For many of us, this marks a time when God has brought us out of the old and into the new. He has made provision for us all through our lives, and now as we face our new circumstances, we can be confident of His continuing care and provision.
We had a dedication just now. Many parents here can look back to a similar event. It’s good to remind children of the faithfulness of God.
Joshua 4:19-25
The stones were there as evidence of what God had done, taking the children of Israel out of the bondage of the Egyptians. They crossed Jordan because it was God’s purpose to take the land. The people in the land did not want God. It is of concern when someone does not want God. And sin is something which keeps you from God.
It was a case now of fulfilling the purposes of God in taking the land. They weren’t far from Jericho, and he could see the fortified city a little way away. Joshua could have opted simply to press forward. But God knew that something else had to be done first. In chapter five, God initiated some things to put things right. The siege of Jericho was to be postponed until later.
If you’re stirred up in your heart, it’s because God is trying to get hold of your heart, and He will. You may sit there mocking at what God is speaking about. But He loves you and your mocking is only a prelude to the time when you will embrace Jesus Christ as your saviour.
Joshua 5:1
The kings thought “We’d heard about the Red Sea, and now it’s Jordan. We thought with the death of Moses the threat had gone, but now Joshua has taken over.”
Joshua 5:2-6
Joshua 5:8-10
This thing had to happen so the children of Israel realised that Egypt had no place in them, and the reproach – the mockery – of Egypt was gone.
Exodus 32:12
That’s an example of what the Egyptians were saying. They hurled mockery at the children of Israel. “Call yourself a Christian? What about this? How can Christianity be true if these things happen?” There’s a spirit of mockery in the world. And the Egyptians hurled it at Israel – “They’re going into the wilderness, and they’ll be dead within a few years. Who can you trust? What is there to believe in?” And the mockery goes deeper, and as you feed on mockery it goes deeper until you get caught up in that spirit.”
“He’s taken them out of Egypt, but you wait. They’ll be dead in the wilderness.”
And here Joshua was able to report, “This day have I rolled the reproach of Egypt off you.”
Colossians 2:10-13
Egypt is the flesh, and by the operation of God – His faith in your heart – the sins of the flesh are forgiven, and the power of sin in your flesh is broken. Some people have the ability to pull down and destroy.
Sometimes I see people getting very stirred up and I know that deep down God is speaking to them. Outwardly they put on a front, but inwardly they know they have to sort things out.
“We’re at the start of the next stage, children of Israel.” In your patience posses your souls. God takes us, circumstance by circumstance and changes us from glory to glory. He initiates faith in our heart. He does that, and changes us from glory to glory until we see Him face to face.
Back in Joshua, there was something else which had to be put right before hostilities could commence.
Joshua 5:10
When they left Egypt, the blood was put round the doorway, and they ate the lamb. Only once in the 38 years since then had they done so again. And now they went back to it. It was as if they resumed where they left off. The youngsters would have heard of the Passover, but had never taken part in it.
Joshua 5:11-13
The circumstances of your life may have changed radically recently, and you can’t see how God will make provision for your life. But no matter what the circumstances, God is your provider. These people had been wandering in the wilderness, and for forty years God had provided manna, day after day. God kept them. And now we are the point where the manna ceases. They had taken of the Passover and eaten of the lamb, and would do so again every year from then on. The manna ceased, and they ate of the fruit of the land instead – a land flowing with milk and honey.
Are you going to defy God to bless you; or will you say that you know your God?
You can set yourself as though to be miserable, as though to defy God? Why? Because the enemy of your soul wants to you to be defiant. Are we afraid of Him? No. Whether it’s between husband and wife, or whether it’s someone who is leading their family and doesn’t know how things will work out.
Why set yourself like that? What’s the example to your children? “I used to find it easier to trust God, but in this circumstance I can’t.” Yes, you can.
God did fulfil His promises. He did, and He always will.
We’re looking back now at what Jesus Christ has done for each one of us in this room.
The people needed to know that the mockery, the reproach of Egypt, was gone forever. They needed to know that their new situation would prove the faithfulness of God. And God told Joshua that they needed to partake of the lamb. And as you do that, the manna will cease and you will eat of the fruit of the land. There is a sequence in God’s time, for everything.
He’s a God of love. He’s a righteous God. You can’t just mock God. He’s holy, and He’s real. Joshua now was on his own. He went up to look at Jericho.
Joshua 5:13
Joshua is on his own. He’s at a place where He doesn’t know how God will give it into their hands. It may that in the night, your thoughts are “I don’t know how this will work out.” You’re on your own. God specialises in making His presence real to you at exactly the right time.
Put yourself in Joshua’s place, because whatever you are looking ahead to, think of yourself like Joshua. He saw this person and didn’t know who he was, and asked whose side he was on. He didn’t get an answer.
Joshua 5:14
Strange. A man standing with his sword drawn, and yet there was no battle going on. Joshua wondered whose side he was on. “No – I’m come as captain as the host of the Lord am I come.” And look at the impact on Joshua – he fell on his face and worshiped.
Joshua 5:15
“Do you mean, in my life you’ve been there all the time?” “Yes, I do.” He’s been there all the time. He’s seen every thought, has been aware of every thought, and knows all about you.” And at the right time He comes and makes you aware that He is the provider and loves you.
One impact on Joshua would have been the realisation that this wasn’t his battle – he didn’t have a sword. But the man did. God had sorted it all out. And there is one who has gone before us and sorted it all out. He sorted out your sin, and He has sorted out how you will get through your circumstances.
Hebrews 2:9-11
How does God unmake things perfect through Christ? Via you. The sufferings of Christ are made perfect by the fact that many sons are being brought to glory. When Jesus died for sin, took your sin into Himself and was raised, the perfection of it was that He brought many sons to glory. His sufferings are made perfect through the Bride of Christ.
Hebrews 2:11
Hebrews 4:12
This Word of God is like a sword. This morning, it’s as though a sword is coming to your heart and life. Clarity is coming – different times for different people – over the fact that you are responsible to realise who He is: that He rewards those who diligently seek Him and is mighty. And yet you go around with a long face, willing people to trample on you. Quit you like a man. If anyone is caught up in mockery – and you know it’s crazy – quit you like a man.
Hebrews 4:13
That can be taken in two ways. He knows your situation and will make provision for you, and the trial of your faith is no more than that – you still have faith and at the end of the trial, your faith will be stronger. To another person, the knowledge that God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart makes them realise – you can’t mess around with God, you can’t sin and merely assume that He will forgive. A willfulness to think wrongly or to get involved with people who will make you go the wrong way ... you can’t con God.
