The Good Samaritan - Work and Witness

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2021

LUKE 10 VERSES 25 – 37

WORK AND WITNESS

This message was given to a well respected lawyer, a defender of the word of God.  He would have been called upon when any argument arose over the rules and regulations of the Jewish faith.  Here he asks Jesus a question.  Only Luke records this incident.  Jesus had been speaking to a crowd when this well respected man got up and asked his question.  I’m sure everyone must have gasped when he spoke.  He question was “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus turned the question back to him and asked “what is written in the law?”  He knew the law inside out.  The real reason behind his question was to tempt Jesus (verse 25).  He wanted to trick Jesus. 

The situation – Jesus decided to tell a story.  A Jewish man was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell among thieves.  They took all he had, beat him and left him for dead.  2 religious men passed by this man and when they saw him they passed by on the other side of the road.  Then a Samaritan man comes down that dangerous road on his own.  He saw the man lying there and he stopped.  This whole story was based on a real life experience and Jesus used this to explain the outworking of salvation.  God’s gift of salvation is not of works.  Jesus was taking this lawyer back to the word of God – the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all your soul, with all your heart and with all your mind and to love our neighbours as ourselves.  How many times have you been in a similar situation alone and with no-one thinking of you … but listen … God knows!  The Samaritan had to make a dangerous decision – to stop or not?

The sympathy revealed.  Thieves and robbers could pounce at any time on this road.  Jesus points to 2 men, the priest and the Levite.  Surely they would have sympathy and compassion for this man. The third man, the Samaritan had sympathy though “and when he saw him he had compassion on him.”  He was a stranger.  The Samaritans were a mixed race and the Jews would have nothing to do with them.  Maybe the Samaritan recognised what this man was, something was distinctive about him.  The bible says he got down to where he was.  He never thought for one moment.  Such a challenge could come his way.  Here was a man maybe in a hurry, he had business ahead of him but he stopped.  He set it aside time to deal with the man.  There was a sympathy here that was real.  Remember Paul in Athens.  He watched the people coming and going and realised the whole city was given over to idolatry.  His spirit was stirred within him when he thought of the love and grace of God.  Paul said “I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise.”  God had done something for him and he needed to pass it on to others.

The support he rendered.  Verse 34 He didn’t leave him there, he didn’t pass by thinking someone else would come along and help him.  He drew alongside him, he poured in oil and wrapped up his wounds then set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn.  He didn’t worry that there might be others waiting to pounce on him on that same road.  Psalm 142 verse 4 “I looked on my right hand and beheld but there was no man that would know me, refuge failed me, no man cared for my soul.”  Are the unsaved looking at us today asking for help?

The steps that are required.  The Samaritan came down that road and stopped with the man.  He stepped over to where he was and his heart broke for this man.  He had great patience.  He took him to the nearest place for help.  He could do nothing more.  Peter and John in Acts 3 were going up to the temple to pray when they met a lame man at the gates.  Peter knew that look from the man – helpless and hopeless.  Peter and John had nothing to give this man but compassion of his heart.  God expects us to do what we can with what we have.  The boy with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes was prepared to give all he had to the disciples. He was only asked to give what he had in his hands.  God asks us to reach people today with what we have.

There is a service rewarded.  He was commended by the Lord.  Every detail is taken note of.  This lawyer is still standing waiting to hear what Jesus had to say.  Jesus asked him “who was a real neighbour to the Samaritan?  The priest, the Levite or the Samaritan?”  He couldn’t even bring himself to say the word Samaritan – “he that showed mercy on him.”  Jesus told him to go and do the same.  “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” (Matthew 10 verse 42)

Do you know Jesus?

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

DIRVE IN MISSION THURSDAY 10 JUNE 2021 MR DEAN CASKEY

JOHN 1 VERSES 1 – 12

Do you know Jesus?  This particular passage is one of introduction to John’s gospel.  He focuses on the central topic of his gospel.  As you go through his book you will find John always points back to Jesus.  In chapter 1 we read that great statement by John the Baptist himself “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”  In John 3 Nicodemus asked him “What must I do to be born again.”  He came in the darkness of night, a deeply religious man serving his people and his church yet he needed an answer to that question.  John 3 verse 16 is the most renowned verse in the scriptures.  We are often asked “do you know so and so?”  Maybe someone has asked that same question to you today.  Have you ever met Jesus?  You can gather every night of this mission and every Sunday at this church.  You may have been introduced to the person of Jesus but never have known the entire reason why he came into the world.  Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.  “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.  This great offer is extended to you tonight, to everyone that passes by.  You need to meet with Jesus.  The sad reality is the gospel message is preached here and the listener has the option whether to listen or reject it.  You are standing at a crossroads again this evening.  As you stand face to face with Christ, with the light of the world, the one that the lepers stood with, the one Pilate stoon in front of.

