Judgment upon the King (1 Samuel 28-31)

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Christian Godliness in the World - Titus 3

A God you can depend on - Joel 2:18-27

True Life - John 11


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Laurence.

Christian Godliness in the World

Hi, My latest sermon to give you food for thought!


Titus 3 – Christian Godliness in the World
(Second reading 1 Timothy 4)

How would you feel,
if your regular doctor,
who was cardiac sergeant,
was living a lifestyle which would lead you to question if he was really a doctor.

Every time you go to see him,
he assures you that you are in good health,
yet you notice that he is always coughing,
his always smoking, and is always eating mac'as.
Every time you ring up for advice, he is always at the local bar drinking.

Now, I don’t about you, but that would make me question,
it would make me question his claims about me being in good health and even his claim about being a doctor.

Christian sometimes fall into this problem as well, they claim to have the knowledge of truth,
yet their speech and their lives do not show it.

Point 1 - Truth leads to Godliness (v3-8)

Now, the knowledge of the truth has been a common theme throughout the book of Titus
and we have seen that knowledge of truth and Godliness cannot be separated,
they go together.

So when the truth is taught faithfully,
ungodliness is renounced
but when the truth is not taught,
for those who deny God like the Cretans,
they actually turn to myths and they are liars and are detestable and disobedient.

So what is this knowledge of truth?
Well Paul helps us out in verse 8,
he says this is a trustworthy saying, this is the truth.

What is this trustworthy saying that he is talking about,
well we need to go back to verse 4 where he gives us an explanation of what God has done for us.

But before we start looking at verse 4 together, let’s turn our attention to God in prayer.
Heavenly father, we give you great thanks that you have revealed yourself through your word and we ask you now to help us, to help us understand your word and to grow in Christ-likeness, We ask this through Jesus’ name, Amen.

So, let’s pick it up from verse 4,
“When the kindness and love of God our saviour appeared, he saved us”.

What did God saved us from?

Well verse 3, “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another”.

This image of human life that we see in verse 3 is an unpleasant image
and it’s an image of human life without the grace of God.

It’s a life where we were foolish and disobedient,
were we lacked any sense or knowledge of what is right,
where we were both mentally and morally deprived.

We were deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.

Most Australian’, while they might muck from time to time, would say that they are generally a good person,
however this verse tells us that we weren’t good people
because we were deceived and enslaved to evil desire,
we were enslaved to sin and there was nothing we could do,
to not live this way.

And as a result we lived in malice and envy,
being hated and hating one another.
We resented each other and we were hostile towards one another.

It is because of this reason that we could not know God
and that we need someone to save us,
someone to rescue us from our bondage to sin
and to change us into new people who know and live for God.

So when the kindness and love of God our saviour appeared,
he saved us,
and he saved us not because of any righteous things we had done,
but because of his mercy.

Now if we are truly deprived and enslaved to sin,
then really,
there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.

Yet, our world seems to think this is not the case,
our world tells us that true happiness,
fulfilment,
salvation is found from within.

Even those who claim to be religious,
they think that they can earn God’s favour,
God’s salvation from within by good works.

However this isn’t the salvation Paul is talking about,
notice in verse 4 that we have been saved from depravity by the appearing of God our saviour.

The Lord Jesus our saviour is our source of salvation,
he is the one who has rescued us,
he is the one who has revealed God to us
and this salvation is entirely from God’s own heart,
from his kindness, from his love, his grace and his mercy in sending Jesus.

How does God’s mercy in sending Jesus save us?

Well Verse 5, “God saves us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour” And who verse 7, has justified by his grace.

God in his mercy has justified us
which means that he has declared right,
he has declared us forgiven,
by the death of Jesus on the cross
and by his grace.

And at the same time God has also changed our hearts,
he has made us into a new creation,
giving us new birth
which basically means that he has changed us to know and follow him,
to be like Christ,
and his done this through the Holy Spirit.

Now I wonder if you have noticed that the only reason you are saved,
that you know God,
is because God has saved you himself.

He has done this through Jesus,
by the justification that came by his blood,
he has done it through the Holy Spirit,
by whom he gave you new birth and a renewed heart
and it is motivated by his kindness and he love.

God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit work together in an amazing way to bring salvation to you.

So, why have you been saved,
what is you purpose?

Verse 7, you have been saved, “so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Did you know that your purpose for your Christian life is to become an heir,
an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ?

God has saved us for this purpose,
he saved us to become an heir of God,
and because we are heirs,
we now have a great hope and great assurance of fullness of life with God forever,
the hope of eternal life.

Now, this salvation that we have just heard,
Paul is telling us in verse 8,
that it is trustworthy,
that it is the truth and that it must be trusted.

And Paul wants timothy to stress these things, to insist these things,
“so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good” or literally, devoted to do good works.

If you have trust in God,
then you know this truth of salvation,
you have the knowledge of truth,
however this trust in God,
isn’t just head knowledge,
but it’s a trust which leads to good works,
which leads to Godliness.

Paul isn’t saying that we are saved by good work,
he already established that we are saved by grace,
but he is actually saying that good works is the necessary fruit and evidence that we have been saved.

Now, if we are saved people,
if we are renewed people,
then a true knowledge of the truth will actually shape the way you think and the way you act,
to do God’s will,
to be like Christ,
to be devoted to good works.

It like we heard last week,
where you can’t have knowledge of truth without Godliness, without a response which expresses our relationship with God.

Let me encourage you
and urge to grow in knowledge of the truth,
to be reminded of the salvation God has given you,
to know God,
to listen to his voice,
to read your bibles and study his word
so that you may know how to be devoted to doing good works because good works is excellent and it’s profitable for everyone.

Point 2 – Duty for life in the world (v1-2, 9-11)

Now in Titus so far,
we have seen what it looks like to be an heir of God,
we have seen what it looks like to be Christian who is devoted to good works in different roles and situations.

In chapter 1,
we saw Christian duty in the church,
how elders and leaders of the church are meant to live and what they are to teach.

In chapter 2 we saw Christian duty in the home,
how men, women and slaves are to live
and what they are to teach.

Now in chapter 3 Paul goes on to talk about Christian duty in the world,
how Christians who are devoted to good works are meant to respond to the world,
to the community around us.

So firstly, how are Christian meant to respond to rulers and authorities?

Well verse 1, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good”.

We are commanded to be obedient,
to be obedient to those in the world who have rulership and authority over us.

Does this mean that we obey and do everything they tell us?

Well no,
because that would be idolatry,
it would be worshiping them rather then worshiping God.

Peter in Acts 5 tells us that we must obey God rather then men.
So our first allegiance is to God,
however if a ruler or those in authority
command us to do something which is not in collision with God’s commands,
then our duty is to obey them.

We are called to obey them because as Paul tells us in Romans 13, those in authority have actually been delegated to it by God for the duties of punishing evil and promoting good.

Notice that this verse also tells us to be ready to do whatever is good
because it’s not enough just to be obedient to rulers and authority
but we actually need to be ready to cooperate with them
and help them to complete their duties.

Now what about everyone else in the world,
what about non-Christians,
how are we to relate to them?

Verse 2, we are to “slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”

Friends, we are being watched,
make sure that your speech and your behaviour reflects your devotion to doing good works,
make sure you are pointing people to Jesus by your Christ-likeness of character.
Don’t slander anyone,
don’t be argumentative but be considerate,
show gentleness and graciousness,
show humility,
courtesy
and meekness towards all men just as Jesus did.

Are you considered,
gentle
and gracious towards all people?

What about the people who get on your nerves and really annoy you?
Do you show humility and courtesy to them?
Or do you get angry and prideful?

