Pentecost +18: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31

Listening to God and Speaking for God

In the ministry of Jeremiah, there is both listening to God – “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord” (Jeremiah 32:1) and speaking for God – “this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says” (Jeremiah 32:15).

Listening to God is not easy. Speaking for God is not easy. We face many difficult situations. There are many times we will feel like giving up. We are tempted to stop listening to God. We are tempted to stop speaking for God.

What are we to do when it feels like we can take no more?

We must remember the Lord. Nothing is too hard for Him. We must learn, like Jeremiah, to look to the Lord and say, “Nothing is too hard for You” (Jeremiah 32:17).

We must remember His promise: “The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Jesus calls us to follow Him (Matthew 4:19). He calls us to follow Him. He warns us – “the way is hard” (Matthew 7:14).

It is Jesus - our loving Saviour - who calls us to follow Him. He does not leave us to go it alone. He gives us His strength – “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).

“When the road is rough and steep, fix your eyes upon Jesus. He alone has power to keep. Fix your eyes upon Him.” You can “depend on” Jesus. He is your “gracious Friend.” “He is faithful to the end.”

Keep on Listening to God. Keep on Speaking for God

Why do we find it so difficult to keep on listening to God and speaking for God?

There is an enemy – Satan, the devil – who is determined to stop us listening to God and speaking for God.

We must not overestimate our enemy. The Lord is stronger than the devil. With the Lord on our side, we need not live in fear of the devil. God has given us His promise: “Surely He will save you from the traps of the hunter” (Psalm 91:3).

We must not underestimate our enemy. As well as God’s promise, we also have His warning. We must “be alert” - “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

We dare not be overconfident. The devil deserves our respect. He is a powerful enemy. We need to hear God’s warning.

Along with His warning, there is also His promise. God says to us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7). It is within the context of faith – believing God’s promise – that we listen to God’s warning. How are we to resist the devil? - We are to “resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9).

We must not try to resist the devil in our own strength. We will be defeated. He is much more powerful than we are.

We must resist him in the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, we have the victory – “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Satan is out to get us. He’s trying to trap us. Let’s never forget this: Jesus is able to “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

Each of us must decide – I will listen to God, I will speak for God.

There is a great battle going on - between God and Satan. There have been disappointments. Some have already strayed after Satan (1 Timothy 5:15). Lives are being ruined (1 Timothy 6:9). Many have wandered away from the faith (1 Timothy 6:10). They have not found happiness. They have pierced their hearts with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10).

There is a great deal at stake in this battle. We must ‘give the enemy no opportunity to slander us’ (1 Timothy 5:14). We must take care how we live - ‘so that God’s Name ... may not be slandered’(1 Timothy 6:1).

We are to live a life of ‘godliness’, a life that is based on ‘the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Timothy 6:3). We are to ‘aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness’ (1 Timothy 6:11). Let’s live for ‘the life to come, the life which is permanent’. This is ‘life indeed, the life that is truly life’(1 Timothy 6:19).

In Luke 16:19-31, we learn that our decisions shape our destiny. Will we listen to God? Will we speak for Him? Exclude Christ from your life here on earth, and you will excluded from the glorious life which is being prepared by God for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:10).

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The Bible Readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary – Year C.

Introduction to my Bible Reading Notes

In providing notes, covering the whole of Scripture, I seek to provide solid, substantial and spiritual teaching. I hope that these notes will, in a simple and sincere way, open up for you the things of the Spirit by sharing with you the teaching of the Scriptures concerning our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible is God's Book. Do you want to get to know God - in real depth? Read your Bible often. Read it carefully. Read it prayerfully. Make Bible reading an important priority in your life.

This will involve discipline - real discipline, daily discipline, godly discipline.
It will bring great rewards. Your life will be greatly enriched through feeding on the Word of God.
As you read the Bible, you will find that it tells a story. It is history. It is more than human history. It is God's Story. This Story - His Story, God's Story - finds its Centre in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Centre of history. He is history's Central Theme. Make Christ the Centre of your life. Let Him be your Central Theme. Keep Christ at the Centre of your life. You will find true happiness when your life is centred upon Christ.
It will not be easy to keep Christ at the Centre of your life. Often, you will fail Him. He will never fail you. Often, you will take your eyes off Him. He will never cease to look upon you with love- love which sees the best in you, love which sees beyond what you are, love which sees what you can become as you learn to trust Him for salvation and walk in obedience to His Word.
In introducing these notes to you, I invite you to discover, day-by-day, the wonderful truth of these marvellous words of divine grace: "When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way! ... Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey".
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Pentecost +17: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13

Living in the Light of Eternity – A Challenge to the World’s Way of Thinking, Speaking and Living

* Living in the Light of Eternity – A Challenge to the Worldly Way of Thinking

Some people think they’re smart. They’re wise in their own eyes.

