Gifts Unspeakable

 

COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

WOMEN’S MEETING – 6 MARCH 2025

SPEAKER: DEIRDRE MULLEN

Gifts Unspeakable

First, the gift of love.

The value of any gift is in the giver. 5 gifts to think about:

The unusual gift, the unloved gift, the unexpected gift, the unwanted gift, the unspeakable gift.

Unusual gift – the most usual gifts are flowers and chocolates. King Charles apparently was given a number of unusual gifts. What is the most unusual gift you have been given? 33 years ago at my husband’s first church a lady gave me a gift wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. I was told to put it in my bag. When I opened it up I realised it as a piece of meat.

Unloved gift – a clock was given to my father on his retirement. He had expected a gold watch rather than the clock. For years he was a supermarket manager and he felt that the clock did not reflect his lifetime of service to the company. It was unappreciated and unrewarded.

Unexpected gift – something you do not expect, something out of the blue. Maybe keys to a car or an armchair.  When I was a child I received an unexpected gift from American – a pink frilly dress!

Unwanted gift – much more common at Christmas when there are queues to customer services in shops. People wanting to return items to the store. Many dog shelters have abandoned dogs after Christmas too. Owners don’t want them as they are too expensive and need to much attention.

Unspeakable gift too wonderful for words. Unloved, unexpected, unwanted. Paul in 2 Corinthians 9 verse 13 said “thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.” John 3 verse 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God’s gift was unusual. Christ was fully man and fully God. He was the son of Mary and the son of God. Christ was totally sinless, no-one else has been that. He was tempted by Satan but he overcame. Pontius Pilate declared him as sinless. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21. God made him that knew no sin to become sin for us. God’s gift was also unexpected. The Jews were looking for someone to come and save the Jewish nation. On Palm Sunday they tried to make him King. Christ came into the world for the whosoever. Jesus said “go and make disciples of all nations” – that includes me. God’s gift is often unloved by many people in our world. They have little or no time for God. To people who are atheists God is dismissed. 2 Timothy 3 verses 1 to 4. God’s gift is often unwanted by people who trust only in themselves, in their good works to get them to heaven or by their possessions. Isaiah 53 verse 3. A rejected man. God’s inexplicable gift is offered to every one of us.

Secondly, your love for Christ

Maybe your love for Christ has grown cold. Perhaps as you have got older other things have become your priority – health for instance. Maybe you have become busy and it is difficult to set aside your time for Christ. Maybe you are just tired or weary. Hebrews 12 verses 1 to 3.

First notice we are told – let us throw off every weight. Athletes seeking to run in a race have to be disciplined. They train in all weathers, strengthen their bodies and aim to take off any excess fat. When it comes to the race they will take off all unnecessary clothing. When we run the Christian race we have to discipline ourselves by reading the bible and praying. Ever sin has to be thrown off. There may be past sins that trouble us or even present sins. Things we do that shouldn’t be done. There may be secret sins that no-one else knows about.

Second notice we are told – let us run with perseverance and patience. Athletes have to develop stamina. They must keep on running. As Christians we need to keep on running with perseverance and patience. To not give up in spite of discouragements. Mathew 10 verse 2. Keep on going even when there are difficulties.

Third notice we are told – let us fix our eyes on Jesus. The goal is to win the race, to achieve the prize. We must be focused. We are not to focused on family, spectators or other runners. Christians have to focus on Jesus and not be distracted by the world around us. There are so many things that get our eyes off Jesus. We should meditate on Christ and on his life. He was tempted and tried but he overcame, even to death on the cross.

Finally – using our gifts for God

The example of Maizie Smyth. Use whatever we have for God even if it is not important.

Maizie was born in Broughshane. She had a sister Isobel and a brother John. Every day she helped her parents on the family farm. On Sunday the chores were done early and the family walking or cycled to church 4 miles away. After lunch they attended Sunday School and returned to church again in the evening. She knew she was a sinner but it was not until her first year at secondary school when 2 Faith Mission Pilgrims held a mission near her home that she came under conviction of sin. The lady Pilgrim took as her text John 10 verse 9 “Jesus said I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” Maizie knew God was speaking to her but she put it off. She was afraid to take that step. She still had her chores to do when she got home and in particular put the hens into the shed for the night. One little hen refused to go in through the door. Maizie chased the hen around for 10 minutes and realised that she was like that little hen. She went into her bedroom and asked the Lord to be her Saviour. She trained to be a secretary and started a job in County Down. During the week she boarded in Belfast and returned to the family home at the weekend. She started to grow as a Christian attending a local church where she taught Sunday School. Maizie didn’t realise that God would one day call her to be a missionary using Luke 12 verse 15. At that point Maizie surrendered her all – her work, her family and her finance. She went to bible college in Glasgow. Maizie felt God was calling her to work in Southern Ireland as she was not good in languages. At school the English teacher didn’t put her forward to sit the exam as it would be a waste of government money. God called Maizie to serve him in Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She had to learn 3 languages in her service. Psalm 32 verse 8. In 1978 Maizie landed in Congo. She helped teach the 600 boy soldiers stationed near where she lived during the rebellion and eventually had to leave Congo as it became dangerous for all missionaries to remain. She was willing to go where God wanted her to go. She was tasked with creating a hymn book in 3 languages for the people of Congo which Every Home Crusade printed. I had the privilege as part of my work with Marie Curie to nurse Maizie during her cancer at her home in Broughshane. God will help you with whatever gift you have.

