E X O D U S  2. v1-10

 

The Sunday next, is the day we celebrate what is known as Mothers’ Day in the United States of America, and Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom; we add a spiritual attachment  to distinct a religious celebration from the business approach.

 This day is an opportunity to emphasize the debt we owe to those to all who were a mother, who through good or bad times, cared for their son or daughter,  Mothers sacrifice themselves in every possible ,way to support and care for their child

 It is to show an example of how this manifests such care, by looking at a story in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament. This is an account of the birth and development of a dominant and revered man of Israel’s history.

 The land of Israel faced extinction, as it has through the years, when the power of Egypt, was ready to use all resources to eliminate the people of God for all time.

 A number of Jewish people had moved from Israel to Egypt, and were becoming as many as the Egypt people, when a new king came to power as Pharaoh, and made a decree.  This required all midwives to kill all babies born as male. God was good, and some midwives did not keep to the decree, and saved boys. One of the families was that of Amram and his wife Jochebed, who became pregnant and bore a son. She hid the son for three months, and then had to make plans for the future.

 Jochebed mad a basket with papyrus seeds, and made it waterproof, by a mixture of tar and pitch.  The baby was put in the basket, and was taken to some bushes on the bank of the River Nile.  The sister of the baby boy kept watch to see if any one went to the basket,  and one day saw the daughter of Pharaoh walking along the bank of the river with her maids, and they heard the baby crying, so stopped to look at the basket.  They realized it was a Hebrew child.

 The sister approached the Princess, and asked if she would like a Hebrew mother to look after the baby, and be a nurse for him. The Princess was pleased, and asked the sister to find such a woman. The sister went and fetched the mother, and  the Princess offered to pay the mother if she would be a nurse, and it was agreed, so the mother took the baby back home. The boy grew, so the mother took the baby back to the Princess, who decided to adopt the child as her son.  She called him Moses.

 This is but one example of the extent a mother will go to protect her child, Jochebed was prepared to see her son grow up with another woman, instead of facing certain death.

 Many of you reading this story, will have felt similar times relating to yourself.  My own wife, spent her life caring for her sons, as many of you will have done. How we must thank God for giving women such self-sacrificing natures, even if it makes men realize how lucky we are, that God favored us with such ‘helpers’ to be our wives. No longer can we call women the weaker sex!

 This passage is the Epistle for Mothering Sunday.  The Gospel message will follow, in which we continue to witness the glory and grace of God         

 .

1 Corinthians 1 v. 1/17

 

Paul was on a missionary journey having visiting Ephesus when he heard of dispute in the Church at Corinth.

This is the first of Paul’s Letters to this Church, which was situated in the heart of Corinth, a trading and manufacturing centre. The city was a cosmopolitan and sophisticated place where there was sexual immorality, which likened it to the Soho of the day.
Tensions had arisen in the congregation when powerful and arrogant men where preventing Paul’s desire to advance the gospel, due to their reluctance to work together with weaker members, and there was a request for Paul to give guidance.. The worldly view of spirituality and morality did not equate with the Church’s standards, but some members were influenced and were encouraged by false teachers. This was causing disunity, and such grieved Paul who disliked Christians disagreeing. This is what caused him to write and give guidance.

It is disappointing and frustrating when Christians are disagreeing, especially as now when the press revel in seeing and reporting.  Then, as now, a major problem was sexuality which is particularly irritating.

We must decide, are we going to follow what God has laid down or not.  The Bible is unequivocally clear in what we are expected to believe and practise. If anyone in Ministry cannot accept, they should cease to minister, and if there was proper leadership, such would be advised. Unfortunately, a number of our leaders are more confused and unfaithful to the Lord. If a kingdom is divided against itself it cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself that house cannot stand.
One issue which all Christians should be concerned, is that of falling attendances. Whilst we have to accept that we live in a godless age, where the Church is a no go area to a lot of people, except of course when it suits their purpose; occasions arise which demonstrate that there is still a lot of feeling for the Church. It is incumbent therefore for the Church to make a supreme effort to attract those people back.  We will not be successful however when it is seen the Church is divided against itself. It is foolish to suggest we should preach the Christian gospel to intelligent people, who can recognise don’t accept it.