They ‘know it all’- so they think!

They’ve an answer for everything - except the most important question, the question of salvation: ‘What must I do to be saved?’

They know so much - yet they know so little that really matters!

Some people think they’re smart. They’re getting on in the world. They’ve no time for God.

They’re too busy enjoying all the pleasures of this world.

What does the Word of God say about people who think they’re smart. What does God’s Word say to those who think they can manage fine without God?

- ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved’ (Jeremiah 8:20).

This is not only God’s Word for other people. It’s a challenge to every one of us.

When this world is ‘past’ and its pleasures have ‘ended’, where will we be?

Jesus has a question for every one of us: ‘What good will it do you if you gain the whole world - and lose eternal life?’(Matthew 16:22).

* Living in the Light of Eternity – A Challenge to the Worldly Way of Speaking

The ‘smart’ people direct their sarcasm against God’s people: “Where is their God?” (Psalm 79:10).

Many people listen to this sarcasm - and they turn away from the Lord. They no longer worship Him.

We look at what’s happening in today’s world. We hear what people are saying. We wonder if things can be turned around.

Can we be turned around? This is the question of the Gospel. This is the call for conversion. This is God’s Word to every one of us.

It would be so easy to start listening to the voice of the world and stop listening to the voice of God. The voice of the world can so easily drown out the voice of God.

We must not pretend that we are not tempted. The tempter’s voice is persistent. We must pray that the Lord’s voice will be heard.

How are we to pray? How are we to come to the Lord?

- We must come to the Lord with a realistic awareness of our own weakness:

“The world is ever near;

I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear;

my foes are ever near me, around me and within”.

Coming to the Lord with a realistic awareness of our own weakness, we pray that we “may receive mercy” - “How long, O Lord? Will You be angry for ever?” (Hebrews 4:16; Psalm 79:5)

- We must come to the Lord with a prayer for His protection:

“Jesus, draw Thou nearer, and shield my soul from sin.”

Coming to the Lord with a prayer for His protection, we pray that we might “find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

- We must come to the Lord, praying that He will help us to keep on listening to His voice:

“O let me hear Thee speaking, in accents clear and still,

above the storms of , the murmurs of self-will;

O speak to reassure me, to hasten and control;

O speak and make me listen. Thou Guardian of my soul.”

We must keep on listening to the Lord. We must keep on praying to Him.

We must pray that His Name will be glorified.

How is the Name of the Lord to be glorified in today’s world?

It must begin with us - ‘We, Your people, the flock which You shepherd, will give thanks to You forever. We will praise You throughout every generation.’(Psalm 79:13).

* Living in the Light of Eternity – A Challenge to the World’s Way of Living

The smart people are quick to see ways of making a profit. For the Christian, there is a higher priority. Beyond financial profit, there is eternal profit

Jesus said, ‘You cannot serve God and money’ (Luke 16:13). The ‘lovers of money’ did not like His teaching (Luke 16:14)! .

Don’t be like the lovers of money! Don’t let money squeeze Christ out of your life. Remember: life without Christ leads to eternity without Christ (Luke 16:19-31).

Look for opportunities to support the work of the Gospel.

By our giving, we help the Church to be Christ’s prophet in today’s world.

‘Make friends’ (Luke 16:9). Win others for Christ so that, together with them, we may be welcomed to our eternal home.

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The Bible Readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary – Year C.

Pentecost +16: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28; Psalm 14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10

Serve the Lord. Keep on serving the Lord. Preach the Gospel. Keep on preaching the Gospel.

God was not pleased with his people - “My people are fools; they do not know Me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding.” They had sinned against Him – “They are skilled in doing evil; they do not know how to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22). They had brought judgment upon themselves - “Now I pronounce My judgments against them.”(Jeremiah 4:12).

The situation sounds pretty hopeless, doesn’t it?

Was there no hope for the future? Had God given up on His people?

We read about the word of judgment – but there is more. There is also the promise of blessing.

God was calling his people back to Himself.

* Serve the Lord.

God’s call is not only a call to salvation. It is also a call to service – “If you will return, O Israel, ... then the nations will be blessed ...” (Jeremiah 4:1-2).

We are not only to seek blessing for ourselves. We are to pray that others will be blessed also. The blessing of God is not to be kept to ourselves. It is to be shared.

We are not to be small-minded people – “What will I get out of it?”

Jesus said to His first disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

This is still His Word to us today. We cannot rest content with being an inward-looking Church.

Christ has given us a worldwide mission: “You will be My witnesses ... to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Christ has returned to heaven – but He has not left us on our own. He says, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).

