live2max

songs

2007-11-01T21:54:03+01:00

I lay my life down at your feet
You're the only one I need
I turn to You and You are always there

In troubled times, it's You I seek
I put You first that's all I need
I humble all I am, All to You

One way, Jesus
You're the only one that I could live for
One way, Jesus
You're the only one that I could live for

You are always, always there
Every hour and everywhere
Your grace abounds so deeply within me

You will never ever change
Yesterday today the same
Forever till forever meets no end

One way, Jesus
You're the only one that I could live for
One way, Jesus
You're the only one that I could live for
x2

You are the Way, the Truth and the Life
We live by faith and not by sight
For You, we're living all for You
x4

One way, Jesus
You're the only one that i could live for
One Way, Jesus
You're the only one that i could live for

-----------------------------------------

Wonderful, so wonderful
Is your unfailing love
Your cross has spoken mercy over me
No eye has seen no ear has heard
No heart could fully know
How glorious, how beautiful you are.

Beautiful one I love
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing.

Powerful so powerful
Your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see (beautiful)
The beauty of your majesty
Awakes my heart to see
How marvelous how wonderful you are.

Beautiful one I love
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing
Beautiful one I love you
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing.

You opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on Earth is as beautiful as you (Jesus)
You opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on Earth is as beautiful as you.

Beautiful one I love you
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing
Beautiful one I love you
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing.

And you opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on earth is as beautiful as you.

My soul, my soul must sing,
My soul, my soul must sing,
My soul, my soul must sing,
Beautiful One.

------------------------------------------------------

There is a redeemer,
Jesus, gods own son,
Precious lamb of god, messiah,
Holy one,

Jesus my redeemer,
Name above all names,
Precious lamb of god, messiah,
Oh, for sinners slain.

Thank you oh my father,
For giving us your son,
And leaving your spirit,
til the work on earth is done.

When I stand in glory,
I will see his face,
And there Ill serve my king forever,
In that holy place.

Thank you oh my father,
For giving us your son,
And leaving your spirit,
til the work on earth is done.

There is a redeemer,
Jesus, gods own son,
Precious lamb of god, messiah,
Holy one,

Thank you oh my father,
For giving us your son,
And leaving your spirit,
til the work on earth is done.

And leaving your spirit,
till the work on earth is done.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Oh Lord You've searched me
You know my way
Even when I fail You
I know You love me

Your holy presence
Surrounding me
In every season
I know You love me
I know You love me

At the cross I bow my knee
Where Your blood was shed for me
There'sno greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now

You go before me
You shield my way
Your hand upholds me
I know You love me

You tore the veil
You made a way
When You said that it is done

And when the earth fades
Falls from my eyes
And You stand before me
I know You love me
I know You love me

-------------------------------------------

God of ages bringing glory here
You are good, You are good
Son of righteousness You are all I see
With all my heart

PreChorus:
Giver of life hope for the lost is in You
All of the earth shines with Your light Your glory

Chorus:
You are the God who lives, You are the God who heals
Who are my hope my everything
You brought salvation to us offered your peace to the earth
You are my Lord my everything

Verse 2:
In Your promise and Your faithfulness
I will trust all my days
King forever great in majesty
Be glorified

Bridge:
I'll trust in You, i'll trust in You
I'll trust in You with all my heart

Comments

4th nov

2007-11-01T21:07:21+01:00

The will of the lord be done

Matt 21. 23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

24 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”
And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

Is it possible to achieve complete deliverance without complete surrender?

Are we trying to live a life of a carnal Christian while seeking God’s help?

Who is my father and brother Jesus was asking but For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Matt 7

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Are we seeking to be delivered from the law or are we seeking to fulfil the law in Christ, the trouble we find is that when we try and do away with the holy law of God we find it cannot die, it clings to life most vigorously.

Jesus in his most famous address gives us a clear example of the law, role in salvation,

Obeying the law is what sanctified the Jews, Jews believed in the here and now some doubted the thought of an afterlife, we read that the Sadducees, said there was no resurrection, so the thought of salvation was not possible; all we have is now, so to obey the commands in full was all they had to be sanctified.

Fulfilling the law, the spiritual reason behind the law is what the path to salvation is,

The Jews knew the law, they followed it to the letter, knowing that it was connected to every part of their life, they had the 10 commandments the written law and they had the oral law, the smaller laws that when done help fulfil the law.

What they knew was the had to apply to their whole lives, it was not a matter of having a church life, and a work life and a home life, this was their life, there was no need to ask someone, how are you doing spiritually, there was no work for spirituality, it was all connected, not disjointed.

The Pharisees, reprimanded by Jesus for this very reason

Seven woes

1. Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness
2. For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God
3. For you love the best seats, the praise of men
4. Unmarked graves, inside full of death, white washed tombs
5. For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
6. For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them
7. For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves

Essentially Jesus is saying to these guys that they are hypocrites, actors, living the life on the outside but not on the inside.

Why, as Christians can we feel like we are living two lives?

Jesus came to teach us how we can live and enter into the kingdom of heaven.

He did say to many who came to ask that the law was a major part of this.

When he said the greatest commandments in Luke 10 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with your entire mind,’ and ‘your neighbour as yourself.’”

He was quoting Leviticus 19 and duet 6 the lord your God is one God

A serious mistake both Christianity and Judaism make about the teachings of Jesus. Both hold the erroneous view that Jesus departed from the teachings of the Old Testament, especially with regard to law.

Christians who think that they are free from obeying any law and live a life of sin, transgressing the law have not understood the message of Grace.

God in his mercy does not punish us for transgressing the law, but God in his grace enables us to keep the law

The record shows that while Jesus disagreed with the religious leaders, He didn't disagree with Old Testament Scriptures. The same record shows that traditional Christianity itself does not follow the teachings of Christ.

To know the real Jesus we have to ask: What did He really say? It doesn't ultimately matter what people say about Him. Nor does it really matter what interpretations they give of what He said. What truly matters is what He really said, and whether we're going to believe what He said.

Clear statement in the Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount is a good place to begin, we should expect to find in it His view toward the laws of God as recorded in the Old Testament. And indeed we do.

One of the reasons for some of Jesus' statements in the Sermon on the Mount is that—because His preaching was so different from that of the Pharisees and Sadducees—some people believed His intention was to subvert the authority of God's Word and substitute His own in its place. But His real intention was to demonstrate that many of the things the Pharisees and Sadducees had taught all along were contrary to the original teachings of the Torah of Moses, the first five books of the Bible.

Jesus refuted the erroneous ideas people had formed regarding Him with three emphatic declarations about the law. Let's look at them.

"I did not come to destroy but to fulfil"

Jesus explains His view of the law very quickly after giving the beatitudes: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17).
So immediately we see that Jesus had no intention of destroying the law. He even tells us not to even think such a thing. Far from being antagonistic to the Old Testament Scriptures, He said He had come to fulfil "the Law and the Prophets" and proceeded to confirm their authority. "The Law and the Prophets" was a term commonly used for the Old Testament Scriptures (compare Matthew 7:12).

"The Law" referred to the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses in which God's laws were written down. "The Prophets" referred not only to the writings of the biblical prophets, but also to the historical books of what came to be known as the Old Testament.

Regrettably, the meaning of "fulfilling the law" has been twisted by many who claim the name of Jesus but don't really understand what He taught. They say that since Jesus said He would fulfil the law, we no longer need to keep it and the law has no further obligation on His followers.

Another view of "fulfilling the law" is that Jesus "filled full" what
was lacking in the law—that is, He completed it, partly canceling it and partly adding to it, forming what is sometimes referred to as "Christ's law" or "New Testament teaching." The implication of this view is that the New Testament brought a change in the requirements for salvation and that the laws given in the Old Testament are obsolete.

But do either of these views accurately reflect what Jesus meant?

Jesus' view of fulfilling the law

The Greek word pleroo, translated "fulfil" in Matthew 5:17, means "to make full, to fill, to fill up, ... to fill to the full" or "to render full, i.e. to complete" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2002, Strong's number 4137). In other words, Jesus said He came to complete the law and make it perfect.

How?

By showing the spiritual intent and application of God's law. His meaning is clear from the remainder of the chapter, where He showed the spiritual intent of specific commandments.
Some distort the meaning of "fulfil" to have Jesus saying, "I did not come to destroy the law, but to end it by fulfilling it." This is inconsistent with His own words.

He showed that the spiritual application of the law made it even more difficult to keep, not that it was annulled or no longer necessary.

Jesus, by explaining, expanding and exemplifying God's law, fulfilled a prophecy of the Messiah found in

Isaiah 42:21: "The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will exalt the law, and make it honourable." The Hebrew word gadal, translated "exalt" or "magnify" (KJV) literally means "to be or become great"

Jesus Christ did exactly that, showing the holy, spiritual intent, purpose and scope of God's law. He met the law's requirements by obeying it perfectly in thought and deed, both in the letter and in the intent of the heart.

Many Jews fail today to see how Jesus did not change the law,

All will be fulfilled

The second major statement by Jesus given in the exact same context makes it even clearer that Jesus did not come to destroy, rescind, nullify or abrogate the law. "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18).

With these words, Jesus likened the continuance of the law to the permanence of heaven and earth. He is saying that the law is immutable, inviolable and unchangeable and can only be fulfilled, never abolished.

We should note that in this verse a different Greek word is used for "fulfilled": ginomai, meaning "to become," "to come into existence" or "to come to pass" (Thayer's, Strong's number 1096). Until the ultimate completion of God's plan to glorify humanity in His Kingdom comes to pass—that is, as long as there are still fleshly human beings —the physical codification of God's law in Scripture is necessary. This, Jesus explained, is as certain as the continued existence of the universe.

His servants must keep the law

The third statement of Jesus pronounces that our fate rests on our attitude toward and treatment of God's holy law. "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least [by those] in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19). The "by those" is added for clarification, since, as explained in other passages, those who persist in lawbreaking and teach others to break God's law will not themselves be in the Kingdom at all.

Jesus makes it very clear that those who follow Him and aspire to His Kingdom have a perpetual obligation to obey and uphold God's law. He is saying that we cannot diminish from the law of God by even a jot or tittle—the equivalent of the crossing of a "t" or dotting of an "i."

The value He places on the commandments of God is also unmistakable—as well as the high esteem toward the law that He requires from all those who teach in His name. His disapproval falls on those who slight the least of the law's commands, and His honour will be bestowed on those who teach and obey the commandments.

Since Jesus obeyed the commandments of God, it follows that His servants, too, must keep the commandments and teaches others to do the same (1 John 2:2-6). It is in this way that the true ministers of Christ are to be identified—by their following the example He left them (John 13:15).

So what is our response to this matter, what is it that Paul says He came to redeem us from the curse of the law not to do away with it altogether.

Christ fulfils and complete and makes perfect in us his holy law

He writes his law on our hearts, his work is that of salvation, his death provided the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, taking away the curse that was meant for us who disobeyed the law, what shall we do now, we read recently that we are no longer slaves of sin but we are slaves of righteousness, harsh choice of words, we are now obligated to fulfil all righteousness we are no longer with an excuse of ignorance to his holy work his law.

Have we submitted fully to God?

Can God ask us for anything?

Are we living this divided life, like an actor, or can we have the faith that God will unite our heart with his?

What if we fail?

Suppose a painter had a piece of canvas, on which he desired to work out some beautiful picture.

Suppose that piece of canvas does not belong to him, and any one has a right to take it and to use it for any other purpose; do you think the painter would bestow much work on that? No.

If we say that we live this life yet we don’t give our selves to the Lord how is it to be fulfilled in us,

Yet people want Jesus Christ to help them in their trouble perhaps in taking away their temper, or that other sin, though in their hearts they have not yielded themselves utterly to His command and His keeping. It can not be. But if you will come and give your
whole life into His charge, Christ Jesus is mighty to save; Christ Jesus waits to be gracious; Christ Jesus waits to fill you with His Spirit.

Will you not take the step?

God grant that we may be led by His Spirit to a yielding up of ourselves to Him as never before.

Let us come in humble confession to him that we can yelid ourselves fully to his work

The carnal life has predominated too much, has altogether marked us, and that we can have a bitter consciousness that with all the blessing God has bestowed, He has not made you what you want to be a spiritual man?

It is the Holy Spirit alone who by His indwelling that can make a spiritual man.

Come then and cast yourself at God's feet, with this one thought,

"Lord, I give myself an empty vessel to be filled with Thy Spirit." Each one of you sees every day at the tea table an empty cup set there, waiting to be filled with tea when the proper time comes. So with every dish, every plate.

They are cleansed and empty, ready to be filled. Emptied and cleansed. Oh, come! and just as a vessel is set apart to receive what it is to contain, say to Christ that you desire from this hour to be a vessel set apart to be filled with His Spirit, given up to be a spiritual man. Bow down in the deepest emptiness of soul, and say, "Oh, God, I have nothing!" and then surely as you place yourself before Him you have a right to say,

"My God will fulfil His promise! I claim from Him the filling of the Holy Spirit to make me, instead of a carnal, a spiritual Christian." If you place yourself at His feet, and tarry there; if you abide in that humble surrender and that childlike trust, as sure as God lives the blessing will come.

Comments

sunday 28th oct

2007-10-25T16:49:26+02:00

Luke 19
Jesus and Zacchaeus
Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town.
Jesus is on his way into Jerusalem, passed through Galilee Samaria we read in luke 17 and Jericho
He was the coming king
But this king comes to a sinner’s house
What were the expectation of king, the messiah, this was to be the start of the procession into Jerusalem, many disciples thought that this was Jesus’ hour. Perhaps, as some thought that Judas was expecting the king to take the throne and over through the Roman Empire.
Many Jews did not believe that Jesus was the messiah as they were looking for a king like David, David we know extending the borders of Israel and re took land that they had lost to the philistines’, although it never belonged to the Palestinians ever, it belonged to the Canaanites, which means merchant and the seller of purple, another day for that story though.
From the beginning God's plan was to reclaim his world.
The Jewish people of the Bible had made God known to many of the nations of the world as people from those nations travelled through Israel. The Assyrian dispersion and the Babylonian exile spread God fearing Jewish people around the known world. Many of them returned to Jerusalem for the yearly feasts which God had commanded.
God had prepared carefully and well for the next stage in his great plan of salvation.
His people must now live so that the world may know in the entire world not just in one small place. If the arena had changed the mission had not.
The people of God would reveal him to people in places like Rome, Athens, and the cities of Roman provinces like Syria and Macedonia. The most pagan of all provinces, Asia, would become a stronghold for the followers of God and the Messiah Jesus. They would serve him while the nations of the world watched and listened.
The land God chose for His people was on the crossroads of the world. A major trade route, the Via Maris, (the way of the sea) ran through it. This ran from Damascus in Syria through to Memphis in Egypt.
Matt 4
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
15 “ The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”[f]

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When did Jesus begin to preach the kingdom? And what was the message of the kingdom, the king is coming prepare the way for the messiah.
John 17:23 (New King James Version)
23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
The way of the sea, Via Maris, God intended for the Israelites to take control of the cities along this route and thereby exert influence on the nations around them.
Often battles would be fought for key cities along this route the battle of Megiddo
Joshua killed the king and took it. It’s where Egypt fought Judah when Josiah was king, the king died during this battle
Ahaziah also fought there
Deborah mentioned this land and
World war one there was a battle here
This is also the site of the battle of Armageddon
The Promised Land was the arena within which God's people would serve Him faithfully as the world watched.
Through their righteous living, the Hebrews would reveal the one true God, Yahweh, to the world. (They failed to complete this mission, however, because of their unfaithfulness.)
Western Christianity tends to spiritualise the application of the Promised Land as it is presented in the Bible. Instead of hearing God's call to live publicly and passionately to influence the culture around them, modern Christians view the application of the Promised Land as a distant, heavenly city, a glorious "Canaan" toward which we are travelling as we ignore the world around us.
We are focused on the destination, not the journey.
I have heard it preached that we have left Egypt, the world, our life on earth is the wilderness and we live in a constant battle between the old nature and the new nature, deciding weather we obey God or not
When we however come to the realisation that our old nature (from Egypt) is dead and buried and we no longer have to live in this struggle but Giles do we not fight the good flight of faith, yes there is a battle but it’s in our thinking there has been a lot of confusion about spiritual warfare, shouting at the ceiling, the battle Paul said is the strongholds in our thinking in our minds, our old nature is finished with, there is temptations to think that it’s still there
Living by faith is not a vague, it is being faithful to God right now, in the place and time He has put us. This truth is emphasised by God's choice of Canaan, a crossroads of the ancient world, as the Promised Land for the Israelites. God wants His people in the game, not on the bench.
Christians can miss God's desire that his people live faithfully for him in specific places, influencing the cultures around them by their words and actions.
We are focused on the destination, not the journey. We have unconsciously separated our walk with God from our responsibility toward the world in which he has placed us.
People misunderstand and see that our earthly experience is simply preparation for an eternity in the new "promised land." Preoccupation with this idea, distorts the mission God has set for us. That mission is the same one He gave to the Israelites.
We are to live obediently within the world so that through us, it may know that our God is the one true God.
Biblical prospective of the world

Do we have a world view?

Or are we limited by our thinking

Jesus, who was an itinerant teacher people called him Rabbi, he chose disciples and showed them God's path in word and action.

When their training was complete he sent them to make disciples of their own.

Their destination was now much greater than the small province of Galilee. They were sent to the whole world.

The commission he gave them is one of the most well known passages in the New Testament:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:16-20

All authority Hebrew simikhah, Greek exousia

The people were amazed at Jesus as he spoke as one who had authority, Jesus however did not follow the pattern of the teachers of the law, he never studied under gamiel or whoever thoughts were the most relevant at that time,

Those with authority (ordination) could make new interpretations and pass legal judgments. Crowds were amazed because Jesus taught with authority (Hebrew simikhah, Greek exousia) not as their Torah teachers.

