It is tempting isn't it - to bite back - to retaliate -to get back at someone who has injured us?
Jesus says things like, "Turn the other cheek"; "go the extra mile"; "give him your cloak as well"
Paul says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)
It is hard but let's try.
Have a good day,
Peter Clark
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Religious Duties!
What religious duties are we to perform? There have been many, who down through the years have performed all sorts of rituals.
Paul writes to the Christians who lived in Rome and told them....
"...... Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1)
If we are worshipping "in Spirit and in truth" we will be living for God.
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
Paul writes to the Christians who lived in Rome and told them....
"...... Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1)
If we are worshipping "in Spirit and in truth" we will be living for God.
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
Friday, July 29, 2011
A Doxology.
Romans 11:33-36
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Key To Entering The Kingdom!
What is the key? It is simple really - Romans 11:23
"And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again."
TFTD: Do not persist in unbelief.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
"And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again."
TFTD: Do not persist in unbelief.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Good, But Not Good Enough!
In 1 Chronicles 5, verses 24 & 25 there is a description of the leaders of the tribe of Manasseh....
....."They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers...."
It is not so important being brave or rich or famous.....what God looks for in us is FAITHFULNESS.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
....."They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers...."
It is not so important being brave or rich or famous.....what God looks for in us is FAITHFULNESS.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Too Much Blessing To Have In One Sitting!
I sat down with my 365 Day Bible this morning and feasted on the delights from God.
Where do I start? Romans 4 and verse 9:
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." That is clear enough isn't it? There is no such thing as a "private faith". Our "faith" needs to be spoken of. This is called "witnessing to others".
Verse 13 " Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." It is interesting that this verse is set in the context of God who "foreknew"(11:2) those who would respond, and those who are the "elect"(11:7). Everyone is given an opportunity to respond. God is completely and utterly fair to the "n'th degree!
Verse 14 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" I find myself being confirmed in my role as a preacher and teacher of God's Word.
Chapter 11 and verse 5: "So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace."There are two things here. First. this leaves no place for good works - they count for nothing!. Secondly, there is now and always has been, a remnant - a small band of leftovers, insignificant to the world, but highly prized by God.
Lastly, a word from Proverbs hit me like a ton of bricks (18:11) "The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall." Isn't that a good image. Don't we think that if we are rich, and have lots of money, that nothing will ever touch us? What a mistake!
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
Where do I start? Romans 4 and verse 9:
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." That is clear enough isn't it? There is no such thing as a "private faith". Our "faith" needs to be spoken of. This is called "witnessing to others".
Verse 13 " Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." It is interesting that this verse is set in the context of God who "foreknew"(11:2) those who would respond, and those who are the "elect"(11:7). Everyone is given an opportunity to respond. God is completely and utterly fair to the "n'th degree!
Verse 14 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" I find myself being confirmed in my role as a preacher and teacher of God's Word.
Chapter 11 and verse 5: "So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace."There are two things here. First. this leaves no place for good works - they count for nothing!. Secondly, there is now and always has been, a remnant - a small band of leftovers, insignificant to the world, but highly prized by God.
Lastly, a word from Proverbs hit me like a ton of bricks (18:11) "The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall." Isn't that a good image. Don't we think that if we are rich, and have lots of money, that nothing will ever touch us? What a mistake!
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sermon Preached on 24th July 2011 Matthew 13:31-33; 44-58
What is heaven like?
The apostle John, near the end of his life, saw a vision of something that he called "The holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God."
He described that vision in the book of Revelation.
John’s vision gives us some of the popular images of heaven –– pearly gates and streets of gold (Revelation 21:21).
Did John really see gates carved from huge pearls––or streets paved with gold?
Maybe he did.
But more likely he was trying to describe the indescribable.
Stop and think about that for a moment.
How would you describe the color “blue” to a blind person.
That would be pretty hard, wouldn't it!
You could say that blue is a "cool" color and red is a "hot" color, but that wouldn't mean much to a person who had never seen either color.
You could say that the oceans are blue and that fire is red, but that wouldn't mean much either.
Trying to describe heaven to someone who had never seen it is just as difficult.
John probably wrote about gates carved from pearls and streets paved with gold because we know what a pearl looks like –– we know what gold looks like.
But maybe John saw things so different and so wonderful that he had no words to describe them!
Maybe he just talked about pearly gates and streets of gold because those were the best words that he had.
This morning we are looking at some snapshots of the kingdom of Heaven from Matthew 13:
• "The kingdom of heaven is like a MUSTARD SEED." (v.31,32)
• Or YEAST.(v.33)
• Or like A TREASURE hidden in a field.
• Or A MERCHANT in search of fine pearls.
• Or like A NET that was thrown into the sea.
These images/parables are describing the Kingdom of Heaven, There are three great lessons for us to take away this morning.
The FIRST lesson for us comes from the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of Yeast
31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
This is the FIRST great lesson I want us to take away today:
that the kingdom of heaven might seem tiny –– of no consequence
and even start off like that –– but really, it has great power.
The mustard seed is a tiny seed,
but it has the potential to grow into a tree
a tree large enough that "birds of the air come and make nests in its branches" (v. 32).
In the same way, a thimble-full of yeast has the power to transform a lump of dough into something light and airy.
A really small amount of yeast has the power to leaven a whole loaf of bread.
Jesus' point was that the kingdom of heaven might not seem like much at first glance –– but keep your eye on it.
Like an iceberg, the part of the kingdom that you see is just the tip sticking out of the water.
Most of it lies out of sight, beneath the surface.
That is good news for us.
St Mary’s might not seem like much when measured by the world's standards,
Or compared it to other churches around the place,
We don't have lots of money.
We have plenty of empty seats.
We aren't likely to make the front page of the paper.
Or the evening news
But watch out!
When it comes to churches…
What you see is not what you get!
There are things that happen beneath the surface –– things we cannot see,
Even here at St Mary’s God is at work,
God has the power to transform our ordinary church
And our ordinary lives,
into something special.
That is why we have as our motto “Christ, Transforming Lives”.
That is what He does!
We come here week by week to worship and praise God,
To hear His Word read and explained.
Every week we have another opportunity to experience God's grace.
Every week, we grow a little bit in the fellowship that we have with each other –– and with God.
Every week, God directs our pathway a little more clearly.
When I was younger they used to put Porsche engines in Volkswagen Beetles.
They would pull up beside you at a stoplight and rev their engines and challenge you to race off the lights.
What you saw in that Volkswagen bug was definitely not what you got.
Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like that.
The church is like that.
We, as Jesus' disciples are like that.
We might not look like anything special, but
What you see is definitely not what you get.
We are like a tiny mustard seed, but we are destined to become a great tree.
We are like a teaspoon of yeast.
Over time, by the grace of God, we will leaven our community and our world.
We might seem of no consequence
But that is not true – As Christians and as a church -we have been given great power.
Then Jesus says, "the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field" or a merchant who finds a great pearl.
The person who found a treasure hidden in a field sold everything so he would be able to buy that field.
Jesus said that he did so "in his joy."
Nobody had to persuade him to buy that field.
Nobody had to sell him on the idea.
Once he learned that there was buried treasure there,
a team of horses could not have held him back.
He wanted that field more than anything in the world.
He joyfully sold everything he owned to get the money to buy that field
Wouldn't you like to discover buried treasure!
If you found buried treasure on someone’s land,
wouldn't you want to buy that land!
And buy it joyfully!
In his parable, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like that. On the surface, it looks ordinary, but there is treasure buried there.
Here is the SECOND great lesson for today:
Once we learn of that treasure, we will happily sacrifice everything we own to possess it.
And once you have it – do you appreciate what you have?
Do you appreciate the new life that you have in Christ?
Then Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like "a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when (the net) was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good (fish) into baskets but threw out the bad (fish)" (vv. 47-48).
There were lots of fishermen in Jesus' day,
so people had seen fishermen sorting through their catch of the day,
keeping the good fish and throwing out the bad.
Fishermen today can identify with that as well.
The law requires that we throw back the small fish.
Fishermen also throw back fish that are not good to eat.
It’s a hard thing for me to say, but,
Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven will be like that.
At the "end of the age," the angels will sort out those who are righteous from those who are evil,
and will throw those who are evil into the fiery furnace.
This is a promise that, at the "end of the age," there will be a reckoning.
The factor that will differentiate men from other men,
Women from other women,
Children from children,
Is their relationship to Christ.
This is why I keep saying that people need make a commitment to Christ.
He calls on us to repent and believe the good news,
that He is the saviour of the world.
That is why it is not good enough to be just a church attender.
We need to be a church attender who has committed our life to Christ.
The Apostle Paul tells us that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23).
