A profession that is matched with evidence

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

NOTES FROM FRIDAY 26 AUGUST 2022 – REV J LYONS

MATTHEW 7 VERSES 21 – 23

In these solemn verses Jesus points out that a profession of knowing Christ means nothing without the evidence of a changed life.

We have the alarming statement – verse 21.  Earlier in the chapter Jesus talked about 2 ways – the broad way and the narrow way.  The broad way is populated by many while the narrow way is found by the few.  From this we can conclude Jesus did not believe in universal salvation.  He emphasised this in verse 21.  There are those who will be saved but not everyone.  Jesus says people can respect him for who he is, can address him as Lord but there is no guarantee he will enter the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus makes this alarming statement that obviously there are some who expect to be in heaven, yet they are strongly deluded.  Then he goes on to reveal the mark of those who truly know him and will be in heaven, it is they who do the will of my father.  It is not about what we profess.  It must match up with what we do.  In the epistles that belief is followed by behaviour.  Christ’s focus about doing is not about working our way to heaven.  Doing comes from the relationship with the Lord in our lives.  This is the mark of those who enter the kingdom of heaven – they not only say ‘Lord’ but they live under my Lordship.  These are not empty phrases but are followed by obedient acts.  Those who do the will of my father.  A person may profess Christ yet live in direct defiance of his word which really reveals we don’t know him.  We are saved by faith alone, faith that saves is never alone.  Works and faith go together in the life of a true Christian.  “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9)  Maybe you are getting the cart before the horse.  Maybe you think that if you try your best, somehow God will accept you.  Your best will not be enough.  Your best might include attending church, doing charitable deeds, even giving to the church, trying your best in life, being kind, not falling out with anyone – it will never be enough.  First the relationship is established.  From that comes good works unto him that glorify him alone.  Real profession is backed up by obedience to Gods will.  He finished the section in Matthew 7 on false prophets and the principle he laid down is in the words “by their fruits you will know them.”  He talked about wolves in sheep's clothing – they cannot hide the fact they are wolves.  What is done will come out.  In Mark 4 we read the story of the sower and the seed.  There are 4 types of ground.  Of the seed sown, only one brought forth fruit that remained.  It is the only ground that is called good.  A real Christian is one whose life has been changed and puts that change on display.  It brings forth fruit.  More than a commitment to Christ, that is half the package.  Christ also must commit his life unto you.  It is confirmed in our inner lives by the presence of the Holy Spirit who it brings forth fruit in my life, this is the evidence that I belong to Christ.  To enter the kingdom of God it takes more than religious profession.  The bottom line is that if we profess Christ and it is not backed up by a changed life we have an empty profession.  How do you fare in the light of Jesus’ statement?  Is your profession real?  Have you really come to Christ?  Has his Holy Spirit come to you and changed you from the inside out to such a degree that old things have passed away and everything has become new?  Romans 8 verse 9 "But ye are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.  Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."  If we do not have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, we do not belong to him.  That is an alarming statement.

An activity mentioned – verse 22.  The Lord Jesus fast forwards to that day of judgement.  Many will say in that day, plead with him because he was the condemned Saviour but now he is an exalted judge.  Acts 17 verse 31 "Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."  Paul says he is the judge and on that day there will be many people who will present their case of defence to Jesus.  He mentions 3 areas, prophesying, casting out demons and doing wonderful works which could be summed up as prophesying, exorcism and miracles.  3 possibilities, all done by the power of God, the power of Satan or really doing the whole thing just for show.  Doesn’t matter what they say, claim to have seen or done in my name but no certainty that they belong to me.  Be clear about this.  It doesn’t matter what you have done, you will never gain entrance into God’s kingdom.  It is all about faith in what Jesus has done for us on the cross, that is why he came into the world.  If I could make my way to heaven, religious things that I could do, even seemingly spiritual things, why on earth did the Lord have to come into the world?  Why did the father send him into the world, why did Jesus submit to the father’s will, to come and go to the cross?  It was the only way.  ‘There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin, he only could unlock the gates of heaven and let us in.’

The announcement made – verse 23.  They addressed him “Lord, Lord” but never said “my Lord.”  They didn’t know him personally.  What an awful day it will be for those who profess Christ and even doing things in his name and hear those words “depart from me, I never knew you.”  The word “know” in the bible means much more than understanding who a person is.  The word “know” is used of an intimate relationship.  On that day he will say “I never knew you”.  They never had a personal relationship with Jesus.  It doesn’t matter what you profess, you will not be in my kingdom.   Jesus knows what you are doing under the guise of religion. He knows their motivation, why they are doing what they are doing.  But he says I don’t know you intimately.  John 10 “I know my sheep and they follow me.”  Jesus says f you were one of my sheep you would be following me and doing the will of God.  Paul said “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1 verse 21) He went on to say “I have a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better.” (verse 23)  A better experience, he means he will be in heaven which is far better than our experience here on earth.  When Jesus says to these people on the Judgment Day “depart from me” that is certainly the worst scenario of all.  Revelation 20 verses 11 – 15 – at the end of this portion to depart from Christ is to depart to the lake of fire.  The Lord has made this announcement - then I will profess to them “I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity.”  Wouldn’t it be an awful possibility that you didn’t know the Lord? Trying to do your best, trying to gain acceptance before the Lord that Jesus will say to you “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

The call issued by the Lord through these verses.  To be aware of false prophets and false profession.  A call to be sure that you have been saved, that your life has been committed to the Lord, that you have been transformed by him and that you personally know him.  Maybe you need to come to Christ.  You have thought about it for so long.  You need to do something about it.  If you are resting on profession only you are not going to make it.  Jesus said that.  Keeping up a show before other people.  It is hard work trying to convince them you are a believer.  Never assured that God has accepted you.  Seeking to do good works, never knowing when enough is enough.  These verses tell us this is serious business.  You don’t want to get the wrong call, to make mistakes in life.  When it comes to these words there will be no patching up, no regard, it will be for ever too late.  If you really have not got a living relationship with Christ, come to him now.