Remember that you too, verse 3,
where once foolish,
disobedient and deceived,
you too once where once anti-social.

But God has changed you,
he has saved you and has renewed you heart,
with the knowledge of the truth,
with the news about salvation.

It is not enough to just affirm that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
We must be able to say that he saves us,
he saved me
and he can save you.

And you see by being obedient to the authorities,
by being humble,
gentle
and showing courtesy towards all men,
in doing this,
we have the opportunity to point people to the knowledge of truth,
to point people to Jesus.
People will ask why, why are we different.

Now if good works is excellent and profitable for everyone as we have just seen,
then what isn’t profitable?
What is it that we are meant to avoid?

Well verse 9, “but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless”.

Is this verse saying that we should not debate and disagree with people?
No, because Jesus himself was a controversialist,
he was always in constant debate with the religious leader of his day.
We heard last week that God expects us to be intolerant,
to have discernment when it comes to knowing the truth.
And we saw in chapter 1 that false teachers need to be silenced and rebuked.

No, Paul isn’t saying that we shouldn’t debate with people
but he is saying that we need to avoid speech which is foolish.

One thing I’ve noticed talking to non-Christian over the years on university campus
is that people love talking about evolution,
about the big bang,
about church corruption,
even Christian’s love talking about them.

Now there is nothing wrong about debating over these issues,
but the thing I noticed was that,
just talking about these issues without actually getting to the truth,
getting to the gospel was,
like this verse says,
unprofitable and useless.

Having clever arguments isn’t going to bring people into a relationship with God,
it’s the knowledge of the truth,
it’s the Gospel,
it’s Jesus that bring people into relationship with God.

What about if someone amongst us is divisive and not teaching the truth?

Well verse 10, “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self condemned.”

Paul commands Titus to discipline them,
to warn them once,
and if they continue,
warn them again,
and if they refuse to repent after the second warning,
have nothing to do with them because they are warped and are sinful.

In the 1 timothy passage that we read earlier this evening,
like Titus chapter 3,
we are told to remember the truth,
to grow in Godliness,

to command and teach the truth,
to watch your life and doctrine closely,
and if you do this,
you will save both yourself and your hearers.

This implies that the danger with a person who is divisive
and who doesn’t repent is that they will condemn not only themselves but their hearers’ as well. They need to be disciplined.

Do you watch your life and doctrine closely?
Are you devoted to doing good works?

And if you are,
are you making the most of the opportunity which come before you, whatever the place is,
if it’s at work,
or at home,
or with friends,
do you point others to the truth,
do you point others to Jesus?

Well let me encourage you to start talking to people about Jesus.

As you might of heard,
this year we have the connect 09 campaign,
a Sydney wide mission to reach the lost in our community.

Make sure that you are gracious,
gentle,
showing humility,
courtesy to all men,
and do start praying for opportunities and you know God will give those opportunities to you. So start praying now!

Point 3 – Final Personal Messages (v12-15)

Finally in verses 12-15,
Paul makes some final remarks to Titus.

Titus was originally left in Crete to set things right
and soon he is going to be replaced by either Artemas or Tychicus.
In the mean time he is to do his best to meet Paul in Nicopolis
and when Zenas and Apollos arrive in crete,
he is to make sure their needs are met.

Paul reminds us again in verse 13,
that all Christians “must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives”.

Again we see Paul emphasising the need for Christians to do good works and especially to provide for people with pressing needs.
Good works must be the logical and the natural expression of our trust in God, and if this is the case, we won't be fruitless.

finally, in verse 15,
we see that faith is the thing that unites all Paul’s companions together
and all Christians together in love,
faith in the grace of God,
faith that God has justified us,
faith that he has renewed us,

for the purposes of being an heir of God and the having the hope of eternal life.

Friends, let me remind you again that this salvation that God offers,
which is totally at God own expense,
is trustworthy,
it is the truth.

Therefore make every effort to know the truth,
to keep reading your bibles
and be reminded of the salvation that God offers,
so that you may know how to be devoted to doing what is good
because it is excellent and profitable for all people.

Grace be with you all, Amen.

The True Gospel Recieved by Faith

Hi fellow readers, I have just come back from an excellent christian conference called SPRTE and mission in Nowra. When I get a chance, I will write a review. However, I preached on mission at Nowra Baptist, Greenwell Point and Culburra Baptist on Sin and God's Solution. So I'll thought I'll share it with you.


Point 1 – Our Human Problem
We have all heard the saying, “If you want to get it done right... you have to do it yourself.”
Or perhaps you have heard the saying “If you want something good in your life... you must get it yourself.”

Now, these sayings, which are focused on us and our abilities to make things right and good, are actually a reflection on the way our world thinks and acts.
Sadly, this kind of thinking, has also distorted people’s understanding of how we get right with God.
So instead of getting right with God through faith, people have actually added works, where good works is required to be in the right with God.

Now a few months ago back home on my university campus, I went around asking people that if they were to die and come before God, and God was to say “Why should I let you into heaven”, what would their response be?
And you know almost all of them said to me, Yeah, God should let me in because I’m a good person, I mean, I haven’t murdered anyone, I haven’t really stolen anything, there is a couple of times when I have lied, but really, lying isn’t that bad, doesn’t everyone do it?

Now, how might you respond to someone who thinks this way?
Would you agree with them?
Should they be allowed to enter heaven and be in the right with God?

Well, the book of Romans actually highlights a major problem with this type of thinking. The problem is that people, people like you and I, have rejected God and because of our rejection, we run away from God, not living his way but living for our own desires.
We see this in chapter 3 where it says that no one is righteous, no one is good, doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, doesn’t matter if you’re from Sydney or from Nowra, no, not even one, there is no one who understands God, no one who seeks God for all have turned away.

If God was to put the entire human race into his court room right now, would there be anyone who would be good enough to be right with God?
Would there be anyone who is not wicked?
Anyone who is not evil?
Have you ever lied?
Have you ever been greedy?
Have you ever been full of envy, or slanderous, or arrogant and boastful?

Well let me tell you that God’s sentence for rejecting him and not living his way is facing his judgment and his wrath and eternal condemnation.
Therefore our only response should be one of silence because we have nothing to say to our defence.

In the beginning of our passage that we read earlier in verse 20, we see this exact problem,
we see that when we compare our lives to the law, to God’s commands,
it shows us that we don’t actually deserve to be in the right with God because we don’t actually live for him, we have a problem with our hearts, a problem called sin.

Now, if this is the case, if indeed we are sinful, then how can we be right with God?
Well God has actually provided a solution for us and it’s a solution which is done completely at his own expense.

Point 2 – God’s Solution to our Problem

This brings us to our passage today/tonight,
now before we begin; let’s turn our attention to God in prayer asking that he will help us to understand the passage as we look at it together.
So let’s prayer,
Heavenly father, we give you thanks for making yourself know to us through your word and we ask you now to clear our minds of any distractions and we ask you to change us by your spirit to live for you. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Amen.
Now I hope you have your bibles open and let’s pick it up from verse 21. This is God’s solution to our problem,
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace”

Now last week, I want down at a conference in Canberra.
And one thing I noticed was that there were some blokes who actually wore the same shirt every day.
And by the end of the conference, these blokes actually had a number of interesting stains on their shirt,
they had pasta stains on one side, they had tomato source on the other and they had pen marks as far as the eye could see.

In a similar way, our sin is like a filthy shirt that just never wants to get cleaned.
Even when we try to wash it with good works, it just doesn’t want to become spotless.
But you know God has actually provided a solution,
he has justified us which means that he has declared us right before him and he does this by removing our filthy shirt and replacing it with a spotless one.