We don't really need Paul to tell us that –– we already know it.
Paul goes on to say that we
"are now justified by (God's) grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24).
For those of us who have accepted Christ as their Lord,
when "the end of the age" comes,
we will have a clean slate.
As far as the angels are concerned,
we will look as pure as the driven snow.
We will be among the righteous who are ushered straight into the kingdom –– because Jesus has saved us.
That is the THIRD great lesson for us to take away today:
At the end of the age, there will be a sorting out,
We will be treated by God the way we have treated Him through our life,
If we have spent our life ignoring him, begging Him to be out of our lives,
Then He gives us what we desire.
If we have spent our lives submitting to Him, loving Him, including Him,
Then He will treat us in the same way.
To conclude, Could I please repeat those three great lessons from today,
(1) that the kingdom of heaven might seem tiny –– of no consequence,
but really, it has great power.
(2) Once we learn of what it means to have an eternity with God,
we will happily sacrifice everything we own to possess it.
And once we do have it – do we appreciate what we have?
Do you really, seriously and honestly appreciate the new life that you have been given?
(3) at the end of the age, there will be a sorting out,
Which is based on whether or not,
We have submitted our life to Christ.
What is the Kingdom of Heaven like?
I can tell you this,
(1) It is far better to be in it – than out of it!
(2) What is there to loose? Nothing
(3) What have got to gain? Everything.
The apostle John, near the end of his life, saw a vision of something that he called "The holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God."
He described that vision in the book of Revelation.
John’s vision gives us some of the popular images of heaven –– pearly gates and streets of gold (Revelation 21:21).
Did John really see gates carved from huge pearls––or streets paved with gold?
Maybe he did.
But more likely he was trying to describe the indescribable.
Stop and think about that for a moment.
How would you describe the color “blue” to a blind person.
That would be pretty hard, wouldn't it!
You could say that blue is a "cool" color and red is a "hot" color, but that wouldn't mean much to a person who had never seen either color.
You could say that the oceans are blue and that fire is red, but that wouldn't mean much either.
Trying to describe heaven to someone who had never seen it is just as difficult.
John probably wrote about gates carved from pearls and streets paved with gold because we know what a pearl looks like –– we know what gold looks like.
But maybe John saw things so different and so wonderful that he had no words to describe them!
Maybe he just talked about pearly gates and streets of gold because those were the best words that he had.
This morning we are looking at some snapshots of the kingdom of Heaven from Matthew 13:
• "The kingdom of heaven is like a MUSTARD SEED." (v.31,32)
• Or YEAST.(v.33)
• Or like A TREASURE hidden in a field.
• Or A MERCHANT in search of fine pearls.
• Or like A NET that was thrown into the sea.
These images/parables are describing the Kingdom of Heaven, There are three great lessons for us to take away this morning.
The FIRST lesson for us comes from the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of Yeast
31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
This is the FIRST great lesson I want us to take away today:
that the kingdom of heaven might seem tiny –– of no consequence
and even start off like that –– but really, it has great power.
The mustard seed is a tiny seed,
but it has the potential to grow into a tree
a tree large enough that "birds of the air come and make nests in its branches" (v. 32).
In the same way, a thimble-full of yeast has the power to transform a lump of dough into something light and airy.
A really small amount of yeast has the power to leaven a whole loaf of bread.
Jesus' point was that the kingdom of heaven might not seem like much at first glance –– but keep your eye on it.
Like an iceberg, the part of the kingdom that you see is just the tip sticking out of the water.
Most of it lies out of sight, beneath the surface.
That is good news for us.
St Mary’s might not seem like much when measured by the world's standards,
Or compared it to other churches around the place,
We don't have lots of money.
We have plenty of empty seats.
We aren't likely to make the front page of the paper.
Or the evening news
But watch out!
When it comes to churches…
What you see is not what you get!
There are things that happen beneath the surface –– things we cannot see,
Even here at St Mary’s God is at work,
God has the power to transform our ordinary church
And our ordinary lives,
into something special.
That is why we have as our motto “Christ, Transforming Lives”.
That is what He does!
We come here week by week to worship and praise God,
To hear His Word read and explained.
Every week we have another opportunity to experience God's grace.
Every week, we grow a little bit in the fellowship that we have with each other –– and with God.
Every week, God directs our pathway a little more clearly.
When I was younger they used to put Porsche engines in Volkswagen Beetles.
They would pull up beside you at a stoplight and rev their engines and challenge you to race off the lights.
What you saw in that Volkswagen bug was definitely not what you got.
Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like that.
The church is like that.
We, as Jesus' disciples are like that.
We might not look like anything special, but
What you see is definitely not what you get.
We are like a tiny mustard seed, but we are destined to become a great tree.
We are like a teaspoon of yeast.
Over time, by the grace of God, we will leaven our community and our world.
We might seem of no consequence
But that is not true – As Christians and as a church -we have been given great power.
Then Jesus says, "the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field" or a merchant who finds a great pearl.
The person who found a treasure hidden in a field sold everything so he would be able to buy that field.
Jesus said that he did so "in his joy."
Nobody had to persuade him to buy that field.
Nobody had to sell him on the idea.
Once he learned that there was buried treasure there,
a team of horses could not have held him back.
He wanted that field more than anything in the world.
He joyfully sold everything he owned to get the money to buy that field
Wouldn't you like to discover buried treasure!
If you found buried treasure on someone’s land,
wouldn't you want to buy that land!
And buy it joyfully!
In his parable, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like that. On the surface, it looks ordinary, but there is treasure buried there.
Here is the SECOND great lesson for today:
Once we learn of that treasure, we will happily sacrifice everything we own to possess it.
And once you have it – do you appreciate what you have?
Do you appreciate the new life that you have in Christ?
Then Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like "a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when (the net) was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good (fish) into baskets but threw out the bad (fish)" (vv. 47-48).
There were lots of fishermen in Jesus' day,
so people had seen fishermen sorting through their catch of the day,
keeping the good fish and throwing out the bad.
Fishermen today can identify with that as well.
The law requires that we throw back the small fish.
Fishermen also throw back fish that are not good to eat.
It’s a hard thing for me to say, but,
Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven will be like that.
At the "end of the age," the angels will sort out those who are righteous from those who are evil,
and will throw those who are evil into the fiery furnace.
This is a promise that, at the "end of the age," there will be a reckoning.
The factor that will differentiate men from other men,
Women from other women,
Children from children,
Is their relationship to Christ.
This is why I keep saying that people need make a commitment to Christ.
He calls on us to repent and believe the good news,
that He is the saviour of the world.
That is why it is not good enough to be just a church attender.
We need to be a church attender who has committed our life to Christ.
The Apostle Paul tells us that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23).
We don't really need Paul to tell us that –– we already know it.
Paul goes on to say that we
"are now justified by (God's) grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24).
For those of us who have accepted Christ as their Lord,
when "the end of the age" comes,
we will have a clean slate.
As far as the angels are concerned,
we will look as pure as the driven snow.
We will be among the righteous who are ushered straight into the kingdom –– because Jesus has saved us.
That is the THIRD great lesson for us to take away today:
At the end of the age, there will be a sorting out,
We will be treated by God the way we have treated Him through our life,
If we have spent our life ignoring him, begging Him to be out of our lives,
Then He gives us what we desire.
If we have spent our lives submitting to Him, loving Him, including Him,
Then He will treat us in the same way.
To conclude, Could I please repeat those three great lessons from today,
(1) that the kingdom of heaven might seem tiny –– of no consequence,
but really, it has great power.
(2) Once we learn of what it means to have an eternity with God,
we will happily sacrifice everything we own to possess it.
And once we do have it – do we appreciate what we have?
Do you really, seriously and honestly appreciate the new life that you have been given?
(3) at the end of the age, there will be a sorting out,
Which is based on whether or not,
We have submitted our life to Christ.
What is the Kingdom of Heaven like?
I can tell you this,
(1) It is far better to be in it – than out of it!
(2) What is there to loose? Nothing
(3) What have got to gain? Everything.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wisdom From The Diary!
The other day there was some very great wisdom from my daily turn over diary...
"In a full heart there is room for everything, and in an empty heart there is room for nothing" (Antonio Porchia)
In a heart filled with the love and knowledge of God there is a great capacity for compassion ad service.....in a heart without the love and knowledge of God, there is room only for self.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
"In a full heart there is room for everything, and in an empty heart there is room for nothing" (Antonio Porchia)
In a heart filled with the love and knowledge of God there is a great capacity for compassion ad service.....in a heart without the love and knowledge of God, there is room only for self.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The Great Promise And Hope!
Romans 8
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Isn't this a great thought for the day,
Peter Clark.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Isn't this a great thought for the day,
Peter Clark.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Description Of The Western World!