The sowing of a life which leads to death and the sowing of a death which leads to life

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

NOTES FROM MISSION THURSDAY 25 AUGUST 2022 – REV JIM LYONS

ROMANS 6 VERSE 23, JOHN 12 VERSE 24

Whatever a person sows that is what he is going to reap.  The same is true in agriculture or horticulture.  It is the same in many areas of life.  If an athlete trains and exercises hard as well as eating a healthy diet maybe someday they will make it to the podium and receive medals for all their effort.  If an employee works hard and in honesty they might reap the reward in a promotion.  If a student is diligent in their study and thorough revision they might well reach a pass mark.  If you drink alcoholic until it controls you, you are going to reap an addiction, possibly ill health, an empty pocket and maybe even a broken home.  Throughout life this principle is so evident for all to see.  This is the same spiritual principle in the bible.  There are 2 main thoughts from the scripture we read:

1.     The sowing of a life which leads to death

2.    The sowing of a death which leads to life

Firstly, the sowing of a life which leads to death.  Romans 6 verse 23 “for the wages of sin is death.”  If an employee works hard all month, his employer might ask ‘why should I pay you’ and the employee might reply ‘I have worked hard, I deserve, I have earned my salary.’  If we live a life of sin, with self at the centre, with no time for God we will earn the wages of that kind of life – death.  The letter ‘I’ is the central letter in the word sin and therefore means I will not have God to control my life, it is rebellion against God, he will not rule my life.  Paul says that sort of life reaps death.  What does the bible mean when it speaks of death?  The word death is mentioned 342 times in the bible.  It does not always mean the same thing in the bible. There are 3 types of death.  The first one we are very well acquainted with is physical death. It was never God’s intention for death to be part of this world.  He made this world and saw that it was good but it came in as a result of Adam and Eve believing the word of Satan, rejecting and rebelling against the word of God.  Sin which is rebellion against God came in and along with that came death.  Sin has been part of our world since then until now and will be the norm until there is a new heaven and a new earth ushered in where there will be no sin but all will be righteousness, no death but life for evermore,  In summer months the leaves on the trees are green but when the autumn comes the leaves change colours and they begin to fade and fall which is hastened on by the harsh winds of winter.  The prophet Isaiah tells us that we all in the same way fade as the leaf so we are not as young or we don’t feel as fit as used to because we are wrapped up in this process of decay that is leading to death. It is sure, it is sad and often it is sudden.  When the bible speaks of death it is physical death.  We are conscious of that when we attend a funeral, we are faced with the reality of death.  Spiritual death is the second death mentioned.  Speaking to Adam about the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God said to him “on the day you eat of it you will die.”  It was not referring to a physical death but a spiritual death. Up until that time God came in the cool of the day, he came to have fellowship with Adam in the Garden but something happened.  There came a breach in that relationship.  Through the rebellion against God’s word and believing Satan’s word so they were expelled from the Garden.  Spiritual death is all about separation from God.  This worked out on the human level as there was further separation further in his family through Cain and Abel where we see man’s inhumanity to man.  Romans 5 verse 12 “wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”  If we chose to live a life where sin reigns we are separated from God and that works its way through our lives and we then become separated from people. This is the cause of war, corruption, prejudice, greed and hate - it separates families.  This is the epidemic of sin in that it spreads and destroys and separates everything in its path.  This is the condition of our lives if we have not trusted in Christ who died on Calvary’s cross to give us that acceptance before God and bring the peace of God in our hearts when sin has been dealt with.  It is a serious condition not only in the present but what it leads to - the third type of death, eternal death.  For those who remain in sin, separated from God, when they die they will be separated from God for all eternity in a place the bible calls hell and they will know the eternalness of death.  Death in which there is no dying, it will be conscious, continual, a painful separation from God.  So those are the 3 types of death in the bible.  If we persist in rejecting the rightful rule of God in our lives, as God presents his gospel, the gospel of good news, that Jesus came into the world with the absolute supreme purpose of going to the cross, dying for us on the cross for our sins, shedding his blood, giving himself in our place as a sin offering so that we could be accepted before God.  If we resist, and constantly reject the rightful rule of God in our lives, then we will remain separated from him, separated from peace, from forgiveness, from hope and joy.  If we continue in that state until we die then it will be misery for all eternity.  That is what makes it an imperative message this evening.  You need to get right and get it sorted out because none of us know the moment when we will leave this earth.  Maybe tonight you are concluding that is a very negative approach but yet we need to understand the serious news about sin if we are to embrace the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Some years ago there was a tract entitled “The good news is so good because the bad news is so bad.”  We will all experience physical death.  Maybe you know something of the spiritual death where you are living your life, separated from God.  Yes you may attend church, do good works but you can still be separated from God.  The Holy Spirit has made you conscious of that fact.  You are not living in a relationship with God, you are trying to form some kind of religious habits but still you are separated from God.  You need to enter into a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ because that is the only way that separation can be dealt with.

Secondly the sowing of a death that leads to life.  Throughout the gospel of John, his account of Jesus Christ, his life is depicted as the servant of Jehovah.  He was living to a divine plan as he came to do his father’s will.  It was his will that his son go to the cross and lay down his life so that others might live through him.  Also as we read through John’s account of the life of Jesus was also carefully planned.  It was in the hands of God alone.  Quite often we read the words “my time has not yet come” but in chapter 12 verse 23 the emphasis changes as he announces to his disciples his death - we read “the hour is come that the son of man should be glorified.”  Then in verse 24 referring to his death and resurrection he spoke those words  “except a corn of wheat fall into the ground (that is the sowing of his death) and die it abideth alone but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit in his death.”  He provided a way of salvation for those who are separated to be joined to God.  The sowing of his death is a sowing that would lead to a harvest of life.  This is the sowing of death that we are going to look at.  Romans 6 verse 23 “for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Because the Lord went to the cross and died upon that cross he can give to us the promise and reality of eternal life.  3 things regarding the type of life that it is.   

