cross daily and follow me.”  The answer to that question could well determine your eternal destiny.  Out in the world the answer is coming back as Peter gave the answer.  Peter said the people tell us what they think.  He is John the Baptist, some say Elias.  All the names went further then the Lord brought Peter to a definite point in his life – “but who do you say that I am?”  That world is no friend of Jesus Christ.  You would get the same answer today.  He is the perfect being, a created being.  When he died on the cross dieing just as a mere man but what about you tonight?  Who was dieing on the cross of Calvary for you?  If you have it as anyone else than God’s own son you are on your way to a lost eternity.  The man or woman who wants to follow Christ has to get it clearly in his mind.  It takes a firm conviction to get saved.  Not just a question of putting your hand up but it takes a great conviction to come to the Lord Jesus and be saved.

A call for a sincere commitment.  If you want to get saved it will take a commitment to Christ.  The cross has lost some of its significance in this first century days.  It was a symbol of disgrace, shame, disorder, abuse.  Tonight as you take up your cross you are taking up the cross of shame.  Remember the young man who lives out amongst the tombs.  He was possessed of a legion of devils.  No one would go near him.  He was vicious, violent.  There were those who were concerned about him.  The devil would stir him up so that he would snap those fetters.  Nothing would hold him.  One day Jesus came past those tombs.  He gave him a peace he never had.  He broke the power of the devil in his life.  He could now go down into his own home.  Something he couldn’t do for many years.  Jesus clothed him and gave him respectability and a peace in his mind and heart.  When Jesus turned to go away the man said “I will follow you.”  Jesus said “no go back into your village and tell them what Christ has done for you.  He had a sincere commitment to follow him.  Do you have that same desire to follow Christ, obey his word?  Is every direction of him tonight?  He bore our sins on his body on the tree.  He waits for you to bow your heart and you don’t have to make a public show.  You can simply say “I am a sinner and I want to be saved, take away my sin.”

A sure companion.  “let him follow me”  He will go before your every step.  When life is finished and you close your eyes for the final time then God will take you to heaven.  If you are depending on a church, a minister, a respectability it will take you to this side of the grave.  When you come to face the last enemy, death itself, the Bible classes as death then your religion, church minister will not help you.  You will have a sure companion through life and through death and into the presence of God himself for all eternity.  What direction are you going tonight?  Are you saved tonight, sure of it, on way to heaven and home?

25/11/12 pm LIMC

Standing and walking in the gospel

Notes from a sermon heard on Sunday 25 November 2012

Isaiah 52 verses 1 – 12

The prophet Isaiah makes a wonderful claim in verse 7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

Ephesians 6 verse 15 “and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”  Paul talks about feet that are made for standing and conflict that you and I might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  The devil is real, active, up and about at every opportunity.  None is able to stand against him in our own right.  In verse 15 Paul is looking at the feet of the Roman soldier and sees the boots he is wearing.  The boots were laced right up to his knees and had spikes on the sole to keep their grip on the ground.  One of their tactics was to put spikes into the ground.  They were made of bamboo shoots filled with poison.  As the enemy trampled on them they were very effective in taking out so many.  Maybe the devil could target you, weaken you and weaken the rest of the army.  You and I have to take a firm stand in the gospel truth.

