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Thursday, 30 July 2009

You are plugged into God’s Purpose and Plan…

Romans 8:26-30

When I was a little boy, I was much like other little boys; there were certain things that made me afraid. When my mom placed me in my room at night, I was sure that there monsters in the closet… I would draw my sheets so tight about me that I was compassed to one half my body size…. I would lie in bed and my eyes would dart around the room as I waited for that invisible and scary monster to come and take me away… During that time, I remember a recurring dream of someone chasing me. I was running but in slow motion. Something or someone was right behind me and it was obvious that they were going to catch me. I was in slow motion, they were flying. I would wake up breathing heavy, heart racing, scared to death! But I am sure that no one else in the world ever had dreams like me…

But over the course of time, I grew out of those fears. By my teen years I wasn’t afraid of some monster, at least most of the time. I was more afraid of what my peers thought of me. I was afraid they wouldn’t accept me. The more I think about it, the more I realize that throughout life, the things you fear shifts. While your nightmares as a child are about monsters and things that fly or crawl at night, as a person in mid-40s it might be that you will have lived your whole life and never accomplish what you had hoped as an idealistic twenty-something. In your 70s you are thinking about who will take care of you when you can’t take care of yourself. What is it that you are afraid of in the stage of your life you are in right now?

Honestly, there is a whole lot of fear beneath what Paul writes in Romans chapter 8. Now understand what I mean by that. Paul is addressing the fears of his Christian readers. He is saying "There is good news for those who are Christians!" He tells us we don’t have to be afraid of God’s wrath, because "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." He has comforted us by telling us about the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to be afraid of wandering aimlessly through life, you have a friend and guide. You don’t have to live hopelessly because in Christ you always have hope. And in verses 26-30 he wants us to recognize that if we are in Christ, we are plugged into God’s purpose. Paul challenges us to not be cowards, but to live life with boldness, confident that God has a destiny for us, and assured that He is working to direct us toward His ultimate purpose for our life.

Now I realize that this passage is deep water theologically. There are a lot of pretty heavy words and concepts in these verses (I am sure that Michael would have no problem figuring them out). And honestly it would be easy to get pulled under by the weight of the many unanswered theological questions. But if that happens, we’ve missed Paul’s point. This passage was written to serve as a lifejacket, a few words of assurance to carry us through the times when the swirling torrents of life threaten to drag us down. Out of these verses this morning we need to notice four reasons that Paul tells us not to be afraid.

1. You Are Not On Your Own.

Honestly, when I look back at the prayers I have lifted up in my past, often they were pretty lame. I asked for things that honestly it would have been bad if I had gotten them. They seemed important to me at the time. I had relatively pure motives in asking for them. But because I am human, limited in my capacity to know the future, or even much about the present, my prayers were faulty. I thank God He hasn’t always given me what I wanted.
But Paul says that we don’t have to be afraid to pray. We don’t have to fear that God is going to mess up and give us something we shouldn’t have. The Holy Spirit, God Himself who takes up residence in our life, is interceding on our behalf before the throne of God. Our prayers are not subject to our own limitations.

In Chicago there is a father/son athletic team who regularly compete in the Iron Man Triathlon. It is a grueling event involving swimming two miles on open sea, biking 100 miles, and then running a 26 mile marathon. It takes incredible conditioning just to compete in this event. And Ricky Hoyt has finished the competition several times even though he is totally, physically disabled. That’s right, he can’t run, he can’t swim, and he could never think about pedaling a bike. But he finishes the course because his father, Jack Hoyt carries him through the course. Jack swims the 2 miles pulling a boat. He bikes 100 miles carrying his child. He runs the 26 miles pulling a specially made cart.

You know, on our own we are all a whole lot like Ricky Hoyt. There’s no way we could make it through the grueling rigors of life anywhere near where we should be on our own. But Paul says you don’t have to be afraid of that. You are not alone. The Holy Spirit is regularly lifting your prayers before the Father, and interceding on your behalf so that your prayers remain in accordance with God’s Will.

2. You Are Loved Unconditionally By The One Who Is With You.

The idea that you are not alone is not necessarily a comforting thought. Laying in my bedroom as a little boy, the thought that I wasn’t alone scared me to death. But really what was scaring me was that I was afraid that those monsters didn’t have my best interest in mind. They wanted to eat me! So when my fear overtook me, I sought the companion of someone who I knew had my best interest at heart. I ran to my mother or step-father.

Now the fact of the matter is, there are a whole lot of people who are not so sure they are comforted by the fact that God is always with them. It is typical at some point in life to wonder if God always has our best interest at heart. That is often the way we think when we choose to disobey God. We think that God is trying to hold out on us. Or when we go through hardship we wonder if He hasn’t forgotten about us. Surely if God was with us, He wouldn’t let us go through such difficulty and pain!

From Paul’s perspective, that’s the wrong way to look at it. By faith, Paul says "we know" that God always has our best interest at heart, and He is always working to bring about good in our lives. Read verse 28, (yes that means you need your Bible…) that verse has been an anchor for generations of Christians who have struggled through hardship and trials. It doesn’t say that everything that happens is good. But it does say that no matter what does happen, good, bad or indifferent, God can and will use it for our good, if we allow Him. Notice the truth of this promise. Not all things work out for the good for all people. But for those who love God, and have been called according to His purpose, even the worst of times can bring good in their life.

