Bible Reading Thursday 10 July 25 from Keswick at Portstewart

 

KESWICK AT PORTSTEWART 2025 – BIBLE READING THURSDAY 10 JULY 2025 

JONAH CHAPTER 3 – MR SAM ALLBERRY

We love the story of a good come back. The come back story we most long for is a come back where it comes in the spirit of the gospel. How we long to see a spiritual come back in our day, for God to deeply reshape our community. We long for it in our own day, in our own context. To see people turning to God, to see society more humane, more hopeful, more joyful. It has not often been our experience in the Western world – biblical spirituality is in retreat today but it is why we need passages like Jonah 3. Jonah finally gets to Ninevah. He brings the word of God to Ninevah. We see city wide repentance. Imagine that. It can happen. Jesus himself referenced it in Matthew 12 He is seeking a lack of repentance in his own day. “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Jonah preached and the city repented. So evidently we can learn a lot about our own repentance from this passage.

There are 4 features in this text we can apply to our own context and our own longing for a spiritual comeback. 4 particular ingredients.

We have an obedient servant. Jonah has had the most exhausting season of his life. He had originally received that call that had turned his life upside down and he couldn’t cope with it in chapter 1. He had fled, got on a boat to Spain, a storm blew up, he was nearly shipwrecked, thrown into the water, swallowed by a giant fish, 3 days in the digestive system of that great fish, thrown up back onto dry land and very much needing a shower. He may still be getting himself cleaned up when he hears the call of God – chapter 3 verse 1. It is an almost exact repetition of that call received in chapter 1.  Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” Notice what this said about Nineveh – as in chapter 1 “a great city”. A very big city in terms of the ancient world. Influential city in Assyria empire, a royal city as evidenced by the presence of the king. It would go to be the official capital of Assyria. It was a deeply pagan city. They did not know the God of Israel but he knew them and they mattered to him. Nineveh may not know the God, they cannot see God but God knows them and he sees them. They matter to him. Think about what this calling says about Jonah himself. If God’s only concern was that Nineveh hear the word of the Lord he could have sent anyone else. There were other prophets in Israel available. There would have been others who had been nearer. God waits for Jonah to be the one who goes. This mission is not just about Nineveh. There is something in this mission for Jonah in particular. He is not just going for the city’s sake, he is going for his sake. Think about what this calling says about God. God is a God of second chances. In chapter 1 when Jonah was first called he freaked out, he threw in the towel, he ran in the opposite direction, not prepared to fulfil this commission. He was dramatically disobedient. He is now given a second chance. Let’s start again. Jonah was given another chance. He is a God of second chances, and the third and fourth … Maybe as you look back on the past year you are conscious of various ways in which you messed up spiritually. There may be a voice saying ‘you have blown it, you are just too far gone now.’ God is the God of new beginnings, of fresh starts. There is no reason not to come back to him even today. Maybe we need to say I have messed up, maybe we look back and we see a pile of regrets. We can come back. We can have a new start. John 1 verse 16 “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” It does not say we will receive grace, one allocation of it and that it is. We receive grace upon grace because we find ourselves being people with need upon need, sin upon sin, failure upon failure. God has an inexhaustible supply because it is from his fulness that we receive grace upon grace. You will not wear down Jesus Christ, you will not exhaust him. “Jesus is not tired and he is not tired of you.” Think of the endless succession of waves that are breaking upon the shore – it is like that with God’s grace. The ocean will run out of waves before God runs out of grace. No matter how often it has been we can come back to him. Jonah is called and we might be a little nervous because we know what happened the last time. “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh.” He is obedient – “according to the word of the Lord.” There are no ifs or buts, no negotiation, no push back. He has learnt something from 2 chapters back. If he tries to go against God again he is not going to win. God has reminded him of his authority. Here is the word of the Lord and I would like you to take it to Nineveh. He is told what to say. I will make it easy for you. He is fully briefed. Jonah is an obedient servant. We have not received the particular calling Jonah received. We have all received a calling from jesus, to make disciples of all nations. We need to be people who are obedient to him. We need to recognise the various demographics, peoples, nationalities and races and ethnicities, matter to God. That God is seeking followers from all over the world. We need to pray for people who do not yet know the Lord – maybe people we don’t like who don’t yet know the Lord. We need to be faithful stewards of the message we have been given to proclaim. We don’t get to make up the message. Just as with Jonah, we are to take the message God has given us. We are to go according to the word of the Lord. We go with confidence and assurance that even 1 obedient servant of the Lord can have an outside impact. This is the Lord’s work. Who knows what impact it could have – that one conversation we have, that one prayer that we pray.

We have a divine message. Jonah goes to Nineveh and he preaches the word God had given to him. We know from other sources that Nineveh had been going through a lot in the season running up to when Jonah would have been there. They went through famines, plagues, revolts, eclipses – all would have been unsettling and softening the ground for the word Jonah was going to give. But it is very clear that it is the word that is the catalyst for change. It is the word of God that does the work of God. In verse 4 we see the message that Jonah preaches: “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” That is the message. Let’s look at what we are told about this message. It has nothing to do with the fish. You might have thought he would have gone and told them what he had gone through. Jonah does not tell them about what he had experienced. Jonah’s story is compelling and our story are. Something more urgent needs to be shared. Jonah’s message is not complex. In the original Hebrew text it is just 5 words “yet 40 days Ninevah overturned.” The way they respond suggests they know more than what is written here. We might only have a summary here. It is clear, simple, straightforward, no extra packaging. He gets straight to the point. A clarity and a lack of complexity. It is not sugar coated. Jonah is straight to the point – you have 40 days and then God is going to overturn this place. We may discover that he might have enjoyed preaching that way more than a man should do. God had already told us in chapter 1 verse 2 that the evil of Nineveh had come up before him and it was to be preached against. It was a famously brutal city. We are reminded that it matters to God because people matter to him. Our sin matters to him. It is a backhanded compliment – our lives really do matter to him. When God judges us it is because we matter to him. S judgment is not a contradiction of his love, it is an expression of his love. There is a message we have for the world around us. It does not need to be sugar coated. Jesus first public words were “the time has come, the kingdom of God has come, repent and believe the good news of the gospel.” God’s message to the world today is a message of repentance. We must make sure we are calling people to turn from sin and to the living God. All of us by nature, the people around us are living life in the wrong direction and they need to repent. The message of Jesus Christ is we are living our lives in the wrong direction and the rush hour of God’s purpose is about to come upon us. The kingdom of God is at hand. We need to turn, we need to repent. That is part of the divine message we have received. We need to keep applying to our own hearts. We are not finished repenting ourselves. Every day we need to think of how we can repent afresh and turn to the Lord afresh. We need to be faithful and pass it on in our own day.