We do not take up this great challenge in our own strength. Christ says to us, ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you’ (Acts 1:8).

There will be times when we feel are getting nowhere – “Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins” (Jeremiah 4:20).

We read the daily news. We wonder, ‘What’s going to happen next?’ We ask, ‘Where will it all end?’ Are we to give up hope? - No!

We must learn to look beyond the things that are happening in our world today. We must learn to look to the Lord - ‘the God of hope’ (Romans 15:13).

He says to us, ‘There is hope for your future’. Do you feel like things are just going from bad to worse? Remember God’s Word: ‘I know the plans I have for you ... to give you a future and a hope’ (Jeremiah 29:11; 31:17).

What is this future? What is this hope? Is it just a future filled with personal blessing? Is it just the hope that our own future will better?

No! There is more than that.

There is overflowing blessing. There is blessing which reaches out to others.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

* Keep on serving the Lord.

Life can be testing and trying. We often feel like giving up. We often like our faith has come to an end.

What are we to do when this happens? How are we to keep on trusting the Lord? How are we to keep on serving the Lord?

We must remember the Lord. Remember His faithfulness. He has blessed us in the past. He has not given up on us. He still has plans for us.

In our times of great difficulty, he comes to us. In our times of great distress, he makes himself real to us.

This is our assurance of faith: “The Lord restores the fortunes of His people.”

The Lord makes us “glad.” We “rejoice” in Him (Psalm 14:7).

We give thanks to God for His promise of blessing. Let us pray that His blessing will come: “O that salvation ... would come ...” (Psalm 14:7).

The Lord will not disappoint us. He will send his blessing.

When your faith is put to the test, don’t be “the fool” who “says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).

“Fear the Lord” - ‘and give Him glory” (Psalm 15:4; Revelation 14:7). “Act wisely”’- “seek God”, “call on the Lord” (Psalm 14:2, 4).

When you find it difficult to keep on trusting the Lord, when you feel that your strength is almost gone, ask yourself, “what is most important to me?”

Am I content with a life that is centred on myself? Do I want to rise to the challenge of serving the Lord?

Why be content with less than God wants to give to us?

He is the God of hope. He wants us to enjoy his overflowing blessing.

Let’s commit ourselves to him – and see what He is able to do when we say from the heart,

“We are on the Lord’s side; Saviour, we are Thine … Always on the Lord’s side, Saviour, always Thine.”

* Preach the Gospel.

‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ (1 Timothy 1:15).

Paul had something special to say about this statement. This is what he says - ‘Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance’(1 Timothy 1:15).

Paul was a man with a testimony: ‘I received mercy ... the grace of our Lord overflowed for me’(1 Timothy 1:13-14).

God is still looking for people who will say, with Paul - I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith; God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16; Galatians 6:14).

May God help us, in our generation, to be ‘eager to preach the Gospel’(Romans 1:15).

* Keep on preaching the Gospel.

People were coming to Christ (Luke 15:1). Still, the critics were murmuring among themselves (Luke 15:2).

What did Jesus do ? - He kept on preaching the Gospel.

He spoke of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7). He spoke of the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10). He spoke of the lost son (Luke 15:11-32).

These are the parables of the Gospel.

They teach us two lessons - By ourselves we are lost;

- In Christ, there is salvation.

Read about the prodigal son, and think of the perfect Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

- In Him, we see God’s perfect love.

- Through Him, we receive God’s perfect salvation:

(a) ‘the best robe’- forgiveness (Revelation 7:13-14);

(b) the ‘ring’- membership of God’s family (John 1:12);

(c) the ‘shoes’- empowered to bring ‘the Gospel’ to others (Ephesians 6:15).

God ... has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). May God help us to share these blessings with others.

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The Bible Readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary – Year C.

Pentecost +15: Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33

God is calling us on to glory. There will be difficulties along the way. There will also be blessings.

* God is calling us on to glory.

We begin with the prophet – Jeremiah – and the psalmist – David.

Here are two men who caught a glimpse of the glory of God.

Jeremiah speaks of the Potter and the clay. The Lord is the Potter. We are the clay.

This is what Jeremiah says: ‘The pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him’(Jeremiah 18:4).

The Potter and the clay: it’s a picture of what the Lord is doing in our lives.

He is ‘the Potter’. We are no more than ‘jars of clay’ (Jeremiah 18:6; Isaiah 64:8; 2 Corinthians 4:7).

Our lives are ‘marred’ by sin. It would be very easy to give up on ourselves. God hasn’t given up on us. He looks beyond what we are now. He sees what we will become.