Now if God’s a holy God who is angry at sin,
how is it even fair or just that he could forgive a sinner like you and I and declare us right before him?
Wouldn’t that make God immoral?
Wouldn’t it make sin seem like it’s not that bad?

Well if we read verse 24 again, it says that,
God has “justified us freely by his grace, as a free gift, through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.”
God did through Jesus what we could not do,
because of God’s mercy he wills to forgive sinful people, to forgive you and me and to declare us right before him,
but to do this, God had to deal with our human problem,
he had to deal with our sin,
and he dealt with it through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Now the word redemption is actually a commercial term borrowed from the slave marketplace.
It was used when talking about slaves who were purchased at a price in order to be set free.
So how does God rescue you and redeem you?
Well it’s because God has payed a price,
the price was his son who came to give his life as a random for many.
And he did this in order to set you free from your bondage to sin so that you may be free to live for God.

How did God do this,
well, God presented Jesus on the cross as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins.
Now, in the Old Testament God introduced a sacrificial system where God’s people needed to make sacrifices regularly so that their sins would be atoned for,
however the sacrifice could never really atone for the sins of those people,
rather God introduced the sacrificial system to teach the seriousness of sins and that a payment had to be made.
However, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has fully payed the penalty for our sins because Jesus took the full anger of God that we deserved for our rebellion against him.

The NIV footnote for v25 also had more dept into what this means, that Jesus has turned away God’s wrath,
that he has pleased God’s wrath,
taking away sins so that we may be forgiven.

Now we have just talked about three big ideas, these being,
that we are justified, that we redeemed and that Jesus atoned for our sins.
But to make it easier for us to understand these ideas and particularly if you’re a person like me who likes pictures,
I want you to imagine three different locations. These being a law court room, a slave master place and a temple.
So, in a law court, we have a man who is declared guilty and a man named Jesus steps up.
He shouts out “I will pay his punishment for him”.
Jesus then takes his place and the person is let out justified, he is let out innocent and is reconcilled.

Secondly, in a slave market place, there is a man who is chained and is taken off to serve bondage to slavery.
Then a man named Jesus steps up again, he shouts out “I will pay his debt for him” The person is then ransomed, he debt is payed for and his is blessed by Jesus.

And thirdly, at a temple, where they make sacrifices, there is a man who is offering a sacrifice to God, he says “God, here is a cow; I know I don’t deserve it but here it is anyways.”
Jesus then steps up and say “You know, the cow doesn’t really cut it with God, the sacrifice isn't sufficent for your sins, but I can.”
So Jesus takes the punishment the man deserves and the man is filled with assurance that Jesus’ sacrifice fully pay for his sins.

So how do we get right with God?
Well it’s because God at the cross justifies us, he declares us right,
this is possible because God has redeemed us,
he has paid the price and the penalty for our sins by atoning for us by the shedding of his blood.

Now why did God do this, verse 25, “he did it to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
God in his forbearance left the sins of formal generation unpunished to show the seriousness of sin and in God’s own timing he sent Jesus to finally pay the penalty of sin,
the sins of the past, of the present and of the future,
why?,
well God did it to show his justice. That God is just when he forgives a sinner because he paid the penalty himself.


Point 3 – The call for faith in Jesus

So how do we receive this righteousness from God?
Do we receive it by being a good person?
The people on university campus that I spoke to certainly thought this way.
But you know, three times in our passage, we see that this righteousness from God is made available through faith in Jesus.
Verse 22, “through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe”, Verse 25, “through faith in his blood” and verse 26, “God justifies those who have faith in Jesus”.
It is only by faith in Jesus, faith in his death and resurrection,
Faith that his death was sufficient enough to take the penalty for our sins, that we can be declared right with God.

Faith is the eye that looks to Jesus, it is the hand that receives this free gift of righteousness and the heart that receives his word and follows it.

So let me ask you.
How do you stand before God?
What is your plea?
Because if you do not have faith in Jesus, if you have not received this righteousness from God through faith,
then you’re actually much worse of then you probably think you are,
because there is no one who is good, there is no one who is right with God for we all have rejected God.
But as we have heard, God has provided a solution for us and he does offer this solution to you if you receive it by faith.

Now God is patient and he continues to wait patiently for you to trust in Jesus, for you to put your faith in him.
But be warned that there will be a day when Jesus will return to judge the world separating the wicked from the good and on that day it will be too late to turn to him in faith.
So how will you respond?
Do you have faith in Jesus Christ?
If not, why not? Why don’t you put your faith in him today...

If you do have faith in Jesus Christ, that’s great, because you’re actually much better off then you probably think you are since you stand before God declared right,
you stand before God as being good where no wrath can come near you, where no guilt can endanger you and you look forward to the day when Jesus will return to judge the world and to show his final justice.
Friends, it’s great that we are right with God,
so let’s not be ashamed of this great news,
but lets us go out to the world and tell others God’s solution to our problem and let’s remember that the Gospel, this great news,
is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes
Let’s pray,

Heavenly father, we give you thanks that while we were sinners, you sent your son to die for us so that we can be in the right with you, so that we can be redeemed. And that the penalty for our sins was paid by Jesus’ blood on the cross. Lord, we ask you that if we have not put our faith in Jesus, help us to do so and help us to do so knowing that when we put our faith in Jesus, we can be in the right with you because of what Christ did on the cross. Lord, we also pray that you might spur us to pass to message on to others. And we ask this through Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Love of the Body

1 Corinthians 13 - Love


Today, we come to one of the most well known passage in the whole entire bible. Even people who only attend church for weddings and funerals have probably had it read to them. However 1 Corinthians 13 has got nothing to do with wedding or funerals.

When you think about, the only mention of weddings in the whole letter of 1 Corinthians is some six chapters earlier, where Paul says very ‘romantic things’ such as “those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this”. And the only mention of funeral occurs several chapters later and it’s the funeral that never really happened, because Jesus rose to life again.

So If 1 Corinthians 13 is not about weddings and funerals, then what is it about?

Well, as we have been reading through 1 Corinthians, we have come to see that the Corinth church was a much divided church with a whole bunch of issues.

The Corinthian’s were a proud church, they thought they had arrived spiritually, back in chapter 4, and they were very big in spiritual gifts. Now in Chapters 12-14, Paul is teaching them what it means to be spiritual.

As we heard last week, anyone who is in Christ is already spiritual and they are to be exercising there gifts that is from the same spirit for the common good.

And at the end of chapter 12 we were left with Paul telling the Corinthians that he will show them a more excellent way, something that is even better then gifts, that is, the way of love.

Now to help us to understand what Paul means by this more excellent way, the way of love, we are firstly going to look at the fruitlessness of gifts without love.
Then we are going to look at the characteristics of love, what love is.
And then finally, we are going to look at the lasting nature of love.

But before we do that, let’s bow our heads in prayer asking God to help us to understand his word.

Heavenly father, we thank you that we can know you through your word and we ask you now to clear our minds of any distraction and to teach us through your word so that we may be equipped to serve you, to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.


The Fruitlessness of Gifts without Love


13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I posses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

Now, there are four amazing actions here, of which the Corinthians thought highly of.
Would you be impressed of any of these things?
Would you say that these are truly spiritual moments, where God is at work?


Now, if you ever go or have been to the Orchestra, one thing you notice is how well all the different type of instruments go together.

Even if one of the instruments, like a triangle, only has one note in the entire piece, it still sounds really good, because it is accompanied by other instruments. However if you can imagine everyone just playing cymbals, could you image how noisy and unintelligent it would be!