On Q & A the other night the panel consisted of a mixture of people including atheists and Professsor John Lennox, Christian Apologist. He was brilliant.
The debate was measured, but the comments displayed on the screen from viewers (through Twitter) were angry and caustic.
It makes me wonder: if God is not there, and He has no place in their lives, and Christian people are so irrelevant, then why do people get so upset?
I was reminded of this verse in Hosea.
Hosea 4:1 "....There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land...."
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
The debate was measured, but the comments displayed on the screen from viewers (through Twitter) were angry and caustic.
It makes me wonder: if God is not there, and He has no place in their lives, and Christian people are so irrelevant, then why do people get so upset?
I was reminded of this verse in Hosea.
Hosea 4:1 "....There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land...."
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sin Has No Power Over Us!
Romans Chapter 6
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
If we have committed our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, does that mean, being not under law but under grace that we can just sin away?
Some might think so....but the answer is a resounding "NO"
When we were unbelievers, we were under the law- and that law condemns us.
When we repented and turned back to God we came under the grace of God.
Under the law, sin was our master.
But now that we are "in Christ" He is our Master, and He gives us the power to do good rather than evil.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
If we have committed our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, does that mean, being not under law but under grace that we can just sin away?
Some might think so....but the answer is a resounding "NO"
When we were unbelievers, we were under the law- and that law condemns us.
When we repented and turned back to God we came under the grace of God.
Under the law, sin was our master.
But now that we are "in Christ" He is our Master, and He gives us the power to do good rather than evil.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
"I Am Not Your God"
I can't help but think of the arrogance of our Prime Minister, Miss Gillard in declaring that she is an atheist.
She (and others) seem to think they are so smart in making that declaration.
But there will come a time, when they are eyeball to eyeball with God and that statement will be just a nonsense.
God will be declaring to them "I am not your God"(Hosea 1:9)......go from me......have the eternity that you have chosen!
Let not that be us, and hopefully not those whom we know.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
She (and others) seem to think they are so smart in making that declaration.
But there will come a time, when they are eyeball to eyeball with God and that statement will be just a nonsense.
God will be declaring to them "I am not your God"(Hosea 1:9)......go from me......have the eternity that you have chosen!
Let not that be us, and hopefully not those whom we know.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
What Are You Waiting For?
We seem to all be waiting for something. What are you waiting for?
In Psalm 130 we read of the Psalmist who is waiting - see verses 5 & 6.
"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My should waits for the LORD more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."
If we are waiting on the LORD, we have an expectation and a hope that He is going to act.
If we have an expectation and a hope that the LORD is going to act, we will have been praying about it.
Yes?
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
In Psalm 130 we read of the Psalmist who is waiting - see verses 5 & 6.
"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My should waits for the LORD more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."
If we are waiting on the LORD, we have an expectation and a hope that He is going to act.
If we have an expectation and a hope that the LORD is going to act, we will have been praying about it.
Yes?
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sermon Preached on 17th July, 2011 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Our Gospel lesson today, the Parable of the Weeds, comes from the Gospel of Matthew.
Last week we looked at the Parable of the Sower,
Or more accurately, the Parable of the Soils,
We saw how Satan works his mischief,
He tries to snatch the Word of God from people’s hearts.
If he fails at that,
He has other strategies.
We are going to look at one today,
He plants false Christians in the world
Today, Jesus gives us a picture of God’s Kingdom in the world, (v.38)
And the wheat and weeds grow up together.
You can’t tell the difference.
They look the same.
It is hard to tell the difference between true believers and false believers.
Dr. Harry Ironside was a famous preacher from years ago.
His father died when he was two.
He had a hard life.
When he was fourteen years old, he got a job helping a shoemaker.
His job was to take leather that had soaked all night in a tub of water and beat the water out of it,
He would do that on an iron anvil, using a wooden mallet.
Beating the wet leather softened and toughened it.
There was another shoemaker down the street.
Harry learned that the other shoemaker soaked the leather,
but didn't bother beating the water out of it.
When Harry asked him about it,
the man winked at him and said, "Ah, they come back all the quicker this way."
Harry went back to his employer and told him all that,
and asked why they had to beat the water out of the leather.
The man stopped his work and sat down. He said:
"You know, son, I expect to see every pair of shoes I've ever made
in a big pile at the judgment seat of Christ.
And I expect the Lord to take those shoes
and go through every one,
and examine the work I did.
And then I expect, I imagine oftentimes,
he'll take one and he'll look at me
and say, 'Dan, that's not up to par.
You didn't do a very good job there.'
But others, he'll encourage me by saying,
'Dan, that was a splendid job.'
You know, when I make shoes, I keep remembering that.
And I want to make shoes - so that every shoe I make
will pass the judgment of the Lord –
at the judgment seat of Christ."
The point is:
The shoes made by each shoe maker will look the same,
But in the end they will be very different,
You have good shoes and bad shoes
In time you will be able to tell which shoes are which.
Wheat and weeds!
You have to wait – to see which is which.
The farmer is to let the wheat and the weeds grow together,
The weeds will be dealt with in the harvest.
There are 2 keys to understanding this parable:
(1)Where do the seeds for the wheat and weeds come from?
(2)Fruit that they show
Where did the seeds for the weeds come from?
In this parable, Jesus tells about an enemy who sows weeds among his neighbor's wheat.
In the explanation, Jesus says that the weeds are sons of the evil one
And that the enemy who sowed the weeds in the crop was the devil.
The weeds were darnel, which look like wheat when it is growing.
It's impossible to separate darnel from wheat while it's growing.
The farmer had to wait until the harvest.
Only then could they be separated.
You might ask why anyone would play such a dirty trick on his neighbor, but there are people like that.
There are people like that – people who are not happy unless they are spoiling and destroying.
So the workers came to the master asking what to do.
Should they pull the weeds? The master said:
"No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.
Let both of them grow together until the harvest;
and at harvest time I will tell the reapers,
Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned,
but gather the wheat into my barn" (vv. 29-30).
The roots of the weeds and the wheat,
Would be all intertwined.
Pull up the weeds and you would pull up the wheat also.
We do not judge who ARE and who are NOT God’s Kingdom,
God will sort that out in the harvest.
He said:
"Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so it will be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
and they will throw them into the furnace of fire,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Let anyone with ears listen" (vv. 41-43).
The message for us is that we should not be too quick when it comes to making judgments.
God sees things more clearly than we do,
God will be responsible in the end for sorting out the bad from the good.
The message for us is that we could do more harm than good if we interfere in God’s work.
Leave it to God.
I found a little poem by Charles Hembree that speaks to the problem of judging other people.
It is called "I Dreamed of Heaven." It goes like this:
I dreamed death came the other night:
And heaven's gate swung wide.
With kindly grace an angel
ushered me inside.
And there, to my astonishment,
Stood folks I'd known on earth.
Some I'd judged and labeled
Unfit or of little worth.
Indignant words rose to my lips,
But never were set free;
For every face showed stunned surprise.
No one expected me!
How do we identify if people are Christian people?
How are we identified as a Christian person?
Would people be surprised to see us in heaven?
Or NOT to see us?
Jesus declared that we will know God’s people by the fruit that their life displays,
He also said that we are to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8)
And that a “healthy tree bears fruit” (Matthew 7:17)
And that the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5)
Well, are you a wheat or a weed?
Are you wondering about that?
What is your source?
Have you been (as the Scripture says) “born of God”
Has there been a time in your life,
That you have given your life to God,
Committed your life to Jesus Christ?
Can you remember that day?
Has it been the driving force behind your life ever since?
If so, it is like the good seed that produces wheat.
The 2nd key to understanding this parable is about fruit you display in your life!
Do you display the fruits of the Spirit in your life?
Do others recognize the fruits of the Spirit in your life?
Last week we looked at the Parable of the Sower,
Or more accurately, the Parable of the Soils,
We saw how Satan works his mischief,
He tries to snatch the Word of God from people’s hearts.
If he fails at that,
He has other strategies.
We are going to look at one today,
He plants false Christians in the world
Today, Jesus gives us a picture of God’s Kingdom in the world, (v.38)
And the wheat and weeds grow up together.
You can’t tell the difference.
They look the same.
It is hard to tell the difference between true believers and false believers.
Dr. Harry Ironside was a famous preacher from years ago.
His father died when he was two.
He had a hard life.
When he was fourteen years old, he got a job helping a shoemaker.
His job was to take leather that had soaked all night in a tub of water and beat the water out of it,
He would do that on an iron anvil, using a wooden mallet.
Beating the wet leather softened and toughened it.
There was another shoemaker down the street.
