We must love one another, because as we do, people will see how we relate to each other and will know that God lives inside us. We each have a part to play in the church. God has given us abilities that will enable us to outwork His purposes. The work that the preacher does is in no way better or of more value to God than the work of a cleaner.
It is important that we love one another.
John 15:12-14
I’m sure that when Peter reflected back on what Jesus spoke to him, this concept of a new commandment was a revelation. The disciples knew of the ten commandments, but now, in this New Testament, is a new commandment. We tend to think of God’s law as the ten commandments. Few people would refer to this commandment.
What I’m saying to you tonight is practical. It affects how you relate to the people around you. From what Jesus said in the Gospel of John, it is how we react to one another that will show people that we are God’s disciples.
1 Peter 4:7-8
The word ‘charity’ there could be translated as love. We must have ‘fervent’ love amongst ourselves, because love covers a multitude of sins. There are echoes here from the Old Testament.
Proverbs 10:12
Proverbs 17:9
Does that mean we have our head in the clouds? Not at all. This means that when you are a brother in Christ with someone else, we are commanded to love one another. We will automatically want to do that because Jesus Christ lives inside us. This doesn’t mean that we are in a holy huddle. We want to be open with each other because we are commanded to love one another. If you hear something about someone, you should not find that as a juicy piece of information that you can pass onto other people; that’s not the way we live.
Jesus spoke specifically to Peter here:
Matthew 18:21-27
There was a master who had a debtor who owed him, in today’s terms, a billion dollars. We see here that the person who owed the money begged the lord, and the lord forgave him.
Matthew 18:28-30
You see how Jesus was conveying to Peter the fact that, this guy who had been forgiven the billion pound debt, turned round, caught sight of someone who owed him ten pounds, and threw him into prison. The impact on Peter was that he could not believe that someone, who had been forgiven so much, could behave like that.
Matthew 18:31-35
This is to do with forgiveness. The parable means that when I’m in a situation in my life where there is immense pressure, and I’m asking God for help, I can’t be like that and then effectively ‘throttle’ my brother because of my own situation. You cannot take your anger out on your brother. Peter knew that there was severe persecution on its way to these people he was writing to. So this message was pertinent to them. It’s significant for you and me to find ways of loving one another. You should make the effort to have fellowship with others. Have ‘fervent charity’ among yourselves; the charity shall cover the multitude of sins. This ‘love’ will transcend age groups, cliques and inviting new people into the church.
The local church is the churches that are here in Brentwood. We are also part of the church worldwide. We will see that what God has been doing in our midst is this: inevitably, since March 2008, every one of us has had to re-examine what we believe in, and every one of us has discovered that God by His Holy Spirit has caused each one of us to develop our relationship with Him more than ever before. Prayer and Bible study has become more of a feature of this church. This is all to do with you and me fulfilling what God has for us to do in our lives. As each of us has had to examine ourselves and what is the foundation of our lives, the end result is that we are more confident in what we believe in. The end result will be whatever brings glory to God. I do not know how that will work out, but I know that God is in complete control. I know that God is working by His Holy Spirit in all of us. All of us have become more aware and what God wants to do is to develop that relationship with you, so that you can look up and know that you are a new creation in Jesus Christ.
Acts 18:1-4
Here’s an example of Paul linking up with a couple.
Romans 16:3-5
Acts reveals, in the growth of the Gospel, how God by His Spirit linked people up. There was a love between them in that common cause of spreading the Gospel.
1 Peter 4:10
What’s ‘the gift’? The gift is whatever ability God has given you to outwork His purposes in the church. Paul gives a list of what this ‘gift’ can be:
1 Corinthians 12:28
‘Helps’ is a good word. The work that you do in the church, as unto God, is of equal value to me working up here. It could be that God has organised you to be a ‘help’ in the church. Someone who works in the car park is doing a work of equal value as to a preacher up preaching on the stage. Peter writes: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” It matters how we go about what God has given us to do in the church. I am confident that, if there is something you will do, we will make contact because I know that you want to fulfil God’s purpose for you in the church. We want to carry on fulfilling God’s will, and each person plays their own part. I am not building my empire. As every person plays their own part people will notice how we relate to each other. Every person has received a gift.