I wish I could share with you the many people who throughout the years have seen the truth of this passage, but my entry would go on and on and on and on…. We would find Christian people whose pain produced perseverance. We would find those who endured hardship and came to have a depth to their faith that they would never have known if life had been smooth sailing. There are even in the cycle of life that you inhabit tremendous testimonies for the truth of this verse. What it all boils down to is this: God loves you too much to let you suffer without purpose. So the God who is completely sovereign over everything takes the difficulties of this life and works them for good in our lives. That unconditional love of God carries us to the next verse, which I will share for you shortly…

Blessings and Peace to all of you, my love for you grows as I grow older and older in Christ. I pray the Lord’s blessings for you and hope that you will rest in the arms of Abba Father who loves you beyond your wildest dreams… I pray that you will step into your destiny and find your peanut (sweetspot) and truly find the joy of God’s plan for your life… I am so grateful that the Lord brought me here to Pastor this church and to live life with you… Each one of you has in one way or another eternally impacted my life and has left an indelible fingerprint within my soul.

Love you with all my heart… Pastor

Thursday, 26 February 2009

Our Life is but a vapor!

There is a time to be born and a time to die a time to plant and a time to uproot. “For what is your Life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes anyway. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” James 4:14-15.

Some of us remember the famous song, “Turn, Turn, Turn (to everything there is a season) by the Byrds…”

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!

“For what is your Life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes anyway. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” James 4:14-15.

Sin of presumption – There never was a saint yet that grew proud of his fine feathers, but what the Lord plucked them out by and by; there never yet was an angel that had pride in his heart, but he lost his wings, and fell into Gehenna, as Satan and those fallen angels did; and there. shall never be a saint who indulges self-conceit and pride and self-confidence, but the Lord will spoil his glories, and trample his honors in the mire, and make him cry out yet again, "Lord, have mercy upon me," less than the least of all saints, and the" very chief-of-sinners."

The story is told of a family that moved into a new community. Two elders and the pastor of a nearby church who cordially invited them to attend the services on the Lord’s Day promptly visited them. The man assured them that he would come just as soon as he was straightened out. Several months passed, and he still had not put in an appearance, so the minister called again and repeated his invitation. However, he received the same reply. The fellow had not yet gotten everything straightened out, but he'd be there just as soon as he did. A few weeks later he died, and his widow asked to have the funeral services in the church. The preacher graciously agreed. It was indeed a sad affair. Later when a member of the congregation asked the pastor if the man was a Christian, he answered, "He never attended services here, and no one can recall ever hearing him give a testimony of his faith in Christ, so I can't say. I only know he was a man of his word. He promised to come to church just as soon as he got straightened out -- and he did!"

How to Be Perfectly Miserable. In addition, it goes on to list a few things you can do that will not only make you perfectly miserable but also keep you that way. Think about yourself. Talk about yourself. Use the personal pronoun "I" as often as possible in your conversation. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others. Listen greedily to what people say about you. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement with your own views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them. Never forget a service you may have rendered. Expect to be appreciated. Be suspicious. Be sensitive to slights. Be jealous and envious. Never forget a criticism. Trust nobody but yourself.

Let us remember the ten Lepers in Luke 17 who were healed by the Lord but only one went back and thanked the Lord. It thrust proud Nebuchadnezzar out of men's society, proud Saul out of his kingdom, proud Adam out of paradise, proud Haman out of court, proud Lucifer out of heaven.

He brushed his teeth TWICE a day -- with nationally advertised toothpaste. The doctors examined him twice a year. He slept with the windows open. He stuck to a diet with plenty of fresh vegetables. He relinquished his tonsils and traded in several worn-out glands. He golfed -- but never more than 18 holes at a time. He got at least eight hours' sleep every night. He never smoked, drank or lost his temper. He did his "daily dozen" daily. He was all set to live to be a hundred. The funeral will be held Wednesday. Eight specialists, three health institutions, two gymnasiums and numerous manufacturers of health foods and antiseptics survive him. He forgot God.

“For what is your Life, It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes anyway. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” James 4:14-15

“But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” James 4:16

Sin of boasting – There is told an imaginary story about a man who had just arrived in heaven. Attracted by a large crowd, he inquired what was going on, "Oh, it's 'show and tell' time," came the answer. He was asked if he had anything he'd like to share. "Why sure," the new arrival quickly responded, "I'll tell about the big flood we had back in 1889 when I was a boy in Pennsylvania." "That will be fine," he was told, "but remember, Noah will be in the audience." "If you're successful, don't crow. If you fail, don't croak."

A Rabbi and a New England minister were getting to know one another. Proudly, the minister exclaimed, "One of my ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence." "I understand your pride," responded the rabbi. "One of my ancestors signed the Ten Commandments."

“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

Sin of omission – I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. In addition, what I ought to do, By the grace of God I shall do!

The Procrastinator's Poem: I've gone for a drink and sharpened my pencils, Searched through my desk for forgotten utensils. I reset my watch, I adjusted my chair, I've loosened my tie and straightened my hair. I filled my pen and tested the blotter, And gone for another drink of water, Adjusted the calendar, and I've raised the blind, And I've sorted erasers of all different kinds. Now down to work I can finally sit, Oops, too late, it's time to quit

Be like Christ... Philippians 2:1-7 "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion then make my joy like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.”

