Nehemiah 8 ,v.1 to 4,  8 to 12

This morning I want to turn with you to the reading from the Book of Nehemiah, in the Old Testament  This Sunday is Bible Sunday.

  Nehemiah was a Jew taken into exile by the Babylonians, and after they had been defeated by the Persians, he became a cup bearer to the King, and later became civil governor of Jerusalem.  

The people of Israel had been taken into captivity, and after 70 years were returning to Jerusalem, their spiritual homeland and capital then in ruins, to rebuild their lives and homes. 

The walls of the city had been destroyed and needed to be rebuilt been created.  Nehemiah realized, that a nation needs more than material works and wealth, there was a need for a firm spiritual and moral foundation as well as wealth and material things.

 

Ezra, the priest was present and preached the Scriptures to them.   In what is perhaps a new passage of Scripture for you, we have a glorious story of a people who gathered without coercion, devoting themselves to standing for something like five/six hours.

 

This indicates the tremendous desire of these people for truth. No complaining there if the service went over the hour! Some times when I first visit a Church I ask the Vicar/Minister/Pastor for guidance, as to how long I am  expected to preach, and often told well after ten minutes people will begin to shuffle their feet. 

Notice also, that the place where they met was by the Water Gate, the seventh gate, a prominent number to the Jews, a number meaning perfection.  There were a series of gates, sheep, fish, east, etc. this gate was the symbol of the Word of God -- the water of the Word. There could have been no more appropriate place for them to assemble.

This teaching had such a profound effect upon the people, that we are told they wept as they listened. They did so because they realized how their lives had gone astray, and they had wrong thoughts and ways.  When God’s people get away from loving, and reading, and obeying the Word of God, they lose the blessing of God upon their lives. The cause of their problems lay in their own thoughts and attitudes. These people saw the holiness of God, contrasted against the evil of man.

What a marvelously clear statement of how a church service ought to be conducted! The primary business of Christians is to understand the Word of God, so as to think God's thoughts after him -- to learn to think like God. It is not only important to know what the Scripture says, it is even more important to know what it means!

It is refreshing to see there are many Churches in the United States of America, where the main service contains just music and a Bible reading based on a Chapter of Scripture.

We so desperately need to tell in simple terms how he loves us, wants us to be saved, and for that purpose he sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world, to show us by word and example how that becomes possible when we obey all that he tells us in that holy book we call the Bible.

God’s purpose for the Church is to preach the gospel message contained in the Bible, which we acknowledge is the authoritative Word of God, to an unbelieving world, and to lead people to salvation. This is what makes us unique and special, if we fail to do so, there can be no purpose in there being a Church, and we just become an irrelevancy.

In order to help us, do this according to his wishes, God created spiritual boundaries, and we should not wander beyond what the Bible sets out for us.

It is because preachers have extended their remit beyond God’s boundaries, and gone off message, that the Church is falling apart in the West; people now are confused as to what the Church believes.  God wants to preach his Word, not express our opinions or think we have a better idea

The purpose of coming to Church, should be to join with other Christians in singing praise to God, listening to His Word, having it fearless and boldly preached, so there is spiritual nourishment for the week ahead, and to join in  prayer for the needs of the world and ourselves.

There are Church members, who live knowingly and deliberately against God’s teaching, yet hypocritically carry on doing so. How God must weep when sees people singing hymns of praise in Church, listening to the Bible, (sometimes even preaching it) and then behaving totally in contradiction to what he has laid down.

When the Bible is faithfully preached as it is written, it points out the way are going astray, how far we have wandered from the pureness of Christ in thought word and deeds. How we all sin, most often by mistake or carelessness, and God provided a way of forgiveness in letting Jesus die a cruel death on the Cross, so that all who accept Jesus died to save us, will be forgiven.

The whole Bible is about God’s offer of salvation through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

In the Old Testament Jesus is predicted. 

    In the Gospel Jesus is revealed. 

        In Acts Jesus is preached.

            In the Epistles Jesus is explained.

                In Revelation Jesus is anticipated.  

 The great tragedy of our day, is how few churches seem to understand this power of Scripture. Across the country, there are churches in which there is little life. The services are dull and dreary, because the Word of God is not central. Whenever there has been a revival in the Church, at the forefront were men like Charles and John Wesley or Evan Roberts in the 1904 Welsh revival, men who were boldly preaching the Bible, and singing songs of praise in modern words Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one of the greatest preachers of modern times once stated, ‘the primary task of the Church and Christian Ministers is the preaching of the Word of God.  The decadent times in the history of the Church, have always been when such preaching has declined.’

The Church was founded on the teaching of the Apostles, and such was authoritative because it came from our Lord Himself, who claimed he was the only way to God. We should not be afraid to state this, for the Bible states ‘we do not have a spirit of timidity, we have the power of God’.