 

What's consuming your thoughts?

 

COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 2 MARCH 2025 – MR KEITH WILSON

EPHESIANS 6 VERSES 12 TO 18

I wonder if I was to ask you tonight “what are you thinking”, what would be your response? That is some question. My reason for asking is what is consuming your thought life? You are what you think all day long. Thoughts impact our behaviour, our choices, our self-confidence, our health, the risk you do or do not take., that feeling of self-esteem in all arenas of life. Negative influences can affect all areas of life. Our thoughts affect our emotions or moods. What we decide to choose to do or not to do. Our thoughts affect our self-confidence very much. Our thoughts can react to other people. What we eat and don’t eat affects our thoughts. Thoughts of self-esteem and self-worth affect many people in today’s society when it is trying to promote everyone is important. Never at such time has self-esteem been at such a low. Young women because of pictures of super models have taken their own lives. Young men not able to fit in take their own life. Thoughts can have negative or positive experience on our lives. As Christians we are different. We have been changed by the Lord. Our thoughts should not be of things around us. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. How we look or not look shouldn’t cause us much thought. As Christians we should think differently. Philippians 4 verse 8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Paul is reminding believers at Philippi because they are Christians they should no longer be concerned with the things of the world. Temporary things, things that are perishing. I could be concerned with losing weight, having the right physique, the right amount of money, the right car. They are only temporary, they will not last. Paul wants us to think of things that are true. There are a lot of misconceptions that the devil will try to use to get our focus off the Lord. I do not need to tell you of the media lies that are told. They focus in on lifestyles – if you want to be a homosexual or lesbian you can be those. The media is promoting lies daily, hiding the truth, hiding emotional and physical feelings. Paul tells us to focus our thoughts. We don’t fill our thoughts with such things but with the word of God. Verses 16 and 17 “Above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Negative thoughts are from the devil. We need to fight them with the sword of God, which is the word of God. He wants you to believe things that are not real. There are so many living in fear today of things that are not true, of things that will never come to pass. The devil wants to bombard our thoughts all the time. Philippians 2 “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The enemy has no right to your thought life because for the child of God we have been delivered, set free and that is why he said in verse 12 “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” That tells me something I don’t wrestle with. It is “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” High ranking demons make war against God’s people. That is why Paul writes to Ephesus and says “Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  You and I do not have the power to defeat the enemy. If as children of God can realise who we ae in Christ, what Christ has accomplished on the cross, that we have an armour God has given us then we can defeat Satan and all his forces. We need to put the armour on to withstand against the wiles of the devil. If we don’t put on the armour God has given us how will we be able to stand? Some people are in Christ and they are not in a battle. They will say “doesn’t matter I am saved and I can live as I like.”  We are reminded from the word of God that there is an enemy. We are reminded who we wrestle against. Ephesians 4. God called us from the foundation of the world and he saved us by his grace. He determind we would be born into the family of God, born with royal privileges. If you are saved tonight you are in a royal priesthood already. We wrestle in the flesh and blood. The Lord has already declared us to be holy, to be righteous. We have the righteousness of God. Now we have it we are already sanctified. That is our position before God. What you are in reality has to be lived out in experience. That is why Paul is writing these letters. He told them earlier in this book who they were in Christ – “in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. That we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ.” Do we realise who we are? If so let us put on the armour of God. Let us have a state of mind that we stand on Christ and in Christ. In what he has done and what he wants to do. I am reminded of the enemy every day. I cannot do this or that very easily, to let those thoughts into my mind. If the enemy can get into your mind he can determine all your thoughts. That is where our battle is. The enemy wants to do so much. He wants to turn them against each other. He can get a thought into the mind and destroy a work. If we realise where our battle really is we would be on our knees and praying that God would come and give us that spirit of unity. Remember what Jesus suffered on the cross – a spear was thrust into his side, a crown of thorns was put on his head, stuffed vinegar was put in his mouth. They nailed him and cried “there are others he can save and yet he cannot save himself.” What did Jesus say in response? “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Christ hung on the cross for the whole of mankind. He saw the need for salvation. He didn’t have impure thoughts but rather loved everyone. There is an enemy who wants us to think impure thoughts. The outward man is perishing but the inner man is being renewed day by day. If I rest on Christ I realise who I am in Christ. I realise the battle is not mine but Christ’s. All he wants us to do is rest in him. In our make up we have a soul, a mind, a will, emotions and thoughts. That is what the devil wants to attack. To get our focus on temporary things. We are reminded that the godly shall suffer persecution. Why? To get us to depend on ourselves and not on God. Don’t you think that the demons and the devil are in hell itself? There are demonic forces in the heavenly realm against the rulers of darkness in this world. We are surrounded. There are certain things they cannot do if our faith and trust is in the Lord. In Job’s life the Lord allowed the devil to go so far. You might find yourself in temptation or testing but be reminded that the battle of the mind is to get you thinking of things that don’t really matter. So many are living in a state of fear, depression, oppression. We can be bombarded with spiritual attacks that take our focus off God and the word of God. We all have different make ups, we are sensitive to different things. The mind is where the enemy attacks. What is your focus?  The enemy comes and plants a thought in our minds. The more thinking you do the more down you become. The more discouraged you become. This is not from the Lord but the devil. We can cast down thoughts in the name of Jesus. We are told here to put on the whole armour of God that we wrestle not with principalities and powers. The question is what are we going to do. Psalm 28 verse 7. “The Lord is m strength and my shield, my heart trusted in him and I am helped, therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” Why don’t you think of these thoughts when the enemy attacks? When our heart and mind is stayed on Jehovah we will be kept in perfect peace Isaiah the prophet tells us. It can only be in putting on the whole armour of God. The devil attacks in times of weakness.  Remember the devil was defeated at the cross. He knows the weakness of the flesh. If he could bombard you with the media, if he can do all this, keep men and women, boys and girls from giving their all to Christ, to realise who they are in Christ. The enemy will try and convince us that we are in the mess we are in and there is no way out, we might as well give it all up. Why? Because there is no hope. The enemy is against the truth. Instead of being hopeless we have hope. Christ has died and defeated every principality, every power and all spiritual wickedness. He brought a victory through the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ. Allow yourself to be around people that are living for God. We have been redeemed. Ephesians 4 verse 30. There is a time of judgment coming but there is also a reward coming for the child of God. When the unsaved will stand before the judgment seat of Christ after 1000 years and they give an account of what they did with Christ. We have freedom from the enemy when we realise who we are in Christ. Christ has accomplished our freedom on the cross and defeated the enemy. That you and I could be saved, could have eternal life. Have you that eternal life? Are you saved? Have you repented of your sin? Have you come the way of the cross? Are you living for God or are your thoughts being bombarded by the devil?

