I want to refer to the fact that it’s a good thing to glory in God and not to commend ourselves or compare ourselves one with another in any context.
2 Corinthians 10:12
2 Corinthians 10:17-19
It’s important that you and I have the commendation of the Lord in the way we live, talk with one another and treat one another. The enemy of our souls strives on the results of us comparing one another because it takes your sight away from God himself. Our perspective becomes wrong and warped when we compare each other.
Matthew 20:1-12
Their reaction to how the lord of the vineyard paid them was a human way of looking at things: “We’ve worked the whole day in the hot sun and you’re giving those who have worked only one hour, you’re giving them the same wage as us; it can’t be fair.”
Matthew 20:13-16
Matthew 6:23
It matters how we react to what God is doing in one another. It matters how we react even to such an extent that we can react wrongly and an evil aspect comes in and it’s possible that that affects our whole outlook and our view becomes warped. We accept what God is doing in our own lives but we question what God is doing in someone else’s life. We cannot accept that the Lord is good.
We do wrong if we compare ourselves one with another of our experiences of the “day” and we forget our relationship with God. What is he wanting to do in my life? Are the circumstances in my life at this time an opportuntiy for God to get hold of me. Or are they circumstances wrongly read into and mean you have a warped outlook on life. It’s not wise to compare ourselves one with another in that way.
Jeremiah 9:23-25
This is saying we need to glory in who God is and the nature of God. In this scripture we have lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness. What I want to commend to you this evening to do is to rejoice in how God has opened your eyes to understand and know who he is. He is exercising these three things in the church and in each of our lives. He is perfecting things in you in the best way he can. Don’t compare your experience with someone else’s. Rejoice in understanding and knowing him. “I am the Lord which exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, for in these things I delight.”
Friday 30 May 2008
Sunday 25 May 2008
Make Your Stand for God
Are you in a situation where you know you need to make a stand for righteousness? Then do it, knowing that the God who was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace is the same God who will be with you as you do.
We will be looking at a familiar story, but it is relevant to us here today. We’ve been skirting amongst the minor prophets. Daniel is a major prophet, who was active while they the children in Babylon.
Daniel 1:1-3
We’re in the time of Nebuchadnezzar in this extract.
Daniel 1:8
Daniel took a stand. He didn’t want to eat unclean meat. And he was with three companions.
Daniel 1:12-16
Daniel 1:19-22
There was a team of four people, and they made a stand. Instead of eating the unclean meat, they ate vegetables – and they thrived far more than the people who ate the king’s meat. And the king promoted them. They took a stand for what they believed to be right.
I’m talking to two types of people – the first, those who are facing a question as to whether they will take a stand for Jesus Christ; and the second, those who have taken a stand and find themselves in the thick of it.
Daniel 2:27-29
During this chapter, Daniel refers to what the dream is about. The image’s head was of fine gold, for instance. Daniel told him what the dream was and what it meant.
Daniel 2:47-50
We have a team of four who are standing for righteousness, who know their God. We have a prophet who leads them. Daniel was the only one who could reveal the dream and the interpretation.
But despite what Nebuchadnezzar said in chapter 2 we now see the events of Daniel 3.
Note that although Nebuchadnezzar recognised who God was, he didn’t say he was his God. You can be in a church, without knowing God.
Are you going to stand for truth or not? And if you are standing for truth, you aren’t on your own.
God has brought things to light, and He will bring us through. He is building His church in His way in His time.
Nebuchadnezzar’s image was made of gold and gold again, it was 90 feet tall:
Daniel 3:1-8
The Chaldeans were amongst those who had been unable to match Daniel’s ability. He knew his God and his God was the God.
Daniel 3:9-13
Nebuchadnezzar had identified who God was. He knew who Daniel’s God was. But He wasn’t Nebuchadnezzar’s God. And his reaction ...
Daniel 3:13-16
“You can’t kid me that you God will deliver you. I’m in control. I am a despot. There is nothing you can do against what I have commanded.”
Daniel 3:17-19
“We won’t try to make out something which isn’t true. We aren’t deceivers. You can throw us into the furnace, but our God will set us free. And even if He won’t, we will not bow down to the image you have set up.”
There was a resolve in those people to say no. They could have had excuses to act differently. “What’s the point of doing this? It’s only once, and we’re in a foreign country, so no one will see.” “We have to think of our lifestyle, of the gifts we’ve been given, of the fact that we have a position to maintain. Maybe it will affect our standing and the material benefits we’ve had.” “Everyone else is doing it, so who are we to be different? We only have to bow down once, and we can carry on as before.”
I know there is a situation that some of you are facing, where that backbone needs to be there. It might be at work, with your neighbour, with respect to someone else here, where you know you have to make a stand. What are the excuses going through your mind? You’ve tried the excuses, but now God is saying, “Come on. We’re at the situation where you have to make a stand.”
God is faithful, and you know inside through your conscience and the preaching of His word what’s right and wrong. It’s not right to sit here praising God if you have something against your brother or your sister. There are things you have to put right. You know it.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew they had to make a stand – not just for appearances, but in their heart they knew they had to make a stand, irrespective of the consequences.