What should occupy our minds, is to consider if the Church is still preaching the message of the Apostles, and is it fit for the purpose Christ and His Apostles built it?  That is a hard question to answer; in places yes, especially the Pentecostal Churches; but in the main denominational Churches, only to a limited extent.

s,We ‘do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’. All our minds have to become transformed and adjusted to receive, and obey, what God expects  from us.  

It is fair to say, a moral decline has come, and It is so easy to say that is just being old fashioned and dismiss. Old fashioned we may be, but we didn’t have such a  divorce rate—such anti-social behaviour and juvenile delinquency- the highest abortion rate in Europe-= the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Europe-and the lowest Church attendance, we knew what being a Christian meant.

Like a car parked on a hill when someone releases the brake and it careers downward.  There is so much evil in society, even listening to news broadcasts creates fear. Murder was for so long a rare and major crime, now it is a daily occurrence hardly worthy of more than a passing paragraph in a newspaper. Fraud, theft, corruption stems from top of society to the bottom. 

All the time honored beliefs of morality and ethics have been abandoned so that nothing is considered immoral or improper by society. What is most alarming is that no one in authority seems to be concerned

We have allowed secularists, atheists and activists to influence society and take over the country, in the process they are trying to silence us and forcing us not only to accept, but approve all they call for.

The Church, which is meant to be the conscience of the nation, has in the mainline denominations, conversely accepted, adopted and embraced behaviour specifically condemned by Scripture. The Church is expected to preach the gospel and abandon sin.  Now there has been a call to abandon the gospel and preach sin.

by God for the purpose of providing spiritual and moral guidance, failing to point out what are clearly called sins in the Bible, and either incapable or unwilling to offer better. Children are now denied these foundations and are growing up without knowing the country’s religious faith and heritage.

Martin Luther stated ‘the true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.’  This is the message the Church should now be preaching, but instead too many are more concerned with following an equality agenda which is obsessing the country. Luther’s stance was that any issue which tended to overshadow the gospel must be ignored and abandoned.  He recalled the Church to follow he gospel.

Most of the men who wrote the Bible were simple fishermen, shepherds and the like, without a degree amongst them, and were moved by the Spirit of God. If they went before a selection committee for Church ministry, I doubt they would have been chosen.

That may seem hard or even cynical, but it is not meant to be, I say it seriously and being realistic. The teaching of the Apostles would be too fundamental for selectors to accept, for Christian orthodoxy has now been replaced by equality and diversity consideration.  I can say with confidence, preferment in the Church of England is dependent upon accepting not the Bible’s moral and ethical teaching, more on the calls of society’s activists.

Men and women have given their lives to take the Bible to the utmost parts of the earth and to live in primitive conditions.  Most could have earned an enormous amount more money with comfortable lives, but chose to serve the Lord. They were mostly well educated and learned people with brilliant minds, who God will richly reward.

Liberalism is tearing the Church apart by trying to supplant biblical authority for cultural expression and denying the infallibility of the Bible with trendy social issues replacing the Cross of Christ. The Church should be the moral conscience and voice of the nation, providing spiritual disinfectant on the evil of society.

    

We have to accept that if you state you believe in the full authority of the Bible you will find many will oppose you, and even those close to you will challenge you, perhaps within your own family. You will be called narrow minded, bigoted or of having some kind of phobia.   How disheartening to hear from pulpits that we must not take the Bible too literally; or that there will be atheists in heaven.  The time may come when those of us who stand firmly on the Bible will be frozen out, and attempts will be made to silence us.

I close with the words of John Wesley,

I want to know the , the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way; for this end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. Give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God

Praise God for His Holy Gospel.  May His Holy Name be Glorified

 

 

 

 LUKE 10 V 1 /20

This Chapter is a story of Jesus sending out some of His followers on an evangelistic mission, ahead of His visiting the towns He intended to visit.

Jesus sent out seventy two disciples in two’s, into Gentile territory where He Himself was planning to go. Two people working together can be most useful as they can complement each other, and this is in fact a practice from the Old Testament.

     Jesus calls for prayer for those He is sending out. Like to-day there was much to do, and few to do it.  The Bible states the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective, and whilst a lot of people are not able to perform much physical work because of age and infirmity, they can pray for those physically able.

     The Bible tells how Moses and Aaron were physically restricted at one time so engaged in prayer, and when they did so the Israelites were successful.

     Jesus warned the men He was sending forth of the dangers they faced, saying they were like lambs going amongst wolves, meaning wolves eat lambs Jesus never called on anyone to act under false pretences, but rather pointed out the possible cost.  He knew they faced danger, and so many in Christian ministries do today.  Churches suffer attacks, and in numerous Eastern hemisphere nations are imprisoned, arrested and charged with offences, and murders too take place.  Not a lot of people want to hear of these brave men and women who face such ordeals in the service of teaching about Jesus.  They are often brilliant minded people, fully able to earn lucrative salaries in other occupations, but commit themselves willingly to serve the Lord.