Serving the Lord is not a matter of doing what I can to work out a goal or purpose which I think the Lord wants but it doing what Colossians 3:17 says: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to god the Father through him." Our standard is found in the word of God -- Matthew 25:31-46 (Hungry, Naked, Sick, Prison) what are we Sheep or Goats? Is there a place of service in our world today? You beat there is…

Just look around, open your eyes and see as the Father sees, 460,000,000 people are permanently hungry, 1,000,000,000 suffer from malnourishment, 900,000,000 live on less then 200.00 dollars per year

There is a fable, which tells of three apprentice devils that were coming to this earth to finish their apprenticeship. They were talking to Satan, the chief of the devils, about their plans to tempt and ruin men. The first said, "I will tell them there is no God." Satan said, "That will not delude many, for they know that there is a God." The second said, "I will tell men there is no hell." Satan answered, "You will deceive no one that way; men know even now that there is a hell for sin." The third said, "I will tell men there is no hurry." "Go," said Satan, "and you will ruin them by the thousand." The most dangerous of all delusions is that there is plenty of time. The most dangerous day in a man's life is when he learns that there is such a word as tomorrow. There are things, which must not be put off, for no man knows if for him tomorrow will ever come.

"Be sure, Herbert," said Mr. Wise to his son, "not to go beyond your depth in the river: the surface looks very fair and sparkling, but there is an ugly eddy beneath, that may prove to strong for you" "How do you know, father?" asked Herbert. "I have tried it," was the reply. "It nearly overcame me; but I could swim, and so got beyond it. Remember what I tell you: beware of the undertow. "Herbert went in to bathe, and was very careful to keep near the shore every time. "It cannot be very dangerous here," he thought, and uttered it aloud to his companion. "It is as smooth as glass; and I can easily return if it is rough beneath, for I can swim now." "You had better not go," urged his friend: "my father knows this river well, and he says the, undertow is very dangerous. "I will go in a little ways," replied Herbert, "and, if I find it dangerous, come back." And he started vigorously for the middle of the river His companion, watching him, saw him throw up his arms wildly, and heard his shout for help; but, when help reached him, it was too late. The undertow had got him. He was drowned in the treacherous river!

“For what is your Life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes anyway. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” James 4:14-15

Blessings and peace,

Saturday, 20 December 2008

“Love is….”

Ephesians 3:17, 1 Corinthians 13

That you being rooted and grounded in love, steadfastly fixed in your love to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to all the saints, the beloved of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many have some love to God and to his servants, but it is a flash, like the crackling of thorns under a pot, it makes a great noise, but is gone presently. We should earnestly desire that good affections might be fixed in us, that we may be rooted and grounded in love. Some understand it of their being settled and established in the sense of God's love to them, which would inspire them with greater arduous of holy love to him, and to one another. And how very desirable is it to have a settled fixed sense of the love of God and Christ to our souls, so as to be able to say with the apostle at all times, He has loved me! Now the best way to attain this is to be careful that we maintain a constant love to God in our souls; this will be the evidence of the love of God to us. We love him, because he first loved us.

The more intimate acquaintance we have with Christ's love to us, the more our love will be drawn out to him, and to those who are his, for his sake: That you may be able to comprehend with all saints, etc. (v. 18-19); that is, more clearly to understand, and firmly to believe, the wonderful love of Christ to his, which the saints do understand and believe in some measure, and shall understand more hereafter. Christians should not aim to comprehend above all saints; but be content that God deals with them as he uses to do with those who love and fear his name: we should desire to comprehend with all saints, to have so much knowledge as the saints are allowed to have in this world. We should be ambitious of coming up with the first three; but not of going beyond what is the measure of the stature of other saints. It is observable how magnificently the apostle speaks of the love of Christ.
Rooted in Love:   The dimensions of redeeming love are admirable: The breadth, and length, and depth, and height. By enumerating these dimensions, the apostle designs to signify the exceeding greatness of the love of Christ, the unsearchable riches of his love, which is higher than heaven, deeper than hell, longer than the earth, and broader than the sea, <Job 11:8-9>. Some describe the particulars thus: By the breadth of it we may understand the extent of it to all ages, nations, and ranks of men; by the length of it, its continuance from everlasting to everlasting; by the depth of it, its stooping to the lowest condition, with a design to relieve and save those who have sunk into the depths of sin and misery; by its height, its entitling and raising us up to the heavenly happiness and glory. We should desire to comprehend this love: it is the character of all the saints that they do so; for they all have a complacency and a confidence in the love of Christ: And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge,   If it passeth knowledge, how can we know it? We must pray and endeavor to know something, and should still covet and strive to know more and more of it, though, after the best endeavors, none can fully comprehend it: in its full extent it surpasses knowledge. Though the love of Christ may be better perceived and known by Christians than it generally is, yet it cannot be fully understood on this side heaven.

Grounded in Love: We are not only to be rooted in love, but also to be grounded in love, just as a great building requires a deep and solid foundation. The principle taught is that the believer’s life and ministry must be built upon love, for love is the essential and inevitable part of life of all in whose hearts Jesus is proclaimed as Lord.

As we study the phase “being rooted and grounded in love” we remind ourselves that the Apostle’s fundamental proposition is that our whole life must be firmly based upon love; it must draw its life, its strength, its power, its nutriment, its everything from this Christian principle of love. If Christ dwells in our hearts then love must be in our hearts, at the center of our being. As we have already seen, the Apostle presents this truth in the form of two pictures, that of a tree and also that of a building, last week we spoke of the being rooted in love (as a tree), today we will explore the picture of being grounded in His Love, (as a building).

Grounded, Foundation etc. -- a number of principles emerge from this particular picture.   The importance of making sure that the foundation is well and truly laid.   Paul calls himself a wise master-builder, 1 Corinthians 3:10. The hallmark of a wise master-builder is that he pays great attention to the foundation. He does not rush to setup a building; he wants a durable and lasting building. He wants a solid building, he never takes anything for granted, and he knows the soil remember the parable of the sower and the seeds...

