1 Thessalonians Chapter 1

 

  This Letter is thought to be the first of Paul’s thirteen New Testament Letters, and one which is very relevant to us to-day.  We can learn from this Letter what the Bible teaches us is a successful Church, and what it means to be a Christian in the purest sense

.Paul had been on a mission with Silas and Timothy and chose to visit Thessalonica.  This was a proud capital city of Macedonia, with a large population, a fine harbour, and was a busy trade centre, strategically situated on the main highway between East and West across Europe.  What happened there, tended to happen along the way. 

     1 Thessalonians is one of the oldest books in the New Testament, and I am coming to be quite fond of it. Scholars date it at approximately 50-51 A.D., meaning that it was written only 18 years after Jesus’ life and death. As such, it is one of the earliest pictures we have of the Christian church in the very beginning.  This, together with other Scripture, tells us why Christianity spread so far and fast, without all the modern means of communication we have, and why the Church was so successful.

     Paul begins this Letter in a different manner from others, in that he writes to show he recognises they are truly Christians, who have fully accepted God and Jesus Christ. They had listened to Paul, their minds were engaged. They were the church in God. They knew the Lord Jesus Christ. They had experienced the grace and peace of God. Paul prayed for them. He thanked God for them always. 

      Most people consider a Church to be successful when it has a large congregation, is well financed, in a big building preferably with car park; but such is a misconception and reveals mankind’s ideals as compared with that of God.  

      There is a big difference between a religious person and a Christian. There are so many people who think if a person is not of another faith, or is an atheist, and if living in this must  other Western nation, they must be a Christian; this is more soif they watch Songs of Praise on television.  This is a total myth, for a lot of nice and good living people are Muslims, or even atheists, and would be understandably offended to think they may be Christians.

 

      There is a story about a man who attended one of the Billy Graham Crusades, and after the service was approached by a counsellor and asked, ‘are you a Christian sir?’  The man replied, ‘ I have been an Anglican all my life and I am not about to change now’

      I was once asked by a lady to explain that she had heard a man on television say he had attended a Church for years, but had only just become a Christian.  What did he mean?

      Turn with me to Paul’s first Letter to the Thessalonian Church, This was a Church which Paul had founded and he was very fond of it. I have come to like this Letter as it is so relevant and helpful, especially to new Christians. Most of the believers had come to Christ from idol worshipping, and they had made a huge impact as new Christian members.

      Most of the believers at Thessalonica had come to Christ from idol-worshiping.   Paul’s brief ministry resulted in a congregation made up mostly of converted Greeks, along with a few believing Jews and some leading women of the city.   These former idol-worshipers had a huge impact as brand-new Christ-followers.     

      Here was a Church which started off with new people coming into our faith, and such was the commitment and enthusiasm, it made others wanting to join. This typical human nature of people seeing others having something  which they hadn’t, so didn’t want to be left out. Such was the vibrancy of their faith that it spread widely, and the people were speaking of their devotion, their past practices left behind them.  The believers shared their good news through the area, telling what a difference God had made on their lives.  Their friends and families began to ask questions about what happened to make such a change.     

      Research has shown that the most successful form of evangelism is that of ordinary men and women Christians, telling others of how Christianity has changed their lives, perhaps just mentioning they attend Church, and we are as proud of our faith, just as much as the other faiths are.

     Paul commended them for the main element of a Christian life, faith and love.  For a faith which works, love which labours, and a hope which endures.  Faith is not merely belief, it is something that changes your thinking, making you turn from something that is wrong to something which is right; love which causes you to work for the gospel; and hope which makes you steadfast in the faith and enable you to endure.  This is he whole Christiam life, beginning in faith, continuing in love, and culminating in the hope of eternal life.

       Paul tells the believers they had been chosen by God.  The Bible tells us that God knows the secret working of our hearts, and knows when we are ready to acknowledge Him through Christ, by whom alone we can come to God. He, by His amazing grace, chooses and calls us into His family  God finds us before we find Him.

      Two things must happen in order for a person to become a Christian; first from God’s side and then from the human side; but God side must always be the first. A Christian then is then one who responds to the gospel message.

      Have you ever wondered why two people can hear the same message yet respond in different ways? It happens because one hears words, while the other man hears a message.  It is the Holy Spirit who takes human preaching and makes it alive inside the human heart.

       These Thessalonian Christians we are told, accepted the Word of God and received it into heir hearts.  It is like someone sending you a present, you receive it when delivered to you and you accept and use it for the purpose given. So the early Christians accepted the Word of God to improve their lives.

