Matthew 15 v 21/28

 

Jesus has completed a very hectic ministry in the region of Galilee in the area of Capernaum. For Jesus He was nearing His end and to rest and teach His Apostles for future work.  In verse 21 we find that Jesus has left the area of Galilee completely and withdrawn into the area of Tyre and Sidon, two places on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now Lebanon. Tyre is about fifty miles south of modern Beirut, and Sidon was halfway between the two. He had gone there for peace and quiet whilst He taught His Apostles, who would carry His message when He had departed.

    

The cities were outside the boundaries of Israel, and the people were Gentiles. This was the only occasion when Jesus left Jewish territory, and had on His present journey crossed geographical, ethnic, gender and theological boundaries. Later it would mean removing barriers and enable the gospel to be taken to the whole world.

 

Today many people are anti-Israel and wish to separate from the Jews, but forget the specialness of Israel in the purposes of God. Jesus never implied anything different, but Paul was specially commissioned to bring Gentile and Jews on equal terms.  Many of the wonders of technology which we all enjoy so much, were first discovered and developed in Israel, and given to the wider world in medicine, wireless communication, agriculture and much more.

 

In verse 22 we find a "Canaanite" woman turning from her idols to seek the Lord and crying out, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed." . This is a woman of Canaanite heritage. The Canaanites were ancestral enemies of Jesus.  She has no heritage in understanding or even knowing God’s revelation in the Old Testament. She is not even in a place where she would be in regular contact with those who did. It is likely that she had heard of Jesus from those who were now passing through her land as miracle worker in the land of Israel, and now she finds that Jesus is in her area. She will go to Him and plead for His mercy which is further evidence that she does understand something of who Jesus is, for by definition, a person who asks for mercy, asks for something that they know that they do not deserve. She turns her back on the idols of her own culture and turned to Jesus.

 She pleaded with Jesus to help her as her daughter had demon possession.   Jesus turned His back on her, refusing to answer and His Apostles urged Jesus to chase her away.  He then said to her, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel’. Whilst this was in contrast to Jesus’ last commission to His Apostles to go into the world and make disciples, at the time of this incident it was in the plan of God to focus on the Jews and their spiritual needs.

She then knelt before Jesus and begged Him to help her. His reply was that it would not be right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. She seems to accept the insult and Jesus’ judgement on her, but still pleaded and said even dogs eat the crumbs from the table  In Palestine dogs were wild scavengers and Canaanites were referred to as such by the Jews who were ancestral enemies of each other. Jesus was testing her faith for it was His way to help all people and had in mind the domestic animals. 

The woman was displaying greater faith in Jesus than many of His own people, and Jesus responded by telling her faith  was so great and granted her request with the result her daughter was healed.

She was persistent and such perseverance should be the mark of every Christian, but sadly it is not. Too often we give up when we do not receive a quick reply to our requests. We may even get discouraged thinking the Lord is no longer listening to us or is ignoring us as He was this woman.

 

What a beautiful example of the humility and faith, and what a contrast she was to the pride and unbelief of those Jesus had been with in Galilee. She responded in complete humility which is the way each of us should respond.

 What can we learn from this story? This passage encourages us to keep praying even when the temptation is to give up. Be specific in your prayers and when praying for others name them before the Lord

 An important element in prayer is faith, which unlocks the door to heaven.  New life begins with faith and then we must build on that foundation.  Often when we cry to God it is more in hope than faith.  It is like a child who cries for something to eat but then goes on playing and you know it is not hungry.  If he puts his play thing away and pulls at his mother’s clothes you know he is in earnest.  God knows when we are in earnest.

 The Bible states, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God and it shall be given him, but let him ask in faith, not wavering. Faith is the key that unlocks the treasures of heaven The Bible states, whatever things you desire, believe you receive them and you shall have them,

 Dwight Moody, an American evangelist second only to Billy Graham in the history of great preachers, asked at one of his meetings for all who wished to pray to become Christians to step forward.  Amongst those who went forward was a woman, and Dwight felt by her demeanour she was already a Christian.  He challenged her and asked why she went forward and she said it was for her son who had gone far away, so she thought she would take his place and see if God would bless him.

 We have to thank God for mothers like that.  The tragedy of our time is that there are few mothers, and certainly fathers, who are interested enough in the spiritual welfare of their children.  A Jewish father will devote much time teaching his sons the Commandments, just as a Muslim will teach his children the Koran, but too many men  in this country feel it beneath their masculinity to be religious.