We have a heartfelt response. We are told Nineveh was a 3 days journey in breadth. Evidently to do it justice you are looking at 3 days to cover it. Jonah does not get that far. In verse 5 we are told “on the first day the people believed God.” They understood behind him was the voice of God. Jesus holds up the Ninevites as an example of what repentance looks like. Maybe we need to look at our own repentance and see what we can learn from it. Firstly it was immediate. Jonah began to go into the city going a days journey. He is just starting out and the people believe God. He does not need the rest of his itinerary. They realising their lives are provoking the just judgement of God we need to repent now. True repentance is immediate respond. Day 1 is the correct day to respond to God. Delayed repentance is unrepentance. Notice also the repentance is universal. Verse 5 “the people of Nineveh believed God.” They called for a fast and put on sackcloth. From the greatest to the least of them. Every part of the social spectrum is involved in this repentance. The king himself in verse 6 when word reaches him he identifies with his people. He covers himself in sackcloth. When it comes to repentance it makes no difference if you are a king. God always put us in the same boat. Even the animals get in on repentance. So total is their repentance. Their repentance is sincere – see from their attitude, they recognise they are facing the judgement of God and deserve it. Coming to terms with the seriousness of sin, they realise the horror of it. Fasting and putting on sackcloth were expressions of grief, of mourning. Not just regretting it but lamenting it. The king calls them to pray verse 7 “let them call out mightly to God.” That energy that had been poured into bloodshed and cruelty is to be poured into pray. To pray with all of their might, in desperation to the Lord. This affects their actions. The kcalls them to change – “let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.” It is not just emotion, a gesture but an actual change. The whole culture of the Ninevites is getting an upgrade from God. They are determined to turn away from their evil and their repentance is humble - verse 9 “who knows, God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger so that we may not perish.” He may, he may not, who knows. The king is recognising they cannot presume on the mercy of God. It is to be freely given, it cannot be demanded, they have no right to it. It is not mere self interest. They are willing to repent even if God does not relent and turn from his anger. The repentance is immediate, universal, sincere, humble and the question we must ask is ‘will the men of the Ninevites arise and condemn us in the age to come? We have heard so much more than they have. Are we willing to repent truly as they did?

A compassionate God – verse 10. He chooses to have mercy as he did in chapter 1 with the sailors, as in chapter 2 when he had mercy on Jonah himself and now in chapter 3 he has mercy on the Ninevites. “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them and he did not do it.” God was not obligated to show compassion, to relent, he chose to show mercy. He had seen the wickedness that had come up before him now he sees their repentance and he relents of the disaster that he would said he would do. It is not as if God is indecisive or fickle. God is not inconsistent or indecisive. He is compassionate. Jeremiah 18 verse 17 “At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.” He warns them of a coming judgement because he wants them to repent. God didn’t want to destroy Nineveh. He could have decided not to send Jonah if he just wanted to destroy Nineveh. God’s goal was that they might repent. Peter says “God is patient towards us not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance.” In God’s warning we see his kindness. We have a God who is compassionate. A God who longs for us to come to our senses and turn to him. He loves to show grace and mercy to us. The passage gives a hint of how that can be. We see a king leave his throne, take off his royal garb and stand with his distressed mourning people. We are reminded of a God who left the throne of heaven, who has come to stand with his people in their distress. When Jesus first arrived he stepped forward and received with the others a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sin. He was showing that he had come to stand with and in the place of sinners. One day he would hang on a cross with and in the place of sinners. He allowed himself to be overthrown by the wrath of God so that we might have the chance to repent and received mercy and grace from above. “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross” Hebrews. Jesus loves being your Saviour. He loves to show us mercy and compassion. It is not just for the pagans but for the religious because we need it as well.

God's Gracious Provision

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 27 JULY 2025 am - MR GARETH McINTYRE

1 KINGS 17 VERSES 1 TO 16 - GOD'S GRACIOUS PROVISION

I am sure most of us know something of the life of George Mueller. He was born to a German tax collector and was often in trouble - stealing, gambling and drinking like a fish. He would sleep in hotels then sneak out before paying the next morning. One day he was caught and put in prison. When released he repeated the process all over again. In 1825 he met the Lord and repented of his sin. His life was greatly changed. He eventually married and settled down in Bristol. George developed an interest in the children who lived on the streets and opened his first orphanage in 1836. Initially 26 children were housed. He then went on to open a second followed quickly by a third orphanage. Thereafter George refused to speak of his financial needs, believing in prayer for God's provision. Time and again God did indeed provide. We have all probably heard of the famous story where the plates and bowls had been set on the table for breakfast but there was no food or milk for the children. George led the prayer for daily bread when a knock came to the door. A breadman told him he couldn't sleep and got up at 2 am to bake bread for his children. Then a milk man appeared. His lorry had broken down right outside the orphanage and he wanted to offload the contents to repair it. He asked George if he could take and use his milk. In his 93 years of life 10,000 orphans were helped. George prayed and preached the gospel far and wide. He had 50,000 answers to prayer. We know and love and serve the same God that provided for George Mueller and others. 

In 1 Kings 17 we see the hand of God's provision which is able to meet the practical, spiritual and emotional needs of Elijah and the woman of Zarephath. It doesn't matter our outward circumstances - drought or famine - God's gracious provision is found. In this story we see that the heavens were closed due to idol worship. Is there drought in your life today? Are there idols in your life that must be addressed? It might be cars, houses or other material possessions. Sometimes life can draw us away from the blessings of God. Elijah stood tall before King Ahab and the idols of Baal. He prayed and the fire of God fell on Mount Carmel. Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a showdown. He told them to pray and the God that answered by fire was the true God of Israel. The prophets called on their god all day but nothing happened. In frustration they gave up. At the evening sacrifice Elijah turned to call on the Lord God Almighty. He gave the commandment to dig a trench and then pour in 12 barrels of water. When all had been finished Elijah prayed a short prayer and the fire of God fell on that mountain. "When the people saw it they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord he is the God." (1 Kings 18 verse 39) Elijah took the prophets of Baal and slew all of them. What happened on Mount Carmel was a mighty display of God. God's instrument used to show his power. God's man doing God's work in a mighty way. That was not always the way for Elijah. He ended up on the mountain because God had prepared him, to train him from what he would face, to accomplish what he would do all for the glory of God. Do you know someone who has been shaped by life's greatest challenges? Elijah was prepared through difficult circumstances. He was placed in circumstances that were beyond his control. God was greater than anything and everything he would have to face. He learned how to trust God even in the most hostile of situations. 