Consider with me the demonstration.  We read in verse 4 “in him was life and the life was the light of men.”  You will see 3 things – “in him” – the source of the demonstration.  That is where we have to come to today, not preachers, not open airs, not evangelism but through Christ’s salvation.  The substitution – “in him was life.”  Jesus is here to give us eternal life.  When we pass from this scene of time into eternity you will not plead how many meetings you attended, how good you were in this life but rather what you did with Christ.  The solution – “and the life was the light of men.”  When do we need a light?  In the darkness, to be able to show us the way.  The world is diluted into what is truth.  When the light came into the world the light was shining.  It didn’t fail to do its job.  It was able to do everything it was meant to do.  Verse 5 “the darkness comprehended it not”.  What does it mean to understand? The darkness didn’t understand what light was all about.  I trust you understand where you are going tonight.  Do you know Jesus?  If we are still unsaved and still in darkness of sin this evening and the light is still shining then the delusion of the devil is keeping you bound in sin one day longer and one day closer to eternity.  Comprehend also means to find - “and the darkness could not find it.”  How do we find our way?  You could use a map.  John 14 “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  You could also use a light – “I am the light of the world.”  You could also ask someone – “ask and it shall be given to you, seek and ye shall find.”  Comprehend also means to possess the light – why – because the darkness would be taken away and everything would be light.  It is time to leave the darkness behind, to turn to the light of Jesus Christ.

In verse 10 we have the deception.  When someone is close to salvation in steps the deception of the enemy.  “He was in the world and the world was made by him … and the world knew him not.”  You are being deceived this evening by the ruler of this world.  Revelation 12 the desire of Satan the enemy of God is to destroy, to deceive the whole world.  That includes you.  Everyone listening to this message. The sole ambition of the enemy is to deceive that soul of yours.  How does he deceive you?  Telling you that you still have time, you are alright as you are, that this is not for you but others.  “Jesus was in the world and the world knew him not.”  Do you know who Jesus is?  Are you aware of your need tonight?  Are you aware of Jesus?  To know is to be sure of something.  It means you are hesitant, you are very close to taking that step but is something holding you back?  If you make plans for a holiday you would read different reviews or read all the itinerary.  Maybe there is a doubt going through your mind, maybe you are wondering “should I or should I not?”  A little bit hesitant.  That is what is meant here.  The great ploy of the devil is to deceive those close to accepting Jesus’ salvation.  God has promised to be with us every step of the way.  Do you know Jesus?

The dismissal – “he came unto his own and his own received him not.”  Jesus came into the world and the world knew him not.  A straight refusal.  What situation are you in today?  Why would you ignore the warning today?  As Noah built the ark he warned the people of the judgment that was coming.  They just didn’t want to listen to him.  Think of the thief on the cross – he didn’t want to listen.  You can be deluded, deceived, don’t want to listen.  They were told they had to come to Christ for forgiveness of sins, that they had to trust him as their personal Saviour and Lord.  Does that describe you?  How would you answer the question “do you know Jesus?”  Time is running out in our lives.  What are your plans for salvation?  What is your plan for getting to know the Saviour of the world? Would you say “later” or “soon” or will you say “I am going to do it now”?

The great desire of Jesus – “but as many as received him to them he gave the power to become sons of God even to them that believeth on his name.”  Jesus had the power to lift souls from darkness to life, to make them become sons of God.  Maybe you have started to come.  You can become a son or daughter of God’s through the blood of Christ.  John introduced Jesus to the world.  He knew the power Jesus had to lift the sinner from the broad road, to put him on the narrow way and that he had the power to keep him there.  Will you become a son or daughter of Christ for the glory of God today?