A stand in the sovereignty of the gospel.  The devil will attack you and I on this very ground.  Maybe attack us through a relative, a friend, a brother or sister in Christ.  None of the apostles went to Rome.  Paul could see a danger when he heard of a church starting there.  Phoebe went to Rome and took the gospel with her.  Aquilla and Priscilla helped her and they started a church there.  In their infancy Paul writes to the church.  He says “Paul a servant of Christ, called to be an apostle.”  Paul was separated by God to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.  Why did he put that message in there?  It is the only reason we have the gospel.  The gospel means good news that have come to the world, to my heart and yours.  The apostle Paul looking at the church didn’t want them to miss out on this.  We have to be careful.  We don’t miss out in this one thing – saving grace we have been in is of God.  God loved this world.  He wasn’t willing that any should perish.  For those of us go out into eternity we will perish for all eternity. This is the gospel of God.  This little church didn’t have the bible.  They had nothing to keep them going on.  Paul wrote to them and it was important that they understood that the message they believed was from God.  I emphasise this - below we live in a society where a lot of men’s salvation is based on the church they attend.  Salvation is not a set of rules and regulations.  It is from the heart of God for sinful man.  The Jews and the Pharisees condemned Paul for this new message.  They accused Paul from stepping over the mark, of taking men and women from the law, setting aside the laws of Moses bringing in a new doctrine about Jesus.  Paul told them that is not the case.  Not only was he separated unto the gospel of God which was a fulfilment of all that was taught in the Old Testament.  “He has promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures”.  Paul wanted them to know one thing – that this message was of God.  Psalm 73 verse 2 “But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious of the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”  The Psalmist’s eyes were on those living a life that was wrong.  They may have been going through motions but their eyes were not on God.  Paul says in Galatians 1 verse 11 “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.”  Something has to happen in your life.  Got to make way to Calvary, look on Christ and accept him as Lord and Saviour.  That is the only way to enter into heavens glory.  Galatians 1 verse 12 “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  Salvation is of God.

The subject of the gospel.  Romans 1 verse 3 “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.”  The gospel we have is concerning Jesus Christ “which he had promised afore by his prophets in holy scriptures.”  It was God’s divine plan to redeem a lost world.  It was through Jesus Christ.  For many today it is a gospel of good works instead of the main subject of Jesus Christ himself.  The subject of the gospel of saving grace is God.  The apostle Paul looked away to Christ in glory.  He lifted his eyes off the troubles he was in and said he loved me.  The apostle Paul couldn’t get over that fact.  He loved me and he gave himself for me.  As he looked on me as a poor lost sinner he realised there was no hope for us.  Not only does he love us but gave himself for us.  You can’t buy your way into heaven today.  The only way we can get to heaven is that we know Jesus Christ living in our hearts.  Not historically.  Do you know the Lord living in your heart and life today?  Jesus Christ is come into the world to seek and to save that which is lost.  When we take the word of God in and begin to read the book of Leviticus we can see it as a boring piece of literature ever read but don’t forget the subject of your salvation.  Leviticus takes us through all the offerings.  When you read about the sin offering it is the offering of the Old Testament lamb taken and sacrificed for you and I.  The peace offering is speaking of the same lamb who made peace for Israel.  Jesus died for us to make peace with God for you and I.  The burnt offering went up day after day and speaks of praise and worship.  God was satisfied with Jesus’ death.

The simplicity of the gospel.  This is where we must stand firm.  Paul wrote to the church of Corinth.  He was worried they might give way to false teachers who were eloquent in their tongues and could persuade people.  Paul stopped the Corinthian church people following after them.  Paul took them back to where he was called to preach the gospel “for Christ sent me not to baptise but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”  Paul was afraid these men would take them away from the simplicity of the gospel message.  “And I brethren when I came to, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God.”  Paul had one thing in mind - to make the gospel simple and plain. 

The sufficiency of the gospel.  This gospel brings salvation to everyone that believes.  We need to be standing firm in the gospel message.  The sufficiency of it will save your soul and make you right for heaven and home.

A false profession

Notes from a sermon on Sunday 2 December 2012

1 Kings 12 verses 25 – 33

If we want to get a full understanding of the word of God we need to delve into the history of Israel.  God’s own people were under the kingship of Saul, the first King of Israel.  Then came David and Solomon.  Solomon sinned and fell short of what God would have him to be.  God had decided his kingdom would be divided when his son came to the throne, Rehoboam.  Jeroboam was a young man who stood for election and he was voted in by the people.  There were now 10 tribes in the North and 2 little tribes in the South.  It is to the North I want to look to tonight.  Verses 25 and 26 see the success of Jeroboam.  The strategy of Jeroboam, the only thing could keep this people together was a false profession.  Religion must be the greatest tool in the enemy’s ploy.