By implication of Jesus’ answer he was telling them where he Got his authority, read this in Luke 20, he answers people with another question, which was a typical thing that a rabbi would do, Jesus got his authority from God we know, but he used John as a natural example that they may believe, but his did not accept the testimony from man, if man gives you the authority man can take it away, but if God gives you the mandate nobody can take it God open doors and closes them.

So when Jesus gave his authority to his disciples it was to transfer all he had to them.

This compelling command, which became the mission of the early believers was given on the mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee, in the setting where the Rabbi/Disciple model was most widely known.

The word appears more than 250 times in the New Testament. Yet it sometimes appears that the Christian community of modern times struggles to hold on to the heart of Jesus words…"go and make disciples". Disciples are more than converts.

Discipleship is more than an interest in learning the fundamentals of faith. Making disciples is not a course in a church or Christian College. It appears that progress toward discipleship is more a goal for the few than a passion for all followers for Jesus.
The earliest followers of Jesus were disciples in the Eastern sense.

They followed Jesus imitating his life, his teaching, and his method of making disciples. And the Christian faith exploded onto the world scene as ordinary people living for Jesus make great impact on the cultures in which they lived.

The triumph of the Christian faith is nowhere more striking or unexpected than in the Roman Provinces of Asia Minor, Galatia and Cappodoccia. Known for immorality in lifestyle and in religious practice, these regions became Christian within 150 years of Jesus ministry in Israel. The early missionary, Paul, (Saul in Hebrew) spent a great deal of time here and wrote several letters to the followers of Jesus in these provinces. Peter wrote his letters to the believers here, and John wrote Revelation (and his letters) to the churches of this area.

The effectiveness of the early believers is amazing and raises a host of questions with great implications for our own world.

How did Jesus prepare his followers for such a mission? What empowered them? What kind of commitments did they have to make to their mission? What did they do that had such an impact on the people of Asia?

It is amazing that a few people from among the simple Galileans traveled to this sophisticated Hellenistic world, and by their words and the witness of their lives, introduced an almost total change in the beliefs and lifestyle of the cultured pagans.

Scholars have suggested there were 80,000 or more followers of Jesus by the year 100 and by the year 250 A.D. Christians may have been the majority in the provinces of Galatia and Asia Minor.

How was this possible? Ordinary, simple people changed the sophisticated cultured world? Only God's power can accomplish such a thing.

That power of God worked through disciples…not the curious, the somewhat committed, not the ignorant pew sitters, or the part time followers…but disciples.

Passionately and totally committed, not only to their beliefs but to being like their rabbi…disciples in the Jewish way.

For that is God's way.

What was it that caused this man Zach’s change in heart? He was one of the most influential Jews in the city of Jericho, a town of sinful people he would have been known to one of the most sinful; Jericho was not supposed to have been re built.

Jesus saw that he was lost and even thought many would have criticised him, especially as he was on the way to the feast, most rabbi’s would not have defiled themselves by eating with sinners, yet here he was and just by saying lets eat together, this man was given salvation, could it be that simple being willing to identify with people. Homework this week; find a sinner and invite yourself to their home.

Are we more concerned with our own holiness or are we concerned more about people who have no sense of God or the fact that they too can be holy?

The purpose of us being holy is call other into holiness, we are defiled by sinners Jesus stayed holy yet was willing to be associated with the lowest of sinners.

The Israelites got mixed up with their purpose as a nation to be holy, called out ones, be separate says the lord, nothing like us today

The word church is ekklesia made from two words to call and out, put together the called out ones, so to come to church means to come and be called out, as I have been sent out (ekklesia) in to the world I have sent you. I have been churched you will be churched also. Trouble is our buildings that we called church are full of people who are un ekklesia

Comments

title-3158272

2007-10-18T21:11:26+02:00

John 5

A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda,[a] having five porches

Notice first that this was feasting time, many people would be in Jerusalem, more than that this was the Sabbath the holiest day of the feast, no-one would be at work today, (like bank holidays as a kid) except we are not stuck in the traffic trying to get to the coast, sunny honey (hunstanton).

These folks pilgrimaged for many miles, weary tired, but kept going on and on, Jerusalem we know is at he top the hill, difficult for us in the fens to understand what that is like

For some they had walked for miles perhaps as far as approximately from here to Wales 3-4 days walk at 5 mph then once there climbed the hill to Jerusalem perhaps came to this pool for healing, perhaps stopping for a rest, perhaps like this multitude there is a need to rest our weary souls, perhaps not for the same reason, perhaps we have suffered with stress.

John here lets us into a bit of background and culture it was called the sheep gate here we Jesus enter an area perhaps was like a cattle market.

It was also close to The Antonia Fortress was a military barracks built by Herod the Great in Jerusalem on the site of an earlier Hasmonean stronghold, named after Herod's patron Mark Antony. The fortress was built at the eastern end of the great wall of the city (the second wall), on the northeastern side of the city, near the temple. It is thought that the area where the Antonia Fortress was located possibly later became the site of the Praetorium. It is thought to be the place where Jesus was taken to stand before Pilate.

Later to be destroyed in 70 A.D. by Titus' army during the siege of Jerusalem.

As this was the market place, remember how we spoke to Jesus being our redeemer, Jesus at work in the market, the work place, here he is visiting the market, where people would sell sheep, this was their livileyhood, but not today, no sheep there just people a great multitude

John says

Bethesda means House of mercy / grace

The pool itself was covered with platforms or covered porches, 5 in total reminding people of the five books of the law the torah, coming into Jerusalem from the north you would have passed this way a profound reminder to be cleansed before going into the city.

Everyone coming to this feast would have been studying would have known the torah, the law, for a good Jew knowing the five books was something they would chant repeatedly to learn of by heart, the promise that God would write his law in our minds and our hearts would have meant more to the Jew, this would elevate you to almost rabbi status, knowing the law was the first qualification.

We must know God’s Word and Jesus! And by the Holy Spirit the interpretation of it. We must be passionate in our devotion to that word and Jesus example.

As we are filled with his Spirit, we must be obsessed with being like him as far as is humanly possible.

We must strive for relationships with others so they will observe us and seek to imitate our love and devotion to God and our Jesus-like lifestyle
Paul would say to those in Corinth Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ; and as we were baptized into Christ we put on Christ). By God’s grace, we become like him and influence the most pagan of cultures.... our own!

Jesus a rabbi was often tested on his knowledge of the law when asked “what is the greatest commandment” he answered “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Duet 6 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one![b] 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

What is the essential thought pattern, what it is when you break it down the most essential part?

Jews would ask a rabbi this at anytime, we remember Jesus was talking to an audience that when he quoted duet these guys had this memorised.

Jesus however did not follow their pattern, he never studied under gamiel or whoever thoughts were the most relevant at that time, he spoke as one who had authority,

Jesus seems to be a type of rabbi believed to have the authority to make new interpretations. Most of the teachers were Torah teachers (teachers of the law) who could only teach accepted interpretations. Those with authority (ordination) could make new interpretations and pass legal judgments. Crowds were amazed because Jesus taught with authority (Hebrew simikhah, Greek exousia) not as their Torah teachers (Matt. 7:28.29).

He was rabbi yeshua, where we get our name Joshua meaning YAHWEH is salvation

The passage Jesus quoted according to the Talmud, the reading of the "Shema'" morning and evening fulfils the commandment "Thou shalt meditate therein day and night"

As soon as a child begins to speak his father is directed to teach him the verse "Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (and teach him to read the "Shema'". The reciting of the first verse of the "Shema'" is called the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of God"

3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

There were multitudes, Jesus would have seen them all.

John then gives us explaination

4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.[b] 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.

38 years ago

Nixon made the news with his nuclear weapons, the Vietnam War protest in the us, first flight of concord, second Apollo mission lands on the moon; Paul McCartney marries Linda, Sir Matt Busby retires

This was a very long time to be sick.

Thirty-eight years is a long time to wait for anything, but it must have seemed like an eternity to this man.

How long is thirty-eight years?

Long enough that most people would stop believing.

In our text, Jesus comes to Jerusalem to celebrate a Jewish feast when he spotted this man lying by the pool of Bethesda.

6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

He laid there because people believed the water had healing power when it stirred. Was it an angel?

Some people would not believe that. They said it's just a wind that happens to hit a certain current, and blow it, and make it like that. If that's what they thought, that's what it was to them. But those who believed it was an Angel of God,

When Jesus saw him, he asked him a question, "Do you wish to get well?"

Is that a question that Jesus even needed to ask? Certainly the man wanted to be well, didn't he? He'd waited in the same place for thirty-eight years, why else would he be there?

Let me ask the question another way,

Do you wish to stop repeating the same mistakes and going through the same cycles in your relationships, or does it feel safer to blame others instead of dealing with your issues? Do you wish to get rid of your anger, or would you just as soon keep it?

7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man

The desperation in his cry I have no one, perhaps this man was more desperate than others, did he have to blame others for his condition?
Those who focus on blame when things go wrong believe that we all have responsibility and things go wrong because someone is lazy or incompetent.
They thus make attributions about the internal characteristics and motivations of others.
Their values typically say 'The wicked should be punished' and finger-pointing and blame is a part of this punishment. They take the moral high ground, sitting as prosecutor, judge and jury, and pronounce guilt and sentence.
They may also be driven by a sense of guilt or fear, and blame others in order to distract or deflect attention from themselves.
What was it about this man that caught Jesus eye.

, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

What would our reaction be?

Truthfully mine may have been let me help you into the water, I will wait with you, I like to see the surf, see the angel, then we could rush together to see God’s answers. I will stand in faith with you!

8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

He does not say let me help you up, he says you rise up,

Some of us have been low for so many years we forget what it means to walk, what it means to take up the bed, how long have we been lying in our own self pity, long enough I am sure! You rise out of it,

Jesus is testing obedience seeing if there is faith, can we have the faith to believe to be lifted out of our own circumstances, can we stop waiting for others to rescue us,

What about other people are we going to do something to reach the lost, or is our prayer that God would save them, praying for the lost has become all the evangelistic work we do!!!!

Jesus is saying to us you feed them, you heal them you forgive them, you clothe them, he is empowering his disciples to do what he does and he still does it today

Comments

sunday 7th oct

2007-10-05T10:44:48+02:00

If the heart of Paul’s letters is Romans

Word of God is precious, we must treasure it

The very genius of Christianity is the ability of God to build himself into us through the word so that in our daily lives we live like the master.

Our message is simple gospel truth and this truth of who Christ is, both son of man and son of God, what he came to show us, the word that became flesh, and dwelt among us, Jesus came to show us what man can do when he has God as his ally.

Gospel means good news and it is not good news unless it’s available for all, in our pride we can say that his word does not work in my life, somehow this message of grace and forgiveness cannot apply to be because…

We preach amazing grace and the new life we have in Christ,

His new creation in us and how we apply that to every day of our lives,

Starting in Romans 3, my text is verses 21-25

1. Grace apart from works Rom 3.21
2. Grace accepted by faith Rom 3.22
3. Grace available to all who believe Rom 3.22-23
4. Grace attained by justification – Rom 3.24
5. Grace awarded freely Rom 3.24
6. Grace acquired through redemption Rom 3.24
7. Grace accomplished through propitiation Rom 3.25

Last week I took time to establish that this message applies to everyone, we all need a saviour for all have fallen short of God’s glory.

There is nobody who is right with God, no not one.

Quote if only there were only some evil people somewhere in a certain place committing evil deed; it would only be necessary or separate them from the rest of us and destroy them, but the diving line between evil and good goes straight thought the heart of every human being and who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart. Jesus came to seek and save the lost he did not say that they were hard to find, are we all not lost without a saviour,

We come to the realisation that we are totally contaminated with sin and that we are totally forgiven though the love and grace of out lord Jesus Christ

Paul makes in clear that in the beginning chapters that no one is righteous he makes it clear that there is a need for God help when it comes to being made right with him, there therefore can be no room for boasting

Though, if there are people who by their attitude and right behaviour make themselves righteous, and if we are somehow good enough by ourselves we could boast

There are those who think that behaving right can make them more righteous.

We read last week in Romans 3 verse 10

“No one is righteous—
not even one.

Like a lawyer Paul is laying the case for a fact that man in his natural state whether a law abiding Jew or a gentile that has no knowledge of God they are all the same.

In themselves they are not right with God, nor can they ever become right with God without a saviour.

Then onto the Christian, the one who believes, are we not just sinners saved (barely) by grace?

We cannot go through life feeling barley saved, the other man made religions have no assurance of salvation but we with confidence can approach the throne of grace, knowing that our sin has been dealt with that we have an advocate someone to speak on our behalf.

That is why we always teach on the new creation, seeing ourselves as God sees us right with God in Christ and free from condemnation.

1. Grace apart from works Rom 3.21

21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

Ephesians 2:8-9 (New King James Version)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Titus 3:5 (New King James Version)

5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Gal 2. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

2. Grace accepted by faith Rom 3.22

22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ,

Galatians 5:5
For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Philippians 3:9
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Hebrews 11:33
who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

The key to anything is faith, Jesus would say only believe, and spoke of having faith as a mustard seed, and using the faith you have and placing your faith in me he said, you believe in God believe also in me, you have faith in God have faith in me.

Charles surgeon once said faith is believing Christ is who he said he was and that he will do what he promised he would do and living accordingly, that is why faith is accounted as right standing with God,

God’s grace meets human faith and peace is declared in the war between heaven and earth.

3. Grace available to all who believe
Rom 3.22-23

22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The key word here is all, someone said to me once that they thought that God was god and he would move if he choose to his hand was some kind of random, but the truth is that God has to be fair to one, if he would do it for Christ he would do it for me.

Jesus said we would do greater works, because I go to my father.

John 6:40
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Acts 13:39
and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Romans 1:16
[ The Just Live by Faith ] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

4. Grace attained by justification – Rom 3.24

24 being justified

Gal 2 .16,

16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Galatians 3:11
But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

Romans 5:1
[ Faith Triumphs in Trouble ] Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

5. Grace awarded freely Rom 3.24

Freely by His grace

Romans 5:15 For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

6. Grace acquired through redemption Rom 3.24

Freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

1 Corinthians 1:30
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Colossians 1:14
in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

7. Grace accomplished through propitiation Rom 3.25

25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed

Hebrews 2:17
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

1 John 2:2
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Comments

Songs 23rd Sept

2007-09-20T21:35:43+02:00

Save me o my God and i will be saved
heal me o my God and i will be healed
for your grace is so dependable
your love so incredible
in you i am blessed
knowing this i will rejoice
i will shout your praise
in you lord i am blessed

I am blessed in knowing you
knowing that your word is true
knowing that love is for real

i Am blessing i give you praise for your the one
in you i am blessed

There is a louder shout to come, there is a sweeter song to hear;
All the nations with one voice, all the people with one fear.
Bowing down before Your throne, every tribe and tongue we'll be;
All the nations with one voice, all the people with one King.
And what a song we'll sing upon that day.

CHORUS:
O what a song we'll sing and O what a tune we'll bear;
You deserve an anthem of the highest praise.
O what a joy will rise and O what a sound we'll make.
You deserve an anthem of the highest praise.

VERSE 2:
Now we see a part of this, one day we shall see in full
All the nations with one voice, all the people with one love.
No one else will share Your praise, nothing else can take Your place;
All the nations with one voice, all the people with one Lord.
And what a song we'll sing upon that day.

VERSE 3:
Even now upon the earth there's a glimpse of all to come;
Many people with one voice, harmony of many tongues.
We will all confess your name, You will be our only praise;
All the nations with one voice, all the people with one God;
And what a song we'll sing upon that day.

-----------------------------------------------------------
In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Jesus, what a beautiful name
Son of God, Son of Man
Lamb that was slain
Joy and place, strength and hope
Grace that blow all fear away
Jesus, what a beautiful name

Jesus, what a beautiful name
Truth revealed, my future sealed
Healed my pain
Love and freedom, life and warmth
Grace that blows all fear away
Jesus, what a beautiful name

Jesus, what a beautiful name
Rescued my soul, my stromghold
Lifts me from shame
Forgiveness, security, power and love
Grace that blows all fear away
Jesus, what a beautiful name

-------------------------------------------------------
God of ages bringing glory here
You are good, You are good
Son of righteousness You are all I see
With all my heart

PreChorus:
Giver of life hope for the lost is in You
All of the earth shines with Your light Your glory

Chorus:
You are the God who lives, You are the God who heals
Who are my hope my everything
You brought salvation to us offered your peace to the earth
You are my Lord my everything

Verse 2:
In Your promise and Your faithfulness
I will trust all my days
King forever great in majesty
Be glorified

Bridge:
I'll trust in You, i'll trust in You
I'll trust in You with all my heart

-------------------------------------------------------

Comments

Sunday 23 Sep

2007-09-20T21:25:11+02:00

John 3.19

The light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Why is it that we feel that we cannot make it, why is it a times we feel hopeless, insecure, do we fear the light of God’s presences, did Jesus not say that he was the light that leads to life,

Psalm 27:1
[ A Psalm of David. ] The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 36:9

For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light

How are we to walk in the light and let our deeds done in the light, do we believe that God is quick to judge? Do we have faith in a God who can minister His grace, that His mercy triumphs over his judgement

When you read the story of Jonah, did not God say that in his judgement he would destroy Nineveh, did he not send his prophet into the city to proclaim their doom, is God still in the business of the prophet of doom,

Does God not say that those who don’t believe will perish, after Nineveh repented God forgave them his prophet was so angry, can we too get angry when justice is not seen to be done, what a surprise may await us in heaven who will be there or not.

God did not make us to be anyone’s judge,

We know that the expression of God’s nature was revealed through his son who had plenty to say to the Pharisees regarding their actions and their heart attitude being one and the same,

We read of the woe’s that Jesus pronounced upon them saying that they laid up heavy burdens upon people that they were actors or hypocrites

He says to them you say one thing but you do another.