A Night in Jail with Peter

 

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 11 APRIL 2010

ACTS 12 VERSES 1 – 11

A NIGHT IN JAIL WITH PETER

This was the time of the Jewish Passover, a time commemorating the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. They were in bondage, enslaved by Egyptian Pharaoh.  God would deliver them from Egypt.  The plagues were sent on Egypt but Pharaoh would not let them go.  The last plague was when the lamb was killed and the blood of the lamb was painted on the door posts and lintels.  Everyone behind the lamb’s blood was passed over.  The children of Israel were looking back to the night in Egypt but looking forward to the cross of Christ, the Son of God sent into the world, sent to be the lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.  He was put to death for the sins of the world.  When the blood of Jesus is applied to our lives we are safe from judgment still to come.  The judgment has passed. The Lord has taken it on himself.  He died to atone for our sins.

The position that had arisen.  The church was under attack.  It began under the rule of Herod.  The devil would use him to attack the church.  He had already arrested James, a pillar in the church of Christ.  The bible says Herod put him to death by the sword.  He was beheaded. Herod was a very egotistical man, thought highly of himself.  He loved the power and control he had.  He was only content when men looked up to him and praised him.  Verse 3 “and because he (Herod) saw that it pleased the Jews.”  Everything he did was to glorify himself.  When he saw how well it pleased the religious leaders on that particular occasion he thought if he arrested Peter he would climb that ladder even higher.  Satan would use Herod to come against the church.  Satan hasn’t changed his tactics today.  Herod then sent out the soldiers to arrest Peter.  The devil was trying to suppress the church of Christ.  We are not ignorant of his devices.  Paul said writing to the church of Ephesus “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities.” Here was Peter in the prison house.  Sometimes the devil uses people against us to bring discouragement, to dishearten you.  It may be someone you are looking at but behind the scenes it is the devil himself.  Maybe your family member.  He or she doesn’t mean any harm but they are discouraging you today.  The devil is trying to use them to bring the people down.  We wrestle not against flesh and blood today.  The devil uses the tactics to change them.  Acts 4 verse 5 Peter was arrested.  The apostles were beaten.  Warned not to preach in that name.  In Acts 6 there were murmurings against the church.  People felt the money had not been spent correctly and others were missing out.  In chapter 7 we read of the arrest of Stephen.

The prominence Peter had.  After James’ death Peter was next on the list.  The devil was changing tactics again.  When Herod saw it pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter.  What does the devil think of you and your testimony today?  Think of Stephen in Acts 6 verse 8 – here was a man full of faith and a powerful man who did many wonders and miracles in the midst of the people.  He bore a testimony.  He stood for God.  Will the devil seek to bring you down?  John was banished to the island of Patmos, there because he preached the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.  He was arrested for his preaching, for the stance he took.  Peter was a fisherman accused of turning the world upside down.  The devil had him in his sights.  In his target.  He was accused of filling Jerusalem with the doctrine of God.  What a testimony he bore.  Is it any wonder the devil wanted him brought down?  On the day of Pentecost he was the one who preached.  People looking on said everyone was drunk but Peter stood up to their defence.  I am sure the devil took stock of it all.  Are we standing up for the word of God today?  To the saving grace of God in these days?  As we take our stand for God in the home and among our neighbours, in the church?  1 Peter 4 verse 16 “if ye suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God on his behalf.”

The privilege Peter had.  He had been arrested out of the streets of Jerusalem.  He lost his liberty and freedom.  It is hard to imagine what privileges he might had had as he was guarded around the clock.  Notice verse 5 “but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.”  He had a praying body behind him.  They were ready to devote their lives to God.  Peter had a people who would take him to their hearts, bring it before the God of heaven to pray for him, to seek God on his behalf.  Peter was kept in prison but prayer was made for him.  A group of people saw the predicament, felt the pain, could do nothing but pray.  For each of us there is no greater thing that we can do for anyone but get on our knees and pray, to seek God for a miracle in individual lives.  C H Spurgeon called prayer the heating system of the church.  These people “prayed without ceasing” night and day.  It was their one priority.  Romans 1 verse 9 “without ceasing I make mention of you in my prayers.”  Philippians 1 verse 4 “always and in every prayer of mine making mention of you in joy.”  Paul in Ephesians urged the believers to pray for one another and for him also.  Paul knew he needed prayer support.  Be sure you pray for on another in this battle – “that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.”

