Podcasts

Content or Covetous?

Written by Rev.Ian Thomas
Sunday, 02 October 2011 18:44
Listen to the sermon on Hebrews 13.1-6 on Content or Covetous?: Download Embed Embed this video on your site Heb 13: 13 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them — those who are mistreated — since you yourselves are in the body also. 4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" How content are we? I know I mentioned this last week but I wanted to look at in a little more detail. Are we satisfied with our situation? Are we satisfied with our wives? Our husbands? Are we happy to be single? Are we content about where we live or our type of accommodation? Are we satisfied with what we have? Do we count ourselves blessed in having our mobiles? Are we content with our TV, our bed? How strong is our desire for more perfumes, clothes, gadgets and furniture? Do we crave fame, beauty and money? How far do we desire what other people have got? How far will we go to get those things? Perhaps it goes so far as stealing to get what one wants, maybe we think that we have a right to it as we saw with the rioters a couple of months ago who claimed it was just for them to have the same as the rich – of course, we would not be so obvious – instead downloading or copying programmes, films and files, even Christian ones is a more secret way of stealing because we desire what we don’t have and we will beg, lie and cheat to get something that does not belong to us and we justify ourselves in the process – no one will know, it doesn’t harm the big corporations, etc, etc. James 4: 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 1 Tim 6:6-10 6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. The fact is that everything decays, everything rots in due course including our own bodies – this is the 2^nd law of thermodynamics. This is a law that evolutionists hate because according to Evolution theory everything is progressing upwards to bigger and better things but the universe declares that it is not so…things are winding down and getting more corrupt. And so the things of last century are no longer useful and the things of the 80s were replaced by the things of the 90s and then by the 00s and then the rate of change in things has increased and increased so much so that, for example, we change our mobiles every year (subject to contract!) and would change them every month if we could for the latest technology and we are part of this consumer society that throws away things that were not yet in the process of decay or rotting without a second thought. Be satisfied with food and clothing 1 Timothy says. Many in this world know nothing of the riches we have – and rich we are – because we have plenty of food, plenty of clothes and plenty of everything else too. If you are not satisfied with what you have you will not be satisfied with what you desire. Satisfaction is not found by adding fuel to the fire but in extinguishing it. If you are greedy you are not satisfied. It is a fact that those who have £1 million desire £2 or £10 million…does this sound like the rich are satisfied? Satisfaction does not come with riches but instead there is greater desire for even more. This desire is found in all of us. I am tempted by food – what do they say – your eyes are bigger than your stomach - we see it, we want it, and we get fat on it. In fact, supermarkets and shops rely upon this desire in us and tempt us with excellent shop displays, special offers and even in more blatant terms such as this Greggs’ box! We need to be aware that when we shop unless we stick to a rigid shopping list each week we will always buy more than we intend. Shops spend millions every year to ensure that we do! And then the council spend more money each year clearing up the waste of society and sending it to the landfill sites – our waste, our waste of food, packaging etc all because we don’t just buy what we need. It is all because of a deadly sin called covetousness. We didn’t want it before we saw it but afterwards we had to have it. Why do you think that at checkouts they have sweets at the same level as a pram – the kids see them and will scream the shop down to have that chocolate and the parents buy to pacify the child, to pacify the desire to have and lo and behold what happens is that actually no one is left satisfied or content. Only the desire for more grows. The adverts on TV are there for one thing only: to kindle the desire to buy something that you do not have so that you lust after it. Spurgeon was talking one day with some man that he knew and said: "How was it that St. Francis de Sales, who was an eminent confessor, to whom persons went in the Romish church to confess their sins, found that persons confessed to him, in private, all sorts of horrible sins, such as adultery, drunkenness, and murder; but never had one person confessed the sin of covetousness?" I asked this friend whether he could tell me why it was, and he made me this answer, which certainly did take me rather aback He said, "I suppose it is because the sin is so extremely rare." Blind soul! I told him that, on the other hand, I feared the sin was so very common that people did not know when they were covetous, and that the man who was most covetous of all was the last person to suspect himself of it. (Spurgeon) It is a fact that most of us are covetous but we have no idea…the desire for more…the desire for other things…is not recognised as wrong but it was the same desire driven within Satan himself to greater reputation, to greater riches, to greater glory so that he was deceived and thought that he should have all these things and more. It is the same