He then turns to the crowd saying to do as they say but not as they do

Jesus apparently had all the time in the world for the sinner, those who realised that they were not right with God but those who were self righteous;

Jesus wants to lighten our load

My burdens are light and my yolk is easy.

He says in Luke 11 he says to them “you wash the outside but on the inside you are full of sin.”

What about the world we live in today, does it seem that most people are concerned with the outside appearance

Do we have things on the inside that we are ashamed of

Do we believe lies we have been told about us in our past, do we believe that He can change us from the inside out,

God looks on the heart, its man that looks on the outside

Jesus says “deal with the inside and the outside will be clean too,

Do we live lives of hypocrites do we ware a mask

What if that light can penetrate into our hearts revealing everything about us as it goes through our eyes, as when our eyes are opened and we are no longer blinded by the god of this world, that light shines through the face if Jesus our lives are exposed,

Before when I was not a Christian I could sin and be happy,

Example I was talking with someone this week

Do we live a divided life do we find that we are only cleaning the outside and the inside needs dealing with?

Jesus confront the Pharisees’ the religious people of that day, people who pretended to be something

The performance, are we putting on a performance are we blind to our life, are we ashamed of our private life that we keep it buried so tight that we don’t even dare to admit to our spouse what we are really like

Are we tired of living a divided life?

Are we consumed by our passions?

Are we driven by our flesh nature?

Can we be honest with ourselves with no fear of judgement?

Show me what it means to live in the light living in the light of God’s presence

Show me what it means to be a new creation old things are past away, can we ask for God’s help to live an undivided life

Self

Truth is that all of our life needs to be connected to God, we cannot separate our eating drinking waking sleeping working family time rest time, the natural things from the spiritual things

Deuteronomy 6:6-11 (New King James Version)
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
To a Jew the law was connected to every part of their life, they could not escape as there was something or some regulation that covered their waking and sleeping.

When Jesus came he did not come to do away with these laws but he was the fulfilment of them, that through allowing Christ into every part of our lives we fulfil everything

Do we pretend to live a life when things are not what they should be are we going through he motions

When you are confronted with your weakness he is made strong

Have we been convicted of any wrong in heart, can we ask for the peace that comforts us

God knows our heart, and when we confess we agree with God what he says about us,

Repentance is a decision to return to the true path, turn in the right direction.

Can we turn to the cross and realise that although we may seem like we have not got it all together but we submit to Him and own up to the way our life is and admin that we are a new creation, believe that God will show us ways that we can manifest him from the inside out,

Today is an invitation to the undivided life, the new life the new creation.

We no longer have to live in slavery to our human nature

We no longer have to live slaves to our past and we can reject the teachings that have led us to destructive guilt. Feelings of being a failure, not meeting up to the standard that is set, perhaps we have been fed the lies for years that we are no good that we are ugly, that we always make mistakes; this may be for some that they feel that they cannot break free from our past

Let us stand and we are going to ask the holy Spirit to help us.

Comments

sunday in the park 2pm

2007-09-12T13:21:36+02:00

Your Problem...My Situation

When you get angry it’s because you’re ill-tempered... It just happens that my nerves are bothering me.

When you don’t like someone it’s because you’re prejudiced... I just happen to be a good judge of human nature.

When you compliment people it’s because you use flattery to get your way... I only encourage people.

When you take a long time to do a job it’s because you’re unbearable slow and pokey... I take a long time because I believe in quality workmanship.

When you spend your wages in 24 hours, it’s because you’re a waster... When I do, it’s because I’m generous.

When you stay in bed until 11 A.M., it’s because you’re a lazy good-for-nothing... When I stay in bed a little longer, it’s because I’m totally exhausted.
How is it in life that we seem to find an excuse for our behaviour?
It’s all too easy to judge people by their actions but we judge ourselves by our intentions
I wonder what we think God’s view of us as mankind is?
View 1 God is not interested in me at all
View 2 God is watching over me just waiting for me to slip up so he can say I told you so
View 3 God knows what a mistake I am and He can’t wait until he can rub it out.
View 4 God seeks to find me He would love to show His kindness and eagerness to forgive if only I would ask.
Perhaps we have thought in some of these ways,
Do I have a purpose in life, where is my life heading, if God has a plan for me how would I know what it is?
As a Christian our belief in Christ as God separates us from all other religions, many can agree if you talk about God,
God is not threatening to anyone, people over the centuries have talked about a higher power, saying you believe in God does not cause people to stumble,
What we are saying is that Christ is God and he is the one to provide for us the way of salvation.
There are those who would have you believe that there is no God and just go along with the teaching we receive in schools.
The scientists among us would have us believe in evolution and the earth being millions of years old, they peddle their doctrine as fact
I would say that it takes more faith to believe that we are an accident than the idea of a intelligent being.
Having faith that by chance something, not sure what causing some molecules to react in a certain way, then some hydrogen exploding and cooling forming rock and them some goo with evolutionary properties
This idea if us being an accident and there is no consequence to our being here is such a dangerous thought and is one of the causes of social breakdown and reason society is the way it is today.
You don’t have to go far, to find someone to agree with you that there are problems we face today and that life somehow is not what it should be.
We have an in built sense that we are beings that require love and we are supposed to be loved in return.

Most people sometime in their lives have suffered heart ache and problems are caused when we don’t feel this love.

Have we ever loved and not feel this love in return.

Many search for a love that is unconditional,

we love these soppy songs that say I will love you forever, I would die for you, I would give my all for you. I would wipe away your tears,

We love these movies where there is this couple we know they are supposed to be together, then will they / wont they oh at the last second something goes wrong, seems hope is lost you cant stop the show there, if they did it would feel incomplete empty, we have to see the happy ending.

There is a book which has the greatest love story ever told, it is a story that we all have heard, there once was a love that that could not die, a love that would not separate even under the worst circumstances.

It was nearly nine o’clock on Friday morning when he was led out of the city to be crucified. He had to carry His own cross a part of the way, but later on a man on the way was ordered to carry it for Jesus. A large crowd followed Jesus, and many of the women cried aloud. Turning to the crying women, Jesus said ... “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. The days are coming when you will wish that your children had never been born, and that the mountains and hills would hide you from the trouble your eyes shall see.”

There were two thieves who were to be crucified this same day, and they also were in the procession. They all marched out through the city gate to the place called Calvary, and there the cruel work was done.

There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.

Jesus was nailed to the cross which stood in the middle, and the thieves were placed one on Jesus’ right side and one on His left.

Jesus did not speak until the cross was being lifted; then He said ...

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

What was it that this man had done to deserve such a punishment, what crime did he commit, he said once no one has the power to take my life, even though there were times they wanted to kill him,

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.[b]
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.[c]
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.

I wonder what we think God’s view of us as mankind is.
Do we think that God has a purpose and plan?

Look at us we are no accident there is an intelligent design and purpose here

He had plan when he created the world and what if he had a purpose and a plan not only for creation in general but for your creation in particular?

What if that God wants to be in relationship with you?

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He is desperate to show his never ending love, to a world that has rejected Him.
There is a challenge going out this afternoon, what will you do with this Jesus will you reject his love or will you accept the price that he paid for your sin accept that

He loves you no matter what

Life has many choices eternity has only two what is your choice today. There is an opportunity to find life through Jesus Christ.

If you have not already now is a great time let us pray this together

Lord Jesus, I repent of my sin, I ask you to come into
My heart, I choose to make you my lord and saviour

Comments

sunday 9th 2007

2007-09-06T22:58:11+02:00

John 3:15-18 (New King James Version)

15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Most would agree that there are things in this world that are not as they should be but

How is this Gospel going to answer the problems of today?

Many people are not convinced that faith in God can do anything in the world of economics, politics social reform,

When talking with some people they don’t see how faith can affect their daily lives. They cannot see the relevance of Christ in their lives; if they have a belief in God they don’t see the need to have God presence daily.

Even Christians that I know don’t see the need for prayer, or perhaps their faith in their prayers is lacking so they don’t ask God for anything.

To try and solve the problems of today the government like any government takes one of the following as their solution, economic structures, relationships, social structure, psychological therapy, or education, favorable taxation.

To fully understand where we went wrong we have to look back further than our own childhood even past the so called golden age of proper society perhaps in our grandparents day when things that go on today just did not happen, or perhaps they did happen but people kept it quiet.

To go back further we as Christians see the world as in a state of rebellion against God. Most people agree that there are problems in the world: it is full of suffering and injustice. Many diagnoses have been proposed and if only people were properly educated in the human values of tolerance and cooperation.

The problem on the outside seems like it is a human to human issue but when in fact the root cause of most problems we face is a human to God relationship.

The most serious problem we face today is a result from the fact that we human beings have lost sight of our proper relationship to God first and consequently to each other.

We can trace this back to what we call Sin. Man created by God to live in fellowship but to continue in this fellowship man has an obligation to obey God, but we are currently in a situation of rebellion against him. All have sinned and fallen short of God standard.

We can define this as a state of "sin". Following that we can define individual actions of disobedience are referred to as "sins".

Although you can say that we are born with this nature that is contrary to God and humanly speaking mankind has no desire for God, people often don't start out intending to be evil. Most people believe that they are doing their best nice to people and that is enough born into a Christian nation as long as I don’t do any of the major sins I will be ok.

If people believe that they are basically OK, perhaps socially they could do with more opportunities, or better education, it seems that Christianity doesn't have much to offer.

It's like dealing with alcoholism or any other addiction: the victim has to understand that he is addicted before much can be done to treat him.

Sin can be seen as an addiction.

So what has been attempted to try and solve this problems in today society.

Marxism looked at today problems and tried to solve them economically

Nazism tried to eliminate what they say as corrupting influences

Today it seems that people have tried to use what is basically therapeutic.

There are all kinds’ different ways to avoid taking personal responsibility for decisions, actions and try to put the blame on others, we see it today we are what we are because of our parents or lack of parents and push them blame onto others.

So how far can we push back this blame?

Adam and Eve as the first human beings. They were created by God. We all descended from them. They were originally in perfect fellowship with God and with each other, living in the Garden of Eden. However at some point they broke a command by God not to each the fruit of a certain tree. This seems to have been symbolic of a desire to be independent of God. This constituted the first sin.
As result of this sin, Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden of Eden, and brought into the world as we know it now. The sin affected their very nature. They became subject to death and suffering. These effects were passed on to their children, and hence to us.
All human beings are incapable of following God's will, until God has regenerated us. This inability is a result of the degeneration of human nature that resulted from the first sin.
The image of God was not completely wiped out by sin, as people are certainly capable of doing good things. However original sin corrupted us to the extent that nothing we do is ever completely pure. Our motivations are always mixed with selfish desires. This means that nothing we do can be in the strict sense righteous or meritorious.
The Law

We can read in the Law of Moses the regulations both morale and spiritual the purpose of the law was that we could be held until the time of Christ

Forgiveness

Now we're ready for good news. The good news is that God is ready to deal with sin. He is ready to forgive and to "regenerate" us.

Quickly summaries this process of forgiveness
• Is based on Christ's death and resurrection, and our relationship with him as disciples.
• Is given by God before we are even prepared to ask for it.
• Is only possible for people who are willing to depend upon God to help them, rather than their own righteousness.
• Is accompanied by repentance a turn around from the old life to a new life.

The thing with this we did not deserve this Grace and we can partake of this grace through faith.

Read chapter from Captivating Grace

Chapter One

The Captivating Presence of Grace
Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound
It's autumn in New York. November 2004.
Freezing rain, weary drivers.
One carload of delinquents on a joyride.
Got the picture?
Their spree begins at the local cineplex. Bored with action flicks, the teenagers decide to act one out. They break into a car, grab a credit card, and proceed to a video store. There they charge four hundred dollars' worth of DVDs and video games.
Why not pick up a few groceries while they're at it? A surveillance tape catches the kids selecting a twenty-pound turkey.
Remember the turkey.
Pedal to the metal in a silver Nissan, the kids move along an irregular line intersecting with a Hyundai containing one Victoria Ruvolo. The two cars cross paths at approximately 12:30 a.m.
Victoria Ruvolo, forty-four, is heading for her Long Island home. Having attended her fourteen-year-old niece's vocal recital, she looks forward to home and hearth-particularly hearth. She's ready to unravel the overcoat and scarves, burrow under an electric blanket, and rest her weary self.
Maybe the silver Nissan, approaching from the east, catches Victoria's eye-maybe not. Later, she won't be sure. She certainly won't recall the image of a teenage boy leaning out the window of the Nissan as the car approaches. Nor will she retain any memory of the bulky projectile taking flight from his hands.
This is the part about the turkey.
The twenty-pound bird crashes through Victoria's windshield. It bends the steering wheel inward, smashes into her face, and breaks every bone it encounters.
Victoria will remember none of this-frankly, a stroke of mercy. Eight hours of surgery and three weeks of recovery later, however, friends and family fill in the blanks. Victoria lies impassively in a bed in Stony Brook University Hospital and listens to every detail. Yet her emotions are difficult to discern, given the mask her face has become: shattered like pottery, now stapled together by titanium plates; an eye affixed by synthetic film; a wired jaw; a tracheotomy.
The public reaction is much more vigorous. The media has run with this story; weblogs follow every new detail of arrest and arraignment. Over Thanksgiving, New Yorkers whisper prayers of gratitude that they were not Victoria Ruvolo. Over Christmas, they cherish their health and their fortunes a little bit more than usual. Over the New Year, they cry out for justice.
Internet bloggers and TV pundits suggest what they'd do if they could be in a room for five minutes with those punks in the Nissan. They'd especially love to lay hands on Ryan Cushing, the eighteen-year-old who heaved the turkey. His face should be shattered. His life should lie in ruins. That's how the man in the street sees it.
But it's all in the hands of the justice system. On Monday, August 15, 2005, Ryan and Victoria meet face-to-restructured-face in the courtroom. Nine agonizing, titanium-bolted months have passed since the attack. Victoria manages to walk into the courtroom unaided, a victory in itself.
A trembling Ryan Cushing pleads guilty-to a lesser charge. Sentence: a trifling six months behind bars, five years probation, a bit of counseling, a dash of public service. People shake their heads in righteous indignation. Is that all the punishment we can dish out? When did this country become so soft on crime? Let's lock up all these criminals and throw away the key.
Who is responsible for this plea bargain anyway?
The victim. That's who. The victim requests leniency.
Ryan makes his plea and then turns to Victoria Ruvolo, all the essence of tough guy long since drained away. He is weeping with abandon. The attorney leads the assailant to the victim, and Victoria holds him tight, comforts him, strokes his hair, and offers reassuring words. "I forgive you," she whispers. "I want your life to be the best it can be."
An acronym of Grace is God’s rescue at Christ’s Expense

You could say that it is the greatest rescue mission ever undertaken.

Man in his sinful state in total isolation from God longingly looking back into the past in the Garden of Eden, but in our own strength never able to achieve that fellowship or level of intimacy with God! Then out of eternity and into history Messiah bursts. Grace cost Yeshua everthing! And we can give nothing to deserve this great favour!

There are many Christians who are saved by Grace but keep trying to keep being saved through the Law!

This was true of the Galatian Christians

Galatians 3 Oh, foolish Galatians! What magician has cast an evil spell on you? For you used to see the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a picture of Christ dying on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law? Of course not, for the Holy Spirit came upon you only after you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

Paul’s question to the Galatians was answered in chapter 3:11

10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all these commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”* 11 Consequently, it is clear that no one can ever be right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Does this allow us to just sin with abandon? Of course not

Phil 2:12-13

12 Dearest friends, you were always so careful to follow my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away you must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.

This is Grace. “

1) God is working in you
2) Giving you the desire to obey Him
3) Giving you the power to do what pleases Him.

The key is Yield to Jesus! He is the one who performs the works of Righteousness.

When we are saved we do good works because we are saved not in order to be saved.

A Dog barks because he is a Dog not in order to become a Dog.

So where does the Law fit in?

Rom 7:16 “Wherefore the law is holy and just and good.

Romans 19:7-8 “The law is perfect and right”

So obviously the law is

Holy, Good, Just, perfect and right.

Grace is God’s unmerited favour. Love towards us (While we were yet sinners)

A) under the law God demands righteousness
Under Grace God gives righteousness through Christ.

There is a problem if we try to live according to the law by our own strength,

The bible says there is none righteousness, no not one!

The problem is we cant keep the Law.

The Law says Obey me and live!

Grace says whoever hears and believes has passed from death into life! John 5:24

The law says you must die for your sin!

Grace offer peace and pardon through the death of another

The Law condemns every person ever born

Grace says “There is no condemnation in Christ.

The Law can never justify a sinner

Grace forgives the sinner through the death of Christ

So why was the Law given?

Acts 13: 38 “Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God—something the Jewish law could never do.

But without the law man would have no knowledge of Sin

Gal 3:24 24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian and teacher to lead us until Christ came. So now, through faith in Christ, we are made right with God. 25 But now that faith in Christ has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
The law is our School master to bring us to Christ.

So the law is wonderful, without it we would never see Christ

Man doesn’t deserve anything! But God loved us John 3:16

So our conclusion is:

Don’t despise the law embrace it, not in bondage to it, but to allow it to show you your sin. And then allow Christ to forgive you.

1 JOHN 1:9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

Forgiveness is the way of God because it accepts we have done wrong, But there is mercy.
Forgiveness doesn’t justify a bad action, or excuse it.

Rather when we seek forgiveness we find mercy!

People need to be told not to be so hard on themselves! If God is prepared to forgive you, why can’t you forgive you?

God moves in our moving. Once our will is set in motion we can expect the power of God to assist us. Even though we may slip and fall in this pursuit of forsaking sin, the blood of Christ is still effective to cleanse us.

This is the wonder and grace of the cross of Christ.

The Law kills

The cross brings resurrection life!