Harry learned that the other shoemaker soaked the leather,
but didn't bother beating the water out of it.
When Harry asked him about it,
the man winked at him and said, "Ah, they come back all the quicker this way."
Harry went back to his employer and told him all that,
and asked why they had to beat the water out of the leather.
The man stopped his work and sat down. He said:
"You know, son, I expect to see every pair of shoes I've ever made
in a big pile at the judgment seat of Christ.
And I expect the Lord to take those shoes
and go through every one,
and examine the work I did.
And then I expect, I imagine oftentimes,
he'll take one and he'll look at me
and say, 'Dan, that's not up to par.
You didn't do a very good job there.'
But others, he'll encourage me by saying,
'Dan, that was a splendid job.'
You know, when I make shoes, I keep remembering that.
And I want to make shoes - so that every shoe I make
will pass the judgment of the Lord –
at the judgment seat of Christ."
The point is:
The shoes made by each shoe maker will look the same,
But in the end they will be very different,
You have good shoes and bad shoes
In time you will be able to tell which shoes are which.
Wheat and weeds!
You have to wait – to see which is which.
The farmer is to let the wheat and the weeds grow together,
The weeds will be dealt with in the harvest.
There are 2 keys to understanding this parable:
(1)Where do the seeds for the wheat and weeds come from?
(2)Fruit that they show
Where did the seeds for the weeds come from?
In this parable, Jesus tells about an enemy who sows weeds among his neighbor's wheat.
In the explanation, Jesus says that the weeds are sons of the evil one
And that the enemy who sowed the weeds in the crop was the devil.
The weeds were darnel, which look like wheat when it is growing.
It's impossible to separate darnel from wheat while it's growing.
The farmer had to wait until the harvest.
Only then could they be separated.
You might ask why anyone would play such a dirty trick on his neighbor, but there are people like that.
There are people like that – people who are not happy unless they are spoiling and destroying.
So the workers came to the master asking what to do.
Should they pull the weeds? The master said:
"No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.
Let both of them grow together until the harvest;
and at harvest time I will tell the reapers,
Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned,
but gather the wheat into my barn" (vv. 29-30).
The roots of the weeds and the wheat,
Would be all intertwined.
Pull up the weeds and you would pull up the wheat also.
We do not judge who ARE and who are NOT God’s Kingdom,
God will sort that out in the harvest.
He said:
"Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so it will be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
and they will throw them into the furnace of fire,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Let anyone with ears listen" (vv. 41-43).
The message for us is that we should not be too quick when it comes to making judgments.
God sees things more clearly than we do,
God will be responsible in the end for sorting out the bad from the good.
The message for us is that we could do more harm than good if we interfere in God’s work.
Leave it to God.
I found a little poem by Charles Hembree that speaks to the problem of judging other people.
It is called "I Dreamed of Heaven." It goes like this:
I dreamed death came the other night:
And heaven's gate swung wide.
With kindly grace an angel
ushered me inside.
And there, to my astonishment,
Stood folks I'd known on earth.
Some I'd judged and labeled
Unfit or of little worth.
Indignant words rose to my lips,
But never were set free;
For every face showed stunned surprise.
No one expected me!
How do we identify if people are Christian people?
How are we identified as a Christian person?
Would people be surprised to see us in heaven?
Or NOT to see us?
Jesus declared that we will know God’s people by the fruit that their life displays,
He also said that we are to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8)
And that a “healthy tree bears fruit” (Matthew 7:17)
And that the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5)
Well, are you a wheat or a weed?
Are you wondering about that?
What is your source?
Have you been (as the Scripture says) “born of God”
Has there been a time in your life,
That you have given your life to God,
Committed your life to Jesus Christ?
Can you remember that day?
Has it been the driving force behind your life ever since?
If so, it is like the good seed that produces wheat.
The 2nd key to understanding this parable is about fruit you display in your life!
Do you display the fruits of the Spirit in your life?
Do others recognize the fruits of the Spirit in your life?
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Having A Right Direction!
My reading this morning continues in Amos - one thing struck me from chapter 5..
...v.4 "Seek me and live..."
...v.6 "Seek the LORD and live..."
Having "life" centres around "seeking the Lord"
Isn't that interesting?
Have a great LORD'S Day,
Peter Clark.
...v.4 "Seek me and live..."
...v.6 "Seek the LORD and live..."
Having "life" centres around "seeking the Lord"
Isn't that interesting?
Have a great LORD'S Day,
Peter Clark.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
True Worship!
Romans 12:1
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship."
The Old Testament required animal sacrifices. But even the Old Testament made it very clear that obedience from the heart was more important than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).
God wants us to offer ourselves as LIVING sacrifices. He wants us to put aside our own desires and live our lives as HE would have us do.
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship."
The Old Testament required animal sacrifices. But even the Old Testament made it very clear that obedience from the heart was more important than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).
God wants us to offer ourselves as LIVING sacrifices. He wants us to put aside our own desires and live our lives as HE would have us do.
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Think Twice!
Proverbs 17:14 "Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out."
Is this what it means for us to be a "peacemaker"?
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
Is this what it means for us to be a "peacemaker"?
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
What Are We Missing?
This morning my reading regime took me through the Book of Jonah.
You know the story...Jonah plans not to be obedient to God. There is no way he is going to Nineveh to represent God to that heathen population. He heads off in the opposite direction only to cause great strife and possible death for the sailors. He ends up overboard and swallowed by a huge fish.
Inside the fish, he is repentant and prays to God. In part of his prayer he says this:
Chapter 2 Verse 8 "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs"
If we cling to idols (all of which are worthless by their very nature) then we abandon any hope for mercy from God.
We are deceiving ourselves with something that in the end is nothing.
TFTD: Be careful that "things" might take the place of God.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
You know the story...Jonah plans not to be obedient to God. There is no way he is going to Nineveh to represent God to that heathen population. He heads off in the opposite direction only to cause great strife and possible death for the sailors. He ends up overboard and swallowed by a huge fish.
Inside the fish, he is repentant and prays to God. In part of his prayer he says this:
Chapter 2 Verse 8 "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs"
If we cling to idols (all of which are worthless by their very nature) then we abandon any hope for mercy from God.
We are deceiving ourselves with something that in the end is nothing.
TFTD: Be careful that "things" might take the place of God.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The Ultimate Sadness!
In my reading this morning I was reminded again - that God hates sin.
In 2 Kings 24 there was so much evil being perpetrated that "in the end he (God) thrust them from his presence."(v.29b)
And then in Romans 1 I read this....
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to tthe dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to aa debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ddeserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
There is no greater sadness than this.
Peter Clark.
In 2 Kings 24 there was so much evil being perpetrated that "in the end he (God) thrust them from his presence."(v.29b)
And then in Romans 1 I read this....
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to tthe dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to aa debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things ddeserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
There is no greater sadness than this.
Peter Clark.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
A Wonderful Gospel!
It is a great day today, I have started reading Romans through in my 365 day Bible.
It starts off very powerfully.
Paul declares that he was called by God to be an apostle. He was set apart for this Gospel - this Gospel which was promised by the prophets of old.
This Gospel focuses on God's Son - Jesus Christ who had these dual natures: "a descendant of David" and "the Son of God".
If anyone had any doubt about His origins, then His resurrection shows us and confirms that He is the Son of God.
Paul says all this in the first few verses of Chapter 1.
The result of all this: we have received grace to call people to "the obedience that comes from faith"
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
It starts off very powerfully.
Paul declares that he was called by God to be an apostle. He was set apart for this Gospel - this Gospel which was promised by the prophets of old.
This Gospel focuses on God's Son - Jesus Christ who had these dual natures: "a descendant of David" and "the Son of God".
If anyone had any doubt about His origins, then His resurrection shows us and confirms that He is the Son of God.
Paul says all this in the first few verses of Chapter 1.
The result of all this: we have received grace to call people to "the obedience that comes from faith"
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sermon 10th July 2011 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
There was a television show on in the last 12 months to expose how they perform some of the famous magic tricks.
They took the viewer behind the scenes and showed how they set up the trick.
That is like what we have here in the Parable of Sower OR
As it sometimes referred to as the Parable of the Soils.
It takes us behind the scenes to see what is going on.
How come some people respond to God and others don’t.
The words of sermons sometimes are listened to,
And there is a response to God.
Other times it is like preaching to a brick wall,
There is just no understanding at all.
Why is that?
This parable has the answer,
and the answer is – that people are like soils.
There are different types of soils that the seed falls on.
Jesus says that we are one of these four soils.
In those days, fields were small and farmers sowed seed by hand.
This morning I want to take you onto the paddock.
Imagine you are there with me.