"When I cannot trace God's heart I can always trust God's heart." C H Spurgeon

Is God preparing you for a mountain you will face in the future? Is your faith being tested at the moment?  In verse 1 we see that God told Elijah to stand before King Ahab and pronounce judgment on the people of Israel. God said it wouldn't rain and it didn't rain. In verse 3 Elijah was told to turn east by the brook Cherith. He became a wanted man. Ahab would go to great lengths to find him. He had to flee to the brook Cherith. In the midst of drought and famine God provided for Elijah. God was faithful. He provided a daily provision as he waited for the Lord's direction. Some say Elijah stayed at the brook for 12 months. Would you have been tempted to run ahead of God if you were in a similar situation? Elijah was so patient. Remember Saul waiting on Samuel to arrive went ahead and offered the sacrifice. He disobeyed God. God does not reveal all of our steps all at once, only what we need. He will not give us more light until we walk in the light he has given us. Consider this widow woman of Zarephath in verses 8 and 9. The Lord used and blessed and sustained her. Her cupboards were bare. She was barren, empty but found gracious provision. Can anyone relate to this widow? Maybe your cupboards are bare, everything has been spent. Why not claim the great promise found in verse 14 "The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth."

The woman God chose - verse 9. Elijah had to make a 100 mile long journey to enter a foreign country to Zarephath. It was the last place he expected the Lord to send him. Gentile territory. Jezebel's home stranglehold of Baal worship. He was going into enemy territory. Are we going through fiery difficulties at the moment? Financial, health, in the workplace? They are a means to mould, refine and purge us. Maybe for us it is a time of losing someone. Maybe we can look back to times that were so difficult to bear. Those are the times when we experience God the most. When we are down in the valley of disappointment then we know God's presence and grace. Elijah maybe thought he would get it easy for a while but he needed more refining. He was not making a journey to enjoy a luxury life. One woman God chose to sustain him in Zarephath. A poor widow woman who couldn't look after herself as well as Elijah. When he arrived he didn't stumble across her accidentally. God had told him before hand who she was. At the right time, right at the gate, this widow was out gathering sticks - verse 10. In all her poverty God chose her. In all her need, emptiness, insufficiency God chose this woman and he also has you for a purpose seen or unseen. God chose this woman - her heart was broken. There had been joy in the early years, she had married and had a son then it was marred by the death of her husband. A man robs her of the supply of food. She was left to fend for herself and her son. No husband protected her. In verse 18 there was something in her past life that she hadn't let go of. It burdened her heart continually. A woman chosen by God. Maybe you allow sins of the past, the sins God has forgiven you of to stop you from working for him. "As far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103 verse 12) For the burden of sin that you carry are you willing to say "Lord I am not available now." This is the woman God chose. Her home was barren. All she had was a little meal, a cruse of oil and a few sticks and 2 people to complete it. This woman's hands were tied. It is easy to think God only uses great people. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 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;" (1 Corinthians 1 verses 26 and 27)  You might stand and say 'there is someone better fit, more talented, resourceful, a more obvious choice.' God knows and his choice is obvious to him. He took a shepherd boy with nothing more than stones in his hand to slay the giant Goliath. He took a shepherd with a staff in his hand to part the Red Sea.  Maybe God is calling you to use your heart and your home for his purpose just like the woman of Zarephath.

The command God sent - verse 9. God never audibly spoke to this woman. She was surprised by Elijah's request. God prepared her heart for her to sustain Elijah. God asked for her priority. God only asks for that. Do we have it? She had no problem giving water but protested over the bread for she had only enough for her and her son. She only had her poverty - verse 13. She only had a little meal but Elijah asked her to put him first. She was asked to give her all. Elijah had already proved so much. He knew God would provide. There was something in her life that was holding her back. That was why Elijah told her not to fear. Does fear keep you from giving God priority? She knew who Elijah was and who God was. How often it is hard to take a step of faith. We focus rather on what we have rather than what God has in store for us, the blessing to receive. We need to give God priority. We need to replace fear with faith. Fear robs us of strength, enthusiasm, confidence. it brings frustration, depression, trials. Are you being defeated by fear? God add his promise - verse 14. Out of your poverty give me priority then the barriers will fall. This woman overcame her fear and took god at his word. She showed kindness to the prophet.

The blessing that God gave. God keeps his promises - verses 15 and 16 "and she went and did". Simple obedience. There was a simplicity. Simple obedience brought rest and peace. No more panicking. Trusting in God. Simple obedience to the voice of God leads to less stressful experience. Great simplicity by its sufficiency. God took a poor widow woman with next to nothing to give all that she had and he gave her all that he had. God uses everything at his disposal. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6 verse 33) Obedience and faith was placed into the hand of God. She proved his promises never failed. God supplied not her greed but her need. She expected to perish but she was preserved. Believers have all they need to live. God took nothing and he make everything. Make God first and he will give you his provision. 

Chaplain Robinson shares a true story about his grandmother that took place in 1949. His father had just returned home from World War II. 

On every American highway, you could see soldiers in uniform hitchhiking home to their families, as was the custom at that time in America. 

Sadly, the thrill of his reunion with his family was overshadowed by the illness of Robinson's grandmother. 

The problem was her kidneys. The doctors told Robinson's father that she needed a blood transfusion immediately or she would not live through the night.

With his grandmother's blood type being AB negative, a very rare type of blood even today, but even harder to get back then because there were no blood banks or air flights to ship blood. 

None of the family members had matching blood. So the doctors gave the family no hope of her surviving through the night. Robinson's father left the hospital in tears to gather all the family members so they could say "Good-bye" to Grandmother.

As Robinson's father was driving down the highway, he passed a soldier hitchhiking home to his family. 

Deep in grief, the father had no inclination to do a good deed at that moment. Yet, he felt strongly impressed to stop and pick up the stranger. Robinson's father was so upset that he did not ask the soldier's name. The soldier, however, noticed the tears in his eyes and asked what was wrong. 