The devise of such a religion.  Verses 26 and 27 tells us Jeroboam said in his heart “now shall the kingdom return to the house of David.  “if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem.”  Each year the people made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship God of heaven.  Jeroboam could see a problem in the making.  If he allowed them to go down to Jerusalem they would stay there and give allegiance once again to Rehoboam and he would lose his power.  The only thing he could do was devise this religion.  Devise in his heart.  The word of God tells us something of our hearts – “the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things who can know it.”  The heart is the centre of all decisions you will ever make.  The word of God has a religion set out in his owrd that will lead a man to salvation.  Paul said to Timothy “the scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.”  That is all you have got.  You have to be saved and the only way to be saved is through the precious word of God.  The word fo God takes me right back to the Garden of Eden.  God breathed into man and man became a living soul.  Then he looked at man and thought “it is not good that man should be alone.”  None could be a help mate for man.  God caused a sleep over man took a rib out of man and created a woman.  Then the enemy enters into the Garden and takes Eve to one side.  He begins to ask Eve all God has placed in her heart.  All these trees in the Garden of Eden – hast God said you cannot eat of these?  Eve replied “there is only one we are not allowed to eat of, in that day we shall surely die.”  The devil had here where he wanted her.  The devil is no match to the Lord.  The devil will want ot hold you in the darkness of your sin.  He will come to you at the end of this meeting and say like he said to Eve “you shall not surely die, you will become wiser than ever.”  When Eve heard that she took of the fruit and she ate of the fruit.  When she did so sin came into the world.  What do you do with that sin?  You are born with it.  The only one thing you can do is come to the cross of Calvary.  God has a plan, he sent his son into the world that he might take away your sin, to deal with it and only he can deal with it.  Have you ever come to Christ?  Verse 28 he took counsel, he made it out it was for the good others – “it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.”  He introduced 2 calves for them to worship.  The device of this religious system.  It comes short.  The devil didn’t care about Jeroboam’s plans.  The moment we turn to Christ that is when the devil comes.

The description of this religion.  It was a well thought out plan.  Jeroboam knew in his heart that this religion had to look genuine and real.  Jeroboam invented 2 calves for the people to worship.  Matthew Henry said “within every man, every woman, every boy, every girl there is a huge vacuum that cannot be filled until God fills it.”  In verse 31 he gave them a house to worship in.  It is important this religion had to be really genuine.  In verse 32 he gave them their own priests to minister to.  In Acts of the Apostles we read of Paul visiting Ephesus.  The 7 sons of the priest of Sceva could see Paul laying on hands and demons were being cast out.  Sicknesses were being healed and they wanted to be involved in this ministry too.  The demons cried out “Paul we know, Jesus we know but who are you.”  In verse 32 Jeroboam gave the people an altar and a feast day on which they could sacrifice.  Which religion are you following?  Is it very close to what God has in the word of God.  “There is a way that seemeth right unto man but the end thereof leads to destruction.”  Maybe that is the road you are on. 

The destruction of such a religion.  He went up to Dan in the north and set up an altar there.  Then he went to Bethel in the South.  The lengths he went to.  A false religion will step you short of coming to the cross.  If you stop short you will never be saved.  The devil doesn’t mind us sitting here tonight, singing hymns, listening to the preaching of the word of God but will stop you getting saved.  We will find 1000 excuses to stop you coming to Christ.  What about it tonight?

The danger of such a religion.  Verse 30 “this thing became a sin”.  The very religion they were involved in became a sin.  The moment they began to worship the calves they were taking their eyes off God and it became a sin.  “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life”.  What about you?  God has a plan to save your soul and it begins at Calvary.  You have got to come to Christ, confess your sin, trust Jesus as Saviour and Lord, accept what he has done for you. 

2/12/2012 LIMC pm

Wise Men Sought Christ - they still do

Notes from a sermon on 26 November 2012

Matthew 2 verses 1 - 12

A fact we find in verse 1 – wise men.  You cannot deny that.  Here we see they are wise because doing one thing – seeking after the Lord Jesus Christ.  Sometimes you see a sticker on the back of a car “wise men sought Jesus - they still do.”  The travelling these wise men did – it was to find the Lord.  Picture what our journey might be to find the Saviour.