desire that drives our society to be in the greatest debt it has ever been in and is not content to live within its means if the chance arises to have it now – and then governments such as ours or Greece suddenly are on the precipice and have to rein in the spending and raise taxes – all because of covetousness – and it is hard to rein in spending when you are used to it – it is hard to live without when you’ve had it all – it is better not to have experienced it and to experience more than to have experienced more and then to experience less. No matter how poor or rich people are the desire to move from what they are and what they have to another level drives all mankind to madness and swallows up everyone whole. The desire for a better car, to look better, even better churches – to have what they have in a bad way. Phil 4:11-13 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Note that this whole process has to be learned. We naturally desire other things. We naturally are not satisfied. Why is that? Why this gnawing ache in here (the heart)? It is because God has eternity in our hearts and so we have a natural tendency to be dissatisfied with temporary, worldly things. We know that this is not all that there should be but for greater, mysterious things that will last longer than a life-time. We, all, have a God-shaped hole in our lives so whether you are not yet a believer then the only way is found in Jesus in who he is and what he has done – for God is love. Or whether we are believers and we have tried to fill the hole in our lives with other things rather than being filled with the Holy Spirit. We learn that satisfaction can only be found in God eventually and if we learn our lesson we let go of those things that we think would satisfy us but have proven that they do not – like Solomon saying that everything is vanity and a waste of time and he is a man who proved to the extreme the wisdom of those words – and he found late in life that it was only God who gives satisfaction and true enjoyment. When we have God in first place other things are given to us to enjoy…but it has to be in that order…we cannot enjoy things for the sake of them…but we can enjoy them when we see them as gifts given to us by God to enjoy – it is then that we even enjoy work too and dissatisfaction disappears. Because we know that God is in control and that he only wants the best for us. We’ll be satisfied because we know that God arranged our lives in such a way that will accomplish his purposes. Now for the conclusion of the matter – it is upon the fact: that he will never leave us nor forsake us. He is enough. He is in control. No matter what life throws at us we have confidence in God. Without God you would chase all these things – with God there is no need to. The fact is that God gives us what we need and more beside. We need beware of asking God for our wants for James makes clear that we will not receive those things – but if we put God first then he will give us the desires of our heart because they will be more in line with his will. If we have God with us we also have his help…if God is for us then there is no need to fear being in need as we already have what we need for life and godliness. We have no need of computers, no need of furniture, no need of books, no need of money, no need of…sorry…no need of money?! That’ right! The disciples were sent out without money in Luke 10 – and he provided. Elijah was sent out and he was fed by Ravens. God has other ways of providing – he cares for us a great deal. This does not mean that we should not work when work is provided by God. So let us be content with our situation and with what we have. Let us redeem the time using it wisely according to the purpose that God has called us instead of using that time to gain those things that in the end do not satisfy and let us lead a more simple life. Let us repent of our covetousness – recognising that these desires, these lusts for more are dealt with at the cross of Jesus where our sin was nailed to the tree. Why gain things that do not satisfy when God is already with us and is there for us to enjoy. Is this life all there is? We are caught up in this non-stop merry-go-round so that to get off is nigh impossible – and we forget all too easily that one day it is just going to stop. Everything we craved for, everything we accumulated, everything will, one day soon, come to an abrupt halt and end. This is not simply decay or rottenness that comes to those things we have but one day we will die. One day all that is seen will cease to be. And this temporary world and all that we lusted for will break upon eternity and we will wonder what all the fuss was about, why we were caught up in things that have no bearing upon the rest of eternity. This world will disappear and only those things that cannot be seen will be left. This life is but a blip in eternity. As Christians we should be examples of those who are living in the light of eternity knowing that our citizenship is in Heaven, not here on earth where all things will pass away and the busyness of them and that true rest, true satisfaction, true contentment is found in one and one only: God. And Heaven is a continuation of things right here on earth for one promise…a promise given to us now that will also be true in Heaven…that He is with us and will not forsake us nor leave us nor abandon us…He is what Heaven is about and there will be no need to covet there for we will have the living God and the riches of heaven that are beyond our wildest dreams. 1 Cor 2:9 Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." Amen.
Last Updated on Sunday, 02 October 2011 18:50