He is preparing us for ‘eternal glory’. ‘We are being renewed day by day’. ‘We are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory’ (2 Corinthians 4:16-17:3:18).

When we catch a glimpse of God’s glorious purpose, we will give ourselves to Him to do His will: ‘Jesus, You are changing me. By Your Spirit, You’re making me like You ... You are the Potter and I am the clay. Help me to be willing to let You have Your way ...’

Like Jeremiah, David caught a glimpse of God’s glorious purpose. He prayed, that he would be led “in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:24).

Through Christ our Saviour, we are led ‘in the way everlasting’: ‘God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son’ (1 John 5:11).

God’s great purpose of eternal salvation seems ‘too wonderful’ (Psalm 139:6) - ‘too good to be true’! ‘It is a thing most wonderful, almost too wonderful to be, that God’s own Son should come from heaven and die to save a child like me, and yet I know that it is true ...’.

God has a glorious future planned for us. We can hardly even begin to take it in: ‘Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain’ (Psalm 139:6). We know that ‘no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’ yet we rejoice in this: ‘God has revealed it to us by His Spirit’(1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

As we consider the glorious purpose God has for us, let us pray, with David, ‘Lead me in the way everlasting!’(Psalm 139:24).

* There will be difficulties along the way.

Jesus never promised that life would be easy fo those who commit themselves to Him.

He spoke of the ‘cost’ of being a disciple. He spoke of the ‘cross’: anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple“ (Luke 14:27-28).

The cross: this is something we cannot get away from. It meets us wherever we go.

He suffered. We will suffer also.

God’s Word is very clear about this: everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).

If you are serious about following Christ, you will encounter difficulties along the way.

Make no mistake about it: the way of Christ is the way of the cross.

It is death to self – but it is more than that.

For Christ, there was crucifixion – but His story didn’t end there. There was also resurrection.

For us, there are also difficulties along the way – but there is more than that.

* There will also be blessings.

Paul was in prison – difficulties along the way.

What happened while he was in prison? – blessing.

Imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel, Paul preached the Gospel while he was in prison.

Thrown into prison, Paul must have wondered, Will anything good come out of this?

God had an answer for this question. In prison, Paul met a young man called Onesimus. The story of Onesimus is told in Paul’s letter to Philemon. It’s a wonderful story: ‘He was useless ... now he has become useful’(verse 11).

Onesimus – his name means ‘useful’. He was a runaway ‘slave’. He became ‘a beloved brother ... in the Lord’(verse 16).

It appears that Onesimus had stolen from his master, Philemon (verses 18-19). He landed up in prison - and there, he was converted!

This is what Paul is telling us when he speaks of ‘Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment’(verse 10).

Why did God allow Paul, His faithful servant, to land up in prison? It was for the sake of the Gospel. He was there because of His faithfulness to Christ. He was there to share the Good News of Christ.

The imprisonment of the Apostle Paul – why did God allow this to happen? Part of the reason was Onesimus. God wanted Paul to meet Onesimus. Paul was to lead Onesimus to Christ.

Sometimes, our difficult circumstances may feel like a prison sentence. You want to get out, but you can’t - until God has fulfilled His purpose: the ‘useless’ becomes ‘useful’- in the service of God.

Pentecost +13: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17

By grace you have been saved through faith ... for good works (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Before we speak of our own good works, we must speak of faith in Christ.

Before we speak of faith in Christ, we must speak of the grace of God.

* The grace of God

We begin with the story of Jeremiah – the story of his call to the prophetic ministry.

The story doesn’t begin with Jeremiah. It begins with God – the eternal God.

To understand Jeremiah’s story, we must look ‘behind the scenes’.

What happened on the day when Jeremiah was called to the prophetic ministry?

Was it just a case of Jeremiah making up his mind, “I’m going to become a prophet”? – No. There was something more than that.

Behind Jeremiah’s decision, there was God’s decision. This was not simply Jeremiah’s decision: “I will be a prophet.” This was God’s decision: “You will be My prophet.”

How did God come to this decision? Did he just happen to notice Jeremiah and think, “He would make a good prophet”?

Once again, there was something more than that.

God’s mind was made up long before He told Jeremiah about His plan.

Jeremiah tells us what happened: ‘The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations”’ (Jeremiah 1:4-5).

Jeremiah’s story helps us to understand our own story.

To understand our own story, we must go even further back - ‘The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight’ (Ephesians 1:3-4). We must never forget the words of Jesus: ‘You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last’ (John 15:16).

We’re not to be ‘on the surface’ people. We’re to be people who have seen ‘behind the scenes’, people who have caught a glimpse of the eternal God and His eternal purpose for our lives, people who know that we have been “saved by grace.”

* Faith in Christ

We turn from the story of Jeremiah to the story of David.

