4th February 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 6v25-34) Message (Scott Woodburn) There are probably very few of us who have never experienced worry. Worry is defined as feeling uneasy or troubled or anxious about someone or something and frankly it can be a frequent and even daily visitor. Some take worry in their stride and soon get over it but others are almost crippled by worry, so much so that their lives are changed by the constant dread that hangs over them. What's to be done? Jesus says to flee from worry and anxious thoughts (v25). Christ counsels us to avoid worry over life's basic concerns. We are not to worry about food, drink or clothing because life is about so much more than these everyday issues (v25). The Lord feeds the birds of the air and we are worth much more to Him than the birds ever will be (v26). Indeed worry is utterly futile as we cannot add a single hour to our lives by spending all night tossing and turning filled with anxiety (v27). The flowers of the field provide us with another challenge to our worries. Jesus says that even King Solomon in all of his glory couldn't compare to the beauty of a blossoming field of lilies. There is a field just outside Seaforde which has been sown with rapeseed and when the fulness of time comes, the whole field is gloriously yellow as far as the eye can see. Why worry about our clothing when we follow a God who displays His glory in creation and is able to meet our material needs (v30)? Famously Jesus here declares "O you of little faith" (v30). What is faith? Faith is a receiving and resting in Christ as He is offered in the Gospel. Therefore when we descend into endless worry we are far from resting in Christ. Instead we should adopt the posture of faith which rests fully in the unchangeable character of our good and gracious God. The Lord knows our needs and will certainly meet them (v31-32). Worry gets us absolutely nowhere and it is always based on an incomplete picture. We have no clue what tomorrow will bring and we have no idea how every situation will work itself out. Tomorrow will arrive with its own difficulties and so the Lord counsels us for focus on the day that we find ourselves in (v34). How then should we respond to the worry in our own lives? Repent, rest and seek. Firstly, worry is a sin that we must recognise and repent of. If our hearts are filled with dread we are to seek God's help to overcome. Secondly, we are to rest in Christ. This is hard work when faced with the troubles of life but nevertheless we are to look to Jesus and we are to rest in Jesus. Finally, we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (v33). In other words we are to realise the preciousness of the faith and we are to seek of first importance the things of God. Practically this means that we don't stay away from church but we run to church. We don't stop praying but instead we seek to spend as much time as possible at the feet of Jesus. We are to meet our worry head on by delving deeply into the Word of God. These verses will bring a different challenge to the starving Christian in Africa than to the prosperous Christian in the West but nevertheless the Lord speaks to His children regardless of their circumstances. What does He say? Jesus says do not be anxious, do not worry, do not fret. The Christian's life should not be marked by endless dread and worry about what may or may not come. Instead we repent, rest and seek knowing that the Lord knows our needs and will surely preserve us to the very end. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q68 What is required in the sixth commandment? The sixth commandment requireth all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life, and the life of others.