“Our God can take us through the furnace, and even if He doesn’t, we will not bow down.” In the New Testament, it says Jesus set His face as a flint to go to Jerusalem for you and me – and that was the same resolve.
You say you’re a weak individual, but it doesn’t matter. God is inside you, and as I preach this, you’re setting it in the context of the situation you need to address, and inside you’re making that resolve and determining to stand.
Isaiah 43:1-7
As we’ll see in a minute, if God puts in you – as He does – that uncompromising, straight-down-the-line, not deceiving, resolve to make that stand, it doesn’t matter what the opposition might be doing, what they may be saying, what the situation is, make that stand. At your school, at your employment, whatever the situation, make that stand.
“But God does it all.” Yes – He does. He gives you the resolve to make that stand.
Daniel 3:18-24
You can’t get more hopeless than this. They were bound. They were dropped into a furnace heated seven times. Sometimes we get to the point where we think things can’t get worse. You’ve made your stand. You’re not better about your situation, but you can’t see a solution. You know you’ve been clear before God.
Daniel 3:24-26
John 16:33
We sing, “He is”, going through the books of the Bible. In Daniel, He is the fourth man in the fire. Heaven organises things so you have a revelation, in your situation in life, where you reach such a point that you literally cannot see a solution. In a sense you’re not even looking for a solution, because you’ve made your stand and know you are clear before God. Well, God delights to provide a solution when we aren’t even looking for it.
When Jesus hung on the Cross, He organised it for us when we didn’t know Him, and when He knew we would push Him away.
And for those of you who have made a stand and are at your wits’ end, God is saying, “I have a solution.” And even in the impossible circumstances of a fiery furnace, God is there in the middle.
Daniel 3:25-27
Coats speak of character. They were the same coming out as when they went in. There wasn’t even a smell of fire. When God saves an individual, He saves you clean. He divides your sins as far as the east is from the west. You come out clean. And when you make a stand for God, He knows. He’s been with you throughout the week and is with you now.
Daniel 3:28-31
You would have thought that Nebuchadnezzar would then have acknowledged in his heart who God was. But within a few days he was eating grass. It’s easy to say things. Words are cheap. It’s easy to say people are Pharisees. But what’s the reality of where you are in your heart? If you know you need to take a stand, be encouraged. You’re not being asked to do the impossible, to do something God hasn’t already prepared.
Philippians 2:12-14
You’re in the mainstream of God’s destiny for you life, in the centrality of His provision. It’s God working in you this morning. He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. This church is His. You’re His. And it’s God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
I wonder what Daniel thought. He wasn’t in the furnace. He would have seen what was going on, would have seen them put into the fire. He probably thought that henceforth he would be on His own. Maybe he knew what God was going to do. But I know when he saw the three come out, He knew His God was capable of doing what He did, and we have acknowledged God for who He is.
This morning, make that stand. And realise that God is there right in the midst of your situation, and He loves you. You can’t figure out a solution. He’s already done that. He’s already figured out the way forward for this church. He knows what He’s doing. It’s His church. He has the resolution figured out because of who He is.
I wonder if they talked with the fourth man in the fire. They were dancing together. Did they speak? What did they say?
You know in your heart of hearts, when God comes inside, you know when He’s speaking to you and you know He loves you. It’s a tremendous privilege to declare that Holy Ghost is more than interested in your life. He in inside you, pulsating as the creator God, who redeemed you and wants you to fulfil His purposes for your life, which is the greatest thing for you.
We will be looking at a familiar story, but it is relevant to us here today. We’ve been skirting amongst the minor prophets. Daniel is a major prophet, who was active while they the children in Babylon.
Daniel 1:1-3
We’re in the time of Nebuchadnezzar in this extract.
Daniel 1:8
Daniel took a stand. He didn’t want to eat unclean meat. And he was with three companions.
Daniel 1:12-16
Daniel 1:19-22
There was a team of four people, and they made a stand. Instead of eating the unclean meat, they ate vegetables – and they thrived far more than the people who ate the king’s meat. And the king promoted them. They took a stand for what they believed to be right.
I’m talking to two types of people – the first, those who are facing a question as to whether they will take a stand for Jesus Christ; and the second, those who have taken a stand and find themselves in the thick of it.
Daniel 2:27-29
During this chapter, Daniel refers to what the dream is about. The image’s head was of fine gold, for instance. Daniel told him what the dream was and what it meant.
Daniel 2:47-50
We have a team of four who are standing for righteousness, who know their God. We have a prophet who leads them. Daniel was the only one who could reveal the dream and the interpretation.
But despite what Nebuchadnezzar said in chapter 2 we now see the events of Daniel 3.
Note that although Nebuchadnezzar recognised who God was, he didn’t say he was his God. You can be in a church, without knowing God.
Are you going to stand for truth or not? And if you are standing for truth, you aren’t on your own.
God has brought things to light, and He will bring us through. He is building His church in His way in His time.
Nebuchadnezzar’s image was made of gold and gold again, it was 90 feet tall:
Daniel 3:1-8
The Chaldeans were amongst those who had been unable to match Daniel’s ability. He knew his God and his God was the God.
