If we love God, we have all winds blowing for us, everything in the world shall conspire for our good. We know not what fiery trials we may meet with, but to them that love God all things shall work for good. Those things which work against them, shall work for them; their cross shall make way for a crown; every wind shall blow them to the heavenly port.
Thomas Watson; A Divine Cordial
Friday, 14 May 2010
To walk worthy of our calling is to walk cheerfully.
To walk worthy of our calling is to walk cheerfully. “Rejoice in the Lord evermore” (Phil. 4v4). Too much drooping of spirit disparages our high calling, and makes others suspect a godly life to be melancholy. Christ loves to see us rejoicing in Him. Causinus, in his hieroglyphics, speaks of a dove, whose wings being perfumed with sweet ointments, drew the other doves after her. Cheerfulness is a perfume to draw others to godliness. Religion does not banish all joy. As there is a seriousness without sourness, so there is a cheerful liveliness without lightness. When the prodigal was converted “they began to be merry” (Luke xv. 24). Who should be cheerful, if not the people of God? They are no sooner born of the Spirit, but they are heirs to a crown. God is their portion, and heaven is their mansion, and shall they not rejoice?
Thomas Watson, A Divine Cordial, p66
Change of title
Hi. I've changed my blog title. A few reasons:
1) Someone didn't know what "gleanings" were.
2) Relentless - that's how God is in His pursuit of us and that is how we should be in pursuit of Him. See Jer 31:3; Hosea 6:3
3) I'm no longer pastor of NLCC. Change of direction for me so I thought a new blog would be cool!
Enjoy!!!
1) Someone didn't know what "gleanings" were.
2) Relentless - that's how God is in His pursuit of us and that is how we should be in pursuit of Him. See Jer 31:3; Hosea 6:3
3) I'm no longer pastor of NLCC. Change of direction for me so I thought a new blog would be cool!
Enjoy!!!
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Altogether lovely
I've just read this by John Owen. He has just finished writing about Jesus in Song of Songs chapter 5 & sums up by using S.O.S 5:16:
When the spouse has gone thus far in the description of him, she concludes all in this general assertion: "He is wholly desirable, — altogether to be desired or beloved." As if she should have said, — "I have thus reckoned up some of the perfections of the creatures (things of most value, price, usefulness, beauty, glory, here below), and compared some of the excellencies of my Beloved unto them. In this way of allegory I can carry things no higher; I find nothing better or more desirable to shadow out and to present his loveliness and desirableness: but, alas! all this comes short of his perfections, beauty, and comeliness; 'he is all wholly to be desired, to be beloved;'"
Lovely in his person, — in the glorious all-sufficiency of his Deity, gracious purity and holiness of his humanity, authority and majesty, love and power.
Lovely in his birth and incarnation; when he was rich, for our sakes becoming poor, — taking part of flesh and blood, because we partook of the same; being made of a woman, that for us he might be made under the law, even
Lovely in the whole course of his life, and the more than angelical holiness and obedience which, in the depth of poverty and persecution, he exercised therein; — doing good, receiving evil; blessing, and being cursed, reviled, reproached, all his days.
Lovely in his death; yea, therein most lovely to sinners; — never more glorious and desirable than when he came broken, dead, from the cross. Then had he carried all our sins into a land of forgetfulness; then had remade peace and reconciliation for us; then had he procured life and immortality for us.
Lovely in his whole employment, in his great undertaking, — in his life, death, resurrection, ascension; being a mediator between God and us, to recover the glory of God's justice, and to save our souls, — to bring us to an enjoyment of God, who were set at such an infinite distance from him by sin.
Lovely in the glory and majesty wherewith he is crowned. Now he is set down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; where, though he be terrible to his enemies, yet he is full of mercy, love, and compassion, towards his beloved ones.
Lovely in all those supplies of grace and consolations, in all the dispensations of his Holy Spirit, whereof his saints are made partakers.
Lovely in all the tender care, power, and wisdom, which he exercises in the protection, safe-guarding, and delivery of his church and people, in the midst of all the oppositions and persecutions whereunto they are exposed.
Lovely in all his ordinances, and the whole of that spiritually glorious worship which he has appointed to his people, whereby they draw nigh and have communion with him and his Father.
Lovely and glorious in the vengeance he taketh, and will finally execute, upon the stubborn enemies of himself and his people.
Lovely in the pardon he has purchased and does dispense, — in the reconciliation he has established, — in the grace he communicates, — in the consolations he does administer, — in the peace and joy he gives his saints, — in his assured preservation of them unto glory.