• We cast the first of our seed,
and some seed falls on a hard-packed PATHWAY.
This is a track – the place where people walk.
The earth is packed down – hard – impenetrable
The seed couldn’t put down roots,
The surface is too hard,
and so the seed just lays there.
Birds come and eat it – and it is gone.
It would be like sowing carrots on the concrete path.
• We go a little further and some seed falls on ROCKY GROUND
that is earth,
with a thin layer of soil over a rock shelf.
The ground would heat up in the day,
And the seeds would sprout.
However, when they did sprout,
they had nowhere to put down roots,
so they soon withered and died.
We are not doing so well with our sowing, are we?
• We go a little further on and there is a patch of ground with THORNS & weeds & rubbish.
We sow some more of our seed there.
Some of those seeds germinate, but the thorns and weeds overtake them
and they soon crowd them out,
the new shoots die.
Why is it always like that?
The plants that we want are tender and delicate –– but weeds are tough and strong.
The weeds dominate!
• We keep walking across the paddock,
sowing our seed.
Now, some seed falls on the GOOD SOIL.
Finally.
That seed germinates and grows,
Eventually that seed gives us a harvest of a hundred fold –– or sixty –– or thirty.
Even thirty-fold would have been a magnificent harvest.
Jesus explained his parable to his disciples.
How does it apply to us?
Each of us here falls into one of these categories.
Every one of us here – is one of the soils Jesus described.
I would like to challenge each of us to listen,
And identify WHICH SOIL YOU ARE.
Jesus started by explaining the HARD PACKED PATHWAY.
The Gospel-seed that fell on the pathway is like people who hear God's word but don't understand it.
The Gospel-seed just bounces off their hard hearts.
They just don't "get" it.
They don't even try to "get" it.
The Gospel-seed just can't penetrate deeply enough in their hearts to do any good. Jesus told his disciples that, with these people,
the evil one swoops in like a bird and eats that seed.
As we go about our work as Christian disciples, we will meet people who fit this description.
They come to church – but it makes no impact on them.
It is like everything goes over their head,
They might come for the social side,
In the governance side of church,
They might come for the lovely music or liturgy,
But not to hear God’s word and how they might respond to it.
Others, being this type of soil, might never come to church,
Never even think about it.
They pass by churches without noticing them.
They hear people talk about God, but it doesn't register with them.
We invite them to come to church, but they don’t come.
Their radar is set to tune out any talk about God.
For whatever reason, they just don't want to be bothered,
OR they come, but it is like they are not here,
certainly not here for the worship,
perhaps here for some other reason.
We could get discouraged when we encounter people like that.
But the good news is that only part of our Gospel-seed falls on the hard-packed pathway.
Do you recognize yourself in this description?
If you have the faintest idea that this soil might be you,
Pray that God will give you a soft heart,
A heart that hears God’s Word to you.
The second kind of Gospel-seed was that which fell on ROCKY GROUND.
Jesus said that this seed described the person who received the Gospel with joy,
but they don’t last long,
when trouble comes – they fall away.
We have seen people in the church like that.
They join us
They are excited.
They jump into one thing after the other.
Then, suddenly, they are gone.
We call them "a flash in the pan" –– someone who starts strong but finishes weak.
There is no depth to their Christian life and experience.
They do not DIG DEEP into the Christian life,
By reading and studying God’s Word,
Probably their only experience with God’s Word is the Sunday reading and sermon,
They would never touch the Bible through the week.
Naturally enough, without any depth,
Trouble comes and they fall away.
These people are a disappointment too.
But the good news is that only part of God’s Gospel-seed falls on rocky ground.
Only a little bit springs up quickly and then dies.
Only a few people jump into the church with both feet –– and then leave just as quickly.
The Gospel-seed that falls on rocky ground is bad news –– but it is not the whole story.
Does this type of soil describe you?
Then go for some depth in you Christian experience,
Join one of our Bible studies – get some Bible reading notes – take notes in the sermons.
The third kind of Gospel-seed was that which fell among THORNS.
Jesus said, "This is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing."
To some extent, this describes all of us.
Who is not affected by "the cares of the world"?
Who is not tempted by "the lure of wealth"?
Regarding "the lure of wealth," Jesus had plenty to say. He said:
"No one can serve two masters....
You cannot serve God and wealth" (Matthew 6:24).
The King James Version says, "You cannot serve God and mammon."
That word "mammon" has a sinister tone that is appropriate to that verse.
Mammon is an old word, and Jesus is warning us not to let mammon ensnare us.
Mammon is wealth –– love of money.
And mammon does threaten to ensnare us.
Jesus tells us about a rich man who came to ask what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus recited some of the commandments, and the man responded,
"Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."
Jesus then said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me."
But the man "was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions" (Mark 10:17-22).
The message is that there are people whose hearts are so full of love for money that they have no space left for loving God.
Does that type of soil describe you?
Does the love for money mean that you have no space left for God?
The good news is that the Gospel-seed that falls among the thorns is not the only seed.
There are other seeds.
Jesus tells us that some of those will fall on GOOD SOIL, and will bring forth grain, "some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" (v. 8).
In Jesus' day, a thirty-fold harvest would have been a bonanza, and a hundred-fold harvest would be like winning the lottery.
In those days, a seven-fold harvest was good, and a ten-fold harvest was a bumper crop.
So when Jesus says that the Gospel-seed that falls on good soil will bring forth thirty or sixty or a hundred-fold, he is talking about a truly grand harvest.
If the gospel seed is planted in the right soil then there will be a harvest in Godly living,
No courseness, no nastyness, no gossiping,
In short, everyone will see the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self control
Heather and I have ministered to many different people over many years.
Some of those people, I am sure, were like the hard-packed pathway.
Some were like the rocky ground.
Others were like the thorn-infested ground.
But others were fertile soil.
I am confident that there are many people who were given the opportunity to move from death to life,
From darkness to light
Jesus has given us a look behind the curtain,
To see what is going on in people’s lives,
To see why people respond as they do,
OR, don’t respond as God would like them to.
Jesus has given us this morning,
The opportunity to see what is going on in OUR lives,
What sort of soil is the Word of God finding when it touches YOU life.
They took the viewer behind the scenes and showed how they set up the trick.
That is like what we have here in the Parable of Sower OR
As it sometimes referred to as the Parable of the Soils.
It takes us behind the scenes to see what is going on.
How come some people respond to God and others don’t.
The words of sermons sometimes are listened to,
And there is a response to God.
Other times it is like preaching to a brick wall,
There is just no understanding at all.
Why is that?
This parable has the answer,
and the answer is – that people are like soils.
There are different types of soils that the seed falls on.
Jesus says that we are one of these four soils.
In those days, fields were small and farmers sowed seed by hand.
This morning I want to take you onto the paddock.
Imagine you are there with me.
• We cast the first of our seed,
and some seed falls on a hard-packed PATHWAY.
This is a track – the place where people walk.
The earth is packed down – hard – impenetrable
The seed couldn’t put down roots,
The surface is too hard,
and so the seed just lays there.
Birds come and eat it – and it is gone.
It would be like sowing carrots on the concrete path.
• We go a little further and some seed falls on ROCKY GROUND
that is earth,
with a thin layer of soil over a rock shelf.
The ground would heat up in the day,
And the seeds would sprout.
However, when they did sprout,
they had nowhere to put down roots,
so they soon withered and died.
We are not doing so well with our sowing, are we?
• We go a little further on and there is a patch of ground with THORNS & weeds & rubbish.
We sow some more of our seed there.
Some of those seeds germinate, but the thorns and weeds overtake them
and they soon crowd them out,
the new shoots die.
Why is it always like that?
The plants that we want are tender and delicate –– but weeds are tough and strong.
The weeds dominate!
• We keep walking across the paddock,
sowing our seed.
Now, some seed falls on the GOOD SOIL.
Finally.
That seed germinates and grows,
Eventually that seed gives us a harvest of a hundred fold –– or sixty –– or thirty.
Even thirty-fold would have been a magnificent harvest.
Jesus explained his parable to his disciples.
How does it apply to us?
Each of us here falls into one of these categories.
Every one of us here – is one of the soils Jesus described.
I would like to challenge each of us to listen,
And identify WHICH SOIL YOU ARE.
Jesus started by explaining the HARD PACKED PATHWAY.
The Gospel-seed that fell on the pathway is like people who hear God's word but don't understand it.
The Gospel-seed just bounces off their hard hearts.
They just don't "get" it.
They don't even try to "get" it.
The Gospel-seed just can't penetrate deeply enough in their hearts to do any good. Jesus told his disciples that, with these people,
the evil one swoops in like a bird and eats that seed.
As we go about our work as Christian disciples, we will meet people who fit this description.