Through the tears Robinson's father told this stranger about his dying mother in the hospital because they could not give her a transfusion of AB negative blood because they did not have any. She would be dead by morning. It got very quiet in the car. 

Then this unidentified soldier extended his hand out to Robinson's father with the palm upward. 

Resting in the palm of his hand was his army dog tags with his blood type engraved on them, AB negative. The soldier told Robinson's father to turn the car around and get him to the hospital where she was given a transfusion of this man's blood.

Robinson's grandmother lived until 1996, 47 years later, and to this day no one in the family knows the soldier's name. Robinson's father wonders if he was a soldier or an angel in uniform. 

Sometimes we never know who God will bring into our lives to carry out a special mission nor do we know whose lives the Lord will have us touch and bless.

Making choices

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM 20 JULY 2025 am - MR T ANDERSON

JOSHUA 21 VERSE 25 AND RUTH CHAPTER 1 - MAKING CHOICES

Whenever you think of a title such as "making choices" your mind has already started to run away. When you think of the choices in life there are things you have done in life and you might think they are bad ones, we wish we hadn't bought that car or went on that holiday to that particular place. Maybe you shouldn't have done that one thing such as changing jobs because you have realised the grass is not always greener on the other side. There are a lot of choices we make - moving home for instance. Remember Lot who chose to move home to Sodom with his wife and family. I'm not sure if Lot was to stand here today would he say he regretted every hearing about Sodom? There he lost his wife, the respect of his children and his sons-in-law. Our choices are not always good. We make them every day. We choose what we wear. We make choices in the supermarket. We are always making choices whether we like it or not. One of the best choice we can make is to trust the Lord as Saviour. If you have made that choice your mind is already going back to that moment when you decided to follow Christ. "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." Choices are always being made. We chose this morning to come to church. 

In our story today we read of a family. The nation is in a desperate situation. The nation has turned their back on God. "They did that which was right in their own eyes." They were doing everything contrary to the will of God. In the day of the judges lawlessness was rife. As we read the book of Judges we realise how desperate the situation was. God sends a famine. I want to look at 4 things today.

A great family. What a family - Elimelech, Naomi and their 2 boys. They are living in the midst of anarchy, a desperate rebellion against their God. There are times when Elimelech must have thought 'what are we going to do?' Elimelech was thinking of his wife and children. Elimelech's name means "my God is king." Here is a man whose name means this - what has he to fear? All around him things are going on and Elimelech thinks to himself 'how can I preserve my wife and children from starvation?' He begins to make choices. He is from a very godly family. Ruth takes us to the very coming of the Lord, goes right to where we have David and finally Jesus in the lineage of the coming Saviour. The royal family of God but this family is face with our second point - a famine.

A great famine. Elimelech finds himself in a famine. No food. What do you do if there is a shortage? We become very selfish. Elimelech thinks of himself, his wife and his sons. They need to move to where food is available for a short time. They went to live in Moab to survive this famine. They had every intention to come back. They were making a choice that was wrong. He was leaving the God in whom he lived and trusted in. Bethlehem means house of bread. Elimelech was turning his back on God. Why didn't he believe in God providing for him? There were hundreds living in Bethlehem who never moved but this family did. Moab was a godless nation. They had no thought of God in their heart. Elimelech's God was not honoured in the land of Moab. A ruthless, godless, pagan people yet Elimelech decided to go and live there. He goes with his wife and 2 boys. This great family are fleeing a great family and going to the land that was polluted with pagan gods. A land that did not have any time for the peopl eof God. Here he is going down and mixing with them against every principle he had been taught to do. They were not to intermarry with pagans. He goes from the house of bread and finds himself in this polluted godless pagan nation. It appears he has no problem getting somewhere to live. He is fitting in with the Moabites. He is thinking 'there is food on the table, everything is good, at least they will not go to bed hungry.' While they are in the land of Moab God begins to move.

The funerals. It was not long after they moved into Moab before Naomi lost her husband - he died in verse 3. He was the head of the home. Naomi describes herself as "bitter" verse 20. Why? Because they had turned their back on God. The 2 sons find themselves local girls, Orpah and Ruth. They marry and afterwards things get worse. Perhaps Naomi was looking forward to grandchildren but instead her 2 boys get ill and die. Now she has to return to the grave and bury her sons. Life is not good for this woman. These funerals testify to the consciousness of walking away from God. You are free to choose but you are not free from the consequences of your choices. The moment Elimelech decided to go from Bethlehem Judah he made a choice and the consequences would be hard. It was the same for the Prodigal Son - he chose to go to his father and ask for the money, he chose to go into the far country, he chose to spend his money. The consequences were that he had nothing left and was feeding pigs. He came back home a pauper. Elimelech made a choice to go to Moab with his wife and 2 sons. Now all 3 are dead.

A great farewell. Naomi comes to the point where she realises she cannot keep goin like this. She has come from Bethlehem to Moab but now she hears that God has blessed the land again with food. When she heard the she decided to return home, to go back to her people - verse 6. "There is bread again in the land." She bids farewell to Moab. She starts the journey home and turns to her daughters-in-law and tells them to return to Moab. She must have shown something that makes Ruth decide to go with Naomi. How would she have known about Naomi's God unless Naomi had shown her? Naomi encourages them both to go back home. "I left full now I am empty, I have nothing." She tells them to go back and asks the Lord to grant them rest and husbands back home - verse 14. They didn't want to do that, they wanted to go with Naomi. She convinces Orpah to go back home but Ruth bids farewell to everything. She had seen something different in Naomi's life and wanted it for herself. Even though Naomi had gone away from God's will and disobeyed God she still felt God had not forsaken her. Many commentators say that it was at this point that we see Ruth's conversion. She turned her back on the heathen land and put her trust in God. God can bring good out of bad. Ruth became part of the lineage of Jesus - Matthew 1 shows that she is mentioned. She went on to marry Boaz. God is in the business of changing things. 

The future - it is bright. When Naomi came back to Bethlehem the people did not recognise her. They questioned if it was really her. She had changed. Her countenance was sad. She told them not to call her Naomi but Marah - "for the almighty have dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty" verse 22. She came back to Bethlehem at the time of the barley harvest. The fields were being harvested. God had visited his people again. The story is a beautiful one. We know what happens - how Ruth goes out to the field and meets Boaz. Eventually Ruth and Boaz marry and they have a little boy. Naomi became a nurse, a grandmother, a doting one. God has a future for you - it is your choice - will you let him have his way?