I have taken services at over 30 Churches in and around Bedford over the last few years, many in villages,  but congregations are small. The people live in beautiful surroundings with lovely homes, most in good employment, no anti-social behaviour as some people are forced to endure, so it is not unreasonable to expect them to be grateful for such blessings and give an hour to thank God for such. 
We get told there is pressure on combining home and business life, which makes it hard to attend Church on Sundays, but Muslims seem to manage attending their places of worship it without much difficulty. I can assure however you, if letters were sent to the homes of people in these village parishes telling them the Church was closing there would be an immediate outcry.

There are of course Churches which have large congregations, which suggests logically they are doing something right, which other Churches are not, but they seem few and far between.

In the opening verse of our passage, Paul calls on Christians to agree and be of one mind and judgement. We can only achieve this if we are all one in Christ Jesus. He alone is means of unity and the only way to God.
You will note how relevant this Letter has become to us, as the same thing is happening here and other Western nations. Parts of the Church are embracing, encouraging and accepting society’s moral standards, which causes anguish to others.
If we look at Eastern nations in the Orient and Africa, the Churches are growing at massive rate, and China once seen as the anti-Christ, has now more Christians, and committed ones, than any other nation on earth. In those places, they have not been dismantling the Bible.
Jesus Christ said, ‘I will build my Church.’ In Acts we read the first Christian Church was devoted to the teaching of the Apostles, in consequence ‘the Lord added to their numbers daily’. So there is a message, follow the teaching of the Apostles, who were taught by the Lord Himself. God graciously provided us with a copy of their teaching; it is called the New Testament. That is the purpose of the Church, to preach the gospel, not social or political issues. When we do, the Lord will bless and help us, when we fail and follow the world’s agenda rather than God’s Word, we fail.
When we try to please man rather than God; when we depart from the Bible by adding to or subtracting from, we are causing cracks in the foundation of Apostolic teaching; we are building on sand rather than rock.
If we allow ourselves to withdraw from plain speaking of the gospel, we are failing our Lord and reducing ourselves as a Church, to little more than just another social organisation, perhaps with a spiritual touch, in which case we have nothing to offer those lost souls seeking real spiritual help. We have to show that we do have something special to offer which no other organisation can.
Paul then rebukes them for following and favouring particular preachers. It is natural for us to have a favourite one, but there is also a danger that we may become attached to one who is not a biblical teacher. Paul was concerned, and had occasion to warn that some people, who did not want to hear sound doctrine, were turning to teachers who would say what they wanted to hear rather than what they should hear. 
Paul reminds that Christ was not divided, and neither should we be. We can still worship in different ways, as some like much ceremony and others a simpler method, as long as the doctrine of the gospel is the same. 

There are Churches where the practice is to have different preachers each Sunday, which can be most confusing. As a conservative Minister, I could be followed by a liberal one. who would obviously be of totally different preaching.  The purpose of preaching is to help people to understand and appreciate the Bible, and this can only be worthily done by people being built up with consistent teaching.
Paul turns to baptism, where some were boasting of who baptised them, when it is the act which is important not who the baptiser is. We have situations, where people who never attend Church on a regular basis, ask for a particular Vicar because of a past connection of some kind. But baptism in Paul’s day was not the charade it is today, whereby a person enquires about baptism, and is told to turn up at the Church on a certain date.
I have witnessed Churches, where the scheduled Minister was replaced because the parents, who were not even Church members, wanted their own man from somewhere else. Such is completely unacceptable and makes a mockery of baptism.

Baptism is the most sacred sacrament of the Church. In its original form, it took place when a person made a public confession of faith, repented of past way of life, and turned their life to Christ. This was the way people entered the Church. At some point the Church adopted the practice of baptising the children of committed Christian parents, but it was never meant to be of the indiscriminate kind we practice. A major problem is that people think baptism is for the purpose of giving the child a name. Further, it is rare for them to be taught what baptism is either at the time of consultation, or in the service.

People generally have not the remotest understanding of baptism or the sacred ceremony; it is meant to be the admission to the Church by a person who has made repentance of past sin, and is committing to follow the teaching of Jesus Christ.

What is more unacceptable, is we ask them to make vows to bring up the children in the fellowship of the Church by their example, which they promise to do without any intention of doing so, and we perpetuate this falsehood. How rare to find a Church with a Sunday school these days, or the presence of those who made promises.