In the same way, I may use impressive words, they may be very loud or intelligent or very passionate, but unless they are accompanied by love, It doesn’t do any good to neither the speaker nor the listener.

God may have enabled me to speak in different languages, to preach with great power, even to pray in angelic tongues, but if I have I’ve not loved you enough to bring you the truth, and to do it in a manner which you can comprehend, then I’ve really said nothing.

Again, in verse 2, If I can fathom the deep things of God, if I’m a prophet or if I’m a bible college graduate, or if I have a faith that enable me to do the miraculous, then surely I’d be something!, but again if it is done without love, then I am nothing!

Likewise, if I give my all, if I even give my body to the flames but do so in a selfish, reckless, suicidal way, then I have gain nothing.

Now, Is Paul saying that spiritual gifts aren’t important? Well In none of these instances does Paul depreciate spiritual gifts.

We have just spent a whole chapter last week looking at the importance of spiritual gifts, but what Paul is saying is that spiritual gifts need to be accompanied by love.

So, while we have seen that a loving attitude is the key to unlocking “the most excellent way”, what is the love that is mentioned here? Is it more then a feeling?


Well friends, while real love may begin with an attitude, it’s never really complete without the accompanying actions.


Characteristics of Love


So verse 4, love in patient, love is kind. What does it mean to be patient and kind? It means its willing to endure sufferings, injuries, without retaliation.
It is a kind love which is concerned to help those who are in need.

Perhaps you yourself have stuck by someone who has been in a bad place or they have been unable to give back, that’s an example of patient, kind love.

Love does not envy, it’s not jealous, it’s happy to see others do well.
Love does not boast, it’s humble,
Love is not proud; it is not self-asserting but is self giving.

Love is not rude; it’s not indecent or unseemly,
Love is not self-seeking, it always seeks the good of other,
Love is not easily angered, it’s not looking to take offence or to point the finger.

Love keeps no record of wrongs, I’ve always appreciated the fact that my parents haven’t use past sins against me
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth, when honesty is treasured and the truth of the gospel is declared, then love celebrates.

Love always protects, it seeks to safe guard others, not harm them,
Love always trusts, Love is eager to see the best in others. An example would be when someone might say something hurtful, I should ask for clarification rather then assuming the worst, love gives others the benefit of the doubt.

Love always hopes, It refuses to accept failure as final,
Love preservers, it’s active and not given to resignation.

No wonder in verse 8 it tells us that Love never fails!

Now, when you relate these descriptions of Love to our lives, to your life, to my life, does it have a humbling effect?


Well, if you were to imagine your name in this passage, for example Tom is patient, Tom is kind, Tom does not boast, Tom is not proud, Tom is not rude, Tom rejoices in the truth … Now if your name is Tom or whatever it is, at the point you would say no, that can’t possible be me. There is a humbling effect.

However if you were to put the name of Jesus Christ in there, it fits perfectly, and it helps us to see that in Christ we have a great hope and a great saviour.


In our second reading that we read tonight, we see this great Love which comes from God, In verse 10 of 1 John 4, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”


God’s love is not an airy-fairy love, friends, but its real love, it’s a love that while we were his enemies, even though we didn’t love God, he loved us so much that he sent his Son to die, to take our punishment, so that we could be reconciled back to him by his resurrection.

And it is for this reason, this love, that we as Christians are commanded in verse 11 of 1 John 4 to “love one another”


So we have seen that real love is accompanied by action, and it is an action which is motivated by the love God has demonstrated to us and is motivated by who you are, part of the body, in Christ. This love which has been demonstrated is a complete other person centeredness.

In fact, the more and more you look at God’s character, you notice that God’s other-person-centeredness is complete within himself. The Holy Spirit does not seek his own glory but the son glory, just as the son does not seek his glory but the fathers glory.


It is this other-person-centeredness, which enables us to know him as we saw in 1 John 4 and is the basis of our love too.


The Permanence of Love

Well, Pick it up with me from Verse 8, Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

Now the Corinthians thought they had already arrived and the proof was their spiritual gifts.

But Paul says no, you have not arrived yet, the gifts don’t prove that you have arrived but rather that you haven’t arrived, because notice the gifts are for this world.

For example our little knowledge will be replaced by something far, far greater. And the words we use, which are so limited, will be replaced by a language that perfectly expresses praise to God.


There will be some things on earth, like gifts, which will be put away and have no need for once we get to heaven.

It’s like a child, says Paul in verse 11, who puts away childish thoughts and childish ways and takes up the more mature ways of adulthood.

Even faith, hope will have used up their value for God’s promises as they will be completely fulfilled and all our hopes will have been met.

On the other hand, Love will last forever; love will be right at home in heaven. This is why in verse 13; love is the greatest, as it is the perfect expression of faith and hope.


Application

So, what things can we conclude from this passage?

Firstly I want you to see that the love that is being taught in God’s word is the love that God has already demonstrated for us.

The father has given his son up and of course has given us all good gifts.

The Lord Jesus has given his life up to the cross which the greatest sacrifice every made, the creator dieing for the creatures, telling us to be like him to love people.

The Holy Spirit too, has given us all its fruits and gifts and graces, genuinely spreading out what we need for the Christian life and telling us through the inspired scripture how to be like Jesus.

We can be confident in this love of God.

Secondly, Paul too, also practiced this love. Even though the Corinthians had so many problems, he loved them.

He gave up his rights for them, his freedom for them and his time for them to proclaim the word of God to them because he loved them.

It is because love is central to Paul’s arguments in 1 Corinthians; it is the centre to his relationship with them.

Therefore we need to ask ourselves, is love central to our relationship?


Is love central to our serving at church? Do we serve to build the other person up?


Is it complete other-person-centeredness?


Or is it something that only appears now and then?



Well let me encourage you, that the central motivating fuel for the way we live our lives, the way we treat each other, the way we serve each other is Love.

In some ways it’s a great taste of heaven as love transforms us here and now but also will be made perfect in all its glory in heaven.

So friends, let us remember who we are in Christ, and let us love one another and follow the example of love God has demonstrated to us while we were his enemies to save us from our lovelessness, from our sins, Amen.

Resurrection Age

This is the start of my article/essay on the resurrection which covers the things that were taught during mid year conference 2 weeks ago. I have just started my Phd so time is limited in writing this but i will complete it eventually. Please look back to this post as I will update it over time. Hope this post gives you a better understanding of the resurrection and that God continues to sanctify you more into christlikeness through a true knowledge of God. :)

Resurrection

The importance of Jesus’ resurrection and its implications for living in the resurrection age


It is all too easy to focus and over emphasis our thinking and proclamation of the gospel to the death of Christ. It is true that death of Christ is essential to understanding God and our salvation because in the cross we see God fully satisfying his character, by dying and taking the full punishment of our sins so that we can enter into his presence, into his holiness.

However the death of Christ is not the whole story, for if Jesus died and did not rise, then our preaching and faith would be in vain, 1 Corinthians 15:14. It is through the resurrection that we see the perfect son of man, Daniel 7:13-14, Jesus, being crowned with all glory and honour, Psalm 8:6, Hebrews 2:7. He is seated at the right hand of God and is anointed by God to be king over all. And as a result of his rulership, he is the perfect advocate who is interceding for us, Hebrews 7:14-25.
When reading through the book of acts, we see again and again the message of the apostles was the resurrection of Christ from the dead, Acts 1:22, 2:31, 4:2, 4:33, 17:18, etc.

Christ’s resurrection also has implications for us, for we have been raised with Christ, seating with him in the heavenly realms, Ephesians 2:6, and through him, as Christians, we share in his reign, 2 Timothy 2:12. Indeed the resurrection of Christ is just as important as the death of Christ and it is helpful to think of the resurrection/ascension of Christ and the death of Christ as one package which cannot be separated.