Embrace the Grace of God today and receive Jesus as your Lord and master.

Comments

songs for 2 sept

2007-09-01T21:14:31+02:00

Give thanks to the Lord
Our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
With a mighty hand
and outstretched arm
His love endures forever
For the life that's been reborn
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever

From the rising to the setting sun
His love endures forever
By the grace of God
We will carry on
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise

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Your love is amazing, steady and unchanging
Your love is a mountain, firm beneath my feet
Your love is a mystery, how you gently lift me
When I am surrounded, your love carries me

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, your love makes me sing
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, your love makes me sing

Your love is surprising, I can feel it rising
All the joy that's growing deep inside of me
Every time I see you, all your goodness shines through
And I can feel this God song, rising up in me

Yes, you make me sing
Lord, you make me sing, sing, sing
How you make me sing

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Worthy, You are worthy
Much more worthy than I know
I cannot imagine
Just how glorious You are
And I cannot begin to tell
How deep a love You bring
O Lord my ears have heard of You
But now my eyes have seen

You're worthy
You're worthy
You're worthy
You're worthy to be praised
Forever and a day

Glory, I give glory
To the One who saved my soul
You found me and You freed me
From the shame that was my own
And I cannot begin to tell
How merciful You've been
O Lord, my ears had heard of You
But now my eyes have seen

We'll sing an anthem of the highest praise
We'll sound an anthem of Your glorious name

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Your blood speaks a better word
Than all the empty claims I've heard upon this earth
Speaks righteousness for me
And stands in my defense
Jesus it's Your blood

[Chorus]
What can wash away our sins?
What can make us whole again?
Nothing but the blood
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can wash us pure as snow?
Welcomed as the friends of God
Nothing but Your blood
Nothing but Your blood King Jesus

Your cross testifies in grace
Tells of the Father's heart to make a way for us
Now boldly we approach
Not by earthly confidence
It's only Your blood

[Chorus]

We thank You for the blood
We thank You for the blood

We praise You for the blood
We praise You for the blood

Nothing but Your blood
Nothing but Your blood King Jesus

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Praise Him you heavens and all that's above
Praise Him you angels and heavenly hosts
Let the whole earth praise Him

Praise Him the sun moon and bright shining stars
Praise Him you heavens and waters and skies
Let the whole earth praise Him

Chorus:
Great in power, great in glory
Great in mercy, King of heaven
Great in battle, great in wonder
Great in Zion, King over all the earth

Comments

sunday 2nd Sept

2007-09-01T17:11:39+02:00

This is my Bible
I am what it says I am
I have what it says I have
I can do what it says I can do
Today I will be taught the word of God
I boldly confess
my mind is alert
my heart receptive
I will never be the same
never never never
In Jesus Name

John 15:15

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.(NKJV)

John 15:16

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.(NKJV)

What does it mean to be a good friend

Friend Quote

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

"Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you."

~Elbert Hubbard~

Friends can let us down, people can and do let you down,

Psalm 41:9 (New Living Translation)

9 Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
the one who shared my food, has turned against me.

Our Gospel tells us that God is the one who we can trust put our hope in put our faith in

Psalm 71
1 O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
don’t let me be disgraced.

Last week I spoke about trusting God who has become our life, putting our all into him, when we come to God he can take our life that does not meet up to his standard, and he gives us his life and his standing with God so we can meet up to that standard,

Greater love has no man than this that he lays his life down for a friend.

Proverbs 17:9

He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

Example

For some to believe that God wants to be our friends when we live

When does God become your friend instead of just a father, friends can often tell us things that matter to them easier than they can tell a parent.

Our relationship with God is a personal relationship. Do not let anyone or anything come between you and God.

God has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for building you up in the faith of the Lord Jesus.

They are there to encourage your relationship with God, and not to be a mediator between you and God.

Everything they say and do should be pointing you to Jesus Christ and the Word. But we are to judge everything by the Word of God.

When we think of the meaning to be in a close relationship with God we read of people like Enoch and Noah,

Evidently the writer of Hebrews when he spoke in HEB 11. 5 of Enoch that God was pleased with him, we read this expression that Enoch walked with God felt that we would understand that image without an explanation.

What does it mean to "walk" with someone?

One of the marks of a friendship is that friends often walk together.

What is involved in that?

When you say that you'd love to go for a walk with someone, you're talking about something more than exercise.

It means to move in the same direction.

It means you walk side by side at the same pace.

What do you think the metaphor "to walk with God" means?

We trust God and confide in Him as we would confide in our closest friend.

The image has about it a sense of closeness and intimacy.

Do we not believe that this blessed, adorable, inconceivably beautiful Son of God, the delight of the Father,--

Do you not believe that this Son of God could fill your heart with delight day and night, if He were always present?

And do you not believe that He loves you more than a bridegroom loves his bride?

Do you not believe that, having bought you with His blood, Jesus is longing for you?

He needs you to satisfy His heart of love.

Begin to believe with your whole heart, He wants Christ so formed in us that we are one with Christ, and that in our thinking, feeling and living, the image of His blessed Son is manifest before Him.

Abiding in Jesus, you come into contact with His infinite love; its fire begins to burn within your heart; you see the beauty of love; you learn to look upon loving and serving and saving your fellow - men as the highest privilege a disciple of Jesus can have.

Abiding in Christ, your heart learns to feel the wretchedness of the sinner still in darkness, and the fearfulness of the dishonour done to your God.

With Christ you begin to bear the burden of souls, the burden of sins not your own.

As you are more closely united to Him, somewhat of that passion for souls which urged Him to Calvary begins to breathe within you, and you are ready to follow His footsteps,

to forsake the heaven of your own happiness, and devote your life to win the souls Christ has taught you to love

Let us believe that the Holy Spirit will fill your heart with the unutterable joy of Christ's presence;

and with the joy of deliverance from sin, of victory over sin;

the unutterable joy of knowing that you are doing God's will and are pleasing in His sight;

the unutterable joy of knowing that He is sanctifying and keeping the temple for Christ to dwell in.

The bible says that all have fallen short of His glorious standard what the bible calls sin.

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. He who hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him.

Life has many choices; eternity has only two what is your choice today?

At the end of at each service we have always have an opportunity to find life through Jesus Christ.

If you have not already now is a great time let us pray this together

Lord Jesus, I repent of my sin, I ask you to come into
My heart, I choose to make you my lord and saviour
If you prayed that for the first time come and tell us about it.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Comments

songs

2007-08-24T13:44:32+02:00

Holy, holy, holy! lord God almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide thee
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see;
Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee
Perfect in power, love, and purity

Holy, holy, holy! lord God almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name,
In earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy! mercifyl and mighthy
God in three persons, blessed trinity!

God in three persons, blessed trinity!
..................................................

Come, now is the time to worship
Come, now is the time to give your heart
Come, just as you are to worship
Come, just as you are before your God
Come

One day every tongue will confess You are God
One day every knee will bow
Still, the greates treasure remains for those
Who glady choose You now
..................................................

THE GREATEST DAY IN HISTORY
Death is beaten, You have rescued me
Sing it out, Jesus is alive

The empty cross, the empty grave
Life eternal, You have won the day
Shout it out, Jesus is alive
He’s alive

Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I’ll never be the same
Forever I am changed

When I stand, in that place
Free at last, meeting face to face
I am Yours, Jesus You are mine

Endless joy, perfect peace
Earthly pain finally will cease
Celebrate, Jesus is alive
He’s alive

Oh what a glorious day, what a glorious way
That You have saved me
Oh what a glorious day, what a glorious name
......................................................
My Jesus, My Savior
Lord there is none like You
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love
My Comfort, My Shelter
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship You
(Chorus)
Shout to the Lord, all the earth
Let us sing. Power and majesty, praise to the King.
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands
Forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand
Nothing compares to the promise I have in
YOU!

(chorus)
My Jesus, My Savior
Lord there is none like You
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love
My Comfort, My Shelter
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
[Shout To The Lord lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]

Never cease to worship You

(Chorus)
Shout to the Lord, all the earth
Let us sing. Power and majesty, praise to the King.
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands
Forever I'll love you, forever I'll stand
Nothing compares to the promise I have in
YOU!
(bridge)
let the earth sing
i declare your great name
all of my life i will
with all of my breath
i will praise you
lift it up, life it up

(chorus)

nothing compares to you
i shout your praise
nothing compares to you
Nothing compares to the promise I have in YOU!

.....................................................

Lost in wonder

father God I wonder

Comments

notes 25 aug

2007-08-24T09:56:44+02:00

What can steel our Joy?

Was it for fear of the future?

Can the guilt of our past?

As we open our bibles this morning I have a simple message but then the good news is never complicated,

Romans 14: 17.

For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost._

The Kingdom of God is peace; not only the peace for freedom from the past, but the peace of perfect assurance as to the future.

Not only the work of atonement is finished, the price for our sin has been paid but also the work of sanctification is finished in Christ, too,

The way is open and we have free access to the presence of God not by our works but by his works. Now you and I may receive and enjoy what is prepared for us.

What a wonderful life we have and no one who has tasted this life can ever turn back and be satisfied.

Let us not live in the past but live in the now; today the new life that God has given us and living with a hope in a future that is bright,

So what about the past and errors that we have made mistakes if you like.

Have we ever made a mistake in the past that we have regretted?

We should not confuse what we call sin for what we call a mistake. Sin has to be repented of, and those who repent and believe shall be saved

What shall we do they asked peter on the day of Pentecost

Repent everyone of you have be converted and your sins shall be blotted out

What does it mean to have our sins blotted out, no longer remembered.

What about taking the wrong turn in life, every been down a road and thought better of it later.

Examples of a "mistake":

(1) You add two and two and get the sum of five.
(2) You take a right turn when you should have taken a left.
(3) You think someone meant something they did not.
(4) You think someone can do something when they are not able to.
(5) You see someone in the supermarket and think he is someone you know when he isn't.
(6) You accidentally delete a computer file you really need.
(7) You use a word like "mistake" to define something that is a "sin".

Examples of a "sin":

(1) You lie, commit adultery, steal, kill or think about doing them.
(2) You treat others not in the fruit of the Spirit.
(3) You have a character trait which causes you to subvert moral laws.
(4) You teach false doctrine.
(5) You make false prophecies.
(6) You promote or do actions that go against the precepts of the Word of God.
(7) You claim new revelation "beyond what is written".

What about the choices in life that we have taken

Decisions that we have to live with.

The most common regret is however that people regret what they did not do rather than what they did do.

We can live in a realm where we wish that and if only I had, regret destroys the soul.

God has such great plans for you if only we step out and believe, God is for us who can be against us, he did not spare his only son will he not with him give us all things,

We have this new life and we have His son and the new man has been created, and we may in Him live out our lives;

So how can we ensure that we live in this new life.

We opened with the scripture concerning the kingdom and this kingdom is first established in righteousness,

If the rule of this kingdom is perfect, there can be perfect rest. If there be peace, no war from without, and no dissension within, a kingdom can be happy and prosperous.

After righteousness and peace, the joy, the blessed happiness in which a man can live;

"The Kingdom of God is righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

We have to regard this joy of the Holy Ghost, as a blessing that we are going to claim for our own lives each and every day.

It can be like a young boy, poor as a church mouse looking through the window pane into the bakers shop seeing such wonderful cakes and treats without the means to which he could buy them,

If he was un aware of the invisible pane of plate glass, that hinders him taking the beautiful things he would simply reach out and take what he wanted.

Could it be true in our lives that there are things in which we long for to be in our lives things that we could touch and taste that would bring such Joy.

Perhaps we can see these divine things but cannot reach them, the invisible plate glass could be withholding such things from us.

Have we really understood what we have in Christ already, that we have fully given our lives to Christ and everything that belongs to him belongs to us.

Whatever is told us of the life of peace and joy, we say,"Praise God; God's Word is true; I believe the Word;" and yet, day by day, we stand back. When some one says, "Take it," we say, "I can't take it; there is something between."

What is this joy? First of all, it is the joy of the presence of Jesus. It is the Holy Ghost came from Heaven to be the abiding presence of Christ in His disciples, in the Church, and in the heart of every believer.

We read of when the Lord Jesus was going away, and His disciples were very sad; their hearts was sorrowful; but He said to them, "I will come back again, and I will come to you. Your hearts shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you." What took place with them, may take place with us too.

The Holy Spirit is given to make the presence of Jesus an abiding reality, a continual experience.

It is this presence only that will help us to feel, "I can conquer, I can live in the rest of God." Why? "Because I have the almighty Jesus with me every day"

With God's people, there seems to be one hindrance, they do not know their Saviour.

They do not realise that this blessed Christ is an ever present,
all-pervading, in-dwelling Christ, who wants to take charge of their entire lives.

They do not know, they do not believe that He is an Almighty Christ, and ready in the midst of any difficulties and any circumstances to be their keeper and their God. This is absolutely true.

Many Christians are asked as to how one may have the joy unspeakable, the joy that nothing can take away, the joy of the friendship and nearness and love of Jesus filling
his heart.

Our faith is resting in our ever present Christ! In him you and I can not trust Him fully, perfectly to do His work?

When we all know what the power of joy is; we know there is nothing so attractive as joy, there is nothing can help a man to bear and endure so much as joy;

We know that the Lord Jesus Himself for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. You can tell is someone is not living aright if he is living a sighing, trembling, doubting life.

Come to-day and believe the joy of the Holy Ghost is meant for you. Does not the Scripture say, "Whom not having seen we love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Do you not believe that this blessed, adorable, inconceivably beautiful Son of God, the delight of the Father,--do you not believe that this Son of God could fill your heart with delight day and night, if He were always present?

And do you not believe that He loves you more than a bridegroom loves his bride? Do you not believe that, having bought you with His blood, Jesus is longing for you?

He needs you to satisfy His heart of love. Begin to believe with your whole heart, "The joy of the Holy Ghost is my portion," for the Holy Ghost secures to me without interruption the presence and the love of Jesus.

Another thing, there is the joy of deliverance from sin.

Christ is our sanctification, and the Holy Ghost comes to communicate Him to us, to work out all that is in Christ and to reproduce it in us.

Let us remember that in the sight of God there is something more than work. There is Christlikeness--the likeness and the
life of Christ in us. That is what God wants; that will fit us for work.

He wants Christ so formed in us that we are one with Christ, and that in our thinking, feeling and living, the image of His blessed Son is manifest before Him.

If you want to live in the joy of the Holy Ghost, the question comes: "Are you willing to surrender everything
Our body, we read in 1st Corinthians, is the temple of the Holy Ghost. It is to be holy and only in Christ can this holiness be obtained.

Over the years people have had some screwed up thinking about the path to salvation and have mixed up faith with works to the point that some believe that salvation by faith alone is not possible.

We cannot make ourselves more righteous, we have heard is said that we must act like Christians we must act in the proper manor, certainly to fit into this society there are rules and regulations, perhaps we find our selves prejudice against others who don’t fit into the normal that we expect.

Let us believe that the Holy Spirit will fill your heart with the unutterable joy of Christ's presence; and with the joy of deliverance from sin, of victory over sin; the unutterable joy of knowing that you are doing God's will and are pleasing in His sight; the unutterable joy of knowing that He is sanctifying and keeping the temple for Christ to dwell in.

Believers, the joy of the Holy Ghost, the joy of that holiness of God, is His blessedness, His purity, His perfection, that
nothing can mar or stain or disturb.

The Holy Ghost waits to bring and to manifest it in our lives. He wants to come so into our hearts that we shall live, as Holy Ghost men, the sanctified life, with the sanctifying power of Jesus running through our whole beings.

When a soul comes into perfect humility before God it becomes nothing, it give up it’s own way and God becomes all in all.

Are you living in the joy of the Holy Ghost?

let us remember the joy of the Holy Ghost is the joy of working for God in Christ. I believe that God has new ways and new leadings and new power for His people, if they will only wait on Him.

we thank God for all He has given, we look at all the ways of His working that we have, let us think of the ways in which we are saved from self-care and self-seeking and self-trusting and self-loving, the rest in which we do not think of ourselves, but where He who is almighty and omnipresent is always going to be with us and is always going to work within us.

And let us when we have done that, claim the promise, that as we have sought first the kingdom and God's righteousness,
all things shall be added unto us, the kingdom of God is within you, and it is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Come, letus claim it even now in simple, childlike, humble faith.

We may have miss opportunities in life, missed out on Job promotions, missed out good things in life, perhaps we turned left when we should have turned right.

However

Let us have the thought that God is for us and our future is secure is the hands of the almighty.
Jesus came, preaching the gospel of the kingdom[a] of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Close
The bible says that all have fallen short of His glorious standard what the bible calls sin.
If you want to be forgiven by God and come into a relationship with him, you can do so right now by asking him to forgive you and come into your life.

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. He who hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him.

Life has many choices; eternity has only two what is your choice today?

At the end of at each service we have always have an opportunity to find life through Jesus Christ.

If you have not already now is a great time let us pray this together

Comments

sermon notes 12 aug o7

2007-08-09T20:20:13+02:00

What is the sign that God loves us

What does it take to convince the world that Jesus is real, without faith it is impossible to please God.

The existence of Jesus Christ is a known historic fact, also the fact that he died is never a question, what these foolish people write books about is trying to disprove is his godliness or the fact that he was God.

This is where faith comes into play, we believe. We know he existed, but what was his purpose in coming.