First of all eternal life is an endless life.  Life as we know it will come to an end but it is only a little of what God has planned for those who trust in him.  Because the Lord Jesus both died and was raised from the grave he has power over death.  Therefore the bible says he lives after the power of an endless life.  When we come to the end of our earthly existence that is not the end because there is an eternity ahead.  It is important that we prepare for that by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour.  The book of Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that God has put eternity in our hearts, he has given us that consciousness that death is not the end and despite  the polls that are taken death is not the end but there is an eternity to follow.  The apostle Peter refers to death “shortly I must put on my tent.  He refers to his physical body as a tent.  The tent is something used for camping.  You use it in the summer time, in good weather but then you take it down and go into secure dwelling.  Peter says “knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.”  He was saying ‘this body will die and will come down like a temporary dwelling but I will live on for all eternity.’  For Peter and every Christian it would be absent from the body and present with the Lord.  It is hard to get to understand the endlessness of life.  Remember Star Trek “It is life Jim but not as we know it.”  Death and decay are all around us.  All will pass away.  Those who know the Lord will be with him for ever.  Isn’t this a life you long for?  A life free from pain, from sorrow, from suffering.  A life that never ever ends.  An endless life.  That is why it is so important you know the gift of eternal life through Christ alone.

Secondly it is a satisfying life.  When we accept what Jesus has done for us on our behalf, rest on his work alone for salvation we can know peace with God that is deeply satisfying as Jesus said “the reason I came into the world is to give people life and they might have it more abundantly.”  Eternal life means a foreverness with God but it also means a quality of life in the present to give us that sense of completeness, fulfilment and contentment.  Does your life feel empty?  Does your life feel unfulfilled?  It is not for the want of trying, not for the want of cramming all sorts of things into your life yet you still long for satisfaction.  When God is at the centre of our lives we will feel satisfaction and peace and contentment.

The final thing it is a given life.  The Lord Jesus is not a created being but he is a creator himself, therefore he can give eternal life to others.  John 6 “to whom can we go, you have the words of eternal life” and 1 John 5 verse 11 “and this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son.”  Romans 6 verse 23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  This is not something we can earn or work it up and work toward a goal.  This is a gift from God.  That is how you can receive it – as a gift.  There is nothing you can do to earn it.  Jesus has done everything necessary when he came and died on the cross for you.  You have to trust in what he has done for you.  It is a simple step but a step of faith – acknowledge he has done it all, nothing I can do, I am just an undeserving sinner.  God will accept you through Christ.  The death of Christ that leads to life.  You can know that life.  Accept him and open your life to him, acknowledge your sin, admit you are conscious of it, reach out to him by faith, ask him to come into your life and cleanse you from sin.  If you pray that sincerely he will come in, he will come and live in your life by his Holy Spirit.  He will give you assurance of forgiveness and acceptance before God.

The Second Coming of Christ

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

NOTES FROM DRIVE-IN MISSION ON WEDNESDAY 24 AUGUST 2022 – REV J LYONS

MATTHEW 25 VERSES 1 – 13

In Matthew 24 we read of the destruction of Jerusalem and the second coming of Jesus.  The first word in chapter 25 is “then”.  So, we can understand that what has taken place regarding the teaching of Jesus continues into this chapter.  These parables teach us to be ready when the Lord returns and they keep our focus on that fact.  We can get caught up in the detail that we forget the real message - Jesus will return.  There are 4 points regarding the second coming of Christ.

The second coming is a definite event.  Although we don’t know when the Lord is coming again, we do know that he is coming again.  This parable is all about the procedure and preparation for a wedding.  There were 3 stages in a Jewish wedding.  First the 2 families would get together and a bride would be chosen for a son.  The father of the bride and the father of the groom would sit down and discuss the arrangements following the customs that needed to be observed. The second stage involved a betrothal or an engagement as we would call it today.  This would take place at the bride’s house.  This was more than an engagement because promises were made.  Legally they were binding even though no physical union had taken place.  Finally, the actual wedding takes place in the bridegroom’s house, the place he has prepared for his bride to live in.  The bridegroom departed in the evening to make his way to the bride’s house.  He would be accompanied by friends.  He was on his way, but the bride didn’t know when he would come.  It was an exciting time for the bride and her friends.  They would go out to meet him with their lamps lit to escort the bride to the groom’s house for the wedding and festivities.  Jesus takes this scene that is so familiar to put across the point of being ready for the groom’s arrival.  We don’t know when the groom (Jesus) will come back again – Matthew 24 verses 36 and 42.  We need to be ready. 

The second coming teaches us that there are those who are prepared and those who are unprepared for the second coming of Christ.  In verses 2 to 4 we see that the bride’s friends are divided into 2 groups – one wise group of 5 and one foolish group of 5.  When they went out to meet the bridegroom, they took their lamps.  The foolish group took no extra oil to refill while the wise group took the extra oil in their vessels.  They didn’t know when the bridegroom would come but the wise were ready.  There are those who are ready today.  They appear to have an interest in the coming of the bridegroom, but they will lose out on the wedding and festivities.  The second coming of Christ is a certain event.  We need to be ready for it and be prepared.  So many meet with the church today but are not prepared for Jesus’ coming again.  Jesus doesn’t want us to get caught up in the detail of this parable and lose the main message of being ready.  This is a parable about the kingdom of heaven.  That heaven has a king who is waiting to receive us.  There is a vital preparation we need to make – to take Jesus as Lord and Saviour.  The first time Jesus came to this earth the world was not ready.  The prophets had shown how Jesus would come.  They wrote of one crying in the desert who was John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus.  Then they told of a virgin who would bring forth a son, the Messiah.  They wrote that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, but the people were not prepared for his birth.  Jesus says to you and me today that we need to get this right – we must be prepared.  Are you someone who attends a church, meets with Christians but you are not a part of them?  You have never given your life to the Lord, made vital preparation for Jesus’ return.  You have never trusted Christ for all he has done.  You have never admitted you are a sinner, that Jesus died for your sin, that you can be forgiven and accepted by Christ.  Which group do you belong to – the wise who were ready or the foolish who were not?

The second coming will happen at any time.  Look at verses 5 to 9 and verses 37 to 39 and 43 and 44 of Matthew chapter 24.  If someone was coming to burgle your house, wouldn’t it be great to know when he was coming?  Then you could prepare and be ready.  The bridegroom didn’t come when they expected him to.  They went out to meet him – verse 7.  The foolish realised they had a massive problem – their lamps would not burn long.  They asked the wise for some oil, but the reply came back that there was not enough for all of them.  They couldn’t go and buy oil because it was midnight.  It was just too late.  Jesus is coming but the timing is unknown.  We must be ready.  Can you honestly say you are ready for Jesus’ coming again?