David is in great danger. His life is being threatened by his enemies (Psalm 70:2).

We might expect that he would be depressed. Far from it! Rather than being preoccupied with his own problems, he is calling on God’s people to worship the Lord with joy: ‘May all who seek You, rejoice and be glad in You! May those who love Your salvation continually say, “God is great!”’(Psalm 70:4).

How was David able to rise above his own problems and call the Lord’s people to worship? - He knew that the Lord was his ‘Rock of refuge’, his ‘strong Fortress’ (Psalm 71:3).

Like David, we may face ‘many terrible troubles’. Like David, we must learn to praise the Lord and look to Him to lead us in the way of victory: ‘You have done great things, O God... You will revive me again’ (Psalm 71:19-20).

It would be so easy to turn from the Lord in unbelief. There is so much unbelief all around us. The spirit of unbelief threatens to overwhelm us.

We must learn to “love God’s salvation.” We must learn to look away from ourselves to Christ. He is the “Rock” of our salvation. In Him, we have true joy, the joy of knowing that our sins have been forgiven. In Him, we have real strength, the strength we need to press on towards a life of true holiness.

* We have been saved by grace through faith for good works.

In Hebrews 12:14, we are called upon to seek ‘the holiness without which no-one will see the Lord’ (14).

This is not the ‘holiness’ of the Pharisee: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men...’(Luke 18:11-12). It is the holiness that grows in the hearts and lives of those who have received ‘the grace of God’, those who have prayed, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’(15; Luke 18:13).

We do not earn ‘the grace of God’ as a reward for our ‘holiness’. Salvation is ‘not our doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, so that no one can boast’.

In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there is a call to holiness. We are saved ‘for good works’.

Before we think about holiness, we must think about the grace of God and faith in Christ.

- First, there is the grace of God: without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

- This is followed by faith in Christ: without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

- Saved by grace through faith, we are called to holiness: without holiness no-one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

This is the divine order in God’s plan of salvation.

First, there is the provision of salvation. This is the Lord’s doing. It has nothing to do with us. This is the great declaration of the Gospel: God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (John 3:16), God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Second, we receive salvation. We trust in Christ. We look away from ourselves to the Saviour. He can do for us what we can never do for ourselves. He forgives our sins.

Third, there is the call to holiness. Before we can answer the call to holiness, we must answer the call to salvation.

Jesus Christ, our Saviour, calls us to live a holy life.

He stresses the need for both repentance (Luke 13:1-5) and the fruits of repentance (Luke 13:6-9).

God’s Word, planted in our hearts at conversion, is to bear fruit.

This requires continual repentance and faith (Colossians 2:6; Galatians 3:1-5).

Jesus Christ calls for our response. Don’t put it off till tomorrow! Today is ‘the day of salvation’. Don’t ‘neglect’ God’s ‘great salvation’(Luke 13:15-16; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Hebrews 2:3). Let there be spiritual growth, affecting the whole of your life (Luke 13:18-21).

Pentecost +14: Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1, 10-16; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14

God’s Word speaks to us about sin, salvation and sharing.

We are to face up to our sin. We are to bring our sin to the Saviour. We are to share the Good News of salvation, inviting sinners to come to the Saviour.

* We must face up to our sin.

Jeremiah’s message was not popular. He spoke to the people about their ‘sins’. They had turned away from the Lord. They had chosen to go their own way (Jeremiah 2:13).

He invited them to think about what their wrong choices were doing to them: ‘Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the Lord your God when He led you in the way?’(Jeremiah 2:17).

Jeremiah left the people in no doubt about where their wrong choices were leading them - ‘“Your own evil will punish you, and your turning from Me will condemn you. You will learn how bitter and wrong it is to abandon Me, the Lord your God, and no longer to remain faithful to Me”, I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken’ (Jeremiah 2:19).

This was not what the people wanted to hear. It was what they needed to hear. It’s still what we need to hear today!

Before we can hear the Good News concerning God’s salvation, we must hear the bad news concerning our own sin. This is very important. We will never really appreciate the Good News of our salvation until we have begun to understand the bad news concerning our sin.

* We are to bring our sin to the Saviour.

In Psalm 81, God calls His people to worship Him with joy - ‘Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!’(1).

He has blessed His people with His salvation - ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt’. He will continue to bless us, as we keep on looking to Him for blessing - ‘Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it’ (10).

God wants to bless us. He wants us to seek His blessing - ‘O that my people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! ... I would feed you with the finest of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you’ (13, 16).

Far too often, we can’t be bothered with God and are not really interested in seeking His blessing. We are so like the people of Israel - ‘My people did not listen to My voice; Israel would have none of me’ (11).