Spend time upon your foundation, do not rush it, let the Holy Spirit search your heart (your foundation) until it is pure and has no flaws. We have to realize that there are no short cuts in the spiritual life. These things take time. Paul does not merely pray for these people that they might be filled with all the fullness of God; he knows that it cannot happen suddenly and without any preparation. We must be strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man and proceed to lay a solid foundation. We must dig deeply and then be filled with the Spirit in order to lay a solid, a massive foundation.    “Take time to be holy....”

The first answer is that all relationships in our life must be based upon love. Everything is to be grounded, founded in love. "My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God. When can I go and meet with God?" Psalms 42:2 "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is not water" Psalms 63:1 "My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word" Psalms 119:8 "My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times" Psalms 119:20 "I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land." Psalms 143:6

We must ask ourselves about our attitude towards God... God is a personal God and demands a personal relationship with His children. We must not only love God but love one another. The second Great Commandment which follows loving the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength is “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” --- and   “Love your enemies.” Whatever they may have said about you falsely, and however grievously they have wronged you or maligned you, you are to love your enemies.

The love that alters and varies and changes this is human emotion, not God’s love. “Love suffers long and is kind” “It is not easily provoked.” “Love bears all things” -- change in others, malice, spite, bitterness, hatred, anything that may happen they make no difference! LOVE Stands Firm! Love never fails. Whatever may come against it, the foundation is so deep that love stands as if nothing ever took place.
Nothing but a deep love to God can stand up to the trials and the stresses, the hazards and the stains of life. Belief alone is not enough. Belief is essential and it can take you along way. But when the real storms come, belief alone is not enough. Love alone enables us to stand to the storms of life. “When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.” When I cannot understand, when my intellect is baffled, and when I cannot explain, love still holds me up. How vitally important it is that we should take time with the foundation and make sure we are being rooted and grounded in love of God. So let us make sure that today the foundation of our life is grounded in the love of God and nothing else... Joy is love exulting. Peace is love reposing.   Long-suffering is love untiring Gentleness is love enduring.   Goodness is love in action.   Faith is love on the battlefield.   Meekness is love under discipline.   Temperance is love in training.   For Christ's Love compels us....
pastor

Monday, 10 November 2008

“The Great Adventure”
Hebrews 11:1-39

A man fell off a cliff but managed to grab a small branch sticking out from the side of the cliff. He shouts, “Is anyone up there?” “I am here, I am the Lord. Do you believe in me?” came the reply. “Yes, Lord I believe. I really believe, but I can’t hold on much longer.” “Don’t worry, I will save you, just let go of the branch.” A pause, then the man shouts, “Is their anyone else up there?”

Hebrews chapter 11 is one of the classic passages of the New Testament. The reason is not so much that its poetic language is equal to that of 1 Corinthians 13 or its impact as powerful as Romans 8, rather its sheer weight of witness and its dynamic and unforgettable definition of faith penetrate the very core of the Christians’ heart.

This chapter cannot be separated from the chapter before it; our faith is based upon the perfect and sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is that sacrifice, completed once for all time and for all people, “Jesus died for all of humanity, from the first to the last”, which opens for us a way into the very presence of God in whose presence we can come with Holy Ghost boldness, free from all fear of our mortal condition for the blood covers all and our sins are cast as far as the East is from the West, we come utterly confident of the forgiveness of God to meet with our God in the Holy of Holies. The same God of love who has made the sacrifice for us also disciplines and brings us into perfect maturity in Christ by His own design and grace.

As this great chapter closes, however, our author is talking about persecution as one of the outcomes of a life of faith.   Not all the examples he uses in the Great Hall of Faith (not fame, but Faith, Faith, Faith) are of victory and spiritual success. True, some of those mentioned conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, quenched raging fires, stopped the mouths of lions, escaped the edge of the sword, and become valiant in battle.   Others had trails of mocking and scourging, chains and imprisonment, they were stoned, sawed in two, slain with the sword. They were destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered over deserts and lived in caves and dens of earth. Yet, because of their faith, they shine as those who have fought the good fight, finished the course and have kept the faith.... How did they do it? BY FAITH, BY FAITH, BY FAITH.

We here this echo throughout the halls of history as might men and women of faith have carried the torch of Faith and have driven their stakes into the promises that their God gave to them as their inheritance.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony” verse 1-2

estin de pistiV elpizomenwn upostasiV, pragmatwn elegcoV ou blepomenwn. en tauth gar emarturhqhsan oi presbuteroi

The Greek word here gives the sense of something foundational, basic, a concrete reality upon which others things are built. The root of the word Faith means the place, setting, a standing pillar, that upon which other stones are placed.   The prefix found here means “under” or “below.” Together the result signifies something solidly foundational, concrete in reality, something assured. Thus faith is defined by our author is not an imaginary product of the mind fabricated out of its own philosophical needs or rationalistic dreams, but that which if firm, solid, of real existence. Faith is the solid certainty of that for which we hope, based upon reality and solid existence. --- “Consequently, Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

This is illustrated in the life of the missionary Hudson Taylor. “When Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary, first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel. Very close to the shore of cannibal islands the ship was caught in a calm., and it was slowly drifting toward the shore …and the savages were eagerly anticipating a feast. The captain came to Mr. Taylor and sought him to pray for the help of God. ‘I will,’ said Taylor, ‘provided you set your sails to catch the breeze.’ The Captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling the sails in a dead calm. Taylor said, ‘I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails.’ And it was done. While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at the door of his stateroom. “Who is there?” The captains voice responded, ‘Are your still praying for wind?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Well,’ said the captain ‘you better stop praying for we have more wind than we can manage.’”