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3rd February 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 17:15-18:15 and Hebrews 11:11-12 Message Alan Burke Where we are in the bigger picture is that we are now 24/25 years after the call of God and we are talking 13 years have now past since Ishmael was born, that is Abraham’s son to Hagar (Gen 16). Here we are told how v16, Sarah would indeed bear a son. Notice the response of first of all of Abraham in v17, it is one of laughter, the reason for the laughter is because he sees just how impossible it is for he or Sarah to possibly have a child together at their age, but notice also what comes after it in v18, as Abraham said to God, if only Ishmael might live under your blessing. I suspect that Abraham had settled on Ishmael as the one whom the promises would be fulfilled, but God had other plans. For it was always to be through Sarah whom Abraham would be great nation, that he would be a blessing, all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. (Gen 12:2-3), it was through Sarah that the gracious word of God would be fulfilled. Then in chapter 18, with the visitors that come to Abraham, as LORD spoke, v10, notice that LORD is capitalised, for this speaker of this promise to Abraham is none less than the Lord himself. It is what is known as a theophany, or rather a Christophany, for this is the visible manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ to Abraham and as the Lord speaks, Sarah was listening to them at the entrance of the one and she laughs. Sarah had given up that dream that she once had, for her it wasn’t going to be part of her story and the word of the LORD was to her laughable. Yet when the Lord asked Abraham why did Sarah laugh, they are reminded of a wonderful truth, “…is anything too hard for the Lord?” Is anything too hard for the Lord? No it is not. I get why Sarah laughed, I get why she was afraid and lied and said she did not laugh to the LORD. Yet a year later she gave birth to a son, she laughed once more but that time it was in a very different way, it was laughter with tears of joy that streamed down her face as the promise of God was fulfilled. While Sarah may be better suited to the hall of fame of those who doubted, but here she is, for “By Faith Sarah”. Those words should give us comfort for all these men and women of faith in Hebrews were more than conquerers through Christ Jesus. For the message of Hebrews 11 isn’t be like those listed, todays message isn’t be like Sarah, rather the message to us is to trust in the promises of God. To trust in Jesus Christ! What Abraham and Sarah learnt was that what is impossible with man is possible with God, His word is true, it was possible because God made it possible. Many years later there was another couple called Zacharias and Elizabeth who were well past the age of having children learnt that what is impossible with man is possible with God. For God likewise used them and they became the parents of John the Baptist. Mary the mother of Jesus the Christ also learnt that what is impossible with man is impossible with God as the Holy Spirit within her conceived the Saviour, the Christ, the one that Abraham, Sarah, and all those listed in Hebrews 11 had been looking for. The coming of the Christ was a human impossibility but God made it possible. The promise that was given to Abraham and to Sarah in Genesis 12 of how the whole earth would be blessed through them comes through Christ Jesus. Galatians tells us, 6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Ga 3:6–9). And "If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." (Gal 3:29) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q67 Which is the sixth commandment? The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill. (Exod. 20:13) 2nd February 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 6v19-24) Message (Scott Woodburn) In June 2015 I walked from church to the primary school for the annual leaver's assembly and somewhere on that short trip I lost my wedding ring. It wasn't terribly expensive and Jenny was her usual gracious self when I told her the news but to this day I'm annoyed at myself for not taking better care of such a sentimental piece of jewellery. How did I lose it? I'd lost weight, my finger had shrunk and off came my ring. I remember even hearing it "ping" as it hit the ground but I couldn't find it and despite hours of looking it never turned up. But here is why it was never that important - I'm saved. The Christian understands that there is nothing as precious as salvation and therefore even our most beloved treasures in this life shouldn't cause us an anxious thought. That's not to say we should be careless or wasteful but we should never allow our hearts to be captured by things which have no eternal significance. Jesus said “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (v19-21) The Lord speaks about the difference between temporary treasure and lasting treasure. The moth likes to eat your fancy clothes, rust likes to destroy your fully restored Ford Capri and thieves like to steal your gold rings. But our heavenly treasures are in no danger. What does Jesus mean by heavenly treasure? In Christ we have received a glorious reward and a heavenly inheritance. An eternity in heaven makes the passing joys of this world look like a wet weekend in a field with a ripped tent. So what is your focus? Truly this world offers much to entice us and we are often like little magpies who are endlessly attracted by new bright shiny things. In this regard Christ tells us we have an eye issue. The eye is the lamp of the body - we can see because light bounces off an object and into our eye. Therefore if our eye is healthy and Christ focused our whole bodies are full of light (v22). In other words we understand the fleeting nature of this world and we long for the permanent glory of heaven. However if our eye is bad then the body is filled with darkness (v23). Such a person believes that this world is all we have and it offers far more glory than Christ ever could. It is a