1 Peter 4:11
2 Corinthians 10:17-18
1 Peter 4:11
In other words, it’s all to do with God. The ability we have came from Him and they are to be used for outworking His purposes in the church. When Peter said this, he knew that persecution that was coming to the people, and he knew that it was important that they continued to fulfil God’s purpose for their lives.
Showing posts with label God of love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God of love. Show all posts
Friday, 24 April 2009
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Our Need of Him
Jesus Christ rose from the dead, conquering sin and death so that we would not be condemned to an eternity without God. Out of His love God talks to us, by His Holy Spirit, convincing us of our sin and our need for Him. All we have to do is look at Jesus with faith, and He will give you salvation.
I’d like to thank the choir for all the work they’ve put in to convey to you the significance, and the vitality of the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again, conquering sin and death. The outworking of anyone who is involved, as we all are from our initial birth, with sin, is death. There are some here this morning in whom God has been faithfully speaking over the past weeks. By His Spirit He speaks to us. He does that for the simple reason that He wants you not to end up in death. When Jesus was with His disciples He told them that if they kept His commandments they would abide in His love even as He had kept the Father’s commandments and abode in His love. Jesus was the only one who fulfilled the commandments of the Father. He did no sin, He thought no sin. He was pure. The life and love that is in Christ is something which God is pointing out to you because He wants to change the decay inside you. That decay which leads, in the end, to an eternity without God; death.
(reading from Mau Tsi Tung’s book) He didn’t follow an ideology or philosophy. It was a life without God and it ended in death and self-pity. Even at the end he was thinking that someone was going to depose him. I have mentioned this because your involvement with sin, if Jesus Christ is not your Lord and Saviour, will result in death eternally. You can’t muck about with sin. The glorious truth of today is the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, period. He conquered death by doing that, and took into Himself the penalty of sin. The power of sin in your life is broken. As a result of Him rising from the dead, death was conquered and life reigns.
There were ten occasions when He appeared to various people after He came back to life. He was seen by Mary Magdalene, then by the other Mary, then to the disciples, then to Peter, then to 500 people, then to James and then to the Apostles again as He was taken up in a cloud back to heaven. There was one occasion I missed out in that list which will now see:
Luke 24:13-27
You can now see in Isaiah a few verses which refer to Jesus. Jesus could well have referred to these verses when He explained to those two on the road about Himself.
Isaiah 25:6-8
He will swallow up death in victory. And now, here’s Jesus walking along the road pointing out all those verses which referred to Himself. As He spoke to them, they could tell that what He was talking about was true.
Luke 24:28-35
Ten occasions when Jesus appeared before He ascended into heaven, physically risen from the dead.
Here Paul lists these occasions in his letter to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
What he’s talking about is that if Jesus Christ had not risen up from the dead, sin would still always have control of you and me. The end would be certain death, an eternity without God. There are some of you here who are thinking that you have heard this so often and you are not sure if it will ever be true for me. God is saying to you that Jesus actually physically rose from the dead, that is a fact. It was attested by many witnesses. As a result of that death has been broken and life has been given, through Him eternally. The point comes when, by His Holy Spirit, God in His love and mercy makes that revelation to you that you need someone to sort out the sin inside you. The fact that you realise you need someone to deal with your sin is God Himself already working in you.
It is miserable without God because you try and fill that void inside you, but nothing can fill it. So you keep coming back to square one and you’re still the same. Christ rose from the dead so that you would be set free from the curse of sin. He took into Himself that sin inside you on the cross. He’s not going to force Himself on you, but by His Holy Spirit He’s speaking to you right now. I don’t care if someone is sitting here who has been here year after year and yet, for you, it’s as if you’re hearing this for the first time. I’m saying that it is not too much to swallowed one’s pride if we are talking about eternity. The Law of God still stands. You know and I know that you cannot fulfil that law. Jesus fulfilled that law because you cannot. The solution is simply to look at Christ. God has provided a way forward for all mankind, but He’s a gentleman and He won’t force the issue.