The Greek phrase pragmatos elegchos is translated as: “evidence, conviction, assurance, confidence.” What these two Greek words do here as they are combined is make a statement that Faith is based upon that which is tested and is crucial. And what is it that is unseen but is yet tested and important, is it not the power of God working through His people in all the events of History, which from time to time experiences His mighty Acts... This power may be unseen for awhile, perhaps, but we come to know it as ultimate and crucial, dependable, solid, foundational. Our faith does not create reality but is based upon the Reality of God’s word and His personage. It is by this faith, seen in history in the lives of the faithful prophets and believers that God has brought the miracles to bear upon nations and their history -- Let us look at those whose names are found in the Great Hall of Faith.... Let us look to those who planted their stakes and claimed the promises of God.

Another story of a captain of a ship illustrates this point. “The story is told by the captain of a ship on which George Mueller of Bristol was traveling. (Mueller was a man who had several children’s homes and depended on God alone to provide for them.) During his lifetime he received more than 1,000,000 pounds from the Lord without advertising – every penny came as an answer to prayer. We had George Mueller of Bristol aboard, said the captain. ‘I had been on the bridge for twenty-four hours and never left it and George Mueller came to me and said, ‘Captain, I have come to tell you that you must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.’ ‘It is impossible.’ I said. ‘Then very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years; let us go down into the chart room and pray.’ ‘I looked at that man of God and thought to myself. What lunatic asylum can that man have come from, for I never heard of such a thing as this?’ ‘Mr. Mueller,’ I said, ‘do you know how dense this fog is?’ No he replied, ‘my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.’ He knelt down and he prayed one of the simplest prayers. When he had finished I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. ‘As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.’ ‘I looked at him and George Mueller said, ‘Captain, I have known the Lord for fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, Captain and open the door and you will find the fog has gone.’ ‘I got up and the fog indeed was gone and on that Saturday afternoon George Mueller kept his promised engagement.”

Abel and Enoch - Faith Caused Abel to Worship God (v. 4) and Faith Caused Enoch to Walk with God (vv. 5-6) Abel and Enoch, pleased God by their Faithful relationship to their God. Abel pleased God due to his faithfulness; it was the quality of the Heart that pants after his God. Enoch - His “walk with God” must have been one of sensitivity to the mind of God. As I have thought this I wondered if this comes have happen: Enoch walked God one day and as the day came to an end and Enoch said, “My God I must go home for it going to be dark.” And God responded, “Enoch come to my house and stay, for it is always daytime and I desire to fellowship with you.” So Enoch went to the Lord’s house and continues to this day, for darkness never falls in the presence of our God.

Noah, Abraham and Sarah - three examples of obedience that rise out of faith. Here again he shows the inseparability of faith and obedience. In this he concurs with the other New Testament writers: There is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.    Noah, Abraham and Sarah all exhibited obedience as a result of their faith. Moreover all were characterized by an obedience that went beyond common sense.

Noah - Faith Caused Noah to Work for God (v. 7) in faith, received a divine revelation, heeded it, and built an ark, against all common sense and normal reason. A large field behind your home, building an Ship that could not be transported to water due to its size. When you did this, all your friends and neighbors begin to ridicule you, “Hey, what are you doing -- building a boat? How are you going to get it in the water? -- But when the water came...

Abraham, too in faith, obeyed. His motivation was simple, he believed God when He said, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Abraham went, yet he did not have the slightest idea where he was going. It was against all common sense to leave the place of familiarity, the land and people that he had known for all his life and go to a place that was unknown. When he reached his destination, he lived as a wanderer, not an owner or possessor, in tents of temporary nature. By faith he looked into the future toward a city whose building had foundations of stones, a symbol of the promise of God, in comparison to tents. He foresaw the builder and maker of that city would be God. He believed --- and so was counted as righteous.

Sarah -- received the message that she would going to have a child. At first she laughed, “Imagine, I who am called barren, I am going to have a baby! I guess the messenger doesn’t know my female condition or doesn’t understand about having babies. Oh, these men!” However, the messengers persisted in their promises with and intensity and honesty that put aside all flippancy or doubt. She yielded and a wave of belief swept over her whole being. “I am going to have a baby!” By that faith she received the power to conceive and she bore the promised child. At her age, to have a child was against all common sense. The promise came through obedient faith.

“Do not harden your hearts as your fathers disobeyed by lack of belief.”

Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and his parents, the followers of Joshua and Rehab, was all faithful to the promise.

All those who I just mentioned were people who were faithful even though they never saw the promise completed in their lifetimes; they placed their stake into the promise of God and kept on running... In each case they died without having received what had been promised to them, they saw it afar off, they died running and believing... The Greek verb here carries the notion of not having the promise in one’s possession or pocket, as it were. As people of faith, however, they could see this promise afar off and were assured of it, embracing the vision of faith to their hearts, realizing they were merely pilgrims and strangers in the here and now.    They were the heritage of the Church; they were the examples for the Church to see.

Each of these mentioned looked into the future with eyes of faith and had some glimpse of the promise God had for them and for their children. They were unwilling to satisfy themselves with the short-term advantages that would have denied the long-term fulfillment’s (sin). They did not jeopardize a future generation’s promises by craving immediate satisfaction of their desires. They left the promise intact for those who came after - they were a people of integrity and honor before their God. They realized what would happen if they broke their integrity as so many others have... Remember Samson, Saul, David and Solomon.