Daniel 3:9-13
Nebuchadnezzar had identified who God was. He knew who Daniel’s God was. But He wasn’t Nebuchadnezzar’s God. And his reaction ...
Daniel 3:13-16
“You can’t kid me that you God will deliver you. I’m in control. I am a despot. There is nothing you can do against what I have commanded.”
Daniel 3:17-19
“We won’t try to make out something which isn’t true. We aren’t deceivers. You can throw us into the furnace, but our God will set us free. And even if He won’t, we will not bow down to the image you have set up.”
There was a resolve in those people to say no. They could have had excuses to act differently. “What’s the point of doing this? It’s only once, and we’re in a foreign country, so no one will see.” “We have to think of our lifestyle, of the gifts we’ve been given, of the fact that we have a position to maintain. Maybe it will affect our standing and the material benefits we’ve had.” “Everyone else is doing it, so who are we to be different? We only have to bow down once, and we can carry on as before.”
I know there is a situation that some of you are facing, where that backbone needs to be there. It might be at work, with your neighbour, with respect to someone else here, where you know you have to make a stand. What are the excuses going through your mind? You’ve tried the excuses, but now God is saying, “Come on. We’re at the situation where you have to make a stand.”
God is faithful, and you know inside through your conscience and the preaching of His word what’s right and wrong. It’s not right to sit here praising God if you have something against your brother or your sister. There are things you have to put right. You know it.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew they had to make a stand – not just for appearances, but in their heart they knew they had to make a stand, irrespective of the consequences.
“Our God can take us through the furnace, and even if He doesn’t, we will not bow down.” In the New Testament, it says Jesus set His face as a flint to go to Jerusalem for you and me – and that was the same resolve.
You say you’re a weak individual, but it doesn’t matter. God is inside you, and as I preach this, you’re setting it in the context of the situation you need to address, and inside you’re making that resolve and determining to stand.
Isaiah 43:1-7
As we’ll see in a minute, if God puts in you – as He does – that uncompromising, straight-down-the-line, not deceiving, resolve to make that stand, it doesn’t matter what the opposition might be doing, what they may be saying, what the situation is, make that stand. At your school, at your employment, whatever the situation, make that stand.
“But God does it all.” Yes – He does. He gives you the resolve to make that stand.
Daniel 3:18-24
You can’t get more hopeless than this. They were bound. They were dropped into a furnace heated seven times. Sometimes we get to the point where we think things can’t get worse. You’ve made your stand. You’re not better about your situation, but you can’t see a solution. You know you’ve been clear before God.
Daniel 3:24-26
John 16:33
We sing, “He is”, going through the books of the Bible. In Daniel, He is the fourth man in the fire. Heaven organises things so you have a revelation, in your situation in life, where you reach such a point that you literally cannot see a solution. In a sense you’re not even looking for a solution, because you’ve made your stand and know you are clear before God. Well, God delights to provide a solution when we aren’t even looking for it.
When Jesus hung on the Cross, He organised it for us when we didn’t know Him, and when He knew we would push Him away.
And for those of you who have made a stand and are at your wits’ end, God is saying, “I have a solution.” And even in the impossible circumstances of a fiery furnace, God is there in the middle.
Daniel 3:25-27
Coats speak of character. They were the same coming out as when they went in. There wasn’t even a smell of fire. When God saves an individual, He saves you clean. He divides your sins as far as the east is from the west. You come out clean. And when you make a stand for God, He knows. He’s been with you throughout the week and is with you now.
Daniel 3:28-31
You would have thought that Nebuchadnezzar would then have acknowledged in his heart who God was. But within a few days he was eating grass. It’s easy to say things. Words are cheap. It’s easy to say people are Pharisees. But what’s the reality of where you are in your heart? If you know you need to take a stand, be encouraged. You’re not being asked to do the impossible, to do something God hasn’t already prepared.
Philippians 2:12-14
You’re in the mainstream of God’s destiny for you life, in the centrality of His provision. It’s God working in you this morning. He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. This church is His. You’re His. And it’s God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
I wonder what Daniel thought. He wasn’t in the furnace. He would have seen what was going on, would have seen them put into the fire. He probably thought that henceforth he would be on His own. Maybe he knew what God was going to do. But I know when he saw the three come out, He knew His God was capable of doing what He did, and we have acknowledged God for who He is.
This morning, make that stand. And realise that God is there right in the midst of your situation, and He loves you. You can’t figure out a solution. He’s already done that. He’s already figured out the way forward for this church. He knows what He’s doing. It’s His church. He has the resolution figured out because of who He is.
I wonder if they talked with the fourth man in the fire. They were dancing together. Did they speak? What did they say?
You know in your heart of hearts, when God comes inside, you know when He’s speaking to you and you know He loves you. It’s a tremendous privilege to declare that Holy Ghost is more than interested in your life. He in inside you, pulsating as the creator God, who redeemed you and wants you to fulfil His purposes for your life, which is the greatest thing for you.
Friday 23 May 2008
My Mouth shall Speak the Praise of the Lord
Psalms 145:8
Psalms 145:1-4
To orientate your mind to extol God and bless him is a good thing to do. What are you going to convey to the people around you and to the next generation.