The Harvest - Vision

Written by Rev.Ian Thomas
Sunday, 25 September 2011 17:37
Listen to the sermon on Luke 9.57-10.3 on the Harvest is Ready: Download Embed Embed this video on your site P.S. The Tuesday meeting is the Church Members Meeting Luke 9: ⁵⁷ Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, *that* someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air *have* nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay *His* head.” ⁵⁹ Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go *and* bid them farewell who are at my house.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” ¹ After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. ² Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest. ³ Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. In this consumerist world where we can have nearly anything we want we are rarely satisfied – there is always more that we want, the latest mobile, camera, game, house, etc – however we need to learn to be content in our lives, with what we have and with what happens. This comes home to me all the more when I am presently living in a caravan in Clive’s garden! God is in control – nothing can shake that no matter what the circumstances – Jesus said that foxes have holes and the birds of the air, nests, but he, himself, was homeless – how we cope with different circumstances shows what we have already learned. What does it mean to follow Jesus? The thing is that we all too satisified about our walk with the Lord and where we are as a Church, the same desires for natural things does not translate to the spiritual – we like the status quo when it comes to Church and change is seen as a threat - but the fact is that we should never be content with our spirituality but we, personally and as a Church, should be constantly transformed as God’s Word permeates us. We say: I will follow you! What does it mean? That there are sacrifices to be made along the way. Not my will but yours. This world calls out to follow it – and the choice is stark and daily – the way of the world or the way of Christ? Knowing, therefore, how much he cares for us then the choice is made easier. We pray to the Lord of the harvest for workers – and by the very act of praying we are saying we also want to be part of the labour force – the harvest is ready but we are not. So, on Tuesday I will be proposing how we, together, can be ready and where everyone’s gifts, whatever they are, hidden or known can be used for the glory of God. It might be that some here aspire to leadership – this is not strange – every single one of the disciples wanted to be a leader – but all leadership, in a Church context, is about servanthood – it is not about personalities or how dominant someone is but about ministering to others and laying down one’s life for others. If this is what we aspire to then our hearts are right – but if we want to be a leader because we think we can do it better or to make a name for oneself or to be popular then church is the wrong place to be a leader. In my opinion everyone here can be a leader if we have humility. My job is to ensure that everyone is moulded into ministers. There is a particular calling from God for certain responsibilities but everyone has the potential to be ministers. I have a proposal to make that happen. But you have to be here on Tuesday find out what it is! So, it is imperative that everyone makes the meeting, especially the members and those who are committed to the fellowship, including the teens who are away today. If I was to ask you what is your passion as far as the Church is concerned what would you say? • Would you say Evangelism, • would you say paperwork, • would you say discipleship, • would you say worship, • would you say intercession, • or would you say your passion is youth • or creativity • or old people, • or is your passion Websites, • visitation, • giving, • finance, • hospitality, • perhaps it’s preaching? What is your passion? Bear this in mind when you come on Tuesday – what do you think your gifting is, thinking in more spiritual terms rather than natural ones. I think that there are exciting times ahead – and it can be exciting all the time because I think that the decisions we make as a church can lead to church growth on a scale that Ely Baptist and other churches have rarely seen. We know, of course, that God builds his church…and He has given us the tools to make it happen…he has given us intellect, he has given wisdom (because we asked for it)…we know that only God can save…but we need to be obedient to the vision…we need to be participants working together for the glory of God…and I believe this will lead to blessing as well