These men observed.  We find them knocking on the door of the palace in Jerusalem, talking to Herod and is counsellors – verse 3.  Something stirred in their hearts.  These were ordinary men, nothing supernatural about them who came from the East, making their way to Jerusalem, to Herod’s palace inquiring about the Lord Jesus Christ.  They observed Herod, bringing them into his counsel rooms, sitting down with them, asking them to explain what has brought them from the East.  Can imagine them saying “we were just attending to our every day needs and as we looked around the galaxies we couldn’t understand one star.  It troubled us, we became more excited as we had never seen this before.”  That is what brought them here.  This was their normal day life that God broke into.  “We have seen his star”.  They have come seeking for a person.  God broke into their lives in their normal every day activities.  Sometimes we think if God is going to speak to me something dramatic has to happen. Sometimes God speaks in a quiet manner just in our every day activities - maybe ironing, getting into the car and going to the shops.  God stirs the hearts – it begins on a journey and ends when we find Jesus for ourselves.  Moses was way out in the desert doing his normal days work, tending his sheep, taking them out perhaps to find grass or water for them when something happened.  He was intrigued by a bush that began to burn.  Matthew was just a tax collector, came down to his office, working away at receiving taxes.  Just at that moment the Lord went past his desk and said to him “follow me”.  Do you remember God speaking to you and called you out after himself? 

These men were open.  As they gazed on the star they realised something different, something special never seen before in the sky.  They were prepared to seek until they found the meaning of this star.  Hadn’t a closed mind on it.  Sometimes we can make up our mind before we consider anything.  They realised this was the kings star.  God began to speak into situation.  God revealed to them the very birthplace they were to go to.  As they fixed their minds on Christ he opened up their minds.  The bush burned when Moses observed it in the desert.  It didn’t burn up completely away.  That is how God captured the mind of Moses that day.  God told him to take off his shoes because the ground he was on was holy ground.  He was capturing his head now he wanted to capture his heart.  As we gather around the Saviour, as seek to show you he is the only Saviour you need, you need to go to Calvary.  There he died for your sins.  Here were these wise men and God opened their minds.  Maybe God is going to speak to you through something in your life.  He will capture your heart and mind as you consider this situation.

These men had obstacles too in their lives.  As they came to find the Lord something happened.  They got confused and bewildered, got their eyes off the star and went to Herod’s palace.  They tried to work out where this child was to be born.  They thought this would be a king and therefore would have to be born in a kingly city which was Jerusalem.  They worked out in their own minds they had to go to Herod’s palace but that is not where they found him.  Sometimes we begin to think things out for ourselves.  We think we need to live a better life, start going to church, reading my bible.  All that is good but that is not God’s salvation.  Jesus came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost.  Nicodemus had all these things but not saved.  Paul writing to Timothy “thou hast known the scriptures from a child.”  His grandmother and mother both taught him the scriptures but that didn’t save him, it only showed him the way.  He had to put his faith and trust in the Lord to save.  Maybe there are obstacles in your life and they are keeping you from the Lord.

These men had obedience.  They listened to Herod and what he had to say.  Herod was trying to deceive them.  “I am interested in this new king you come back to me and I will send someone and we will worship this king.”  As we consider the things of God there is the enemy, the devil.  He will do all in his power to deceive you and I from worshipping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, keep us back from finding the Lord as Saviour.  We need obedience.  The star came again.  It was speaking louder than Herod’s voice or his counsellors voices.  God wanted to take them out to where the star was.  They never stopped until the star rested over the house where they found the Lord.  That is what God wants to do in our meeting.  The most important thing for you and I is that we know the Lord Jesus Christ as own and personal Saviour.  You can find him.  He has come tonight and is standing in our midst and bids you to come to him.

The shepherds on the hillside outside Bethlehem

Notes from a sermon heard on Sunday 16 December 2012

Luke 2 verses 8 – 20

Let us focus on the fields outside Bethlehem - they were guarding their sheep when the heavens were separated and the angels came down to earth.  What sort of men where they? 