Hebrews 4:14-17
Jesus is telling us He went through all the same things as us, yet without sinning. So when He died on the cross, it was a valid sacrifice. And now we’re in a situation where we look at the Passover Lamb. He didn’t sin, and so He had the right to be able to give His life as a sacrifice so that the power of sin could be broken, so that the penalty would be taken away. He conquered sin and then death. Why? Because He wants you to have His life inside you, to change on the inside. He wants you to realise that your future is no more sin, no more mocking, but an acceptance.
We dedicated Philippa that this might happen for her. When? Don’t know? But is He faithful? Yes.
“Dad, what is the meaning of these stones?” “There’s one for each tribe, and each one was put there so that you would remember what God did for us. That’s what God did.”
“There’s the cross and what Jesus did. The Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. It’s brilliant.” Why? Because without God in this world, we are of all men most miserable. Without Hi, our destiny is death and hell, eternity without Him.
“But you can’t tell me what to do.” I’m not. I’m simply pointing out that there comes a time in a life, as it did for Joshua, which confirms your destiny.”
Joshua’s destiny was to possess the land. Yours is to posses your soul. As you go forward
We’ve partaken of the Lamb. He’s cleaned us up. “I don’t need anyone to clean me up.” Anyone who says that knows deep down that they do. In God’s timing, everything is so wonderful. He is made perfect through bringing many sons to gory. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may find mercy and grace in time of need.
Is this a defeatist approach to life? Absolutely not. Jesus Christ has gone on before. The work has been done. We are following in the train of His triumph. So there is no reason to doubt. It doesn’t matter how old we are. I’m going forward in God. He’s forgiven me everything. He’s changed me inside, changed my thought life and made me clean. No one else can do that.
What’s your profession when it comes to Jesus Christ and who He is and what He means to you?
Sunday 28 September 2008
Friday 26 September 2008
Have No Doubt (Part 1 of 2)
I want to talk about me and you possessing our souls. We are going to look at Joshua but I want to look at a few verses in the book of James.
James 1:1-5
The trying of your faith; the trying of my faith, tries patience, which is a fruit of the Spirit. And we need to let patience have her perfect work.
In other words, if there’s something that is coming across my path that is contrary or tests my faith, the best thing is to acknowledge that it’s a testing. It’s not something that I have an emotional reaction to in which I become destabilized. “Let patience have her perfect work”
Luke 21:15-20
So there’s a sense in which in your Christian life and in my Christian life, the circumstances that come into my life are there. My reaction to those circumstances and what it will do in my life, I can determine. I can let patience have her perfect work. I can become more of a complete person in terms of my steadiness, my faith, that God has placed in me because he is the author of my faith, and causing my faith to grow as
I let each circumstance in my life. I want God to prove more and more to me his love for me. I’m not going to ignore or get round it.
In your patience, Jesus said, “possess ye your souls.” In the Old Testament the soul is portrayed in the same way that Joshua took possession in the world. We will see parallels here in our lives.
Deuteronomy 34:12
Joshua1:1-9
Categoric, clear as day, God put it in front of Joshua’s eyes: I will not fail you, don’t be dismayed, you are to possess the land and it will become yours. Whatever you do, Joshua, meditate on the law day and night; keep your focus.
We need to read the word of God.
I know there are some people tonight who are thinking that the way God brought you here, you know was true and yet somehow, this point in time, you’re asking yourself, what’s next? And some f you are in the position where you need God to speak to you. “Be strong and of good courage. Have I not commanded you, Joshua.”
You will see that God was at the centre of Joshua’s thinking and transmitted that to the people. “Whatever you want us to do, that’s what we’re going to do,” said Joshua.
“You will show me.”
Joshua 1:10-12
Joshua 3:1-4
“For ye have not passed this way heretofore.” That’s true of you and me. Not passed this way heretofore. Who has brought us thus far? God has. Who is leading us forward? God is. In your life, the provision that you need at this time, God will provide. It might not be in a way that you expect. I know that in your circumstance some of you want the answer now; he’s heard you. He has been patient with you and now, in the circumstance you are in, he knows that you have not passed this way heretofore.
Joshua 3:5-7
The ark of the covenant represented the presence of God in their midst. They were to follow after the ark.
Joshua 3:7-12
Joshua was careful to point out to the children of Israel, that the covenant represented the Lord God.We’re not talking about some whipper snapper, we’re talking about the Holy one, the one who created everything. “Keep your eyes on the ark of the covenant,” Joshua was saying.
Joshua 3:12-18
What did the priests do? They stood firm. The were standing holding up the ark of the covenant, the presence of God. In your life, in your trial that you’re facing, what God wants you to do is focus your attention on the one who has brought you thus far.And what he wants you to do is stand firm in your faith that he’s given you. He doesn’t want you to worry. He’s your loving heavenly father.
God will see you through the circumstance that you are in at this time. He is the creator God who has done everything, to make it possible for you to go forward in your circumstance. And the faith that you have by the end, you will realise, has given you more confidence in what he is doing. “I knew that God has put that faith in me and somehow I knew he was going to bring me through. That’s how he has given me the ability to share with others. That’s how he has shown me his love for me. It wasn’t the way I thought it would be, but he got me through. And the end result is that he got the glory. I know it was God that brough me through.”
Joshua 4:1-10
As far as Joshua was concerned, they were going to keep to God’s timing. They weren’t going to make something happen that wasn’t at the right stage.
Joshua 4:11-18
That river Jordan that you are facing tonight, God is your solution and God has made the way for you. Whether it’s financial or marital provision; whether it’s something for your children in some way, who are we trusting? God. What are we going to do? Let patience have her perfect work. What does that mean? We are facing things face on. We realise that God is working out his purposes which will only bring glory to him. He loves you and he has prepared the way for you. And as we’ll see on Sunday, as they went on after this point, it was as if they came face to face that they came to that sense readily of God’s provision and Jesus himself.
He was the fourth man in the fire and here, just in a few hours from the time that we were talking about Joshua, Jesus will appear.
James 1:1-5
The trying of your faith; the trying of my faith, tries patience, which is a fruit of the Spirit. And we need to let patience have her perfect work.
In other words, if there’s something that is coming across my path that is contrary or tests my faith, the best thing is to acknowledge that it’s a testing. It’s not something that I have an emotional reaction to in which I become destabilized. “Let patience have her perfect work”
Luke 21:15-20
So there’s a sense in which in your Christian life and in my Christian life, the circumstances that come into my life are there. My reaction to those circumstances and what it will do in my life, I can determine. I can let patience have her perfect work. I can become more of a complete person in terms of my steadiness, my faith, that God has placed in me because he is the author of my faith, and causing my faith to grow as
I let each circumstance in my life. I want God to prove more and more to me his love for me. I’m not going to ignore or get round it.
In your patience, Jesus said, “possess ye your souls.” In the Old Testament the soul is portrayed in the same way that Joshua took possession in the world. We will see parallels here in our lives.