Casting all our cares upon the Lord

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 3 OCTOBER 2021

MARK 4 VERSES 35 - 41

The reality of why I wnt to turn to this passage is because of the situation we find ourselves in after 18 months.  These have been difficult for everyone.  We have never known such a situation before.  Pastors and elders have had to deal with situations never had to face before.  In this passage I see men who have reached a difficult place.  We could so easily be swamped with the cares of this world.  1 Peter 5 verse 7 "casting all your care upon the Lord for he careth for you."  It is your personal care Peter is talking about.  Any care we have.  Anything that distracts our minds away from the God of heaven.  Take the seed falling among the thorns.  The seed is choked by thorns.  So too we can get so caught up with the things of this world.  Mark 4 verse 19.

There is the despair that is displayed - verse 38.  They had got to the end of themselves.  They thought the Lord didn't care about them.  Verse 36 "and there were also with him other little ships."  Concern not only for themselves but for the others in these other boats.  It is good to have a concern for others.  There are others with great worries going out into a lost Christless hell today.  It is good to have a concern for such people.  It is good to bring them before the Lord.  "Carest thou not that we perish?"  In verse 37 we see the little word "great" which indicates it was something loud and frightening.  They were experienced fishermen, well used to the sea, the waves were beating against their boat but this must have been something different.  Maybe the noise and the darkness made them think they would perish.  Such was the despair on them.  The disciples get into the boat.  Jesus had preached earlier about the sower sowing his seed.  Here's the reality of it all.  Now they had so many concerns.  Now everything the Lord had preached just seemed as if came true.  They only cared for themselves.  How many are at this despairing point?  It must be awful to sit today not knowing whether you have a job tomorrow or behind a closed door knowing that all the utility bills are rising and winter is coming with children to feed and not be saved.  What a tragedy.  Think of Peter on one occasion in Mark chapter 1.  His wife's mother was sick and he was so very anxious about her.  What did Peter do?  He spoke to Jesus about her.  He brings him into the equation.  If you have a problem today let the Lord come right in, really bring him into the situation.  Remember Jairus who one morning saw his daughter lying in her bed at the point of death.  He was so concerned and anxious.  Amazing how quickly things had changed.  The disciples had been listening intently to Jesus preaching and at the end of the day Jesus told them to get into a boat and go across the sea.  Jesus goes and puts his head down and sleeps.  The disciples started out on their journey and everything was alright, not a ripple on the waves.  Then all of a sudden a storm arose.  There are many families just like Jairus today - left without a loved one, a chair that is vacant, a voice that is no longer heard.  The virus has taken loved ones away.  Some cannot even visit loved ones in hospitals, they are left waiting on the end of a telephone.

The doubts that developed.  The disciples started to question if Jesus cared for them  Some times that is what happens - we are sure and confident the Lord has brought us into a situation but then as it develops we wonder if the Lord has left us.  Remember when Jesus taught the people on the hillside and it came to the end of the day.  Jesus turned to his disciples and told them to feed the 5000 that had gathered.  The Lord doesn't bring us into any situation where he cannot keep us.  Remember Elisha's servant who one day went outside and saw the enemy surrounding the house.  It must have been frightening for him.  Elisha prayed to God and asked for each to be struck with blindness and they were - 2 Kings 6 verse 18.  Remember Gideon when the angel appeared to him in the winepress in Judges 6 verse 13 "Oh my Lord if the Lord be with us why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."  Remember the sower sowing the seed. Some seed fell onto hard ground.  Jesus said this seed was like when the preacher preaches the word of God and men receive it but the devil soon comes and takes it away.  We can see that happening in our churches today.  Some make a profession for a while but something happens and they don't last.  Some seed fell on thorns which represents those who are filled with the cares of the world.  These cares take the seed and choke it.  Isn't that what happens too?  Gideon should have known the Lord was with him.  We can be so caught up with family problems, sicknesses and death that we miss the presence of God.  Paul proved God.  He prayed for his thorn in the flesh but God said no "my grace is sufficient for thee."

The decision that was demanded.  What are we going to do about this they asked.  What do we do with our cares and problems?  When Hezekiah heard and saw the Assyrian forces coming to invade his land he got before the Lord and left it with him.  He saw the Lord move in a mighty way (2 Kings 19 verses 14 to 19).  The disciples were questioning whether the Lord cared for them and they made a decision to go to him, to wake him from his sleep and make him aware of the situation.