     Jesus further stressed the need of devotion to their mission. This message is applicable to the Church at large, and whilst primarily to Ministers, applies to all Christians.  Jesus wanted them to concentrate on the purpose for which He was sending them, that is to preach the gospel.

     In modern times it has become fashionable to engage in profound theological debate, sometime questioning the veracity of Bible teaching, which is unlikely to win one soul for Christ.  All that is needed is simple and plain statements clearly and convincingly made, by people who truly believe in what they are teaching.  Simple gospel truths, leaving the Holy Spirit to complete the work.

     There next follows three things for the disciples to avoid. They are to travel light, must not be cluttered up with material natters.  It appears there is now a temptation for preachers to get involved with political and social issues, a craze to talk about climate change, or government schemes, especially by bishops who criticize without offering any alternative. These have no place in pulpits, especially as they tend to divide Christian worship.  The issues of the world should not transcend spiritual matters.

     The disciples are not to be over concerned for comfort, but place their trust in God to provide. We are all entitled to enjoy the luxuries of life, but not to become predominant. Since their business was urgent, they were mot to waste times in greetings, but concentrate on the task they were sent on.

     In eastern countries, the custom was to have long conversations on greeting someone, resulting in lost opportunity for what they were sent out for. This did not mean they were to be discourteous, nor seek attention, but that they should not linger when there was so much to be accomplished.

     Thirdly, the preacher should not seek personal gain from his Ministry, or other benefit. At that time it was ruled if a prophet stayed in one place without working for three days, he was a false prophet.  The laborer was worthy of his hire, but cannot be seeker of gain. It has to be faced, there are those in Christian ministry today more interested in enhancing their c.v. and promoting themselves, than promoting the gospel.

     I remember a wedding shown on television, where the Vicar after performing the ceremony, saying to the congregation, ‘let’s dance’, and then she led in what more resembled rather wild body shaking than dancing, with some of the congregation  standing on the pews to do so.  The service is called, the Solemnization of Matrimony’)

   

 

 Jesus stated stay faithful, even in the face of rejection, warning His workers they would be rejected, something most Ministers have experienced. Since Jesus was Himself rejected, we should  not  be surprised. It has become more a badge of ,,honor to be criticized or rejected, but experience has shown me the people who do complain are usually bullies, ho shy away when confronted and challenged. I remember one Vicar saying in frustrated tones to me after having had a hard time,’ well at least they can’t crucify me’

Few, If any reach to  offend, but people who are nominal Christians feel offended because something spoken strikes home

 Jesus makes clear in verse 16, what it means when His messages are rejected. He said, ‘he who rejects me, rejects the One who sent me’. He is warning those who do so, will be in great trouble. A person will be judged by what they had a chance to know. It is a terrible thing to reject God’s invitation, for it can lead to eternal condemnation.  God will not force Himself on anyone, We all have the freedom to respond or reject Him, and judgement will one day be meted out accordingly.  This is why coming to Church is a serious business, for every time we hear God’s Word we face the choice to heed or ignore.

     Jesus told His disciples to wipe the dust off their feet if they faced rejection, a symbolic action to signify the place is standing before God.  This becomes hard when those rejecting God’s Word are those closest to us personally. We long for them to accept Jesus as their Savior, and shed tears at the thought of their eternal destiny.

     The Bible clearly states, as indeed Jesus clearly expresses here, that we have the chance and should take it before it is too late. We should therefore do all we can to make sure they hear the message, but we cannot believe for them.

     When the seventy two returned, Jesus told them to stay humble. Some were so excited with triumphs in winning people for Jesus. He warned them against pride and realized things fall away constantly.

 When Billy Graham, conducted his Crusades in the years he was in England, many people attended and offered themselves to Christ, inspired by  glorious singing by massed choirs, and hearing the greatest and most successful preacher in Christian history. But when they returned to their local parishes, they often found indifference from Vicars who probably disliked Billy, and they showed little interest. People were so disillusioned they fell away,

     The Bible sees a world in open defiance against God, and those who stand for God will be mocked and harassed.  The Bible calls for a different society, one which responds to the cry of a loving Savior who wants people to turn to Him in repentance and faith.

The world is divided between those who choose the Kingdom of God and the light of Christ, and the other world of darkness led by evil, which will seek to destroy all that is good and holy. We each have to decide which side we are on.

     Some years past, one of the finest liners ever built, the Queen Mary, was taken out of active service, and was taken to Long Beach in California as a tourist attraction. She was as luxuriously made as could be, but during the 1939 war was converted into a troopship. She is now a museum. 

     Today, it seems that the Church is following a similar course; it sees itself in peacetime conditions, when in fact it is under sustained attack on all sides.  We expect the Christian life to be painless and easy, whereas the Bible teaches us that we are called upon to expect wartime conditions. The prospect is that the Church will become a museum as attendances are falling, and writers are already forecasting its demise within ten years.