Rehab - believed that God would spare her, became a part of the bloodline of Jesus. “I know that the Lord has given you the land..... The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” -- Joshua 2:9, 11

WHAT MORE SHALL I SAY..... Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, Samuel, Daniel, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, John, Paul, Marten Luther, John Calvin, John Wycliff, John Knox, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Charles Finney, Charles Sprugon, Billy Sunday, Dwight Moody, Lillian Trasher, Adonian Judson, Hudson Taylor, and the many more who live a life of Faith.

What about the early church who endured nine Imperial Persecutions. These latter Christians died without having possessed the promise. In spite of their empty-handiness, they persevered in faith, knowing that their reward was in heaven. They are our heritage.

“The three year old felt secure in his father’s arms as dad stood in the middle of the pool. But dad, for fun, began walking slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting, ‘Deeper and deeper and deeper,’ as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The lad’s face registered increasing degrees of panic and held all the more tightly to his father, who of course, easily touched the bottom. Had the little boy been able to analyze his situation, he’d have realized there was no reason for increased anxiety. The water’s depth in any part of the pool was over his head. Even in the shallowest part, had he not been held up, he would have drowned. His safety anywhere in the pool depended on Dad.

At various points in our lives, all of us feel we are getting out of our depth – problems abound, a job lost, someone dies. Our temptation is to panic, for we fell – we’ve lost control. Yet, as with the child in the pool, the truth is we’ve never been in control over the most valuable things of life. We’ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, that does not change. God is never out of His depth and therefore we’re as safe when we’re ‘going deeper’ as we have ever been.”

Perhaps God wants to move you ‘deeper’ than ever before. It is faith that will give you confidence and conviction to worshiped God faithfully as Abel had, walked with God faithfully as Enoch and to work for God faithfully as Noah did.

Steven Curtis Chapman has a song called, “The Great Adventure”. The first line goes, “Saddle up your horses, we’ve got a trail to blaze; through the wild blue yonder of God’s amazing grace.”

LOVE you so MUCH!

pastor

Thursday, 23 October 2008

Our ever-present Lord
Psalm 139:7-12

We all know that the highest mountain in the world is Mt. Everest (29,035 feet) and that the lowest point in the world is the Marinas Trench (- 35,830 feet), the difference in the two points is 64, 865 feet which is about 12 miles… Man cannot exist at either extreme… Yet, scriptures say that God is found on the heights of Mt. Everest and in the depths of the Marinas Trench – “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast, If I say, surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day for darkness is as light to you…” Psalm 139:7-12.

The question that we all ask at some point of our Life is: God are you there… the masses of this world ask this question without even knowing they are… How do I know, just look at the hearts that are broken, shattered, and lost and you will find a person who is looking for a God to believe in… and WE beloved have the only answer for the ills of mankind! He is ever present with us and desires and longs to have fellowship with us!!!

Not only is God omniscient; He is omnipresent as well. He is in all places at one and the same time. However, the all-presence of God is not the same as pantheism. The latter teaches that the creation is God. The Bible teaches that God is a Person who is separate and distinct from His creation. Is there any place where man can evade the Holy Spirit of God? Is there any place where he can hide from the presence of the Lord? Suppose man should ascend into heaven, would he elude God there? Of course not; heaven is the throne of God according to Matthew 5:34. Even if he made his bed in Sheol, the disembodied state, he would find the Lord there as well.
Scientists tell us that the smallest subatomic particles are quarks. They recognize six kinds of quarks that make up the neutrons and protons of the nucleus of an atom. Now realize that our most powerful microscopes can barely make out the nucleus of the largest atoms, and we certainly cannot come close to seeing a neutron or a proton, and quarks are the things that make up neutrons and protons. But God is present even to each quark. God is present to the smallest things of the universe and to the largest things. The largest thing in our solar system is the magnetic sphere surrounding the planet Jupiter, which is ten times as large as the sun. God is present in that magnetic sphere.

This is what theologians call the doctrine of omnipresence. Back in 1788, John Wesley wrote a sermon “On the Omnipresence of God” [Sermon 111]. He called it a “sublime subject.” He used as his text Jeremiah 23:24, "Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord." Wesley says, “there is no point of space, whether within or without the bounds of creation, where God is not.”

Some people have the idea that certain places on the earth are more sacred, more filled with the presence of God than others. For example, we call Palestine the Holy Land. Obviously we call it that because the events of the Bible took place in that area, but really that area is no more holy than any other area. When you consider the amount of blood that has been shed in that place, you could argue that a better title would be the God-cursed or God-forsaken Land.

In the religion of Islam, every Muslim is supposed to visit Mecca at least one time in his life if possible. The belief seems to be that God is in Mecca in special way, and you get a special charge out of going to that city in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. Not so. God is no more in Mecca than he is in Bath. Let me state that positively: You can find just as much of God in Bath, as you can in Mecca, or Jerusalem

Again, some people picture God as a faraway being who lives in heaven, and occasionally breaks into the world to do some miracle. Not so. God is right here with us right now. Our God, the God of love, the God of grace, the God of mercy, is always near to our hearts and minds and souls.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Nature is too thin a screen, the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through it everywhere!” All around us we can see that God is all around us.
God is creation’s environment. The universe does not contain God, God contains the universe. nothing exists beyond God. Everything that exists dwells within God. Just as the sea is the environment of the fish, God is the environment of his creation. A catechism asks: “Why is there but one God?” The answer is: “There is only one God because God fills every place in the heavens and the earth, and no room is left for another.”