The delivery that is described.  Just with the power of his word he stood up and spoke to the wind and the waves.  They had called him into their situation.  Is anything too hard for the Lord?  Once that turmoil in their lives was presented to Jesus he took control of the situation.  Some times it is like that - we feel as though things are out of control, everything just seems to be getting on top of us.  We need to learn that we can cast all our cares upon the Lord for he cares for us.  The storm fell flat and they were safe.

What happens when we don't see the Lord deliver us in a situation?  Paul prayed 3 times for that thorn in his flesh to be removed.  It could have been 3 times or 300 times or 3000 times.  The Lord told him he wasn't taking it away.  The Lord could have done it but decided not to.  Instead he wanted Paul to prove the Lord every day.  We have to realise that that is what God wants us to do.  Whatever the situation is today bring it to he Lord, really bring him into it, trust him to deliver us out of it.

The secrecy, the suddenness and the separation at the Lord's return

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2021

1 CORINTHIANS 15 VERSES 51 - 58

What will it mean for multitudes today if the Lord returns?  For those saved, they will be taken into glory to stand at the judgement seat and receive rewards for the efforts made in this life.  For those not saved they will face such terrible times of tribulation.  Those unsaved will be left behind.  What will happen to them?  A terrible time when the antichrist and the false prophet will appear, when people will have to take the mark of the beast.  Then an eternity that will never end in a Christless hell.  What a tragedy.  This great subject is not to fill our hearts with gloom and fear but with a joy that the Lord is coming again to take us from this scene of time, to take us into the splendours of heaven. God is in control today.  God will define the finish of this world.

The secrecy of the Lord's return.  In verse 51 we read of a resurrection body and the certainty of it.  "I show you a mystery."  These bodies are not suited for heaven but rather just for this life.  They are prone to sickness, difficulties and diseases, injuries, decay and rot that cannot enter into heaven.  Something must take place when the Lord descends from heaven to take us home.  There must be a change at that moment in time.  The body that is taken to the grave is corrupted.  It decays away.  When the body dies the soul must depart from it.  But it will be reunited one day when Christ comes to raise them again to heaven but it has to be changed to a body that does not corrupt.  This will happen suddently, in a moment.  Paul says it is a mystery.  "We shall not all sleep".  Death is referred to as sleeping.  1Thessalonians 4 verse 13 speaking of those who are asleep as a metaphor for those who are dead.  We will not all go through the shadow of the valley of death.  We could be still alive when Christ comes.  Paul was accused of trying to put a time on Christ's return but he really was trying to say that there would be a generation in the future who will not actually die. They will be alive when Christ comes.  A mystery is something that cannot be found out by man's ability.  Those of us alive and remain in a moment we are going to be changed that we might have a body for heaven.  Before we go we need to be changed. The Lord himself spoke of 2 going out into the field one morning to work then suddenly Jesus appears and the one is taken and the other is left. That is how sudden it will be.  No time for preparation, to get ready to be saved.  Once he appears this transaction happens, all in the blink of an eye.  Murray McSheyne when asked to do a series of meetings on prophetic ministry asked the elders "do you think the Lord could come tonight?"  One by one all gave their answers and the reason for believing such.  He turned to Luke 12 verse 40 "be ye ready for the Son of Man cometh in an hour when ye think not."

The suddenness of the Lord's return.  In 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9 we read "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.  Wherefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also ye do."  Jesus himself taught about his coming again using 2 Old Testament characters - Noah and Lot.  Noah was tasked with the building of the ark.  The people lacked interest and concern.  The same day God called Noah into the ark all the fountains of the great deep opened and the windows of heaven too.  The world was destroyed.  Then God speaks of Lot in Sodom.  Sin had reached its peak but God sent his messengers to warn Lot.  God sent his angels to see if it was true what he had heard.  Lot was there with his family.  Lot's family mocked him because he had no testimony.  The day Lot left judgment fell.  Lot needed to be virtually pulled out of Sodom.  Jesus said "as it was in the days of Noah so shall it also be in the days of the Son of Man."  