     Jesus always made it clear that following Him would never be easy.  Indeed, He taught it would be very hard.  Jesus warned that we need to count the cost, before committing oneself as it meant carrying a cross and placing Him first in all considerations, above all else.

     We are in fact engaged in a war, and called upon to be soldiers of Christ.  Regrettably there are many within the Church, both lay and ordained, who wish to avoid all militaristic references and terms. We have the word soldier removed, and Onward Christian soldiers, one of the greatest hymns written, has now become in some Churches as  the ridiculous Onward Christian pilgrims, so vandalising such a beautiful hymn. Anyone so weak-minded, should avoid the hymn altogether if cannot accept the writer’s words.

     The fact is that the Bible often uses the term soldiers, and we sing Soldiers of Christ arise, and Stand up, stand up for Jesus ye soldiers of the Cross, the Apostle Paul used the term as an analogy, but it all seems to be an irrelevance to those who eulogise the word ‘love.’  We have to face reality, there is so much unlovely things and people, in this world. Turn to your Bible, you will see it speaks of God’s wrath, and you have to go into many Chapters before we start talking about love. We are engaged in a bitter war, with the world being a battlefield with aggressive activists, not a playground. 

     Our opponents do not believe Jesus is the only way to God; the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross; the definition of marriage; God’s Order of Creation, to mention just a sample of doctrine, which they challenge at every opportunity, and have campaigners within the Church aiding them.

     Jesus called for decisiveness and radical self-discipline and commitment.  This is in contrast to the readiness on some Christians part, to accept all that is hurled against them. 

In the previous chapter, Jesus had sent out His Apostles with specific instructions.  Here Jesus sends out 72, widening the net to indicate He is sending out His followers to all parts of the earth.  We can see what He expects from us. 

     All Christians should try and spread the gospel, and often this can be done in an easy manner by bringing your local Church to people’s notice. For many people, as we know to our own experiences, God is an irrelevance until they have a personal problem, there is no such human being who is a true atheist.

     We are called to be steadfast in our faith, and be assured God has given us all an individual gift that we can use for His purpose, it just takes time to realise what that gift is. The Bible spells out clearly there are so many gifts we can use in serving Him. One lady in my Church took  on the task of arranging the flowers which are placed in position each week, and her work was cherished by members who got so much pleasure and comfort as the meditated prior to and during the service. (probably a relief during some sermons) There are other similar tasks, think about yourself, may make Church more important to you personally and inspire others

.

We thank God for His Holy Gospel and pray He guide us in service       

     

 2 Timothy 4 v 5/8  

 

The Bible reading for this day is Paul’s Letter to Timothy.  Paul is imprisoned in Rome on false charges, levelled against him by the Jewish Church leaders, and he knows his death is imminent. He is at the end of his life and he wants his devoted service to be continued, and he has chosen Timothy as the one to carry on, so he writes offering guidance and words of encouragement.

He wanted stability, and such can only happen when the Ministry of the Church is faithfully committed to following the Holy commands of Jesus.  Paul was committed to preaching the Word of God as it was given to the men God chose to write in this passage. Paul begins by warning Timothy that there will be those who will not accept the true teaching, but will be driven by their desire to go their own way and make their own choices.   He calls on Timothy to be an evangelist, that is to proclaim the gospel especially to those who do not know it’s message.  He wants Timothy to keep a clear mind, and never be afraid of suffering, as it will inevitably come to all who are preaching the good news of the Lord.

He calls on Timothy to remain calm and steady, not to fall for anything sensational, and to keep to the truth and not engage in myths.

Paul the turns to his own condition, seeing his life has been like a sacrificial drink offering. In other words, he is forecasting the end of his life, which he laid down for the good of the gospel, and is now bound for execution and entry to eternal salvation. God is calling him home, which makes it so important to guide and advise Timothy.

He has fought a good fight against evil, false teaching, and served Jesus devotedly planting numerous Churches in different lands over which he cared and nurtured. He uses the image of an athlete who has successfully run a race and has reached the finishing line, he having completed  all that God sent him to do. He now he claims the prize promised to him by God, through earning by the price paid by Jesus. and which is also for all who remain faithful and set their hearts on the return of Jesus. We should always remember this great man of God Paul ends the Letter by mentioning three men who had been with him I  ministry.

A special tribute is paid to Luke, who had been a constant companion, most faithfully accompanying Paul in all his work and service for Christ; he was number two to Paul who depended on him. Like Paul, Luke was a cultured man with a good education. He was in fact a doctor, which is why many medical buildings are called St Lukes  Luke meticulously recorded the events and travels, which we find l In The Acts of the Apostles This is the explanation of the passage, we now have to consider what we can learn from it.

There is a call to all Christians, lay or ordained, to make the true gospel known to those who do not know. There is no need for theological training, a simple few words, or even just telling of your Church attendance.