      The last words of our Lord to His Apostles were to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching the, to observe all that I have commanded.  Here in the worss of our Lord is the purpose for which founded the Church.

      The Apostles taught the truth about Jesus Christ, they taught the way in which He fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures in order to bring people to salvation through His sacrificial death on the Cross, and His resurrection.  They also taught how salvation in Jesus was to be worked out in the life of a believer.  They did not teach something  that they made up in their own minds, only things revealed to them by Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Jesus had already made clear to them that their teaching was to be consistent with His. Our whole gospel message is based on the Apostles teaching, now enshrined in the New testament.

       As the years went by, the Apostles went all over the world teaching the truth. The Bible tells us people were cut to the heart, in other words, deeply convicted. The people devoted to the teaching, there was no coercion.  Throughout he ages,God has opened the hearts of people, to call them to Jesus.

       This is Christianity in its purest form, stripped of all human influences and addition of false doctrines and ritual, which transformed the ancient world  This is how it was in the beginning and what makes a successful Church, as opposed to a religious club. United by common interest; it is a people chosen by God, receiving power through Jesus Christ, who demonstrate this in faith.  All Christians should consider how deep our commitment is to Jesus Christ.

       Remember in Acts we are told how the Church grew as the people listened to the teaching of the Apostles. This is Christianity in its purest and rawest form, stripped of centuries of man influenced additions and ritual, which transformed the ancient world.  This is how it was in the beginning. This is what makes a successful Church.  It is not a religious club united by common interest; it is a people chosen by God, receiving power through Jesus Christ, who demonstrate this in faith. We all have to consider how deep our commitment is to Jesus Christ

       So we may think of a successful Church as one where there is commitment, enthusiasm, and the teaching is that of that given by the Apostles, passed down to us in the New Testament, all of which leads to growth. 

       God does not choose large Cathedrals to perform His plans, nor pick rich influential people.  Abraham Lincoln stated  that God must have loved ordinary people, he made so many of them.  He chose a humble Jewish village girl to bear the Saviour of the world.  None of the Apostles had a degree between them, they were ordinary working men.  They would never have passed a selection board here today, their strong Bible teaching would have disqualified them right off.

       God acts when people respond to His Son.  It can be in the smallest of Churches; God acts when people turn to Him  

       What should occupy our minds is if the Church is still preaching the message of the Apostles, and is it fit for the purpose Christ and the Apostles built it? If we are going to be honest, only by Independent Evangelical Churches, for we have seem how leaders in main denominations have wandered into creating false doctrines to meet society’s calling

       The Church has cast aside the Bible and in so doing caused the country to lose itsInfluence, Guidance and moral standards, with the consequence the young people are not able to distinguish between good and bad. Church has become disconnected from the Word of God. With no firm statement of belief, so is unable to fulfil our Lord’s command to teach the Bible.

       Martin Luther wrote, the true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God. This is what the Church should be preaching, but too many people are concerned to follow an equality and diversity agenda, which puts forward childish andsilly remarks. This has become now an obsession.

       Jesus gave strict commands on spiritual, moral. Ethical, and social matters, and all clergy vowed at ordination to honour the words of Scripture and banish false doctrine.

We live in an evil world, and when you read newspapers, it is hard to believe how barbaric humans can be to fellow humans. There is ill concealed lying by politicians .corruption, deceit, cheating and lusting to such an extent that women are at constant peril from all manner of sexual attacks.

       We have to accept that the Church exists primarily to proclaim the gospel. If we restrict that then we have no claim to be here.  Today there are many attacks on Christianity. The liberal lobby have lost all sense of reality with their spurious devotion to a woke agenda.

All Christians, at this perilous time need to think what we can offer to God. Above all, we must not be ashamed of the gospel, nor reluctant to preach it without fear or favour. Come to Church prepared to feast on sound teaching. Do not listen to anyone tell you that you don’t matter or count, you count tremendously.  Glory in what you do for God, He expects us to be His ambassadors.

      

       I close with the words of John Wesley

I want to know one thing, 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 down from heaven. He hath written down in a book. Give me that book. At any price give me the Book of God

 

M a t t h e w  16  v.13/20

In our gospel passage Jesus is with His Apostles at Caesarea Phillippi on the North of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus asked who do people say that I am? They told Him some people say Jhn the Baptist, Jeremiah, Elijah.

Jesus then asked them, who do you say that I am? Peter answered you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus was pleased with the answer and said, You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you , You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bless on earth will be blessed in heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven.