We have sinned against the Lord – but He has not given up on us. He still calls out to us. He calls upon us to seek Him. His call comes to us with His promise: ‘You will seek Me and find Me; when you seek Me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:13).

We seek the Lord. We find Him. In our seeking and finding, we come to know that, before we even began to seek for Him, He came seeking for us: “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10),

* We are to share the Good News of salvation.

God’s Word says to us, ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers’ (Hebrews 13:1).

If the love of Christ is to flow freely among us, there can be no place for ‘us and them’ thinking - ‘He’s not one of us. They’re not our kind of people. They’re strangers. They don’t belong here’.

This kind of attitude is a contradiction of the love of Christ. We must remember: ‘Strangers are only friends we’ve never met’. We sing, ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’. Do we show His friendship to strangers?

We must never underestimate the importance of a ‘friendly welcome’(Hebrews 11:31). If there is no ‘friendly welcome’, word will soon get around - ‘They’re not very friendly’!

This is not just a matter of saying the ‘right words’. It’s about being the right kind of people - people who care enough to be friendly!

Real sharing begins in the heart. Let God’s love flow freely in your own heart. Let it flow, from there, into the lives of others. Receive Christ and share Him with others.

The Gospel says, ‘Come, for everything is now ready’. Some will make excuses (Luke 14:17:-20). We must not be discouraged. We must keep on sharing Christ. We have received His love. Let us keep on sharing His love (2 Corinthians 4:1).

When we share Christ’s love, there will be a mixed response. Some will be critical of us (Luke 14:1). Others will open their hearts to Him (Luke 14:11).

The Gospel comes to us. It comes with a call for our response. The Gospel goes out from us. It calls for a response from everyone.

What will we do? Will we exalt ourselves? That is the way of bringing judgment upon ourselves. Will we humble ourselves? That is the way of receiving God’s blessing: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11).

Pentecost +12: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56

Christ calls us to be different. He calls us to be saved. He calls us to be holy.
* Christ calls us to be different.
When Christ was here on earth, he met plenty of religious people. He wasn’t impressed by their religion. They liked to think that they were different from other people. They were different – but not in a way that pleased the Lord. He looked at them and He said, “Hypocrites!” (Luke 12:56).
They drew attention to themselves – but they did not direct attention to the Lord. Everything revolved around themselves. The Lord didn’t get a look in.
Christ calls us to be different – different from the “hypocrites”. How are we to be different? How does Christ make the difference in our lives?
* How are we to be different from the “hypocrites”?
We look at the “hypocrites”. What do we see? There was something missing. They had a big problem. Their hearts were closed to the Spirit of grace (Luke 12:57-59). If they were going to be changed, they needed to open their hearts to the Spirit of grace. If we are going to be changed, we must open our hearts to the Spirit of grace.
We must learn to pray, “Spirit of the living of God, fall afresh on me … break me, melt me, mould me, fill me …”
Real change does not come from within ourselves. It comes from above, from “the Spirit of the living God”.
We do not say, “I’m going to make myself better.” We come to the Lord and we pray, “break me, melt me, mould me, fill me”.
Real change is not our own doing. We do not change ourselves. It is the Lord’s doing. It is the work of “the Spirit of the living God”.
He sees what we really are. He sees beneath the surface. He sees where there needs to be change.
He creates in us a desire for change, real change. We talk about the need for change – but we don’t let it get too personal. He presses upon us the call for personal revival. He prompts us to pray: “O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start the work in me.”
* Christ calls us to be saved.
In Psalm 80:3, we have a prayer for salvation: “Restore us, O God, make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”
When we come to God with our prayer for salvation, we do not come to a ‘god’ who is unable to hear our prayer. We do not come to a ‘god’ from whom we can expect no answer. We come to “God Almighty” – the “Lord God Almighty” (Psalm 80:7, 19). We come with of salvation – “What must I do to be saved?” God gives us His answer – “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:30-31).
What does the Lord say to those who look to Christ for salvation? He says this: “The Lord will bless you and watch over you. The Lord will smile on you and be kind to you. The Lord will look on you with favour and give you peace’ (Numbers 6:24-26).
What are we to say to the Lord who blesses us so much? – We worship Him. We say, “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer” (Ephesians 1:3).
This is where real change begins. It begins with the prayer for salvation. It begins when we open our hearts to “the Spirit of the living God”. It begins when we pray, “Restore us, O God, make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved”.
* Christ calls us to be holy.
In Isaiah 5:3, we find words that are full of sadness: “he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit”. These words are followed by a question that is full of challenge: “When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?” (Isaiah 5:4).
This is the call to holiness. God’s people are called to be “holy” (Isaiah 4:3). Holiness is not an optional extra. It’s not something we can take or leave. We cannot say, “Yes, I want to be saved but I don’t want to be holy.”
When salvation is real, there will be a real desire for holiness. God does not forgive our sins only to say, “Just go on living the way you did before I forgave your sins”. He forgives us our sins and He changes us, leading us into a new way of living – His way.
Holiness is not popular in today’s world. The world speaks of God’s people with contempt – “these holy people need to learn to live in the real world.”
When God calls His people ‘holy’, He speaks in a very different way. He speaks with affection. He looks upon us with love. We are special to Him. We are precious in His eyes. God loves us and He calls us to be holy. We are to live as those who have been set apart for God.
We are not to live for this world only. There is something else, something greater than this so-called “real world.” There is a world that is unseen and eternal, heavenly and glorious. This is our higher calling, our call to holiness. Let us “look to the things that are unseen and eternal.” Let us “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4:18; Philippians 3:14).
* How are we to live as people who are different – people who are saved and holy?
We may look around us and say to ourselves, “It cannot be done. There is too much sin in our world.”
We look inside ourselves and we say, “It cannot be done. There is too much sin in ourselves.”
In Hebrews 11, we read about many people who trusted the Lord. Their faith was real. It changed their lives. They lived in difficult times. They encountered many problems. Many times, they were tempted to give up. They didn’t give up. They kept on going. They were heroes of the faith.
As you read about these heroes of the faith, let God’s Word challenge you. Bring your own weak faith to Him and ask Him to give you a stronger faith. Say to the Lord, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’(Mark 9:24).
We learn from so many different people. We read about their faith. We are inspired by their faith. We do not, however, make too much of them. We must always be ‘looking to Jesus’(2).
We must learn the lesson of the transfiguration. We look at Moses. We look at Elijah. We learn from them. There comes a point where they - together with all God’s faithful people - must step aside, leaving us to look up and see ‘Jesus only’(Mark 9:2-8).
When we look to Him, He will change us. He will make us different. He saves us and He makes us holy.
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The Bible Readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary - Year C.