There is a very great need for stability in the Church, for all to speak with one voice rather than the cacophony of words coming from people at the head of Churches, who are favorites with the media, because of their controversial views.  We should never betray our faith by denying the teaching of our Holy Bible.

Every new fashion and whim of society is adopted, rather than following Paul who called for protection of the gospel without timidity, proclaiming as God directed.  There are now so many versions of the gospel being put forward, we have lost our sense of direction. We are like people lost in darkness with no light to guide us as we lose sight of the pure light of Christ.

Jesus laid down a course of guidance for us to follow, and when we digress we come to grief for there is nothing left to hold on to. We are like people walking along a small path on a mountain top, who when we wander from the straight laid down way we are safe, but we stray and fall away. This has happened to so many of our friends with whom we once shared worship, but who fell away, and some who we pushed off.

Faithfulness is a quality I have found to be in short supply these days.  I have worked in two professions for many years, both were involved in daily contact with people. I can say rationally, I have come to the conclusion there few people, comparatively speaking , even within the Church, who one can say with confidence, will remain true to the end.

Luke sets a wonderful example for all. Faithful, reliable, dependable, true to the end.

 

 M a t t h e w 25 v1-13

This parable is to Western eyes strange, it may be thought it was made up, but in fact it was a natural story which could happen in a Palestinian village

A village wedding was a great and special occasion, for the whole village would be involved. They would turn out to accompany the couple to their new home, by taking the longest possible way that everyone in the village would be able to see them and receive the good wishes of as many as possible.
In this wedding, ten maidens would be gaily clad, playing musical instruments and they would dance to keep the bride company until the arrival of the bridegroom.
The time of the wedding was not always known, it could be days ahead, and could be at any time. The bride would wait for the groom to come from his house, may be in the middle of the night. He was supposed to have a man walk along the street and shout, ‘behold, the bridegroom, is coming’ and the bridal party would go out to meet him. People who go out into the streets had to carry a lighted lamp, and when the bridegroom comes all go into the house and the door is shut.
The ten bridesmaids took their lamps out, but five of them were foolish for they did not have any oil; the other five did and took enough oil to keep the lamps burning. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight they were aroused by the shout that the groom had come. and they were invited to come out to meet him.
All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the foolish ones asked the others if they could give them some oil because the lamps were going out. But the others replied that they didn’t have enough to give for all of them, and advised them to go out and buy some. While they were away to buy oil, he bridegroom came. Those who were with him went into the marriage feast, the door was locked. Later, when the other bridesmaids returned, they stood outside calling, open the door for us. The answer was believe me I don’t know you.
The parable was told by Jesus when speaking on the Mount of Olives. First to last, there is a continual reference to the second coming of Jesus, and the end of the world. The Lord uses His own coming, as a subject for watchfulness. The lessons are solemn and awakening.
When Jesus comes, He will find the Church a mixed body, with evil and goodness. The professing is compared to the ten bridesmaids, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. All of them had lamps, but only five were .admitted. All of them were said to have one object in view, but only five were wise and the others foolish.
The Church of Christ is in the same condition, all have been baptized in the name of Christ, but all do not hear His voice and follow Him. All are called Christians, and profess to be in the Christian religion, but not all have the grace of the Spirit in their hearts, and not really are what they profess to be. This is obvious to us that this is so. The Lord Jesus tells us that it will be so when He comes again. Despite our preaching and praying, there will be found some dead in sins. The unbelief of human wickedness is a subject about which there is much to learn.
We see secondly, the coming of Christ, whenever that may be, will take people by surprise. There is a truth set before us in the parable of a striking manner. At midnight when the bridesmaids were sleeping there was a cry. The bridegroom has come, go and meet him. it will be so when Jesus comes to the world. he will find the majority of mankind unbelieving unprepared. He will find a bulk of his people failing to live as Jesus taught, and His Church using false doctrine.
Believing people, in a poor state of mind. Business will be in full swing in town and country, just as it is now. Politics and other activities taking place, and plenty of self- pleasuring to fill people’s attention. Rich people will be satisfied, the poor complaining Churches will have division as now, with false teaching replacing true doctrines. The startled world will stand before the King with things fully wrong.
When he Lord comes again, many will find the value of finding, and saving religion too late.
The parable tells us when the bridegroom came, the foolish bridesmaids said to the wise, give us some of your oil for our lamps have gone out. We are told further, that as the wise had none to spare, the foolish went out to buy oil. When they came back the door was shut, and they asked for admission, but in vain. They asked again, without success. Take heed, that