When my two sons were growing up I had to spend many hours away from home in my previous occupation, and my wife was forced to care, largely on her own; to her eternal credit both became youth leaders at our local Church and subsequently have become very successful Vicars.

 The mother in this story showed how deep her faith was in Jesus, and her story will be told as long as this world exists. Such golden chains of faith link us to the throne of God.  When we are in earnest God will respond, and we will be answered just as this woman was. 

 

‘HATE CRIME’ BILL BEING PROPOSED IN SCOTLAND WHICH WILL PROHIBIT FREE SPEECH.

 

Most people who visit Scotland will come away with fond memories of the beautiful scenery, which in parts cannot be surpassed by its beauty part of the world.

 How shameful then that a Bill is being proposed to be passed in the Scottish Parliament which will virtually prohibit the preaching of the Bible and other Holy books, as spreading hatred. 

 It is being steered through by the Scottish Justice Secretary, Humsa Yousaf, and is being welcome by the Convenor of Atheists for Scotland, who is quoted as saying, as he welcomes Yousaf’s Bill, ‘we fully intend to monitor all Holy books, sermons in places of worship, and the social media accounts of the various  religions and report any hatred to Police Scotland for criminal investigation.

 The Rev. David Robertson, a former Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland, suggested how the letter perfectly illustrates  why the legislation should not be made law.

 What the Convenor was saying in effect, all religions should be closed down unless his authority is accepted. And regards any disagreements with any of his fundamental beliefs as self-evident hate.

 The Bill is said to propose

no free speech clause on marriage - unlike England, Wales and Northern Ireland;

has thresholds so low that you could even commit a criminal offence without intending to;

could see people prosecuted for things said in the privacy of their own home;

has no free speech clause protecting discussion of transgenderism – a controversial issue which totally undermines a ‘one man, one woman’ definition of marriage;

has no backstop to prevent misuse of the law - unlike England and Wales where the Attorney General (or in Northern Ireland the DPP) must give permission to prosecute.

The law covers all publications distributed in Scotland. If Police Scotland believe an English newspaper on sale in Edinburgh “is likely” to “stir up hatred”, they could get a warrant from a Scottish Court, drive down to London and arrest the editor.  

The Public Order Act of 1986 gives protection, which applies in England and Wales and is duplicated in Northern Ireland, allows people to speak freely about traditional marriage without fear of the criminal law.

Journalists, Judges, and Police authorities, lawyers, actors, academics, feminists, civil liberties groups, politicians from all parties, Scottish Newspaper Society, have all expressed concern about the proposed legislation.  Even the BBC have raised objections of the Bill, recognising the danger these plans threaten, fundamental freedoms of speech, and when the BBC express such view, then it must be serious.

 

FOR  BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED, THROUGH FAITH AND THIS IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD-NOT THE RESULT OF WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE MAY BOAST. Ephesians 2 v 8/9

The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God. (Martin Luther, in Reformation Theses)

One of the most famous hymns in the world is ‘amazing grace’, especially is this so in the United States where it has been the favourite. It has been sung many times, often without the singer having the remotest meaning of the term spiritually.

The passage today contains the message. The word ‘amazing’ means something astonishing, quite beyond the ordinary.  The spiritual meaning of ‘grace’ refers to that special gift which only God can give.

Grace saves us when we have faith in Jesus Christ. It is a free gift from God through faith. We are so used to have ‘free’ gifts offered to us, which are not really free, but are meant to lure us into something else. Grace is absolutely free.

There is nothing we can do to earn or add, the grace of God confers a blessing on us, and if we take this gift, our salvation is granted to us. Like any gift offered to us, we have to accept, do nothing else to earn salvation; it is solely a gift of God. Salvation starts with God, not with man. He takes the initiative, he makes the first move.

Grace means, we owe everything to God.

This is why God alone gets the glory in your salvation. Jesus did all the work when he died on the cross. As the hymn states, ‘ to God be the glory, great things he has done , so loved he the world that he gave us his Son, who yielded his life as an atonement for sin, and opened the life gate that all may go in.

No one is too bad to turn to God, he is ready to forgive all sin, past and present, for all who truly repent, and turn and accept Jesus into their life.

You have to accept we all have sinned and need forgiveness, but some people will not accept they are a sinner.  A Vicar at one Church in the South of England once put a notice outside his Church with the intention of letting people know they were welcome to join in worship. The notice said, ‘this church is here for sinners’. The following week over half the congregation were absent.