They come to church – but it makes no impact on them.
It is like everything goes over their head,
They might come for the social side,
In the governance side of church,
They might come for the lovely music or liturgy,
But not to hear God’s word and how they might respond to it.
Others, being this type of soil, might never come to church,
Never even think about it.
They pass by churches without noticing them.
They hear people talk about God, but it doesn't register with them.
We invite them to come to church, but they don’t come.
Their radar is set to tune out any talk about God.
For whatever reason, they just don't want to be bothered,
OR they come, but it is like they are not here,
certainly not here for the worship,
perhaps here for some other reason.
We could get discouraged when we encounter people like that.
But the good news is that only part of our Gospel-seed falls on the hard-packed pathway.
Do you recognize yourself in this description?
If you have the faintest idea that this soil might be you,
Pray that God will give you a soft heart,
A heart that hears God’s Word to you.
The second kind of Gospel-seed was that which fell on ROCKY GROUND.
Jesus said that this seed described the person who received the Gospel with joy,
but they don’t last long,
when trouble comes – they fall away.
We have seen people in the church like that.
They join us
They are excited.
They jump into one thing after the other.
Then, suddenly, they are gone.
We call them "a flash in the pan" –– someone who starts strong but finishes weak.
There is no depth to their Christian life and experience.
They do not DIG DEEP into the Christian life,
By reading and studying God’s Word,
Probably their only experience with God’s Word is the Sunday reading and sermon,
They would never touch the Bible through the week.
Naturally enough, without any depth,
Trouble comes and they fall away.
These people are a disappointment too.
But the good news is that only part of God’s Gospel-seed falls on rocky ground.
Only a little bit springs up quickly and then dies.
Only a few people jump into the church with both feet –– and then leave just as quickly.
The Gospel-seed that falls on rocky ground is bad news –– but it is not the whole story.
Does this type of soil describe you?
Then go for some depth in you Christian experience,
Join one of our Bible studies – get some Bible reading notes – take notes in the sermons.
The third kind of Gospel-seed was that which fell among THORNS.
Jesus said, "This is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing."
To some extent, this describes all of us.
Who is not affected by "the cares of the world"?
Who is not tempted by "the lure of wealth"?
Regarding "the lure of wealth," Jesus had plenty to say. He said:
"No one can serve two masters....
You cannot serve God and wealth" (Matthew 6:24).
The King James Version says, "You cannot serve God and mammon."
That word "mammon" has a sinister tone that is appropriate to that verse.
Mammon is an old word, and Jesus is warning us not to let mammon ensnare us.
Mammon is wealth –– love of money.
And mammon does threaten to ensnare us.
Jesus tells us about a rich man who came to ask what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus recited some of the commandments, and the man responded,
"Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."
Jesus then said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me."
But the man "was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions" (Mark 10:17-22).
The message is that there are people whose hearts are so full of love for money that they have no space left for loving God.
Does that type of soil describe you?
Does the love for money mean that you have no space left for God?
The good news is that the Gospel-seed that falls among the thorns is not the only seed.
There are other seeds.
Jesus tells us that some of those will fall on GOOD SOIL, and will bring forth grain, "some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" (v. 8).
In Jesus' day, a thirty-fold harvest would have been a bonanza, and a hundred-fold harvest would be like winning the lottery.
In those days, a seven-fold harvest was good, and a ten-fold harvest was a bumper crop.
So when Jesus says that the Gospel-seed that falls on good soil will bring forth thirty or sixty or a hundred-fold, he is talking about a truly grand harvest.
If the gospel seed is planted in the right soil then there will be a harvest in Godly living,
No courseness, no nastyness, no gossiping,
In short, everyone will see the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self control
Heather and I have ministered to many different people over many years.
Some of those people, I am sure, were like the hard-packed pathway.
Some were like the rocky ground.
Others were like the thorn-infested ground.
But others were fertile soil.
I am confident that there are many people who were given the opportunity to move from death to life,
From darkness to light
Jesus has given us a look behind the curtain,
To see what is going on in people’s lives,
To see why people respond as they do,
OR, don’t respond as God would like them to.
Jesus has given us this morning,
The opportunity to see what is going on in OUR lives,
What sort of soil is the Word of God finding when it touches YOU life.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
What Will They Say About You?
One of my roles is to conduct funerals. At the funerals you hear all sorts of things in the eulogies.
It caused me to reflect on what people would say about me!
And then I read in 2 Kings what they said about Josiah. He came into the Kingship when he was eight years old, but in spite of his age he made an amazing impact.
2 Kings 23:25
"Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did - with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength...."
TFTD: It is interesting isn't it.....that is what is required from all of us. Jesus summed it up in the two great commandments.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
It caused me to reflect on what people would say about me!
And then I read in 2 Kings what they said about Josiah. He came into the Kingship when he was eight years old, but in spite of his age he made an amazing impact.
2 Kings 23:25
"Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did - with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength...."
TFTD: It is interesting isn't it.....that is what is required from all of us. Jesus summed it up in the two great commandments.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Behind The Curtain.
I am preaching tomorrow on the Parable of the Soils. In that Parable it is like Jesus is giving us a peek behind the curtain to help us understand what is going on in the Spiritual realm.
In Acts 28:26-27 I read this:
26
“‘Go to this people, and say,
“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
27
For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’
Paul is quoting Isaiah and describing the people of Israel.
In Acts 28:26-27 I read this:
26
“‘Go to this people, and say,
“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
27
For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’
Paul is quoting Isaiah and describing the people of Israel.
Friday, July 8, 2011
What Am I Doing In Waverley?
Acts 25:17b, 18.
"I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."
That's about it really!
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
"I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."
That's about it really!
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Is It Right Or Not?
Proverbs 16:25
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."
This verse is a reminder to us that we have to be very careful in what we do. we might choose a particular course of action, but it might not be right. It could lead to a bad end.
How do we work it out then?
We seek after God.....we look in His Word.....we ask Christian friends.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."
This verse is a reminder to us that we have to be very careful in what we do. we might choose a particular course of action, but it might not be right. It could lead to a bad end.
How do we work it out then?
We seek after God.....we look in His Word.....we ask Christian friends.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Light To Our Feet.
Psalm 119:105
"Your word is a lantern to my feet; and a light to my path."
If we walk in the scrub at night we need a torch so that we don't trip over.
In this life, it is like walking through a dark place.
That is why we need the Bible - to help us find our way through life.
The Scripture Union (SU) movement have this verse as their motto. It really does describe the Word of God very well.
If we read and study the God's Word we will see the way of keeping on the right path.
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
"Your word is a lantern to my feet; and a light to my path."
If we walk in the scrub at night we need a torch so that we don't trip over.
In this life, it is like walking through a dark place.
That is why we need the Bible - to help us find our way through life.
The Scripture Union (SU) movement have this verse as their motto. It really does describe the Word of God very well.
If we read and study the God's Word we will see the way of keeping on the right path.
Have a good day,
Peter Clark.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
My God In Whom I Trust.
This is the theme of Psalm 91.
1 He who dwells in athe shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the wadder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
We are reminded in this Psalm that God is our refuge.
Themes of security abound: shelter/shadow/refuge/fortress.
This is a great Psalm that leads us on to greater faith in our GREAT GOD.
There are also many references that will be familiar to us in the temptation narratives of Jesus.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
1 He who dwells in athe shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the wadder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
We are reminded in this Psalm that God is our refuge.
Themes of security abound: shelter/shadow/refuge/fortress.
This is a great Psalm that leads us on to greater faith in our GREAT GOD.
There are also many references that will be familiar to us in the temptation narratives of Jesus.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sermon 3rd July, 2011 Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (v. 28).
This is one of my favourite verses in the Bible.
I was thrilled when I came to Waverley and
discovered that this verse was written across the beam above the sanctuary.
Jesus is not talking about sleep or R & R,
He calls it “rest for your souls”
That deep longing in our heart for God.
Do you need that “rest for your soul”?
Jesus offers to give us that sort of rest.
“Come to me” he says.
But it's interesting to look at what came before that –– before the part where Jesus promised rest.
What came before was Jesus expressing his frustration with the people of Israel –– with the Jewish leadership.
He said something that sounded like a proverb:
"We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn" (v. 17).
That sounds mysterious, doesn’t it?
Flutes and dancing were appropriate for weddings.
Wailing and mourning, for funerals.
In Jesus' proverb, it didn't make any difference whether the game was happy (such as a wedding) –– or sad (such as a funeral).
The children refused to play.
These images of weddings and funerals showed the differences between Jesus and John the Baptist.
John's preaching was harsh, and the Jewish leaders didn't like him.
