My Spiritual GPS

By Rev Charles Green

Through the years you get familiar with God and his word and there seems to be one defining portion of scripture that in the midst of trials and test, you find yourself wanting something short and snappy and fits all circumstances.

Colossians 1:19-22 (show/hide)

19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell,

20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

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Tonight I stand in a position of grace bacause God loves me.

Paul the apostle changed his whole view about everything after he met Jesus Christ on the Damascus road. He was a man who was against God and the church. He went into people's houses and sent people to prison. He was on his way to persecute Christians. He was actively against what God is doing. But when he was n the road, he said he saw a light brighter than the noon day sun. He heard a voice saying "Saul, why do you persecute me" and he heard these words "I am Jesus, whom you persecute". This was one who had actively worked against God. It does not take him 6 hours or 6 days or 6 minutes. He instantly said "what will you have me do, Lord?" Instantly, everything was changed.

I believe that everyone of us at this moment, we need a touch from God that will instantly begin to change our life, our sense of direction, everything about us. I wake up early in the morning and I walk through the house and I start saying "God what would you have me do today?" It's like I'm asking for my instructions. I would have a spiritual GPS, "What am I going to do today".

I'm sitting on a plane and I say, "What will be my assignment today?" I get people saved sitting next to me.

You have an assignment every day you wake up. It's time for you to say "God, I'm read for duty."

Philippians 3:7-14 (show/hide)

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

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Simply stated, Paul is saying "All of the things that I treasured before I met Christ, became absolutely like nothing. I counted them loss in order to have Christ in my life." We have many things that we count as valuable and we just stand on something that we think is right. "That's our right, that's our position". Paul had everything in the natural going for him but in one moment in time he was instantly willing to give that all alone. I was not only willing to call them loss but also for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Not just a casual knowing of Christ Jesus.

Paul said I pushed everything away for the excellency of the knowledge; not just a casual understanding. Whatever it takes he says...it takes my wealth, my human knowledge my reputation. Whatever it takes, I count it all as loss, if I can only have Christ in my life. He is saying to them but also to us, "What I really want in my life more than anything else, is the righteousness of God." If you have God's righteousness in your life, you are the luckiest person in all the ages.

My life has been a marvellous life, but the greatest thing in the world is that I have one Christ in my life. In my life, the most important thing, is I have found Christ. I found Christ just by believing him and trusting him.

It was so real to me when I met God. Even in my teenage years and when I put on my uniform for my country and went out to Texas, God was with me then. I witnessed to people when I was there, I helped people. I sang in the middle of the storm. I walked with God every step of the way. Every step of the way, everywhere I have gone, God has been in my life.

Paul wanted to know everything about God.

Philippians 3:10-13 (show/hide)

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

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This one thing I do... I don't have to jump through any religious hoops... forgetting... and that's hard to do. Your only hope is in the ability to forget. It isn't easy to forget. WE have to forget the past and forget your mistakes, failures and sins and the stuff that nobody else knows about you, except God. But the most important thing that you and I have to forget is our bitterness. We have to forget the bitterness. And the only way in the world to get over bitterness is to tell God that we're willing to become like waste; we're willing to become absolutely nothing except what god wants us to be. But God I am willing to lay down the bitterness in my life.

When I was a young man, I belonged to a religious organisation which was the only one that I had ever known. I grew up with these people. I grew up knowing them like I know a lot of you but better. I grew up with them as children, and they suddenly began to say things about me which were only not true, but they were highly inflammatory.

If you want to change things in your life, it starts with you confessing that you're not doing everything right and you're not acting everything right. And the first thing you say is "God, forgive me. And I confess that I've acted in a way that is against you."

You can't pick out the ones that will be destroyed by bitterness. What do you do? You do what I did long ago. First of all you say "God I have been bitter. Forgive me." The very moment that I stopped saying those hateful things about those who had said horrible things about me, it was as if God Almighty blew a horn and told everyone, "Charles Green has repented. Stop talking about him." It was if there was a sign put in the heavens. From that moment until this, I have never heard of other words that they said about me.

You don't have to go back and act like you did before, but you do have to say God I'm not going to be bitter anymore. You won't ever be what you used to be, but whatever God wants you to be in the future, you will be. We can take our past and give it to Him. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth to those things which are before.

When we reach forth, we must not do it casually. Paul said I am pressing towards the calling. When we reach out, let there be a push towards the future. The objective that God has for us is that prize, far more than that peace prize that Obama got.

Did you know that we have a higher calling?