He said it himself it was to seek and save the lost, trouble is some seem to spend their time hiding from the lost not seeking them and to convince people that their neighbour who is a lovely person is lost and is going to hell, you could be on a loser.
What action does our faith have, if we accept that Christ loves us and we somehow keep that to ourselves instead of letting others know about this love, we are not using our talents or using what God has given us. How long do you think we are going to continue professing to obey God but being hearer and no doers
We are supposed to keep the faith but not keep it from others
It is a great thing when the Christian realises that he can receive and accomplish all only through faith. He has to believe. God will look to the fulfilling of what is promised. What faith does is take off the pressure that I have to somehow obey God and fulfil his will, in our own strength we fail then we cry the things that I want to do I cant do and the very thing I have been promising God that I would not do that I do.
I believe that every morning the Christian must trust in Jesus and in the new life given to him. Jesus will see to it that the new life works in him.
As a believer we want to do the great things for God, certainly I hear of stories of great missionaries and I want to be someone for God and achieve great things. However the barrier I come across is that the faith that does such great things must be something great--that I also must have a great power in order to exercise such a great faith. What happens when I don’t feel this power, I may think that I cannot believe as I should.
Some of us may have had prophesies in the past where we think that we are meant to be something but we try and fail time and time again.
What should happen then?
We know that faith come by hearing and hearing God’s words, we must position ourselves to be encouraged by the word of God
The Word comes and brings you this faith which you must have. "The word is quick and powerful." The Word works faith in you. The Scripture says, "Faith is by the word."
Faith for what?
Romans 4:21
being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Faith that God has started a work in you and he will continue this work until he returns, not the work of making you right is his sight that work was finished on the cross but the work of completing in you His will, His way and His power to ouch others around you with his love.
If we are to be a help to others we must first be convinced of the truth ourselves.

We know we love him because he first loved us but what convinces us of his love in the first place

This is the mystery, why would God choose to save us, why did he go to all the trouble?

1 Timothy 3:16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He that is Christ appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Ephesians 3:7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the people about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone[c] this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Because of Christ and our faith in him,[d] we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
The mystery that seems to be hidden from many is that the one who was appointed and anointed by God, the Christ, that is God incarnate, Emmanuel God with us, came to live among us,
As a Christian our belief in Christ as God separates us from all other religions, many can agree if you talk about God, God is not threatening to anyone, people over the centuries have talked about a higher power, saying you believe in God does not cause people to stumble, but saying that Christ is God and he is the one to provide for us the way of salvation can be. However we are not ashamed of our gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation.
The alternative belief in evolution and the earth being millions of years old takes more faith than the idea of a intelligent being. Having faith that by chance something, not sure what causing some molecules to react in a certain way, then some hydrogen exploding and cooling forming rock and them some goo with evolutionary properties.
So to the crux of the matter, in Paul’s day speaking about Christ was the stumbling block for many, as we can easily believe in God, but to believe that God is interested in me, and that God would put my sin upon himself seems foolish to say the least
1 Corinthians 1:22-24 (New King James Version)
22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[a] foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Let’s break this down
First of all God creates man, man rejects God, God becomes man and takes the punishment for man’s rejection and accepts man on the basis of his faith.
Why Paul had a hard time to convince both Jews and non Jews or did he,
Some of his best converts he won seem to take on his beliefs when they saw Paul’s faith in action.
Are we trying to convince people through mere words
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 (New Living Translation)
Paul said that my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
What is the sign that God is with us, People said to Jesus that no-one could do the things that he could unless God was with him.
Some preachers would try to convince us that the sign that God is with us is that we are rich, we learnt from the rich young rulers that Jesus did not think this way, the disciples were shocked that this man could not make it into heaven surely as he had money was a sign that God was causing this man to prosper.
This man came to Jesus and heard his word but went away sad, in a parable Jesus told
Matthew 13:22 (New King James Version)
22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Controversially Jesus also taught people that the poor were considered blessed, when the Jews were taught tat the blessing of the lord makes one rich.
Colossians 1:27

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
close
Life has many choices eternity has only two what is your choice today?

At the end of at each service we have always have an opportunity to find life through Jesus Christ.

If you have not already now is a great time let us pray this together

Lord Jesus, I repent of my sin, I ask you to come into
My heart, I choose to make you my lord and saviour

Comments

songs aug 120807

2007-08-09T19:54:45+02:00

PRAISE HIM, YOU HEAVENS
And all that's above.
Praise Him, you angels
And heavenly hosts.
Let the whole earth praise Him.
Praise Him, the sun, moon
And bright shining stars.
Praise Him, you heavens
And waters and skies.
Let the whole earth praise Him.

Great in power, great in glory,
Great in mercy, King of heaven.
Great in battle, great in wonder,
Great in Zion, King over all the earth.

There is a louder shout to come, there is a sweeter song to hear;
All the nations with one voice, all the people with one fear.
Bowing down before Your throne, every tribe and tongue we'll be;
All the nations with one voice, all the people with one King.
And what a song we'll sing upon that day.

In your presence, there is fullness of life
And healing flowing, for body soul and mind
God of miracles, God of the impossible is here
God is here

God is here
Let the broken hearted rejoice (lift up your head)
God is here
Let the sick say I am well (all sufficient One)
God is here
Let the weak say I am strong (let the weak say I am strong!)
God is here
His wonders to perform

In your presence, there is perfect peace
In the stillness, I behold your deity
God of wonders, God of power is here
God is here

[Chorus]

O His wonders, yes His wonders
His wonders to perform
(Repeat)

You know that,
I love you,
You know that,
I want to know you so much more,
More than I have before

These words are,
From my heart,
These words are,
Not made up,
I will live for you,
I am devoted to you,

Pre-Chorus:
King of Majesty
I have one desire
Just to be with you my Lord,
Just to be with you my Lord,

Chorus:
Jesus you are the Saviour of my soul
And forever and ever I'll give my praises to you,
Jesus you are the Saviour of my soul
And forever and ever I'll give my praises to you,

Bridge:
Jesus you are the Saviour of my soul(echo)
And forever and ever I'll give my praises to you(echo)

Comments

sunday 5th

2007-08-02T18:37:57+02:00

Exploring the connection between our new creation and our freedom from the past,

When we think of the Past – words like trouble haunt, anyone heard of the past coming back to haunt you.

Guilt of things done wrong. Shame, I am wrong.

Fear of being hunted down, the past catching you up, it can almost be a kind of Karma, what goes around comes around.

God know our past, he know our future, he know our rising up and sitting down. He knows the very thoughts on our minds yet he still declares us not guilty does not remember the sins of my youth.

God also gives us the ability to stand before him with a clear conscience no more fear of judgement, no condemnation complete freedom, he makes us God conscience instead of sin conscience.

Ew Kenyon says that the very genius of Christianity is the ability of God to build himself into us through the word so that in our daily lives we live like the master.

Can we actually be like him, can we act Christ like, the word Christian surely means like Christ, so where do people get questions like, can a Christian be demon possessed? Was Christ? Can a someone be a Christian and sleep around?
Can one be like Christ and still…

Paul said to the Galatians that he laboured until Christ was formed in them, was Paul saying that he worked as hard as a woman in labour until Christ was produced in the church. Dedication I would say.

How is then Christ to be formed in us what does a Christian look like that is in Christ, can you be one, without Christ being formed in you.

We understand the term “in Christ” means that we are united to him in his death and in his life.

The synonyms for formed for me are;

Shaped, created, fashioned and produced

Christ is to be revealed in us to the degree that we can say it’s no longer I that lives but Christ that lives in me. That my old nature is dead and buried with Christ and was crucified with him, when he dies I died.

When we come to Christ one of the first revelations is that he died for our sin, that we are saved from hell and destruction.

Later in our worship we begin to understand that we love him because in first loved us and we give ourselves to him and his service.

Another thing that comes to us is that not only did he die in our place, but the life we used to live previously has gone

We are now a new creation old things are passed away all things have become new. When he died we died, and he life that we live is by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

As surely as he lives so I can walk in the newness of life, no longer ashamed of the past but living for a stable future, secure in the knowledge that he only has good thoughts for me and when he comes for his bride she is washed and cleansed and ready, spotless and holy presentable to him, as he returns with his reward in his hands.

Does grace totally mean that I have to do nothing? If this be true what separate me from the non believer. It has to be our faith, true enough it’s our faith that saves us not works but what kind of belief does not affect the way I live. If we truly believe there is a God, there is an eternal life waiting for us in heaven how does that belief affect our daily life?

What is Christ looking for when he comes there are many words?

Christ is looking for faith, what is then the evidence of our faith.

Christ is also looking for oil, oil symbolises anointing, a fine fragrance, the fuel for the fire, heating and lighting, warmth for our souls and heath to our flesh and healing as in the balm of gilliad,

Today oil means wealth, it can be the excuse for countries going to war,

Other things Christ is looking for fruit, salt, faithfulness, looking to see if we have used our talents,

Fruit in matt 23 Jesus came looking for fruit from a fig tree some say this was a symbol of Israel,

A tree Jesus said was know by it’s fruit, what kind or fruit are we producing, our place is not to condemn people but sometimes it’s obvious to all that a person is not living in Christ and it shows in the fruit of the tree. Others however wear nice suits on a Sunday and are better at hiding the weakness of there flesh

How is the fruit in our lives to be produced? Can a tree by it’s own works produce more fruit, can the work of a skilled gardener or vinedresser increase the yield and taste of the fruit.

Jesus said that each tree produces after it’s kind, and if its true that we can only bear fruit when we are connected to the vine, how can we ensure that we stay connected.

What is it that can keep us joined; we all should believe that God does not have a problem. If it is sin that disconnects how do we think that we can stay in.

If we are constantly thinking that we are falling short of God’s standard, worried that we don’t meet up to what god expects

Can we aspire to live higher than fall into sin Friday night then repent on Sunday, are we living with purpose,

Do we see that God has a purpose and plan, he had plan when he created the world what if he had a purpose and a plan not only for creation in general but for your creation in particular?

What if that God wants to be in relationship with you?

Desperate to show his never ending love and How would any husband feel if his wife was with him one moment and then off with another some other time

We have no trouble believing that God loves us and never wants us to separate himself from us but when we feel rejected and cut off, disconnected

And how in the world can that be when you and I know that we are sinful broken, that we are certainly not pure, and that

One is portrayed by the Scripture as being pure? We talked about Grace, God's calling Grace, that is God drawing us to God's self. We're a long way off, and we're not even sure we want anything to do with this God or this faith or this person known as Jesus. And then there's that justifying Grace, when we come to that place when we accept what Christ has done on the Cross and we experience the forgiveness of God and we are put right in relationship to God through the work of Christ at Calvary. But then we see a verse of Scripture like Matthew, chapter 5, verse 48, and we say, "Uh huh, there it is. There's the hook. I knew it was too good to be true because it says 'Be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.'" Perfect! That sounds too much like law and judgment, doesn't it? I mean why in the world would the standard be set so high. I mean, Perfect! When God knows we can't attain that. That just sets us up for more failure, more discouragement. Perfect! Well, that's what Jesus said, but what did Jesus mean?

Comments

songs

2007-07-27T08:17:58+02:00

LOVE TO BE IN YOUR PRESENCE

I love to be in Your presence

With Your people, singing praises

I love to stand and rejoice

Lift my hands and raise my voice

(REPEAT)

You set my feet to dancing

You fill my heart with song

You give me reason to rejoice

Rejoice

I love to be in Your presence

With Your people, singing praises

I love to stand and rejoice

Lift my hands and raise my voice

(REPEAT)

You set my feet to dancing

You fill my heart with song

You give me reason to rejoice

Rejoice

I love to be in Your presence. . .

------------------------------------

Your love is amazing,
Steady and unchanging,
Your love is a mountain
Firm beneath my feet.
Your love is a mystery,
How you gently lift me,
When I am surrounded,
Your love carries me.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Your love makes me sing.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Your love makes me sing.
Your love is surprising,
I can feel it rising,
All the joy that’s growing
Deep inside of me.
Every time I see you,
All your goodness shines through,
And I can feel this God song,
Rising up in me.
-------------------------------------------

The splendour of a king

The splendor of the King
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice,
And trembles at His voice

How great is our God
Sing with me
How great is our God
And all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the End,
Beginning and the End
The Godhead, Three in One
Father, Spirit, Son
The Lion and the Lamb, Lion and the Lamb

Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing how great is our God
--------------------------------------------------------

Holy One
Holy One
Al creation bows to worship
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Glory in the highest

I will sing
I will sing His praises forever

God He reigns
God He reigns
Holy is the Lord of heaven
God He reigns
God He reigns forever more

All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
----------------------------------------------------
O Happy day
THE GREATEST DAY IN HISTORY
Death is beaten, You have rescued me
Sing it out, Jesus is alive

The empty cross, the empty grave
Life eternal, You have won the day
Shout it out, Jesus is alive
He’s alive

Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I’ll never be the same
Forever I am changed

When I stand, in that place
Free at last, meeting face to face
I am Yours, Jesus You are mine

Endless joy, perfect peace
Earthly pain finally will cease
Celebrate, Jesus is alive
He’s alive

Oh what a glorious day, what a glorious way
That You have saved me
Oh what a glorious day, what a glorious name

Comments

sunday 29th july

2007-07-27T07:52:17+02:00

As we open our bibles is John

I have been talking about Grace recently this morning I want to touch on having grace in our lives to free us from our past and being free is essential to God’s plan for our lives,
Freedom

Gal 5 says Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

When you talk to Jews about being free instead of being slaves the thing that instantly come to mind is where they can from as a people, time and time again Jewish children would ask their parents tell us again about the red sea, about Moses and the burning bush, tell us of the miracles in Egypt that freed us,
The story of Moses is essential to every jew, essential to who they are is where they came from.
Essential to us as Christians is to know that we are free from sin and what it was like to be slaves
Moses was a messiah type figure that can to free the people from slavery in Egypt,
Later on they were taken away into exile and again it was said
“And that's when God's Branch will sprout green and lush. The produce of the country will give Israel's survivors something to be proud of again. Oh, they'll hold their heads high! Everyone left behind in Zion, all the discards and rejects in Jerusalem, will be reclassified as "holy"—alive and therefore precious.
Slaves were not allowed to hold up their heads in the face of their master, they had to bow or take the lower position.
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and 6 my God!
Is it possible to have salvation without the joy of the lord
It is the workers of iniquity have fallen; They have been cast down and are not able to rise.
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.
With joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Ecc - I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. 19 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. 20 God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
Is 12 - 2 See, God has come to save me.
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
The Lord God is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.”
3 With joy you will drink deeply
from the fountain of salvation!
4 In that wonderful day you will sing:
“Thank the Lord! Praise his name!
Tell the nations what he has done.
Let them know how mighty he is!
Jer And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name,
Jesus said many times enter the joy o f the lord is it possible to be a servant of god and not have joy
Paul said I have learnt to have and to have not, and to be content and joyful in what we have,
If we are faithful over what god has given us he will give more
Jesus had joy, and he wanted his disciple to remain in this joy
Is 61 - I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
John 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
What a happy occasion the third day would remind us that this was a new beginning.
This reminds us of how marriages begin, there was plenty of wine, the relationship was full of sparkle, this would go on forever, - how could this love ever die? This reminds us of the it began in the garden of eden, the relationship with adam and eve, with man and God. How could this love ever dwindle, they had a wonderful beginning, every thing looked so rosy in the garden. They walked in complete fellowship, unbroken communication.
If we think of your own lives, when we were first engaged to be married without any effort you were happy, joyful and really loving each other. Just to be with each other was enough, nothing else was needed.
This was as it was when we became Christians there was a new beginning, and the truth is there is no reason that this joy could not continue.
John 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
No wine! It ran out, they didn’t expect it, they didn’t notice it happening, all of a sudden the occasion was flat, dead, joyless, no vitality. It became dreary and boring.
Has we lost our sparkle?
What would the servants do in this case?
Go and buy some wine, that’s what some of God’s people try and do, find help in the world for their difficulties. Why do we always want to go for second best?
John 2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
They were pointed to the Lord, whatsoever he saith unto you do it.
They followed the Lord’s instructions and there was plenty of sparkle back in the occasions.
John 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
They did exactly and completely, what the Lord said, have you trouble in your home? Listen to what the Lord says and do it?
Picture here is that Christ is lord completely he takes the throne of your life.
Fill your home and lives with the water of the word, these pots were used for washing and purifying things, what was Jesus saying, allow his word to completely fill us and he will give us the wine, wine speaks of Joy merriment
What was the result?
John 2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
It was even better than it had been before. The Lord can turn it around, why should we believe that over time things have to get worse, things do not have to become stale, things can get better and better, certainly true with wine, as we grow in the things of God, as we grow in our relationships we can go from strength to strength
What is the Lord saying to you? Have you drifted away from him?
• When Christ is on the throne of this world, there will be peace in this world.
• When Christ is on the throne of your life, there will be peace in your heart
• When Christ is on the throne of your home, there will be peace in your home.
Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
The blessing of living the life God has for you, the beauty is that joy of the lord is our strength

We draw what we need from the water pots the purifying word of God, so that our lives can be filled with Joy, filled with His holy spirit.

We can get so busy trying to please God that we forget to spend time with him to love him, for who he is, it’s true for us too. We get into the position of Martha when we have to work at pleasing him, instead of taking time together for love.

Have we lost the sparkle have we lost our Joy, David said
You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever
Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning
When he was caught in sin he said
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit
Perhaps if we have lost some joy we need to follow the advise of our saviour in rev 2 You don’t love me or each other as you did at first![b] 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.
Isaiah 51:3
3 The Lord will comfort Israel[a] again
and have pity on her ruins.
Her desert will blossom like Eden,
her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found there.
Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.

