Harvest

In an agricultural society, the autumn is harvest time when the fruit of the year's work is collected and stored for the winter months.  Therefore this time of the year churches traditionally have harvest services and collect food for needy people.  Harvest services are about thanking God for the blessing of the harvest and helping others.  We also think about the harvest of people that the bible talks about, so that's the theme for today.

We are reminded of harvest at home because our apples ripen and are harvested.  Many churches have harvest services when they thank God for the harvest and have a lovely tradition of bringing food to church and give it to those in need.  In Llanelli we're introducing a Foodbank Box to the hall and we're going to be talking about helping others.

As a church we've traditionally had a deep affinity with the harvest as we used to focus on the Holy Days which were based around the seasons in Israel.  Please turn to Exodus 23 v14-16 this gives an example of how the Israelites Holy Days were embedded in the harvest seasons.

Exo 23:14  "Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
Exo 23:15  "Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
Exo 23:16  "Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field. "Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

We've never traditionally had harvest services as such with food collections, however we were very familiar with the concept of the first fruits of the harvest, and the main harvest itself which is to follow.

Through our greater understanding and the shift in focus over the last 20 years, I believe that the topic of harvest has been strengthened rather than diminished although not specifically in name.  One clue is that over the last few years the autumn festival has gone from being called the Feast of Tabernacles to the autumn "Harvest" festival but there has never to my knowledge been an official pronouncement or explanation.

Today I want to write about Harvest - not combined harvesters or apples, I'd like to talk about the harvest of people that Jesus talked about.  

Jesus talked about the harvest in Matt 9v37-38 and Luke 10v2. In both places he said.

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Jesus referred to the world as a harvest field which is plentiful.  There are billions of us in the world who need the gospel and relatively few of us who are believers.  You could call it the Church's market place if we were in the business of selling.  The number of people who are believers is relatively small and the number of believers who make the effort to come to church is smaller still compared to the population at large.  You would think therefore that as the gospel is a) good news and b) a matter of life and death, that it would be an easy task to go into the world and sell the gospel message.  Of course we are not a business and we're not into sales.  What Jesus makes clear in this scripture is that the harvest field is His not ours and we ask Him to send workers into His field.  It's not our job to recruit workers and it's not our field to go and harvest.  God is in charge.

Let's start at the beginning.  For there to be a harvest you first have to sow the seeds.
In Mark 4 and Luke 8 Jesus acknowledges that when seeds are sown they don't always fall on fertile ground.

Mar 4:2  He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
Mar 4:3  "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
Mar 4:4  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Mar 4:5  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
Mar 4:6  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Mar 4:7  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
Mar 4:8  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times."
Mar 4:9  Then Jesus said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."
Mar 4:10  When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.
Mar 4:11  He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
Mar 4:12  so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"
Mar 4:13  Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
Mar 4:14  The farmer sows the word.
Mar 4:15  Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
Mar 4:16  Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
Mar 4:17  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
Mar 4:18  Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
Mar 4:19  but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Mar 4:20  Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown."

This is in some ways discouraging as you know that many of the seeds come to nothing, but on the other hand it's encouraging to know that it's no reflection on us.  Jesus warns us that this is the case so we carry on regardless.  We are going to leaflet the area around the hall in Llanelli.  I don't expect the leaflets to miraculously save anyone from the jaws of hell, however it will raise awareness that we exist and will hopefully make non attending Christians think about supporting a church locally and join in Jesus work where He's calling people by pointing them to a reference point locally.  We'll see what happens as a result.

Let's look at 1 Cor 3v6-9.
1Co 3:6  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
1Co 3:7  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
1Co 3:8  The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.
1Co 3:9  For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building.

It is God who makes the seed grow and when you look at this in the context of first fruits and the elect, it is God who chooses who to reveal the gospel to at any particular time.  We however are human and of course we want to see the result of our efforts bringing thousands of people to Christ now.  Books are written about how to do this that or the other in order to find that magic bullet that will bring revival.  Of course humanly we're missing the point.

So why can't we do it on the back of our own efforts?

We're in a spiritual battle zone here.  Jesus has done everything necessary for people to be saved and he holds out the gift of life but people have free will and need to realise firstly that they have a problem which Jesus offers them a solution to.