Then He strictly warned the Apostles not to tell anyone that He was the messiah.

Bitter debate has been made regarding the statement of Jesus.  The Roman Catholic Church has always claimed it was meant to be that Peter was the head of the Church and so became the first Pope.  The Protestant Churches have largely taken the view that Jesus meant, He was building the Church on the basis of the answer by Peter. Certainly Peter was not the leader of the Church, for at the Council of Jerusalem as stated in Acts 15,James was the leader.

I think it futile to  prolong theological debate on the matter, suffice to say Peter played an important role in the early Church.

Jesus stated that the gates of hell would not destroy the Church which has been an encouragement to His followers, although many men have tried to destroy the Church, and are still trying in to-day’s world. Whilst the Church in the Western nations has not lived up to the teachings of Jesus, the Churches in East Africa ,India and Pakistan Far East including China, and in South America have all been loyal and committed to the Word of God, despite intolerance from those in non-Christian lands.

Jesus knew the Church would always be attacked, so was assuring His protection. Such words are to be a comfort in knowing the Lord will never desert us. The Church has survived over many hard times and whilst Empires have come and gone, only the Church has survived through the ages.

If the building of Christ’s Church,is to continue the work has to be carried out by His followers, and be built on the foundation Jesus laid, that is the teaching in the New Testament. In every sense of the word, Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Church. The Bible states, No one can lay any other foundation,than what has been laid, that is Jesus Christ. He is also the head of the body, the church, with Himself as the cornerstone

This is important to remember because everything the church is and does should emanate from this truth. Many churches today, have over the years drifted away from their origins,and are no longer recognizable as being founded upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. Let us never forget that we exist to exalt Jesus. Everything we are is about Him.

Whilst the Church in the West is in decline, the Churches in Africa, Asia and South America are flourishing. This is because they have not been dismantling the Bible as many are trying to do here.

The Bible states it is the will of God that those who belong to Jesus must belong to His Church. We may not always worship in the same way, but we should share the same beliefs. We may have disagreements, but they can be resolved with good will; Methodism itself came from such a disagreement.

I do see a problem has arisen in modern times, and I have not been telling people of the importance of attending Church. I would not attend an Anglican or Methodist Church, which upholds the decisions of the leaders to allow services which contravene the teaching of the Word of God.

The alternative course, is to adopt the privilege of modern technology and attend in spirit if not in practice, the solid preaching of the Bible by pastors in the notable services in the United States of America. Obviously personal attendance is the more desirable, but I am confident we are being more faithful in turning to listen to the Word of God by faithful preachers,to that of Apostate ones.

The Bible states we should worship in spirit and in truth. In spirit by coming with a sincere desire to please God—glorify Him- and worship Him with reverence and awe.

In truth,can create problems for some people. Jesus said He would build His Church, but it seems as there are those who are replying and we will pull it down. When a builder constructs a building invariably a covenant is placed on it restricting what may be added or altered. Jesus effectively did so with His Church,when He gave His teaching in the New Testament, giving instruction as to what should and should not be taught and believed. The Bible states, if anyone adds to the words of prophecy in this book God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

The faith and belief of the Church are built on two essential doctrines; salvation by grace through faith, and the authority of Scripture. These may not be important to some, but they are the fundamentals to true and real Christians. Such were the themes of the preaching of Charles and John Wesley. 

Remember the words of John Wesley ‘I want to know one thing; the way to heaven, how to land on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way; He hath written it down in a book. Give me that book; at any price give me that book’. I fear John and Charles would find a lot of preaching these days not to their liking.

Truth is not a DIY subject, God has spoken. Those who dispute His Word do so for their own purposes, often to justify the manner of their living. It is in effect saying, we reject the authority of the Bible and substitute our own authority. God has told us clearly what He expects.

Charles Wesley once stated, ‘the manner of living as well as attending Church was important for a Christian.’ I once held a service to honour Charles Wesley, and the research I made caused me to realise how far we have moved from the ideals of the founders of Methodism, which at one time had such a profound effect on this land.

The doctrine of the church has fallen on hard times these days. Paul warned that people will turn away from truth because it requires admission of human weakness, the restraint of passions and submission to the authority of God. They will look for those who will teach them what they want to hear, who share their preferences and are prepared to re-interpret Scripture accordingly. There seems to be no shortage of such teachers

.We have sacrificed sound doctrine in favour of cultural trends,and the consequences have been disastrous. To many, church membership means little or nothing.