What shall I say? there is no end of his excellencies and desirableness; "He is altogether lovely. This is our beloved, and this is our friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."
Owen John, Communion with God, p100-102
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
The Promises of God
The promises are as cork to the net, to bear up the heart from sinking in the deep waters of distress.
Watson Thomas, A divine cordial, p10 (ebook edition)
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
The sinner
Luke 18:13 - But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' ESV
Lit - The sinner - not just a sinner but the sinner, emphasis on me not just being one of many but the chief of sinners. Do we see ourselves as people who fail, sin and do the things others do or do we see ourselves naked & bare before the eyes of a Holy God?
The word "merciful" is in fact propitiated - But the tax collector having come to a stand at a distance, was unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven but kept on beating his breast, saying, O God, justify me the sinner upon the basis of an expiatory sacrifice which satisfies the demands of divine justice and makes it possible the just bestowal of righteousness on the basis of justice satisfied. Wuest . Bare mercy is not sufficient even with God to deal with our sins - His justice needs to be satisfied; He cannot just aquit the guilty but must Himself be propitiated.
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Beatitudes #1 - Blessed are the poor in spirit
Last Sunday evening (24th Jan) we started a look at the Beatitudes. Here is the first sermon in the series:
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley 1875 (26 yrs old)
Gordon Brown - after the attempt to replace him recently said this poem gave him great inspiration to continue - Mr Brown said: "It is about determination. It summarises my view."
Jesus’ view?
Beatitude = pronouncement of blessing
Blessed =Happy!
These are hallmaks of people in the kingdom. Not new set of laws for the world but things that should mark our lives – the
E.g’s:
1. King David
We can read about the tons of gold & silver he contributed to the building of the temple.
2. Paul the Pharisee
Yet look at his background - impeccable r.e religion!
3. Spiritual credit crunch
What is credit crunch? = when you haven't got enough to make ends meet!
Both David & Paul knew God, they had encountered God.
The thing they have in common with everyone who knows God is that they know they haven't got what it takes spiritually.
- Intentions of heart may be towards God
- Position in society
- Rich or poor
- Religion- and how strictly you follow it
You ain't got what it takes!
You need to be poor in spirit!
Def
Used to describe a beggar.
= someone in abject poverty, utter helplessness, complete destitution.
The word doesn't just describe someone who has no money but someone who is entirely destitute and has become a beggar.
In Jewish thinking it pointed to a person who had become poor but was crying out to and depending on God to keep His covenant promises to the poor.
4.
They thought they had got it all together - For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Compare how they saw themselves to how Jesus did.
Makes Jesus vomit!
5. Tax collector & Pharisee
Imagine you don't know the story - Jesus made an amazing statement - the tax collector went home justified! Shocking!
Why? He was poor in spirit!
Justified - def
Blessed - def = happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous-- with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions Amp
6. Opposite of the world
The attitude of the world = Invictus.
Assert yourself
Push yourself forward.
Jesus isn't telling you to put yourself down - but to recognise you ain't got what it takes!
See your debt!
Those who see their debt, their destitution & sheer poverty & bankruptcy before God - they get blessed, they get credited with all they will ever need to stand before God and all they need for life & godliness.
Pr 16:5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.
This is the opposite of being poor in spirit - God hates it! Cursed!
The poor in spirit? Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven's doors are open to them and all the riches & blessings that Heaven can afford belong to those who are poor in spirit.
6.1 Not wrong to have riches!
Jesus isn't teaching that poverty in itself is good - it is wrong!
Neither are riches in themselves bad - love of money.
Where is your dependence? Security? Needs to be in God!
6.2 How are you going home tonight?
How you go home and how you will be this week depends on how you came in and how you see yourself?
- Pharisee or tax-collector?
- Right in your own eyes - or justified & right with God?
- Bankrupt & in a spiritual credit crunch - or blessed and to be envied?
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
R3 - introduction
Here is my sermon from 17th January:
Back at the beginning of November last year I taught on the Year of Jubilee.
A while after that, in the Thursday night prayer meeting, I went back to part of that sermon and taught from
What I want to do today is to share the vision and then we will come back to it several times this year.
R3
We see from
- bind up the brokenhearted,
- to proclaim liberty to the captives,
- Open the prison to those who are bound;
- to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour, and the day of vengeance of our God;
- to comfort all who mourn;
All of this is so that God may be glorified.