tragedy when we see this lived out. How many families have torn themselves apart over the inheritance of Uncle Sam's farm? How many of us have been prepared to trample all over our opponents so that we might benefit from the world's riches? Jesus is the light of the world and He seeks to illuminate the darkest reaches of the human heart but if even the light in you is darkness then how great the darkness (v23)! Such a person is in a dire spiritual condition. An individual with two bosses will inevitably favour one over the other (v24) and so in the same way it is impossible for us to serve both God and money (v24). Brothers and sisters, it is easy to say and write that Christ is our greatest treasure but it is much harder for us to believe. Our hearts are easily seduced and soon we find ourselves clinging to the treasures that we have gathered around us on earth. There is much danger on such a path - our priorities become centred around our comfort and the preserving of our treasure and the gathering of more treasure. May God forgive us. Paul spoke truthfully when he said "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3v8-11) May you and I be able to say these words truthfully because we know that the world's riches are pitiful in comparison to Christ. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q66 What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment? The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is, a promise of long life and prosperity (as far as it shall serve for God’s glory, and their own good) to all such as keep this commandment. 1st February 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 11:30, Genesis 16 and Hebrews 11:1&11 Message Alan Burke Sarah’s story is a very human story, one that may touch very raw emotions that you have hidden from everyone. Today we start by looking to something we were told before the call of God on Abraham’s life. Before he was called by God to go to the land that God would show him we were introduced to Sarah and Abraham. Their names at this stage are Abram and Sari. What we are told has a significant bearing on the promises that were given, it has a bearing on everything that follows. For here when we are first introduced to Abraham and Sarah we are told in Genesis 11:30 something that impacts how we should read and understand all that now follows. There we are told; “Now Sarai was barren; she had no children” (Gen 11:30). God had promised Abraham that he would be a nation, a great one, he would be a blessing, all the families of the earth will be blessed through him and that must mean children or at least a child. Yet before these promises were given, before they had moved a mussel, before they went on their journey we know that either God’s going to have to do the impossible or these promises are worthless. Abraham having faith in a sense was much easier than it would have bene for Sarah. After all it was to Abraham that the promises came, he was the one who heard the call of God and not Sarah. Added to that what we learn form Genesis 11:30 about how Sarah was unable to have children, something that she would have known herself. Sarah at the age of 65 went with her husband, she trusted in the promises of God, she was willing to play her part in the story even though she had been unable to have children. Sarah had faith in the promises of God, that which Hebrews 11:1 reminds us is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb 11:1), Sarah had faith in the promises of God. No doubt all the while carrying the pain of years of disappointment, of hopes that had slowly faded as the years went by, something that many can empathise with. Sarah had to wait ten long years, she is now 75 in Genesis 16 and had no doubt would have struggled with the midst of it all. Here I think is the lowest point in the whole journey of Sarah. For the time comes when in her own mind Sarah comes to a painful answer to the question, of will was his promise for her, was God going to do this our not, and she has decided that this promise was given to her husband and it is not for her. Look at what we are told when that time comes that Sarah turns to her husband there in v2 and says “2 Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.”” (Gen 16:2). Sarah doubted the gracious word of God. There is rawness in this decision, I can’t even begin comprehend what Sarah is going through, but doesn’t she do what we all often do? What I mean by that, when it doesn’t happen in our timing, or the way that we want, or we don’t get what we have wanted well we take matters into our own hands, we attempt to somehow contrive a way, helping God on a bit? We can all do this, I doubt Sarah could have imagined the consequences of what would then take place. What happens here mirrors what happened in the the Garden of Eden, it happens all too often. None of us think that that one little thing will have such implications for the rest of our lives. I’m sure Sarah would have never even entertained the idea of what was going to follow. How it resulted in Hagar as we are told at the end of verse 4 began to despise Sarah as a result of all of this after she fell pregnant. Sarah then blames Abraham and Abraham passes the buck, do what you want. Partly what I’m trying to do here is to help you understand that as Hebrews 11:11 tells us that ‘By Faith Sarah’ that heaven isn’t filled with people who lived perfect lives, it’s filled with those who were sinners cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Christ. Jesus made it clear, ““It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.””(Mk 2:17). Sarah by Faith Hebrews tells us, even in the midst of the carnage of life, Sarah still had faith. That is what mattered. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q65 What is forbidden in the fifth commandment? The fifth commandment forbiddeth the neglecting of, or doing any thing against, the honor and duty which belongeth to every one in their several places and relations. (Matt. 15:4–6, Ezek. 34:2–4, Rom. 13:8) |
Alan
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