1 Corinthians 15:20-22
1 Corinthians 15:53-56
The bite of the serpent resulted in death, and the analogy is that the sin is the sting that causes death. The only solution to your situation inside, is Jesus Christ and you exercising faith. That means repenting of your sin and thinking about what it meant for Jesus Christ to go to the cross and to rise again. The solution is that when you set your faith in what Jesus Christ has done, you can have salvation. The Holy Spirit first has to convince you of your sin and of the consequence of that. The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power which changes people on the inside today. No wonder He says: “Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:58
At this point I could say, if God’s convicting you on the inside, come to the front and I’ll pray with you. Many of you would say that you’ve done that before and nothing has happened. I know that what matters is that the power of the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to you directly, by His Holy Spirit, to get hold of you. He loves you.
I’d like to thank the choir for all the work they’ve put in to convey to you the significance, and the vitality of the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again, conquering sin and death. The outworking of anyone who is involved, as we all are from our initial birth, with sin, is death. There are some here this morning in whom God has been faithfully speaking over the past weeks. By His Spirit He speaks to us. He does that for the simple reason that He wants you not to end up in death. When Jesus was with His disciples He told them that if they kept His commandments they would abide in His love even as He had kept the Father’s commandments and abode in His love. Jesus was the only one who fulfilled the commandments of the Father. He did no sin, He thought no sin. He was pure. The life and love that is in Christ is something which God is pointing out to you because He wants to change the decay inside you. That decay which leads, in the end, to an eternity without God; death.
(reading from Mau Tsi Tung’s book) He didn’t follow an ideology or philosophy. It was a life without God and it ended in death and self-pity. Even at the end he was thinking that someone was going to depose him. I have mentioned this because your involvement with sin, if Jesus Christ is not your Lord and Saviour, will result in death eternally. You can’t muck about with sin. The glorious truth of today is the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, period. He conquered death by doing that, and took into Himself the penalty of sin. The power of sin in your life is broken. As a result of Him rising from the dead, death was conquered and life reigns.
There were ten occasions when He appeared to various people after He came back to life. He was seen by Mary Magdalene, then by the other Mary, then to the disciples, then to Peter, then to 500 people, then to James and then to the Apostles again as He was taken up in a cloud back to heaven. There was one occasion I missed out in that list which will now see:
Luke 24:13-27
You can now see in Isaiah a few verses which refer to Jesus. Jesus could well have referred to these verses when He explained to those two on the road about Himself.
Isaiah 25:6-8
He will swallow up death in victory. And now, here’s Jesus walking along the road pointing out all those verses which referred to Himself. As He spoke to them, they could tell that what He was talking about was true.
Luke 24:28-35
Ten occasions when Jesus appeared before He ascended into heaven, physically risen from the dead.
Here Paul lists these occasions in his letter to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
What he’s talking about is that if Jesus Christ had not risen up from the dead, sin would still always have control of you and me. The end would be certain death, an eternity without God. There are some of you here who are thinking that you have heard this so often and you are not sure if it will ever be true for me. God is saying to you that Jesus actually physically rose from the dead, that is a fact. It was attested by many witnesses. As a result of that death has been broken and life has been given, through Him eternally. The point comes when, by His Holy Spirit, God in His love and mercy makes that revelation to you that you need someone to sort out the sin inside you. The fact that you realise you need someone to deal with your sin is God Himself already working in you.