as many difficulties and opposition…and we will have to hold onto God throughout it all. So many times the Scripture says to be bold and of good courage because He is with us. Our confidence is in the Lord not in ourselves. Our responsibility is to be faithful…God does not guarantee success…but we are to be workers in the harvest field because the harvest is ready…so success is something that God wants because the harvest is ready – this is not something impersonal – the harvest is something that our Lord died for. Let me share something that was said in the service I was in last Thursday…I prayed, Lord speak to me…though I was expecting the whole service to be in Macedonian and I have difficulty following because of the speed of what is being said. But at the end of the worship an American was invited to preach. He started off by saying that we should be praying for Macedonia. Pray for Macedonia! Then, oddly, he spoke about a woman who went to a particular church…this church was where Evan Roberts was based for the Welsh revival of 1904…and whilst this woman was in the church she had a vision. This vision was of an angel. And that angel was sleeping. So she prayed and asked why the angel was sleeping. And the answer was that this angel is the angel of revival and it was sleeping because no one was praying for revival anymore. His whole sermon was about praying for Macedonia – and he was talking about Wales! And here I am, a Pastor in a church in Wales but in Macedonia and he is talking about Wales – the coincidences could not have been more obvious. Our vision is too small – I pray for 1000 members here – but we should not only be praying for Ely and Caerau but Wales too. Remember a couple of months ago I was speaking about praying bigger prayers and dreaming bigger dreams – this is what set me off on praying for 1000 people – I think that we should be praying for 10,000+ and that here alone. God is able…but we as a Church need to be ready, to be prepared to allow this to happen. My proposal on Tuesday is something that grow with the church and as long as we are putting God first, evangelising and discipling then the church will grow and we will be ready for it. I hope that what I have said is tantalising enough to make you desire to be at the Tuesday meeting because, for me, it is exciting, and the deacons also agree when I shared it with them on Thursday. We are to make sure that we are caring for each other and serving one another. Jesus came to serve…not just as an example to us of service…but to actually serve…and because of his service and laying down his life in service for us we respond by serving each other in the way that Christ has also served them. What were you born to do? Jesus was born to die: his whole purpose was this. What is your purpose? Take up our cross and follow him…lay down our lives for Jesus…we have been bought at a price - the price of blood – the price of the blood of Jesus. He is 100% committed to us – surely we can lay down our lives in service to him? What are you born to do? The harvest is great…but the workers are at home watching TV, the drug with a plug…the harvest is great but the workers are content and lazy and are not satisfied with what they have been already given…the harvest is great but the workers do not care that their neighbours, collegues, friends, family and others are going to hell…the harvest is great but the workers are…not to be seen? Workers have to have a plan to produce work that is pleasing to our master – not that the work that has been produced has been rubbish because that is not the case: some amazing things have happened over the last few months with the holiday club, the fun day, with the worship, with the kids club, foodbank and now with the tots and toys as well as other things that are a pleasing aroma to God. Now we want to continue this good work with even greater works – and yes, it is possible and I hope that I can enlargen our vision to heights we have not even considered before. Pray bigger prayers and dream bigger dreams! The vision is for 1000 members – we should pray to this end Our mission, should we decide to accept it, is To present the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way that turns non-Christians into believers, believers into disciples, and disciples into mature, fruitful leaders who will in turn go into the world and reach others for Christ Without faith it is impossible to please God. Who hopes for things that you already have? Therefore we trust God to build his Church. And we will follow Him however and wherever he leads us. See you on Tuesday!
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 September 2011 18:06