In the final verse, Paul emphasised the importance of preaching the gospel in simple words so all could understand and believe, so contrary to some preachers who like to show their intellectual abilities. The Church of England had one eminent person who spoke in such convoluted terms few had any idea what he was talking about.
We must be committed to letting people know what the gospel is in simple, unabridged terms. There are so many people with cares and worries and the Bible offers encouragement and hope, but it must be preached without fear or reservation.
There is now a reluctance to be really faithful to the Bible, for fear of being called a bigot, or accused of having some sort of phobia, if one speaks out. If we face up to reality, we have modified Scripture to avoid offending other faiths or none. Secularists, humanists, and followers of Islam will not allow their beliefs to be suppressed, and neither should Christians; 
Believers have a reasonable expectation that the Churches will stand up for them and not surrender to the humanist agenda.
As Christians we have to make sure our nation continues to hear about Jesus Christ, and stop the attempts to push Him out of public life. We have to make sure an authentic Christian message is heard. At the moment people hear many different voices speaking in the name of Christianity, some of which are not faithful to the Bible’s teaching. The Church must awake from its slumbers, for people need to hear that the Christian message.
May the Lord bless us in this task, and may the Church here
be a part by making this place be a beacon of light in a darkened world.

 

We praise God’s Holy Name and pray God will be Glorified

 

Turn now with me to Paul’s 2nd Letter to Timothy in Chapter 3

V10-17
Paul is in a Roman prison, and this is the last Letter he will write, he knows this and wants to ensure he passes on his ministry to someone he can trust, to faithfully carry on in the manner he has done so.
Paul begins by speaking of the ‘last days’
The Bible states, during the ‘last days’ there will be a time, when scoffers will be present who will mock God, saying He is ,dead, we can’t find him anywhere, and they will scoff at any talk of judgment or the return of our Lord’.
When the Bible mentions last days, as it does numerous times, it is referring to the days between the day of Pentecost and the time of our Lord’s return.
Many Bible scholars think we are in that period now, and they may well be right. The Bible lists terrible events which will come before the final end, and whilst these have in some way been seemingly applicable to past years, they seem to be most applicable now. When we look carefully at them, we can claim they are very much relating to our time.
In the first nine verses of Chapter 3, Paul talks of godlessness, describing the very conditions we find today; lovers of selves and money, unholy, children having no respect and disobedient. This is what happens when a nation turns its back on God. We live in an age of relativism, in which there are no absolutes, no basic morals, a case of if it feels right it is. They become lovers of themselves, and there is a moral collapse as the pursuit of money becomes so important.
In v10 Paul expresses his faith, purpose in life, endurance, love and patience. and living a godly life, and warns of impostors.
He then points out the suffering he endured, and Timothy must be prepared as every Christian must, to find he suffers be it mild or harder.
Paul must have felt saddened, to see a falling away from Church after it had made much progress. It is sad when people fall away, and once they do so find it hard to return, but is so easy to succumb, often to outside pressure.
Paul is telling Timothy to follow the teaching of the Apostles, which he means sound words, and not be led astray; still a good message for to-day, when the pressure is constantly to avoid being positive in keeping to Scripture. Sound words are those not distorted or weakened ones. It is so easy to be distracted and led astray.
A woman Bishop in America, once publicly stated that it was not necessary to believe in Jesus Christ to be accepted by God, for you cannot keep God in a box. I have no doubt there are others who would agree with her remarks, in both America and Britain. Paul likens this to James and Jambres, who opposed Moses, these two men opposed the truth and corrupted others in mind, disqualifying the faith.
Paul contrasts all that, with the way Timothy has been brought up with a love of Scripture, something children of several generations have been deprived of in the present ages. The Ten Commandments have become Ten Suggestions, or pick any four from ten. We have raised a generation, who are unaware of even the most basic beliefs. A majority do not even understand the true meaning of Easter and Christmas.

 

It is a disturbing situation, where all the traditional manners are not practiced, because few know what they were. Children are denied the basic details of the Bible or its characters, and Jesus is just a word they hear adults use when they swear.

Many of us here to-day, grew up in a totally different culture. We may not have had all the wonderful technological aids and comforts that now are available, but we benefited in other ways. Like Timothy we were taught about the Bible at home, and went to Sunday school as youngsters, learning the stories about Jesus, which gave us standards and values and a good foundation for life.
We had morning assemblies in all schools, now largely avoided in (state) schools. This may not have been widely followed up in life, but the basics had been laid, and our lives were directed by Christian values. Children are now denied these foundations, and are growing up without knowing the country’s religious faith and heritage.
In v14/5, he refers to the teaching Timothy had, having been brought up in the faith by his mother and grandmother,( and also had been taught much by Paul, and in fact Peter had helped a little, so he had the two Apostles who wrote much of the new testament.) Now Timothy had the wisdom to receive salvation, by trusting in Jesus Christ, the only way to God.