It is miserable without God because you try and fill that void inside you, but nothing can fill it. So you keep coming back to square one and you’re still the same. Christ rose from the dead so that you would be set free from the curse of sin. He took into Himself that sin inside you on the cross. He’s not going to force Himself on you, but by His Holy Spirit He’s speaking to you right now. I don’t care if someone is sitting here who has been here year after year and yet, for you, it’s as if you’re hearing this for the first time. I’m saying that it is not too much to swallowed one’s pride if we are talking about eternity. The Law of God still stands. You know and I know that you cannot fulfil that law. Jesus fulfilled that law because you cannot. The solution is simply to look at Christ. God has provided a way forward for all mankind, but He’s a gentleman and He won’t force the issue.
1 Corinthians 15:20-22
1 Corinthians 15:53-56
The bite of the serpent resulted in death, and the analogy is that the sin is the sting that causes death. The only solution to your situation inside, is Jesus Christ and you exercising faith. That means repenting of your sin and thinking about what it meant for Jesus Christ to go to the cross and to rise again. The solution is that when you set your faith in what Jesus Christ has done, you can have salvation. The Holy Spirit first has to convince you of your sin and of the consequence of that. The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power which changes people on the inside today. No wonder He says: “Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:58
At this point I could say, if God’s convicting you on the inside, come to the front and I’ll pray with you. Many of you would say that you’ve done that before and nothing has happened. I know that what matters is that the power of the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to you directly, by His Holy Spirit, to get hold of you. He loves you.
Friday, 13 March 2009
God Comes to the Individual
God orchestrates the circumstances in our lives so that, as we go through life, we are perfected, so that when we see Jesus we will be like Him. Life is a constant discovery of the love of God and His goodness to us; it is trials that reveal this to us.
If you can imagine the Great Fire of London which destroyed about 90 churches and displaced hundreds of people. The scapegoat for that fire was the fact that it was put out that French Catholics had started it. A similar effect of a fire was felt in Rome in the year 64 AD. The Roman Emperor, Nero, was blamed for it because he had said that he wanted to rebuild many of the buildings in Rome. He in turn passed the blame of the fire to the Christians. It was this that started the persecution of the Christians. It was incredibly barbaric. When news of what Nero was doing percolated out throughout the Roman Empire it reached areas of what we now call Turkey. Peter wrote this letter about this time, so at the very time that there was the news of the persecution of the Christians, Peter’s letter was written that was going to include messages that would be of incredible value for that time.
1 Peter 1:1
1 Peter 5:12
We have here a time when things were really happening as far as being a Christian was concerned. That’s why in these twelve verse Peter refers to a trial of your faith.
1 Peter 1:1-2
There’s a wonderful explanation there, in verse two, of who does what in the Trinity. When we did the series on Acts it was to do with the fact that God the Spirit was very active when the church was first launched.
1 Peter 1:3-5
He establishes right at the start where those people stood in Jesus Christ, what it was that Jesus had done for them, what it was that the gift of the spirit was still doing in them. In these verses eleven things are confirmed that they can be thankful for. In the midst of difficult circumstances it’s good to remember the foundation on which you stand and what God has done for you.
Peter had walked with Jesus; he was an apostle. Here this apostle gives thanks to the Father for Jesus Christ. We are thankful for his mercy, for the fact that He has caused us to be born from above. It is His mercy that has reached out to you and me. What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean for God to reach out to an individual to draw them to His love? It is His mercy that does that. God is interested in us. Our hope is this: when we see Him we will be like Him. This means that as we go through life we are being perfected through the circumstances that we’re going through. Peter had witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and had also talked with Him. As Jesus took out that guilt of when Peter denied Him, gently withdrew, and Peter could look up. Now, via the letter of Peter, he in turn is communicating to people who are going to encounter things they would never have imagined. We have an incorruptible inheritance, undefiled, that is kept in heaven for us. Our hope is built on certainty. It is built on the confirmed faith that God has given to you and me that as we go through life, when we see Him we shall be like Him. That does not make life a drudgery. The things that God has prepared for those who love Him are wonderful. We are shielded by faith for that salvation to be revealed in the last time. We are talking about the ultimate salvation, when we will see Him.
He paints the picture of their picture in God, and then in verse 3 – 5 he states all the things we can be grateful for.