So, if the person mentioned in v1-3 is Jesus, who are the they in v4? 4And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. AMP
They are the people who have met with Jesus and Jesus has transformed them, changed them and given them a mandate, a mission to go and see others transformed!
Jesus' intention for people who get transformed by Him was never for them merely to come to church each week and sing songs to Him and listen to sermons! Jesus transforms us so that we can be instrumental in bringing change to individuals, families and the community in which we live.
I'm not just on about individual change here but being a church that ushers in change on a community-wide scale. To be the type of church that if we weren't here, things would be noticably different - for the worse!
How is this possible? Let's look again at the mandate we have been given:
1. Rebuild
If we rebuild something, what does that imply?
= something is broken, something is wrong, things aren't working as they should.
what needs fixing - Look at the lives of individuals and the community - what is broken, what needs fixing?
Marriage, family, parenting, relationships.
Yet part of our mandate is to rebuild!
Jesus takes broken people, fixes them and then uses them to fix other people!
A big implication of this is that those of us who belong to Jesus should be exemplary in our marriages, in the way we raise our children and run our families, in how we go about boyfriend/girlfriend relationships.
Being a Christian isn't just about having a ticket to Heaven when you die but about life transformation here and now.
We need to take what we learn and apply it to our lives. What you hear in church should affect your life! What you read in your Bible should make a difference in your marriage. Christians aren't supposed to carry out their relationships in the same way as the world around them!
2. Raise up
To raise up - what does this imply?
= People are bowed down, oppressed.
Lacking dignity - why do people lack dignity? Self image, shame, status.
People are bowed down under sin but the Gospel lifts up and gives dignity to people. To deal with shame & guilt and see people walk with their heads held high in God.
Think of various groupings in society who are often lacking in dignity -
- Elderly
- Disabled
- Refugee
- Immigrants
Yet as church we are to be part of the solution!
3. Renew
We are to be people who help usher in renewal! This speaks of the spiritual aspect:
2Cor
Social action is good - it is part of the implementation of the
Don't be mercenary! Indiscriminate - same as God/Jesus. Sun to shine on righteous/unrighteous -
To experience the new wine of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our midst. Not to have other things - personalities, bands - to be the draw but the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to be the attraction.
4. How to get involved
4.1 Pray
As leaders we passionately believe that God has given us this mission - Rebuild, Raise-up, Renew. R3!
As I'll explain it is something for everyone in the church to get involved in and the most foundational way to get on board is to pray!
Saturate this church in prayer! Pray for transformation, pray for those who teach that we won't just teach for information but to bring transformation.
Pray for the Gospel to permeate this area with lives being touched, families being changed and relationships transformed.
4.2 Live prophetically!
I mentioned earlier that as Christians we need to be living lives that are different from our unsaved friends & neighbours. Paul wrote to the church at
If we live like this, if we simply be what we are we will be living prophetically. A prophet is a person who brings God's word & will to bear to a group of people. We need to live alternative lives so that people know there is an alternative to the way they live.
If all we profess is to go to Heaven when we die then all people will see is an alternative way to die - but if we live differently, living according to God's plan & purpose then they will also see there is an alternative way to live.
4.3 Witness
Witness! This is what we are called to do - to tell others about the mighty transforming power of Jesus.
So many times in the Gospels we see how transformation was brought about after people heard about Jesus - woman with internal bleeding, Canaanite woman with demonised daughter; Bartimaeus, Centurion with sick servant; villagers in Samaria - all heard of Jesus and then came to Him themselves.
4.4 Tools!
Some of these things are big but our prayers, our witnessing, our lifestyles can help usher in change.
We also want to put tools in your hands - organisations, information, resources which you can share with others or invite people - to sow seeds of change.
4.5 What makes you tick?
Lastly, I want to ask - what makes you tick? What do you like doing? This is something for you!
Do you enjoy cooking? Do you like texting? Writing letters? Decorating? Gardening? God wants you to take these down to earth, mundane talents, gifts & hobbies and offer them to Him for His glory & service.
I want each one of you to actively pray & seek God and ask Him what you can do, how you can get involved.
What have you got to give? God wants you to offer it to the leadership of the church for the common good.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Ps 67:1-3 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! ESV
Think on that! Let your imagination begin to run riot with thinking what your life would be like of God showed you His unmerited favour, if He blessed you and was smiling upon you. Stop imagining - He is!
See also the reason for this request - so that others may see and trust in and treasure God!
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