But God is perfection and cannot accept sin and it will never be possible to be in relationship with God unless cleansed of their sin.  This is only possible by the blood of Christ shed on the Cross. 

We have to accept that when Christ made his sacrifice dying a cruel death on that Cross, he was providing forgiveness for us for all our sins committed past and present. When we accept that Jesus did if for us and in faith believe he is our Savior, God in his infinite mercy and goodness forgives us, and by his grace accepts us as one of his children.

 God is love and wants to love all people, but sin breaks God’s heart and hearts cannot be made whole.  If a man drives a car too fast or under the influence of drink and kills someone, he may pay a fine and fulfil the demand of the law, but he will never be able to recompense for the hearts broken by the family of the person killed.

 When we break a law of God we break God’s heart and only an act of forgiveness by the grace of God can put us back into relationship with God.  We can never earn Gods’ forgiveness we can only accept in perfect trust and faith.

 People think they don’t need God’s grace. They may admit they are sinners, but they don’t admit they are spiritually dead, not truly dead. God’s grace cannot help you until you are desperate to receive it

 Paul emphasises we cannot contribute, pointing out works or deeds are not considered; they are however, natural consequences of us being saved.

 If you were to ask most people if they thought they would one day be in heaven, they would be offended if you doubted. They would tell you of all the many ways they had helped people, how honest they were, how they believed in God, although never going to worship him, or devote any personal time for him.  Jesus is still for many no more than a swear word.

 A lot of people are also very confident of their own status and accomplishments. I have often witnessed people being offended, even within Church circles, when they were not accorded attention worthy of their person.  Heaven would not be a pleasant place if it was full of people boasting of their achievements in this life.

Something in us always wants to add to God’s free grace. It’s humbling to admit that we can do nothing to earn our deliverance from sin. But anytime we add anything to grace, we subtract from its meaning.

Grace is the reason why God sent Jesus into the world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16)

 God will save anyone who will believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, but

you must believe that he died on the cross paying the price for your sins, and  he is ready to forgive your sins.

May God bless His Holy Word to us.

The media are attempting to discredit the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend U.S. funding to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

But, what they aren’t telling you is WHO’s record. 

When WHO receives public funds from [Country] these funds are used to: 

·           Create and support a curriculum for comprehensive sexuality standards, 

·            

·           which teaches "masturbation” to children from ages 0 to 4.

·           Promote abortion as a human right.

·           Lobby countries to legalize abortion. 

·           Partner with Planned Parenthood and other abortion activists.

·           Support the legalization of prostitution.

·           Force doctors to perform sex reassignment surgery on children.

President Trump may have some faults, which human person hasn’t, but he has done some very good things for his country, and shown wise decisions for the rest of the world’s benefit.

Let us hope and pray the American people remember this on November 3.

 yatthew 18:21-35

 The gospel reading we are looking at this morning is all about forgiveness.

One thing I admire about our American Christian brothers/sisters is they normally have their bibles with them to follow the readings, and the words of the preacher will be better understood.

This sermon will be read in the States, so turn with me to Matthew 18, verses 21/35 .

The Apostle Peter asks  Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who offends him, and suggests 7; that is taking the two perfect numbers 10 and 7 and multiplying together

The Rabbis had laid down only 3 and no more, as God would forgive only 3 times, and man should not exceed God. So Peter probably thought he was being generous, and was shocked to be told by Jesus 490 times,. What in effect saying was Keep forgiving.

Jesus then told the parable. Known as the unforgiving servant, a story about a man who  0wed his Master a vast amount of money, a sum amounting to twenty years of labour. When the man couldn’t pay the Master ordered the man be sold and his wife and children, which was a practice in those times. However, the Master had a change of heart, took pity and released the man when he begged for mercy.

We then read a similar situation arose when the man released from his debt faced one of his servants who owed him, but could not settle, the servant was sent to be tortured.

 Bitterness and a desire for revenge can do so much damage to oneself; we get angry and raise the blood pressures of our body, even have a stroke or heart attack.

There is also the advice, don’t get mad get even’ I once saw a little plaque in a Welsh village shop, ‘if  someone is mad at you, smile back, it will make them even madder’.

But Christians can get upset as much as anyone, we are indeed human. We come to Church and say the Lord’s Prayer, then go out and forget what we prayed.

I have seen people go to excess in forgiving. I had a colleague who lost his son through a drunken driver, and he made a great show of saying he had forgiven him. There are few who would take such a view

When Jesus told us to be ready to forgive, he never meant us to be bullied or walked on. He never meant we should overlook a criminal.