I used to think that the problem was apathy but I was corrected by a Vicar back in the summer who said no - apathy is when people know something to be true and don't do anything about it, or can't be bothered to engage with it - this may be true of Christians who don't attend, but not for the general population.  The reality is that people don't see the gospel to be relevant in their lives - they are not apathetic - they have no interest or engagement in the first place.  Church is not for me - it's for the old people in their Sunday best.

This is the harvest that we're dealing with, especially in the western world.  I'll give you an example.  We have a very productive apple tree in the garden.  An apple is happily living in its tree, it has good days and bad days, enjoying the sun some days and being buffeted by wind and rain on others.  The apple is nice and secure, connected by a stalk, it has enough nourishment so doesn't need anything, and it grows and matures until it gets to a certain size and falls to the ground.  Then it rots away or gets eaten by slugs and worms.

That's what most people lives are like in the western world.  They are comfy and relatively affluent & secure.  They eat drink and are merry until they die.

An apple on a tree has no understanding of it's potential as a tasty snack, or a crumble or pie, or even a pint of cider into which it is transformed after it's been harvested!!  The end result i.e. the glass of cider has no relevance to the apple which is clinging onto the tree.  This is the problem we face, for most people they are like the apples, they have no spiritual awareness that there is something greater being offered to them.  They will be aware that Christians believe in heaven but what has that got to do with me they think.  How could such a wonderful gift be ignored by millions?  

2 Cor 4v4 says that the god of this world blinds people.
2Co 4:4  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2Co 4:5  For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
2Co 4:6  For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Only God can remove that blindfold and has done for believers.  When people are in darkness they need the light of God to penetrate the darkness and show them the direction to go.  Here's the thing - we have no idea who God is working on and revealing the gospel message in their hearts right now.  If someone is being called, they need to connect with the body of Christ.
Lets look at John 1v3-5

Joh 1:3  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
Joh 1:5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Last week when preparing a different message I noticed something about this passage which is relevant today. Notice the tense of v4 and v5 are different. v4 Past tense, v5 present tense.   In Jesus was life which was the light of mankind - this refers to his creative powers in the context of v3, but this did not stop at creation - v5 shows His light shines in the darkness NOW through creation and through His body - us - and all the acts of love that people do right now.  He's alive and well providing light in the darkness that is Cardiff!!  When you see the foodbank donations, and other charities helping the homeless, addiction rehab centres, Christians Against Poverty etc you see the light of Jesus shining and you see the personal contact with Jesus love that can act as a catalyst when there are gaps in blindfolds of the enemy.

It's our job to be here to represent Jesus.  It's not our job to sell a product or to use snazzy marketing to hook people in, until someone realises they need God, they are blinded to anything we do.  But that is no excuse to do nothing - just like a harvest, it won't grow unless someone sows the seed.  As we've read, Paul said he sowed and Apollos watered but God made it grow.  The seed needs to fall on ground that God has prepared, so it will grow.  That is what we should be praying for - that the seeds we sow through our lives make contact with the people God is calling.  It's a phrase we hear from HQ - joining in the work that Jesus is already doing in the world.  As we've read being co-workers.  It's His work and we are joining in not the other way around as we'd like it to be.

Historically we have seen revivals when thousands have accepted life in a dramatic way.  The 1904 Welsh revival is an example, and we all deep down pray that there will be another revival and that we'll be part of it.  More recently we've seen the Cwmbran outpouring which saw many people accept the gift of life.  They never claimed it was a revival but it caused great excitement over the several months in which they had daily meetings.  During times like this we see God moving powerfully and the blind folds falling off many at a time, so we know God's power to do this at a time he chooses.

When it happens the churches need to be ready and welcoming.

When we see people, we should see them as God's beloved children.  We should not condemn people for the problems they face even if it is self inflicted.  What if a drug addict walked in between hits after having a moment of clarity.  Would we welcome him or her with a cup of tea and a biscuit afterwards?  What about Muslims in town - are we afraid of them or do we see them as people who God loves? As I said last time, one German church has seen over 800 people convert from Islam.  We call ourselves "Welcome" because we should welcome anyone here who God is calling no matter what their background or circumstance.  The harvest is plentiful and we are only a small group.  Let's pray not only that God will open people's eyes, but that He will send a team to help.