you do not find your eternal place in vain.
We may settle in our minds, that there will be an entire change of opinion one day as to the need for Christianity. At present, we must be well aware the majority of professing Christians care nothing at all about it. They have no sense of sin. They have no proper love of Christ. They do not understand the meaning of the phrase ‘born again’. Repentance, faith, grace holiness, are just words to them. But all things come to an end one day. Knowledge, conviction. The value of a soul, the need of a Savior, shall burst on our minds like a flame of lightning. But alas too late to go buying oil when the Lord returns. Mistakes will not be retrievable.
We get mocked because of our beliefs, and deemed foolish for our Christianity. Listen patiently and pray for their persecutor. They do not know what they are doing.
Lastly, this parable tells, when Christ returns, true Christians shall receive rich rewards, for all the suffering for their Lord’s sake. We are told when the bridegroom came, they that were ready went with him to the marriage ceremony and the door was shut. True Christians shall be found ready at the second Advent
Washed in the blood of atonement, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, renewed by the Spirit, they shall be with their Lord, and sat at the table of the Lamb to go out no more. They will be with Him who loved them, and gave His life for them, and carries them through their earthly pilgrimage; those who faithfully followed here on earth. The door will be shut at last, shut on pain and sorrow. Let us thank the Lord for all His care for us and for His Holy Gospel.     Praise the Lord Jesus Christ

.

 May God’s Holy Name be Glorified.

 Matthew 22v 1/14

When we study a Bible passage. there are three points to consider, what is it saying; what does it mean; how is it relevant to us in the Church today.

     The gospel passage is the parable of the wedding feast.  This is one of a series of parables our Lord is delivering, in which He exposes the failures of the chief priests and leaders of Israel, and rebukes them for allowing the people to ignore Him as the Messiah, and their general disobedience to God.

     There is a picture of  a king who wants to give a feast for the marriage of his son, and such a feast would traditionally last for days, In accordance with Jewish tradition, invitations would be sent out to the proposed guests without any set time being stated, but when the food and preparations were complete. Servants would be sent out to say all was ready and for them to attend.   At first guests were making excuses, which were received badly by   the King, for it would be considered insulting, and a dangerous  affront to the authority of the king. When further servants went out, they were brutally treated and even murdered.  The king was furious, and sent his army to kill the murderers and burn their city.

     The king decided the feast would not fail, and ordered his men to go out and bring all outsiders to the table.  One man was seen not wearing a wedding garment, and so upset the king who had him bound and thrown out. It was the practice for the host to offer garments for the guests, and when this man was not wearing one, it was considered an insult to the host.   

     The meaning is the king represents God; the son is Jesus; the servants are the prophets and John the Baptist; and the outsiders are the Gentiles.  The feast is for the coming of Jesus into the world, and likened to the gospel story of salvation.  Like all the teachings of Jesus, there is an enduring lesson for each age, no less than our time   Many were called means the call went out to many people; but few were chosen, refers to those true believers who respond with true faith.

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

     The Bible throughout reveals that God chose Israel out of all nations to be His specially chosen one; God has also given advantages and blessings to other nations, which Jesus indicated would happen in the parable.  He said the hand of God which was first intended for the Jew, would be extended and given to both Jews and Gentiles.

     The parable told in these verses, is one of very wide signification, and is mainly pointing to the Jews, but there is a message for heart-searching for all whom are Christians.  Parables are like many sided precious stones, shining in more than one direction.

      In this parable, the salvation of the Gospel is likened to a marriage feast. It contains relief for spiritual hunger and thirst, peace with God, hope in this world, and glory in the world to come.  Jesus offers to take us with Him, and to restore us to the family of God as His children, and clothe us with His righteousness, with a place in His Kingdom, and to present us as faultless on the last day before God.

     The invitations of the Gospel are wide, full and unlimited.  The king’s servants said to those called, ‘all things are ready; come  unto the marriage.  There is nothing wanted on God’s part for the salvation of sinners’ souls; no one will be able to claim that it was God’s fault if not saved.  God the Father is ready to love and save. God the Son is ready to pardon and cleanse us of guilt. God the Holy Spirit is ready to make holy and renew.  In addition, angels will rejoice for a save sinner, and grace is to assist.  The Gospel offers an open door to all, no one is refused. Though few enter, all are invited to enter.

The salvation of the Gospel is rejected to many who are offered, and Jesus tells that those bid to the wedding by the servants mocked and went their own way.  There are thousands who listen to the Gospel being ready each Sunday who get no benefit from doing so, they see no need of it. Nor do they take it into their hearts. Other things attract their attention more, such as businesses they own, their money and pleasures are far more important. Sin may be committed by thousands, but neglect of the Gospel is committed by tens of thousands.  Many will find themselves on the broad road to destruction, not because of breaking the ten Commandments, but they openly mad light of the truth that Christ died for them on the Cross, but they neglected Him.

     All the false teachers of the Gospel will be exposed and punished when they face Christ on judgement day.  Jesus tells of when the king entered and saw the man present without a proper wedding garment, he commanded the  servants to bind him hand and foot and take him away.