The separation at the Lord's return.   It is a secret on when it will happen.  We do know it will be sudden. Notice the separation - Luke 17 verse 34 Jesus says "I tell you in that night there shall be 2 men in one bed, one will be taken and the other left."  This little phrase shows the separation that takes place.  One taken the other left.  The saved and the unsaved.  One is ready, is prepared.  A father and mother taken and the children left.  Or children taken and mother and father left.  Such is the separation of this particular day.  Are you ready?  Jesus said "be ye also ready".  Jesus spoke of 10 virgins, 5 were wise and had lamps and oil, ready and waiting on the bridegroom.  5 were foolish, had no oil, were not ready.  At midnight the shout went up.  The suddenness of his coming.  The foolish were caught up because they couldn't buy or borrow the oil they needed.  When Christ comes if you are not saved, not trusting in Christ you will not be ready.  A little of Christ will not suffice.  It is all or nothing on that day.  W P Nicolson said on the rapture "when it happens multitudes will be caught up in the air to meet the Lord but multitudes will be caught out because they haven't the preparation."

 

The signs of Jesus' coming again

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2021

2 TIMOTHY 3 VERSES 1 - 17

We have been looking at the Lord's return and in particular the antichrist, false prophet and the time of the great tribulation.  The church in Thessalonica thought the Lord had returned and they had missed his coming and now were living through the tribulation.  Paul writes to assure them that the Lord had not come again and they were not living through the tribulation.  1 Thessalonians 5 verses 1 and 2 then verse 9.  Paul said God hasn't destined you for that, he has not appointed you for wrath but for salvation.  The signs of his coming.  Signs are recorded for when the Lord will return to this earth but they cast very long shadows that come back to what we see even today.  We could be looking to the signs and forget about the Lord's coming.  The signs are there to warn us on the road.  We watch for signs in our mind but we want our hearts to be on the appearing of the Lord, that great and blessed hope.  The signs are broken up to 3 little thoughts - the stately sign, the social sign and the secular sign.

First the stately sign - God has a future for Israel.  He will take up this nation again and work through them.  Doctor Hyman Appelman was a great bible teacher.  He trained and practised as a solicitor until he was saved at the age of 28 years.  He felt called into the preaching of the word of God and winning souls.  He was a prolific writer having written 40 books.  He said "keep 1 eye on heaven and the other eye on the Jew."  One day Jesus is coming.  God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees.  He had in mind to make of him a great nation.  He called one man from a place where they worshipped false gods.  God had to bring him out of that place.  There is still that separation called for today - "come out from among them and be ye separate." (2 Corinthians 6 verse 17)  God separates us from the world and everything else.  He promised Abraham he would have a family.  That his seed would be as the sand on the sea shore and the stars in the heavens.  He was not only going to give him a family but a land.  God separated this nation and land to bring them into it and planted them there.  This nation would be taken down into Egypt.  He would make a mighty people of them.  The furnace where he would make his creation.  There was a famine in the land.  There arose another king in Egypt who didn't known anything about Joseph.  All the king could see was this multitude of people.  They began to grow in number  Pharoah tried everything possible to keep this people at bay.  He feared they would become mighty one day and overtake his world empire.  He tried everything in his power to keep them from multiplying.  He couldn't do it.  He gave them hard taskmasters and they worked as slaves.  When all else failed he began to kill off all the children.  God was working in the background, working out his great plan and purpose in the raising up of Moses.  God's timing is perfect.  There is something we need to be careful about today.  We don't know what God is doing behind the scenes.  During this pandemic we couldn't see the unseen purpose of God, the purpose he has for your life and mine.  Moses was in the plan of God to deliver Israel.  He tried to do it off his own strength.  He failed.  There is so much through the internet of doom and gloom.  On facebook today we see pastors of churches are very low, deflated, sinking under the devils hand.  The congregation is sinking away.  Who knows God could be preparing a mighty Holy Ghost revival.  That shows that we need to be careful.  The heart of God that brought this nation of Israel out of Egypt, through these difficult days.  "I have seen their afflictions and heard their cries."  God was watching and keeping his eye on the whole situation.  He provided a means of redemption.  God brought them through the wilderness, across the Jordan river and planted them in the land of Canaan.  God was fulfilling his plan and purpose.  What did Jesus say about his church to Peter "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."  The devil may attack us but God is ultimately in control.  The people of Israel rebelled against God in the land of Canaan.  He allowed Nebuchadnezzar to come and take the people into captivity for 70 years.  God brought them into their own land again then they rebelled again.  In AD70 the Roman armies invaded and Israel lost her stately position.  She suffered at the hands of their conquerors.  In 1948 something happened - Israel was recognised again as a nation.  Jesus in his teaching of his return said in Matthew 24 verse 32 "Now learn a parable of the fig tree.  When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves ye know that summer is nigh." Jesus' return is imminent.  In verse 33 we read "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things know that it is near, even at the doors." Israel will be planted in its own land and become a nation again.  Under much ridicule and slander yes but it is there and wll remain there.  Israel will be the centre of all activities in the Middle East one day.  Israel is being formed, brought back from every land.  Remember how in the prophecy of Jeremiah God promised that return of his people but not just the return of his people from Egypt, there will come a day when I will bring them from the north, east, south and west.  Planted in their own land.