Comments

sunday 22nd

2007-07-21T18:45:56+02:00

The last few weeks I have been talking about grace and it’s place in our lives and there is no better place to experience his grace then in our homes PS 101 verse 2 says “oh how I long to walk uprightly especially in my own home where I need your help the most.”
Why is it so vital that we live in a Happy Home?
What kind of pressure does that put on marriage, as if it did not have enough already.
I want to look this morning at the connection between God’s grace to save us from sin and God’s power to keep us from sin. And how this relates to our lives each day. Sin means that we are separate from God, disconnected if this is true that we as people are disconnected from God how can this be repaired.
Let us open our bible in Galatians 2 I want to read the message version
We know very well that we are not set right with God by( rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We the Jewish people) tried it—and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good.
17-18Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?)….. If I was "trying to be good," I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down.
19-21What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily. “
Someone once said that separation from God is one of the biggest causes or problems in our society today. The government and political parties have been making the news about suggesting that marriage is the foundation blocks to society, its true if children don’t have a stable home environment there can be problems whether there are two parents or not. but I believe they are only looking, as most do, at the symptoms of the problem and not the root cause.
Very few would disagree that our world today is far from perfect and there is a sense in us all that things are not the way they should be.
What then we try to do give tax breaks to married couples, will throwing money at people who don’t have the kind of commitment that would keep them together change their minds, the reason married couples stay together longer does not have much to do with money.
A picture of the church and Christ.
It seemed that Tom and Mary had the perfect marriage. A friend once sought Tom’s advice. He asked, "Tom you and your wife have been married for fifty years ands yours has been a happy marriage, what has been your secret?
Tom replied, "The secret is that we have always taken time to dine out twice a week."
His friend replied, "What nights do you go out together?
Tom said, "Oh we don’t go out together, I go on Tues. the wife goes on Friday!"
The image that God has left us of his relationship with Him is Marriage and the family; it is a picture of Christ and the church.
A marriage made in heaven has become a marriage marred by hell. Life can either be heaven or hell. Heaven is considered a state of perfection; trouble is our relationships don’t often add up to what we are expecting.
Why is it that we have a distorted picture of Christ love for us how is it that we can have a hard time expecting could it be that the everyday picture that we face don’t
No home is exempt from problems. Whether saved or unsaved, we all will face difficulties in life.
If the relationship between a husband and wife is a picture of God’s relationship with us as church.
What happens when our experience does not line up with the word of God.
Do we think that sub-concisely that God love is conditional and He has this list of do and don’ts and if we keep to the list God comes near and if we don’t he withdraws?
God’s love does not love someone because they are worthy His love makes them worthy by the strength and power of that love
I said last week the bible says that we love God because he first loved us.
What does this tell us about God and the Church, is God in heaven demanding we meet up to his regulations, does he disapprove or our lifestyle, can we believe in the power of His grace to keep us righteous and holy.
If my life is not what it should be how does that effect my wife, if I am disconnected from my creator how should I react to his creation, We as Christians should be the first to do what we can to sustain and take care of what God has created, this must then include the people he made regardless of their colour or culture, In the beginning God created male and female, together, you read it sometime, then he separated them it was then much later that some people came from this place and others came from other places, Racism cannot play any part in Christians. People are disconnected from God
If we do not have peace shalom in our home what kind of picture am I presenting to the world, someone said that the best testimony to the world was a great marriage.
I believe that a marriage is the key to our evangelism, people can look at me standing up here preaching this but if my lifestyle does not meet up to my preaching, my message is tainted, who would want to hear that kind of hypocrisy.
How then can we face challenges in life Consider Abraham and Sarah, think of some of the problems they encountered.
They had to move home, that was a time of upheaval.
Moving can be a stressful experience for couples, whatever the reason.
Genesis 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
There was a famine, a time of hardship. On this occasion Abraham foolishly went into Egypt, back into the world, this led to lies, deceit and danger.
There were upheavals, hardships and there were things hard to understand.
Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
I am sure Sarah wondered why? There surely were times when she must have questioned the Lord, why me? Impatience led to sin.
There were times of severe testing.
Genesis 22:1-2 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. [2] And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Families have to go through some terrible times, here was a Godly couple and look what they had to face.
Why is it so important to have a happy, Godly and friendly home? It is so that when trouble comes, you know how to face it.
In the pathway ahead of us all, we will have to face many hurdles and obstacles. It can be very difficult but if our home life is not in order, it will be nearly impossible.
Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart makes’ a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Is your home a contented one?
Hebrews 13:5 let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Is there communication in the home?
Do you live in a home where problems are talked through and sorted out?
Families that deal with problems the right way learn to attack the problem and not each other.
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
Problems are common to all men
Certainly we should not stress about it
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 peter says as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
It’s gonna be alright!
A preacher was once asked about his marriage had he ever considered divorce? He said, "No, but I have thought about murder a few times."
Jesus believes in marriage, did he not say that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Does Jesus Christ have his proper place in your home?
Do we invest time in our homes? In our marriage, do we have to wait until life falls apart before we invest, husbands put some money in the bank now you may need it later, buy some flowers, do the housework without being asked, switch off the tele and talk.
Have we let the business of life effect our affections
Ladies does our own self image effect things
Love of possessions.
Are we satisfied with what God has given us?
1 Tim. 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Society and the media teach us that the route to happiness is found in things, the more we have the happier we will be, bigger car, nicer homes and a beautiful wardrobe. Is it your love of things that causes hardship and difficulty in the home?
So much money is needed for luxuries that you spend less and less time together, no time for family and children. You are too much interested in things.
Consider Rachel, she was discontented, she wanted a child. When God granted her request, we read.
Genesis 30:24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son.
She wanted more. We also read that she stole the images.
Genesis 31:19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.
She wanted more, even if it came at the expense of those she loved.
Some people who get married don’t want to have to give up somethings they enjoyed in their single life.
You don’t want marriage to be more restrictive and less fun. Spiritual well being is neglected for the pursuit of pleasure.
The love of another.
Ephes. 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Let’s see the great source of help that we, as God’s people, have for all our marriage difficulties.
Come to the marriage at Cana.
John 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
What a happy occasion the third day would remind us that this was a new beginning.
This reminds us of how marriages begin, there was plenty of wine, the relationship was full of sparkle, this would go on forever, - how could this love ever die? How could this love ever dwindle, they had a wonderful beginning, every thing looked so rosy in the garden.
Think of your own situation, without any effort you were happy, joyful and really loving each other. Just to be with each other was enough, nothing else was needed.
John 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
No wine! It ran out, they didn’t expect it, they didn’t notice it happening, all of a sudden the occasion was flat, dead, joyless, no vitality. It became dreary and boring.
Has we lost our sparkle?
What would the servants do in this case?
Go and buy some wine, that’s what some of God’s people try and do, find help in the world for their difficulties. Why do we always want to go for second best?
John 2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
They were pointed to the Lord, whatsoever he saith unto you do it.
They followed the Lord’s instructions and there was plenty of sparkle back in the occasions.
John 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
They did exactly and completely, what the Lord said, have you trouble in your home? Listen to what the Lord says and do it?
Picture here is that Christ is lord completely he take the throne of your life.
Fill your home and lives with the water of the word, these pots were used for washing and purifying things, what was Jesus saying, allow his word to completely fill us and he will give us the wine, wine speaks of Joy merriment
What was the result?
John 2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
It was even better than it had been before. The Lord can turn it around, the Lord can help you have that marriage that you so desire, that you so deserve.
What is the Lord saying to you? Have you drifted away from him?
• When Christ is on the throne of this world, there will be peace in this world.
• When Christ is on the throne of your life, there will be peace in your heart
• When Christ is on the throne of your home, there will be peace in your home.
Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
The blessing of living the life God has for you, the beauty is that … he loves us forward, into the future that he has prepared for us, he has faith that we will make it, even while it seems impossible.

We can get so busy trying to please God that we forget to spend time with him to love him, for who he is, it’s true for us too.

Comments

song list for 15th

2007-07-13T16:53:40+02:00

standing here

For Who You Are (Key

Verse:
Standing here in Your presence
Thinking of the good things You have done
Waiting here patiently
Just to hear Your still small voice again

PreChorus:
Holy, righteous, faithful to the end,
Saviour, healer, redeemer, and friend

Chorus:
I will worship You for who You are
I will worship You for who You are
I will worship You for who You are
Jesus (repeat)

Bridge:
My soul secure, Your promise sure
Your love endures always (2x)

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be thou my vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me save that thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word
I ever with thee, thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I thy true Son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battleshield, sword for the fight
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower
Raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and thou only, first in my heart
High King of heavem, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, after victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

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King of Kings, Majesty,
God of heaven, living in me
Gentle Savior, closest friend,
Strong Deliverer, Beginning and End
All within me falls at Your throne

Your Majesty, I can but bow
I lay my all before You now
In royal robes I don't deserve
I live to serve Your Majesty

Earth and heaven worship You,
God Eternal, Faithful and True
Who bought the nations,
ransomed souls
Brought this sinner
near to Your throne
All within me cries out in praise

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all i need is you lord you lord
all i need is you

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Jesus i believe in you
Jesus i belong to you
you're the reason that i live
the reason that i sing
with all i am

i'll walk with you
wherever you go
through tears and joy
i'll trust in you

and i will live
in all of your ways and
your promises forever
i will worship i will worship you forever

Comments

sunday 15th

2007-07-13T14:33:14+02:00

Love me regardless

Open our bibles in

Romans chapter 5

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Christ in Our Place

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

God loves us while we were still sinners and if this be true what happens about once we have become a Christian and perhaps fall into some weakness does that change his view of us?

When we look into the words that is used in the Greek for love we find several words talking about brotherly love the love of a friend love of a partner even love and affection for an animal.

Then we find this word agape this would suggest an unconditional love, it is the word that is used in John 3 16 when God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Unconditional Jesus said that greater love has no man than that he would lay down his life, do we really believe that we are worth dying for. Are we really worth the price that God the father paid for us in giving his son are we really worth the price that Jesus paid when he said that no-one has the power to take my life but I choose to lay it down for the redemption of many, Jesus believed fully that no-one had the authority over him unless it was given to them by His father.

Jesus knew that unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it cannot produce the life that God intended for it Jesus was that seed sowed for those who would come to faith because of those who believed in Him.

What faith do we as Christians now 2000 years later that this love still goes on, that his love has shed abroad in our heart today here and now.

Heb 7 25

He (Jesus) is able to save completely all who come to God through him. Since he will live forever, he will always be there to remind God that he has paid for their sins with his blood

Later we read Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever

And what about sin 1 john tells us that the Christian is not able to sin, is this simply not able to sin, I know when I was growing up a found no happiness in sin. No pleasure in straying away from God.

Are we then as pastors are supposed to police our congregation? Are we able to keep people from sinning. I read that Jesus is the shepherd of our souls he is able to keep us from stumbling and present us faultless, we cannot follow everyone around fixing their problems warning them from sin.

We have to have the faith that the spirit of God is in you. Once we have seen Christ manifest in you we never let go of that. We are pastors called by God to pastor the whole city, I believe that we see that all the people of city of Ely as ones who need a pastor someone to introduce to them this Jesus whom we have come to know his love and learned to love in return.

But this cannot be just the role of the pastor but the role of every believer that we can all pastor our neighbours, stand in the gap on behalf of sinner. We can be the ones to give hope to the hopeless faith to the faithless, belief to the unbeliever, strength to the weak, heath to the unhealthy peace to the stressed through our witness, and though our lives they can see our creator working in our lives today.

Some say pastor if you knew my life you would not say that I am the kind of witness you are looking for I struggle with believing certain things

…….Story of man not believing in hell………

What it is I wonder that we struggle to believe in? Do we really believe his love goes beyond our weakness of our sinful flesh, if this is true why dose he keep on loving us after we have accepted his forgiveness and then continue to make mistakes

What kind of grace are we able to preach and won’t this focus on grace keep allowing people to sin.

Does god love sinners?

How can he love us and make us acceptable in his sight and yet remain a holy?

What kind of love is this and what does that love look like and if he loves us so much that he gave his son, and that he give us his Holy Spirit with the only proviso that we believe, what if we say we believe but our lifestyle does not meet up to his standard. And what if we continue not to meet up to that standard, how do we as a community get people to behave like Christians, and if behaving like Christians is a set pattern, this is what religion does it sets a list of rules an regulations, but take a look at the 10 commandments these were rules but they were more than just rules.

You can read them like a love story, or a vow given between a husband and a wife.

1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

It like God is saying look I am the one who rescued you, how many remember stories when the princess spent a lifetime waiting for her knight in shinning armour the hansom prince that will ride in and kill the dragon and carry her off into the sunset, this idea of romance is as old as time, a young woman dreaming of the knight on a white horse.

Later on in Deuteronomy God says to his people

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one![b] 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

What kind of love is this bridegroom expecting from his bride, what does any man expect from his bride?

Let us get real here, when a man and woman are married they go behind closed doors, and what happens in their nakedness is only between them, when they are naked with each other they are at their most venerable, when we are exposed to God he sees us as if we were naked as if we have no defence to his holiness, all those things we would call sin cannot be hidden, in his presence.

Who are we trying to kid when we stand in God presence he knows our very thoughts, he know things that no other person on earth could possible know, he know what we thought this morning, and yet he still does not withhold his spirit. His judgement has to be full of His grace or none of us could be saved. We cannot think that the better Christian is the one who is better at hiding his or her weakness. Who looks better in a suit on a Sunday morning, who is able to hide their anger their failing that no-one can see their humanness

And what if that humanness is exposed, some of us would not even dare to admit that they suffer with some problems, they get used to hiding them from everyone.

What was Adam and Eve thinking in the garden after they had disobeyed God that they were able to hide from his presence.

We have to have faith in God’s grace that he is able to see the parts that no-one can see, our nakedness and still have mercy when we perhaps do not deserve it.

What is it that God is looking for the same as any anyone of us that we would love him? Is God so unlike us who He created in his image? We love God because He first loved us.

Jesus would later reaffirm God’s command as the most important, love God love your neighbour and in this love.

Back to the 10 commandments

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,

or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

God is saying here that once we are married there can be no other lovers, there can be no other images in your mind other than me

Is this not a reasonable request?

Essentially the book Ephesians can be seen as a wedding book, the first three chapters focus on who we are in Christ, it focuses on the love Christ has for us. Almost like a courtship, the next three chapters read like a covenant agreement there are boundaries and guidelines

It is like God is saying to us he love us just as we are courting us to come near to him,

In chapter 5 we read about the kind of arrangement between a husband and wife as a picture of God’s relationship with us as church. Again we find this word agape, unconditional love, as a husband should love his wife as Christ loved agaped each one of us and gave his life for us

Agape does not love someone because they are worthy

Do we think that sub-concisely that God love is conditional and He has this list of do and don’ts and if we keep to the list God comes near and if we don’t he withdraws?

This is not agape

Agape love does not love someone because they are worthy agape love makes them worthy by the strength and power of that love agape does not love someone because they are beautiful agape loves in such a way that it makes them beauty

There is a love in order to… a love because… a love for the purpose of…. and then there is love full stop, the bible says that we love God because he first loved us, from God point of view he loved us way before we loved him.

Christ dies when we were still sinners

We were far of

You did not choose me but I chose you

People in the scripture are loved into their futures; God told Jeremiah that he loved him before he was born. He told David that while he was still in his mothers womb he skill fully made.

What if we were able to somehow tap into some of that love

What if we are able with God’s love able to treat our spouse as if they were the man of woman that we want them to be and not as he or she is

What if the wife is able to agape love the man as he is despite his faults and weaknesses?

Think about it this way if a man was to love the woman regardless of how he was treated, said he loved her other times than when they were naked, perhaps she would start to believe that this love was real.

Similar if we are only telling God we love Him when we want something, when we are praying for a need or we are in some kind of trouble, how does that make God feel, is God so compassionate that it does not bother Him, is he so forgiving that he takes no account of a suffered wrong or an evil done to him.

Some have a hard time believe that God loves them as they feel so unloved and that the love they have experienced as a child or as a wife / husband is conditional;

What is more motivation husbands being reminded of all your weakness or failings or being loved as if you are already a great man

We look at the Ephesians starts with the affirming of what God has for us

Love me into my future.