     There have always been, and will be, false teachers, those given the honor of being able to preach the gospel,  and then amend the meaning to justify their own desires and those like themselves.  So long as there are men and women preaching and claiming to accept the gospel, but live in contradiction to its teaching, they cannot claim righteousness and there will be no deception at the last day, for God will discern who are His true followers. All spurious Christianity will be shown, and only true believers will be at the marriage feast. There will be many cast into outer darkness and reap what they have sewn.

et all learn to count ourselves with those to whom the Word is spoken. The parable expects to be answered, may we give the right answer. 

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

What is a matter of concern for Christians is that there are far too many men, and now women, holding office in the Church, some in high places who want to re-interpret the Bible to fit in with modern populist thought, and it is a warning to derelict religious leaders.  Let us be honest, there are not just a few within the Church, whose style of life will not be accepted by Jesus the supreme judge, and it is particularly unacceptable for clergy who are here to preach the gospel, to be unworthy.  They are acting like the chief priests, who Jesus is here condemning for disobeying God by not following His teaching, and will have to answer for so doing.

     If Jesus was here to-day, He would most certainly be rebuking the chief priests of the Church, as they let the Church drift away from its moorings of the Bible, to sail off into the muddy waters of society, and to allow and make provision to embrace and accept behavior which is incompatible with Scripture, and for acceptance to the Kingdom of God.

      We can’t just be holy on Sundays, and revert to any lifestyle we choose for the rest of the week.    There are plenty of people who have little time for Christianity, their own lives are too important to them to be involved with the Church.  Others are openly hostile and only mention the name of Jesus as an expletive. Christianity is not the gloomy faith at

is often painted by many, who fear they will lose too much pleasure if they become Christians.    

     This parable tells us all are invited to the feast, but many people are so concerned for their present life, they are losing the chance of eternal life.  In all His teaching, Jesus made it clear this life is a preparation for an afterlife. He never avoided pointing out this meant, there were two alternative places, heaven or hell.  People say God would never send anyone to hell, and that is true, He lets us make the decision by how we live our life now.

     We are reminded that the appeal of Christ to us, is not so much to consider how we will be punished if we challenge God, who expressed His way, but how much we will lose if we don’t follow His teaching.  Those who did not go to the wedding were punished, but their real tragedy was they lost the joy of the feast.   We are being offered the chance to be taken into the presence of God, and be given a place in heaven.  If we do not follow Christ, one day our greatest pain will be in the realisation of the precious things of which we have denied ourselves by doing our own thing.  In the last analysis, God’s invitation to us is of His amazing grace.

     God is still offering a place in heaven to all who will seek His Son. There is no charge, which has already been paid by Jesus when He died on the Cross to cleanse us of all sin, and by that cruel death, made it possible for us to be accepted by God.  We do have to put our faith and trust in Jesus, and realise there is no other way to God except through Him.

     God is making it all so easy by providing all we need. The Son has put us right with God, and the Father will pardon and receive us. In addition, He has given us written guidance for our lives by providing the Bible which will set out His plan. All false religion will one day be exposed. God sees into our hearts and just as the king threw out the at he wedding for being improperly dressed, so God will not enter unto His kingdom those who ignored Him in this life.

     The second part of the reading puzzles many people; why was the man so roughly treated as to justify being thrown out. 

      Jesus is portraying the Gentiles being gathered in together with sinners.   Whilst the door is still open to all, when they come they must come with a life that is going to measure up to the love which has been shown to them. A person cannot go on living a kind of life lived before coming to Christ, there must be purity, holiness and goodness.  A sinner may come, but cannot remain a sinner.

     There is also a lesson, in that the way a person comes demonstrates the spirit in which they come.  If you go to a person’s home for dinner, you don’t go in the clothes you wear to the gardening.  It may not matter to the friend, but out of courtesy and respect we present ourselves worthy of the invitation and kindness shown to us.

     So when we come to worship we don’t need to be on a fashion parade, but I think some of the sights I have seen are quite offensive. Such dressing would not be worn if the person was visiting royalty or at a civic function, why on earth do they think they should come to the king of king’s house.   I watch the services from America, and the people dress most smartly; men and women  and young people worthy of meeting the Lord.

     The dressing of our minds however, is of prime importance as we should dress in clothes of expectation, coming in clean hearts and minds, with humble penitence, faith and reverence.  In His Holy Word, God said He should be worshipped with reverence and awe.

     So the meaning of the parable is clear. God has provided the feast of the kingdom. It is the wedding feast for his Son. The invitation goes out far and wide. Many are invited, but few show by their response that they are chosen

May God bless His Word to our hearts and  may His Holy Name be praised

                                                  J A M ES  1

Following my previous sermon on The Lord’s Prayer.

The  subject to-day is  prayer.

There are very few people who can say they never pray.  There are different standards of praying. True Christian prayer will have concerns for praying for the gospel, to glorify God and Jesus Christ, for the Church, for the good of the country, peace, human tragedies.