Deuteronomy 34:12
Joshua1:1-9
Categoric, clear as day, God put it in front of Joshua’s eyes: I will not fail you, don’t be dismayed, you are to possess the land and it will become yours. Whatever you do, Joshua, meditate on the law day and night; keep your focus.
We need to read the word of God.
I know there are some people tonight who are thinking that the way God brought you here, you know was true and yet somehow, this point in time, you’re asking yourself, what’s next? And some f you are in the position where you need God to speak to you. “Be strong and of good courage. Have I not commanded you, Joshua.”
You will see that God was at the centre of Joshua’s thinking and transmitted that to the people. “Whatever you want us to do, that’s what we’re going to do,” said Joshua.
“You will show me.”
Joshua 1:10-12
Joshua 3:1-4
“For ye have not passed this way heretofore.” That’s true of you and me. Not passed this way heretofore. Who has brought us thus far? God has. Who is leading us forward? God is. In your life, the provision that you need at this time, God will provide. It might not be in a way that you expect. I know that in your circumstance some of you want the answer now; he’s heard you. He has been patient with you and now, in the circumstance you are in, he knows that you have not passed this way heretofore.
Joshua 3:5-7
The ark of the covenant represented the presence of God in their midst. They were to follow after the ark.
Joshua 3:7-12
Joshua was careful to point out to the children of Israel, that the covenant represented the Lord God.We’re not talking about some whipper snapper, we’re talking about the Holy one, the one who created everything. “Keep your eyes on the ark of the covenant,” Joshua was saying.
Joshua 3:12-18
What did the priests do? They stood firm. The were standing holding up the ark of the covenant, the presence of God. In your life, in your trial that you’re facing, what God wants you to do is focus your attention on the one who has brought you thus far.And what he wants you to do is stand firm in your faith that he’s given you. He doesn’t want you to worry. He’s your loving heavenly father.
God will see you through the circumstance that you are in at this time. He is the creator God who has done everything, to make it possible for you to go forward in your circumstance. And the faith that you have by the end, you will realise, has given you more confidence in what he is doing. “I knew that God has put that faith in me and somehow I knew he was going to bring me through. That’s how he has given me the ability to share with others. That’s how he has shown me his love for me. It wasn’t the way I thought it would be, but he got me through. And the end result is that he got the glory. I know it was God that brough me through.”
Joshua 4:1-10
As far as Joshua was concerned, they were going to keep to God’s timing. They weren’t going to make something happen that wasn’t at the right stage.
Joshua 4:11-18
That river Jordan that you are facing tonight, God is your solution and God has made the way for you. Whether it’s financial or marital provision; whether it’s something for your children in some way, who are we trusting? God. What are we going to do? Let patience have her perfect work. What does that mean? We are facing things face on. We realise that God is working out his purposes which will only bring glory to him. He loves you and he has prepared the way for you. And as we’ll see on Sunday, as they went on after this point, it was as if they came face to face that they came to that sense readily of God’s provision and Jesus himself.
He was the fourth man in the fire and here, just in a few hours from the time that we were talking about Joshua, Jesus will appear.
Sunday 21 September 2008
Our Situation and God’s Solution
Just as Moses raised up the serpent in the wilderness, and those who looked upon it were healed, so there is a solution today for man’s sin condition. That solution lies in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
For quite a few of you, it’s true that you are thankful for the change in your life. Others would like it to be so, but it’s been some time since you’ve had the opportunity to respond what God has to say to you. Today, God is going to speak to you by His Holy Spirit.
I was recently talking about the global problems we find ourselves in, something which has been forced on all of us – the financial problems of the whole world, the inter-relationship of money. The whole world is looking on. How can we solve this problem? On Friday we looked at the global problem in Noah’s time, and how God provided the Ark for the continuation of mankind. In Romans 5:12 we see the global problem again:
Romans 5:12–14
From Adam, the global problem has been sin. And the reason you can’t align yourself in your heart and be thankful for the change in your life is because there is sin. God isn’t condemning you for that; He’s saying He has the solution for that. And in the same way that toxic debt can be moved out of the world and everyone is happy, there’s a wide issue of toxicity in the world – sin. And in Adam, sin entered into the world, and with sin, death.
Ezekiel 18:19–20
In sin terms, we are on our own. Each of us individually needs to be involved and come to terms with the fact that sin is inside us and we need that sin to be dealt with. That’s why you try and you can’t succeed. You keep trying and it doesn’t work. Why? Because sin has not been dealt with in your heart. The power of it has not been broken. You try, and things go wrong again and you try again. I’m not saying don’t try – but there’s a reason why it isn’t working. It doesn’t matter what anyone else has done – you are what you are.
Ezekiel 18:21
But if the people then were born in sin, they were sinners, so how could they keep His statutes? Well, they knew that there were procedures laid down, a lamb could be sacrificed, and its blood would save them.
Ezekiel 18:22-23
Numbers 21:4–5
God had just brought them out of the land of Egypt, and their complaint was that things were not what they wanted, and they spoke against Moses.
Numbers 21:6–7
Circumstances were such that they ended up admitting that they had sinned. “We’re ungrateful. We’ve forgotten what has happened. We’ve been complaining about everything”. Over recent months, you’ve got to the point where you don’t know who you can trust, or whether you believe in church any more. And the enemy of your soul has emboldened you in your thinking, and you’ve wondered what the point is.
I want to convey to you, via your intelligence, that the problem is inside, and the reason you ask what the point is, is that deep down you know there is something which needs to be sorted. You know it. We can all put on a brave face with one another, but you know it.
Numbers 21:8–9
There was a solution
There was a solution. Don’t say God brought the serpents so He had to bring a solution. No – the soul that sinneth shall die. He hadn’t misled them. It is the same now. The soul that sinneth shall die. That is where we are at. You had to get into a situation where you saw the serpent on the pole.
What if my only child was bitten by one of these serpents. I know that as a result of that bite, they will die. Others have been dying. What I have to do is to get my child to see the serpent on the pole. I tell him he has to look at me because he has to see the pole. Don’t close your eyes. You have to see it. I take him and tell him to open his eyes and look. He does so, and sees, and he is all right; he lives.
There came a point in time when Jesus came to this earth.
John 1:10
John 1:29
That is the comment you need on the strap line in the financial world. Not a new fund for toxic debt: “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world”.
John 3:1–13
We are talking about Jesus Christ, who was physically speaking to Nicodemus. He was talking to someone who had come to earth for a reason – for Nicodemus and for you. Why do we have to keep talking about Jesus? Why did it kick off in Bethlehem? Well, Jesus Christ came to this world to save sinners. John the Baptist acknowledged Him – “Behold the Lamb of God”.
John 3:13–15
When Moses was told to create the serpent and anyone who sees it would live, Jesus was involved with that. And now He recounts these same things to Nicodemus – “Even so must the son of man be lifted up”.