Elijah - a servant who stepped up, a supply that kept him and a son that was raised up

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 13 JULY 2025 - MR JASON CRUISE

1 KINGS 17 VERSES 1 TO 16

Here in 1 Kings 17 we have read of the great servant of God Elijah. He comes on the pages of scripture suddenly, not with any direction. He is not like Isaiah who was named as "Isaiah son of Amoz" or Jeremiah "Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah" or Zechariah "Zechariah the son of Berechiah". For Elijah we are not told anything of his genealogy, who his parents were or who his grandparents were. One thing we do know of Elijah is that he came from a godly home with God fearing parents from the day he was born. He was called Elijah which means 'my God is Jehovah'. There are some things we want to see from Elijah.

A servant that stepped up.  Here we read of a man who was bold and courageous for the Lord. He comes 900 years before the birth of our Lord. At a time when Israel was in a backslidden state. Immorality and apostasy abounds. Not unlike our day and age. Chapter 16 verses 30 and 31 "And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him." Here we read about the king of Israel Ahab who married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of Zidonians. She brought with her a false god, Baal. The land is involved with idolatory. Elijah appears before the king freely and courageously. How are you and I taking our stand in this generation in which we live, among your family and friends, among your neighbours and friends? Are we walking courageously, standing strong for the Lord? Elijah refers to the Lord - verse 1 "as the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand". Elijah tells Ahab 'you have a false god baal who you worship, I am worshipping the God of Israel. He is still sovereign over all. You are trusting in someone who is only a figment of your imagination. The one I trust is everlasting and eternal.' Psalm 90 verse 2 "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." The one we trust in knows no beginning and will never know any end. In Buckingham Palace there have been different monarchs who lived there. In Judah and Israel there were different kings too. They all had their time on the throne but they all died. God's reign is from everlasting. He is eternal. He will never die. He lives in the power of an endless life. Verse 2 "And the word of the Lord came unto him saying." Elijah was a man who spent time in the presence of the Lord. I am sure he was a mighty man of prayer. Throughout these chapters on the life of Elijah we read these words. The word of the Lord can only come when he is in union with the Lord. He was coming to see his face. Do we hear a word from the Lord? Are we spending time with him? Have you sought the Lord today already in prayer? Have you opened up God's word that you might know a little closer walk with him? We cannot get a word from the Lord if we are not spending time with the Lord. In verses 3 and 4 we see that Elijah is obedient to the divine instruction and direction of the Lord. He was willing to obey and go where the Lord wants him to go. He was willing to obey. A stark contrast to Jonah. When the word of the Lord came to Jonah "arise and go to Nineveh". Jonah doesn't go initially. He went down and found a ship going to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Imagine a prophet of the Lord seeking to flee from the presence of the Lord. A stark contrast to Elijah. Jonah paid the fare. There is always a price to be paid in rebellion to the Lord. Are you obedient like Elijah, to the divine instruction of the Lord? Or are you seeking to go your own way? Verse 4 the ravens brought food to Elijah in the morning and evening. What a miracle. A raven is a scavenging bird. It was the first bird to be let out of the ark. It went out and did not return. The raven fed on dead corpses floating around. Here this bird comes and brings flesh and bread each morning and evening - why - because God had commanded them. He wouldn't have been fed anywhere else. You cannot expect to know the blessing of God if we are seeking out his will for our lives as we sit still. Can we say we are being obedient to the Lord? Why did they bring the food each morning and each evening? Our God is sovereign, whether on land and sea. He is in absolute control over all the affairs of the world. Remember Mark 4 when a great storm arose while Jesus and his disciples were on the boat. The disciples rush to find Jesus who is sleeping. They ask him "carest thou not that we perish?" Mark 4 verse 39 tells us "and he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the seas peace be still and there was a great calm." The disciples then asked themselves "what manner of man is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?" Our God is sovereign and in absolute control whether through the ravens at the book or the lions in the den. There is not one thing happening today without his knowledge. Not one sparrow has fallen that the Lord does not know about today. The Lord was preparing Elijah for what lay ahead. The brook Cherith - that word means to separate or cut off. Elijah is living this separated life. Are we doing that? Living in the world but not to be of the world? Are we living that devoted life to the Lord today? The Lord was preparing Elijah for what lay ahead at Mount Carmel. So many in the bible were fully depending on the Lord. Think of Joseph who had to spend time in the prison before he went to the palace. Or David when he spent time in the cave before he went to the throne. Moses spent 40 years in the Midian desert before he led the Children of Israel through the wilderness. Paul in 1 Corinthians said he spent time in Arabia. He spent time with God being taught before he was brought to the place where he was fully depending on the Lord, before commencing the work for the Lord. Are we spending time with the Lord?

The supply that kept coming - verses 7 to 9. The little brook where Elijah had been staying now dried up. It was a miracle it had been running up to now. One of the first places to tarry as long as needed. The Lord kept it flowing. Now the Lord had no more need of it. It dried up. He would send Elijah on an 85 - 100 miles journey to Zarephath. There he was in the enemy territory. That is where Jezebel came from, the wife of Ahab. These people were worshipping Baal. Even there Elijah knew the provision of the Lord. He knew the power of the Lord. He knew the protection of the Lord at Zaraphath. His faith would be tested. As he comes to the gate of the city he meets a widow woman the Lord had spoken of. She was the breadwinner, her husband was dead. The widow is gathering sticks. She informs Elijah she had just a handful of meal and a little cruise of oil in a vessel. She is about to cook her last meal, close the door and die. If that had been you or I had come to Zarephath that day and met the widow would we have had the faith Elijah had? Elijah believes in what the Lord said. He says what he means and he means what he says. Quite often when we set out to do something for the Lord, no matter how small it may be we have doubts about our expertise, our skill, our knowledge, our finance. We will think to ourselves 'Lord could I really do this?" If we rely on ourselves we cannot do it but if we rely on God then we will be able to. "God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply" Hudson Taylor  Elijah's faith was tested but his faith was strong. Verses 13 and 14, 16. What the Lord promised Elijah came to pass. The meal was always available, the oil was always there too. It did not fail. "But my God shall supply all you need according to his riches." Not all you want but rather all you need. The widow woman and her son experienced what the Lord said does happen. Ephesians 3 verse 20 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us," God is omnipotent. God is all powerful in 1 Kings 17 and he is still powerful and all sufficient in the days in which we live.