That is why if there was ever a day when Christians need to be certain the doctrine of the church, and to know what the church exists for, it is today. Unless we know what we believe,we will not know who we are and how we should live or why we must live that way
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When I was ordained I had to affirm that Holy Scripture contains all that is necessary for salvation, and the pure Word of God is to be preached. I am sure other denominations have similar requirements. Why in so many cases has it all not been so?

Sadly, there are those who are trying to change the Church’s teaching so as to correspond with contemporary thinking. I heard one Vicar state that she didn’t think the Bible should be taken literally. If a minority cannot accept the teaching and tradition of the Church, they should for the good of the Church family have the grace to sacrifice rather than create division. There are so many living in spiritual darkness that the Church should not be wasting time on personal ambitions and preferences. When we consider the moral state of the country, all our energies should be concentrated on bringing the nation back to God. We have to give faithful witness to the gospel message as it is written.

We all have apart to play in building the Church. This was the message Peter and Paul took up so often; that Christians have a responsibility to maintain the faith. Clearly the major task falls on preachers to teach the true gospel, and instruct on the way lives should be lived in accordance with biblical teaching. But all Christians also have a duty to live worthily of the Lord, and not be ashamed to confess their faith, but to do all they can to promote the Church.

With this in mind, from the loneliness of a prison cell in Rome, Paul wrote his last Letter, sending it to Timothy whom he had chosen to take over ministry from him. No other passage in Scripture describes more accurately, the day in which we live. The overwhelming majority is committed to unbelief, and there seems nothing we can do to stop the downhill slide of our day.

Paul begins, by reminding Timothy that he is ministering in the presence of God and in the sight of Jesus Christ, the One who will be the judge of all and before whom every heart is exposed and before whom we will all stand and give account.

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2 to preach the word. A true church is a church which preaches the word of God, and this means however unpopular it appears; we are here to tell people not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear.

The great Methodist preacher of the last century, W E Sangster once said ‘preaching is in the darkness; the world does not believe it’. Certainly the modern idea is to keep preaching to the minimum and fill in with drama or asking questions. Consequently people come to Church without any expectation of an encounter with God.

People have a right to expect those speaking as Ministers of the Church to preach the Word of God so unbelievers may come to believe and those in doubt may be strengthened. When Ministers substitute personal views for other reasons, they are exceeding their remit.

When you are a true believer it means that you not only agree with the moral and ethical teaching of Scripture, but also that you live out those teachings in your life. It is hypocritical to mouth words and then go and act contrary to what you have condemned.

Each year the Methodist Church holds a Covenant Service in which listening to the Word in scripture, read and preached is specifically mentioned, and during the Covenant promise it is stated, ‘in some we may please Christ and please ourselves; in others we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves.

Many so called churches have become anything but a New Testament church, and no longer fulfil their biblically assigned role. Some have turned into places with a political agenda. Some have become little more than places of entertainment where you go to feel good. A Vicar once actually told me we should make people feel happy and not be boring with doctrine. If people need to be happy all the time they should attend a theatre.

I have seen baptism services held when quite a number of strangers attended, and rather than take the opportunity of speaking about what baptism meant, and our faith, the speaker waffled about personal memories or held a sort of question and answer session.

The preaching of gospel of Jesus Christ is what should be central in our churches. This is what we exist for. Instead we are giving out a confused image and people naturally feel if we can’t get the message straight between ourselves, we are not in a position to preach to them.

We are not here to be like a spiritual dispensary giving out soothing prescriptions, although some of our messages will offer comfort. We are not merely here for us to gather in a sort of holy huddle, although we receive inspiration and encouragement. We are here to spread the gospel and expand the Christ’s Kingdom, and if the Church is to survive in this country, this is a must.

The Church remains on earth to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth, by bearing witness to Christ in all places at all times. You and I are called to advance that work; do not let anyone tell you that your life as a Christian does not count. It counts tremendously. Take pride in being a Christian and never be ashamed to confess your faith.

  N o t i c e

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will  be posted on Google. This means that they can be seen by any person, without being registered as ‘friend’.They will also continue to be posted on Facebook for those now listed as ‘friends’, this will mean present readers may continue without any effect.