What was the mechanism in Moses’s time for them to live? They just had to look. The moment they saw the serpent, they would live. “Nicodemus – the son of man must be lifted up in the same way”. And we have here the emblem of the Cross.
And now we have the global solution again...
John 3:16–17
Does that mean the whole world will be saved? We have just read “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him...” Now we come down to it. If there was a pole here at the front, and if I could get you to look at that pole, you would change and live; that would be the way we would do it.
At this point, we’re looking back to the time when Jesus was lifted up on the Cross. He broke the power of sin in your life when He was lifted up like that. He was buried, rose from the grave, and conqurered death. The soul that sins, it shall die. Life in Jesus Christ is eternal, it is a life where the power of sin is broken. Your intellect is not ignored, but the message is quite simple – “Come as a little child”. If the son of man is lifted up, just believe. “Will that deal with the doubts in my heart?” Of course! Sin may grip you, but this will deal with it.
John 3:18–21
“He that doeth truth”. Are you going to be true to yourself today? Are you going to face the facts that you know are true? Are you going to admit that inside yourself you can’t do it, and that inside you have a sinful nature which needs to change. You know what you need to say to appear to be right, but inside you know it’s not true. You are the one God is speaking to you this morning. I know it, because He loves you. “Nicodemus, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...Me”.
John 9:5
He’s still in the world by His Spirit.
John 12:28-30
What you are hearing is for you.
John 12:31
Jesus knew why He came to the earth, and He knew that the global sin problem which affects every individual problem had to be dealt with. There had to be a solution because God loved the world.
What did Jesus mean? That as a result of Him being on the Cross, of giving His life to take into Himself the power of sin, He rose from dead and conquered it, and the prince of the earth was cast out, and could not cause death any more.
That’s why in your thought life at times, one thing leads to another, to another, and it’s as though you can’t help it. But Jesus says, “Now is the prince of this world cast out”.
John 12:32
Whoever believes on Him… As a result of what happened on the Cross as He was lifted, now the work has been done and the judgment has been dealt with. What about the judgment on you? Where are we this morning with the judgment on you? Deep down you have been longing to get yourself cleaned out. God has been drawing you by His Spirit.
Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be born from above. He’d started off in the wrong way and “You need to believe what I could be doing for you”.
In our situation we believe by God’s Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ came to break the power of sin in my life, and cause me to go right, not wrong. And in the simple matter of belief, it is as if you start again. Not kidding yourself. But it is His life on the inside. “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me”.
In Numbers, they just had to look. And here you look, and by God’s Holy Spirit you know that He has every right just to let you die, through what you’ve been thinking and doing, and you’re ashamed of it. He’s not here to expose you, but because He loves you He has provided a solution. Jesus spoke about Himself and the fact that He submitted Himself and gave His life for you.
What is your future to be? Where are we at? Is your future going to be hoping it will be all right because you know the right things to say and do, but you’re not sure? Or will it be a realisation that the power of sin needs to be broken, and it’s a case of you determining that you need to get this sorted out? Now is the time! “I was thinking about this yesterday. I knew I would come to this point in time. What do I do?” What I need to do is to encourage you now, not to think about anyone else. I want you to think about you. And if just one person responds, that’s brilliant. The global problem, the toxic debt, the problem of sin actually comes down to the individual. God loved the world, person by person by person, that He gave His only Son that whosever believed on Him should not perish.
It is not an insurance policy; it’s a different life, a life where you can be yourself and not play-act, where you can rejoice in what God has done for you – He’s broken the power of sin in your life and given you His life. That’s what He’s saying to you this morning.
I am going to ask a question of you on behalf of God. I want you to be honest, and I want you to realise we are not messing around. We are talking about why Jesus Christ came to this earth, and He is here for you. By His Holy Spirit, there are people for who today is the day and you know it is. I don’t know who it is, but I know what I was meant to say.
Are you going to believe in Jesus Christ and all He has done for you? Are you going to ask Him to change you on the inside? What does that change mean? It means the breaking of the power of sin in your life. It means you taking life and walking away from sin and death.
Friday 19 September 2008
God is in Control
God is in the area of having created the heavens and the earth. To him, momentous events have occurred already in what he has done through that creation, and through what he has done in sending his son to this earth to provide the solution for mankind. He’s into thinking globally.
I want to look at a time when God revealed his purposes in global terms, but it was very specific to one man and his family.
Genesis 6:1-7
Why did God allow that to happen? I don’t have many answers, but I want you to see the sequence where God had his purpose.
Genesis 6:8
If ever there was a time when we need to have that as the strapline across our forehead, as it were, it’s now: “We’re walking with God.” It’s when men’s hearts fail them for fear. Noah walked with God and found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 5:24
Noah walked with God in an evil and wicked generation, and he found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 6:10-22
Whatever God said, that’s what Noah did. He was mocked, laughed at, but he was looking beyond. Because he was doing what God told him to do, he knew it was right, accurate and true. In your life, your faith is in the one who began that faith inside you. He’s the author and finisher of your faith.
People’s faith is tested. Things happen outside of anyone’s control, but God is in control. Noah was getting on with what God commanded him to do, in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation.
Genesis 7:1-3
Even in the midst of violence and evil across the world, God’s plan was secure. This wasn’t a hastily revised plan. His plan was secure to keep seed alive across all the face of the earth.
Genesis 7:16
There wasn’t a rope by which Noah pulled the door up, after they got in. This was God’s solution, and the Lord shut him in. There are people who have proved that God has shut them in to himself. They don’t fear what man can do to them because the Lord is in control.
The rain and floods had come, and the water had been on the earth for about five months.
Genesis 8:15-22
It doesn’t matter what occurs.
God is in control, and after all this had happened, and it was just Noah, his family and the animals, God’s covenant was that while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. This made me realise how significant it is that God has put faith in your heart. The faith that he has put in your heart, even though it might be as a grain of mustard seed, the smallest seed will grow into a massive tree.
Hebrews 11:5-7
Noah found grace in the eyes of God and did all that God commanded him to. We need faith inside us, in what God has done in our hearts. God is in control. And of your life and your viewing of circumstances, you are in the palm of his hand. Your times are in his hand.
I can say that’s what I believe, because of what God has done in my heart. It doesn’t matter what things are going on.
When Noah was on this earth, what he did was what God commanded him to do. There is a thread of faith on the earth.
Everything revolves around Jesus Christ, and when he came to this earth, he made it possible for you to be a partaker of his life. As far as you’re concerned, you want to live your life believing in Him.
We need to share faith with our neighbour. We have the answer, and his name is Jesus. God has dealt with global issues, and he knows every individual. He is the solution for everything
I want to look at a time when God revealed his purposes in global terms, but it was very specific to one man and his family.