Reading the Riot Act 2011

Written by Rev.Ian Thomas
Sunday, 14 August 2011 13:15
Tweet Reading the Riot Act 2011 Listen to the sermon called "Reading the Riot Act 2011" preached on14th August 2011 here: Download Embed Embed this video on your site Rom. 13.¹ Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ⁴ For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 1 Tim 2:¹Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle — I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying — a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I am taking a break from the Gospel of Mark this week to look at what our response should be to the last week’s news in relation to the riots especially. We are going to look at the two reasons for it that were not mentioned in the media and then we are going to look at our response. Before we do that our hearts go out to those who have been caught up in the receiving end of the riots through loss of life and loss of property. We must not forget the human element in this and the genuine suffering caused to many people. Many families have been affected in an adverse way through the murder of 5 individuals. Many businesses that took years to build up were destroyed. We might be naïve to think that insurance would be sufficient to cover the loss for some things are irreplaceable such as the jobs that have been lost as a result of the riots. The Reeves furniture store employed 20 people before it was burned to the ground: A store that had survived the Blitz and the Depression but not rioters destroying their own neighbourhood. The human cost has been great as well as the untold stories of homes lost, people mugged and other opportunist crimes. The scenes were more like Beirut than London but it was happening on our own streets. Neither of these should be a surprise to us as Christians and so we come to the first reason for the riots: 1. Sin One of the things that could be counted as surprising about the riots is how blatantly they have gone ahead and done these things. Some people were not even covering themselves up to hide but bold as brass. When some of the rioters have been interviewed they come out with things like ‘We’re doing it because we can’ and ‘we are showing the police that we can do whatever we want!’ It is clear that the rioters and looters were a law unto themselves. There was no law being obeyed – lawlessness. What is lawlessness? It is to cross a boundary, to transgress. Above all though they were breaking God law and this is called ‘sin’. Above all they were shaking their fist at God and being rebellious. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not be covetous. Deliberately breaking his commandments whether they knew the 10 Commandments or not their conscience will press on them that it was not right. Of course the whole economic system is based upon covetousness – a great desire to have, something we cover in language of consumerism. ‘If we want it have it’ is our motto. Our economic empire fulfils the desire and lust of the flesh – and the looters were saying we want to have these goods and so we will take them…just an extra step. Of course the question is are we guiltless? Have we not nailed our colours to the mast? Are we not also slaves of the system? We even maybe those who justify the downloading of films, music and software onto our computers without paying the due fees. We too are looters. I suppose we should not be surprised by the ferocity of what has happened in our nation for it does not want God’s law or the foundation of Christian values, in fact, it does not want the true God at all. To even discuss these things at governmental level would be a miracle. Of course we should not be surprised that when the looters are interviewed that they blame the government, the rich, the shopkeepers and anyone else that they can taking absolutely no responsibility for their sin. It’s not their fault they went into Comet or into Sports Direct to steal. It’s not their fault that they set fire to furniture stores. They are free from responsibility. This is not so far from the garden of Eden where the husband blames the wife, the wife the serpent and both of them blame God. Sin always blames others. There is a personal defiance of God. Get out of my life and get out of my nation. If we get rid of God then who fills the void except Satan? Sin has led to the situation that led to the riots and the looting. Two young men were interviewed by Sky News who were ex-gang leaders speaking of the fact that the young men, especially, have no father to guide them, were born to 14 year old mums who were abused by the men in their lives and if this was not enough it is not isolated but estate-wide and so they know no difference where violence is rife and the women are gang-raped and where regularly the young men are murdered and where there is no hope. One of them spoke of how becoming a Christian turned his life around and now he has hope. When he was asked what of his future…he lit up and said his vision was to change London and then the World, a desire to seek the lost and give people hope. The second reason for the riots might surprise you: 2. God. He has lifted his hand up from our nation even if it were for a moment. God is the only one who can stop sin being prevalent in society. His merciful hand is upon our nation staying lawlessness so that when he does lift up his hand revealing his discipline and judgment we see and glimpse how terrible sin can be when it has free reign. They were not forced to sin but were simply allowed to do what they wanted. Wow! We have had a glimpse of what would happen if God was not around to control things – the same God who has been rejected by the multitude. But why would God lift up his hand and allow lawlessness to reign? Surely it is to show that God is being patient with the rest of us and that he is showing what it would be like if he was not in control. Of course we remember that Tower of Siloam which fell and killed 18 people. These 18 were not worse sinners than anyone else but there is a judgment to come which no one can escape unless they repent and turn to Jesus for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all lawlessness. Sin has to be judged and condemned. If God was to lift