I regret that I will not be replying to messages, unless of some important matter  This has become necessary, despite having tried to avoid making a closure.  So many messages sent to me reveal, the sender has failed to realize, or accept, my purpose has been to be only proclaiming the gospel

 

 

                                                                                                                           

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

                         M A T T HE W 15. V 21-28

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The faith of a Gentile woman

Jesus has completed a very hectic ministry in the region of Galilee in the area of Capernaum. He knew He was nearing the end of His earthly ministry, and wanted to rest and teach His Apostles for the future work they would have to do.

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.

 The cities were outside the boundaries of Israel, and the people were largely Gentiles, but there was a Jewish community. 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 to enable the gospel to be taken to the whole world.

I have found that quite a number of people found this story hard to understand, as Jesus appeared to be doing something which seems contrary to the image they have of Him, especially in the way He spoke to the woman.

Today many people are anti-Israel and wish to separate from the Jews, but they 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, and much more.

Never overlook the fact that we worship a Jewish Saviour, born into a Jewish family, and our God is the God Israel. We teach, (or are meant to) from a Holy Book written by 40 men, 39 of whom were Jews, under the divine inspiration of God. Our faith is not man-made, and is recorded in history by witnesses, which negates any justifiable call for joint worship with other faiths.  We respect their right to hold their own beliefs, but they do not acknowledge the divinity of Jesus..

The story revolves around a "Canaanite" woman turning from her idols to seek the help and mercy of Jesus to cure her daughter’s illness.

This is a woman of Canaanite heritage, who were ancestral enemies of Israel, and thereby of Jesus. She has no understanding, or even knowing of 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 as miracle worker in the land of Israel, from those who were now passing through her land, 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 crying out, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed." . 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.

The woman responded that extended blessings were mentioned by Abraham to the promised Gentiles, that God’s plan was to bring salvation to His chosen people Israel, and then to Gentiles. The woman was showing an attitude of humble faith, which allowed Jesus to answer, for God responds to all who call on Him in true faith.

Jesus was testing her faith for it was His way to help all people.  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.

I read once a story about a boy brought up in an Institutional home and was never taught how to read or write, but he did know the letters of the alphabet. One day the local Vicar talked to the children and told them if they prayed to God real hard, He would hear and answer them.  The boy grew up and was given a hard time by his employer. So decided to do what the Vicar had said.

One day a man was passing a hedge when he heard the a voice from behind the hedge saying ABCD, and he saw the boy on his knees.  He asked the boy what he was doing, and the boy replied  that he was praying.  The man said that is not praying, you are just saying letters.  The boy answered that a Vicar told him if he asked God in prayer he would get help, but as he didn’t know how to pray he thought if he just said the letters God would take them and make them into a prayer and give him what he wanted. That was faith for sure.

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 woman in this tory remains unknown, we are not told who she was, but she will remain in history for all time.  We do know she was not Jewish of course, but she went to Jesus desperate, for her daughter’s life was at stake for there was no medical cure. The mother persevered begging for help from Jesus to cast out the devil in the girl.  Another praying mother, which again reveals how God gave women that loveliness that distinguishes and enables them to be such wonderful carers, and a worthy contrast to, and for men.

The Bible has many instances of such answered prayer, but how many mothers today (or fathers) would seek the help of Jesus in the present age?  Parents can give children many goods, but can also give that which fewer parents do give, the teaching about Jesus.

A lot of parents will be worried as they see their sons, and more so daughters, going away from home to Universities and Colleges in other places of learning and who will face much temptation. Young people are so vulnerable at all ages, and young women especially, are seen by many men as being there for the express purpose of fulfilling their lusts.

.This Gospel passage wants us to have faith.  Our hearts can so easily be turned off, and we may feel discouraged. and that speaking to God is a waste of time, especially if we don’t get an immediate response that we expect.

Remember that God is a Father to all His family, and just at times we earthly parents do not give what our family expect ,because we know it is not in their best interest to do so.  God is responding in the same way, foreseeing what lies ahead.

Remember this unknown woman who never gave in, and was rewarded. Resolve to follow her example and trust God in His grace to answer you, even if not in the way you would have liked.

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.

May it be a resolution with us in the case of religion. Our hearts shall be the main thing. Let us not attend to Church and accept false teaching, but go deeper and have a heart in God’s sight.  A heart, touched by the blood of Christ, and   renewed by the Holy Spirit and purified by faith.[1]

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This morning I want to turn to Paul’s Letter to the Romans, in Chapter 10, looking at verses 1 to 15

Paul was specially and uniquely called by God to be an Apostle to the Gentiles, but he never forgot his own Jewish people. This Letter was directed to the Jews who were carrying a mistaken belief, but its teaching is equally applicable to us, as all Paul’s Letters are.