Social sign.  2 Timothy 3 verse 1 "in the last days"  When Jesus spoke about the products of society he said in Luke 17 verse 27 "And as it was in the days of Noe so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man."  Life was going on as normal and then the flood came  People were building and working, marrying but had no thought for God.  "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planned, they builded."  Are we not doing the same today?  In 2 Timothy 3 verse 2 "for men shall be lovers of their own selves."  In recent days we have heard it said "anything that makes me happy, joyful, God has no right to keep that from me.  I want the best out of life, the most out of life."  We cannot set God to one side to achieve what we want out of life.  Verse 4 "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God."  Man thinks more of himself.  Many today are saying "the restrictions today are keeping people from enjoying life, man has the right to go out and enjoy himself."  That is what we see in society today.

Secular sign.  Man is becoming more secular in his living and thoughts.  Man doesn't want anything to do with religion.  What a list is found here in 2 Timothy 3.  There is a hunger for rights to be upheld today.  We read in God's word that "nation shall rise against nation", that there will be "wars and rumours of wars".  There will be famines as a result of wars and we will also get pestilences.  There are many things to show us that God is coming again soon.  Man is becoming more secular.  God's house doesn't have the same appeal to people today.  Nehemiah asked the question in chapter 13 verse 11 "why is the house of God forsaken."  He found that the people of God were not worshipping in God's house.  There were different reasons for that.  The people had stopped their tithing so the Levites were not cared for as a result.  Then Nehemiah saw the very enemy Tobiah had set up his room in the house of God, that the people were coming into the city and trading on the Sabbath day.  They were moving in a secular situation. In 1 Timothy 4 verse 5 we see demonic controls are in control.  People departing from the faith, marriage is changed in our secular culture, same sex marriage in contradiction of the word of God, people don't want the bible to tell them what to do.  1 Timothy 3 verse 3 "without natural affection".  We see today that the baby in the womb can be killed.  In Jeremiah when he told the people God would come in judgment, that God had turned his back on them, the people rose up against him and told him to stop prophesying.  Thy wanted to be told something that would not upset them.  2 Timothy 4 verse 3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." The secular church, the fun loving church, the entertaining church - that is what people are asking for today.  People don't want to hear about sin, the cross, heaven and hell.  They want something that is more pleasant to the ear.  Look at verse  5 of chapter 3 "having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof."  Yes they will come into church, they will sing hymns, pray and read from the scriptures but that will be all.  The secular church is here today.  We need instead to be saved by God's grace and waiting for the second coming of the Lord.

The coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ

LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2021

1 THESSALONIANS 4 VERSES 13 - 18

The next great event that will take place in this world is the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ.  In recent weeks we have looked at the antichrist and the mark of the beast.  Today we want to think of the coming of the Lord to take home the church - the subject of his coming.

We could look at the signs of his coming, the secrecy of his coming (I show you a mystery), the suddenness of his coming (in a moment in the twinkling of an eye), the severity of his coming and the great separation when Christ comes (those who are born again, saved by God's grace, the bride of Christ will be taken to be with Christ for ever).