New Word Press blog - Share the Good News

I have just set up a new Word press blog - Share the Good News(http://sharethegoodnews.wordpress.com). I hope you will visit it and will find the articles helpful.
This blog contains material transferred from a Blogger blog - Let's Share the Good News (http://charlescameron.blogspot.com). You can still visit that blog as well as the new one.
You will find these blogs at Share the Good News and Let's Share the Good News.

Pentecost +11: Isaiah 1:10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40

Christ has come among us. Christ still comes to us. Christ will come for us.

* Christ has come to us.

God is not a ‘god’ who keeps his distance from us. He comes near to us. He is not a ‘god’ who keeps his silence. He speaks to us.

This is the great declaration of faith made by the Psalmist in Psalm 50:3 – “Our God comes, He does not keep silence”.

“God the Lord speaks” – This is the great message which comes to us from the opening verse of Psalm 50.

How does God come near to us? How does He speak to us?

He comes near to us in Jesus Christ. He speaks to us through Jesus Christ.

In John 1:1, we have this tremendous description of Jesus Christ: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.

Jesus Christ is the Word. God is speaking to us through Jesus Christ. How does God speak to us through Jesus Christ?

He speaks to us by drawing near to us – “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. Jesus Christ is God’s Word. He is God, speaking to us. He is God, coming near to us. He is God, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

- We think about Jesus Christ. We think about His coming to our world. We ask, “What has He brought to our world?”

We may answer this question in a number of ways. He has brought meaning. He has brought purpose. He has brought direction. He has brought love. He has brought joy. He has brought peace.

What has Christ brought to our world? There is another answer to our question. It is not a list of many things. It is quite simply this: He has brought Himself. He has brought God. He is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

- We think about Jesus Christ. We ask, “What is His message for today’s world?”

We begin with the Man. He is the message. To hear His message, we must listen to Him.

Before we press on to the present, His message for us today, we must go back to the past.

Christ has come among us. This is our starting-point. From here, we move on to today, to the Christ who still comes to us.

* Christ still comes to us.

Who is Jesus Christ?

We answer this question in terms of history. He’s a man from a long time ago, a man from the distant past, a man we could very easily forget.

The answer of faith takes us beyond ancient history. It speaks of the living Christ. He still comes to us.

He comes in love. He invites us to come to Him in love.

Jesus Christ is God’s invitation.

He invites us to come and receive salvation - ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’ (Isaiah 1:18).

With this promise, there is also the warning – “if you refuse and rebel …” (Isaiah 1:20).

The promise and the warning – we find them both in the message brought to us by our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

- God speaks to us of His great purpose of salvation: ‘God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him’.