In v16 we come to an important verse when Paul reminds him that ALL Scripture is inspired by God, and tells what is right and true, so we can recognize wrong way.
In v17 God prepares his people to do good work. This will mean Timothy to be fully equipped for his ministry, when he has to correct people who are not speaking the truth, rebuke those who mislead, and encourage with patience those who are learning the gospel.
We are told God inspired and guided forty men, using their different characters and occupations, to write the Scriptures which would be His message to the world. We can reasonably presume that if God gave us these words, He would not have done so just to fill pages, but meant us to take note of all that was given. God wants us to understand and know Him, and the only way we can do that is by Him telling us, which He does in this book. He tells, we listen and obey him.
There are 66 books in the Bible, 39 of which are in the Old Testament and 27 in the New, written by 40 men, all but one being Jewish. God used their individual personalities and occupations, to communicate His words, and none of them would claim it was any thoughts of their own. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, all state they did not feel worthy, but God laid a burden on them. This was done over many years, without any collusion, they did not meet each other, yet there is no contradiction in writings.
The Bible is given to teach us and guide us in the way God wants us to live. It is the supreme authority for the Church containing the very words of God and does not need any amendments.
This is a very stressful world in which we live. This is a post Christian age, when most people under the age of 40 have little if any knowledge of the Christian faith or Church. It may have been written by men, but these men were inspired by God, to give us the message that God wished us tohave. We are therefore enabled to live according to God’s teaching.
The important word is, ALL. Once you start discounting parts you challenge the whole credibility and authority of the Bible. When we fully understand God’s Word, we are more able to inform others.
I don’t think even Church members, give the Bible the attention one would expect. I know there are many whose sole connection with it is in the Sunday service. But even then, is mainly a case of listening to it being read.
In evangelical Churches, it has been the practice of having Bibles in the pews, or at least available, so that members can follow the readings, and I always found it helped to follow the sermon, (when the sermon is Bible based that is.) I went to take a service at one Church where there wasn’t even a Bible to read the lessons from, and someone had to go out and borrow one.
I am very impressed by some Churches I have seen in the United States, which have large congregations. When the Pastor announces the Bible reading, the whole congregation turn to their own Bibles; this is revealed when the cameras show all different Bibles; such is the attention paid by the people, they are making notes of the sermon. This was once common in our Churches, but after many years in ministry, I never saw it happen.
There is a basic question we should all ponder. Why do we come to Church? There are many answers, but the real purpose should be to worship God with reverence and awe; to learn about God and how He would want us to live.
In order to do this, we need to know our Bibles and be prepared to accept what is taught there. I know this will not be acceptable to some people within the Church, for it may condemn the way they are conducting their lives.
The Bible has to be the supreme authority of the Church. I heard a Vicar state in her sermon that we should not take the Bible literally, and there are other Ministers who will say the same. You should question them as to why not.

 

May God’s Holy Name be praised and He be Glorified

 

Ephesians 4 v 25/end.    

This morning I want to turn with you to the reading from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians Chapter 4.  Paul was talking about the importance of unity and maturity as two aims of the Church, and now moves on to show purity is necessary for those who belong to the Church. 

He is writing to new Christians who have converted from paganism, so is anxious to show they have to behave, and live in a totally different way from the past.  They have to leave their old way and turn to Christ’s way. 

In this passage, Paul gives practical examples of how Church members build up Christ’s body based, on what is true of them as Christians. This is a continuation from previous verses dealing with Christian living. He contrasts the heathen way with the Christian one. He writes, ‘I INSIST you no longer live as non-believers’.

They were separated from God, their lives were dark, they had hard hearts,  they were insensitive, and they were concerned with empty things.

The word Paul uses, is likened to a stone harder than marble, meaning they were so insensitive, so hard,  they could not feel goodness.  They sinned at will. 

The process of sin is gradual.  No person becomes a great sinner all at once. At first, it is regarded with fear and horror.  Some regret, and remorse enters the heart, but as this continues, there comes a time when it loses all sensation, and shameful things are done without any feeling.  The conscience, which once found such things unacceptable, now finds them acceptable.