At the second coming there will be a final separation.  Verses 40 and 41 of Matthew 24.  The 5 wise virgins went into the wedding with its festivities and the door was shut.  There are 2 sides to that door – those on the inside and those on the outside.  The foolish went to get in but the door was shut.  It would never be opened.  Jesus will say on that day “I never knew you”.  That corresponds with Matthew 7 when it talks about the Judgement Day “Many will say to me in that day Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works.  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”  There is a final separation.  Noah entered the ark with his family and God shut the door.  All those on the outside were lost.  When Jesus comes again there will be an eternal separation.  There is a warning at the end of the parable – verse 13.  Jesus tells us that not everyone is in the kingdom of God.  Are you ready for when Jesus comes again?  He will return again, and you must be ready.  Make your preparation now before it is too late.

What is a Christian?

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

NOTES FROM DRIVE IN MISSION ON TUESDAY 23 AUGUST 2022 – REV JIM LYONS

ACTS 11 VERSES 19 – 26

What is a Christian?  That is the question I want to address tonight with you.  If you are not a Christian tonight I hope this will be of help to you.  You might be someone who if pressed by someone else in an individual context would say “yes I am a Christian” rather than admit you are not.  From Matthew to Revelation various titles are given to the followers of Jesus Christ.  The word “saint” is used 60 times, “disciple” 30 times, “believer” 80 times, “brethren” 200 times but for the word “Christian” only 3 times.  Rarely used in the bible but widely used and embraced by many people today.  It is also very broad in its scope.  Many claim to be a Christian.  Tonight I want to look at it under 3 headings – what does it mean to be a Christian, what does it look like and what about us.

What does it mean to be a Christian?  There are various opinions on what it means to be a Christian.  The bible brings clarity.  The word Christian is recorded 3 times in the New Testament, twice in the book of Acts and once in Peter’s epistle.  A Christian is someone who belongs to Christ – verse 26.  The little letters I A N at the end of the word mean belonging to the party of.  If a person professes to be a Christian what they are really saying is they belong to Christ. Being a Christian means belonging to Christ.  Think of the days of slavery.  The perception was that they were the property of someone.  You paid the price for them, you purchased them.  They were yours.  That picture is relevant to the word of God.  The Lord made all things in heaven and earth, made through him and for him.  He has bought us.  We were slaves to sin.  Jesus went to the cross to release us from spiritual slavery.  Whosoever commits sin is a servant or slave to sin.  The apostle Peter reminds us of the price that was paid – “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1 verses 18 and 19)  Jesus gave his life to free us from the slavery of sin that we might become devoted servants to him.  I am the property of Jesus.  O what joy that knowledge brings.  Christ is the king of kings.  There are 2 words abused today – the word church and the word Christian.  The church is not a building but a group of people.  The Christian does not include everybody, only those who belong to Christ.  The Pharisees in the Bible had no time for Christ in their lives.  His teaching would have turned their spiritual world upside down.  Today people equate Christians with a certain standard of living – they don’t drink, they don’t do drugs, they don’t engage in activity that is shady.  There are many people like that today.  It is all about what I do and what I don’t do.  A Christian is more than that.  It is a personal relationship with Christ.  When I commit my life unto him I belong to him.  A person belongs to Jesus and Jesus belongs to them.  This is a relationship.  What does it mean to be a Christian – it means to belong to Christ.

What does it look like?  What is an American, an African, an Englishman?  What is a Christian?  A person who belongs to Christ.  How then does a person become a Christian?  Jesus made it clear to Nicodemus that it was not by religious practices.  He had to be born again in the spiritual sense.  He had to enter God’s kingdom.  There is that experience that Christ has entered their life by his Holy Spirit.  People leave that independent lifestyle and are united to the person of Christ.  They belong to him and he belongs to them.  In the bible the picture is given of the church as the bride of Christ.  The bride is committed to her bridegroom.  She bears his name and is united with him.  When we become a Christian we become a new creature, the old things have passed away.  Jesus has drawn the line of demarcation from the person we were and how we lived our lives.  Everything has become new.  Christ has us and we have him.  There is a radical change that occurs in our lives. 

What about us?  Verse 20 “when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.  And the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord.”  A true Christian is someone who has heard the good news of the Lord.  They have heard him proclaimed, of his death on the cross, how he was buried and rose again.  When we turn in repentance to the Lord for salvation and security in him - that is how you can become a Christian.  You can receive Christ into your life, belong to him.  Are you a Christian?  Do you realise that it is more than attending services in a local church, getting involved in its activities?  Can you say that there was a time in your life when you turned from your sin, when you stopped relying on anything else?  Can you say “I am is and he is mine”?  You have to respond to it.  You have to acknowledge you have sinned, that you will never be acceptable before God.  No matter how clean your life is, how you dress yourself up, how you speak.  There is only one person acceptable and that is Jesus.  We are acceptable before God through him because he is sufficient.  Jesus died but God raised him from the dead.  Jesus is acceptable before God.  If you do accept him he will come into your life by his Holy Spirit, he will change you from the inside out and we will truly belong to him.  If you truly understand what a Christian is and that you are not one then accept Jesus as Saviour today.

For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save the lost

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

NOTES FROM MISSION – MONDAY 22 AUGUST 2022 – REV J LYONS

LUKE 19 VERSES 1 – 10

Look at this man, the meeting he had with the Lord and the message Jesus spoke on this occasion.