So what about the people who do not accept the gift of life and repent??  The bible clearly shows that people have free will and therefore God's wrath is reserved for those who reject his grace.  Whilst we believe Jesus died for all, and his sacrifice was universal, people for whatever reason can still reject it.  Revelation 14-16 is clear that all sorts of bad things are destined for the remnant of people who do.  But - this is only for those who remain unrepentant.  Rev 16v9.
Rev 16:9  They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

The implication here is that even at this last minute, if people did repent and glorify Him, they would be saved by God's grace.  We have no idea how many will remain unrepentant after all this and take part in the ultimate battle when Satan and the forces of evil are bound? We'd like to think based on scriptures such as Phillipians 2 that everyone will eventually bow before him.

Php 2:9  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
Php 2:10  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Php 2:11  and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Rev 20 shows the that there are more than one resurrection.  Just like there was the first fruits of the harvest and a main harvest, we see the elect, the believers raised before the rest.  We have traditionally believed that people who have not believed in this life will have a chance to repent at the great white throne judgement and under our new understanding we hold to the belief that death is no barrier to God's love and that at some point everyone will be confronted by God's grace.  This is the good news - whilst we believe now and sow the seeds so others who God is calls can too - the main harvest is yet to come.

To conclude, understanding the harvest gives us a more compassionate outlook of life when we see suffering around us.  Instead of condemning people to hell for the choices they make or the circumstances imposed on them, see them as beloved children of God who He loves and who Jesus died for.  It may not be someone's time right now, at the point when we have contact with them, it may be yet to come, but at some point Jesus light will pierce the dark veil that is cloaking their eyes and they will respond in one of two ways.   Let's pray that all will accept the gift of life when it's their time to be harvested.  

How strong are you?

Sermon Cardiff 25 07 15

Good morning everyone and a big Cardiff Welcome to our guests.

The question we're looking at today is - how strong are you?  When I did this in Llanelli I got the kids doing a tug of war.

At SEP, when I was a camper, they had a giant tug of war and on one side they hooked up a speed boat to help them...  This is the same for us today - on our own we are weak, together we're stronger - but still we're fighting forces we don't know or understand which seek to undermine us - so we desperately need help.

Do you remember Joe Tkach's message a couple of months ago where he spoke about the young oxen learning from the old and being allowed to develop and strengthen alongside the older one.  It's the same with us - we have Jesus alongside us supporting us as we develop and mature.

That speaking of life was based on Mat 11: 28-30 when Christ said.

Mat 11:28-30  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  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."

Jesus yoke is light as he's there helping us bear it.  Jesus has already suffered and died on our behalf, he's even carried our cross - and we can rest in him knowing all that needs to be done for our salvation has been done already.  Our part is to believe this is so, and accept the gift of salvation.
Whatever happens in life should therefore be seen in this context.  Things happen that we're not happy about and we get discouraged, however our strength is the assurance that there is more than this life and our problems.

Judy's favourite scripture was Php 4:13 which says in the King James "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  She did some amazing things despite her latter illness and we are very grateful for all the things she did especially for the children with children's church.

People have defied the odds and defied their physical circumstances all over the world and done amazing things in the name of Jesus.  People like Mother Teresa.  I'm sure you can think of people.
Even GCI, although we are a relatively small denomination have got churches all over the world and some are in the poorest places like refugee camps and rubbish dumps.  Spreading this good news of God's grace amongst the most challenging circumstances, and that is where the growth is taking place.

We have a summer camp called SEP (www.sepuk.org) and there, a team of people work hard over two weeks turning a sheep field into  a community - amazing efforts by the set up staff.  But where to they get the strength and motivation?  It is a big ask for people to give up weeks of their time for something some of them don't even see working.

Moses isn't renouned for his singing but after they crossed the red sea he sang.
Exo 15:2  "The LORD is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation.  He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Notice he gave God the credit for saving the people from Egypt - the deliverance from Egypt and especially the crossing of the red sea is an example where they could not have physically done it on their own strength.  The plagues are an example of divine intervention.  Israel could not have physically done this for themselves.  Do you remember them all?
1. Water into blood 2. Frogs 3. Lice 4.Flies 5. Livestock got sick 6. Boils 7. Hail and Fire 8. Locusts 9. Darkness 10. Death of First born.

God strengthened them by displaying his power against the Egyptians.  Remember that it was God who hardened their hearts

Exo_10:1-2   Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD."

This is clear that their hearts were deliberately hardened for the Israelites benefit so that they could declare the strength and glory of God for generations to come.

There are examples in the bible where people were given strength beyond their physical capabilities in order to glorify God.

David and Samson are two famous examples.