 People abandon themselves to every kind of unclean conduct; the lust of desires, and shameless wantonness.  Like a drug, it can get so much a hold on a person that they lose all sense of decency and shame.  That sort of life can be dominated by sin, so that people become like beasts. 

There is a desire to possess, a desire for things which others have, and if they can’t buy then steal.  They will be ready to sacrifice others for themselves, don’t get in my way.  Desire to have what there is no right to have, and are not prepared to legitimately earn.  People don’t care who gets hurt in the process   Paul saw hearts which did not recognise any wrong in their actions.

People do not see themselves as doing anything wrong or shameful today.  We see vast sums of money being wrongly taken from employers, justifying it on the grounds of wanting pleasures they see others having. 

Drunken youths making fools of themselves.  Women shedding their dignity and inhibitions, to be doing what men do, and to the worst excesses of their male counterparts. Men dressing and acting as women, and parading in city streets.        

Not everyone lives a decadent life in the non Christian world, but there is a direction in which every life can head without God in their life.  All life has to progress.  There has to be a sense of purpose and truth, a sense of decency and modesty. 

Becoming a Christian is a radical life change.  A Christian must live their life as required by Christ, so we put off the old ways and put on the righteousness God gives us. 

Paul says, put off your old way of life as you would put of old clothes.  He sets before them the highest standard in the world.  He is warning of what Christians can slide into, if they don’t change.

Paul spells out, the things which must be banished from the Christian life.  The   followers of Jesus Christ, must stand out in life and be known for being truthful and having integrity.  No lying, yet we see from the highest public offices of government, blatant lying and deceit. Sometimes, by men and women who like to inform us of their Christian credentials.         

You can lie deliberately, or without intention, through carelessness or exaggeration.  Truth demands a deliberate effort.  It is so easy and tempting, for people to elaborate a story to create a greater effect. 

Sometimes of course, we tend to tell in an exaggerated way out of kindness.  I recall often, being asked if I liked the cakes  a particular lady made, and like a good Vicar said they were lovely.  It would have been totally ungracious of me to say they tasted like sawdust.  Imagine, what domestic disturbance could be caused if a man told his wife, what he really thought of her new dress. 

 There is the lie of silence.  Keeping silent when we should speak out, so giving the impression, that by our silence we approved some action which one actually knew was wrong; or failing to rebuke, when it was necessary to do so. 

Then Paul gives the reason for being truthful.  A body can only be healthy if all senses are working properly.  If the brain tells the hand something is cool, when it is hot, pain will be caused.  If we as Christians are one body, all must be true and faithful to each other; deception impairs the work of Christ.    

Paul talks of anger.  There is however, a right and wrong anger.  To be angry as part of a fractious nature, or to get upset at trivialities, is wrong.  Some anger is not only right, but essential.

The anger of William Wilberforce led to the end of slavery; the anger of Lord Shaftesbury led to the end of inhumane working conditions; Jesus got very angry at the moneychangers in the Temple, and went about with a whip. 

There is a need for greater anger among Christians.  We compromise sin in a way God never does.  God hates sin, and  so should we, and we should speak out.  I get angry when I see clergymen/and now women, speaking on radio or television, stating we must reinterpret the Bible, to meet current attitudes to morality.  We owe it to our Lord, as our duty, to challenge these liberals for trying to set their own agenda on the Church, by changing Scripture to their thinking. 

No amount of reinterpretation, would ever convince me it was acceptable for a Bishop to divorce his wife, abandon his family, so as to go and live in a relationship with another man, and in so doing knowingly and willingly cause a whole disruption and schism, the worldwide Anglican communion, without any regret whatsoever. Indeed, he expected everyone to accept and support him.

There was an exhibition in Glasgow, where the Bible was put on display and people were invited to write comments on the Bible, defacing it where condemnation was made of homosexual practice.  Despite protest, the organisers refused to withdraw. Although ultimately they were forced to cover the Bible in a glass case and let people write their comments on paper to be attached to the Bible. Noticeably, they refused to put the Koran on display. 

 Now compare our response to that of Muslims in Pakistan, who burned Churches and attacked Christians, when it was falsely alleged by militants that the Koran had been criticised by Christians. 

Equally important however, is the situation when two people in a Church don’t get on.  It must be dealt with at once.  The longer it is left the more bitter it becomes.  All need to have the grace to say sorry and be forgiving.  Don’t give the devil the opportunity.  An unhealed breach causes dissension and strife, for two people at odds can cause a war to develop.  Remember too, reputations can be murdered over cups of tea or coffee. Be honest. That means no stealing, but also give a fair return for what you are given.