Personal praying for family, and personal problems. The selfish praying when in some difficulty or need, and expect a God they never think about to just attend to then and answer.

There are conditions for when praying.  Writing in his bible Letter, James the leader of the early Church at Jerusalem, and brother of Jesus stated, when you ask God, be sure in your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea, that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect anything from the Lord.

In clear statement, you must have faith in God.

When a child asks an earthly father for something, he/she does so in a personal relationship with trust in each other. When we ask God to help us we should be able to do so as children of God, approaching our (heavenly) Father with complete faith.

The Bible makes it perfectly clear that there is only one way to God, and that is by Jesus Christ. We should have accepted, that Jesus, by his sacrificial death on the Cross, has made God accessible to all who accept Jesus as their personal Savior. He has created a way for us to approach God in a direct way, without needing a priest or anyone else as an intermediary. 

We are then talking to the creator of the world, the God of Abraham, David, the great prophets and apostles; the Father of Jesus Christ. You are in fact knowing the God you are speaking to.  I had a problem with a lady Deacon.

. She saw an elderly lady who suffered a lot with arthritis, and had medication from a doctor. She told the lady to throw away the tablets, and she would lay hands on the lady for healing and pray for her. The lady did dispose of the tablets, but the consequences led to her becoming seriously ill.

It does not need a genius to realize, that all who are ill may not be answered as we wished by God, for if so there would not be a need for as many hospitals as we have, and fewer Christian people dying.  But God does indeed answer favorably to  prayers people make.

 Some of you who will be reading this sermon, will remember five years past, I asked for prayers for my wife who was seriously ill, when two vital body organs failed.  Her Doctor stated she would die if medication failed but difficulty was proving hard to trace.

 I had a few years earlier,  met a lady who originally came from Africa to live in this country. In over all the years in the Church ministry, I never met any man or woman with such a capacity for praying. In addition, she has been most supportive and inspirational for me personally

In addition to asking on Facebook, to  which some kind people responded  ,I asked this lady to pray for my wife, she had Pastors over a large area join her in praying for my wife. Two days later, my wife began to recover.
I did and still do, believe those prayers were answered not by medicine, but from heaven.  Few people had such belief, even two Pastors. And no doubt that some reading this sermon will find it hard to accept.

Some prayers are better unanswered.  In my previous occupation I moved upwards reasonably quickly to a good position, and seemed destined for a senior post, but it never happened.  I was very disappointed at the time, but now I thank God deeply, for if it had have taken place I would have gone to an end with nothing to show for in my life.  Instead, I was led into ministry and have had many happy years in the Church, led people to find Christ, and made so many lovely people, some of whom have kept contact still. So do not be despondent and sad if things have not happened as you wished, God does know what is best for you.

In other cases, there delayed answers.  Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had to wait years before their son John was born. Hannah, in the Old Testament prayed fervently for a child, for it was deemed a disgrace for a woman not to have a child, but God answered her to give a son named Samuel.

Elijah became despondent and pleaded with God to let himself die. God did not answer that way, but made him a great prophet and servant who destroyed the pagan enemies of God at Mount Carmel.

Sometimes prayer happens when we do not expect it.  God knows what we want and in his goodness gives it us.  In Acts 12 Peter was in prison, and his friends held a prayer meeting where they prayed fervently for his release, despite him being held in a prison with guards, in addition to a barred cell. Whilst his friends were praying, an angel of the Lord helped Peter to escape the prison, and he arrived at his friends door.  When Rhoda answered, saw Peter and told the meeting, they didn’t at first believe her.

There is answered prayer when God grants forthwith for what you prayed for. Often this is received and you are relieved and overjoyed; but do you thank God for answering or just accept it as a matter of course?

Often it appears as prayer is not answered, and there are explanations when it is not.   Consider now some of the essential necessities for praying.  For true Christians, (as opposed to just Church members) there has to be a belief in God.  This means more than just accepting there is a God, even the devil knows that.  You need to know God, and recognize you are in God’s family, which you can only be when you have accepted being a follower of Jesus. Remember, for Christians, there is only one God, the God of Israel and Father of Jesus, which other faiths don’t recognize.   You must have a clean life, there is no point in praying to God if you are living in a sinful way, any way which is contrary to the teaching of Jesus , for God will not answer any who are disobeying.

You have to ask in the name of Jesus and with faith. God will not answer if you are dishonoring Jesus by acting against Jesus teaching.      Pray as Peter’s friends did ‘fervently’.  Speak to God as you would to your own father, no need for dramatic tones and actions.  Let God know your need. Have as James stated, with complete faith.  Just as you would appreciate being thanked for any effort you made for someone, show your thanks to God for his answer.

Finally, we all like to be appreciated when we help others and we are ready to help further.  So does God; in addition to asking, give thanks.

 

May God bless you, be with you, and treat you kindly. May God’s holy Name be praised.