In I Kings 18, the prophets of Baal called upon their god from morning till noon, and there was no reply. They cut themselves, and they shouted for their god to come forth. “At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’” They did cry aloud, they did shout, but Baal never responded because Baal was an idol of dead stone.

But our God is not like that. We do not need to behave the way Baal’s priests behaved. We do not need to cry for God’s presence. God is already present.

God’s presence is like the air we breathe. Air is odorless, tasteless and invisible at least here in Maine. Most of the time we do not even think about the air we breathe, yet we depend on it for our very existence. Likewise, God’s presence is all around us, and if it were withdrawn, none of us could survive for even one moment.

“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” The wings of the morning are an allusion to the rays of the morning sun that streak across the heavens from east to west at 186,000 miles per second. Even if we could travel to some remote corner of the universe at the speed of light, we would find the Lord there, waiting to guide and uphold us.

Incidentally verses 9 and 10 are fantastically appropriate for the age of jet travel in which we live. I shall never forget how the Lord spoke to me through this precious promise, as I was about to embark on an extended ministry trip in 1998. The many jet aircraft in which I flew were like the wings of the morning, taking me literally to the uttermost parts of the earth. But always there was the sense of the Lord’s presence and protection, regardless of speed or distance. So claim this promise for yourself, and share it with Christian friends who travel by air.

This awareness of the living presence of God is what the Psalmist is discussing in Psalm 139. The Psalmist asks two questions: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? These rhetorical questions are an emphatic way of declaring that God’s presence is everywhere. There is no place where we are not in the presence in God.

The Psalmist then contemplates what would happen if he tried to go up to the heavens. I know we generally think of heaven as the place where God lives, but in the Bible there is another possible meaning. What we now call space, the Bible calls the heavens. The psalmist is saying if I could travel through the reaches of outer space, I find God. If I could travel to the center of the galaxy, if I could travel to another galaxy, even another universe, I would still find God there.

Note the personal way the Psalmist talks about God. The Psalmist says, I find YOU there. The psalmist is saying that wherever I am, I am united in a loving relationship with you God.

After mentioning the heights and the depths, the Psalmist turns to horizontal directions. In verse 9, he meets the dawn and travels with the sun to the far side of the sea. This is the Mediterranean Sea, which is west of Palestine. The Jewish people, for the most part, were not sailors and did not like the sea, but the psalm emphasizes God is there.
Jonah

The prophet Jonah found this out the hard way. We read in chapter one of the book of Jonah that the prophet was commissioned by God to preach to Nineveh. He was to tell them about how wicked they were. Jonah did not like his mission because he knew that God would show the Ninevites mercy. These people were the mortal enemies of Israel and Jonah wanted no part of God’s redemptive plan for these barbarians.

So he tried to flee from the presence of God. Like most people in ancient times, Jonah did not believe in the omnipresence of God. He believed that God was localized and tied to a certain land or people. He believed that the God of Israel had no power or presence outside Israel. Thus, 1:3 says that instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah booked passage on a boat sailing in the opposite direction. He went west instead of east. He headed toward Tarshish, in what is now Spain, trying to get as far away from Nineveh, and as far from God as he could.

He breathed a sigh of relief when the ship sailed away from the shore. He thought he had got to a place where God was not, but what Jonah found out was that God was with him on the ship, and God was with him even in the belly of the whale. One major point of the Book of Jonah is that you cannot hide from God. That is the negative what to put it. The positive way to say it is that no matter where we are God is there with us.

Jonah teaches us that God cannot be localized in a city or a nation. This truth should keep us from having an exalted opinion of the USA. God is God of all peoples and nations. God does not wear red, white and blue. I have to remind myself of that often. I know we saw a company of soldiers go off to Iraq this morning. God loves every one of those soldiers. But God loves every Iraqi also.

Another lesson from Jonah is that God is always present whether we believe it or not. In the early days of space travel, one of the Soviet cosmonauts returned from earth orbit the earth and announced that when he had looked out of his space capsule he had not seen God anywhere. Of course, he was echoing the Communist party line, trying to stay out of the Gulag. But God was there anyway. God is always there.

If a person wanted the darkness to hide him from God, he would trust a false refuge. Night cannot shut out the presence of the Lord. Darkness is not dark to Him. “The night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to you.” God is absolutely inescapable. As Pascal said, “His center is everywhere; His circumference is nowhere.”

Jesus spoke this same truth to the disciples: “Lo, I am with you always,” He meant it in the fullness of the divine omnipresence, in the fullness of the divine love, and he longs to reveal Himself to you and to me, as we have never seen Him before. And now just think a moment what a blessed life that must be—the presence of Jesus always abiding. Is not that the secret of peace and happiness? If I could just attain (that is what each heart says) to that blessed state in which every day and all the day I felt Jesus to be watching and ever keeping me, oh, what peace I would have in the thought, “I have no care if He cares for me, and I have no fear if He provides for me.” Your heart says that this is too good to be true, and that it is too glorious to be for you. Still you acknowledge it must be most blessed. Fearful one, erring one, anxious one, I bring you God’s promise, it is for me and for you. Jesus will do it; as God, He is able, and Jesus is willing and longing as the Crucified One to keep you in perfect peace. This is a wonderful fact, and it is the secret of joy unspeakable.

Paul asked, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”-- Romans 7:24. Romans chapter 8 gives the answer: the Holy Spirit of God. The blessings He brings make us “more than conquerors!”