The story of David and Goliath for example showed that a child plus God could achieve more that the finest soldiers.  Notice however he gave God the glory throughout.  Lets pick out a couple of verses.
1Sa 17:37  The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

1Sa 17:45  David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
1Sa 17:46  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
1Sa 17:47  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
1Sa 17:48  As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
1Sa 17:49  Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
1Sa 17:50  So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
1Sa 17:51  David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

Clearly it was divine intervention here and it was for God's glory by showing both the Philistines and Israel how powerful he was.

Samson likewise lived in the strength of God.  I won't go through the story as you'll know it, however at the end they've captured him and he's tied up in their temple.

Jdg_16:28  Then Samson prayed to the LORD, "Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes."

Other famous examples are Daniel in the lion's den, Shadrach Mishak and Abednigo in the Fiery Furnace etc.  Again divine intervention which was beyond human strength.

What about us?  We only really see God's strength coming through us when we are going through adversity.  People going through trials can cope with things beyond their wildest nightmares when they are living in the strength of God.  Some say that trials show lack of faith or that you are doing something wrong - therefore if you don't have any you are living right. Many people are proud of their achievements and think they are right with God because of the effort they are putting in.  There is a flaw in this thinking however as Ephesians says we are saved by grace so no one can boast.

Eph 2:8  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
Eph 2:9  not by works, so that no one can boast.

How many here think that they are perfect?

1John 1 says if you say you are without sin you are calling God a Liar. I certainly don't want to be accused of that!!
1Jn 1:8  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

So all have sinned - all have fallen in weakness, however it says that God is faithful and just to forgive.

So we've established that we are not perfect - but God loves us anyway.
So, what is it that we need to do?  For what purpose does God give us strength?  __ Helping people __

Gal 6:9-10  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Notice help ALL people - but they had a fledgling church like ours - so they were told to especially help their Christian brothers and sisters.

We see people suffering all over the world and we can't help everyone - but we can help when we feel moved to do so.  As a church we have sent money from the UK office to our church brothers and sisters in places like Nepal and the Philipines to help them re-build their lives and their communities - thankfully none of our members have died but their lives have been devastated.

They need God's strength at this time and so do those being persecuted around the world. So please remember them in your prayers.

So, if you feel weak and can't carry on in your troubles, if you think you are being punished for issues you may have, pray for God to uphold you and lets live in His strength.  God loves us where we are at and whatever we have done - we can't do much in our own strength as our strength is flawed - however he can do anything through us if we are open to the lead of his presence in our lives.  Lets live in His strength.

Reference are Today's NIV.

www.gciwales.org
www.llanelli.church

"Worship"

Today we are going to explore what worship is, and how it impacts the life of a Christian.

Definitions of the words in old and new testaments indicate the bowing or lowering yourself or lyeing down before God.  The word in the old testament referring to God is shaw-khaw which is defined "prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God): - bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship."  There are two other words used in Jer and Daniel which refer to worshiping other gods or the king which is just the bowing part of the meaning.

People used to literally lie face down in worship to God.  Clara often lies down when we are praying.  This is where bowing your head comes from when we are praying.  Even today, when you meet the Queen you bow or curtsey as a mark of respect and lowering yourself before her.  I've even seen people doing this in public prayer and worship even in today's society which goes back to the original meaning.

The new testament word pros-koo-neh'-o also indicates the kissing of a hand.  (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.

The English word is literally worth-ship - to give worth to something.

In olden days the subjects used to bow before the King or Queen and kiss the ring of office which was the royal seal which is a continuation of the thought that you bow before the King and kiss the hand.
Worship is therefore the Act of holding God higher than ourselves and putting God first.   Put it the other way - by lowering ourselves we're lifting God up.
In the old testament they used to make sacrifices and offerings for all kinds of reasons as part of their worship, mostly to thank God and to say sorry for the things they did wrong.  Lets look at one example from the old testament that links worship and sacrifices.
2Ki 17:36  Worship only me! I am the one who rescued you from Egypt with my mighty power. Bow down to me and offer sacrifices.
Israel made a range of offerings including Lambs, bulls, doves, also grain offerings.  This was an important part of the Sabbath and Holy Days which were also linked to the harvests.

In the new testament, we see things change which I'd like to point out.
First, God became flesh and took humanity therefore into himself uniting the physical and spiritual. This changed the relationship between God and man.
Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God.
Joh 1:2  From the very beginning the Word was with God.
Joh 1:3  And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created
Joh 1:4  received its life from him, and his life gave light to everyone.
Joh 1:14  The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.