No evil talk; that means no foul language.  Today on our television, foul language of the worst kind is commonplace.  The comedian, who won the award several years in succession for favourite comedian trophy, relies on foul language and content.  What a verdict on society. 

Two of the greatest comedians ever, were Bob Hope and Jack Benny, neither of whom ever made a rude joke.  Ricky Tomlinson, himself an actor and comedian, once stated  that our greatest comedians of the past would be a failure today, for they were always clean in language. 

So Christians should speak in a manner which will help others, and not degrade them or themselves.  Don’t be insulting either, use words wisely.  Dennis Thatcher once commented,’ better to say nothing and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt’   It is so easy to have an outbreak of passion, revealing anger which flames like straw.    

Paul sums it all up in a few words, be kind, be concerned with the feelings of others, don’t show bitterness in your heart or nurse grievance.  Pray God will teach you to forgive and forget.  Love your enemies.  As one cynic remarked, ‘love and be kind to you enemy, it will make him mad’.  Have love and care for others. 

There is much good in this country, but there are things which desperately need to be put right.  The Church is the only body which can do that.  You are  the Church.  Speak out and speak up for your Church…  Let it be known what a glorious body it is, and we have a glorious Savior to follow.  It may be polluted by a few members, but the vast number are good people who love the Lord.

 

May God  inspire our hearts with His Holy Word, and may He be glorified.

 

Gospel of LUKE chapter 13 v 6-9

The Gospel reading is the parable of the fig tree. 

The fig tree occupied a favorite position.  In Palestine it is possible to see fig trees, apple trees and thorn tress in vineyards

The soil is very shallow, and the poor trees grew wherever there was soil for trees to grow, but the fig trees had more chance  to grow, but had not proved worthy of it.  Repeatedly Jesus reminded men, that they would be judged according to the opportunities they had.

Clearly, the parable teaches us uselessness is a disaster.  The whole process of evolution in this world is to produce useful things, and that which is useful will grow in strength in the economy, while that which is useless will be eliminated. 

The parable teaches that nothing which only takes, will not survive.  The fig trees were taking strength and sustenance from the soil, and in return giving nothing. 

In the last analysis, there are two kinds of people in the world, those who take but put nothing  in, and those put in more than  they take out.

In one sense we are all in debt to life.  We all came into this world at the peril of someone else who loved us.  We have inherited a Christian civilization and a freedom we did not create.  There is the duty laid on us of handing on even better than we found.  Abraham Lincoln, the great American President once said, ‘die I may. I want it said of me I plucked a weed and planted a flower wherever I thought a flower would grow.

  This parable tells us of the gospel of second chance.  A fig tree takes three years to grow and reach maturity.  If it is not fruiting in that time, it will not fruit.  But the fig tree was given a second chance.  Jesus gives us chance after chance.  Paul, Peter and Mark all gladly have witnessed that God is infinitely kind to the one who falls and rises again.

The parable makes it clear that there is a final chance.  If we refuse chances of God’s appeal and challenge in vain, the day will come when God has shut us out, but when we in deliberate choice have shut ourselves out from  God, we can only say

God save us.

     

                             *******************

Whilst I was reflecting on this parable of the fig tree, and all Jesus was meaning, it seems as if we have drifted so far away from all that God gave us, to live in a wonderful world, full of beauty and goodness, with the opportunity of being able to live a fruitful life.  As we look at how a minority of people have forced a standard of behavior that is contrary to all decency and respect, and we realize the task before us.

In this parable the Christian who can hear, and not feel shame and sorrow at the state of Christianity must be someone who takes their faith lightly.  God gave us privileges, and He expects proportionate returns. 

We must never forget the countries in the world, where other faiths operate in opposition to the Christian gospel, and the Christian people who face such challenges. They suffer mentally, spiritually, and physically in places. We tolerate other faiths, and accept their right to hold different beliefs, but this tolerance is not always reciprocated.

This is a warning to Christian Churches. If sound doctrine is not being taught, if people do not live holy lives, they are in peril of destruction.  God is always observing and taking notice of our ways.  Some Churches have much ceremonial practices, to which they give much attention to the cost of  Bible teaching. This puts in line for destruction. This happened to the Jewish Church, forty years after the ascension of Jesus.