These men were distinguished.  Even as they sat on the hillside they were distinguished by their profession and trade perhaps in a negative way.  The religious leaders would regard them as ignorant and unlearned men, the lowest of the lowest.  They were doing this simple trade.  They were not at a liberty to attend the various worship services in the temple, to sit at the feet of rabbi teachers and hear the word of God.  For them if they were to come down to the temple couldn’t do so until they were thoroughly cleansed.  They were distinguished in another way.  They were set apart because of the great news the angels brought them.  Can we look back to a time in our experience when we were separated by God, sanctified by God, set apart by God and for God? God sent a host of angels to where the shepherds where to tell the news a Saviour had been born.  That news is for all today.  The chief priests and rabbis would have bypassed them but not the God of heaven.  What happened there on the hillside is happening every day since.  This message was for every nation and kindred.  None were excluded from the gospel.  It is for you today.  The God of heaven wants to reveal himself to you today.  What is going through your mind at this moment?  Is there a glimmer of God in your heart today?  Distinguished by hopelessness and helplessness, distinguished by where they were.  Society looks down on them but God doesn’t look down on them.  He sent Jesus to die for each and every one of us.  God needs a messenger to go alongside the young man or woman to reveal God’s message of saving grace to them.  That night in Bethlehem the announcement did not come to the princes, rabbis, scribes of the temple in Jerusalem.  It came to the mountainside, to the humblest, lowest of all men – shepherds.  God found a heart ready to listen.  God can take you and I, makes anything he desires.  God took Moses away to the backside of the desert and used him to bring the children out of Egypt.  40 years wandering in the desert minding sheep.  God used him.  God overlooks our failures, picks us up, dusts us down and sends us on our way again.  Amos was found by God minding sheep, a herdsman.  God can use us wherever we are today.  God was going to do something with them and for them.

These men were dutiful.  Notice where God found them – “abiding in the fields”.  It is very easy to give up, throw in the towel, say no more am I going to do that job.  There were watching over and keeping their sheep.  They did so to guard and protect the sheep.  They had time to listen to God.  Sometimes we get so busy in our private lives, occupations, families and friends.  So busy that we ignore God.  These shepherds were no doubt dutiful in their occupation.  Doing that diligently.  God could see the duty in their lives before he stepped down to give them a greater task.  No doubt responsible for the little lambs that were used every day for the sacrifices in the temple.  They were frowned upon and looked down upon.  The lambs had to be perfect.  It took a lot to care for them to ensure they were well cared for.  Does God see us guarding that which he has entrusted unto us?  The Lord is in our hearts, does God see us watching us over that life, giving time to the word of God, in prayer, to the places where we go?  Are we guarding that spiritual aspect of our lives?  These men were dutiful.  Samuel was just a young child when dedicated to the Lord in the temple.  We need to be giving to the Lord.  Hannah gave him back to the Lord.  We need to be giving because we have been given so much by the Lord.  1 Samuel 3  he opened the doors to the temple and closed them at the night time.  I’m sure every morning as he opened up the doors and closed them at night he never thought for one moment he would ever do anything else.  God watched him doing this job.  God had something else for him to do.  There is a task for you to do.  As God sees you in that task God will use you.  Are we dutiful in those tasks?  Samuel was told later on to go down to the house of Jesse.  The sons were paraded before him but not one of them was chosen by God.  1 Samuel 16 verse 11 Samuel looked at Jesse and asked him “are these all thy children?”  Jesse told him “there remaineth yet the youngest and behold he keepeth the sheep.”  The person God was going to use was a dutiful young man called David.  He was out on the hillside watching the sheep.  God knew where he was and he was going to take him out of that situation.

These men were decisive – verse 15 “let us now go.”  Ready to go.  Notice something else they said “and see this thing which is come to pass which the Lord hath made known unto us.”  They were quick in their minds to realise something far more important.  A call that took them away from their normal job.  I’m sure they were not neglectful – they left someone in charge while they went to see what had come to pass.  1 Samuel 17 verse 20 “and David rose up early in the morning.”  He wanted to be there in good time.  When God speaks to us do we want to be busy?  David left his sheep with someone.  He was going to do something for his father but he didn’t want his business to come under neglect.  Our spiritual side doesn’t conflict with our every day side.  We need to hand it to God and let him take care of it all.  Every aspect of David’s life was sorted out.  In the election of elders and deacons God deals with the behaviour of each in their private lives.  “A bishop must be blameless, must be vigilant, sober, given to hospitality, apt to teach, one that ruleth well in his own house.”  That is the responsibility of a man.  He looks into the private life before he takes him into the public service.  