Paul’s greatest desire was to make people Christians, a noble cause and one we could wish all preachers to-day to adopt. He was concerned the Jews were being misled, to follow the wrong way to salvation, which can only be achieved by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord.

The Jews believed that all that was necessary for salvation was to keep the Ten Commandments, but no one can keep the Commandments for it is like a chain, if you break one link it all falls apart, and the Bible states if you break one you break the lot, and we have all, without exception broken at least one. Therefore one cannot be saved by the Commandments.

The word ‘saved’ does cause an emotional response with a lot of people, as it conjures up an image of being approached by a Charismatic Christian asking are you saved brother (sister).I read of a man sitting in a theatre when someone came up and asked if the vacant seat next to him was saved, and he wittingly answered, ‘no, but I am’, at which the person moved away quickly.

God sent Jesus to supplant the Law and make it possible for all people to be saved, if they accepted Christ as having died on the Cross to obtain forgiveness for the sins they committed.

Coming to the heart of this passage, verse 9 states, ‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved’.

Confession that Jesus is Lord, and singing the hymn, is not an intellectual title or a casual statement, it means much more. You have to believe fully in your heart this is so, and have no doubt that God raised Him physically from the dead; that is the heart of the Christian message. So when you do believe, and are prepared to confess with your mouth, God accepts you as righteous. We are in fact at the doctrine of justification by faith.

The Bible states, ‘by grace you have been saved through faith, it is not your own doing, it is the gift of God and not by your own works.’

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. Imagine what heaven would be like if we had to earn our way there. People would be trying to outbid each other and probably boasting how important they had been in the world.

When I was being inducted the Rural Dean who was a real traditional English gentleman (and there’s not many of us about !), introduced me to a man and mentioned some of the positions he had held in his Church, and the man was really indignant because some obscure committee was omitted. There really are people who join the Church for egotistic reasons. Heaven would be just like that if you had to earn your way there. But it won’t be like that, when Jesus died on the cross, he paid the full price for your salvation. God alone gets the glory in your salvation. Jesus did all the work when he died on the cross.

A lot of people think like the Jews. I have been told countless times all one has to do is to be good, not to steal or be dishonest and not harm anybody, and you will go to heaven; no need to go to Church, sing hymns and read the Bible. They will learn to regret this belief.

I have been watching a series on television in which a young police constable is partnered on duty by an attractive young police woman who is fond of him, but he does not respond. His Sergeant tells him he should make a decision and respond, as one day he will regret not doing so; and then says the two saddest words in the English language are, if only.. There are so many people who will one day appear before the Lord and say, ‘if only’.

Jesus himself warned that on the Day of Judgment many will claim to have been His followers, but He will say to them, ‘depart from me. I never knew you.’ Millions have not the slightest idea of what it really meant to be a Christian.

People have been attending church for years, listening to the Bible being read, singing praise to the Lord, and have been very religious, yet have never come to the time when they have acknowledged Jesus as Lord, yet the Bible calls on us to do so.

We have admit to the fundamental fact that we live in an evil world and we all become tainted and lost, but by the grace of God He gives us an opportunity to come to Christ and be sav. The majority of people do not consider they need saving as they think their lives are already safe. The thought they are sinners is mortally wounding, as one Vicar discovered when he put a notice outside his church saying this Church is here for sinners; half his congregation were absent the next week. Sin is not just murder, theft and immorality; it includes pride, jealousy, envy, anger and hatred.

Verse 11 states that all who believe in Jesus will not be put to shame, but there are too many Christians who are ashamed to admit they follow Jesus.
Verse 12 reminds us that God has no favourites, and will accept all who call on Jesus.

There follows three questions all inter related. How can they call on someone they do not believe in; and how can one believe if they have never heard of Jesus; how can they hear unless someone tells them of Jesus.

These questions need to be taken seriously by the Church, for the fact that so many people just do not understand the Christian faith is really an indictment on us.

A question often asked is what about those who have never heard of Jesus. If someone is in such a remote place where the Bible has not been taught, they will be judged by how they responded to their conscience, for everyone has a sense of what is right and what is wrong. However, if it is a case of just not bothering to listen or find out, then the responsibility will be on the

Behind the message, of course, is the messenger. The message has to be communicated and the way that God chooses is through the preaching of the Word and the praying of Christians, the yearning of their hearts over those who are not yet saved.

People are touched by God by various means, perhaps through a poster, a friend, an occurrence in one’s life, but the principal way is through the preaching of the Bible.