his hand off this world and let sin have its full and free reign in this world then overnight this planet would become the thing of our worst nightmares and kind of hell on earth but for now God is patient because he wants as many as possible to come into His Kingdom but time is running out. 2 Thess 2:5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He* who now restrains will do so until He* is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. There is a day coming when The lawless one will come and then truly all hell will break loose. We have had a glimpse of the future when the days of earth will be few and God will come and bring an end to history as we know it. And then the Day of Judgment. What is our response? This response is not in order but both are important: We are to pray for those in authority as we read in 1 Tim. 2. Do you know that a government’s manifesto is to deal with evil-doers and exalt good-doers? They are supposed to discourage lawlessness and encourage righteousness. This is the role that God has given to governments but our government is worries about the rights of those who do wrong rather than punishing them as God says they should be punished.Instead because we have given rights back to women to decide whether their unborn child should be born or not making us a nation of murderers killing 200,000 every year but going unpunished: this is not the role of government according to their God-given rights. In the same year as allowing abortions Capital Punishment was also abolished taking away people’s fear of authority and where a classroom today is a dangerous place for a teacher. According to the Bible they are to use the sword to deal with evil-doers and we all want to be biblical, don’t we? The biggest petition before this week was to bring back Capital Punishment: people see that there is a need. I said, before this week as, another petition was made to remove benefits to those who were involved in the mayhem of the last week. People want justice but governments are more concerned with human rights – and so we should be but not with the rights of criminals once justly convicted. Whilst many people live in fear of these criminals and that we see that justice is not done because of their so-called rights and because of corruption in the police we know that there is one who will do justly and righteously and what does the bible say about that: 2 Cor 5:11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. We have the good news. A message of hope; a message of purpose. Jesus came to this planet to destroy the evil one who has not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. Does this not sound like what has happened in the last few days? But Jesus says he has come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10.10) We easily forget we are to have a positive effect upon our community being light and salt. Today we talk about mentoring young men, especially, but that is another word for discipling. Remember that God has a special heart for the fatherless and most of the kids on this estate are not living with their father. Perhaps it is the Church’s role to step now into the breach and have a ministry for young men and boys who are in single-parent families. This is for prayerful consideration. And, folks, we are not to be afraid to declare the good news of sin forgiven and eternal life being given for those who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing the terror of the Lord we warn people to escape the wrath to come in which people wilfully avoid the thought that they will have to give an account of their lives to their Creator whom they have rejected and who will give each person a life sentence. Why are we not stirred to tell people their inner need of Jesus where even the worst of people can find forgiveness and hope for the future by turning back to God and trusting that the penalty of sin that they deserve has already been paid in full through the crucifixion of Jesus on a cross? My sin paid in full. Your sin paid in full. Jesus came to live in our hearts and has given us purpose and work to do satisfying our longing for God. Rom 4:7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin." Oh Hallelujah that we have had the Saviour revealed to us but let us not forget to pray for those in authority so that we can have peace in our time and share what great salvation we have found with others because for those who neglect this salvation it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 August 2011 20:33

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 February 2012 13:32

Reading the Riot Act 2011

Listen to the sermon called "Reading the Riot Act 2011" preached on14th August 2011 here: Download Embed Embed this video on your site

I am taking a break from the Gospel of Mark this week to look at what our response should be to the last week’s news in relation to the riots especially.

We are going to look at the two reasons for it that were not mentioned in the media and then we are going to look at our response.

Neither of these should be a surprise to us as Christians and so we come to the first reason for the riots:

1. Sin

There is a personal defiance of God. Get out of my life and get out of my nation. If we get rid of God then who fills the void except Satan?

The second reason for the riots might surprise you:

2. God.

There is a day coming when The lawless one will come and then truly all hell will break loose. We have had a glimpse of the future when the days of earth will be few and God will come and bring an end to history as we know it. And then the Day of Judgment.

What is our response?

2 Cor 5:11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.

And, folks, we are not to be afraid to declare the good news of sin forgiven and eternal life being given for those who will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing the terror of the Lord we warn people to escape the wrath to come in which people wilfully avoid the thought that they will have to give an account of their lives to their Creator whom they have rejected and who will give each person a life sentence.

Rom 4:7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin."

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