Genesis 6:1-7
Why did God allow that to happen? I don’t have many answers, but I want you to see the sequence where God had his purpose.
Genesis 6:8
If ever there was a time when we need to have that as the strapline across our forehead, as it were, it’s now: “We’re walking with God.” It’s when men’s hearts fail them for fear. Noah walked with God and found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 5:24
Noah walked with God in an evil and wicked generation, and he found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 6:10-22
Whatever God said, that’s what Noah did. He was mocked, laughed at, but he was looking beyond. Because he was doing what God told him to do, he knew it was right, accurate and true. In your life, your faith is in the one who began that faith inside you. He’s the author and finisher of your faith.
People’s faith is tested. Things happen outside of anyone’s control, but God is in control. Noah was getting on with what God commanded him to do, in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation.
Genesis 7:1-3
Even in the midst of violence and evil across the world, God’s plan was secure. This wasn’t a hastily revised plan. His plan was secure to keep seed alive across all the face of the earth.
Genesis 7:16
There wasn’t a rope by which Noah pulled the door up, after they got in. This was God’s solution, and the Lord shut him in. There are people who have proved that God has shut them in to himself. They don’t fear what man can do to them because the Lord is in control.
The rain and floods had come, and the water had been on the earth for about five months.
Genesis 8:15-22
It doesn’t matter what occurs.
God is in control, and after all this had happened, and it was just Noah, his family and the animals, God’s covenant was that while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. This made me realise how significant it is that God has put faith in your heart. The faith that he has put in your heart, even though it might be as a grain of mustard seed, the smallest seed will grow into a massive tree.
Hebrews 11:5-7
Noah found grace in the eyes of God and did all that God commanded him to. We need faith inside us, in what God has done in our hearts. God is in control. And of your life and your viewing of circumstances, you are in the palm of his hand. Your times are in his hand.
I can say that’s what I believe, because of what God has done in my heart. It doesn’t matter what things are going on.
When Noah was on this earth, what he did was what God commanded him to do. There is a thread of faith on the earth.
Everything revolves around Jesus Christ, and when he came to this earth, he made it possible for you to be a partaker of his life. As far as you’re concerned, you want to live your life believing in Him.
We need to share faith with our neighbour. We have the answer, and his name is Jesus. God has dealt with global issues, and he knows every individual. He is the solution for everything
Sunday 14 September 2008
Christian Parenting in an Uncertain World
- Are you worried about peer pressure?
- Do you feel that you are shut out of your child’s life?
- Are you concerned about how much time your kids spend chatting on the internet?
- Are your teenagers tearaways?
- How do you bring up children?
- Have you lost communication with your child?
- Are you concerned about who your children are mixing with?
- What should you do if your child starts lying?
- How much freedom should you give them, what is reasonable…?
- Does it matter if we don’t eat meals together?
- Do you have rebellion in
your home? - The importance of consistency…
So what is the right way?
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6
This series addresses the issues which concern you as a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, and find the right way in God’s word.
PART 1: The heart of a parent is to reach out with love and compassion to our children, and to build the principles of God into their lives so that they are equipped to stand in an uncertain world.
PART 2: Pastor Carolyn Linnecar shares the principles of bringing up children, focusing on the early years of a child’s life. The establishment of a child’s trust in the word of God starts with trust in the word of the parents.
PART 3: Pastor Peter Linnecar concentrates on older children and the importance of communication between them and with their parents.
PART 4: IT consultant Paul van Haver presents useful and practical information for parents about the technology their children are likely to be using, specifically focusing on the internet and its associated dangers and benefits.
External Links:
Listen to the online sermon (Podcast) »
Watch the program online (YouTube) »
Download the PowerPoint notes »
Listen to the online sermon (Podcast) »Watch the program online (YouTube) »Download the PowerPoint notes »PART 5: Pastors Peter and Carolyn Linnecar look at the life of Caleb, showing us to look at the nature of our Father, rather than getting swamped with fears and doubts we realise that there is nothing that He will withhold from those who love Him and walk with Him.
Caleb's Faith
Pastors Peter and Carolyn Linnecar looks at the life of Caleb and how God told him he would possess the land. Caleb saw the giants in the land just as the other spies did, but his eyes were fixed on the promise not the problems. When we look at our doubts and fears we can become swamped, but when we look at the nature of our Father there is nothing that He will withhold from those who love Him and walk with Him.
Pastor Peter Linnecar – There is an old African proverb which says: It takes a whole village to raise up and educate a child. Some of you may think, well I don’t have children. But today we want to focus on something which affects everyone whether you are a parent or part of a church.
Pastor Carolyn Linnecar – We’re going to look at the life of one of the giants of faith. Last weekend Pastor Linnecar looked in Hebrews chapters 11 and 12 at the list of historical people of faith.
Hebrews 11:33
We have a greater provision than they knew. We have the indwelling Christ. They lived according to what they knew, but we have the indwelling Christ. We have His word and we have His power within us.
The life of Caleb
I want to look at the life of Caleb. He possibly wasn’t an Israelite by birth. He was born into a nomadic tribe, but Caleb had become a Hebrew by adoption. He stood out as a man of integrity, as a man of his word. He had the capacity to represent his people.
Caleb was one of the ones who was chosen to go in and see the land. His name means dog, not a pretty meaning. But he had the dogged persistence to believe God no matter what. His faith took God’s word and stood on it. He had a stubborn faith.
There are two ingredients we need as parents. One is faith in our God. And the other is to take his principles and apply them in our homes.
Deuteronomy 1:20-21
God has given you the land. God has said the land is yours. It doesn’t matter what the opposition is, the land is yours. But there’s something in human nature which thinks it knows better than God.
Deuteronomy 1:22–23
When there are problems in your life be careful who you listen to, be careful what advice you take on board. Do you take on board advice from someone who has proven through their life that they know their God?
The spies explored the land. They discovered that the land was one flowing with milk and honey. But they also found a tribe of giants living there. Caleb and Joshua weren’t blind. They saw the giants just as much as the others saw the giants. Unbelief looks at the problems and assesses the situation in terms of their own weaknesses. Faith looks at God. Faith says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Faith looks at the one who makes the way. Caleb was one whose eyes were fixed, not on the problems, but on the promise.
Deuteronomy 1:29-33
After all God’s provision, protection and guidance. He had delivered them from Pharaoh. Now they said ‘We can’t go, it’s too great a task, we can’t face it, we can’t go’. It was a moment of definition. And in that moment a whole generation discarded everything that God had done and had promised. Because of that they perished in the wilderness and only Joshua and Caleb went into the Promised Land.
I want to say something to the young people in particular. And I want you to listen with seriousness as if it’s for the first time. Some of you are concerned about the concept of being born again. ‘I am not sure what I believe any more. It doesn’t happen for me, I’m not sure it happens at all’. But in the background of your life there is the provision of God. And if you’re honest you can’t deny God’s provision for you and your family. You can’t deny God’s faithfulness in providing your education, your job, opened doors for you. And you say, ‘I give up’.