Jesus was kinder and gentler, but they didn't like him either.
They called Jesus "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (v. 19).
So when Jesus said, "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn,"
he was talking about some of the frustrations that he had encountered.
The scribes and Pharisees didn't like John,
John’s ministry was too harsh for them ––
and they didn't like Jesus,
his lifestyle was not strict enough for them.
Both John and Jesus were doing God's work,
but the scribes and Pharisees rejected them both.
But, who Jesus was, and what He came to do,
Wasn’t rejected by everyone.
Jesus prayed,
"I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent
and have revealed them to infants" (v. 25).
Jesus didn't let it bother him that the Jewish leaders didn't believe in him.
He took comfort in the fact that ordinary people listened gladly
Ordinary people sought out his healing
Ordinary people brought their children to see him.
That still happens.
Ordinary people still find it easier to accept Jesus,
than people who are super-rich –– or super-smart –– or highly gifted in some other way.
Especially gifted people often become the centre of their own universe.
Their own egos fill up the God-space in their hearts,
Making no room for God.
Stephen Hawking was in the news a little while ago
because of some comments he made that were,
at their heart, religious, not scientific.
For many years now, Stephen Hawking has been celebrated as a great scientist.
His story is very compelling.
He has done amazing scientific work in spite of his disability.
When Stephen Hawking speaks, people tend to listen.
What he said recently was this:
"I regard the brain as a computer
which will stop working when its components fail.
There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers;
that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."
We have to respect Stephen Hawking for his scientific work ––
and for overcoming his disability ––
but when he starts talking about life after death, he is in over his head.
Stop and think about it.
Stephen Hawking is a scientist.
What we call "the scientific method" begins with gathering data ––
observable, measurable data ––
“scientific method” follows the data to its natural conclusion.
That's what a scientist does.
Good science starts with good data.
When Stephen Hawking says that there is no heaven,
he is not being a good scientist.
He has not collected measurable data ––
and has not followed the data to its natural conclusion.
He is just making a pronouncement based on no data at all.
Stephen Hawking is a scientist, and working without data is bad science.
The interesting thing is that we do have data to support our belief in Jesus and his resurrection.
It is not rigorous enough to constitute a scientific proof ––
we continue to make our religious beliefs on faith ––
the point is though,
we have more evidence for Jesus' resurrection than Stephen Hawking has against it.
• Our evidence starts with the apostles,
they went into hiding after Jesus' crucifixion,
but became brave as lions after seeing the resurrected Christ.
It was their encounter with the resurrected Christ that resurrected their courage.
• The evidence of Jesus' resurrection continues to the present day in the lives that Christ has changed.
Remember our motto “CHRIST, TRANSFORMING LIVES”
That is what Jesus does.
One of my favorite stories has to do with an alcoholic who became a Christian and was able,
by the grace of God, to stop drinking.
Some of his old drinking friends were making fun of him.
One of them said, "Do you really believe that Jesus turned water into wine?"
The new Christian thought for a moment ––
and then replied, "I don't know whether Jesus turned water into wine ––
but I do know that, in my house, he has turned beer into furniture."
The stories of lives transformed by Jesus are many,
And in these stories we have the evidence to support our belief in Jesus –– and in his resurrection.
All this falls short of scientific proof,
but it is nevertheless evidence in favor of Jesus ––
in favor of his resurrection –– and in favor of our future resurrection.
Skeptics have no evidence to prove that there is no heaven or afterlife.
In Jesus’ day the intellectual elite were the Pharisees, the Sadducces, the priests, the Kings and Governors,
Because these people had power,
they thought they had the answers too.
They were not open to hearing what Jesus had to say.
In fact, they were committed to stopping Jesus from saying anything at all.
And so Jesus says:
"I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent
and have revealed them to infants."
Jesus was thanking God for revealing Himself to those who would listen,
rather than to those who were too proud to listen.
Are you one of the ones who listen?
If so, Jesus was thanking God for you
And others like you - ordinary people
people who would listen
people who would believe
people willing to serve where God called.
Then Jesus switches gears.
He has been praying to God, but now he turns to address his followers.
He says to them:
"Come to me, all you that are weary
and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest" (v. 28).
We must be careful not to misunderstand Jesus.
He does not promise to make our lives a bed of roses.
Christ sent his disciples on a mission that would be frought with difficulties.
From the very beginning, Christians have been confronted by huge obstacles in their way.
Albert Schweitzer, who gave up a glamorous life in Europe to establish a medical clinic in Africa, put it this way.
He said:
"Anyone who proposes to do good
must not expect people to roll stones out of his way,
but must accept his lot calmly
people might even roll a few more stones in your way."
When Jesus promises rest, he is not promising us easy lives.
a diamond can’t be polished without friction,
a Christian life cannot be perfected without trials.
Jesus promises to give us strength and courage to persevere when the going gets tough.
When we commit our lives to Jesus,
we will no longer be like a small fishing boat––
tossed about by the storms of life.
We will, instead, be like the great ocean liner,
able to make our way through the storms intact.
That is “rest for the weary”
The storms might rattle our teacups.
They might cause our plate to slide off the table.
They might cause us discomfort.
But they will not sink our ship.
When Jesus promises rest,
he is promising the kind of settled,
calm spirit that comes to those who know that God is with them.
Do you know the presence of God in your life?
The apostle Paul, who suffered all kinds of hardship in his work for Christ, put it this way.
He said, "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31).
In other words, if God is for us, it doesn't matter who is against us–– because God will prevail –– and God will help us to prevail.
As active followers of Jesus,
we can sleep soundly,
knowing that our Heavenly Father is with us day and night.
Then Jesus went on to say:
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (vv. 29-30).
I wonder how many people understand what Jesus is talking about when he tells us to take his yoke upon us.
Most of us have never seen a yoke.
What registers with us are the words "easy" and "light."
But stop to think for a moment about yokes.
A yoke was a wooden beam used to harness two oxen in tandem so they could pull a load together.
When a farmer would put a yoke on oxen, it was like saying, "Let's go to work!"
A couple of things come to mind when Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me."
• The first is that Joseph was a carpenter, and would have trained Jesus in carpentry.
Among other things, the carpenters of that day made yokes.
Much depended on the skill of the carpenter.
A yoke made by a bad carpenter would rub and chaff.
Oxen wearing a bad yoke would be miserable by the end of the day.
But a good carpenter would tailor the yoke to fit the oxen.
He would carefully polish the finish until it was smooth.
A good carpenter would make the yoke strong enough to last,
but not an ounce heavier than necessary.
A well-crafted yoke was a blessing to the oxen.
Jesus the carpenter says, "Take my yoke upon you."
He says, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
• Secondly, when Jesus calls us to take his yoke upon us,
he is inviting us to team up with him to go to work.
To work in the world – not rest in the pew!s
Sharing a yoke with Jesus is like working alongside an experienced mentor,
someone who can be depended on to pull his share of the load,
someone who will look after us and show us the ropes.
Many blessings await those who commit their lives to Jesus.
One of the great blessings is that Jesus has crafted yokes especially tailored for each of us.
Another of the great blessings is that,
when we take his yoke upon our shoulders,
we can be assured that he will be with us wherever we go –– helping us ––encouraging us –– loving us.
He says:
"Come to me, all that are weary
and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest."
He says:
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Come to Jesus.
Take his yoke upon yourself –– and you will open the door to a lifetime of blessings.
Jesus could well be calling someone here today to “come to Him”.
Is it you that He is calling?
Are you going to respond to His calling?
This might be a last opportunity,
Meant exactly for you.
All you have to do is to say, “Yes Lord, I come”
Amen.
This is one of my favourite verses in the Bible.
I was thrilled when I came to Waverley and
discovered that this verse was written across the beam above the sanctuary.
Jesus is not talking about sleep or R & R,
He calls it “rest for your souls”
That deep longing in our heart for God.
Do you need that “rest for your soul”?
Jesus offers to give us that sort of rest.
“Come to me” he says.
But it's interesting to look at what came before that –– before the part where Jesus promised rest.
What came before was Jesus expressing his frustration with the people of Israel –– with the Jewish leadership.
He said something that sounded like a proverb:
"We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn" (v. 17).
That sounds mysterious, doesn’t it?
Flutes and dancing were appropriate for weddings.
Wailing and mourning, for funerals.
In Jesus' proverb, it didn't make any difference whether the game was happy (such as a wedding) –– or sad (such as a funeral).
The children refused to play.
These images of weddings and funerals showed the differences between Jesus and John the Baptist.
John's preaching was harsh, and the Jewish leaders didn't like him.
Jesus was kinder and gentler, but they didn't like him either.
They called Jesus "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (v. 19).