In this story Jesus is giving us a message. We are like the man who owed such debt, that in today’s terms would run into millions

The message is for all Christians, who are expected to behave in a different way from those without belied. But Christians can be troublesome and create a war zone within the Church.

I experienced this in my Curacy at a Church which thrived on ceremony, and led to arguments for trivial omissions of procedure.  I determined I would not allow this to go on in my own Church, and in the first week called a meeting to express my intention to exclude people who refused to make peace.

I have no time for bullies, who are only a bully because others allow them to be. There will be no place for such people in heaven

Within a fortnight, two women started arguing over after service tea, but soon came to see sense, when both were told to absent themselves from Church until they had made peace. I had no further trouble during my ensuing years there.

If you are finding it difficult to forgive because someone has wronged you, turn to God and seek his guidance.

A central point is that if we do not forgive when such is justified, God will not forgive us, and if a person is unmerciful, they will not be granted salvation

If we reflect on the years of our life, there will be many things we regret; thoughts , words and actions hurt, we have caused hurt to those we claim to love, all adding up to staggering debt.

Love doesn’t keep score, because love has a bad memory

Think of the punishment you deserved that did not happen to you because of God’s grace. God will forgive all who sincerely and truly believe, and accept the cruel death Jesus suffered on the Cross for sin, includes them. God in his amazing grace and rich in mercy, stated “I forgive all your sins. My Son has paid the debt. You owe me nothing.”

I have previously quoted as an example, the case of a mother who had children, but no food to give them. Determined not to let them be hungry she went to a supermarket and walked out with goods she had not paid for. She was arrested, taken to Court and fined a sum of money when she wept as she couldn’t pay  the alternative was prison.

The Magistrate realised her difficulty, made out a cheque in payment for her himself.  A man acting in a godly way. Just as Jesus does for us.

 Condemned to death by evil men, who hated  Jesus because he exposed their evil, they plotted to murder him, creating false witnesses who told lies in order convict him. This was followed by Jesus being beaten by a leather belt, studded with pieces of steel, 39 times, then made to stagger to carry his own Cross, with a crown of thorns on his head.

A howling mob cheered as nails were hammered through his arms and legs to that Cross.  Jesus the Son of God, the One who knew no sin, the only truly innocent man who ever lived. As he died he cried “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”  The Cross of Christ was substitution, Jesus standing there for us.

But we have a part to play in responding to God’s call for repentance, which means more than ‘sorry about that’, but to turn around and start a new way of living, which is acceptable in God’ s sight. It is putting Jesus in the prime position in our lives

What God expects from us to be reconciled to him, which relationship is broken when we sin.

Some people say I am good person, I do all I can to help everybody, I am honest, I believe in God, I even go to Church from time to time. Jesus will say, ‘I never knew you’

If anyone thinks all Church people are good and lovely people, they are living in a make believe world.  I have seen Ministers driven from their Churches by embittered people, who were upset at not being given the attention they thought they deserve.

The bible’s message is for all people, good and bad, for it says we have all come short of the glory of God, which means we have offended against him

Salvation, which is the passport to heaven, is found in no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. It is more popular and cool to say all religions lead to God, which we mean the God of Israel, other faiths do not.  Islam states God has no Son, and worship Allah, and would not recognise the God of Israel

 In Our faith we worship a Jewish Saviour, from a Holy Book written by Jewish men.  This would be totally rejected by another faith.  There is strong historical independent evidence, to support us

Jesus Christ dying on the Cross held out two arms, one reaching out to us, and the other reaching out to God, to bring us close together. His message being, be reconciled to God. Even after we have become Christians, we will continue to offend God, and stand in constant need of forgiveness.

The Apostle Paul wrote,  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God has forgiven you.  Some of us have been deeply hurt by the things others have done to us. People have maligned us, ridiculed us, lied to us, and they have done it deliberately,.  As I strictly believe in the full authority of the Bible, and try to be faithful to God’s Word, I regularly get verbal abuse, written of course to avoid telling me face to face.

May God cause us to hear the only truth.

The Lesson for Sunday 30 August was from the 16^th Chapter of Matthew v 21/28

Jesus tells His disciples He is on His way to the Cross and Peter expresses his shock and regret and Jesus rebukes him.

Jesus then says, ‘if anyone wants to become one of my followers, let them become themselves and take up their cross, and follow me. For those who want to save their lives will lose it, and those who lose it for my sake, will find it.  For what will it profit it them if they gain the whole world, but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in for the return of their life?