Jesus was God and His sacrifice therefore was once for all as set out in Hebrews.  He did it vicariously - on our behalf - collectively, and therefore the sacrificial system was perfectly fulfilled in the ultimate act of worship.  This is why we don't kill animals nowadays.
In the book of Eph chapter 2 Paul says that we are sat is heavenly places.
Earlier we sang there is a higher throne.  This is taken from Rev 4 and shows that heaven is full of colour and light with praise and worship.    READ?  When we worship we are therefore bowing down and lifting God up inside of us - kind of standing aside and joining in the worship that is happening 24/7 in heaven.  READ We read in places like Jesus birth the heavenly host rejoicing in praise and worship but this is only part of it.

Matt 25 says that whatever we do for others we are also doing for Jesus.  Jesus is one element of God, Father Son and Spirit, so by helping others we are doing it for Jesus and we are therefore worshipping God.
We are included in the life and love of God as we are "In Christ" - please turn to 1 John 4v11-19 which shows that God dwells in us by His Spirit.  READ
Worship is therefore more than singing songs - it's a whole life experience which permeates everything we do.
Romans 12v1 - says that we are to be living sacrifices.
When we did this interactive last week, Tom made a good point - worship is the only thing we can give God.  We can't give physical things as He made everything and He's Spirit so physical riches are useless to him.  Worship however comes from the heart and is an act of love to hold someone else up in high esteem.  We hear of people being martyred for their faith - not sure how many of them would do so willingly - I'm sure they would rather not have been caught by an terrorist group!  However to be a living sacrifice is an ongoing act of love and when you think of people who care for loved ones or friends with long term illness, you get a glimpse of what this means.
God is love and when we worship him, we see the love flowing back in return. Isa 55v11 talks about God's word not returning empty.

Worship tends to get narrowed down to the singing part of a church service, however it's much wider than that and when we pray or show love and concern to others we are showing their worth - and this is worship also.  For example, let's build each other up at church and give each other the encouragement we need.  It's the Act of God's love flowing through us and back to him in so far as whatever we do for others the loves flows back to God.

Last thought - People don't seem to care much about God nowadays, but one day all the world will bow down and worship him.
Rev 15:4  Lord, who doesn't honour and praise your name? You alone are holy, and all nations will come and worship you, because you have shown that you judge with fairness."

A thought occurred to me - if, as we believe, God will reveal his love and grace to wider humanity and people will have the opportunity to respond on judgement day - this scripture is profound! God will reveal the gift of life when people deserve death so all the nations will bow down.  Can you imagine when He returns in Glory - people will be afraid when they realise he does exist and they will expect that they will be punished for their actions.  Jesus however is the judge and he's paid the penalty already so we'll see his grace being poured out on all who repent and believe.  Phil 2v10-11 says At the name of Jesus everyone will bow READ.
Don't forget how he dealt with Paul - he asked him why he was persecuting him but he didn't destroy him, he loved him and Paul responded.  What we see in Paul is heart change and heart worship - and he kept referring to how bad he'd been and how great God is.  Paul's life was therefore transformed into a life of worship.

As we see the atrocities in the middle east and increasingly closer to home lets keep praying "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and look forward to the time that everyone will kneel down and worship God.
So what have we learned today about worship? It's more than just singing songs, although when we sing, we are joining the worship in heaven.  Our lives are living sacrifices to help others and this is an act of worship as we bow down and hold others and therefore God up higher than ourselves.  This is something that cannot be fabricated or created - it's an act of love that comes from the heart.

New Year Message 2015

Sermon Cardiff  3 January 2015

Good morning everyone.

I hope we are all refreshed after the Christmas break and we can start the new year afresh. The new year is just an arbitrary line in the sand of time.  The calendar as we know it was invented by man to subdivide time in accordance with the time it takes the earth to revolve around the sun - in 1582 the current Gregorian calendar replaced the Roman Julian that stood prior to that date.  It was decided that a year would be 365.2425 rather than the previous 365.25 days, but to make it simpler that was rounded down to 365 days with an extra day every four years, but even this is inaccurate so we have three adjustment days every 400 years when there are no leap years in three of the four centenary years.  This means we keep a consistent 12 months and have a predictable extra day every four years apart from the three adjustment years to make up the difference.  Got it.  By the way, the Calendar revolves around the calculation of the date of Easter which is related to the vernal equinox.  In order for it to work, they lost 10 days in 1582 to re-adjust things.