Psalms 145:5-8
These verses are an incredible positive outlook of who God is.
Psalms 145:8
If you wanted to describe to someone who God is, that is a good reference point. He is gracious and full of compassion. The fact that he is gracious is the reason why I’m here and you’re here. The fact that we’re not outside of here, totally unaware of God, and we’re pleased to be in here, showed that he is gracious. He is slow to anger.
Ephesians 4:25-32
There are three words in the Greek for ‘anger’, and they are all in these verses. The one in verse 26, where is says: ‘Be ye angry and sin not’, is the word ‘orge’. It means, I want to love what is good and hate what is evil. In other words, to detest what is contrary to God. I’m going God’s way and I want to cut out anything that hinders that.
The second word in verse 26, ‘wrath’, is ‘parorgisimos’, which is all to do with something which you can become totally exasperated with and become embittered.
The third is in verse 31, which is ‘humos’, which is anger that boils up and then disappears. It isn’t bitterness and it doesn’t linger in your heart.
In a situation where rumours are flying around, are you allowing information that’s coming to you to compound the anger in your heart, or are you keeping that clear in your heart so that you can react as a Christian in the right way? Some people allow information to build on that thing that’s in their heart, and they don’t let it be dealt with or sorted. What we’re meant to do is be angry and sin not. That means we’re angry against what’s wrong. We’re angry against evil, and we want to do something about it, because we want good and righteousness. But we’re not sinning by letting this other thing take root in our heart so there is anger in our hearts. That might be against a person, or a situation. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Psalms 145:9-22
Your mouth needs to speak the praise of the Lord. Make a note of what God has done for you, of what he means to you, of who he is. When you communicate with other people, don’t let this anger be in your heart. Sort it out. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. The nature of God is to reveal more and more of his love for you.
Psalms 145:8
Psalms 145:1-4
To orientate your mind to extol God and bless him is a good thing to do. What are you going to convey to the people around you and to the next generation.
Psalms 145:5-8
These verses are an incredible positive outlook of who God is.
Psalms 145:8
If you wanted to describe to someone who God is, that is a good reference point. He is gracious and full of compassion. The fact that he is gracious is the reason why I’m here and you’re here. The fact that we’re not outside of here, totally unaware of God, and we’re pleased to be in here, showed that he is gracious. He is slow to anger.
Ephesians 4:25-33
There are three words in the Greek for ‘anger’, and they are all in these verses. The one in verse 26, where is says: ‘Be ye angry and sin not’, is the word ‘orge’. It means, I want to love what is good and hate what is evil. In other words, to detest what is contrary to God. I’m going God’s way and I want to cut out anything that hinders that.
The second word in verse 26, ‘wrath’, is ‘parorgisimos’, which is all to do with something which you can become totally exasperated with and become embittered.
The third is in verse 31, which is ‘humos’, which is anger that boils up and then disappears. It isn’t bitterness and it doesn’t linger in your heart.
In a situation where rumours are flying around, are you allowing information that’s coming to you to compound the anger in your heart, or are you keeping that clear in your heart so that you can react as a Christian in the right way? Some people allow information to build on that thing that’s in their heart, and they don’t let it be dealt with or sorted. What we’re meant to do is be angry and sin not. That means we’re angry against what’s wrong. We’re angry against evil, and we want to do something about it, because we want good and righteousness. But we’re not sinning by letting this other thing take root in our heart so there is anger in our hearts. That might be against a person, or a situation. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Psalms 145:9-22
Your mouth needs to speak the praise of the Lord. Make a note of what God has done for you, of what he means to you, of who he is. When you communicate with other people, don’t let this anger be in your heart. Sort it out. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. The nature of God is to reveal more and more of his love for you.
Psalms 145:1-4
To orientate your mind to extol God and bless him is a good thing to do. What are you going to convey to the people around you and to the next generation.
Psalms 145:5-8
These verses are an incredible positive outlook of who God is.
Psalms 145:8
If you wanted to describe to someone who God is, that is a good reference point. He is gracious and full of compassion. The fact that he is gracious is the reason why I’m here and you’re here. The fact that we’re not outside of here, totally unaware of God, and we’re pleased to be in here, showed that he is gracious. He is slow to anger.
Ephesians 4:25-32
There are three words in the Greek for ‘anger’, and they are all in these verses. The one in verse 26, where is says: ‘Be ye angry and sin not’, is the word ‘orge’. It means, I want to love what is good and hate what is evil. In other words, to detest what is contrary to God. I’m going God’s way and I want to cut out anything that hinders that.
The second word in verse 26, ‘wrath’, is ‘parorgisimos’, which is all to do with something which you can become totally exasperated with and become embittered.
The third is in verse 31, which is ‘humos’, which is anger that boils up and then disappears. It isn’t bitterness and it doesn’t linger in your heart.