- He tells us that we can be saved through faith in Christ: ‘Whoever believes in Him is not condemned’.

- He calls us back from the way of unbelief and judgment: ‘Whoever does not believe is condemned already because he does not believe in the Name of the only Son of God’ (John 3:17-18).

Jesus Christ still comes to us. He comes with His “great salvation’.

Make sure that you receive God’s salvation: ‘How shall we escape if we neglect or ignore such a great salvation?’(Hebrews 2:3).

In Christ’s invitation of love, with its promise and its warning, we catch a glimpse of the future, a glorious future which is summed up for us in the marvellous words: Christ will come for us.

* Christ will come for us.

In Hebrews 11:16, we are invited to think about “a better country – a heavenly one”.

Can we live in the present with no thought for the future?

We think about the future when we plan our holidays. We plan for the future when we do our Christmas shopping. We think ahead. We save our money for a time when we will need it.

What about the eternal future?

We may try to put it on the backburner. There are more pressing things to think about it – things that have to be done today, things that have to be done tomorrow, things that must be done by the end of the week.

Can we just forget about the eternal future?

We may try. For a while, we may succeed. Then something happens and it all comes back to us: What about the eternal future?

Why do thoughts of the eternal future come back to us, even when our minds are so full of other things?

The answer to this question is given in Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “God has put eternity into man’s mind”.

In every human heart, there’s ‘a God-shaped blank’.

Jesus came to fill this ‘God-shaped blank”. He came to give us “life” – “abundant life”, “eternal life” (John 10:10; 17:3; 1 John 5:11).

Without Him our lives are empty. The longing for “a better country” can only be satisfied by Him. He is God’s “foretaste of glory divine”.

We must prepare for the eternal future.

In Luke 12:32-40, Jesus tells us to “be ready” for His Return (v. 40). We are to “wait” on the Lord (v. 36). We are to keep “watching” for Him (v. 37). We are to “keep our lamps burning” (v. 35).

How can we do this? How can we be ready for Him, waiting for Him and watching for Him?

Keeping our lamps burning - what will this mean for us?

It will mean keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. He is our “lamp” – “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Revelation 21:23; John 1:29).

We must keep our eyes on Christ. He will keep us faithful. He will keep us ready for His coming.

Pentecost +10: Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21

God’s love for us is much greater than our love for Him.

So often, we are like the people of ‘Israel’ in Hosea’s time. They did not have much love for the Lord because they didn’t pay much attention to Him (Hosea 10:3). We look at them, and we see ourselves. God loves us so much. We love Him so little. He speaks to us of his love for us. We hardly take any notice of Him. We take his love for granted. We don’t take time to say, “Thank you”. Our love for Him remains weak.

* We must thank God for his love for us. We must think about our love for Him.

When, in Hosea 11:1-11, we read of ‘God’s love for Israel’, we thank Him for his love for us and we think about our love for Him.

What are we to do when our love for God grows weak? We must remember His love for us. Our love for God grows weak. His love for us remains strong. He refuses to give up on us.

We wander away from the Lord. He calls us back to Himself: ‘It is time to seek the Lord’ (Hosea 10:12), ‘You must return to your God’ (Hosea 12:6).

When we return to the Lord, He leads us in the way of His ‘love’ (Hosea 11:3-4). He teaches us to ‘walk in the Spirit’. He produces in us ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:16-18, 22-25).

God will help us to grow strong in our love for Him: ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26). We must seek to grow strong in our love for Him. We must ‘not quench the Spirit’. We must ‘not grieve the Holy Spirit of God’ (1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30).

* Before we even begin to think of our love for God, we must thank Him for His love for us.

There are some things that are worth repeating!

The story of God’s amazing grace is worth repeating over and over again - ‘Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress’(Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28).

The call to praise the Lord is also something we need to hear again and again - ‘Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men and women’ (Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31).

Let us ‘consider the great love of the Lord’. Let us ‘give thanks to the Lord’ (Psalm 107: 43, 1).

‘The great love of God is revealed in the Son, who came to this earth to redeem every one. That love, like a stream flowing clear to the sea, makes clean every heart that from sin would be free… It’s yours, it is ours, O how lavishly given! The pearl of great price, and the treasure of heaven!’

* We thank God for His love for us and we think about our love for Him.

In our love for God, we are to be what he, in His love for us, has made us to be.

In Colossians 3:1-11, we read of our privilege and our responsibility.

In Christ, God has made us new people. We are God’s people. This is our great privilege.

In Christ, God calls us to live as new people. He calls us to live as His people. This is our great responsibility.

Be what you already are. Be what God has made you in Christ. This is what God is saying to us here. ‘You have been raised with Christ… You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:1, 3).

Paul is describ