Therefore since we have been raised with Christ in the heavenly realms, we now live in a clash of two ages. We have been spiritually liberated through Christ now through his resurrection, yet we wait for his return when our physical bodies will be liberated as well. This age we live in now is called the resurrection age.

So as Christians, how do we live in this resurrection age as await Jesus’ return? To answer this we need to look at five aspects of living in the resurrection age. These are, living as lords over time, living as lords over creation, living as lords over sin, living as lords of the nations and preaching the resurrection gospel.

Firstly, how do we live as Lords over time? To come to understanding of how to live as lords over time we first need to develop a biblical understanding of time. And to help us understand time we need to come to an understanding of Lordship.

At which point does Christ receive his Lordship? His rule and reign over God’s kingdom? In Acts 2:36 we read that Jesus was made both Lord and Christ. The context to his Lordship in this passage is his resurrection, Acts 2:32, this Jesus God raised up. Therefore Jesus in his resurrection is exalted in a new profound way, he is the Lord who is reigning and who has established the Kingdom of God. However his Lordship also extends to the sons of God. 1 Corinthians 15 states that all in Christ shall be made alive and Ephesians 2 tells us that Christians have been raised up through Jesus’ resurrection, We have already been raised up with Christ spiritually in the heavenly realms now, spiritually liberated from the now. And, because we have been raised up in Christ, It is for this reason that Jesus Lordship means our Lordship as well. We read in 1 Corinthians 6:1 that the saints, Christians, those who are in Christ, will share in the judgment of the world. Therefore, we are to be Lord’s as God intended us to be under his authority as we see in Genesis 1, created in the image of God to have dominion and to subdue the earth.

How do we then define time and how is the concept of time and Lordship linked? A worldly view of time in the context of death is meaningless because it is limited and futile as we see in the book of ecclesiastics. However biblically as we see in ecclesiastics 3, there is a time for everything and the context to time is meaningfulness. Meaningfulness is found in the timing. God has placed in humans a sense of timing, verses 10-11 of ecclesiastics 3, but we do not have a full concept of it. We are the only creatures in creation who have a sense of time in us yet we do not understand its full meaning because it is God who gives its meaning.

Therefore how does God give time meaning? We find meaningfulness in the Lordship of Christ, in creation and in judgment. This is how the concept of time and Lordship is connected.

So firstly, creation…..

To be continued......

A God you can depend upon

Joel 2:18-27


What are the things that you depend upon?

Well for starters I know that when I catch the train, I depend on the train driver to get me to the destination, I also rely on the engineers who built the train and that they knew what they were doing so that the train would stay on track.

Well, what are some other things do we depend upon? How about our water or our electricity? Or what about the truthfulness of what products claim?

And are these things dependable? How did you survive the last time when the power went out? Or when was the last time you bought a product and it didn’t work?

Well, tonight we come to the second halve of chapter 2 in the book of Joel. And if you remember last week, we saw that God was faithful to his promises to bring judgment upon his people for their disobedience in the form of the locust invasion.

Now just as God was faithful to his promises of judgment, we will see that tonight, he is also faithful in his promise to restore and to save; he is a God who you can depend upon.

And will we also see how we too, can benefit from that faithfulness, from that promise keeping.

So before we being looking at the second half of Joel 2, let’s begin by praying.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for making yourself know to us and showing us the way of salvation through faith in your son. We ask yow now to clear our minds of any distractions and to teach us through your word, so that we can be ready to serve you, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Point 1 - God’s faithful character which leads to his abundant restoration

Well, I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like silence, I get agitated and feel really awkward.

For example, in the midst of a group of friends, after a long meaningful conversation, the conversation suddenly goes quiet and at its moments like these where my body just wants to scream out with noise.

Or what about waiting for that job interview, you have just sent off the application and the silence you hear before they get back to you is so loud that you can almost hear it.

Well it’s kind of like this for God’s people here in Joel. The priests, the spiritual leaders of the community, the nation cry out to God to spare his people from the locust army, to save them from the judgment that coming from God’s own hand, we can see this in v17, they cry out to God “Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations’.Here is a nation that is eagerly waiting for a response from God.

Well God remains true this character and does hears their call of repentance, and we start to see the turning point of the book Joel, from judgment to restoration.

So read with me from verse 18, “then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people” We see that Gods great reversal of the previous chapters is underway

Now does it surprise you that LORD became jealous? We generally tend to associate jealousy with something bad, don’t we? Like feeling resentment or being envious of others.

But God’s jealousy describes God’s passionate concern, his zeal, for his land, for his people and for his name. It is a precise attribute in God’s character which leads the priest, the nation in verse 17, urged by Joel to appeal in prayer and through their repentance, God’s love is stirred and he has pity on them, his people.
Now, the Israelites knew that God was a jealous God and that he was concerned about his land, his people and his name.

And this is why they cry out in verse 17 because the special relationship between God and his people was under threat, God name was being mocked among the nations and God’s honour and faithfulness was being questioned.

Well, we finally see the answer that God’s people were waiting for, in verse 19. God says “Behold. I am sending to you grain, new wine, and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations”God is reversing the sorry state of these three traditional products of the land.
In chapter 1 verse 10, we read that “the ground had dried up, the grain had been destroyed, the new wine had also dried up and the oil failed.”

But now, the Israelite nation will once again be able to enjoy the blessings of their covenantal relationship as God will restore, pay back what the locust army had taken away.

However, this isn’t just a simple restoration and reversal, but notice what God says in verse 19, he says that “you will be satisfied” and again in verse 26, “you will have plenty to eat, until you are full.”

Now, I don’t know if you ever been to a European family get-together, but I remember when I was growing up; there would always be an enormous amount of food to eat from, I was never left un-satisfied.

In the same way here we see that God’s restoration is abundant, the Israelites will have all that they need, and they will be satisfied fully.

Now, back all the way in Deuteronomy 11, we read that God promised his people, that if they faithfully obey his commands, by loving God and serving him with all their hearts and soul, he would send rain on the land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that they may gather in grain, new wine and oil. God will provide grass in the fields for the cattle, and God’s people will eat and be satisfied.
Indeed it is what we see here, God’s faithfulness to his promises and the nation’s repentance leads to God’s abundant restoration.

God does send the rain, in verse 23; he sends the abundant showers, both the autumn and spring rains, so that they may have new grain, wine and oil.

He does provide open pastures that are green for the wild animals of the field in verse 22, and once again the Israelite nation will be able to eat and be satisfied.
However, what good are new grain, wine and oil, if the locust, the Lord’s devastating army, who took these things away from them, is still around?

Well, read with me from verse 20, God says “I will drive the northern army far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land, with its front columns going into the eastern sea and those in the rear into the western sea, And its stench will go up; its smell will rise. Surely he has done great things.”

The same commander who gave the locust army their orders to bring destruction upon the land is now issuing orders for their destruction.
The invaders which have caused such devastating destruction are removed far from them, they are exiled; they are then split apart defeated, and are finally drowned in the eastern and western sea to their destruction.

These three curses of exile, defeat and destruction, which were promised if Israel was disobedient in Deuteronomy 28 will now be reversed and turned upon their enemy, the locust army.

All that will remain of the army, that had ravished the land, is rotting flesh and his people will be saved because God is faithful.

Point 2 – The response to God’s faithfulness and its implications

How then should they respond? How then are they to react to this God, who is doing all these things for them?