If anyone doubts this could happen to us in dear old England, just consider how many Anglican and Methodist Churches have closed in recent years, when all the liberal influences took over. 

The Bible states, there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one BAPTISM.  So why has the Church of England created a second baptism for the benefit of those who have changed their gender from how God made them?  Why has the Methodist Church taken up same sex marriage without seeking approval from ALL members before doing so?  The fig tree in such circumstances has withered without producing fruit.  The axe is ready to fall the tree.

The parable has a warning for all who are partly Christians, and there are many in the Church who are, let it be impressed on them that they come,, and are meant to give attention.

I preached at a  Church on the theme ‘all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness’.  After the service a lady came to me and referred to the American President at that time, calling for capital punishment for men who had gunned down Jewish worshippers. She asked me if I agreed with him, and I replied I did fully, and told her the Bible authorized it should be so.  She said but that was in the Old Testament. I had to remind her the verse I preached upon said ALL Scripture, and the Old Testament was included.   Yet another example of part reference to the Bible, and hearing what one wanted to hear.  The New Testament does not differ.

But we must look beyond the Jewish Church if we mean to get the full benefit of the parable.  We must look at Christian Churches.  They have light, truth, and doctrines and precepts which the heathen never hear. There is great responsibility, and it is only right that God shall expect fruit from them.

We must look to our hearts, we live in a land of Bibles, to a certain amount of liberty, some element of Gospel teaching. There are solemn truths; few things are forgotten as the close connection between privileges and responsibility  We learn what a dangerous things to be untruthful  under such privileges.

We live in what was once a Christian country, and many people want it still to become, rather than the godless nation it has become where all absolutes have been abandoned.  The spiritual and natural way of life God created, is being turned over and discarded.

We belong to Churches which have set aside the guidance God, set out in His Word, and His means of grace, and ignored the call for repentance and failed to ask for forgiveness.

The parable should make every Christian feel sorry and ashamed, as they consider how the teaching of the Christian faith, with sound doctrine, has been abandoned with Churches openly adopting services contrary to the Bible, and calls to disregard Scripture are led by the leaders of the Church.

We have Bibles, with the liberty for the gospel to be preached, although we have a government at present debating whether we will be allowed to give sound doctrine. The country which at one time took the gospel to the world, is betraying the legacy of men and women who gave their lives to live in primitive conditions as they taught people who otherwise would never have heard of Jesus Christ.  Now, peoples living in Africa and Asia, are making every effort themselves to spread the Gospel, in lands with very limited resources, and no funds or means to acquire them.

 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray that your Word may spread   and be glorified and triumph, and that I and every other preacher of the Gospel may be delivered from perverse and unrighteous doctrine I pray that you protect everyone who is being persecuted for their faith, but even more, I pray that in the face of persecution, the Word of Christ gains strength and delivers the lost from the bondage of sin, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

May God be Glorified

 

 The Epistle for the coming Sunday service is from Paul’s Letter to the Philippian Church, Chapter 3,  v17- Chapter 4 v1.

 

Paul is writing in his capacity of being an Apostle, and whilst he is not claiming to be a perfectionist, he feels confident in telling the Christians to imitate him. Very often people are made better Christians by the way they have followed the action of another and respected Christian.

The enemies of the Cross, may refer to Jews from Judea, or other non-Christian people. There were people whose god was their stomach and whose fame is based on their shame.  Paul tells them in addition to their appetite,  they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life on earth.

But we  as Christians, are citizens  of heaven, where the Lord Christ lives, and we are eagerly awaiting his return to earth as our Savior. He tells them their bodies will one day change, to share glory with Jesus Christ.

In the closing verse,  Paul calls them to stand firm and true to the Lord, and states that he loves them and longs to see his friends, who are his joy and the crown he receives for his work.

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Paul was a man who was justified to call on Philippian Christians to follow his example, and actually imitate him. He had followed the example of Christ which meant perfection. Indeed, Paul was so uniquely called to be an Apostle, it has been said in Church terms that when Paul spoke, he spoke for God.

There were in Philippi men whose conduct was a scandal, they were gluttonous and immoral, and were enemies of the Cross of Christ.  It has not been said where they were from, but may have been Gnostics. This means they were heretics, who tried to intellectualize Christianity so as to philosophize; they tried to make it a belief the world was created in two ways, spirit and matter. They said Spirit was good, and matter was evil.  They argue that if matter was evil, then the body  was evil and will remain evil.