This I believe is where we are failing badly, right across the Church. The Bible calls on us to preach the Word; in other words the Scriptures, with sound doctrine, not adding, subtracting or amending what God caused His writers to state in the Bible.

We in the Churches must make a greater effort to concentrate on the fundamentals of the faith. There is too much a willingness to amend Bible teaching to be popular, avoid being called narrow minded or bigoted, or ally with society’s standards and beliefs; and take every opportunity of doing so.

On Easter Sunday one year, a service was held in one of our great Cathedrals, offering a wonderful opportunity of getting the message out, but instead there was a sermon which completely wasted the chance by an address on social issues.

Regularly Church leaders are eager to write to the press on a variety of matters social and political. A Bishop wrote asking for everybody to fast one day of the week in prayer for climate change; this at a time when the Church attendances are falling.

As people have a cause to believe in with an eternal future at issue, one might have thought that would have been a prime issue for him to concentrate his mind on.

There is however a marked reluctance to speak out on moral and ethical matters when the Church should be giving a lead to the country.

The Bible states that it is God who adds to the number of people attending a Church. In the book of Acts, He did so because the people were devoted to the teaching of the Apostles. Therefore, if we seek to have God add to the Church today, we should be sure that all preaching and teaching will be that given by the Apostles and left for our learning in the New Testament.

The glory of Christianity is that it has a message that is grounded in history. It is objective truth, not just something that someone has made up. . It is not some feeling that you are following that you hope will work out; it is the story of historic events. One of these events is the coming of Jesus as a baby in the manger of Bethlehem, the coming of the wise men from the east and the uproar and unrest that it caused in the kingdom of Judea, beginning with Herod the king himself. That is all part of history.

Then there was the resurrection and the events that followed in the church. These are all historic events -- objective truth. The great thing of the Christian faith is not that we are presenting some philosophy, but a faith that is grounded in events that cannot be explained away. That is our message.

There is an urgent need for such message to be preached without fear or favour, but I have been at Churches barely mentioning the basic facts of our faith. We have to be as forthright and determined to preach our faith as we see the preachers of Islam doing so in respect of their faith. You will never hear a Muslim cleric challenging anything in their Holy book.

In the absence of any person at national level with the charisma to inspire, each local Church has to be its own evangelist, and I pray that your Church will be an inspiration in the days to come

 

 

A C T S 3

We have moved forward to Chapter 3 in the study of the book Acts of the Apostles, which is in fact a  study of the first Christian Church. The birth of the Church was Peter’s stirring sermon at Pentecost, which resulted in three thousand people committing themselves to follow Jesus. In Chapter 2, Jesus had Ascended to heaven, and the Holy Spirit poured out on the Apostles who were gathered together. They were then committed to go into the world and make disciples by preaching the gospel, and given powers to heal.

   

The Jewish day began at 6-0a.m and ended at 6.op.m. the third hour was therefore 9-0am; the sixth was noon; and the ninth was 3-pm. For the devout Jew, there were three special hours for prayer, 9-12-3.  The Apostles had been trained to observe those hours, and kept on doing so. Peter and John went to observe it despite having a new faith, feeling it was necessary not to stop the custom they had followed, to avoid breaking Jewish law.                                     

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Peter and John were close friends and daily went to the Temple to pray, which was crowded by other Christians. They saw the beggar seated at the Temple gate, who took position there as people going to worship would give coins to indicate they had charitable minds, and the Pharisees would likely give shekels to him.

 

Places of worship still have beggars outside and inside. I recall watching an elderly looking woman wrapped in a black worn out shawl on a stool outside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, receiving gifts as people waited to enter the Cathedral. I watched until the people had entered, and saw her stumble along the road to a side street, where she quickly jumped into a waiting Mercedes, casting the shawl away to reveal a woman well dressed .

 

Peter and John saw a  man who  had in fact been lame from birth,  the man was forty years of age, so had been that way for a long time. 

Peter and John stared at the man, and having walked to the Temple, must have seen other beggars  on the way, but they went to the man and told him to look at them; he probably thought he was going to get some money, but he got much more than he thought, he would get a miracle. Peter told the man he had no silver or gold, but in the name of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, get up and walk. He may not have known Jesus, but would have heard about him dying on the Cross.

 

Peter told him, what I have I give you, and the man trusted Peter. We saw how God’s sovereignty operates. The man did not understand, but God had begun a miracle. It was in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Get up and walk. Peter was using the authority given to him by Jesus. The man did as he was told and immediately walked away.