Well, the Locust army had done great things, but this is certainly not a reason for further fear because as it says in verse 21, “the Lord had done great things”, indeed, we only need to turn to the first few pages of the bible, in creation, to see know this, and what about God continuing faithfulness to save his people in Israel’s history, it certainly a time to be glad and rejoice.

So firstly, the land is to respond as we read in Verse 21, “Be not afraid, O Land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.”

The animals of the land should not fear when such a God is at work to restore the land, they are to fix their eyes on the Lord’s activity, of his faithfulness and restoration as the open pastures are becoming green, as trees are bearing their fruits and as the fig tree and vine yield their riches.

Secondly, what about God’s people, how are they to respond?
Well verse 23, “Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.” Verse 24, “the threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.”

Just like the land, we see that the people too, are to be glad and rejoice.
Why? Because by sending the rain God is demonstrating his righteousness, that he can be trusted to keep his promise of restoration to his people.

Now, living in Sydney, I don’t think we count every rain drop that falls from the sky as say a farmer would out west.

We don’t wonder if the rain is going to be enough, or if it’s going to come at the right time. But unlike us, the Israelite nation was a nation that was totally dependent on rain for not only their finances but also the very food they ate.
So you can imagine what a promise of abundant shower was like for them.

However Israel is to respond because of what God has done for them, they are to be glad and rejoice because the Lord is a jealous God who took pity on his people to save them.

Well, so far we have seen that God was a God who Israel could depend on because he was a faithful God who kept his promises to bring restoration and to save them from his judgment.

In verses 25-27, we see that God now makes three promises to his people, the Israelites.

So pick it up with me from verse 25, God says “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten – the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm, my great army that I sent among you.”

What does God promise them? Well we see that the truth about the locust army is finally made apparent to the Israelites that God sent the locust army. And they are assured that the devastation brought by the army over such a lengthy period of time will be repaid to them, will be restored.

Secondly, God promises in verse 26, that “they shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD their God, who has dealt wondrously with them. And God’s people shall never again be put to shame.”
No longer will Israel be put to shame. No longer will God’s name be mocked among the nations as it was in verse 17.

And finally, in verse 27, God says “You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else.”

The Israelites will once again know God and never be put to shame because God will be in the midst of his people.

Now, one of the blessings of the covenantal relationship between God and his people if they lived under his rule was that God’s presence would be amongst his people and God’s promise here is that they will once again be able to enjoy the blessing of God’s presence amongst his people.

Now, next week, we will see that there is also a greater promise in the next few verses, one that involves God pouring out his spirit upon his people, but we will leave that to next week.

Point 3 - The Implications for us in light of the coming day of the Lord

Well we have just looked at Joel chapter 2, and we have seen that God was faithful in his promises to bring restoration, but what about Joel today, Is God still a God who is faithful and is he still a God who we can depend upon.
Well, the big theme that we seen being developed in the book of Joel is the day of the Lord.

We saw in the last two weeks that that the day of the Lord was a day of judgment, a day of condemnation, of punishment, of destruction and devastation.

However we can also see as we saw tonight, that the day of the Lord is also a day of salvation, a day of rescue, as God’s wrath and judgment of Israel was turned upon the locust army. It is also a day of replenishment and a day of abundant restoration.

Now the day of the Lord wasn’t just an event which occurred during the time Joel was written but as Joel 2 verse 31 also hints, there will also be a final day of the Lord where “the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood”.
The New Testament describes this day as when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead.

Now, even after God’s demonstrated his faithfulness in Joel, Israel continued to rebel against God.

In fact by nature all of man-kind has rebelled, even you and I have rebelled against God, trying to live our lives our own way.

However, the punishment of Israel’s continued rebellion and our rebellion has been dealt with in one man, Jesus Christ, who took the full judgment and wrath of God to save us from our rebellion, from our sin.

The wonderful thing for Christians, those who have trust in Jesus as Lord, is that we are able to stand bold today.

It is because of Jesus we are able to stand fully absolved of the guilt and judgment we deserve for our sins.

And it is because of God’s faithfulness to restore us, to save us, which the whole Old Testament promises pointed to and which find their yes in Jesus as we read in 2 Corinthians 1:20.

Now, God hasn’t just saved us from his judgment but he has also abundantly restored us into a relationship with him.

Therefore, we read in Romans 5 that he has reconciled us by the blood of his son and in Ephesians 1 that he has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Also, as Christians we have a great hope, we read in Revelations 21, that there will be a new heaven and new earth where God’s dwelling place will be with man, he will dwell with them, and they will be his people.
We read that he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former thing will have passed away.

However we are not there yet, Jesus hasn’t returned yet and we still live in a fallen world, a world which is effected by sin and suffering.

So, as Christians who have a great hope but currently live in this fallen age, let me ask you
Do you trust that God will continue to be faithful, that he will save you on the last day in the same way he was faithful to his promises in Joel? Do you depend entirely on God for your salvation? What about when you are faced with hard ship and trials, do you still depend entirely on God?

Well, turn with me to our second reading Romans chapter 8 and let’s pick it up from verse 31
“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

If God is for us, who can be against us when we have such a great God, a God who has done great things as we read in Joel 2, a God who was faithful in his promises to abundantly restore and to save his people from the locust invasion, a God who has saved us and justified us through his son who died for us, who was raised to life and who is interceding for us.

Our God indeed is a God who you can depend upon because he is a faithful God who has done great things, so let us rejoice and be glad in the Lord.

So let me ask you again, do you depend entirely on God? If you do, then let me ask you, do you listen to his voice in his word? Do you thank him for all things through pray, do you rejoice and be glad in the Lord and are you concerned about the salvation of your non-Christian friends from the coming judgment?

Well, let me encourage you to depend on God, because as we have seen tonight, God is a faithful God who has kept his promises. And he will continue to keep his promises.

So let me finish with this great assurance that we have in Christ Jesus as we wait for his return in Romans 8:38-40.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”
Amen.

The time is short

So finally, I've come to updating my blog. The delay has been a case of both busyness and laziness, but nonetheless here I am updating it.

What's been happening, well a lot has actually been happened and I can't remember every detail. However it has been a time of testing and perseverance. As my uni degree is closing to a end many issues have come up like, where am i going to live after uni? what am i going to do? PhD or job? in which situation will i be able to serve God the best? what about work placement, can't graduate till i complete 5 more weeks?, How will getting a job or PhD effect my longer term vision of full time ministry? Well in one sense these issues still remain as I am limited to skills in planning, but am slowly working to deal with those struggles.

However, I am persevering and serving the Lord, and hope to do so with the power of prayer and with God's help. Emu Plains Church has been going well, I am encouraged that the clergy are pushing towards mission minded and being a welcoming church. The preaching is faithful to God's word and is provocative in a good way. We recently got a new student minister, and his faithfulness and zeal has been an encouragement. It is truly amazing and thank God that we have partnerships in the Gospel.

Uni ministry has been going good, lots of committed first year student which once again is just great. The staff workers as well have been putting all there energy to growing, training and telling people the Gospel, which is another thing to praise God for. Let they continue is all i can say. Our training time has also been good, we have been looking at the reformation history period, some followup training and biblical theology. I've been really excited to teach biblical theology this semester, and even though the numbers are low, it brings great joy to see those guys developing a better grasp of the bible as whole, the kingdom of God. It has also been really encouraging to meet up with two guys one-to-one to encourage each other and disciple.

Scripture and Youth group have been going well. We started up a Youth group this year and it has been going well. The core group that is there is really keen and excited to look at God's word, we looked at biblical theology last week and the kids were really excited to see God's faithfulness in God's big picture that is found in the bible. I've also been going along to one of the bible studies at church, which has been really good to get to know some people from Church as we fellowship around God's word. God has been faithful this year in giving me opportunities to serve using God given gifts to build the church up in love. I have been really enjoying leading church, in particularly focusing people's on God's word. I also have another opportunity to preach in a few weeks on Joel 2 which i will have to start preparing this Sunday, so come and join me for it.