Within the Church there were two sets of people, to whom these applications might apply.  There were those who said, that in Christianity all law was gone, and the Christian had liberty to do what was liked, and could make their lusts and passions make good play.  The Christian doctrine of grace was distorted, and was wide enough to cover every sin, and God was great enough to forgive any sin, therefore they could act as they liked and get forgiveness.  There are some people who still think that is acceptable now.   

Paul reminds the truth, Christian citizenship is heaven. Here was a picture the Philippian could understand. The country was a Roman colony, and they were amazing places.  They were not like modern colonies out in the wilderness, they commanded road centers and routes, by which armies marched. In such places, the Romans laid colonies, the citizens being mainly soldiers who had served their time and retired as normal people. Wherever they were, they remained part of Rome, and Roman dress was worn; Roman magistrates governed them; the Latin language was spoken; Roman justice was administered; Roman morals applied; wherever they were they remained Roman.

Paul told the Philippians, just as the colonies stayed as Roman, your citizenship remains of heaven, and you must act as a citizen of heaven

Paul finishes with the Christian hope.  We await the coming of Christ, at whose coming all will change.  Our bodies now change and decay, we have weakness and illness and death; these are bodies of mortal  people;  a state of humiliation which can be compared with the glorious state of the risen Christ. And Paul states, the day will come when we will lay aside this mortal body which we now possess and we will become like Jesus Christ Himself.  The hope of the Christian is a day will come when their humanity will be changed into nothing less than the divinity of Christ, and when necessary lowliness of mortality will be changed into the essential splendor of eternal life.

 

We pray that God’s Holy Name will be Praised and glorified

 

 JOHN 8 v 1-11

                          

This passage is a story about a woman, stated to being caught in an adulterous act.  It gives an example into the thoughts and ministry of Jesus. He was in Jerusalem and speaking to a crowd of people, and was joined by the Pharisees and religious leaders.  They had come to Jesus to try and entrap Him, so that they could accuse Him of acting against Jewish law.

The Pharisees had two witnesses, who had seen a man and a woman engaged in a sexual act.  The testimony of the witnesses were required by law, to speak out about anyone committing an act and the woman would be stoned to death. The Pharisees waited to see how Jesus would respond.

There is no knowledge as to whether the woman was married to someone else, or engaged to be married. In such circumstances there was no evidence of adultery.

No one appears to remember there was a man who must have been involved, who had disappeared  from the scene.  Societies however, have a higher tolerance for male misconduct, probably being admired with amusement by those present, only the woman left to pay the punishment.

When the witnesses took the woman to Jesus, shouting cries of shame, only the woman was seized upon and dragged for punishment.  Jesus set her aside, and was told privately they wanted Him to pass judgment on her and they wanted her to be punished. 

Jesus stooped own writing something in the dust with his finger, and the people gathered demanded an answer. Jesus said, ‘all right. But let the first one who has never sinned throw the first stone.’  Then He stooped down again and wrote with his finger.

He got up to find the crowd had moved away and asked the ‘woman where are your accusers?  Didn’t even one condemn you’.  'No Lord'  she answered. Jesus replied, ’Neither do I.  Go and sin no more.’

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There is nothing in this story to suggest that Jesus was making light of the Seventh Commandment,  Our Lord’s enemies took before Him the woman accusing her of adultery, a fact no one was able to prove because they did not know whether she was married.  No one thought of asking the man if he was married either.

Jesus knew their hearts, and dealt with them wisely, refusing to pass judgment and silenced them.  He did not say she was sinless, he just said they were not the sort of persons to accuse anyone, for not one of them responded when challenged to throw a stone as a sinless person.  Their hands were not clean.

There was nothing to substantiate adultery; sin, fornication, or offensive behavior perhaps.

We learn the power of conscience when the accusers heard the condition of throwing if not a sinner, they all ran away. God has taken care to leave with every person, a witness that will .not be heard.

We also learn the nature of true repentance.  When Jesus said to the woman ‘Neither do I condemn thee’, He also said  ‘Go and sin no more’.  He said what was needed, the breaking of sin.

The lesson is that the very essence of sincere repentance, is to forsake sin.  Repentance which is no more than wishing, talking hoping, all of which are worthless to God.

We should all say we will not rest until we can say to God,

I hate sin.

Thank you LORD for your Word,

                  and pray your  Holy Name will for ever be glorified.