Close…

Comments

sunday 8th July

2007-07-07T19:09:13+02:00

As we open our bible this morning once again in
1 Peter 1 I want to pick up where I left off last week and be sure to get the cd from the bookshop or log onto lighthose-ely.org and listen online.
I was talking about His grace and I want to expound on that today as His grace is causing us to be secure
I believe that the grace if God is a power that we can experience for ourselves in our every day life
Attacked by the thoughts of failure, weakness of self and when we feel like we have to do do do, and when we feel inadequate like we do not meet up to the standard. You have automatically placed yourself under the position of the law; the bible though is full of laws dos and don’ts
The legalistic Christian insiting that you conform to what he or she would expect and this would automatically place you under the law, giving you a list of club rules that you have to sign up for to be accepted, are you suggesting that we allow sinners into our Christian club? Well we let …. In didn’t we and look at him now.
GRACE - God's unmerited favour towards us. "The pardon of God in passing over your sins, but also the power and beauty of God to keep you from sinning. The purpose of our salvation is for God to lavish the riches of his grace on us, and it will take him forever to do it" (Future Grace - John Piper)
Hit by the thoughts that we are not worthy of God’s favour, the beauty of His grace is that we are never worthy of unmerited favour, if we could earn our salvation then Christ died in vein.
Do we ever have the thought for those living with the guilt of their past haunted by past failure, not knowing that there is a God who cares for their state and loved them enough to redeem their souls even though they may be entrenched in their sin.
There are those people waiting to hear the words go in peace your faith has saved you
It would be interesting if time allowed to discuss the connection between faith and grace and how much is our faith working and how much is his grace working and how much is it his grace working through our faith.
What life would be like with His grace flowing through our lives unhindered by our natural being.
Grace is flowing like a river!
Millions there have been supplied;
Still it flows, as full as ever,
From the Saviour's wounded Side.
"The Sufficiency of God's Grace," His grace is sufficient for all of our needs.
When we are depending upon God for all our needs it would not be the proper thing to be worried about anything, or at least as much as we have trusted him for. , in the parable we read of the seed in
Matthew 13:22
Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
The worries of this world can then affect our lives
Do the sparrows worry; do the lilies of the fields toil. Yet they are clothed with the splendour greater than any king.
When we are saved, God does not leave us to work out
our lives all by ourselves. Having began in the spirit Paul told the Galatians are you now being perfected in the flesh. No, the lord has for us sufficient grace. That means resources to help us live the Christian life as pleasing to Him.
When you accept Christ as your Saviour, God guarantees to take care of you all the way Home! He guarantees to protect you and supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. GRACE SUFFICIENT for all of our need.
What about when we face difficulties in life, someone came once and told their pastor “something has gone terrible wrong I am having trouble in my marriage, the pastor replied no that sounds about right.”
“Before I was married I did not have a care in the world, but now I can’t seem to stop” “ever read 1 Cor 7 that sounds about right too.”
When we face times of trial, was this not for- told to us by Christ himself, as in this world you will have trials, do you not know that with the 100 fold return for you giving everything to the lord even comes with persecutions.
Therefore in our hour of need or in our time of trial do we accept this as our lot in life, accept that we can do nothing?
So I go to the pastor for help he says “yes you’re in trouble but what do you expect.” I heard this joke. Two balloonists had become lost somewhere over France. When they managed to get the balloon down , they shouted to a man, "Hey! could you tell us where we are?" The man called back, "You are in a balloon." You see the information is accurate, but it is useless!"
As believers it’s no use having the correct answer unless we are able to help people, people approach us and they are in financial debt, perhaps because of the addiction to spending it is easy sometimes to look at them with a hint of judging in our hearts
We ourselves may even be going through some trial perhaps our own fault, foolish mistake of our youth or even mistake we made yesterday that we are paying for, we must believe in the possibility of His grace to pull us through, but pastor what if it’s my own fault, or if someone is sent to prison and they deserve to be there”
How is it that that God comforts us?
Could we be a comfort to anyone else?
Paul said, "blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."
As we study the lives of men like Jonah, who was given a burden of a whole city to reach, but God gave him the courage he needed to fulfil His will. Although at first he got into a whale of trouble his own entire fault, little did he know that his hellish experience was to be turned around for his salvation. Jonah we knew it was his own fault
Or like Joseph who seemed to have life harder than any of us could bear, perhaps it would have been the injustice that we would have found so hard to bear, did Joseph do anything to be put in the position of slave, maybe not but as a young boy his youthful boasting got a bit out of hand.
With Joseph we knew it was his brothers that meant things for harm but God was able to turn around the situation and not only save Joseph but cause him to be the saviour of all Egypt and Israel.
Or like Job, what did he do wrong? his three friend certainly tried to convince his that the trial was his fault or some sin Job lost everything that he held dear, and could not see a reason for it
The thing with these stories it is our story,
maybe we have said something we should not
or we have gone in the opposite direction God told us to
even if we have been treated unfairly, punished for others wrong
Jonah knew he did wrong,
Joseph thought he did not wrong.
Job’s friends were convinced he had done wrong,
Despite each of their hardships they triumphed in the end and God encourages our heart.
Focus our attention on the goodness of God. "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" as a reminder of His goodness to us.
We are totally dependent upon God in the midst of my trials. We are tempted to trust in my prayers, not in the God to whom my prayers are directed. Arthur Pink the evangelist wrote, "Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. Prayer is a confession of creature weakness, yes, of helplessness. Prayer is the acknowledgment of our need and the spreading of it before God."
Pink's statement helps us realise that we are totally, completely helpless and dependent upon God. Jesus said, "for without me ye can do nothing."
Faith is simply trusting, trusting in God to meet your every need.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ
Faith Triumphs in Trouble
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Christ in Our Place

Comments

songs 8-7-7

2007-07-06T23:20:36+02:00

HE GREATEST DAY IN HISTORY
Death is beaten, You have rescued me
Sing it out, Jesus is alive

The empty cross, the empty grave
Life eternal, You have won the day
Shout it out, Jesus is alive
He’s alive

Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I’ll never be the same
Forever I am changed

When I stand, in that place
Free at last, meeting face to face
I am Yours, Jesus You are mine

Endless joy, perfect peace
Earthly pain finally will cease
Celebrate, Jesus is alive
He’s alive

Oh what a glorious day, what a glorious way
That You have saved me
Oh what a glorious day, what a glorious name

...............................................

Great is the Lord,God Almighty
Great is the Lord on high
the train of His robe fills the temple
and we cry out highest praise

Glory to the risen King
Glory to the son
Glorious son

lift up your heads open the doors
let the King of glory come in
and forever be our God

Holy is the Lord,God Almighty
holy is the Lord on High
let all the earth bow before You
and crown You Lord of all

........................................

Over the mountains and the sea
Your river runs with love for me
And I will open up my heart
And let the healer set me free
I'm happy to be in the truth
And I will daily lift my hands
For I will always sing
Of when your love came down

(Chorus)
I could sing of your love forever
I could sing of your love forever
I could sing of your love forever
I could sing of your love forever

...................................................

I love you, I need you,
Though my world may fall, Ill never let you go
My Saviour, my closest friend,
I will worship you until the very end

Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Jesus, I will never let you go
Youve taken me from the miry clay
You've set my feet upon the Rock, and now i know

.................................................

Comments

1st july 07

2007-06-28T23:16:47+02:00

He is our all sufficient saviour; we dare to say good things about ourselves only because of our great trust in God through Christ, that He will help us to be true to what we say.
In times of torment, trouble and when life seems to take a turn for the worst where do we put our trust.
David said that “My heart pants, my strength fails me, and my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; I am losing my hair with worry and therefore my heart fails me. As a weak human being our flesh and my heart fail; turmoil churns me up on the inside, I feel so stupid compared to God. But even so God loves me he is holding my right hand God will keep in guiding me all my life with his wisdom and counsel and afterwards receive me into the glories of heaven. God is the strength of my heart and remains mine forever.
Would God's grace be sufficient? Did He not promise?
"My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength is made perfect in weakness?" In so many unbelievable ways, God is providing my needs. The Lord has kept His promise.
How is it that that God comforts us?
Could we be a comfort to anyone else?
Paul said, "blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."
His promise, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." My Lord is the One who quiets my fears. His presence brings peace. He holds me in His arms when no one else can meet my need.
Are there moments when I don't feel like praying or reading my Bible? I cannot count the times when the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak when it came to my quiet time with God.
Say with the Psalmist, "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches...I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word."
God is in control of my life; nothing happens but by His will. One such promise is, "There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man: God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it." As we study the lives of men like Jonah, who was given a burden of a whole city to reach, but God gave him the courage he needed to fulfil His will. Or like Joseph who seemed to have life harder than any of us could bear, perhaps it would have been the injustice, thing with his story it was our story, sold into slavery treated unfairly, punished for others wrong and Job lost everything that he held dear, but despite each of their hardships they triumphed in the end God encourages our heart.
Focus our attention on the goodness of God. "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" as a reminder of His goodness to me.
During times of discouragement, The Spirit of God continually reminds us that "Our light affliction, which is for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." The Psalmist reminds me, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
God provides opportunities to minister to others during our seasons of trouble. Picture Jesus on the cross suffering for all mankind "and Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." He reminded me that Christ likeness means to put the needs of others before my own needs.
What happens when we take our eyes off from our own needs and onto others, well pastor, I can minister to others until I have been sorted out, talking to someone this week just saved out of heavy drug addition he went into this programme and was preaching the gospel the very next day, all he knew to say was God loves me while I was still a sinner” but it took his eyes off his own problems and onto others.
I am totally dependent upon God in the midst of my trials. I am tempted to trust in my prayers, not in the God to whom my prayers are directed. Arthur Pink the evangelist wrote, "Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. Prayer is a confession of creature weakness, yes, of helplessness. Prayer is the acknowledgment of our need and the spreading of it before God." Pink's statement helped me realise I was and am totally, completely helpless and dependent upon God. Jesus said, "for without me ye can do nothing."
Faith is simply trusting, trusting in God to meet your every need.
As I continue through life, we can confidently say “I am not alone. The Lord promised, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me." The Lord goes with me. His grace is sufficient in my time of need. Each night as we go to bed, we thank God for His presence and power working in us. He holds the future.

Comments

Songs for 1st July

2007-06-28T13:21:50+02:00

Great in power, great in glory,
Great in mercy, King of heaven.
Great in battle, great in wonder,
Great in Zion, King over all the earth.

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Wonderful so wonderful is your unfailing love
Your cross is spoken mercy over me
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart can fully know
How glorious, how beautiful you are

Chorus:
Beautiful one I love
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing

Powerful so powerful your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see
The beauty of your majesty awakes my heart to sing
How marvelous, how wonderful you are

Chorus(x2)

You opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
‘Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you

Jesus

You opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
‘Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you

Chorus(x3)

My soul, My soul must sing (x3)
Beautiful one x2

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Worthy, You are worthy
Much more worthy than I know
I cannot imagine
Just how glorious You are
And I cannot begin to tell
How deep a love You bring
O Lord, my ears had heard of You
But now my eyes have seen

You’re worthy
You’re worthy
You’re worthy
You’re worthy to be praised
Forever and a day

Glory, I give glory
To the One who saved my soul
You found me and You freed me
From teh shame that was my own
And I cannot begin to tell
How merciful You’ve been
O Lord, my ears had heard of You
But now my eyes have seen

We’ll sing an anthem of the highest praise
We’ll sound an anthem of Your glorious nameWorthy, You are worthy
Much more worthy than I know
I cannot imagine
Just how glorious You are
And I cannot begin to tell
How deep a love You bring
O Lord, my ears had heard of You
But now my eyes have seen

You’re worthy
You’re worthy
You’re worthy
You’re worthy to be praised
Forever and a day

We’ll sing an anthem of the highest praise
We’ll sound an anthem of Your glorious name

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What can wash away our sins?
What can make us whole again?
Nothing but the blood
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can wash us pure as snow
Welcomed as the friends of God?
Nothing but Your blood
Nothing but Your blood, King Jesus

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"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me...
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be...
as long as life endures.

When we've been here ten thousand years...
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise...
then when we've first begun.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

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Praise to Christ, the Lord incarnate,
gift of God by human birth:
he it is who came among us,
shared our life and showed our worth;
ours the turmoil he encountered,
ours the fight he made his own;
now within our hearts his Spirit
makes his way of freedom known.

Praise to Christ our Saviour and our King
Praise to Christ our King

Praise to Christ, the Man of sorrows,
tasting death for our release:
his the cup of bitter anguish,
ours the pardon, ours the peace;
his the blood that seals forgiveness,
ours the weight of guilt he bore –
so by death and resurrection
Christ has opened heaven’s door.

Praise to Christ, the Priest eternal:
still for us he intercedes;
still he sees our pains and problems –
how he understands our needs!
Yesterday, today, forever,
always he remains the same:
pledged to bring us to the Father,
strong in grace and free from blame

Comments

song list

2007-05-25T21:55:21+02:00

Let everything that, everything that,
Everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Let everything that, everything that,
Everything that has breath praise the Lord.

VERSE 1:
Praise You in the morning,
Praise You in the evening,
Praise You when I'm young and when I'm old.
Praise You when I'm laughing,
Praise You when I'm grieving,
Praise You every season of the soul.
If we could see how much You're worth,
Your power, Your might, Your endless love,
Then surely we would never cease to praise.

VERSE 2:
Praise You in the heavens, joining with the angels,
Praising You forever and a day.
Praise You on the earth now, joining with creation,
Calling all the nations to Your praise.
If they could see how much You're worth,
Your power, your might, your endless love,
Then surely they would never cease to praise.

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LOVE TO BE IN YOUR PRESENCE

I love to be in Your presence

With Your people, singing praises

I love to stand and rejoice

Lift my hands and raise my voice

(REPEAT)

You set my feet to dancing

You fill my heart with song

You give me reason to rejoice

Rejoice

I love to be in Your presence

With Your people, singing praises

I love to stand and rejoice

Lift my hands and raise my voice

(REPEAT)

You set my feet to dancing

You fill my heart with song

You give me reason to rejoice

Rejoice

I love to be in Your presence. . .

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Wake every heart and every tongue
To sing the new eternal song
And crown Him King of Glory now
Confess Him Lord of all

Chorus:
You are the highest
You are the greatest
You are the Lord of all
Angels will worship
Nations will bow down
To the Lord of all

Verse 2:
A day will come when all will sing
And glorify our matchless King
Your name unrivaled stands alone
You are the Lord of all

Bridge:
Let every heart
Let every tongue
Sing of Your name, Sing of Your name
Let every heart
Let every tongue
Sing, sing, sing

Bridge 2
Lifting you higher, higher and higher
Lifting you higher, higher and higher
Lifting you higher, higher and higher, Lord

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beautiful one

Wonderful so wonderful is your unfailing love
Your cross is spoken mercy over me
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart can fully know
How glorious, how beautiful you are

Chorus:
Beautiful one I love
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing

Powerful so powerful your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see
The beauty of your majesty awakes my heart to sing
How marvelous, how wonderful you are

Chorus(x2)

You’ve opened my eyes to your wonders anew
Captured my heart with this love
‘Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you

Jesus

You’ve opened my eyes to your wonders anew
Captured my heart with this love
‘Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you

Chorus(x3)

My soul, My soul must sing (x3)
Beautiful one x2

Comments

27th may

2007-05-25T21:31:40+02:00

Recently my topics have been regarding faith and our reaction to Sin, primarily about what we think about ourselves in the light of God presence, what do we think about God, is God angry with us when we are lacking in faith, if we fear some great disaster are we somehow calling it to us. Is is possible step out of the covenant relationship, do we know what it means to truly live each day in faith in the son of God who loved us and gave himself for us, can we live in a realm where we don’t judge people, and by doing so hold a grudge or charge against them

We can open our bibles in John Chapter 8 and notice that this is the story of when Jesus was asked what his judgement would be upon the woman caught in adultery

First answer was

“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first

Second

“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

Today I want to ask, 2 questions
1. As Christians what is our reaction to the world around us, when confronted with people with obvious sin in their lives.
2. Has the church culturally lost touch with the generation of today

I recently read this article

Sin is something young people do not know or care about. This definition has somewhat shocked the Church of England, which has investigated the beliefs of "generation Y" (15-to-25-year-olds) and is staggered to discover that they, like, you know, don't have any real sense of sin.
Sin is as alien to the contemporary mind as fetching water from a well, or darning your own socks
According to the Catholic Catechism, sin is "humanity's rejection of God and opposition to him", which of course means that the godless (a bracket into which a large number of generation Y will fall) find the whole notion irrelevant, senseless or both.
This is precisely what Christians who accept the idea of sin find deeply disturbing: a culture that doesn't even care about sin has truly cut itself off from God's grace and is therefore sinful in the most profound sense.
However the fact that yoof no longer cares about sin does not mean it is without morals
Young people today care a great deal about trade justice, making poverty history and saving the planet for future generations and cute little baby elephants.
Sinners reject God, but not necessarily the good.
Sin as we know it can be described as people rejecting God, unbelief is counted as a sin.
Let us read in
Heb 3 v 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin
When we are faced with such non interest from people in today’s culture what is to be our reaction. We find that people have hardened their hearts towards God,
Sin has deceived them, primarily into thinking that they have no need of a saviour.
14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:
“ Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”[b]

16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?
What is the sin that caused the Israelites not to enter into God promise land – unbelief?
What is the opposite to faith – unbelief
What is the son of man (Jesus looking for – faith)
How do the just (righteous) live – by faith
How are we saved – faith
How are we condemned – Not Believing?
Romans 10. 9
…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”[f] 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”[g]
Israel Rejects the Gospel

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,[h]
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”[i]
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?”[j] 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Mark 16 - 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
How then are we to get our message across?
Over the last few years the church as a whole has acted, and argued over things that most ordinary people do not care about, making them seem not relevant.
Also there are those who give us a reputation and misuse faith, the blab it and grab it crowd, the ones who promise if you give your life to Christ all will be hunky dory, even Jesus never promised that, if you are not prospering as God wants you too then something is up you faith is weak and should feel condemned.
There are those who look at the life of a Christian and suggest that if they fall from God’s glorious standard that they come out of His shadow of protection and are prone to bad things that happen.
People are genuinely looking for answers if all we can offer is to counsel them, we have nothing more to offer than that of those psycho’s around, Looking for an answer to the world troubles and searching for a root cause, some un-dealt with sin, the disciples thought this way, who’s sin was it that made this mad to be born blind, thinking that it could not have been his own maybe his parents, Jesus swiftly answered that is not the point, Sin is not the point the answer is what we are looking for, we like Jesus can be the answer, that will stop the debate, about the route cause let us heal people regardless if they got in that state through their fault or anothers.
What is to be our reaction to the world that is so caught up in sin?
Number 23 19. God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received word to bless. And He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 He has not seen iniquity in Jacob, neither has He seen perverseness in Israel. Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of a king among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt. He has, as it were, the strength of an ox.
23 Surely, there is no spell against Jacob, nor any fortune-telling against Israel. According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What God has worked

How then should we behave in this world?

What is our stand against sin in this world, with the media focussing on all the bad things, Christians can take that view point too preaching negative reports, ok yes the world will end but you have to read the very end it’s good news its not doom and gloom

(john 8) We are the light in the darkness see our good works People can see us and glorify our father

Example Daniel

Could have been bitter towards God, he was taken from his home 16-20 years old In the world he stood out because of the spirit within him we read that he had an excellent spirit, he served as a government minister in two empires
When we are confronted with sinners our first reaction is often the key, do we say, I don’t have time for them, why can’t they sort out their lives, seeing a group in youths at the bus stop, we can easily make instant judgements
While driving anyone going slower than you is an idiot, anyone going faster than you is a maniac.
Jesus however had compassion for people that were lost, wandering like sheep without a Shepherd, when the church loses its compassion and hunger to reach people with the gospel of Christ we become just another exclusive members club, that only accepts people who meet up to our standards.
(John 8)“Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
We are all called and given the dynamite power to be his witness when the holy spirit came upon us.
If we have the means to save someone and don’t do it we can feel pretty bad about ourselves. Often preachers will try to beat you over your head, with this, I can understand why we are trying to ignite a passion within people to what to reach out to the lost, compassion however is not always taught but caught, if you don’t have the desire to reach the lost it may be because you are not convinced that they are truly lost, perhaps they are nice people, good people and why would a loving God send good people to hell.
Perhaps we are busy with our own issues, dealing in our own little world, do we feel condemned,

We don’t live in regret or fear that God would condemn us for sin, we may feel guilty, at times but God in his grace,

Perhaps we feel inadequate to witness and when the evangelist comes into town, we don’t feel that we can tell people about Jesus.