The subject of his coming.  The apostle Paul addresses the group of believers in Thessalonica.  The Lord will come again and we which are alive will rise to meet him in the air.  There will be a shout and those who have died and are buried will be taken up out of the grave.  They will be reunited with their souls, then for those who remain they will be caught up in the air.  It will all happen in the twinkling of an eye.  Our bodies will not be ready for heaven so have to be changed.  That is the first appearing of the Lord but there is another appearing and it will be after the tribulation period.  Jesus is coming again to the earth to deal with the antiChrist and the false prophet.  All the armies of the world who are in allegiance will also be dealt with.  He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Zechariah the prophet said that he will set his feet on the Mount of Olives.  This is a subject dear to the apostles heart.  A subject he taught on many occasions.  2 Thessalonians 2 verse 5 the thought behind the word "told" is one of keeping on telling them, going back to it again and again.  He spoke of it some 5 times in this book.  Chapter 1 verse 10.  When we were saved there has to be a turning away, repentence.  When Joseph was told the name for the child Jesus it was explained to him that he "would save his people from their sins."  Not being saved in sins but from sins.  We look at the life we have been living and trusting in him we turn from that life.  In 1 Thessalonians the believers did that under terrible persecution and threats.  Paul when he preached the word to them said they received it in much trial and affliction.  What have I turned from today?  What have I shunned in getting saved?  Idols can be anything.  An idol can be a way of life - are we prepared to turn from it?  A friendship - will we give it up to take the Lord?  An idol can be a religion or a church building.  The Lord's table can become an idol.  There are things we need to be careful of - are we putting them in front of the Lord?  A profession yes but is there repentance?  A turning our back on those things, trusting God wholeheartedly.  They turned from idols to serve the living God.  Out and out for God, telling others what they have received.  Chapter 1 verse 10 "and to wait for his Son."  Paul had taught this time and again.  A tremendous doctrine. The fundamentals of our faith.  Saved by grace.  When Jesus died on Calvary he was saving us from our sins.  There is the blessed hope that one day he will come to take me home.  The believers had a clear knowledge and understanding of what was taking place.  1 Thessalonians 2 verse 19, 1 Thessalonians 4 verses 13 and 15 and 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 23 - 25 mentions of the Lord's coming again.  The people in this church were going through a time of heavy persecution.  They thought they had missed out on the coming again of the Lord.  They thought they were now entering into the period of tribulation.  2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3. This little church were so anxious, they thought they had entered into the tribulation period, that the Lord had already come back and they were left behind.  Paul says that is not the situation.  The phrase "day of Christ" means the coming of the Lord to the air.  The Tribulation will be a period when God pours out his wrath on a Christ rejecting world.  When Christ comes the church will go home.  God will begin to pour out his wrath on a Christ rejecting world at that moment.  Those who are not saved will be left behind.  This church felt they were left behind.  God was pouring out his wrath now.  No Paul says.  2 Thessalonians 2 verse 1 this day begins when the Lord takes the church home.  He brings them right back to this event.

This is a subject of tremendous attack.  Paul realised that in this church the devil was telling them God had forgotten them.  These believers were waiting on the Lord's return.  Paul addresses this subject, not stirring up emotions and interest to satisfy their curiosity.  It is a doctrine and an important one.  Whenever we begin to think of the Lord coming again it should make us live in the light of his coming.  Imagine if the Lord was to come this very day where would he find us?  What would he find us doing?  Peter dealing with the Lord's return said "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise ... But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2 Peter 3 verses 9 and 10)  Peter goes on to say "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of person ought ye to be in all holy  conversation and godliness.  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God."  Like the Thessalonians we need to be living in the light of the Lord's return.  In 1 Thessalonians 1 verses 6 and 7 we see that the church in Thessalonica were "ensamples to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia."  They were telling everyone they met about the Lord Jesus  There are those we need to tell, to warn them, in our family circle.  We need to be living and telling others, our loved ones, our families.  Imagine if the Lord returned today?  What about our families?  In our prayer times we should be praying and pleading for our families today.  We should also be living blameless lives.  1 Thessalonians 4 verses 11 and 12.  Satan comes in many forms.  For the people in Thessalonica there were people who came into the church to take them away from their faith.   In the Garden of Eden Satan came in subtlety.  Peter talks about him coming in like a roaring lion.  Paul talks about putting on the whole armour of God to be able to withstand his attacks.  How does Satan attack this little church - 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 2.  Maybe someone had come into the fellowship "by spirit" - someone in the fellowship had a dream or a vision that this church was going through the tribulation period, that they had all missed out on the coming of the Lord.  John tells us not to believe every spirit but to test them.  2 Corinthians 11 verses 4 and 5 - who is being talked about here?  Preachers in the pulpits.  Look at verses 13 to 15.  People coming with another gospel.  Paul is talking about the pulpit.  Satan has his followers to discourage, to bring in despair.  We think the greatest harm today is in the clubs, pubs and drug scenes but really the greatest danger to the church is in the pulpit.  Paul is warning everyone to watch out who they listen to.  As it was in his day so it is more in our day - we are being deceived today.