According to Wikipedia, the Hebrew lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar cycle and uses the 19-year Metonic cycle to bring it into line with the solar cycle, with the addition of an intercalary month every two or three years, for a total of seven times per 19 years. Even with this intercalation, the average Hebrew calendar year is longer by about 6 minutes and 2525/57 seconds than the current mean solar year, so that every 224 years, the Hebrew calendar will fall a day behind the current mean solar year; and about every 231 years it will fall a day behind the Gregorian calendar year.

So if anyone is interested in keeping things on the right days I suggest they don't lose sleep over it!!
Even today there are dozens of different alternative calendars in different cultures and countries in addition to the standard calendar that we work to, so the subdivision of time as we know it is not an exact science.

Some people make new year resolutions thinking that the new year is a once a year opportunity for a fresh start, others don't, instead dismissing such things as nonsense as we are exactly the same people now as we were on Weds.  The truth is both sides are wrong and we'll revisit this in the conclusion.

As you probably know, I've been putting a one line summary of the day by day studies on twitter for a couple of years, (@GCIdaybyday) and at the start of December I started a Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/GCIdaybyday?ref=aymt_homepage_panel ) which has the full day by day study as appears on www.daybyday.org.uk.

If you are not familiar with them, the day by days are a daily scripture and a short study or thought about it written by a variety of GCI members around the UK & Eire.  I don't know how many of you follow the day by days on line or with the daily emails, but they provide a wide range of topics and thoughts about them.  For example yesterday's day by day is as follows.  This was written by James Henderson.

The Light for 2015

“…the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…”  2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIVUK)

How should we find a way through another year? Jesus and his gospel light up the path before us, is what the Bible suggests.
Many of us try to make life decisions when a new year begins. It is as if we want to make a clean break from how our life has been or from problems that seem to hold us back. I remember the story of a Christian lady who took on the name of Peace Pilgrim. She would have seemed eccentric by today’s standard but she decided to devote her life to walking back and forth across America until people were mature enough to live in peace. Her first walk was on the 1st January, 1953 when she left Pasadena, California to head to the US East Coast. One of her wise quotations was this: “For light I go directly to the Source of light, not to any of the reflections”.

I like her view about light. Christ explained that he was the Light of the world. His disciples did not understand fully what he meant. He later explained that his followers would take the light of his glory wherever they went. That was the good news, the gospel of salvation through Christ; the only true spiritual light of the world.

As we begin a new year, let’s not look elsewhere for the light: turn to Jesus and his gospel, and not to imperfect reflections.

Prayer
Help us, Father, in this New Year to walk in the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. In His name.
Amen

The name "Day by Day" comes from 2 Cor 4v16 which is going to be the key scripture today.  Lets read the whole passage from v 15 - 18 to get the context.

"All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to over flow to the glory of God.  Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen us eternal."

I think this passage is a good summary for us to think about through the year as church and as individuals so lets look at the passage in more detail.

"All this is for your benefit" refers to the passage preceding and what is to come.  2 Cor 4 has so much content and I covered a lot of this in a recent sermon, it refers to us being treasures in jars of clay and while we go through problems we are not crushed or defeated and we'll be raised with him.  It also refers to Jesus being light in the darkness and the light shining in our hearts.  He starts in verse one by telling them not to lose heart.  Paul is saying all this to encourage the Corinthians that despite the ups and downs of life, they have Jesus to cling on to, and the surety of his resurrection and the resurrection they themselves could look forward to.

"All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to over flow to the glory of God."

Paul is giving us an insight into the early church here.  The gospel, the good news of God's grace was reaching more and more people.  He's saying this so that thanks giving overflows.  Not to Paul's glory, or the early church leader's glory, but to the glory of God.  Notice he's referring to grace reaching more and more people - if we put this together with Galatians and Ephesians and his other letters it reaffirms the message that Paul was preaching was grace not law and legalism.

Eph 2v8-9 says this most clearly when he said "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works so that no one can boast."

Notice that the thanksgiving over flows - not just being thankful but that it overflows - this is a contagious form of Christianity - you often find that those who've had a close shave in a car accident or an exploding cooker are so thankful they've been spared that they go around telling everyone their testimony - but we can tend to take our salvation for granted.  What Jesus has done for us, while we are still sinners as it says in Romans 5v8, when we really do not deserve it - is remarkable and this Paul says results in an overflowing of thankfulness.  