Revive Thy Work O Lord

 

COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 2 MARCH 2025 – MR KEITH WILSON

Habakkuk 3 verses 1 to 10

I don’t know if some of the more aged members of our congregation if they have ever had the privilege of hearing Duncan Campbell. He preached on the topic of revival and said “Revival is the most misunderstood of all subjects. First of all, when I speak of revival, I am not thinking of high-pressure evangelism. Evangelistic campaigns or special meetings is not revival. In a successful evangelistic campaign there will be hundreds or even thousands of people making decisions for Christ but the community remains untouched and the churches continue much the same as they did before the outreach. In revival God moves in the district suddenly. The community becomes God conscious.” I am sure if you had one soul saved you would rejoice. If you have a thousand souls saved would that mean you had revival? Revival is a move of God. The Spirit of God grips men and women that even work is given up as people give themselves up to wait for the Spirit of God. In the Isle of Lewis the Spirit of God was resting on the surrounding villages. His presence was present among the people. This is revival. The presence of God. In the Hebrides revival 75% of people who were saved were saved before they came to the meeting house or even heard a sermon preached. The power of God. The Spirit of God was moving in operation and the fear of God gripped the souls of men and women. This is revival. God sending revival as different from the respective efforts of evangelism. “Revive thy work in the midst of the years.” We looked at Habakkuk chapter 1 previously and seen his great burden. The Lord put it on my heart not to speak on revival but rather through a daily devotional I realised that I needed to speak on what actually is revival. We have not seen revival since the turn of the twenty first century. Verse 2 “O Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid, O Lord revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known, in wrath remember mercy.”