A son that was raised up - verses 19 to 24. Here we see that Elijah has compassion on the plight of this woman and the situation into which she finds herself. Elijah takes the young boy from his mother, carries him up to an upper chamber and cries to the Lord. How often Elijah would have cried to the Lord in the upper chamber. Have we got that place in our homes? Somewhere we can go and close ourselves off and cry to the Lord. Elijah was a mighty man of prayer. He has compassion on this woman. If we do not have love and compassion for those around us it is all futile. The apostle John in 1 John 2 verse 6 said "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." As you and I live down here on earth we should seek day and daily to become more like Christ our Saviour. He was one of compassion and love. Could this be said of you and I today? Elijah was a man of prayer. James 5 verses 16 to 18 "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit."  Elijah was a man of prayer. We read of many resurrections in the bible. The Shunamite wife, Jairus' daughter, the son of the widow of Nain, Lazarus but this is the first resurrection in the bible. This son was raised to life again. There was another son who was raised again for our justification. All these people would experience death once again except the Lord. He faced death for every man but he arose the third day over sin, death and hell. We serve one who is risen again and is seated at his Father's right hand in glory. This woman has come to realise by her contact with Elijah that he is a man of God. How many people in the bible have had that said of them? Moses, Samuel, Elisha, David. In all of the New Testament there is only one referred to as a man of God. Not Paul or Peter or John or the apostle Barnabas or Silas. Timothy is the only man - 1 Timothy 6 verse 11. Those who know you and me, who we come into contact with day and daily - could they refer to us as a man of God? Those who we meet tomorrow in the work place, in our family circles - I wonder would they refer to us as men or women of God? I trust that you and I can be referred to as such. The son that was raised again. Have you put your faith and trust in the eternal God that was raised again? Do you know him as Saviour? If we know Christ are we growing in him daily? May we be like Elijah and take our stand for God in the days in which we live.

 

Keswick at Portstewart 2025 - Friday 11 July 2025 Evening Celebration with Dai Hankey

KESWICK AT PORTSTEWART 2025

EVENING CELEBRATION - FRIDAY 11 JULY 2025 - DAI HANKEY

ISAIAH 6 VERSES 1 TO 8

"In the year that King Uzzi′ah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  7 And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”  8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Notice the sending happens at the end of these verses so we have a lot to get through first of all! The context of this passage - 750 years before Christ was on this earth. The exact time frame is given in verse 1. In the Jewish monarchy Uzziah was king of Israel and as we read in 2 Chronicles 26 he largely did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. He grew proud to his destruction, got cocky. The Lord had blessed him. One day he decided to go into the temple to offer his own sacrifices because he was king. And because he tried to present his sacrifice when the priest should have done this leprosy was the result. It was on his head until the day of his death. He had to live in confinement until the day he died. When he died I do not doubt the way he ended up was on everyone's lips. Remember when Queen Elizabeth died? A lot of people talked about what she had done. Uzziah was synonymous with not finishing well. It is terrifying what happened to the king when he tried to approach God on his own terms and in his pride. 

Isaiah has a vision that is compelling - verses 1 to 4. It was a glorious vision where God was almost setting his reset button. I need to remind you who I am and you are not the one to set the terms. I am God. He gives Isaiah a vision and reveals some great things. it is important and helpful to have in your mind who God is. Maybe you are saying 'I do not personally know this God.' Maybe you are asking questions and want to know the truth because everything is not satisfactory. Here we see the truth about God. First we see God is a king sitting upon a throne. Who sits on a throne? The king and queen. As Isaiah sees the vision unfolding we are dealing with a cosmic royalty. This is the King of Kings, the greatest king to end all kings. God is king. That is what we see. Not only that but he is an exalted king. He is high and lifted up. He is greater than us, above us in every way. We need to have a greater view of God. He is awesome. He is bigger than my mind can handle. His ways are higher than my ways. He is glorious. He is above you not beside you but above you. "The train of his robe filled the temple". The robe was a symbol of majesty and splendour and victory and honour. This massive temple could hardly contain it. God is also glorious. He does not filter help. There is no-one to help him be the better king. More glorious than any king. No king comes to matching the glory of our God. So wonderful and praiseworthy. Now enter some of the coolest angels you have ever seen. The word seraphim means burning ones. Their job eternally is to bask in the presence of a holy God, to burn with worship and joy. They had wings, two to cover the face and 2 covering their feet and two to fly. They have a song - "holy, holy, holy" When the bible says something twice you pay attention but when it is thrice you stop what you are doing and take it down. God is set apart. Nothing or no-one that compares to our God. There is nothing I could compare with to show you what he is like. God is different than us. He is pure or bright in purity, perfection. Not one moment of flaw or weakness or insufficiency. Glorious, beautiful, perfect. The angels are crying "holy, holy, holy". You are so set apart from everything else. You are also wonderful. While the temple is struggling to contain the robe they sin "the whole earth is full of his glory." God's earth is full of his glory. The heavens declare the glory of the Lord and as Psalm 103 verse 11 reminds us "for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him." The things he has given to enjoy in this world are signs of his glory. Every time you eat good food it is God showing you his glory. Every time you hear music it is God declaring his glory. Here Isaiah is looking and seeing a king exalted and glorious. The scene is so awesome. If you are a Christian this is your God. We get so flippant and familiar and forget who it is Christ has given us access to. This isn't the Father Isaiah sees in the temple, it is Christ. Look at John 12 verses 36 to 41 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him; it was that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfiled: “Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe. For Isaiah again said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." This is Jesus, the King of Kings in this temple. Jesus gives us access and glory to him. It is interesting how this story unfolds from here forward. Isaiah is confronted by this heavenly vision. 

It turns into a glorious confession - verse 5. Maybe as we read the first 4 verses we think it is awesome. Isaiah didn't respond with 'wow' but 'woe is me, I am lost, all undone, stuffed, there is no way I am getting out of this situation. I am in trouble. I am in his glorious presence. He describes himself as man of unclean lips. Isaiah was a prophet. He was not only most holy and righteous. He was a man whose job it was to proclaim God's word. "My lips are unclean. I am out of my depth. I am lost." As we consider God's heart to sending us into the world to do his mission, I am so aware how many of us feel unqualified to do anything for God. It might not be your lips that God can use. Maybe your sin has stained you so that you are unclean. Maybe your mind is unclean. Maybe your heart burns with anger and lust. Everyone is the exactly same. Isaiah puts himself at the top of the list. Do you believe the lie of Satan that you are no use to God? Things in the past show that but Isaiah has something to say to you. In the presence of our holy God we are unclean, we all have fallen short of God's standard. None of us could feel anything different. If I am unclean God you don't want to be anywhere near me. I know what I am really like. You know me better than anyone. Isaiah's glorious confession for himself and his nation. It is so relatable. I am just the same as you. I am no more righteous or holy than you. Some of you have grown up in church, you have been taught every week how bad you are. Maybe you have never grasped how loved you are. Grace doesn't make sense until you receive that diagnosis - "all have sinned and fallen short of God's standards. There is none righteous no not one." We need to accept that about ourselves. We are not good enough for God. Allow the truth, the secret truth that you bury to be true for a moment. 