Hebrews 3:7–11
Listen to what God says; don’t listen to what you’ve discussed amongst yourselves.
Hebrews 3:12–14
I don’t think there’s hardly a young person in this room who hasn’t known at some point the moving of God in their heart. You might have pushed it away, you might have forgotten about it. When God starts something in your life He intends to finish it. When God opens a door in eternity for you He intends to take you through it. God isn’t tantalising you with something you can never have.
I want you to go back in your mind and remember the time that you knew God was there for you, and rest on that. Your confidence should be in Him, not in yourself. He loves, and He seeks, and He saves and that can never change and can never vary. You’re not just beyond the pail of God’s provision. You’re one for whom He sent His Son.
Do you think He did that lightly? Do you think He did that in order that He would fail in your life? For we hold our confidence in Christ steadfast until the end. We need to stop examining ourselves and look unto Him who is the answer. The same applies to the parents who are perhaps concerned about their child. Whether that child is here or somewhere else.
Two reports came back from that land, both accounts were true. But one looked at the problems, the other looked at God.
Deuteronomy 7:9
When I think about the future, knowing that God is going to keep His mercy and His love for a thousand generations, I’m happy with that.
Caleb heard the promise of God. He heard God say that He had given a land to the children of Israel. And he took hold of that promise and refused to let it go. This was a general promise for an entire people. It wasn’t just for Caleb, and yet Caleb actually dared to believe that God meant what He said.
Numbers 13:26–29
All the problems listed, you can imagine the response. The panic rose within the people.
Numbers 13:30–31
Caleb stood in the midst of the panic, and stilled the people because Caleb had believed the promise God gave him - a personal promise. And here God has always shown us that His promise is to the generations. That’s a general promise in God’s Word. And if you will believe His general promise God will give you a specific promise.
Deuteronomy 1:34–36
Numbers 14:24
This was no longer a general promise for a people; this was a promise for Caleb, and for Caleb’s family. The very place where he’d been sent in to reconnoitre, that very place God was going to send him in to possess it.
Take the general principles of God and apply them in your life, start to believe that they’re real for you, and God will give you a specific promise.
Not everyone has the same experience, take what you know is true, hold on to what you know is true, and God is going to come and reveal Himself to you. Don’t sit there saying there’s nothing I can do. Grab hold of what you know, stand in what you’ve been taught, and wait for God to come for you with the Word that is for you. But you can do an awful lot from just believing God’s general principles.
Caleb had to wait for 40 years. He had to wait for a whole generation to wander in the wilderness. A whole generation wandered, but I dare to believe that Joshua and Caleb walked with God.
We now come 40 - 45 years on in the life of this man and the same persistent dogged trust in God still motivates him. He won’t back down. And as parents we won’t back down. We will take these principles and apply them in our families. We will put our trust in a God who is a Shepherd, a God who has never been against us but is for us and our children. And as we apply these general principles in our families we’re going to see God come with the specific.
It took 40 years. And after that the Israelites went into the Promised Land and all Israel gathered at Gilgal to determine how they were going to divide up the remaining land. And before they were going to draw lots Caleb stood up and made his claim.
Give me this mountain
Joshua 14:7–14
Give me this mountain. The mountain that the people feared because of the inhabitants. The word of God is as strong and as alive to me now as it was 45 years ago. Because there’s a faith and a faithfulness in my heart. I know the God who gave me this faith, and it is as strong in me as ever it was.
Live by the principles which you know to be true and God will speak to you.
When we look at our doubts and fears we can become swamped. But when we look at the nature of our Father there is nothing that He will withhold from those who love Him and walk with Him. Take the general and God will give you your own personal promise.
This man Caleb, who came through so much and waited for so long. For all those years he walked in the wilderness some of the faith that was in him was transmitted to his family. And I know that as Christian parents that’s what we want. We hope that the faith we have will grow and flourish in the lives of our children.
Pastor Peter Linnecar -
Joshua 15:16-20
It sounds familiar doesn’t it. Caleb said give me this mountain. Then his daughter married and said give me a blessing, give me springs of water.
John 4:7–14
This weekend is about Christian parenting in an uncertain world. This woman at the well with Jesus had an encounter with the living God face to face. The conversation was intimate.
When, perhaps as a parent, you are at your wits end, what we’re trying to say now is that God’s faithful. He is a God of love. And it doesn’t matter what the circumstances look like. You as a Christian parent have within you living water – His name is Jesus. Do not write yourself off as having done your bit, don’t think what is the point. There is a particular word for you – there is a well of life inside you and you can’t stop it springing up. You can’t. The nature of God is everlasting. The nature of God is always faithful, a limitless supply, always causing you to triumph. Why? Because of what happened on the cross. He conquered death and there is nothing that can hinder Him giving you that spring of eternal life.
He will give you the wisdom with your family. He loves you. It could be that what you’ve heard today has been particularly personal – where you’re thinking OK Lord I’ve got to recognise where I am in you. I’ve got to recognise that I can go forward in you knowing that you are the solution. And the faith that you’ve given me will increase. You are the author of that faith and you are going to be the finisher of it. He’s inside, by His Holy Spirit.
Pastor Peter Linnecar – There is an old African proverb which says: It takes a whole village to raise up and educate a child. Some of you may think, well I don’t have children. But today we want to focus on something which affects everyone whether you are a parent or part of a church.
Pastor Carolyn Linnecar – We’re going to look at the life of one of the giants of faith. Last weekend Pastor Linnecar looked in Hebrews chapters 11 and 12 at the list of historical people of faith.
Hebrews 11:33
We have a greater provision than they knew. We have the indwelling Christ. They lived according to what they knew, but we have the indwelling Christ. We have His word and we have His power within us.
The life of Caleb
I want to look at the life of Caleb. He possibly wasn’t an Israelite by birth. He was born into a nomadic tribe, but Caleb had become a Hebrew by adoption. He stood out as a man of integrity, as a man of his word. He had the capacity to represent his people.
Caleb was one of the ones who was chosen to go in and see the land. His name means dog, not a pretty meaning. But he had the dogged persistence to believe God no matter what. His faith took God’s word and stood on it. He had a stubborn faith.
There are two ingredients we need as parents. One is faith in our God. And the other is to take his principles and apply them in our homes.
Deuteronomy 1:20-21
God has given you the land. God has said the land is yours. It doesn’t matter what the opposition is, the land is yours. But there’s something in human nature which thinks it knows better than God.
Deuteronomy 1:22–23
When there are problems in your life be careful who you listen to, be careful what advice you take on board. Do you take on board advice from someone who has proven through their life that they know their God?