 

The prophet started with the words “O Lord I have heard thy speech.” The prophet uses the phrase “O Lord” twice. He is burdened. Back in chapter 1 verse 1 we read that. His prayer was not “Lord remember wee Annie or Jimmy.” Those prayers have their place. But we need a burden that God would send revival. He is burdened and he sighs “O Lord”. There is something on his mind. What was on his mind? Verse 2 “I have heard thy speech and was afraid.” What did he actually hear? He heard that judgment was coming on Judah. Habakkuk prays when he announced this judgment. Chapter 1 verses 2 to 5. What is that work that he will do – verses 6 and 7. Habakkuk is talking in chapter 3 verse 1 of the judgment of God that would sent on the nation because they had turned their backs on God. God is displeased with our nation because our nation has turned its bac on God. Will God send revival to this nation again? We are actually more ripe for judgment before God sends revival. God has been pushed out of society, pushed our of parliament, pushed out of schools, pushed out of hospitals. Habakkuk realised there was violence in the land – stealing, plundering goods, murdering each others, lieing to each other.  He says “Lord I know what you are going to do.” He had to accept the judgment of God but it never hindered him seeking a revival from God. Habakkuk couldn’t believe his ears. Surely God is not going to do this. He was afraid which really means he was in awe of God. I am sure he got on his knees, his heart pounding before God in awe of him. God would judge his nation, send them into captivity but after 70 years God will bring them back from captivity. Do we hear the speech of God? Have we heard what God is going to do? The judgment is coming on the unsaved. There is a time coming on this earth, a tribulation period when all hell will be let loose. The nation of Israel will be in such turmoil. The tribulation period is known as Jacob’s Trouble. The anti-Christ will sign a treaty with Israel. All will be well for that period but then there will be demonic activity work going on. Are we burdened for our lost loved ones? Those going to a horrendous place in hell fire? We are not to be playing about with sin. Here was the nation of Israel playing about with sin. They had turned from God and God brought them into captivity and God judged them as a result. “O Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid.” He was in awe of what God is going to do. “O Lord revive thy work in the mist of the years.” Have we got a real burden that God will revive and work in the midst of the years? Even though judgement is coming the prophet seeks God for revival. The first time he heard the speech he was in awe of God. Now he is burdened again. This is vital for us to grasp. It is easy to understand it. Many go of in a wrong note. Those 3 words “revive thy work”. God’s work wasn’t the prophet’s work. It was not Judah’s work. It was not Israel’s work. Today it is not the preacher’s work. It is not the denominations work. Going back hundreds of years – it was not Duncan Campbell’s work, nor John Wesley’s work, nor Spurgeon’s work. It is God who revives the soul. Revives his church. It is God who revives a nation. For the coming mission let it be God’s work and let God do what he wants to do. Don’t look to man. Let your prayer be “revive thy work.” I am sure you agree we need revival, personal revival in our churches and in our land. Revival is going to come. Heaven sent revival. It will only come from God. Let’s pray that God will save. If the Chinese next door is not touched with the awe of God it is not revival. We need the Spirit of God to grab our communities. The presence of God to be so real that 75% of people are saved before they come through the doors of this church. Habakkuk prays “revive thy work”. He accepted the judgment of God but prays for the work to be revived. Don’t get focused on denomination, or the preacher, or the singers, fixate on what will happen. Very little happens if anything – why – because many are not looking for God. They are looking for results. It is not about results but it is about God. Habakkuk wanted God to revive his work. He realised it was with God. Habakkuk was burdened for it to happen again. Al of Israel’s kingdom were full of evil kings. Judah had a mixture of good and bad kings. They all had one thing in common – what our churches do not have – they feared God. They wanted God to revive his work. They wanted to take the background. We need not to be used but useable. That means I say “Lord I would like to see this land revived, to see people in my family saved but I want you to revive your work, I want to be where you want me to be.” Habakkuk wants to know power in the midst of the years, that Israel would repent and see God again. He maybe remembered God’s power in delivering them from Egypt, when they crossed the Red Sea. He heard of the waters parting and the enemy coming behind and the waters closing over. He knew the power of God working in the past. “These years” – he wanted it to be now. The motive for prayer for revival is the glory of God. That God will come but not just come, that he will give us a passion to pray “O Lord revive your work in the midst of the years.” He prays for mercy in the time of judgment that was coming upon Judah. God had said judgment would come long before Habakkuk’s time. Joshua had said “choose you this day whom you will serve.” Has something got hold of you that God’s glory is no longer predominant in your life. “In wrath remember mercy.” Martin Lloyd Jones said “the child of God cannot sin successfully because the true child of God will be chastened by God.” Think of the wrath that awaits the ungodly yet we still live in day of grace. Habakkuk was burdened. Twice he prays “O Lord” Remember David in Psalm 51 verse 2 “have mercy on me O God according to your unfailing love, blot out my transgressions." Ephesians 2 “because of his great love for us God who is rich in mercy has made us alive with Christ.” Christ is still to this day offering mercy. We live in a day of grace but God will judge this land. We need to pray “God in wrath remember mercy.” Whenever we come before God like Habakkuk “I have heard your speech, I know what you are about to do, I was afraid.” I was in awe of you. “O Lord revive thy work in the midst of the years.” Make it known. In wrath bring mercy. Let’s pray God will be seen and honoured and men and women, boys and girls would live for the glory of God. That none will be seen save Jesus and him alone.