The Good Shepherd

There is a huge contrast between those shepherds who are concerned only for their own interests, and the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Whatever our needs in life, if we hear His voice, we will find that He has already prepared the way.

Jesus was talking to the Pharisees after healing the man who was born blind. When the man returned after being healed Jesus had moved on, but later Jesus came and found the man again.

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John 9:36 - 41

Jesus told the Pharisees that if they were blind, they would have no sin, but because they claimed to see, their sin was still inside them. The Pharisees were kidding themselves. They didn’t see. The man born blind could now see and wanted to know the person who healed him.

The Pharisees were in positions of importance, linked to the Temple, teachers of the law, and they lorded it over other people. When Jesus spoke about shepherds, the Pharisees would have known what the Old Testament taught on the subject.

Ezekiel 34:1 - 4

The prophets – the shepherds – were only out for themselves.

Ezekiel 34:5 - 16

Ezekiel 34:23 - 24

Verse 23 prefigures the verses we will now look at, where Jesus said “I am the good shepherd.” There is one shepherd, the bishop of your souls. When He said that, the Pharisees and the others knew the background. There were shepherds who only lived for themselves. Their lifestyle was paramount; the people were not. Everything was geared to them, not to the people. God said, “I will seek them, will feed them, will provide for them.”

John 10 shows that what Jesus said resonated with His hearers.

John 9:41 – 10:5

Remember the context. He has just told the Pharisees that they were fooling themselves, convinced that they knew what they were doing and how to preserve their lifestyle. They said they saw, and therefore their sin remained, because they didn’t admit their need, they didn’t admit what was inside. The sheepfold - four walls with one door – anyone who doesn’t come in by the door is a thief. This would have hit the Pharisees between the eyes.

Jesus is far more interested in you than you know. He knows each of you by name, and He wants you to be aware that He is the Good Shepherd, that He does provide and has made every provision for your well-being.

John 10:6 - 7

Before it was a case that you had to go in through the door. Now He is saying He is the door.

John 10:8 - 9

This was a revolutionary thought to the people who were listening. Jesus was ascribing to Himself who He was. He was describing Himself. From our perspective, we can look back and see how things worked.

It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter if you’ve written yourself off, thinking you’re not good enough, thinking that your problems are too difficult to solve. He’s saying He is the door. You are safe – safe from the consequences of your sin, safe from retribution, safe because you have Christ’s life in you. Some of you have written yourselves off, but I want to confirm God is saying to you, “I am aware of you more than you know.” He loves you. Some of you have have wondered but He has heard your prayers and does hold your future in His hands.

The freedom will be there to go in and out to find the pasture. The sheep will be cared for. It even goes to the point where if the sheep were in danger, the shepherd would give his life to care for the sheep.

John 10:10

In verse 9, a man will be saved, go in and out and find pasture. By contrast, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. What a revolutionary thing Jesus was saying! And the Pharisees were listening.

John 10:11-16

There’s a direct link back to Ezekiel. And Jesus now extends this to include both the Jews and the Gentiles.

John 10:17-18

You’ll be saved, go in and out, find pasture. Sometimes, people ask about God’s guidance, and what is the right way for a person’s life. God is interested in you. And He’s so careful to get it right for you. He’s so careful that He’s sorted things out in advance for the best – the best way to fulfil the destiny He has for your life.

Isaiah 30:18 - 21

You’ll hear His voice. His sheep know His voice. You may think “But I’m not important. God won’t speak to me like that.” Why not? We’re talking about anyone here, you don’t have to be something special. He knows what you’re facing, and He knows that if you keep going forward, you’ll hear a voice saying ‘This is the way’.

In 1978 I went for a financial job in London. An agency sent me to see a Mr Low at National Mutual. They said the agency had sent me to the wrong company by mistake. I said, “Well, do you have a job?” And that’s how I got the job. God wanted me in National Mutual. If you’re moving, the rudder of a ship can be effective. If you’re stuck in dry dock, it won’t. You have to go forward, and you can trust God to sort it out. He specialises in providing for you because He loves you.

Psalm 37:4 - 5

Delight yourself in the Lord. “But my heart’s wicked”. How does that stack up? You’re a Christian. You’re delighting yourself in God. So He’ll create in your heart that desire which He will then meet. Everything will tie in. You have abilities and skills. Delight yourself in Him and He will give thee the desires of thy heart.

Psalm 37:5

Ephesians 2:10

He knows the future. Your times are in His hands. And your voyage of discovery in life is to rejoice in the provision of God for you in ways you never expected. He loves you. If any man hear His voice, he will find pasture.