Jesus then promises He and His Father will repay for all that has been done.

To take up the cross means that you take your stand for the Lord Jesus, no matter what it costs. It means crucifixion of self–all of your desire for popularity, recognition, or success. It may mean 

that you become rather less popular amongst friends, even within 

family. It may mean that you become foolishness to the world.

Early in the ministry of the greatest and most successful preacher in Christian history, Billy Graham, he realized the importance of the Cross, and in every sermon across the world, before 210 million people, he always emphasized the meaning of the Cross and God richly blessed and rewarded him.

The centre of the Christian faith is Calvary, the place of the Cross. The Cross was at the heart of the Apostles teaching, each of Paul’s Letters emphasised the redemptive message of the faith. In one passage he wrote, Jesus is Lord. and if you confess this with your mouth and believe in your heart, you will be saved, and the absence of such teaching is the reason for the Church not making an  effective influence on society, It is like a river without any water

The message of Christianity is, that Jesus Christ came among us so we can achieve salvation, but the one and only way is because he gave  his life on the Cross in a horrifically cruel way. The sole purpose for him doing so, is that all who turn to him and accept he died for their past and present sins, personally, paying the price  in order that God can receive them. God hates sin and anyone not cleansed is not accepted by him.

God will not tolerate sin. He condemns it and demands payment for it. God could not remain a righteous God and compromise with sin. His holiness and His justice demand the death penalty.

I know personally as many of you will know, lovely people we value as friends; we know too they would be welcomed and appreciated into the Church where they could offer much, if we could only convince them of our message, but they cling to the belief of so many others that as long as you believe in God, are honest and help people, you are per se a Christian. And a place in heaven is reserved for them.

The Church is the main perpetrator of such nonsense and false belief. If you look at a baptism service it is stated a child of tender years is born again,  and parents have gladly recited words prepared for them to say they repent of all sin, when they are actively living sinful lives without any intention of changing.

Similarly with a funeral service the Minister assures people that the deceased, who in most cases he had never met was going to heaven, no matter what kind of life they had led. 

In both cases there is total contradiction of Scripture. There can be compassion and kindness without complete misguiding. We are in fact  the cause of all our trouble, we have given up in too many places the clear teaching of the bible and ignored God’s commands. We as a Church have become terrified of being out of tune with society.

Here is religion without a cross … a testimony that the nations of the world are deeply religious but have not yet come to the point where they are willing to accept Christ and Him crucified. Thus, the people of the world stumble on blindly toward eventual judgment and destruction, not realizing that they are rejecting Christ and Him crucified, which is the only hope for salvation.

The Gospel of Christ and Him crucified is still foolishness to millions who are perishing all over the world today. How few people recognize that the answer to all the world’s problems can be found at the foot of the cross.  A major problem is we have exchanged the glory of the Cross for trendy social issues.

Jesus and the Cross are not something you turn to when you are in trouble or have an illness and you want help and comfort. A Cross is not something you should wear as a fashion accessory, a Cross is a symbol of man’s cruellest form of death on one view, but it is also a sign of the greatest story of love, sacrifice and devotion.  

Whenever you wear a Cross you should think why am I wearing it, is it because it is a  form of dressing, and if it is, you ,then ask yourself if you would wear a set of gallows around your neck. The Cross Jesus died on was a plain wooden one, no jewellery or gold

There is only one acceptable reason for wearing a  Cross, to  remember the One who shed his blood there to cleanse you of sin.

In the cross we see the clearest evidence of the world’s guilt. At the cross of Christ, sin reached its climax. Its most terrible display took place at Calvary. It was never blacker nor more hideous. We see the human heart laid bare and its corruption fully exposed. The Scripture teaches that man’s heart is desperately wicked.

In the cross we see God’s love.. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

The Church needs to stop prevaricating. Whilst there is a Cross on almost every Church, we must face facts some are more like dens of iniquity by preaching against the gospel. Scripture is brazenly twisted and misrepresented to justify modern forms of behaviour which are rejected by the Word of God.  How each person leads their lives is a personal one for each to freely do, for God gave free will and if he is offended is  fully able to deal with.

We have arrived at a point where the supreme authority of the Church, the Holy Bible, has been challenged, and men now joined by women in equally misguided appointments, are leading people astray.