1 Peter 1:6-7
The circumstances of life right now have relevance. The outworking of the trial is specifically marked for me when I am to presented before God at the end of my life. There is going to be praise, honour, glory to God from you, as it were, as you’ve witnessed how God has brought you through the trial that you are now in. We must consider how we are approaching the circumstances in our life? We must be in the situation where we are confirming what He has done for us, and are resting on that foundation. We must not look at the circumstances; this will only bring fear. The trial of your faith is more precious than gold.
1 Peter 1:8-9
John 20:24-28
God reaches people in different ways. Rather than try and shoehorn into an experience like we had, what God does is come to an individual in such a way that they know Him. When Thomas said that he probably was ridiculed slightly by the other disciples. When he spoke he didn’t know that Jesus had heard him. A week went by and Jesus came to him. He didn’t chide Thomas for not believing, He simply told him to thrust his hand in his side. There was a tailor-made encounter with the living God. In your life when God is moving it isn’t that He’s trying to make you into an experience of someone else. He is meeting you at your point inside exactly. The fact that you have that awareness of emptiness within is God working in you. You think that way because God is working in you. Woe betide us if we try to make everyone have the same experience.
John 20:29
Peter knew that he was writing to people who had not seen Jesus physically. He knew the love in Jesus’ words that He spoke to Thomas: “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
1 Peter 1:9-12
I am confirming to you tonight that the circumstances you are going through are tailor-made so that you can encounter the love of God. Through the circumstances that we go through it is a constant discovery, more and more, despite all the pressure and seeming impossibilities, a constant discovery of God’s love for you. You are in the palm of His hand; no man can take you from the palm of His hand. He is a wonderful, living God.
If you can imagine the Great Fire of London which destroyed about 90 churches and displaced hundreds of people. The scapegoat for that fire was the fact that it was put out that French Catholics had started it. A similar effect of a fire was felt in Rome in the year 64 AD. The Roman Emperor, Nero, was blamed for it because he had said that he wanted to rebuild many of the buildings in Rome. He in turn passed the blame of the fire to the Christians. It was this that started the persecution of the Christians. It was incredibly barbaric. When news of what Nero was doing percolated out throughout the Roman Empire it reached areas of what we now call Turkey. Peter wrote this letter about this time, so at the very time that there was the news of the persecution of the Christians, Peter’s letter was written that was going to include messages that would be of incredible value for that time.
1 Peter 1:1
1 Peter 5:12
We have here a time when things were really happening as far as being a Christian was concerned. That’s why in these twelve verse Peter refers to a trial of your faith.
1 Peter 1:1-2
There’s a wonderful explanation there, in verse two, of who does what in the Trinity. When we did the series on Acts it was to do with the fact that God the Spirit was very active when the church was first launched.
1 Peter 1:3-5
He establishes right at the start where those people stood in Jesus Christ, what it was that Jesus had done for them, what it was that the gift of the spirit was still doing in them. In these verses eleven things are confirmed that they can be thankful for. In the midst of difficult circumstances it’s good to remember the foundation on which you stand and what God has done for you.
Peter had walked with Jesus; he was an apostle. Here this apostle gives thanks to the Father for Jesus Christ. We are thankful for his mercy, for the fact that He has caused us to be born from above. It is His mercy that has reached out to you and me. What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean for God to reach out to an individual to draw them to His love? It is His mercy that does that. God is interested in us. Our hope is this: when we see Him we will be like Him. This means that as we go through life we are being perfected through the circumstances that we’re going through. Peter had witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and had also talked with Him. As Jesus took out that guilt of when Peter denied Him, gently withdrew, and Peter could look up. Now, via the letter of Peter, he in turn is communicating to people who are going to encounter things they would never have imagined. We have an incorruptible inheritance, undefiled, that is kept in heaven for us. Our hope is built on certainty. It is built on the confirmed faith that God has given to you and me that as we go through life, when we see Him we shall be like Him. That does not make life a drudgery. The things that God has prepared for those who love Him are wonderful. We are shielded by faith for that salvation to be revealed in the last time. We are talking about the ultimate salvation, when we will see Him.