In a situation where rumours are flying around, are you allowing information that’s coming to you to compound the anger in your heart, or are you keeping that clear in your heart so that you can react as a Christian in the right way? Some people allow information to build on that thing that’s in their heart, and they don’t let it be dealt with or sorted. What we’re meant to do is be angry and sin not. That means we’re angry against what’s wrong. We’re angry against evil, and we want to do something about it, because we want good and righteousness. But we’re not sinning by letting this other thing take root in our heart so there is anger in our hearts. That might be against a person, or a situation. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Psalms 145:9-22
Your mouth needs to speak the praise of the Lord. Make a note of what God has done for you, of what he means to you, of who he is. When you communicate with other people, don’t let this anger be in your heart. Sort it out. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. The nature of God is to reveal more and more of his love for you.
Psalms 145:8
Psalms 145:1-4
To orientate your mind to extol God and bless him is a good thing to do. What are you going to convey to the people around you and to the next generation.
Psalms 145:5-8
These verses are an incredible positive outlook of who God is.
Psalms 145:8
If you wanted to describe to someone who God is, that is a good reference point. He is gracious and full of compassion. The fact that he is gracious is the reason why I’m here and you’re here. The fact that we’re not outside of here, totally unaware of God, and we’re pleased to be in here, showed that he is gracious. He is slow to anger.
Ephesians 4:25-33
There are three words in the Greek for ‘anger’, and they are all in these verses. The one in verse 26, where is says: ‘Be ye angry and sin not’, is the word ‘orge’. It means, I want to love what is good and hate what is evil. In other words, to detest what is contrary to God. I’m going God’s way and I want to cut out anything that hinders that.
The second word in verse 26, ‘wrath’, is ‘parorgisimos’, which is all to do with something which you can become totally exasperated with and become embittered.
The third is in verse 31, which is ‘humos’, which is anger that boils up and then disappears. It isn’t bitterness and it doesn’t linger in your heart.
In a situation where rumours are flying around, are you allowing information that’s coming to you to compound the anger in your heart, or are you keeping that clear in your heart so that you can react as a Christian in the right way? Some people allow information to build on that thing that’s in their heart, and they don’t let it be dealt with or sorted. What we’re meant to do is be angry and sin not. That means we’re angry against what’s wrong. We’re angry against evil, and we want to do something about it, because we want good and righteousness. But we’re not sinning by letting this other thing take root in our heart so there is anger in our hearts. That might be against a person, or a situation. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Psalms 145:9-22
Your mouth needs to speak the praise of the Lord. Make a note of what God has done for you, of what he means to you, of who he is. When you communicate with other people, don’t let this anger be in your heart. Sort it out. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord. The nature of God is to reveal more and more of his love for you.
Sunday 18 May 2008
Stop Fearing, Be Believing
In the story of Jairus, we see how Jesus meets our every need, no matter what assails our faith. His message to us is, “Stop fearing. Be believing.”
We need to keep our focus on the One who endured the Cross.
Why did He do that?
Hebrews 12:1- 3
If you don’t want to be wearied and faint in your mind, consider Him. We are looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.
To be set down means that the work is accomplished. Jesus went through the Cross so that He might purchase, for Himself, with His own blood, the Church – you and me.
He was so careful to reach people. The message we have is to the unsaved of the world, to those who have no hope – and the message is hope, a way out, the solution to life, Jesus Christ, who is life. It’s not a case of having a solution for life – He is life.
There are three occasions in the New Testament where Jesus raised people from the dead.
Luke 7:11 - 18
This was an incredible miracle. The only son of this widow had died. And Jesus “had compassion on her”. It was so dramatic, the rumour of Him went forth through all the region round about.
Luke 8:41 - 42
There was no doubt that Jairus heard what happened at Nain, because the news went round all Judea. He was ruler of the synagogue, and he was facing a problem – his own daughter was on the verge of death. What would his thoughts have been? As a ruler of the synagogue, it wouldn’t have been natural for him to look to Jesus for the solution.
Jairus means God enlightens. In your life He has got hold of you, and because He loves you, He wants to reveal more of Himself to you. He’s so careful and concerned for you and me to know Him and to understand what it meant to Him to go through the Cross and through the Resurrection so we could have life.
I know there are people who have been thinking for years ‘this isn’t for me’. But circumstances are such that God has got hold of you. He is telling you that He is the solution, the way, the truth and the life. He’s adept at catching us – He wants us to focus on Him. He is the solution.
Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet and besought Him to come to his house. But as He went there were people all around Him – see for example verse 43, which Jairus witnessed:-
Luke 8:43 - 49
What incredible timing. Jairus had just witnessed the healing of a woman who hadn’t even spoken to Jesus. She had pushed through to touch the hem of His garment and received her healing. And as Jesus spoke to that woman, Jairus would have been so encouraged. Her miracle had happened. His faith was uplifted – Jesus can do the miraculous, Jesus is the answer. But, while Jesus was speaking, news arrived of Jairus’ daughter’s death.
Some of you have reached the point where you think that even though you’ve tried time and again, it doesn’t work. Yet you still come. It’s as if someone has been whispering, “Why are you bothering? You know it doesn’t work.”
“Your daughter is dead, Jairus, trouble not the Master.” Luke 8:50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
Stop fearing and be believing
What Jairus was told, in a human sense, was a cataclysmic end. She was dead. But Jesus is life. Fear not. Stop fearing and be believing. Some of you need to do that. It’s through the preaching of God’s word that faith comes. Perhaps, today, God is getting hold of your heart and saying, “Stop fearing. Be believing.”