Jesus said, ‘I will build my Church’, and it was built on the solid rock his commitment on the Cross, and every Word of God laid down with the pages of the Bible are to be obeyed.  If God wants to add, change or amend he will do it himself, he does not want errant men and women holding high Office within the Church trying to do to meet the requirements of society.  The authority of Jesus was never ever meant to be challenged.

We are in danger of wandering from the vision Jesus created. He came at God’s calling to show the world how to become acceptable to God, how to achieve salvation by his cruel death. A simple enough message for the Church to tell and people to understand. 

Christ does come to us every day still, in the form of Bibles that we do not read, in the form of churches that we do not attend, in the form of human need that we pass by.

From Genesis to Revelation the Bible teaches that without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin, which is why Jesus shed his for us.  I wonder how many within the Church realise this; and it is only when we accept Jesus died in our place on the Cross that God accepts us, so we then born  spiritually.  Our mothers went through much pain to give us physical birth, Jesus went through severe pain and even death to give us spiritual death, so that we may born anew.  Then we are bound to live our lives as Jesus commanded and intended.

Christianity is not an emotional journey. Millions listened at the Billy Graham Crusades to the world’s finest preacher, were captivated by glorious crowd praising God in song, and went home full of joy and hope.  They were met by dreary chants, cold atmosphere, and a preacher labouring through the set (ten minutes at the most) sermon, and wondered in which world they were in.

In unforgiveable apathy we have let the liberalists and modernists take over.  Now it behoves all who love the Lord to take the Church back. WE need to get the message out that Jesus came into the world to make us be in the presence of God.. the way to do that is to clear of all sin is our lives past and present and be cleansed by his blood on the Cross.

Many people are anxious to receive God’s grace and at

Pentecost Peter preached an inspiring sermon to such extent that 3,000 people committed themselves to follow Christ,  They were filled with inspiration and  awe as they met regularly without coercion, and devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles.

In 1517 a German monk named Martin Luther began a Reformation when he tired of seeing the way the Roman Church was failing the people.  How we need a similar renewal now.  Gone has that early enthusiasm in the Church.

As time moved on additions were made to the liturgy, men became proud in holding Church Office and found the need to glorify themselves with decorative robes.  Much still happens the same. We have multiple versions for the same prayer.  We even create special liturgies to enable ceremonies to be performed which were once beyond man’s comprehension.  Is it therefore any wonder God must be ready to show his wrath when in his and Jesus names, his Church creates services to welcome and bless people who have rejected the gender he created them and are celebrating having the opposite created by mankind.

The clergy are now invaded by men and women who teach, in the name of the bible, totally false doctrines. Our Lord came in the most basic of circumstances, born in a stable, taking the role of a servant . Now his Church is filled with people more concerned in being served, status conscious, full of ambition. The desire to preach the Word,  stressed as an urgent need by Paul, is not the number one issue on many minds.

In the 21^st century we find the majority of Churches closed, with little urgency in opening them. Importantly there are dedicated men who have shown much initiative and been entrepreneurial in response. One Church near me has a Vicar who erected a Marquee extension to his Church, so as to be able to welcome more people to services, which were also relayed on  to television.  A machine was acquired to ensure the air in church was made safe before the service, and all seating sanitised. To avoid personal handling at the present time, an independent means for people taking the bread of communion was offered, and every possible effort to continue to all satisfaction.

It was religious people who killed Jesus, and it is the religious people of no true conviction, who are killing his Church now. True Christians will believe God will not let them succeed and will deal with them. Our faith began 2020 years ago, men have been trying to destroy it ever since, but it still stands and is stronger than ever in some places.

Jesus asks what does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose their own soul.?  How you respond to the gospel makes a vast difference as to how you will live your eternal life and with those you love. For so many people saying goodbye at a funeral is goodbye for ever.

My wife and I met as teenagers many years ago at a Church in Liverpool and have been together ever since. At our age we know God could take one of us at any time, but we also know that it won’t be long before her or me is joined by the other one.  Someone will say what makes you so sure. The answer of course. The Holy Bible tell me so and when God tells, we both believe him.  God never breaks his Word.

If you are to make that sacrifice of Jesus worthy for you,, believe it in your heart and try to influence your friends and especially within your family. Tell them what a friend we have in Jesus. You will find opposition,  but God will be there to help you.

May God bless all who have either heard or read this sermon, and may it help you to draw closer to Jesus. Most of my readers are in the United States of America; to them I say if you have found help, belief or comfort, do let me know by emailing me at

www.ericroyden@gmail.com

,….

o