These men were delighted – verse 16 “they came with haste” “which were told them by the shepherds.”  They focused on that little baby – verses 17 and 20.  They went out and told everyone what they had found.  As God’s people today do we fill our hearts, minds, lives with the word of God?  When given glimpses of the Saviour through God’s word do we tell others about what God has done for us?  Is there something more challenging in our lives than Christ?  Something we would rather have?  C H Spurgeon when he was preparing a sermon ran out in the streets, met a policeman and asked him “do you know anything of the grace of God.”  As a result of his speaking to him the policeman got saved.

The example of Mary and Joseph

Notes from a sermon heard on Sunday 9 December 2012

Luke 2 verses 1 – 7

In verse 2 we see the qualities of this young man and woman Joseph and Mary and the sacrifices they made that the Lord might come into the world through their relationship, the dedication and the devotion they had to fulfil God’s plan for their lives.  Are you in that place where God could use you today?  Luke 1 verses 1 – 4.  Luke is going to set out the record of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He himself wasn’t an eye witness but taking his records from those who were eye witnesses from the apostles of Jesus. 

Notice firstly the circumstances that could not be ignored in their lives.  They could not ignore what was happening all around them.  We face circumstances every day of our lives which change.  We have a set of plans made that we live with, get up each day but before nightfall all the circumstances would change.  Maybe there are circumstances that are changing in your life that you do not fully understand.  God is developing them to bring you into a place where he wants to use you and make you a blessing to others.  I’m sure Joseph was saying “whatever next”.  The decree meant that he was to leave Nazareth and go down to Bethlehem to be taxed.  There were so many things happening in his life.  Life is like that.  Sometimes it is just one crisis after another.  In Matthew 1 we see how Joseph’s circumstances changed so dramatically.  Imagine how Joseph feels when Mary comes one day and tells him she is pregnant.  I’m sure that was a bombshell for him.  She had pledged her faithfulness and love to him but now tells him she is pregnant.  I’m sure he thought firstly Mary has been unfaithful, how could he ever go through with his life now.  Sometimes that happens in our lives.  In Matthew 1 verse 19 we read that Joseph was a “just man” he was in a right relationship with God.  There was no bitterness, no getting even, no spewing off at the mouth, no telling Mary what he thought of it.  He realised he had been wronged.  He would make plans to “put her away privily”, that no-one else would know about this situation.  Such was his love for this young woman.  The only thing that matters when a crisis hits us is our relationship with God.  Are you a just man or woman today?  Has the Lord forgiven you of your sins?  When saved you and I are in the right relationship with God. we can cope in a crisis.  “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  When this crisis hit Joseph he didn’t retaliate.  While Joseph thought on these things the angel of the Lord came and explained every detail.  It is good to think things through.  Mary and Joseph got over this hurdle together.  The Roman emperor made a law that everyone was to go to his own city to be taxed.  They would have to travel 80 miles to be registered.  Crises come to each and everyone but with the Lord in it we can cope.  We can see the hand of God in what he was planning and purposing.  He wanted Mary down in Bethlehem to sort out God’s plan.  God was taking the decision out of Joseph’s hands and said he would use it for God’s glory.  God takes certain things that we might think are a hurdle but he uses them for his glory and honour.  Imagine God using the Roman Emperor to fulfil his plan.  God sets up a kingdom but he can also put it down too.  That can happen in our own lives too when we open up his word.  In Daniel 2 and 7 we read of 2 visions one in the bedroom of the king Nebuchadnezzar and the other in the life of Daniel.  The 2 visions are the same.  One was of a great image and the other of 4 beasts.  That image was made of different materials.  A head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.  Then comes the breast which represents the Medes and Persians.  The belly was made of brass which represented the Grecian empire.  The loins and legs represented the Roman empire.  He also tells us about another empire still to come.  The 10 toes were made partly of clay and partly iron.  An amalgamation of all the rest of the kingdoms which may come to pass very shortly.   Here was a empire God has set up to bring about the birth of his son.