What does it mean to witness, has God ever done anything for you,

If you have not passion for reaching the lost, making you feel condemned is not the answer, when we read of the saints lives that have gone before us it is to inspire us that ordinary men and women like us can change the world, that God is not looking for gold and silver vessels but yielded vessels, the lives of great missionaries have stories of failure the same as ours, we can be inspired not feel condemned, passion is often caught not taught, get around people who are passionate about the gospel, go with the team as they knock on doors,

What do we do about the Sin Issue?

As we need not fear anything that has no power over us

We have to believe that His power the power of the Holy Spirit within us is able to keep us

We need not fear sin or people, who are sinners,

“He will bless you and keep you” numbers 6

Read romans 6 – 8 LB

His word with which he created the world was sent forth as we read in John 1, and became flesh, so too we must, by the holy spirit take the words of Christ the creative power of God was in his word, the word that was spoken, it not enough that your bible sits on the shelf while the TV uses more electricity that you cooker.

When we come to the understanding that His word has creative power and it works in us to do his good pleasure, not just anyone can read the bible and understand, the holy spirit has to give us the revelation or understanding,

One word that become alive to us or quickens in our spirit can be more powerful than years of theological study, speaking to a minister in town he learnt more about ministry in his short time in Bolivia than in his studies at Cambridge.

What is sin, in one definition Sin is selfishness or the route cause to missing the mark of God’s glorious standard, therefore our view of God is key to the matter of sin and how we see ourselves in the light of His majesty.

If we see God as a perfect being, then when with our conscience un-cleansed, our minds un renewed by his word we can see ourselves as sinners waiting for his mercy, if we see God as a loving father accepting our weakness as a human, he loved us so much that he became one of us. Our weakness is not what offends God, but our lack of faith or false humility, If God was rejecting us for our weakness, as we do with others so easily readily and regularly, (he who was forgiven much loves much) then as the disciples asked once – who then can be saved, who indeed, if by keeping your nose clean and being the perfect example to all others can save you then Christ died in vein.

There must be more that I can do someone asked, I cannot believe that God could forgive me without offering something in return, in a world where good news is treated with disbelief, we must show people the reality of what knowing God can do, yes salvation is free, meaning we are not after your money, but salvation does cost you everything, the way to be free from sin, Romans teaches us, is to live life in the spirit, we believe that the Holy Spirit is ruling our lives not sin not Satan, not shame from the past, shame can be an issue for many people, shame about regrets, Margaret Thatcher was asked years ago after leaving

The way in is by faith and humility, can humble ourselves before God that we believe what God says about us, true humility says that not my will but your will. Our self image is caught up in God’s word,

His word is like a mirror in which we see ourselves and his holy spirit give us the confidence to speak and declare what he has done for us

Comments

Sermon 20th May

2007-05-17T20:41:04+02:00

Freedom from Sin

Luke 7

36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.[h] 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.

For the scholars in the room lets not confuse this with the anointing by Mary, Lazarus’ sister which happened in Bethany. This was a sinful woman, what sin it was that she was known for, it does not say. It also does not say that this is Mary Magdalene, and no where does it say that her affection for Jesus was anymore than any other the women that he ministered to!!
One thing that we can assume is that surely, she has not been invited. While she is a resident of the town, she is looked down upon as a sinner .perhaps she is a prostitute rather than an adulteress, this be the case we don't know how she came to be a prostitute. Perhaps she is filled with lust. But more likely she has been sexually abused as a child. Or has grown up an illegitimate child with no prospects for marriage. Or perhaps she is a widow struggling to survive. We just can't say, and should know better than to judge her harshly.
We have people in this town who are the same, speaking to someone who had a horrific upbringing with much abuse sent from children’s home to prison, low self esteem as you would imagine the stain of their sin and the sin of others inflicted on them would cause the most faith filled believer to doubt if God could forgive and cleanse their conscience.
As a church when we are faced with the prospect of the stain of sin so deep in someone’s life where do we turn, we know God can forgive and heal
However I have heard it said by well meaning Christians that I know God can heal but it will take them years to recover from this, whilst it certainly may be our experience, it does not have to be so!!!

When I see this woman, who could do nothing but weep at Jesus feet, humbled herself risked rejection from the house of a Pharisee…
Jesus told her that her faith had saved her,
There's something else we can deduce about this woman -- that she has been battered down. Her self-image is tattered and ragged. She is the continual object of cutting criticism in insults by the wives of her customers. She has been spat upon. She is the example many mothers in town use to warn their daughters. She is brunt of nasty jokes. She is shunned by the best people and used and abused by the worst.
Inwardly, she is broken and bleeding. Her spirit is wounded. Perhaps we have felt like that; perhaps some feel like that right now. We have failed miserably, and though time has passed, you still are humiliated and unsure, and feel too weak and fragile to pick yourself up and move on.
For her to come to the banquet at Simon the Pharisee's house is hard, too. She is viewed as a sinner, one who conveys uncleanness by her very touch, almost as if she has a communicable disease. She knows that Simon will not be happy to see her in his house. Perhaps people in this town find it hard to come into a church where they feel that they will be judged,
This is why we do not preach behavior modification, our acceptance in the body of Christ is never based upon ourselves but upon the finished work of the cross so our acceptance into the church here at lighthouse has to be the same.
The leaven of the Pharisees was this that they lay people down with burdens, pressure to conform
These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And[e]honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men
But the sinful woman has heard of Jesus. She has probably heard his teaching. She has heard his gracious words of God's love and forgiveness and healing and restoration. She has heard him speak of his Father's Kingdom in words so plain and compelling that she can see herself as a child of God once more, a full citizen in this Kingdom of Love. Yes, she is still broken, but now she can see light and hope beyond.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver[i] to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
Who is this man Hebrews tells us he is the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
John would write you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin
50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
The forgiveness and release that this woman can now live in, the freedom that she experienced through her faith,
Freedom is counted in Scripture as one of the greatest privileges of the child of God. Throughout history, there is nothing for which nations have made great sacrifices except freedom. Slavery is the lowest condition into which man can sink, for in it he can no longer govern himself. Freedom is the deepest need of his nature.
Many of us would count ourselves free today, free to make our own decisions count ourselves free from sin and slavery to that sin.
Jesus said, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). And the Scriptures teach us to stand firmly in the freedom with which Christ made us free. Complete insight into this freedom opens up to us one of the greatest glories of the life that the grace of God has prepared for us.
There are three passages from the Epistle to the Romans which speak of our sanctification through a threefold freedom. There is freedom from sin in the sixth chapter, freedom from the law in the seventh, and freedom from the law of sin in the eighth. "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. Being made free from sin, Ye have your fruit unto holiness" Romans 6:18,22.
"But now we are delivered from the law" Romans 7:6.
"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" Romans 8:2.
For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Heb 8 12
For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” Romans 11:27
Sin is represented as a power that rules over man, and under which he is brought and taken captive: It urges him to be a slave to evil. By the death of Christ and in Christ, the believer--who is one with Him--is made entirely free from the dominion of sin. It has no more power over him. If, then, he still sins, it is because he permits sin still to rule over him, not knowing his freedom by faith.
But if by faith he fully accepts what the Word of God he then confirms, sin has no power over him. He overcomes it by the faith that he is made free from it.
Then there is freedom from the law. This leads us deeper into the life of grace than freedom from sin. According to Scripture, law and sin always go together. "The strength of sin is the law" (I Corinthians 15:56). The law does nothing but make the offence greater.
The law reveals our sinfulness. It cannot help us against sin; rather, with its demand for perfect obedience, it hopelessly gives us over to the power of sin.
The Christian who does not realise that he is made free from the law will still always abide under sin.
Christ and the law cannot rule over us together. In every endeavour to fulfil the law as believers, we are taken captive by sin.
The Christian must know that he is entirely free from the law--from the “you must” that stands around us and over us.
Then, for the first time, he will know what it is to be free from sin.
Then there is also freedom from the law of sin--actual liberation from the power of sin in our members. What we have in Christ, freedom from sin and from the law, is inwardly appropriated for us by the Spirit of God.
"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." The Holy Spirit in us takes the place of the law over us.
"If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law" (Galatians 5:18). Freedom from the law is not anything external. Instead, it takes place according to the amount of dominion and leading of the Spirit within us. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17).
As the law of the Spirit rules in us, we are made free from the law, and from the law of sin. We are then free to do what we, as God's children, would gladly do- which is -serve God.
Free expresses a condition in which nothing hinders me from being what I could and should be. In other words, free is to be able to do what I desire.
The power of sin over us, the power of the law against us, and the power of the law of sin in us, hinder us.
But he who stands in the freedom of the Holy Spirit--he who is then truly free--cannot be prevented or hindered from being what he could and should be.
This glorious liberty to serve God and our neighbour in love is a spiritual thing. We cannot by any means seize it and draw it to us. It becomes known only by a life in the Holy Spirit. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. 3:17). "If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law" (Gal. 5:18). It is the Holy Spirit who makes us free.
Let us allow ourselves to be introduced by Him into the effectual, glorious liberty of the children of God. "The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2).
Lets pray
Son of God, anointed with the Spirit to announce freedom to the captives, make me also truly free. Let the Spirit of life in You, my Lord, make me free from the law of sin and of death. I am Your ransomed one. Let me live as Your freed one, who is hindered by nothing from serving You.
Amen.

Comments

songs for 20th

2007-05-15T15:21:38+02:00

Praise Him, you heavens and all that’s above.

Praise Him, you angels and heavenly hosts.

Let the whole earth praise Him.

Verse 2:

Praise Him, the sun, moon and bright shining
stars.

Praise Him, you heavens and waters and skies.

Let the whole earth praise Him.

Chorus:

Great in po-wer, great in glo-ry.

Great in mercy, King of Hea - ven.

Great in bat-tle, great in won-der.

Great in Zion, King over all the Earth.

King over all the Earth.

beautiful one

Wonderful so wonderful is your unfailing love
Your cross is spoken mercy over me
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart can fully know
How glorious, how beautiful you are

Chorus:
Beautiful one I love
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing

Powerful so powerful your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see
The beauty of your majesty awakes my heart to sing
How marvelous, how wonderful you are

Chorus(x2)

You’ve opened my eyes to your wonders anew
Captured my heart with this love
‘Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you

Jesus

You’ve opened my eyes to your wonders anew
Captured my heart with this love
‘Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you

Chorus(x3)

My soul, My soul must sing (x3)
Beautiful one x2

at the cross

Oh Lord You’ve searched me,
You know my way;
Even when I fail You,
I know You love me.
Your holy presence
Surrounding me
In every season,
I know You love me;
I know You love me.

Chorus:
At the cross I bow my knee,
Where Your blood was shed for me,
There’s no greater love than this.
You have overcome the grave,
Your glory fills the highest place,
What can separate me now?

Verse 2:
You go before me,
You shield my way,
Your hand upholds me;
I know You love me.
And when the earth fades,
Falls from my eyes,
And You stand before me,
I know You love me;
I know You love me.

Bridge:
You tore the veil, You made a way
When You said that it is done.

for thou oh lord
For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all gods
For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all gods

Chorus:
I exalt Thee (I exalt Thee), I exalt Thee (I exalt Thee), I exalt Thee (I exalt Thee)
O Lord
I exalt Thee (I exalt Thee), I exalt Thee (I exalt Thee), I exalt Thee (I exalt Thee)
O Lord

Praise to Christ

Praise to Christ our Saviour and our King
Praise to Christ our King

Comments

Our Message

2007-05-11T09:59:56+02:00

Mark 9 verse 14

A Boy Is Healed

14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”
17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”
19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”[b]

When presented with a challenge like Jesus was that day he took authority, in a situation when all hope for this young boy healing was put in Jesus hands, Jesus looked at the boys father, rebuking him for his lack of faith, I have often read this passage thinking that Jesus rebuked the diciples for their lack of faith, when we come to Jesus perhaps for a minor aliment or an impossible miracle he is looking for us to have faith, the kind of faith Jesus is looking for is often said that it is that of a small child, As children of God, we learn to put our trust in Him for every need, trouble is sometimes we are so busy trying to sort things out on our own we forget that he wants us to trust him.

Trust in lord with your whole heart and lean not on your own understanding, rely fully on him.

There is a way that seems right to a man but the Lord directs his steps.

It is better to trust in the lord than in man.

Smith Wigglesworth said

We have a big God. We have a wonderful Jesus. We have a glorious Comforter. God's canopy is over you and will cover you at all times, preserving you from evil. Under His wings shalt thou trust. The Word of God is living and powerful and in its treasures you will find eternal life. If you dare trust this wonderful Lord, this Lord of life, you will find in Him everything you need.

Hebrews 10:37-39 (New King James Version)
37 “ For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

And my righteous ones will live by faith LB

The Lord finds pleasure in those who live by faith,

So how would we cope with the pressure the father in this faced with his son?

Spoke to the disciples who could not help, spoke to the master and then asked a key question, which revealed his heart, if you can do anything have compassion on us.

Do we have faith in the compassion of Christ?

I think about the passion of the Christ, passion meaning to suffer, com – passion to suffer with, if our view of God is that he is so far removed from our personal lives that he is un caring towards our every day needs what do we think when faced with a trial like this man.

The question on many people lips these days is “if God cares why is there so much pain?”

What happens when our faith is tested, have you read 2 cor?

What a wonderful God we have – he is the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy m and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trial and why does he do this? So that when others are troubled needing our sympathy and encouragement we can pass on to them this same help and comfort that God has given us.

Does God care for me?

Why should God care for me?

If you really knew me you would not care for me either, sometimes our low self opinion can hinder our faith, this man did not have much confidence that Jesus would heal, if you can do anything then please help us the cry of desperation. This generation must again cry to God with that desperate heart, have compassion.

His arm is not too short that it cannot save ear not deaf that it cannot hear

The lord delights in the well-being of his servant

I have spoken before that if we humble ourselves

3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Learn from me Jesus said for I am humble and meek, gentle

The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In, himself, nothing; in God, everything. That is his motto. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring. He rests perfectly content to allow God to place His own values. He will be patient to wait for the day when everything will get its own price tag and real worth will come into its own. Then the righteous shall shine forth in the Kingdom of their Father. He is willing to wait for that day.
In the meantime he will have attained a place of soul rest. As he walks on in meekness he will be happy to let God defend him. The old struggle to defend himself is over. He has found the peace which meekness brings.

Paul gave us this promise

1 Corinthians 1 (Amplified Bible)
1PAUL, SUMMONED by the will and purpose of God to be an apostle (special messenger) of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
2To the church (assembly) of God which is in Corinth, to those consecrated and purified and made holy in Christ Jesus, [who are] selected and called to be saints (God's people), together with all those who in any place call upon and give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3Grace (favor and spiritual blessing) be to you and [heart] peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I thank my God at all times for you because of the grace (the favor and spiritual blessing) of God which was bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
5[So] that in Him in every respect you were enriched, in full power and readiness of speech [to speak of your faith] and complete knowledge and illumination [to give you full insight into its meaning].
6In this way [our] witnessing concerning Christ (the Messiah) was so confirmed and established and made sure in you
7That you are not [consciously] falling behind or lacking in any special spiritual endowment or Christian grace [[a]the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in your souls by the Holy Spirit], while you wait and watch [constantly living in hope] for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and [His] being made visible to all.
8And He will establish you to the end [keep you steadfast, give you strength, and guarantee your vindication; He will be your warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be] guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

No fear in Judgment

9God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments.
Skip to verse
18For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.
19For it is written, I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned and the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning; I will frustrate and nullify [them] and bring [them] to nothing.(A)
20Where is the wise man (the philosopher)? Where is the scribe (the scholar)? Where is the investigator (the logician, the debater) of this present time and age? Has not God shown up the nonsense and the folly of this world's wisdom?
21For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).
22For while Jews [demandingly] ask for signs and miracles and Greeks pursue philosophy and wisdom,
23We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense.
24But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.
25[This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men.
26For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.
27[No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.
28And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,
29So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.
30But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].
31So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord.

Let us see ourselves in the reflection of His grace

Close with this

Romans 8:1 (KJS) [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Psalms 103:10 (KJS) He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, [so] great is his mercy toward them that fear him. {as...: Heb. according to the height of the heaven}
12 As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

2 Cor 5:17 (KJS) Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. {he is: or, let him be}

John 3:17 (KJS) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 5:24 (KJS) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Hebrews 8:12 (KJS) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Isaiah 43:25 (KJS) I, [even] I, [am] he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Isaiah 55:7 (KJS) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. {the unrighteous...: Heb. the man of iniquity} {abundantly...: Heb. multiply to pardon}

Psalms 32:5 (KJS) I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

1John 1:9 (KJS) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Psalms 32:1 (KJS) [A Psalm] of David, Maschil. Blessed [is he whose] transgression [is] forgiven, [whose] sin [is] covered. {A Psalm...: or, A Psalm of David giving instruction}

Revelations 12:10 (KJS) And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
John 8:10 (KJS) When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Jere 31:34 (KJS) And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Hebr 10:22 (KJS) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

2Chr 30:9 (KJS) For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children [shall find] compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God [is] gracious and merciful, and will not turn away [his] face from you, if ye return unto him.

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