 

The miracles of God are always instant.  This story tells us, when we pray asking for something, we say in the name of Jesus. The joy of this man was he stood up, and leaping up walked away praising God.  Forty years lame, then jumping  about. God bestows joy on us, Jesus said, my joy I give unto you.

 

This was so evident in the successful Crusades of Billy Graham, joyful singing of joyful songs, before hearing the praise of God in words. The days of organ music in anthems and canticles, sung slowly in serious voices, should be reserved for solemn occasions, not for Christian praise.

I once attended a service in an evangelical Church in London one Sunday evening. There was time before the service began, and I saw something I had not seen before. The large congregation was full of noise as they greeted one another, some calling down  from the balcony to friends below. This would have caused an outrage in suburban churches, but there in that London Church they approached worship with reverence and awe.

 

The purpose was to greet and welcome each other, and if a person was downhearted by some problem, the fellowship was there to inspire them and make them feel worthy to go into meeting the Lord.   

 

We are brought to think of miracles by this chapter, such did happen. The enemies of Christianity deny such miracles did take place, but they showed the power of the Christian message, and in those Bible days,. people witnessed them seeing the results.  Much of what happens in medical terms, and in the wonders of modern technology, can be deemed to be the modern equivalent of miracles. An irony is that much of what we have the benefit of, is the product of Israel inventions, the chosen people of God, who has revealed the knowledge to men, and they are still making what looks to us miraculous, yet are taken by many people without further thought.

 

The chapter gives notes of early Christian preaching, where they spoke of the Crucifixion which they saw as a crime.as they were horrified that Jesus gave his life as a ransom for committed sins; even the Roman governor stated it should never have happened. The preachers could ask people to look what sin does, and would speak of the vindication by the Resurrection.

It is therefore extremely frustrating to hear from within the Church, rejection of a physical resurrection, and it does happen. A Minister of the Church criticised me for not stating an alternative suggestion. There is no Christianity if the resurrection story was not true, and the Church would have collapsed. The resurrection gives proof of God showing Jeus is Lord over life and death.

 

Verses 17-  26 contain all the notes of those early preaching days. There is a note of mercy combined with warning. The Jews have been bitterly spoken of as being responsible for the Crucifixion, but on deeper reflection, this has been corrected. We have the privilege of knowing he full light by the revelation of God. Peter insisted that all that happened had been foretold.  The Jews however cold not accept that the chosen One of God had to suffer, and Peter pointed out the Scriptures were studied they would see the prophecies.

 

Peter expected the Jews to  see the National privilege, and the fact that they were God’s chosen people, which demands a special duty to do not what they were inclined to do, but do what God likes. They were bound to ack knowledge they should show special service.

Peter healed a lame man at the Temple gate which showed the evidence of Apostolic gifts and attracted a big crowd to hear his sermon. His healing in the name of Jesus showed .his power and presence,  the sermon was within the Temple precincts.  The second sermon he gave led to so many turning to repent, believe, and be baptized was also within the precincts, and causing Jews to repent of their rejection of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. He emphasised the truth of the death of Jesus and his resurrection, which is a continued theme through the book of Acts.

 

 

 

N       o t I c e

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I regret that I will not be replying to messages, unless of some important matter  This has become necessary, despite having tried to avoid making a closure.  So many messages sent to me reveal, the sender has failed to realize, or accept, my purpose has been to be only proclaiming the gospel..

 

N       o t I c e

With effect from Thursday 10  August all sermons marked

        www.ericroyden.com

will  be posted on Google. This means that they can be seen by any person, without being registered as ‘friend’.

They will also continue to be posted on Facebook for those now listed as ‘friends’, this will mean present readers may continue without any effect.

 

I regret that I will not be replying to messages, unless of some important matter  This has become necessary, despite having tried to avoid making a closure.  So many messages sent to me reveal, the sender has failed to realize, or accept, my purpose has been to be only proclaiming the gospel..

 

N       o t I c e

With effect from Thursday 10  August all sermons marked

        www.ericroyden.com

will  be posted on Google. This means that they can be seen by any person, without being registered as ‘friend’.

They will also continue to be posted on Facebook for those now listed as ‘friends’, this will mean present readers may continue without any effect.

 

I regret that I will not be replying to messages, unless of some important matter  This has become necessary, despite having tried to avoid making a closure.  So many messages sent to me reveal, the sender has failed to realize, or accept, my purpose has been to be only proclaiming the gospel..