He paints the picture of their picture in God, and then in verse 3 – 5 he states all the things we can be grateful for.
1 Peter 1:6-7
The circumstances of life right now have relevance. The outworking of the trial is specifically marked for me when I am to presented before God at the end of my life. There is going to be praise, honour, glory to God from you, as it were, as you’ve witnessed how God has brought you through the trial that you are now in. We must consider how we are approaching the circumstances in our life? We must be in the situation where we are confirming what He has done for us, and are resting on that foundation. We must not look at the circumstances; this will only bring fear. The trial of your faith is more precious than gold.
1 Peter 1:8-9
John 20:24-28
God reaches people in different ways. Rather than try and shoehorn into an experience like we had, what God does is come to an individual in such a way that they know Him. When Thomas said that he probably was ridiculed slightly by the other disciples. When he spoke he didn’t know that Jesus had heard him. A week went by and Jesus came to him. He didn’t chide Thomas for not believing, He simply told him to thrust his hand in his side. There was a tailor-made encounter with the living God. In your life when God is moving it isn’t that He’s trying to make you into an experience of someone else. He is meeting you at your point inside exactly. The fact that you have that awareness of emptiness within is God working in you. You think that way because God is working in you. Woe betide us if we try to make everyone have the same experience.
John 20:29
Peter knew that he was writing to people who had not seen Jesus physically. He knew the love in Jesus’ words that He spoke to Thomas: “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
1 Peter 1:9-12
I am confirming to you tonight that the circumstances you are going through are tailor-made so that you can encounter the love of God. Through the circumstances that we go through it is a constant discovery, more and more, despite all the pressure and seeming impossibilities, a constant discovery of God’s love for you. You are in the palm of His hand; no man can take you from the palm of His hand. He is a wonderful, living God.
Friday, 6 June 2008
Everything is Ordered by the God of Love
God has arranged all things for our good, so that we can discover our place in Him. Everything is ordered by the God of love.
Tonight’s verses show God is in control, and everything is organised so that you are able to discover God’s love for you. Maybe you’re a visitor and Christianity isn’t your thing. At least open up your mind to the fact that got you here tonight, and there is a time for everything.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Psalms 31:15
Ecclesiastes 3:2-9
I mentioned hatred the other week – it is right to hate the wrong things.
Psalms 119:113
Psalms 119:128
You hate the false way.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-12
“He has made everything beautiful in His time.” You have only to think of Genesis. God saw everything that it was good. And the way God is weaving your life is to perfect you so that you will sometime step out of this body and be face to face with Him for eternity. And the tapestry He is weaving in our lives is perfect. Sometimes it’s as though all we see is the tangled web of threads on the back of the tapestry, but a picture is being formed on the other side.
There is a lovely old English quote, “It is the wise and regular and orderly administration of one who sees the end from the beginning and for whom there is no unanticipated contingency ...” Nothing surprises or upsets God. His emotions are constant. He is love. Nothing catches Him out. He’s planned for everything, set in the context of making everything good.
Nothing goes amiss in God’s economy. If you look at News at Ten, you wonder who is in control in man’s terms. In God’s terms there is a time for everything. He is a God of love and is concerned for us.
Some of you have wondered about God. There’s a time when God comes to you and says, “Now is the time for you get to involved with me because I want to get involved with you.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11-14
There’s a time for everything. There are times you can look back in your life when God was near and you were conscious of it. And it’s time again for you to get involved with God because it’s the right time.
Galatians 4:4-6
There came the fullness of time when God said, “This is the point in time” – so many thousands of years since the world was created – the perfect time for Him to send His son to live on the earth so that we could be set free. The perfect time came for Jesus Christ to be born on earth. It was so He could work out His purposes, so He could redeem a people for Himself – you and me and millions of others.
All the angels looked on and wondered and marvelled at what God was doing in preparing a bride for Himself.