Now from the different things I do, one might ask, how do i get any uni work done, and besides that fact, i actually do get quiet alot done. I finished last year with first class honours, a GPA of 6, and in the to 10% of uni. However study as never been a real joy for me, and it is a struggle as it gives me a limited time to take all the opportunity for ministry. Nonetheless a balance is life under Christ is wise.

To those who have been reading my blog, know the struggles i had last year, such as the breakup, family situation and etc. However these small struggles are nullified when i think of God's grace and love. Oh i also got a ps3, its great fun. I hope someone still reads this blog.

Anyways, If you would like to pray for me, please pray for continued growth in Christ and trust in Jesus as Lord and pray for the different struggles that i mentioned in the Blog.

There is so much more that i can write down, however much time and many pages would be used to which will most defiantly weary your body reading it. So please do say hello next time you see me, and we can share some time encouraging and praying for each other.

"For me to live is Christ, and to die is Gain." Phil 1:21
God Bless,
Laurence

There is a time to laught and there is a time to weep

It has felt like it has been a while since last time i posted, yet i write in the hope that someone is reading my blog entries and praying with me in the many challenges that living in the fallen world brings.

As Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there is a time for every matter under heaven. I realise that i often put on a smiling face and at times to cover up sadness and sorrows however there is a time to be sad and express it through weeping, it is right to do so.

I've been away at National training event and mission at nowra for the past two weeks and it has been great. It is great to be reminded of God's grace, purpose, love, judgment and to be challenge to delight to God's word.

God's word written for God's people written by his Holy Spirit about his Son. God has spoken to us through his word even though our sinful nature cannot co-exist with God's Holiness, he choice to make himself known and to call us and make us his own people. God came down to our level and spoke to us in human words, he wants us to know him by reading his word. God has spoken covenant words, powerful words, true words, perfect and eternal words, let us delight and receive his word with faith, obedience and love. It's interesting to note the relationship in the trinitarian Godhead in the revelation of the word and in our own salvation. God's word written for God's people written by his Holy Spirit about his Son. The Gospel of Jesus is the heart of the Revelation of the spirit. The father has given the son everything, the son seeks the father's glory and the spirit seeks the son's glory. This mature self-giving in the trinitarian Godhead make possible knowledge of him through his word and make possible our salvation in Jesus Christ. God's word also changes us, it conforms us into the likeness of his son, it transforms us so effectively to do God's will even without us realising. Therefore continue reading God's word the bible, delight in it, love his word, listen to his voice.

We were also encouraged to preserver. We are greatly encourage in Romans chapter 8 that we are secure, God has called us into his kingdom and nothing can snatch us away from his hands. However the warning are real in Hebrews, The Hebrew Christians were struggling in this issue of falling away. Make sure your faith is genuine. The mark of a Christian is not that you have faith now, but if you die as a Christian, therefore make sure again that you delight in God's words, love his word, listen to his voice. And as God's people, let us encourage, challenge each other to do so, let us be accountable to each other, let us prayer about it.

I've also been challenge about the doctrine of work in the bible. I did strand 4 which was using the tools learnt previously, biblical theology and systematic theology to derive doctrine and ethics from the bible. Work is our participation in God's purposes, either for creation, or in redemption. We are God's fellow workers as we see in creation, Man was created to subdue and have dominion over the earth, work was good. Now we may ask, how does the fall effect work? well we see in Chapter 3 that work is much harder, tainted by the effects of the fall. In Ecclesiastes chapter 2 that work is futile, it's vanity for there is nothing to be gained under the sun. However we need see how that fits into the full framework of the bible and when we do that we see that work is still good. The Psalms reminds us that the blessings of work is the enjoyment of the fruits of that labour and we are reminded again and again in the New Testament not to be lazy but obey our heavenly masters. Let us not also forget in John's gospel that Jesus came to do the fathers works, the father is still working. He is calling people into his rest, into his kingdom. Also in the resurrection of Christ creation is restored and the kingdom of God dawns. We see the reversal of the fall however we are in the not yet period. Therefore Ethics which starts from the resurrection of Christ may sometimes emphasize the newness, sometimes the primitiveness of the order that is there affirmed. But it will not be tempted to overthrow or deny either the name of the other. There is both continuity and discontinuity in our fallen world and the new creation to come. There will be work in the new creation, however secular work will be burnt away on the last day. Gospel work on the other has eternal consequences for God's people will be in the new creation.

It was also encouraging to talk to people and challenge the new guys in our campus Christian group during the free times at the conference. Next we went to mission at Nowra Baptist which was really good. I'm am encouraged that many took on new roles and ministry opportunity's during the mission. We helped with the primary and high school scriptures, youth group, Sunday services, door knocking and nursing home. Each ministry having its own challenges and opportunities to grow. It was also great to spend time getting to know each other on the mission team and working in partnership to proclaim the Gospel. I was also very encouraged by the host I was staying with. They were a lovely couple who offered their house freely to us and really loved God and his word.

Now back to my introduction, I’m very sad but persevering in my bad start to the holidays. Due to partly my own sinfulness and the nature of relationships, my girlfriend has decided to part ways in our journey. I hoped that things would not end this way but all things are in God's purposes, I need to trust in him. However I am really sad still and do need prayer. I also need prayer just persevering. One of the hard factors about living in a non-Christian European home that I am finding is just to negativity against Christianity. I get constant threats of cutting connections and disowning if I move into the possibility of full time ministry. This worries and scares me, and adds to me being sad, however honouring your parents includes first giving glory to God. This can be a hard. So please do prayer for me in these struggles.

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Anyways it is getting late, and my words are starting to mumble up. Do continue strong in the Lord, persevering, delighting in God's word. Not sure when I’ll post next, seems that facebook has been more popular these days.

God Bless
Laurence.

Jesus is the Life of God

Finally an update, Yes Laurence is still alive. And a lot has happened over the past 2 months.

Church:

Emu plain Anglican has really been pushing people to think mission, to think 10%, to think connect 09, after the great presidential address by Peter Jensen this past synod. If you have not read it, go and read it now.

Emu plain's Anglican has also been actively involved in telling people the Gospel, such as men's dinner event where men can invite their non-Christian friends along to hear a talk on success. They have been involved in teaching God's word and also involved in equipping people to serve.

Scripture has been going well, the kids thanked us for our lessons before the holidays, that was nice, and its amazing how much they remember from our lessons. I pray and trust God will convict them to know him.

Sunday school has been going well. It's amazing how much energy those kids have, and wow, they are amazing prayers. It’s been encouraging to see them having a heart to open God's word; they love to bring their bibles.

I've also been actively involved in the evening service. Serving in ways as prayer, bible reading, leading and i preached yesterday on John 11. I've included the sermon on the bottom of this post.

CBM (Campus Bible Ministries):

CBM has been going well. We have been quiet busy in the past 2 months with mission week and various other things. Mission week was great, we looked at the book of Ecclesiastes, Highlighting the two main ideas, Vanity and Eternity. We made crosses with those two words on them and placed them around uni. We wrote up on a big chalk board 4 chapters of Ecclesiastes. Most of all, almost everyone did walk up and we had a few good conversations with people. It was interesting to see student's views on vanity, eternity and life.