After his glorious confession there is such glorious provision - verse 6. He takes a live coal from off the altar and touches Isaiah's lips. He speaks some incredible words to him - verse 7. Isaiah your confession is true. You are unclean. You don't measure up in his presence. There is provision for you. When you know there is sin, I am bringing restoration to you. The altar is the place of sacrifice. On that altar blood was shed and would be shed regularly for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. None of that blood brought forgiveness, just a foreshadowing of one day when sin would be cleansed because there was another place of forgiveness. The Lord hung on the cross outside Jerusalem for the sins. Where is it you need cleansing? What is it in your life that is unforgiveable, disqualifies you having anything to do with Christ? "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son cleanses us from all unrighteousness." There is cleansing available for everyone. If they would come to the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. None of you are beyond the forgiveness of God. You cannot forgive your self from that sin. Forgiveness is freely available. There is an enemy in our ear who likes us to chirp about those things we have done and tells us we have not been forgiven from that one particular sin. What does God say? He blots out your transgressions "for my own sake" and remembers your sins no more. God doesn't forgive you for your sake, it gives him glory to forgive your sins. When God forgives you, you are going to receive the glory of reveling in my presence. God has provided a way to be forgiven. If I chose not to accept that I am doing a disservice to God. If you let God forgive you it is not good news for you, it is glory for him in heaven. If you choose your past to speak louder voice over your life you are doing God a disservice. "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." It is good news. Jesus wins. Forgiveness is good for us all. God is not the ultimate benefactor of his grace. I know where to go when I feel guilty, go back to the king in whose presence Isaiah is. This king who is exalted laid aside his glory. Philippians 2 verse 7 tells us he took on himself the form of a servant. This glorious king, is high and lifted up on Calvary's cross. Never lose sight of the cross. I reckon Isaiah's life was never the same again. He says to Isaiah "your guilt is taken away." Isaiah went from being "woe is me" to "send me". A glorious visitation an d a gracious provision.

God has his angels for all sorts of things. This is the first time we hear God speak in this scene. A question is asked - "whom shall I send and who will go for us?" There is work to do in this world. Not something specific. We need grade A sinners to go and do something. To hear God's voice. Isaiah is completely changed and asks to be sent. "Here I am send me. I will do it because of what you have just done for me. Now I have something to say. Now I have a message. I have been given the answer for cleansing, for forgiveness, for mercy and grace." If we have to cajole one another to do God's mission we have already missed the purpose. The more amazed we are by God's grace in Christ the easier it is for people to respond. The whole Christian life is a response to God's grace. We are not saved by good work, saved by grace for good works. We are pointing one another to the cross of Christ. All of a sudden Isaiah says "pick me" because it is a easier option. 1 Corinthians 7 verses 19 and 20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." You are not your own if you are in Christ. He paid for you with the greatest price. This is the mission I have for you. If anyone is wrestling with being a Christian and the cost. If you know what Christ has done for you it is a harder life. If you are willing to lay down your life as a sacrifice on the altar you will know the joy of his presence. Are you willing to say "here I am, send me?" There are 4 ways you can respond:

recognise God's glory and revere him

repent of your sin (all of it)

receive God's grace and revel in it

(re) commit your life to serve him   

Evening Celebration - Keswick at Portstewart - Thursday 10 July 2025 - Dai Hankey

EVENING CELEBRATION KESWICK AT PORTSTEWART

THURSDAY 10 JULY 2025 - DAI HANKEY

GALATIANS 4 VERSES 4 TO 7

These verses start with the word "but" - I would love to write a book on the best "buts" in the bible. That little word means something comes in and changes the trajectory of what has been written. Paul is writing to the church in Galatia. They have been saved by grace but somehow the bad habit of trying to bring religion into their Christianity. Circumcision for instance should be included in Christianity. Peter even got caught up in this. Paul was writing to tell them to stop adding things to what Jesus has already done. In chapters 3 and 4 Paul is saying that Jesus has done everything for you to be forgiven and accepted, that they are on their way to heaven. Why are they now going back to the old way of doing things? Religion is not the exclusive domain of religious people. People wanted rules, laws, what you should and not doing, a tick box system. Not much has changed - we ask ourselves 'am I doing everything right, am I wearing the right clothes, have I attended my church this week, do people see how generous I am?' There is nothing wrong with that but we add things in. I want us to look into the passage as Paul tries to correct this thinking. We do things to impress God. Paul wants to put an end to that. The good news is not about what we do or not do but rather what God has done in Christ by sending his Son and Holy Spirit. Galatians 4 verse 4 and 5 - when, how, what, where and how. 

Verse 4 "But when the fullness of time was come God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." Jesus came at just the right time. It was no accident he arrived. He came at the right time. He not only came at the right time. Remember when Jesus was at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and they ran out of wine. His mother came asking for Jesus' help  and he told her "my time has not yet come." Jesus was working to a divine agenda. So the when is God's perfect timing.

The who is the Father sending the Son. The gospel is all about Jesus. He is the answer. The gospel is not about you nor me, never any human being. The good news revolves around Jesus. He was sent forth to save those who couldn't be saved. Why would Jesus come if we could save ourselves. we are incapable of fixing our broken lives, saving our souls. The gospel starts and finishes with God. He decided how to save us and when to save us. "Born of woman, born under the law." Jesus came as a human being into this world. We cannot say you don't understand it. All the pressures and strains I have God understands. He came in the person of Jesus. He understands. he came as a man, as a human, as you and I are. Jesus knows what it is like to sweat, struggle, tired, toil, to be surrounded by people who do feel pressures. There is no other God who can relate like us. He is able to comprehend what we are going through. He was also born under the law. God gave the law in the Old Testament to show us this is his standard. When we look in the mirror we say to ourselves how righteous and good we are. We compare ourselves with other people. If we want to get to heaven on our own merits it is very simple - be perfect. We are in trouble under the law. Jesus was born under the same standard. It applies to him as to us. He passed though with flying colours. It was important to him to prove he would be the representative we need.