1 Peter 5:6 - 7

Humble yourselves. Don’t make out that you see if you don’t. Be honest. Realise God is listening to you on the inside, and He has the answer already.

John 10:27 - 28

He’s talking to the Pharisees here as well. No matter what anyone says, no man will pluck you out of Jesus’ hand.

John 10:29

God is greater than all. There is no way He’s not in control and making provision for you.

John 10:30

I don’t know how you got here today or what you were thinking. Possibly you were wondering about your future. Jesus says to you today, “I am the door. By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture.”

He gives eternal life, which you experience now.

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.

Come as a Little Child

Mark 10:13 - 16

Parenthood

First, I am going to talk about parenthood. The second part will be about coming as a little child, and that includes everyone.

Children, as we know, are the church of tomorrow, and it is important that we get it right when it comes to raising children. As Jesus pointed out to the disciples, children are important, they matter. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, and people were trying to get within reach of Jesus that He might bless the children. I don’t know what was going through the disciples’ minds. It says that the disciples rebuked the people.

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We all know the story of the five loaves and two fishes. Who had time for the little boy? Jesus did. Jesus had time for the children. It could be that the disciples thought they were insignificant. When Jesus spoke to the disciples he was much displeased. It mattered to Him that the children were involved.

Mark 10:14

It’s so important that you and I spend time with our children. That sounds incredibly obvious, but it’s important that we get to know them and have fun with them. It’s not just a series of do-nots, but a series of dos. We are not here to break the will of a child, but to train the will of a child. We don’t know what God has in store for our children, but we know that He has a unique destiny for each child. You don’t know what a little child will grow up to be. Our hearts as parents are that our children grow up to know the Living God as their Lord and Saviour. That’s paramount for our children, not money or fame.

Deuteronomy 6:5 - 8

Parents are to communicate with their children about God. There are principles in God - to be diligent and consistent. We need to take the time to get alongside children in their development. It is important in how we approach things. We must create in interest in the heart and mind of a child that would make him reach out and take hold of the things he is taught.

Children are people that God wants to spark, through you, into taking hold of what is right, and not what is wrong. You cannot discount the significance of a child. A child doesn’t rule the roost, but it’s simply that Jesus was adamant in his understanding of who the children were, and their importance - of such is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is a reality. As a Christian parent, the thing that your heart is set upon is that you want your child to become a Christian. It’s God’s pleasure to give us the kingdom, and there’s no way he’s going to let any parent down in this desire.

Our school, Trinity Academy, is not about exam results, it’s about training children in the right way. The engine of our school is the nursery school, because we can set things right in the children there. We can train them in the right way at that age.

Mark 10:15

You can receive the kingdom of God. There comes a time in a person’s life when that happens, and there is a receiving of the kingdom of God.

Luke 17:20 – 21

It’s not as if the kingdom of God is somewhere out there, but you receive the King into your heart, and that King is within you.

John 1:12 – 13

We want to reach the lost. We want to be looking outward, not inward. We need to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all.

Come as a little child

Mark 10:15

What is a little child? What are the attributes of a little child that I need to have to receive the kingdom of God? How would you describe your child? Simplicity springs to mind. There’s nothing complicated about a little child. Everything is straightforward.

I have thought of ten attributes of a little child:

1.Simplicity.
2.Innocence - A child is innocent and not suspicious.
3.No worry for the future.
4.Everything is black and white.
5.Eager to learn.
6.Dependency - We are totally and utterly dependent on the grace of God in our lives.
7.Totally trusting – Children do not get too complex and read into things.
8.Open-faced.
9.Humility.

Matthew 18:1-6

Jesus said that whoever humbles himself shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. He knew what the disciples were saying. He just took the child and put the child in the middle, and said that you must become as a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven. That cuts away our trying to prove ourselves or gain God’s acceptance. It cuts all that out, because if we come as a little child, we know that he is our heavenly father. Except you become as humble as a little child, you’re going to get things around the wrong way and you’re going to find things a burden. That is life. Let’s keep our feet on the ground as a little child. You need to look unto him for everything.

Unquestioning

Matthew 10:29-31

Luke 12:22-29

A child doesn’t doubt the provision of a parent.

Luke 12:30

Father’s heart is to give you the kingdom. I am a citizen of heaven. The kingdom of God is within me and I have received Jesus Christ into my heart. He has changed me. I’m not of this world, but I’m in this world to prove who He is and His love and provision for me. And that’s why you’re here.

Mark 10:13-16

We will see more and more people enter the kingdom of God over the coming weeks and months. The reason why that will happen is for God’s glory. It’s His church, and He’s building it in His way, in His time.