Galatians 4:5
Instead of our first birth, there came a time when God stepped into our lives, opened our eyes and came to change us so that He then became our heavenly father.
You may think that’s obvious. But for a few of you here tonight, now is the time to realise why Christ came and why He is interested to change your inside for the good. He loves you.
Ecclesiastes 3:14-16
Acts 15:18
Ecclesiastes 12:13-15
God is ordering things after the counsel of His own will. He got you here tonight because He wants you to acknowledge who He is, so He can share His life with you and come inside you. He loves you. It’s a curious thing that those moments come, when you know inside God saying, “Now is the time” – and you know it is right.
How long will you be on this earth? Don’t know. Average age at death currently 78 male, 82 female. Quite a few of you will love to be over 100. What is your life all about? Up to this point, God has kept you. You’ve been getting on with your life. You’ve had thoughts about the future. At this moment God is getting involved with you and you know you have to sort things out. He’s prompting you. Circumstances are such that you have to sort things out.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Everything is ordered by the God of love.
Tonight’s verses show God is in control, and everything is organised so that you are able to discover God’s love for you. Maybe you’re a visitor and Christianity isn’t your thing. At least open up your mind to the fact that got you here tonight, and there is a time for everything.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Psalms 31:15
Ecclesiastes 3:2-9
I mentioned hatred the other week – it is right to hate the wrong things.
Psalms 119:113
Psalms 119:128
You hate the false way.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-12
“He has made everything beautiful in His time.” You have only to think of Genesis. God saw everything that it was good. And the way God is weaving your life is to perfect you so that you will sometime step out of this body and be face to face with Him for eternity. And the tapestry He is weaving in our lives is perfect. Sometimes it’s as though all we see is the tangled web of threads on the back of the tapestry, but a picture is being formed on the other side.
There is a lovely old English quote, “It is the wise and regular and orderly administration of one who sees the end from the beginning and for whom there is no unanticipated contingency ...” Nothing surprises or upsets God. His emotions are constant. He is love. Nothing catches Him out. He’s planned for everything, set in the context of making everything good.
Nothing goes amiss in God’s economy. If you look at News at Ten, you wonder who is in control in man’s terms. In God’s terms there is a time for everything. He is a God of love and is concerned for us.
Some of you have wondered about God. There’s a time when God comes to you and says, “Now is the time for you get to involved with me because I want to get involved with you.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11-14
There’s a time for everything. There are times you can look back in your life when God was near and you were conscious of it. And it’s time again for you to get involved with God because it’s the right time.
Galatians 4:4-6
There came the fullness of time when God said, “This is the point in time” – so many thousands of years since the world was created – the perfect time for Him to send His son to live on the earth so that we could be set free. The perfect time came for Jesus Christ to be born on earth. It was so He could work out His purposes, so He could redeem a people for Himself – you and me and millions of others.
All the angels looked on and wondered and marvelled at what God was doing in preparing a bride for Himself.
Galatians 4:5
Instead of our first birth, there came a time when God stepped into our lives, opened our eyes and came to change us so that He then became our heavenly father.
You may think that’s obvious. But for a few of you here tonight, now is the time to realise why Christ came and why He is interested to change your inside for the good. He loves you.
Ecclesiastes 3:14-16
Acts 15:18
Ecclesiastes 12:13-15
God is ordering things after the counsel of His own will. He got you here tonight because He wants you to acknowledge who He is, so He can share His life with you and come inside you. He loves you. It’s a curious thing that those moments come, when you know inside God saying, “Now is the time” – and you know it is right.
How long will you be on this earth? Don’t know. Average age at death currently 78 male, 82 female. Quite a few of you will love to be over 100. What is your life all about? Up to this point, God has kept you. You’ve been getting on with your life. You’ve had thoughts about the future. At this moment God is getting involved with you and you know you have to sort things out. He’s prompting you. Circumstances are such that you have to sort things out.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Everything is ordered by the God of love.
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