“The Wonder of God”

Lightning was flashing, thunder war roaring, black clouds looked angry; and the train was traveling fast! The tension and fear among the passengers was evident; however, one little boy, who was sitting by himself, seemed completely unaware of the raging storm. One of the passengers spoke to him and said, “Aren’t you afraid to travel alone on this train on such a stormy night?” The little boy looked up and answered with a smile, “No ma’am, I’m not afraid! My daddy is the engineer!”
Rembrandt once did a painting which portrays the biblical story of the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Perhaps some of you remember this painting! The little ship occupied by Jesus and the Disciples is being hit by a huge wave. You can feel the fear running through each disciple. The storm is all around. The rigging on the boat is loose and blowing in the wind. It’s marvelous to realize that even though all the disciples are panic-stricken, the disciples had to awaken Jesus to tell Him about the storm. It wasn’t because Jesus didn’t care, or because He was indifferent to their needs. It was because Jesus had such trust in God that He was sleeping right through the storm. Rembrandt does a wonderful work in this painting, and when you look at it, you’ve got to say to yourself, “I’ve got to learn how I can have complete trust in God.” You know I just saw this painting in my Doctor’s office… and as I looked at this painting, I thought this is what it means to sail anywhere safely in the arms of our Living Lord…

We might ask ourselves a question does God know us? All of us need someone who knows us, encourages us, comforts us, and builds us up! We all have that basic human instinct to want somebody to know the things we like and the things we dislike, to know where we are in life and to know where we have been in life. Is there anyone who really knows us? Is there anyone who really understands us? The answer to those questions is a resounding “Yes!” God knows all! Does God know you and I? Yes, He does! God knows your habits, good or bad. He knows us inside and out, and He loves us and cares for us. God wants to build us up with encouragement in His truth. Where then is this God who knows us and wants to build us up with encouragement? I think all of us have had times when we wonder and ask ourselves, “Where is God in the midst of all my circumstances?” David answered that question. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there…”.

In the realm of light, life, heaven, darkness, and even death, God is there! David looks to the east and to the west, and to the far side of the sea, and God was there. Wherever David went, God was there! Are you hurting right now? God is there! Are you experiencing great joy in your life right now? God is there!

God, you know me! And I know you are there! How desperately we need to be led through our complexities of life! Now, God, listen to me in my great joy or in my deepest hurt: can you help me? When we turn to God we find our help! David turned to God and he found the power of God! When he contemplated the great power of God, he looked back at his own creation: “For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb…your eyes saw my unformed body. The power of God was real to David in his own creation. You are a wonderful and unique person because God designed you.

Where is God?

Where is God? God is everywhere in his creation. God is present in every event, not only in every sunrise, but in every sunset, and every high noon, and indeed in every moment and in every second and beloved Scriptures speaks about us being sheltered under the wings of the almighty, that He is our shelter and our fortress. He is our all in all and our lives are found in Him…

We Have:

Life. When God saved you, He gave you a new life, not a new law; as you yield to that life, you obey His law. Keep your mind centered on the things of the Lord (Col. 3:1–4) and seek to please God in all things. Let the Spirit live His life in you.

Liberty. We enter God’s family by the new birth, not by adoption (John 3); but adoption gives us an adult standing in His family. He deals with us as mature sons and daughters and not as “little children.” We can talk (“Abba, Father” [v. 15]), walk, and use our inheritance right now. We are free, but we are still debtors to the Lord (v. 12).

Hope. We are not frustrated by the suffering we experience or see in our world because we have hope. When Jesus returns, we will enter into glorious liberty! The Spirit is the beginning of the harvest and assures us that the best is yet to come.

Guidance. God’s purpose is to make His children like His Son, and He will succeed. The Spirit intercedes for us and guides us as we pray, and the circumstances of life work for our good, no matter how painful they may be.

Love. The Spirit of God makes the love of God real to us (5:5; John 14:23–27). The Father is for us (vv. 31–32), the Son is for us (v. 34), and the Spirit is for us (vv. 26–27). Nothing can separate us from His love. Is there any reason why we should not be “more than conquerors”?

“The Holy Spirit longs to reveal to you the deeper things of God. He longs to love through you. He longs to work through you. Through the blessed Holy Spirit you may have: strength for every duty, wisdom for every problem, comfort in every sorrow, joy in His overflowing service.”

Let us make some personal application of this then. If God is always there what does that mean to me personally.

John Wesley, in the sermon he preached on this subject applied the doctrine in this way. He said, that if we believe God is always with us in every place and time, then we should “take care not to do the least thing, not to speak the least word, not to indulge the least thought, which you have reason to think would offend him.” Wesley says, “Suppose that a messenger of God, an angel, be now standing at your right hand, and fixing his eyes upon you, would you not take care to abstain from every word or action that you knew would offend him?” Of course we would. Then Wesley adds, “How much more cautious ought you to be when you know that not a holy man, not an angel of God, but God himself, the Holy One ‘that inhabiteth eternity,’ is inspecting your heart, your tongue, your hand, every moment.” That then is the first application. We should live like our lives are always an open book to God.

The second application is the comfort we receive from the doctrine of our omnipresent God. To quote Wesley again, he says, “Cheerfully expect that He, before whom you stand, will ever guide you with his eye, will support you by his guardian hand, will keep you from all evil, … [God] will make you perfect, will establish, strengthen, and settle you; and then preserve you unblameable, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!"

In the beginning of this treatise I mentioned some incidents when I was especially aware of God’s presence. Of course, God is with me always not just those two times, but notice this, when I was really aware of God’s presence, it was a moment of exaltation. I felt lifted up and loved and comforted. This reminds me of what God said to the Prophet Isaiah, “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”[41:10]. We do not ever need to be anxious and afraid, because God is always with us to strengthen and uphold us.

love you guys,
pastor