Depending on the translation, it either reads overflowing thankfulness or overflowing grace - the word is also translated super abounding or super abundant.  It's interesting that different translations put the emphasis differently, however you get the gist - what we are talking about here is the reaction to grace is thankfulness and we should take that into the new year.

Now for the key scripture v16. "Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

He's repeating the phrase he used at the start of the chapter - in v1 he said "Therefore, since God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart..." Why was he repeating this? Maybe he feared that the Corinthians were losing heart with the gospel?  Battle fatigue may have been setting in and in the face of persecution and perhaps they were suffering from discouragement?  In the context of the chapter he'd said in v8-9 "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed."

Persecution is happening today so this is a relevant topic even today.

Paul goes on to say "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."  Our physical existence in this country is pretty good compared with other countries, even when things go pear shaped there is still a safety net, however flawed, to provide for basic needs, and even if you slip through the net, there are Foodbanks which can give you emergency help.  But that's not the case elsewhere and was not the case in biblical times.  For us, ill health is something we all suffer from universally and no matter how much money you have, it does not stop you getting ill and suffering.  Paul is highlighting the fact that everyone is wasting away - life is a cycle we can't avoid.

Our bodies may waste away, or perish as it says in the King James, but inwardly we are renewed day by day.  It is the inward renewal that gives us hope and stops us from losing heart.  It gives us a perspective on things which stops us from despairing at our lives and the state of the world around us.
Our new lives in Christ are a journey of transformation as we grow in grace and knowledge as it says in 2 Peter 3v18.  Inner renewal means that no matter what happens around us, we are fresh for the fight.  We have the hwyl to carry on from the inside rather than having to be pushed or dragged into things.  We all know of people who have the heart for service despite their physical conditions - this is a practical application of this verse.  Their renewal may not be physical, but they have the hwyl to do things that people would not expect them to be able to, and not naming names they do a good job of it as well - despite their constraints.  

Paul also talks about renewal in Colossians in the context of the presence of Christ in us transforming us into new people

READ Col 3v1-14 you have the contrasts between old and new as our old self dies and we are renewed in the image of Christ.  Challenging isn't it!  Although we are forgiven for anything we do wrong, it still leaves physical consequences and a trail of destruction and hurt.  Notice the new attributes these too will have consequences but positive ones and all things are bound together in love.  What, or rather who is love? God is.  Whatever side of the problem we find ourselves we end up being hurt, however it's talking of bearing with each other and forgiveness as Jesus forgives but the new man demonstrates the attributes of God so we're talking about transformation from the bad to good, from hurt to healing.  Isn't that God's grace in action. Forgiveness on one hand but transformation and renewal on the other.

So, with this in mind as we stand being continually renewed in Christ we can continue in 2 Cor 4v17

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Paul went through some horrendous trials in his life with prison and ship wrecks and beatings for his faith and he describes them here as light and momentary.  He could see that the eternal glory was greater than everything he had to put up with in his life which meant that he did not lose heart and had confidence in the future that lay before him.   He continued.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen us eternal."

Isn't that a profound but encouraging scripture.  The doomsayers are already predicting a bad year with financial crises and terror alerts, and no one in immune to this - anything could happen any time and any where, as the Sydney hostages proved a couple of weeks ago.  But - are we afraid of this or do we have confidence that this world and all the troubles therein are only temporary.  We have some great discussions in our mid week meetings about reality and what science is discovering about the fragility of what we think is solid and real - the God Question DVDs give us a good overview of current research and the more they delve into matter, the less they find which is why they have been looking for the God particle which holds it all together.  Guess what - we've found it - and it's slowly making us more solid and real as the temporary old self is put to death and is renewed and replaced by Christ day by day.

So, to conclude, at the start of a new year, we look back at the year past and look forward to the year ahead.  As individuals and as church it is a time to both reflect and look forward, however it's not a once a year opportunity.  We are renewed day by day and week by week.  We are not therefore the same as we were in 2014 or even yesterday, because we are individually and collectively continuously growing in grace and knowledge for the glory of God.  How are we going to look next year? Who knows - but with the transforming power of God's presence it will not be the same as we are today.

I hope we all have a Happy New Year!!

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