The man – Zacchaeus was a clean, pure, righteous, innocent man. Verses 1 to 4.  His parents wanted him to lead this kind of life – right before God, pure and clean.  He was a tax collector.  In Jesus’ earthly ministry there are 2 tax collectors mentioned in scripture – Matthew and Zacchaeus.  Matthew had a meal in his house for Jesus and many tax collectors.  Zacchaeus you will notice that Zacchaeus was “chief” of the tax collectors, and he was also “rich”.  To set up a Roman depot you had to buy the franchise from Rome.  They set the levy on fixed rates, and they could add an additional tax.  In this way the tax collector became rich.  They were despised by the people, barred from the synagogue, treated as the lowest of the low in society.  Zacchaeus was chief boss in Jericho.  He wanted to see Jesus, who he was but he couldn’t because of the crowd of people, and he was short of stature.  There was something going on in his life.  He had heard many things, probably even heard about Matthew who had left his job and was now following Christ.  Maybe you are not like this man.  You are upright, honest but something has happened in your life recently.  You have seen a change in other people. Maybe you have seen that evidence of Jesus transforming a life.  Why were there so many people in the street that day?  These were Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  Another factor in the crowd being so large was the fact that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead.  When Jesus was on his way to Zacchaeus’ house the people murmured that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.  You can almost hear the disdain in their voice.  They set him down, but they thought they were more righteous than he was.  Jesus did not come to call the righteous people to himself.  People who are sinners acknowledge their sin and will receive peace with God, a sure and certain assurance of a home in heaven.  Jesus was accepting tax collectors and prostitutes into his kingdom.  Zacchaeus would have wanted to protect himself by separating himself from assault and physical harm.  He runs ahead of the crowd and climbs into the tree.  A sycamore tree was easy to get up into and he could see the procession as well as Jesus.  He was financially well off; his future was secure.  The story is not primarily about him, it is more about the message of Jesus.  “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  Someone who is desperate, lost, rejected by society, lost in the caste system within Israel but he is so loved by God.  Maybe you can see yourself in this man.  You know you are spiritually lost; something is working in your heart, but you don’t know what it is.  There is a voice going around in your conscience which cannot be stopped.  Zacchaeus was curious as to who Jesus was.  Maybe you are curious too?

 

The meeting.  It was totally unexpected – Zacchaeus had climbed the tree outside the city out of curiosity.  Now he could see Jesus.  Jesus had lots of people all around him at this point.  The story gives us the impression that Zacchaeus was seeking the Lord, but the truth is it was Jesus who came to seek and to save the lost.  Maybe you are unaware of what is going on in your life.  Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, and he called him by his name. Jesus is still seeking for people today.  He knows your name and everything about you and your life.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ day didn’t understand the heart of God – why – because they didn’t know God.  Their religious system was based on their heritage.  They believed they were accepted before God because of that.  The only merit we have today is based on what Jesus came to do on Calvary, when we trust in what he came to do, to make a way that we can have assurance of sins forgiven and a home in heaven with him one day.  After Jesus spoke to Zacchaeus “he came down and received him joyfully”.  If didn’t believe it before now, this person is different than the religious leaders.  They treated him with condemnation.  Jesus however accepts him just for who he is.  This meeting made a profound difference in his life. Although he was seen as a rogue and an outcast the language of this verse speaks volumes.  He responds with kindness and restitution – verse 8.  It is fair to assume what he is saying is in response to the conversation he has with Jesus.  In verse 2 we read that he was rich, but those same riches are paling into insignificance in the presence of the riches of Jesus Christ.  He was about to give half back to the poor.  He is seeking to put things right.  That is what happens when Jesus comes into our lives.  The evidence is seen through what he did.  If he has taken more than he should have he will restore it fourfold.  He didn’t just dream this idea up – it was based on Jewish law that a fifth should be given back.  He was going far beyond the law’s requirements.  He confessed he was a thief but was now turning from that life.  The people know him as dishonest, deceitful but now something has changed.  Have you ever had a meeting with Jesus Christ that absolutely changed you from the person you were to the person you are now?  2 Corinthians 5 verse 17 “Therefore if any person is in the Lord, he is a new creation.”  You need a meeting with Jesus, to be transformed, to have the assurance of a home in heaven.

 

The message – verses 9 and 10. “Today salvation has come to this house”.  Salvation came in 2 ways.  Jesus came into his house; deliverance came to him and changed him.  Simeon in the temple said, “mine eyes have seen thy salvation.”  He was transformed from his previous life.  God wants to give you new life.  Zacchaeus was also referred to as the Son of Abraham.  People were astonished – it was an outward change.  Through faith alone.  If you are to know forgiveness with God, peace in your heart, assurance you will go to be with the Lord in heaven you must accept him for what he has done.  In verse 10 we read the supreme purpose of Christ coming into the world – it was to give his life for the world.  He revealed to the people what God was like. The compassion of God.  The power of God.  That is miraculous.  His supreme purpose was to go to the cross, to die in our place, to make it possible to be accepted by God.  People are climbing their own sycamore trees and viewing Jesus with curiosity.  They have done so for years but they have never come down from the tree – will you?

God's programme for a lost world

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 21 AUGUST 2022

1 CORINTHIANS 1 VERSES 17 – 31

I want to take a look at this verse in Corinthians which speaks of his calling – verse 21 “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”  I have entitled this message “God’s programme for a lost world.”  God is trying to reach a lost mankind for himself.  What a tremendous picture that is for us today.  I am glad we are part of this great programme in redeeming a lost mankind from all sin.  This is all part of God’s programme today.  Today there will be evangelists all over the world preaching to hundreds and thousands of people.  That is part of God’s programme.  God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  What a wonderful statement and encouragement for us today.  We are part of that programme.  You are part of it.  Every invitation you have taken this week and given out, you have been part of God’s programme to invite men and women to hear the gospel but also to be saved.  Verse 27 “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 and base things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea and things that are.”