Luke 8:51 - 53
“You don’t want to believe that Christian stuff. You know it hasn’t worked out in your life. God isn’t interested in you – you’re not good enough.” You may have experienced that scornful message in your heart. “How can you say that? You know she’s dead. The professional mourners are here already.”
Luke 23:35 - 37
Matthew 27:39 - 44
At that moment, Jesus could have thought, and that thought could have been actioned to wipe them out. “Are you going to rebuild the Temple in three days? Why are you up there, making out you’re something? Why are you going through that, thinking that somehow you will make a difference?”
What this highlights is that the Creator God, the one who created everything, humbled Himself as a man, came to that point when He was on the Cross because of you and me. So when those things were being hurled at Him on the Cross, He had you in mind. It wasn’t the person next to you. I’m talking about you – you, individually, were on Jesus’ mind, when He hung on the Cross to set you free and give you life itself. He loves you.
“This is pretty basic stuff.” But it matters. God wants you this morning to stop fearing and be believing.
But you say “I worry about money, my health, my job, bringing up my children. Will I be married? I’m worried about being lonely in old age. What career should I pursue?”
There are people here who came with a concern, and the concern has been eating you up and making you forget that you should set it aside and look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Jairus heard the laughing and scorn, and he, as well as they, knew that his daughter was dead.
Luke 8:54 - 56
Her parents were astonished. I have talked with some people recently about how God has got hold of their lives and guided them. It’s always a wonder to me the way God organises things to get hold of you and reveal Himself to you. He is love, and wants that love to be in your life. He guides you.
Hebrews 12:1 - 2
The work is complete
With the writer, we are looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who endured the Cross, despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. The work is complete. There’s nothing else to be done. Everything to prepare the Bride of Christ has been done. We’re in the time now where you and I and others who will come will become part of the Bride of Christ, the church.
Is He careful about His church? You bet He is. His church worldwide, the Bride of Christ.
He endured the Cross for the sole reason of making a way forward for you and me. And today His word for us is “Stop fearing and be believing.” Your circumstances have happened because God wanted to say this to you. “But I’m no good. I’m not like X or Y.” I know. He knows.
“But what will it mean for me?” It will mean the difference between light and darkness, death and life. Stop fearing. Be believing. He’s the author of your faith.
There are some here who have faith for the first time through what is being preached. He is the Finisher of your faith until we meet Him face to face. Don’t think this is too basic – or some arcane doctrine for the elite only. It is why He came.
“For the joy set before Him.” He had in His mind the joy He would have when He was seated at the right had of God and had taken our sin into Himself. “I’m going to set people free. I’m going to do what Father wants me to do.”
Hebrews 12:2
Nothing disturbs the peace where He is. It’s done. Nothing will hinder His work in your life.
And in terms of going forward in your life, I want to confirm to you ... don’t be afraid. Stop fearing. Be believing. He’s the one who is involved with you right now, because He loves you.
Sunday 11 May 2008
Look Unto Me
God is in control of everything. That has been particularly pressed upon me lately. God is interested in your life at this time. He is careful to organise things, so that He can prove His love for us.
Isaiah is often referred to as a fifth Gospel and I will be particularly concentrating on the following verse.
Isaiah 45:22
At that point in time, Jerusalem was in ruins, and various prophets had foretold that worship would resume at Jerusalem, and the temple would be rebuilt.
Isaiah 45:1 - 4
Cyrus, the king of Persia, would outwork the purposes that God wanted for His people, the children of Israel. God knows the affairs of man. History is about God building His church at this time, in His way, worldwide. There are situations in your life, perhaps, where you’ve thought that you just don’t know the way forward. Your God is in control of your situation. He’s heard you. He’s not caused you to be washed up on a beach somewhere, stranded.
Isaiah 45:5 - 8
God is in complete control. Some of you have been wondering in your heart about the way forward in your life, and God, by His Holy Spirit will quicken to you that now is the time to just realise what Christ did for you on Calvary, and what the resurrection from the dead is going to mean to you personally at this time. What does it mean for me to be a Christian?
Isaiah 45:9 - 12
He’s the creator God. He gave you life and formed you in the womb.
Isaiah 45:13 – 15
It doesn’t matter what the situation is with the people around you. God specialises in changing things where the impossible to your mind becomes possible in Him. He specialises in that. When He was hanging on the cross, and everyone had written Him off, it was the end... and yet it was the beginning. He endured the cross for your sin and my sin.
Isaiah 45:15-17
If that isn’t clear, I don’t know what is. Through Isaiah the prophet, God is saying, this is what I am. This is who I am.
Isaiah 45:18 - 21
I am your Saviour. Look to me.
What is it that you’ve tried to put into your life to plug that gap? God is saying to you, I am your Saviour. Look to me.
Isaiah 45:22
Look unto me. There’s not some weird formula or some weird experience that you must have. Look unto me, He says. That’s all. All He wants us to do is to look. You don’t have to prove yourself or be somebody, you don’t have to do this or that so I can bless you. Look unto me, God says. Forget everything else you’re trying to fill your life with. Look unto me, and be ye saved.