Notice how Joseph and Mary complied with this order.  They set off the 80 miles down to Bethlehem.  Imagine the discussion on the way.  Their trust was in God who did know all the details.  If there is a crisis in your life you might not be able to see every detail or have every answer but God knows.  All we can do is bring our lives to God and lay them in total surrender.  Joseph and Mary complied with a foreign power.  In the Old Testament scriptures there was another Joseph who complied firstly with his fathers wishes to take bread to his brothers.  When the brothers saw him coming they put him in an old pit in the ground.  They he was sold to the Egyptians.  Joseph had to comply with what they said.  He was complying with the word of God.  You and I need to grasp that fact.  It is difficult to grasp at times.  We need to surrender our lives to the will of God.  What did Mary say “be it unto me according to thy word.”  Would you and I be prepared to say that today?  If there was something very difficult would we comply with it?  That is all God is asking for today.  When Joseph thought on these things an angel came and explained it all to him.  He surrendered his whole life to the Lord.  Peter and the disciples fished all night but caught nothing.  Jesus asked them to let down their nets.  Peter said “never the less at thy will I will let down the nets.”  Sometimes we run in the other direction but the only thing we can do is comply with God.

The conformity of God’s word - verse 6.  Some 700 years before this Micah the prophet of God was told “in Bethlehem Judea my son will be born.”  In Mary and Joseph’s circumstances they complied with them and they conformed with God’s will and God’s word.  Is my life – are we in the place God could use us like Mary and Joseph?  If Elijah had not been down in the brook of Cherith he would have missed out on the miracle of the ravens bringing him bread.  If we are not in the place God wants us to be today we will miss so much of his blessing.  “So be it to me according to thy word” – is that what we can say today?

Working behind the scenes for God

Notes from a sermon heard on Sunday 2 December 2012

2 Kings 4 verses 8 – 37

In this chapter we meet this man Elisha and since God has raised him up he has been an instrument in God’s hands.  Remember he was ploughing his field with a yoke of oxen when Elijah came down through the furrows to meet him.  As he stopped with him Elijah would relate to him what God had placed in his heart.  He was to be in his shoes.  Elijah would leave this scene of time so he said to him “are you prepared to leave your yoke, to take on God’s work and will, to dedicate your life to him Elisha?”  Isn’t that a tremendous challenge for any man or woman – to dedicate our lives wholly and fully without any reserves, to place our all on the altar for God?  That is what Elijah did.  He stepped from the yoke of oxen and made a sacrifice to the God of heaven.  

This is the story of a Shunammite woman and the life she lived.  She was working so hard behind the scenes – that is what God is looking for today.  Those behind the scenes.  He is still calling people out from congregations that might go forth in the mission field.  He is looking for those who are willing, dedicated and sacrificial in their giving all to the Lord behind the scenes.