 

The mission that God has – verse 21.  2 little words - “to save”.  God wants to save those in your household, in your family circle, souls that have never heard the name of the Lord, never in the saving form but rather in the cursing form.  Yes it is the desire of God’s heart to save you and I.  We must be aware today that men and women are lost in their sin.  That is a tremendous thing to grasp today.  Lost in their sin.  Sometimes we have heard Christians sitting in homes when there has been a bereavement come across with this idea that the person who has died is now happy, now they are no longer in pain.  If we don’t know the spiritual condition of that man or woman how can we say such a thing?  We need to have a vision of the person that is perishing.  We need to be careful and be aware that all men and women are lost in their sin.  Each of us were born in sin, were on the broad road that leads to destruction, separated from God.  All men need to be saved.  All men can be saved.  When God tells us in his word “to save” we realise it is not to make people good, not to make them happy but rather to see them gloriously saved.  The Lord sees a world divided – those who are saved by his sovereign grace and those who are lost.  It is his hearts desire to see everyone saved by the grace of God “God is not willing”.  Some ask “can so and so be saved? I have talked to them time and again but they have never come to repentance.”  We need to see the tremendous value of a soul.  We need to have a vision that there is nothing more important than the soul of a human.  “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”  You will face opposition, there is a great battle going on even today. The devil will give a thousand reasons for people not to accept Christ as their Saviour.  We need to pray for God to deal with the enemy.  Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2 verse 11 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”  We say people have no time for the gospel but we read in the bible that they are blinded.  It is a strategy of the devil himself to blind the minds of people that the gospel should not shine on them.  For some it will be through alcohol or heroin that the devil will prevent people from hearing the gospel.  For others it will be hard times or through religion and church that will stop them from coming to Christ for salvation.  It is up to us to pray against the devil, that the God of heaven would intervene and bind the powers of Satan that when God’s word is preached many will receive it.  “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe not.”

 

The means by which God will save – by the foolishness of preaching.  Paul was a great preacher.  Many were following him while others followed Apollos.  Paul tells them “my primary goal is to preach the gospel not to baptise people, not to have a following.” People will look on us tonight and will chuckle – why – because it is foolishness to them.  Yes it is foolishness to preach of a man who died 2000 years ago to bear our sins but it is through that foolishness of preaching that God has decided to save them which are not saved.  Paul said to Timothy “preach the word”.  He gave him great encouragement in these words.  Romans 10 verse 13 “for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  What does it mean?  Paul gives an answer “how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”  Thank God it is when we trust the Lord as Saviour that we are saved.  Not until that point.  Not until we repent of our sins and trust Christ for what he has done on Calvary that we are saved.  How will people find Christ if we don’t preach the commission of Christ?  God has told us to “go into all the world and preach the gospel”.

 

The message they were to preach – 1 Corinthians 1 verse 23 “we preach Christ crucified”.  The message is about the person of Christ and what he has done.  We want to tell men and women of a wonderful Saviour.  This is not the first mission to come to this area but for souls around us it could be the last mission they attend.  Do we want to take it seriously today?

Be not afraid only believe

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 14 AUGSUT 2022

MARK 5 VERSES 21 – 24, 35 – 43

This story is important today in what it sets forth for us – a precedent, an example for you and me.  This man was coming to the Lord because of the daughter in his home.  A girl of 12 years of age, her life was ebbing away before them.  There was nothing he could do about it.  A wealthy man, he could bring in any physician but no-one could do anything for her.  He found himself at the feet of the Lord Jesus.  Imagine getting the news “thy daughter is dead.”  The one thing we want to look at the faith as it continues not just in trying circumstances but the faith it took for Jairus to come to the feet of Jesus.  He needed faith to carry on.  The Lord told him “don’t be afraid only believe.”  He had to keep on believing in Christ.  Remember the Children of Israel as they travelled through the wilderness for 40 years.  They came to the land of promise.  Joshua gave the command to go down to the river Jordan.  At the command of God Joshua said keep your yes on the ark.  “You haven’t travelled this way before”.  They needed to keep their eyes on the ark, a symbol of blessing.  In Hebrews 11 we are told that in heaven there are a great amount of witnesses watching us, cheering us on.  We are urged to persevere on, to look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.  A faith that continues, that does not give up.  Think not of Jairus going to Jesus but Jesus going to his house.

The master’s approach.  Jairus was staring into the abyss of emptiness, loneliness and helplessness.  It is easy when we are up on the mountaintop and everything is going well but in the valley things are dark and gloomy.  Jairus knew he needed the Lord.  I see him coming to the Lord and bowing at his feet.  He pushed his way through the crowd.  Maybe he no longer looked to the religious leaders but begins to get down at Jesus’ feet in humility.  He showed respect to Jesus.  Jesus was praying for this situation.  He saw his plight.  As far as Jairus was concerned there was nothing he could do about it.  He came down before the God of heaven.  We need the Lord today because he is the answer to our very need.  Jesus Christ is our answer, now what’s the question?  Jairus’ prayer was simple – “come, you touch her and she will be healed.”  Prayer meetings do not have to be a volume of great statements and cliches, simplicity is all we need.  We need the Lord to come and be with us, to reach down just as he did for this man.  Jesus saw he needed the touch of God upon him.  That is all our work needs for the Lord today.  There was an obstacle though – a woman came with a great need.  She has hindered the progress of Jairus to his house.  Sometimes prayer is like that – a delay from the Lord to come and answer.  It still happens to us today.  These were anxious moments for Jairus.  Sometimes there are legitimate things that stop that process.  At other times there are Satanic powers.  Paul himself said to the Thessalonians in chapter 2 verse 18 “we would have come unto you … but Satan hindered us.”  Satan was the barrier.  It doesn’t tell us how he hindered on this occasion.  Paul was so clear – we need to be praying and pleading for him to come no matter the obstacles, to pray through.  The devil will see us on our knees, know that the only answer we have is from the Lord to come and help us. We need the spirit of God to come and breathe into the preacher and every one of us, to give us a burden for the work, a passion for precious souls.  Nehemiah coming to Jerusalem had a great purpose in his heart.  God made way for him to go to Jerusalem. He went down with a great passion to get the walls built – chapter 2 “when Sanaballat heard it they laughed us to scorn and despised us and said, What is this thing that ye do?  Will ye rebel against the king?”  It grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.  We are pleading for God to come because we know he has the welfare of the people on his mind.  He is not willing that any should perish.

The master’s assurance.  Jesus tells the woman to go in peace.  This woman had been suffering for many years.  She comes to the master, touches his hem and is made whole.  Another voice is heard.  Someone came from Jairus’ house to tell him his daughter was dead.  The Lord knew all about it.  He heard the word that was spoken and turned to Jairus “be not afraid only believe.”  He was urging Jairus to take the shield of faith (Ephesians 6).  What a word of comfort and assurance for this man.  Do we believe this word today?  The Lord knew Jairus heart and every thought.  Maybe you are going through despair and discouragement, have come to wits end corner, Jesus says look up, don’t be afraid, only believe.  Jesus knew the hearts of those on the Sabbath day when he went into the synagogue.  He saw the man with the withered hand.  He looked around and he was grieved when he saw the hardness of their hearts.  He knew what they were thinking.  The Lord knows your burdens today.  Don’t be afraid he says.  Jesus writing to the Laodicean church knew their thoughts and imaginations, knew all about that church, how it was poor in poverty yet he knew the minds of those who ran the church.  They had everything going for it but there was no Spirit of Christ present.  Jesus told them though there was still time to repent.  There was still hope.