This was the verse that converted Spurgeon. He was so conscious of his sin and his need of a saviour, and he realised it was so simple. He thought, I can do that. I can look. You can do that. There’s nobody that is of a different caste. There’s nobody that isn’t of the elite.
Who is He? He’s God. Who is like Him? No one. What can you somehow have as a replacement for God? Nothing. Would you want a replacement? I don’t think so. Why would you want a replacement? All that’s needed is for you to realise that you can’t do it on your own.
I was looking through various phrases that Jesus said in the Gospel of John.
John 8:12
John 10:11
John 12:32
John 14:6
He knows what He’s doing, and He loves you. He knows your inside, and He wants your inside to propel your outside. He’s the only one who can get hold of the inside of you and change everything. No one else can do that.
Isaiah 45:23 - 25
Philippians 2:5 – 11
Romans 14:11 – 12
It all ends there. There is a direct quote of Isaiah 45 in Romans 14. We will all give account of ourselves to God. There are some here today, who know in their hearts, right now, God is saying, Come on, look unto me and be ye saved. He loves you.
Sunday 4 May 2008
God is Building His Church
The book of Zechariah sets out God’s instructions to the children of Israel were to live as they rebuilt the temple. As God builds His church today, it is important that we should follow the principles He has set down for us.
There was a time when the people of Judea went into exile in Babylon. When the Persians took over there had been Babylonian rule for 50 years. There were three kings of Persia in quick succession, and Zechariah was there during the reign of Darius I. God used two prophets Haggai and Zechariah to tell the people to rebuild the temple, (which had been in ruins for between 50 and 70 years) and how they should treat each other.
Haggai particularly refers to the building of the temple.
Haggai 2:9
This was a specific rebuilding programme. Zechariah told the people how they should treat one another, and how to go about things, and explained to them how jealous God was for His people. What looked impossible was to become possible because of God’s intervention.
We are living in a time where God is building His church. And the people of God at the time of Zechariah ... the dealings of God were all to do with His care for His people. Nothing has changed.
Zechariah 8:1-2
God was jealous for the people of Jerusalem and God is careful for what He is doing in building His church.
This includes everyone. It doesn’t matter how old you are. There will be the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and this will happen. It doesn’t matter what you experience at the moment – this will happen.
Zechariah 8:6-8
You will see that God is so concerned about the preservation of His people that He will do this. He will be their God in truth and righteousness – no hidden agendas.
Zechariah 8:9-12
This was music to their ears – so different from the state they were in. It was an impossibility become possible. They began to grasp what Zechariah was saying. It shall come to pass.
Zechariah 8:9-13
They were establishing things in a country which had been overrun for a long time. Some of the people would have been thinking back to their foundation and wondering how things had been before the temple had been destroyed.
Verse 16 is very practical, because God knew there had to be certain standards for things to work.
Zechariah 8:16-17
There are certain things God hates:
1. Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour. God hates the opposite of that. We need to speak the truth with our neighbour. I recently read a book – “The death of spin”. Spin had become so much of everyone’s world that the truth had disappeared.
2. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates. With truth you don’t get tumult, hate.
3. Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour. That extends to the practice of me thinking the best of someone, not wishing ill of someone. I want to build you up, to see you blossom in God, in your life. I don’t wish ill on my neighbour.
4. Love no false oath. If you know something is a lie, don’t amplify it, don’t love it, and don’t dwell on it. For Jerusalem, the way forward was God’s truth and righteousness.
Zechariah 8:18-23
God is quite able to glorify His own name, and is doing so. He is building His church. The Book of Zechariah, more than any other minor prophet, is to do with foretelling the Messiah to come.
Zechariah 9:9
That’s Jesus. Zechariah is talking about the temple and about how you should treat each other – and look at what is coming down the line.
Zechariah 9:11
There are about seven or eight places which refer specifically to the coming Messiah.
God in His fury was jealous for His people. And when Jesus went to the Cross for you and me, He was jealous for your salvation. He had you on His mind. “For the joy which was set before Him.” What was that joy? His glorious church? Who is that church? You and me? Who else will be part of that? I don’t know, but we’re part of God’s church here and in the wider world.
Matthew 16:13-18
How can a gate be active? In old times, the gates of the city were the most fortified area. And often the council met in a room in those gates. So taking that thought, it doesn’t matter what is being planned, what the machinations of hell are – those machinations will not prevail against what I am doing in building my church. That’s why Jesus came – to break the power of sin in people’s lives. To create a church where there is love between brother and sister – not a place of hatred and discord. As a Christian, Jesus Christ lives within an individual. And it is for us to rejoice in what God is doing, in His way, to build His church.
Zechariah told them to rebuild the temple, but to bear in mind the way they treated one another. Don’t imagine evil against one another. Don’t cash in on pulling someone down.
God knows what He is doing, and He is doing it. Whatever He is doing will be to His glory. How ever things outwork, it will be to His glory, because He will build His church, and you are part of that, because of His love for you and me. What do you mean by love? I mean moving heaven and earth to make sure your life was different, to make sure you had a new start, to ensure that you were changed on the inside. God has opened your eyes, so you want to do what God wants in your life. Has He opened your eyes? Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, because God has opened your eyes. And I’m building my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He is building His church, and it’s a wonderful thing.