Think of her awareness.  In verse 8 we are introduced to this woman as “a great woman”.  This was her characteristic.  The Bible is saying she was a rich, wealthy woman, of good standing and substance.  Here was a woman aware of what was happening around her.  She didn’t get caught up with her wealth, home and those around her.  As a child of God that is what we should be aware of – those around us.  Here was this woman not caught up in every day affairs, she wanted to encourage Elisha.  She got behind him to encourage him.  In her home was an open door.  She saw this man walking past and got to know him.  Then one day she constrained him to come in for a bite to eat.  Maybe she lived on the main road, a direct route  and every day she saw him coming past her door.  Such was the concern on her heart she went out and constrained him to come in.  Lydia met the Lord at the river side at Philippi.  Paul and the team were about to move on.  Lydia constrained them to come into her home that she might offer them hospitality in return.  We need an open door for the spirit of the gospel ministry of God.  This man was refreshed with friendship and fellowship.  She had a great concern for the word of God.  Elijah was a man who stood for God against Jezebel.  One day he pronounced judgment on Israel.  God told Elijah to go to the brook Cherith and “I will command the ravens to bring you flesh to eat.”  Then the brook dried up.  It was all part of God’s will.  When it dried up Elijah was told to go to a widow woman.  When Elijah went to the widow woman she was out gathering a few sticks to light a fire.  She had a cruise of oil and was about to make a last meal for her and her child.  Elisha comes to a home of great wealth.  God does that.  God will use the rich and the powerful and the mighty and the weak, the young and the old if we are willing to allow him to use us.  It doesn’t matter the category – we are in God’s will.  He can use all sorts.  She had a concern for this man.  We need to be encouragers.  There are a lot of people who are discouraged today.  These people are those in church leadership, who are helping to teach Sunday school or work in youth work.  They need to be encouraged.  Are we as active to go out and bring men and women in to hear the gospel?  Do we have the compassion?  In Acts 18 the gospel came to Ephesus.  There was a man there by the name of Apollos, the Bible tells us he was eloquent in his speech.  He was a tremendous preacher.  He caught your attention right away.  He used some lovely words and painted some lovely pictures.  He knew the word of God.  He was on fire when he got into the pulpit.  He only knew the baptism of John.  In that congregation on that particular day Priscilla and Aquilla were listening to him.  They realised he had a message that didn’t go the full way.  They took him through the scriptures and taught him fully.  Are we aware of the problems around us?  Are we ready to do something about it?

Notice the ability she was blessed with.  Elisha ate with them and she realised she could do more than just merely feed him.  She wanted to build a room for this man to spend time here.  Jesus told the story of a man who went into a far country.  He didn’t want his work to fall behind so he gave to each of his workers talents.  He wanted them to use them wisely until he came back again.  He gave as he saw them having the ability.  When he returned he called the workers to see what they had done with the talents.  The first man doubled it and so did the second.  The third man though had difficulty with his talent.  He had put it in the ground and hid it.  The master told him “I wanted you to use it and double it.”  Likened that story to Jesus going back to heaven, he didn’t want to see the building of his church going to waste.  He gave us all certain talents.  He gave us the ability to do something for him, that the church might be extended.  One day he is coming back again and I am going to stand before him and he will say to me “what have you done with the talents I gave to you?”  He is not going to ask about preaching to the multitudes in darkest Africa or great conventions because he didn’t give me that talent.  He will ask me about my time in evangelism and in this town, sitting around bed sides, standing on door steps.  Will he say to you “I gave you the ability to teach a Sunday School, to talk to your neighbours and friends, the financial ability to see the word of God going forth?"  Wouldn’t it be awful to say “I have done nothing.”  The apostle Paul when writing to the church at Corinth in his letter he made bare his innermost being.  He really laid it bare to those people he loved.  His heart was in the work of God.  2 Corinthians 10 verse 16 “I want to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you”.  In other words” I want to go to preach in Spain, preach in Rome, I am a debtor to the Greeks, Gentiles and Barbarians.”  He felt he stood with a debt over his heart to relate the word of God to so many people.  When we look back, take ourselves back to Calvary to the day when we came under conviction of sin, God showed you your need to salvation.  There was never a day before or like it again.  The Holy Spirit came and showed you your need.  He took your heart and mind and he took you to Calvary.  He showed you something you never saw before.  When he was dieing on the cross he died for you.  He suffered the agony and the pain for you.  The Lord came in and saved you.  He took away your sin.  Paul said from that day I am ready to preach the gospel.  By the grace of God I am what I am.  This woman looked at her house and gave everything she had to the Lord to use it as he saw fit.  The Lord put it into her heart to give something he could use.  What you have today is God’s.  The very next breath in your life is in God’s hand.  What if God were to close it?  The health and strength I enjoy is all from the Lord.  If the Lord was to take it all back where would you be standing?

The attention to detail she gave – it was not half hearted.

The award that followed.  God didn’t overlook it.  She didn’t have a child.  God promised her a son in due time.  Our rewards are waiting for us, not down here but one day in heaven itself.  What I put into the work of God down here is waiting for me up yonder.  “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” Here was a woman behind the scenes working to get the word of God get through.  Will we give ourselves to God today?  To be used in whatever way he pleases for his glory and honour?