The master’s actions.  He doesn’t want anyone to follow him except his 3 disciples, Peter, James and John.  He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and there was a great noise inside the house.  Jesus went into the house and told them off for weeping.  They laughed him to scorn.  He told everyone to leave the house except for Jairus and his wife.  He set all the unbelief out of the house.  Maybe as we pray are we asking for things that are impossible?  Jesus put all the unbelief outside of the door, he brought his dearest friends, the mother and father into the room.  Jesus is looking for belief today, belief to do the work for you today.  We need to lay all on the altar just as Abraham did with his son Isaac. 

The master’s authority.  He has the final authority.  He went into that house followed by his friends and the girl’s mother and father.  He went over to the bed where the girl was.  He reached down and took her by the hand and said “arise”.  Jesus has the final authority.  He stopped the winds and waves, spoke to the demon living among the tombstones.  The final authority is death itself.  We are praying for the work of God.  God wants to do so much with us.  The situation is not dead.  God knows all about it.  He will come – will you allow him to work in that situation of yours today?

 

Be not afraid only believe

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 7 AUGUST 2022

MARK 5 VERSE 21 – 24, 35 – 43

A very familiar passage, it has one of the most encouraging and challenging themes running through the verses.  We are living in days of gloom and doom; we see the wars raging around the world and the cost of living going up every day.  People have no time for church today.  What we need is what we see in this portion of scripture.  Jairus’ daughter was ill.  Jairus came to Jesus one day and admitted “there is no-one I can turn to, there is no physician I could bring to her to bring any relief.”  This passage is encouraging because we can say “there is nothing impossible with God.”  Do we expect God to do great things for us?  Have we come in expecting God to do something for us today?  This man’s faith is held up to public scrutiny for all the world to examine.  C T Studd said, “Christ wants not nibbles of the impossible but grabbers of the impossible.”  William Carey “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”  That is a balancing act.  This man went to find Jesus, he bowed at Jesus’ feet and said, “my daughter is at the point of death, will you come and lay your hand on her?”  He was expecting and attempting faith.  “Don’t judge any man until you have walked in his shoes.”

The core of this man’s faith – verse 22.  He was a ruler of the synagogue.  This man was responsible for the upkeep of the synagogue, for opening and closing the doors, bringing the various people to the meetings, organising things.  He believed in the Pharisees teachings, but the Pharisees looked on Jesus with disdain.  They would have despised him.  They felt he was leading the people astray from the laws of Moses.  When things are going well any faith will do.  For Jairus he realised he had no foundation.  When life turned upside down his core changed.  He had nothing to stand upon.  When it came to rock bottom, he found he had nothing in this life.  Before this he had faith in the law and his own righteousness.  Is Christ our foundation?  “My faith has found a resting place not in device or creed” but thank God it is in heaven.

The crisis of his faith.  The whole core is now changing.  Jairus found the Lord and pleaded with him to step into the situation.  They force their way through the crowd – what encouragement it was to be walking with Jesus.  He had come pleading, on his knees for Christ to help him.  He brings glory and praise to the Lord.  Verse 23.  He is giving God all the praise and glory.  Have we come today in bringing praise and glory to the Lord?  The Lord followed Jairus home.  The news came as they walked together that his daughter was dead.  Perhaps if Jesus hadn’t stopped with that women with the issue of blood would they have healed his daughter?  The real test of Jairus’ faith was now when the door was opened, and the solemn face came out and told him his daughter was dead.  The real test of faith is not when we attend church but on Monday morning and every morning thereafter.  Elijah’s faith was not tested on the mountain top but rather in the valley when Jezebel threatened to take his life.  Job’s faith was not tested when he walked among his flocks and herds, or when he offered sacrifices for his family.  It was tested when he was in the midst of the storm, when he heard of the Sabeans coming and taking everything away, when he lost everything, and his wife told him to curse God and die.  Job could say to his wife “I came into the world with nothing, I am going out with nothing but blessed be the name of the Lord.”  His faith is tested not in the public place but in the quiet place.  Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem and built up the walls, then he rallied the people and tells them what God has told him to do.  His enemies looked on him and asked what he was doing.  They ridiculed his work so much.  His faith was being tested.  Are we looking to the Lord today?  Have we have a faith in Christ today?  In the finished work of Calvary?  If he is our Saviour and Lord, he will carry us through those trials.  Jesus turned to Jairus and told him his daughter was not dead. 

The courage of this faith – verse 36.  In light of the news coming from his house Jesus told Jairus “be not afraid.”  Apparently, there are 365 “fear nots” in the bible – one for every day of the year.  Jesus had everything in control.  Philip came to Jesus one day asking how he could feed the multitude on the mountain.  The disciples in the boat feared they would drown when Jesus came walking on the water one night.  He told them “Fear not” in the midst of the storm.  Jesus is telling us today not to be afraid.

The challenge that came – verse 36 “only believe”.  That is all Jairus had to do.  “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God believe also in me.”  Remember the father who brought his demon possessed son to the Lord one day – the Lord reassured him.  He told him it was possible to everyone that believed.  Do you believe? Jesus asked and the reply came back “I believe, help me with my unbelief.”