The what of the gospel. I find the gospel so exciting. Verse 5 "to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." What does that mean? Turn to Galatians 2 verse 16 "yet who know that a man is not justified[a] by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified." Paul is saying none of us will get to heaven. We fall short. We can argue with who is better than who but we fall short. Look at chapter 3 verse 10 " For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.” If we want to try and get to heaven without Jesus it is not possible. Since Adam sinned in Genesis 3 everything that is messed up in this world is because of that sin. The curse of the law hands on all of us. Galatians 3 verse 13 " Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree” This is the epicentre of what Christ came to do. He did some amazing stuff but none of his miracles, walking on water, changing water into people, bringing people back from the dead - none of that. It .was to save those who are under the curse. To be our representative. To hang on a tree. Chapter 3 verse13 and 14 " Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree”—that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Look at 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21 "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." God the Father made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The way Jesus redeems us is by bearing our sin so that we might become righteous. As Jesus hung on the cross he became sin. Jesus absorbs all the sin of those he was going to save into himself. The punishment we deserve Jesus takes it all on our behalf. Christ became sin. He uploaded all of your stuff and said 'I will pay the price' so that we might be redeemed. Isn't it amazing God's forgiveness of sin. The other half of the gospel is this - Jesus then takes and uploads his righteousness into us. The beautiful thing is - we get forgiveness. Every last bit of our sins was future paid. He also gives us his righteousness as a gift. If you put your faith in Christ he does not see all your mistakes any more. Faith in Christ. He sees his son's reflection in you. He accepts you with the exact same love as his son. It is finished, paid in full. The miracle - he takes me not from innocent in his sight but to the righteousness in his son. God loves you and accepts you. However bad we have been, whatever thoughts you have about how bad you are as a Christian, God loves you because you are in Christ. Romans 8 verses 1 to 4 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,[a] he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Set free from the power of sin. The penalty God accepts - as if fulfilled the righteousness required by the law. Galatians 4 verse 5 "to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." Jesus did that because he wants us to receive something - the gift of adoption. One of the beautiful things in the bible is love - it is a choice, not a decision. God chose to adopt us, to cleanse us, forgive us, to bring us into his family. Ephesians 2 verses 1 to 3 " And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." By nature everyone of us was born a child of wrath deserving God's just judgment for our sin. That is who we are. All by nature. In Galatians we read God wants to add these children of wrath into the family of God. Incredible - God says 'I know what you are like and I still want you.' What does he want us as - adoption as sons. The sons are the ones who have got the inheritance. When the bible speaks of our adoption it means he wants to share all he has with us.  He has invited us into that. John 17 - Jesus wanted his disciples to share in the glory we have shared in eternity past. He is keeping his end of the deal. I have stuff with you, I want to bring you into my family. God sends the Son. The Son came to redeem us from the curse of the law, to make us his Sons. Verse 6 "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Because God has accept you, adopted you, so that you share his resources God has sent another gift - the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Notice how much of the Trinity is involved in these verses. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts. He takes up his residence in God's people. He comes in and says 'right then what is wrong here?' Yes he does convict us of sin, commits to make us learn more of Jesus and show us how to be obedient. We see there is one more specific thing in this passage - we can cry Abba Father. That is who we truly are - children of God. Romans 8 verses 12 to 16 "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:"  I know I am God's. The only way of explaining it is - he has caused me to be here, to lead me to faith in Christ, to crying out for salvation. He was walked with me every step of the way. He is the one who brings the gospel to life. We can testify we are his. He is crying out through us about faith. It is a term of endearment. We are not just the toe rag kids. The Father wants to relate to him. We are precious to him, adored by him, loved. When you see a parent who loves a child there is something precious. When you see a child growing, that love affects them. The Holy Spirit wants you to know the Father. He loves you so much. You might be a rubbish Christians but the Father loves you. The love of a parent for their child and a child for their parent is hard to explain. The love comes into us to show us not merely a religious observance, us trying to be children of God in a messed up world - we struggle yes but the Spirit says 'cry out to the Father, he still loves you. That is who you are, not what you want to be, it is what you are.

Also notice what we are not. Galatians 4 verse 7 tells us we are no longer a slave but a son. Remember the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 verses 17 and 18 - "And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee," In that moment the Father models something so true to us. This son is saying 'I don't deserve to be your son, I don't have that privilege because I am just a mess, I don't expect you to treat me like you once did, I will go back to being a servant. Before he finishes his speech his father embraces him, puts a ring on his finger, shoes on his feet, a cloak on his back and tells the serv ants to kill the fatted calf and make a feast. I don't want you to get in in your mind that you go back to being a slave, no you are my son. I love you. I don't want you to get it into your mind that you will go back to slavery. No you are my son. I love you. This son tried to prove himself to his father but he is already given grace. If you are a Christian and you have messed up remember he still loves you. The way of grace is getting on your knees and accepting his love and mercy, accepting the status of sonship. Nothing changes that. I have been naughty but you still love me. God's love is about a Father sending his son to be our Saviour. He hasn't changed his mind. Don't rely on religion to impress Christ but cling to grace. We are still children, loved by the Father. Don't forget that. We are reminded who we truly are.

What is to come for God's people.  The son gets the inheritance. 1 Peter 1 verses 3 to 7 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" An inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and unfading. Our inheritance is in heaven ready to be revealed in the last day. Are you rejoicing in that fact? Not only forgiveness, made righteous, adopted into his family but you have an inheritance. That inheritance is eternal. It is mind blowing in its scope. That is what we should be living for. Revelation 21 verses 1 to 7 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Our inheritance is this - I will be his Son. Verse 8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:  which is the second death." If you are not in Christ it ends in the second death. If you don't want Jesus he will not force himself on you but eternally that is what you will get. The good news is that you can repent, you can receive security, righteousness, adoption and an inheritance. How? By crying out to him. Don't go out trying to prove anything to him. Let him prove himself to you. If you put your faith in him he will save you because that is what he does. That is grace. You cannot make him love you, he loves you any way. If you are a Christian just be grateful. Has your joy died down? Have you forsaken your first love? Have you forgotten how good this life is? This is how a good God really is.