He can take what is impossible and make it possible. He can take a pile of stones which have been overrun and rebuild. And He can take those things which will outwork His plan. He was jealous for His people, and He was so careful for you and me that He sent His son.
He saw you and me when He was on that Cross, and He knew that taking into Himself sin and the power of sin would set you free now, so that your life would bring glory to His name, so that you’d want to do what He wants for your life. Would He play cat and mouse with you? Not at all – He’s your heavenly Father. Whatever situation you’re facing, He’ll give you the answer. He is the answer.
There was a time when the people of Judea went into exile in Babylon. When the Persians took over there had been Babylonian rule for 50 years. There were three kings of Persia in quick succession, and Zechariah was there during the reign of Darius I. God used two prophets Haggai and Zechariah to tell the people to rebuild the temple, (which had been in ruins for between 50 and 70 years) and how they should treat each other.
Haggai particularly refers to the building of the temple.
Haggai 2:9
This was a specific rebuilding programme. Zechariah told the people how they should treat one another, and how to go about things, and explained to them how jealous God was for His people. What looked impossible was to become possible because of God’s intervention.
We are living in a time where God is building His church. And the people of God at the time of Zechariah ... the dealings of God were all to do with His care for His people. Nothing has changed.
Zechariah 8:1-2
God was jealous for the people of Jerusalem and God is careful for what He is doing in building His church.
This includes everyone. It doesn’t matter how old you are. There will be the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and this will happen. It doesn’t matter what you experience at the moment – this will happen.
Zechariah 8:6-8
You will see that God is so concerned about the preservation of His people that He will do this. He will be their God in truth and righteousness – no hidden agendas.
Zechariah 8:9-12
This was music to their ears – so different from the state they were in. It was an impossibility become possible. They began to grasp what Zechariah was saying. It shall come to pass.
Zechariah 8:9-13
They were establishing things in a country which had been overrun for a long time. Some of the people would have been thinking back to their foundation and wondering how things had been before the temple had been destroyed.
Verse 16 is very practical, because God knew there had to be certain standards for things to work.
Zechariah 8:16-17
There are certain things God hates:
1. Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour. God hates the opposite of that. We need to speak the truth with our neighbour. I recently read a book – “The death of spin”. Spin had become so much of everyone’s world that the truth had disappeared.
2. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates. With truth you don’t get tumult, hate.
3. Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour. That extends to the practice of me thinking the best of someone, not wishing ill of someone. I want to build you up, to see you blossom in God, in your life. I don’t wish ill on my neighbour.
4. Love no false oath. If you know something is a lie, don’t amplify it, don’t love it, and don’t dwell on it. For Jerusalem, the way forward was God’s truth and righteousness.
Zechariah 8:18-23
God is quite able to glorify His own name, and is doing so. He is building His church. The Book of Zechariah, more than any other minor prophet, is to do with foretelling the Messiah to come.
Zechariah 9:9
That’s Jesus. Zechariah is talking about the temple and about how you should treat each other – and look at what is coming down the line.
Zechariah 9:11
There are about seven or eight places which refer specifically to the coming Messiah.
God in His fury was jealous for His people. And when Jesus went to the Cross for you and me, He was jealous for your salvation. He had you on His mind. “For the joy which was set before Him.” What was that joy? His glorious church? Who is that church? You and me? Who else will be part of that? I don’t know, but we’re part of God’s church here and in the wider world.
Matthew 16:13-18
How can a gate be active? In old times, the gates of the city were the most fortified area. And often the council met in a room in those gates. So taking that thought, it doesn’t matter what is being planned, what the machinations of hell are – those machinations will not prevail against what I am doing in building my church. That’s why Jesus came – to break the power of sin in people’s lives. To create a church where there is love between brother and sister – not a place of hatred and discord. As a Christian, Jesus Christ lives within an individual. And it is for us to rejoice in what God is doing, in His way, to build His church.
Zechariah told them to rebuild the temple, but to bear in mind the way they treated one another. Don’t imagine evil against one another. Don’t cash in on pulling someone down.
God knows what He is doing, and He is doing it. Whatever He is doing will be to His glory. How ever things outwork, it will be to His glory, because He will build His church, and you are part of that, because of His love for you and me. What do you mean by love? I mean moving heaven and earth to make sure your life was different, to make sure you had a new start, to ensure that you were changed on the inside. God has opened your eyes, so you want to do what God wants in your life. Has He opened your eyes? Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, because God has opened your eyes. And I’m building my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He is building His church, and it’s a wonderful thing.
He can take what is impossible and make it possible. He can take a pile of stones which have been overrun and rebuild. And He can take those things which will outwork His plan. He was jealous for His people, and He was so careful for you and me that He sent His son.
He saw you and me when He was on that Cross, and He knew that taking into Himself sin and the power of sin would set you free now, so that your life would bring glory to His name, so that you’d want to do what He wants for your life. Would He play cat and mouse with you? Not at all – He’s your heavenly Father. Whatever situation you’re facing, He’ll give you the answer. He is the answer.
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