So when Jesus said, "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn,"
he was talking about some of the frustrations that he had encountered.
The scribes and Pharisees didn't like John,
John’s ministry was too harsh for them ––
and they didn't like Jesus,
his lifestyle was not strict enough for them.
Both John and Jesus were doing God's work,
but the scribes and Pharisees rejected them both.
But, who Jesus was, and what He came to do,
Wasn’t rejected by everyone.
Jesus prayed,
"I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent
and have revealed them to infants" (v. 25).
Jesus didn't let it bother him that the Jewish leaders didn't believe in him.
He took comfort in the fact that ordinary people listened gladly
Ordinary people sought out his healing
Ordinary people brought their children to see him.
That still happens.
Ordinary people still find it easier to accept Jesus,
than people who are super-rich –– or super-smart –– or highly gifted in some other way.
Especially gifted people often become the centre of their own universe.
Their own egos fill up the God-space in their hearts,
Making no room for God.
Stephen Hawking was in the news a little while ago
because of some comments he made that were,
at their heart, religious, not scientific.
For many years now, Stephen Hawking has been celebrated as a great scientist.
His story is very compelling.
He has done amazing scientific work in spite of his disability.
When Stephen Hawking speaks, people tend to listen.
What he said recently was this:
"I regard the brain as a computer
which will stop working when its components fail.
There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers;
that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."
We have to respect Stephen Hawking for his scientific work ––
and for overcoming his disability ––
but when he starts talking about life after death, he is in over his head.
Stop and think about it.
Stephen Hawking is a scientist.
What we call "the scientific method" begins with gathering data ––
observable, measurable data ––
“scientific method” follows the data to its natural conclusion.
That's what a scientist does.
Good science starts with good data.
When Stephen Hawking says that there is no heaven,
he is not being a good scientist.
He has not collected measurable data ––
and has not followed the data to its natural conclusion.
He is just making a pronouncement based on no data at all.
Stephen Hawking is a scientist, and working without data is bad science.
The interesting thing is that we do have data to support our belief in Jesus and his resurrection.
It is not rigorous enough to constitute a scientific proof ––
we continue to make our religious beliefs on faith ––
the point is though,
we have more evidence for Jesus' resurrection than Stephen Hawking has against it.
• Our evidence starts with the apostles,
they went into hiding after Jesus' crucifixion,
but became brave as lions after seeing the resurrected Christ.
It was their encounter with the resurrected Christ that resurrected their courage.
• The evidence of Jesus' resurrection continues to the present day in the lives that Christ has changed.
Remember our motto “CHRIST, TRANSFORMING LIVES”
That is what Jesus does.
One of my favorite stories has to do with an alcoholic who became a Christian and was able,
by the grace of God, to stop drinking.
Some of his old drinking friends were making fun of him.
One of them said, "Do you really believe that Jesus turned water into wine?"
The new Christian thought for a moment ––
and then replied, "I don't know whether Jesus turned water into wine ––
but I do know that, in my house, he has turned beer into furniture."
The stories of lives transformed by Jesus are many,
And in these stories we have the evidence to support our belief in Jesus –– and in his resurrection.
All this falls short of scientific proof,
but it is nevertheless evidence in favor of Jesus ––
in favor of his resurrection –– and in favor of our future resurrection.
Skeptics have no evidence to prove that there is no heaven or afterlife.
In Jesus’ day the intellectual elite were the Pharisees, the Sadducces, the priests, the Kings and Governors,
Because these people had power,
they thought they had the answers too.
They were not open to hearing what Jesus had to say.
In fact, they were committed to stopping Jesus from saying anything at all.
And so Jesus says:
"I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent
and have revealed them to infants."
Jesus was thanking God for revealing Himself to those who would listen,
rather than to those who were too proud to listen.
Are you one of the ones who listen?
If so, Jesus was thanking God for you
And others like you - ordinary people
people who would listen
people who would believe
people willing to serve where God called.
Then Jesus switches gears.
He has been praying to God, but now he turns to address his followers.
He says to them:
"Come to me, all you that are weary
and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest" (v. 28).
We must be careful not to misunderstand Jesus.
He does not promise to make our lives a bed of roses.
Christ sent his disciples on a mission that would be frought with difficulties.
From the very beginning, Christians have been confronted by huge obstacles in their way.
Albert Schweitzer, who gave up a glamorous life in Europe to establish a medical clinic in Africa, put it this way.
He said:
"Anyone who proposes to do good
must not expect people to roll stones out of his way,
but must accept his lot calmly
people might even roll a few more stones in your way."
When Jesus promises rest, he is not promising us easy lives.
a diamond can’t be polished without friction,
a Christian life cannot be perfected without trials.
Jesus promises to give us strength and courage to persevere when the going gets tough.
When we commit our lives to Jesus,
we will no longer be like a small fishing boat––
tossed about by the storms of life.
We will, instead, be like the great ocean liner,
able to make our way through the storms intact.
That is “rest for the weary”
The storms might rattle our teacups.
They might cause our plate to slide off the table.
They might cause us discomfort.
But they will not sink our ship.
When Jesus promises rest,
he is promising the kind of settled,
calm spirit that comes to those who know that God is with them.
Do you know the presence of God in your life?
The apostle Paul, who suffered all kinds of hardship in his work for Christ, put it this way.
He said, "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31).
In other words, if God is for us, it doesn't matter who is against us–– because God will prevail –– and God will help us to prevail.
As active followers of Jesus,
we can sleep soundly,
knowing that our Heavenly Father is with us day and night.
Then Jesus went on to say:
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (vv. 29-30).
I wonder how many people understand what Jesus is talking about when he tells us to take his yoke upon us.
Most of us have never seen a yoke.
What registers with us are the words "easy" and "light."
But stop to think for a moment about yokes.
A yoke was a wooden beam used to harness two oxen in tandem so they could pull a load together.
When a farmer would put a yoke on oxen, it was like saying, "Let's go to work!"
A couple of things come to mind when Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me."
• The first is that Joseph was a carpenter, and would have trained Jesus in carpentry.
Among other things, the carpenters of that day made yokes.
Much depended on the skill of the carpenter.
A yoke made by a bad carpenter would rub and chaff.
Oxen wearing a bad yoke would be miserable by the end of the day.
But a good carpenter would tailor the yoke to fit the oxen.
He would carefully polish the finish until it was smooth.
A good carpenter would make the yoke strong enough to last,
but not an ounce heavier than necessary.
A well-crafted yoke was a blessing to the oxen.
Jesus the carpenter says, "Take my yoke upon you."
He says, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
• Secondly, when Jesus calls us to take his yoke upon us,
he is inviting us to team up with him to go to work.
To work in the world – not rest in the pew!s
Sharing a yoke with Jesus is like working alongside an experienced mentor,
someone who can be depended on to pull his share of the load,
someone who will look after us and show us the ropes.
Many blessings await those who commit their lives to Jesus.
One of the great blessings is that Jesus has crafted yokes especially tailored for each of us.
Another of the great blessings is that,
when we take his yoke upon our shoulders,
we can be assured that he will be with us wherever we go –– helping us ––encouraging us –– loving us.
He says:
"Come to me, all that are weary
and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest."
He says:
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Come to Jesus.
Take his yoke upon yourself –– and you will open the door to a lifetime of blessings.
Jesus could well be calling someone here today to “come to Him”.
Is it you that He is calling?
Are you going to respond to His calling?
This might be a last opportunity,
Meant exactly for you.
All you have to do is to say, “Yes Lord, I come”
Amen.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Our Plans!
Proverbs 16:9
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps"
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps"
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
With God On Our Side!
I was reminded when I read this portion of scripture today, that any fear we have is wasted.
In 2 Kings 6 the King of Aram is hunting down Elisha. Elisha is surrounded and all seems hopeless (and it would have been if God were not in the picture).
Verse 16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered, "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
It is good to be reminded, that with God on our side, we have all the help and support that is necessary.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
In 2 Kings 6 the King of Aram is hunting down Elisha. Elisha is surrounded and all seems hopeless (and it would have been if God were not in the picture).
Verse 16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered, "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
It is good to be reminded, that with God on our side, we have all the help and support that is necessary.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wolves!
Acts 20:30 "Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after THEM."
This is what it is about with difficult people in congregations - they are wanting a following, their desire is to draw away disciples to follow them.
Even the best intentioned can fall into this trap. There is a great temptation for clergy to have people follow THEM rather than Christ.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
This is what it is about with difficult people in congregations - they are wanting a following, their desire is to draw away disciples to follow them.
Even the best intentioned can fall into this trap. There is a great temptation for clergy to have people follow THEM rather than Christ.
Have a great day,
Peter Clark.
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