 

The crown of his faith.  Jesus walked into the house.  Jairus’ daughter was lifeless, but Jesus reached down and spoke to her saying “arise.”  The daughter arose from her bed and Jesus brought her to her parents.  This was the crown of his faith – Jairus saw the fruit for his faith.  Have you that same faith today?  Are you

The call of Elisha

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 31 JULY 2022

1 KINGS 19 – MR STEPHEN FLETCHER

This chapter is the account of the call of Elisha to be a prophet.  There is so much we can consider – even if we turned to this chapter we could think of Elijah and how he was thrown into depression as a response to a time of trial in his life.  We want to look today at how Elisha was called.  He received the call and burnt the oxen as a sacrifice.  Then his commission was given, and he responded.  It is important to understand the context of the story as it helps us to understand why we find in verse 4 of chapter 19 how Elijah is hiding in the juniper tree and then in a cave in verse 9.  We can see such a contrast, how Elijah was on the mountain top in chapter 18 and then in chapter 19 he is hiding away in despair.  On Mount Carmel he tested the prophets of Baal.  Elijah displayed the greatest witness of God’s power in a public way.  God came down and consumed the sacrifices.  Elijah called on God and he witnessed the one true, living God was real.  What a triumph and victory.  How amazing.  He witnessed God’s power – verse 39.  Sense of victory we find at the close of this chapter.  You would expect him to be full of zeal and passion for God but in chapter 19 verse 1 we see Jezebel threatens him and he responds by running away.  From victory to despair in such a short space of time.  He is now on the run, full of fear, feeling he would be better off dead.  Verse 9 “behold the word of the Lord came to him and he said to him ‘what doest thou here Elijah?’  It was God’s word that challenged him.  “What are you doing sitting here?”  He was feeling sorry for himself.  God continued “do you not know I have redeemed you, called you, give you victory on Mount Carmel?”  In verse 13 we see the same question asked again.  His response was one of pride and self-importance – verse 14 “I even I only am left.”  Do we feel like Elijah?  Sitting discouraged, despondent, wanting to hide away from God himself.  There is a warning here – he reaped the consequences of his own despondency.  Elijah’s best days were behind him.  Verse 16 God was saying to him if that is the way you are going to be I will get someone else to do the job.  God called his successor.  He still had the man for the job ready.  There were still 7000 left who followed God.  He questioned God and whether he should be alive.  Elijah finds it hard to go on.  Elisha is keen to pursue and nothing is going to stop him.  God didn’t leave Elijah in the cave, in his despondency and despair.  He gave him a task, to pick himself up and focus on something.  He was to appoint a king over Syria and another over Israel as well as Elisha to be the new prophet.  Notice the contrast between these 2 men.

The circumstances that Elisha finds himself in.  When God called him, he was working – verse 19.  God chose Elisha to carry on the prophetic work Elijah had started.  He needed a man who was active, willing to work, putting his hand to the plough literally.  What was he doing?  He was busy on the family farm.  A contrast to Elijah sitting in the cave.  Elisha was busy.  When we receive the call of God for service it is not necessarily full-time service but to help out in a task within God’s work.  He finds those willing to work who are already busy.  Gideon was threshing wheat, David was herding sheep, Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flock, Simon Peter and Andrew were fishing, James and John were mending their nets for their father.  They were busy working and serving.  Elisha did not expect to receive the call.  When God called Elisha there was no mistaking the call of God, it was clear.  Elisha understood the challenge.  Are we busy in the work of the Lord?  We all have some responsibility in God’s work.  The next thing we notice is – he was worthy.  God calls everyone rich or poor.  Notice the lifestyle Elisha was accustomed to.  Verse 21 Elisha was blessed here – he was in charge of the twelfth team of oxen.  A large team on his farm, he had servants and workers.  He was prosperous.  Elisha had a lot to give up.  He was prosperous, generating revenue from the farm.  God does not just call those out of school or university with no money to their name, but he calls those later in life who are well off.  We can get too comfortable in our lives.  Elijah was also willing – verse 18.  He was one of those who had not bowed his knee to Baal, one of the 7000.  Elijah now goes from thinking he is the only one left to finding there is someone else.  Maybe we think we are the only Christian in the workplace, in the family in the local area.  The Lord has his people who are faithful to him.  There was not a great time period from God giving instructions to Elijah finds the very man to take his place.  He didn’t have to coax him or convince him.  He passed by him.  His mantle was put upon him.  God has chosen you.  For Peter, Andrew, James and John there was no great ceremony, no great speech but their call was unmistakeable.  He left what he was doing and ran after Elijah.  He was willing. Are you willing to serve God?  Maybe it is to attend the weekly prayer time or reach out to the local children in the kids’ ministry.

The expense to Elisha.  He left his wealth.  He left his work behind.  He left his position as head of the farm.  He also gave up his inheritance.  He gave up his family, home and country to follow Elijah.  While he gave up these things God replaced them with much more.  What will it cost you and I to follow the Lord today?  In the workplace do people know I am a Christian?  Am I prepared to stand up for God? What is it going to cost me to live for the Lord?  What is the small thing God has called you to?  It doesn’t cost you anything.  What is the big thing that God has called you to?  That might cost you everything.  In verse 21 Elisha not only killed the oxen but broke the yoke.  The instrument that signified his work.  By burning the plough, he was showing there was no going back to the old life.  It was the point of no return.  He didn’t wait until he was finished the ploughing.  No, he immediately broke the yoke and slew the oxen.  He removed all temptation immediately.  He didn’t think of the expense.  He didn’t hold anything back for God.  How often do we consider the expense when we serve the Lord?  Or of the relationship we have?  All needs to be severed.  Do we have a desire to bring others to the Lord?

The evidence that Elisha obeyed.  This burning of the plough was unmistakeable.  The first people he witnessed to were his father and mother.  He may not see them again but what a witness it was to them.  Are we so concerned about serving as missionaries on the foreign field?  Are we so concerned about the children in our immediate area that we miss out on our family?  In verse 21 Elisha went into service.  He became an apprentice, worked in the shadow of Elijah.  He learned what it was to serve God in the small things.  “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” (Psalm 84 verse 10) 

The endurance by Elisha in his call.  2 Kings 2 verse 1 Elisha and Elijah went together to Gilgal.  In verse 2 we see Elisha is dedicated in service.  In verse 3 he knew God’s will but he still followed and continued on.  He carried on Elijah’s work.  In verse 13 he took up his mantle.  In verse 15 he was chosen by God.  The Spirit rested on Elijah.  Can this be said of you and me?  Can our families see the Spirit resting on us?  Can our neighbours see the Spirit resting on us?  Can our work colleagues see the Spirit resting on us?