The spies explored the land. They discovered that the land was one flowing with milk and honey. But they also found a tribe of giants living there. Caleb and Joshua weren’t blind. They saw the giants just as much as the others saw the giants. Unbelief looks at the problems and assesses the situation in terms of their own weaknesses. Faith looks at God. Faith says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Faith looks at the one who makes the way. Caleb was one whose eyes were fixed, not on the problems, but on the promise.
Deuteronomy 1:29-33
After all God’s provision, protection and guidance. He had delivered them from Pharaoh. Now they said ‘We can’t go, it’s too great a task, we can’t face it, we can’t go’. It was a moment of definition. And in that moment a whole generation discarded everything that God had done and had promised. Because of that they perished in the wilderness and only Joshua and Caleb went into the Promised Land.
I want to say something to the young people in particular. And I want you to listen with seriousness as if it’s for the first time. Some of you are concerned about the concept of being born again. ‘I am not sure what I believe any more. It doesn’t happen for me, I’m not sure it happens at all’. But in the background of your life there is the provision of God. And if you’re honest you can’t deny God’s provision for you and your family. You can’t deny God’s faithfulness in providing your education, your job, opened doors for you. And you say, ‘I give up’.
Hebrews 3:7–11
Listen to what God says; don’t listen to what you’ve discussed amongst yourselves.
Hebrews 3:12–14
I don’t think there’s hardly a young person in this room who hasn’t known at some point the moving of God in their heart. You might have pushed it away, you might have forgotten about it. When God starts something in your life He intends to finish it. When God opens a door in eternity for you He intends to take you through it. God isn’t tantalising you with something you can never have.
I want you to go back in your mind and remember the time that you knew God was there for you, and rest on that. Your confidence should be in Him, not in yourself. He loves, and He seeks, and He saves and that can never change and can never vary. You’re not just beyond the pail of God’s provision. You’re one for whom He sent His Son.
Do you think He did that lightly? Do you think He did that in order that He would fail in your life? For we hold our confidence in Christ steadfast until the end. We need to stop examining ourselves and look unto Him who is the answer. The same applies to the parents who are perhaps concerned about their child. Whether that child is here or somewhere else.
Two reports came back from that land, both accounts were true. But one looked at the problems, the other looked at God.
Deuteronomy 7:9
When I think about the future, knowing that God is going to keep His mercy and His love for a thousand generations, I’m happy with that.
Caleb heard the promise of God. He heard God say that He had given a land to the children of Israel. And he took hold of that promise and refused to let it go. This was a general promise for an entire people. It wasn’t just for Caleb, and yet Caleb actually dared to believe that God meant what He said.
Numbers 13:26–29
All the problems listed, you can imagine the response. The panic rose within the people.
Numbers 13:30–31
Caleb stood in the midst of the panic, and stilled the people because Caleb had believed the promise God gave him - a personal promise. And here God has always shown us that His promise is to the generations. That’s a general promise in God’s Word. And if you will believe His general promise God will give you a specific promise.
Deuteronomy 1:34–36
Numbers 14:24
This was no longer a general promise for a people; this was a promise for Caleb, and for Caleb’s family. The very place where he’d been sent in to reconnoitre, that very place God was going to send him in to possess it.
Take the general principles of God and apply them in your life, start to believe that they’re real for you, and God will give you a specific promise.
Not everyone has the same experience, take what you know is true, hold on to what you know is true, and God is going to come and reveal Himself to you. Don’t sit there saying there’s nothing I can do. Grab hold of what you know, stand in what you’ve been taught, and wait for God to come for you with the Word that is for you. But you can do an awful lot from just believing God’s general principles.
Caleb had to wait for 40 years. He had to wait for a whole generation to wander in the wilderness. A whole generation wandered, but I dare to believe that Joshua and Caleb walked with God.
We now come 40 - 45 years on in the life of this man and the same persistent dogged trust in God still motivates him. He won’t back down. And as parents we won’t back down. We will take these principles and apply them in our families. We will put our trust in a God who is a Shepherd, a God who has never been against us but is for us and our children. And as we apply these general principles in our families we’re going to see God come with the specific.
It took 40 years. And after that the Israelites went into the Promised Land and all Israel gathered at Gilgal to determine how they were going to divide up the remaining land. And before they were going to draw lots Caleb stood up and made his claim.
Give me this mountain
Joshua 14:7–14
Give me this mountain. The mountain that the people feared because of the inhabitants. The word of God is as strong and as alive to me now as it was 45 years ago. Because there’s a faith and a faithfulness in my heart. I know the God who gave me this faith, and it is as strong in me as ever it was.
Live by the principles which you know to be true and God will speak to you.
When we look at our doubts and fears we can become swamped. But when we look at the nature of our Father there is nothing that He will withhold from those who love Him and walk with Him. Take the general and God will give you your own personal promise.
This man Caleb, who came through so much and waited for so long. For all those years he walked in the wilderness some of the faith that was in him was transmitted to his family. And I know that as Christian parents that’s what we want. We hope that the faith we have will grow and flourish in the lives of our children.
Pastor Peter Linnecar -
Joshua 15:16-20
It sounds familiar doesn’t it. Caleb said give me this mountain. Then his daughter married and said give me a blessing, give me springs of water.
John 4:7–14
This weekend is about Christian parenting in an uncertain world. This woman at the well with Jesus had an encounter with the living God face to face. The conversation was intimate.
When, perhaps as a parent, you are at your wits end, what we’re trying to say now is that God’s faithful. He is a God of love. And it doesn’t matter what the circumstances look like. You as a Christian parent have within you living water – His name is Jesus. Do not write yourself off as having done your bit, don’t think what is the point. There is a particular word for you – there is a well of life inside you and you can’t stop it springing up. You can’t. The nature of God is everlasting. The nature of God is always faithful, a limitless supply, always causing you to triumph. Why? Because of what happened on the cross. He conquered death and there is nothing that can hinder Him giving you that spring of eternal life.
He will give you the wisdom with your family. He loves you. It could be that what you’ve heard today has been particularly personal – where you’re thinking OK Lord I’ve got to recognise where I am in you. I’ve got to recognise that I can go forward in you knowing that you are the solution. And the faith that you’ve given me will increase. You are the author of that faith and you are going to be the finisher of it. He’s inside, by His Holy Spirit.
Sunday 7 September 2008
Everything Revolves Around Him
God is not going to walk away from what He has started in your life. The initiator of the faith that you have is Jesus. The one who will take you right through your life until you see Jesus face to face, is Jesus. The whole world exists and goes forward because of Him. Everything but everything revolves around Him.
I want to look at some verses which are talking about the end of time and what will happen. These verses in Revelation 21 talk about New Jerusalem, or the Bride of Christ, or New Jerusalem as a bride adorned for her husband. I’m reading these verses in Revelation because I want to place in your mind where everything in time is moving towards and we will come down to the specifics in your life and my life towards that end.
Revelation 21:1,10,23,27
External Links:
Listen to the online sermon (Podcast) »
Available to buy:
Everything Revolves around Him is available on CD £4.00 +p&p
To place an order please call 01277 372996
Listen to the online sermon (Podcast) »Available to buy:
Everything Revolves around Him is available on CD £4.00 +p&p
To place an order please call 01277 372996
It matters that your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life because all of time is going forward towards New Jerusalem. It’s as if I have in my pocket a passport saying “Citizen of New Jerusalem, Citizen of Heaven.” I’m just passing through here.
Hebrews 11:1
On Friday we looked at how faith was fundamental to all the heroes of faith listed throughout this chapter.
Hebrews 11:33 – 38
It’s a tremendous catalogue of what people did, in faith, through faith, in God. This planet wasn’t worthy of such people.
Hebrews 11:39 – 40
In other words everything revolves around Jesus Christ. The Old Testament and New Testament are all one in God. The fulcrum, the centrality of time and eternity being Jesus Christ. Everything revolves around Him. The fact that you’re breathing, the fact that you see such wonders of creation; it all revolves around Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12:1 – 2
I want to examine these two verses.
You’re in race, I’m in a race. That doesn’t mean we elbow each other out of the way. It’s not a competition. But there’s a race because there’s a definite goal. The aim is definite, we’re looking unto Jesus. Jesus lives inside me by His Holy Spirit and everything revolves around Him. My aim is Jesus.
I want to please Him. I want to live my life as He wants me to live it. The race is set before us. God has appointed that pathway, that lane that we’re running in, and His hand is upon your life. This means that you, by the love of God, have had faith put into your heart. And He will increase that faith. This race is not a sprint.
You might be thinking, hang on, I’ve already been saved from sin, I know about Calvary. But you know that it’s still possible to focus on things that are wrong. When you set off on a race in the Olympics you don’t start with a rucksack, you don’t stray into other lanes, you are focussed on your lane with nothing else restricting you.
2 Corinthians 7:1
So I don’t get involved with a friend who’s going the wrong way. Nothing’s going to pull me away.
1 John 3:2 – 3
So this passport in my pocket which says “Citizen of Heaven: Peter Linnecar” brings with it responsibilities before God. I’ve been set free so that I can make the right choices in life to go the right way. And He’s put the power in me that I can live the right way.
And in the race, you know that if you run with patience, that distance will be covered until such time as you see Him face to face.
Hebrews 12:1
That isn’t a cloud of people watching you, it’s a cloud of witnesses to the Power of God, people who have proved God, and have known God’s power through faith.
Hebrews 11:6
It isn’t that God dangles a carrot of faith in front of you and just as you’re about to take it He whips it away. God plants faith in a person. It may be for some that it’s a case of getting to an end of yourself. If this is the way it is for you, then it’s God that brought that about. Without faith you cannot please God.
Ephesians 1:9 – 10
Everything revolves around Jesus Christ
To repeat, everything revolves around Jesus Christ. Everything in your life which is of importance is what involves Him. This means that your focus, your outlook, revolves around Him. What does God want for me in my life? What job I do, who I marry, everything revolves around Him. So if I’m straying from my lane then I won’t progress in the race. Sometimes we meander from our lane and God has to bring you back to where you were before. God loves me.
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 1:1 – 4
That’s why I said on Friday, those heroes in Hebrews were all looking forward; they couldn’t look back to Jesus’ first coming as we can. We’re looking at it in a different way. We know what happened. Jesus came. We know that He died on the cross; we know that He was raised from the dead. So if you think He’s forgotten about you, He hasn’t.
There’s no planning or committee meeting going on in heaven. Christ sat down. It was finished. The work on the Cross was finished. There’s no mistaking or miscalculation. On 10th September the plug goes on at Cerne in Switzerland where these particles will collide as they try to discover the origin of matter. We know that the origin of matter is Him. And what we’re discovering is more and more and more how much He loves us.
Hebrews 12:3
We’re talking about a man who was here for all eternity. He could do anything, He was God, Son of God, and yet He was pinned like a butterfly in a tray.
Matthew 27:39 – 43
With one blink of a millisecond God could have wiped them out. He didn’t.
Mark 15:31 – 32
Luke 23:35 – 37
You know as well as I do that if you’re not a Christian your reaction to that would have been one of vengeance and anger. If you’d have had the power, if I’d have had the power, we’d have just flicked them out. But God’s love is greater than anything man can comprehend.
You know He put up with all that because He loved you. You were, in a sense, on His mind at that point. Because it says the joy that was set before Him. That joy is New Jerusalem and the Church. For the joy that was set before Him, He went through that for you and me. And when He was mocked He didn’t throw it back. But He committed Himself to God who is a righteous judge.
And in the next few verses He explains that God organises the circumstances of your life. Everything is organised so that as you go through life you discover more and more that you can trust God to provide for everything for you.
There came a time when He put faith in your heart and you know the way you’re going. If you’re trying to pull someone away from the pathway that they’re trying to live – don’t.
Hebrews 12:5 – 6
Don’t be surprised, if you stray from the path, that circumstances arise which force you to get back on track.
Hebrews 12:5 – 9
There is a way of life I’m going to live which is pleasing to Him. “No one’s going to tell me what to do” – fine, how about God?
Hebrews 12:10 – 13
I have a choice in my reaction to circumstances in life. I can meander and become bitter and allow that to affect others. Or I can run with patience the race realising that everything that has happened in life is for my good, and this will yield the fruit of righteousness in my life.
We should work together, helping each other, running this race patiently. Whether we’ve known each other for 30 years or three weeks we should always help each other. And woe betide this church if people come to visit and we don’t welcome them.
Whatever you need in your life God has the answer lined up, He’s heard your prayer. No prayer is just a vague hope, God hears, He knows. He’s there, He knows.
The focus of my life doesn’t depend on works but I can’t expect God to bless me if my intention in life is not to focus on Him in the way I run my race. God loves me and is a God of love. He had you in His heart before the world began. Time and eternity are no big deal for Him. Everything begins and ends with Him.
Hebrews 12:8 – 13
You’re here because of what God is speaking to you. I know He is. It’s a wonderful thing. And as we hear more of what’s going on elsewhere, God’s there. What will be your response? I think a good response would be, “Yes, this is me; this is where I’m at.” You may realise that you’ve been meandering; it’s time to get back in God’s way. He’s given you the faith to believe in your future in Him. He’s the author, originator, He’s started His work in you and He’ll complete it. His work is that when you see Him you’ll be like Him.
Now He’s conquered death and is seated at the right hand of God and He’s sent His Holy Spirit, and He’s here.
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