The other big thing we did was the atheist debate, which went okay. We create a website, with discussion boards and the debate downloadable here. It was a bit uncertain if the actual debate was a worth while thing to do, however it is encouraging that they continued coming to our next meeting which was a normal meeting and spent most of the afternoon talking to us. Please pray for that, as it seems like a great opportunity.

CBM has been training Christians up in our training hour looking at the Cross of Christ, Why did Jesus have to die? What actually happened at the Cross? Etc, and also the students have been trained up in apologetics. These following four weeks CBM has been encouraging student to write their own bible studies on Colossians, providing they have done the growth group course. We also have the ball coming up in the distant future as well as NTE.

Uni

Uni has been going okay. Submitted my thesis draft, got a paper published in IEEE, going to a Engineering conference to present the thesis paper. All the fun! My supervisor and parents have been pushing me to do post-grad, but I think I will decline the offer. My course work has been going okay, having put much effort into them, but seem to be doing fine.

Other Parts of My Life

Well, my exciting news! I've have a lovely girlfriend, who has a heart to grow in her knowledge of God and telling her friends about Jesus. She is a shinning light in my heart :) And i thank God that she knows Christ as Lord!

I also went to challenge conference a few weeks ago. It was a great encouragement to seek God's kingdom first. We looked at the theme of the kingdom throughout the bible, we looked at the Lord's prayers, which the kingdom should characterise our prayers, we looked at what a productive person in the Lord should be doing and we looked at the full time ministry option. It was also encouraging to have a few of my friends come along. We had great conversations over food times and night sessions. One encouragement was to encourage our local ministers, as Ministry is not an easy thing to do. So Challenge was great.

Please pray for my Quiet times and prayer life, as usual its a rollercoaster. I think i need to plan to have a reading plan. Please also pray for my witness and perserverance with my parents.



John 11 – True Life Sermon

We all have hopes and dreams and expectations in life.
We all have a view of what life should be like.
I remember when I was growing up; I always wanted to be a scientist, because that’s what I thought life was about, I thought life was about being successful, about doing something that people might be proud of.
And I remember doing just about anything, to make that dream come true.
For example, as a 12 year old, I remember trying to make some sort of new fertilizer using a coke bottle, different types of minerals and even went into the effort of using some of the neighbour’s flowers.
Now that example might be a little childish, however where do you put your hopes and dreams and expectations into, what do you see as true life?
Well to help to us to understand what true life is and in particularly what God tells us true life is, we are going to turn to John chapter 11.
And to give you an idea about what I am going to talk about, I’ll be covering four main points in my talk.
Firstly the prologue of the Lazarus story
Then the Two meeting Jesus has
Followed by the account of the miracle itself
And then finally what does Jesus offer.
So before we being looking at John 11, let’s begin by praying.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for making yourself know to us and showing us the way of salvation through faith in your son. We ask yow now to clear our minds of any distractions and to teach us through your word, so that we can be ready to serve you, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Point 1 – Prologue 11:1-16

Verse 1 – ‘Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.’
Verse 3 - ‘So the sisters sent word to Jesus saying “Lord, the one you love is sick.”.

We see here that a great need is portrayed by the sisters. A family circle is threatened by the possibility of a death and a desperate request is made to Jesus.
If you ever had a serious illness in your own family or even in a close friend, in these situations you do tend to get desperate.
And you can see here people, who are friends with Jesus, in fact we are told specifically in verse 5, that Jesus loved them. It was a desperate request.

Now, when you send a request to a friend, what sort of reply would you expect to receive?
Well I suppose it would depend on the seriousness of that request.
If you needed to borrow your friend’s lawnmower, would you expect them to come right away? Well not really.
However if you lived on a farm and someone in your family couldn’t breathe properly, Say you had a friend who was a doctor and only lived 10 minutes away. It would be fair to think that the friend would come immediately to help, wouldn’t it.
Now Mary and Martha had this kind of hope, they hoped that Jesus would come quickly.


However, what does Jesus do?
Verse 6 – ‘When Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was’. He deliberately delayed going to their help.
Now you can imagine how puzzling this must have been for the sisters, I’m mean, they had been terribly worried and all they can do now is watch their brother deteriorate to the brink of death.
A long, devastating day goes by and then the next day Lazarus flat-lines. Is Jesus all of a sudden being selfish and unloving? If Jesus had the power to heal Lazarus, why doesn’t he reply instantly?

Now Lazarus’ death might have taken place before the messenger reached him, or perhaps Jesus deliberately waited for Lazarus illness to be unrecoverable so that he could perform his miracle.
However, regardless of the reason, we are reminded that Jesus is not moved by external forces; he does everything in God’s time and according to God’s will.
Jesus had divine foreknowledge and wisdom in the reason why he delayed his help, even though this may not fit our human expectation or view of suffering.
However we are told in verse 4 that this whole situation with Lazarus is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified.

Therefore verse 7, Jesus announces his decision to go into Judea again.
However, the disciples in verse 8 make it quiet plain to Jesus that the Jews would not let him get away again.
We saw in the previous chapter that the Jews ever tried to stone him. You can see why the disciples were concerned.


Now the disciples were quiet ignorant of the situation and John shows their ignorance. And we can see this firstly in their misunderstanding of what Jesus meant by sleep in verse 11.
Jesus was speaking of Lazarus’ death but the disciples did not understand, they though he meant that Lazarus was just sleeping.
In the New Testament, the death of Christians is often spoken as sleep.
Now death is horrible thing and just by looking at the world around us, we can see that people fear death.
But for Christians, the mention of death as sleep reveals our hope, that death is no longer a foe we should fear. We will see why this is the case later.

Secondly, Jesus tells his disciples plainly in verse 15 that – ‘For their sake, he is glad he was not there, so that they may believe’.
Now again Jesus had divine foreknowledge of what he was going to do, he was going to perform the seventh and most climactic sign in the gospel to reveal his glory.
His joy for the disciples is that they may believe in him.

Well, let see what happens when Jesus finally arrives at Lazarus tomb, we are told in verse 17, that already four days had past and Martha in verse 39, comments that the body would have an odour by now.
Now before we see Jesus actually acting out his great miracle, we see the two meetings.

Point 2 – The Two Meetings

These meetings happen when the two women, Mary and Martha come running to meet Jesus and these two meetings help us to understand who Jesus is, and they reveal him in a remarkable way.

So verse 20 – ‘When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died”.
How did Martha feel? Well she was upset, perhaps even disappointed at Jesus.
But Jesus respond, verse 23 –‘your brother will rise again’.
Was Jesus speaking about the general resurrection at the last day as Martha thought?
Well if Jesus was merely a prophet or rabbi, he would have agreed with Martha’s word.
However let’s see what Jesus says about himself.
Verse 25 – ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’

Jesus is more than a mere prophet, he is the Son sent by the father into the world.
Jesus began with ‘I am’, this statement being the same statement God revealed to Moses in the Exodus, he is claiming to be God, and therefore he is the creator and redeemer of your life, both your spiritual life and your physical life.

Martha responds to Jesus, verse 27 - “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
What does Jesus reveal about himself to Martha? Well he reveals himself as the long-awaited deliverer, the One sent by God to accomplish his will perfectly,
He has also reveals his deity, his divine power, that he is the resurrection and the life, that he has the keys of life and death, the power to call the dead to life and that he is God.
This is what Jesus is showing us from his first meeting with Martha.

What about Mary, what happens when she meets Jesus?
Verse 31 – ‘When the Jews who had been with Mary in her house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”’.
We see that her response is similar to Martha’s response. Indeed both the women were upset. Jesus, seeing her weeping and also the Jews weeping, is deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
Jesus sees the family’s grief; he understands the bitterness of death and is deeply moved by the wages of sin.
Jesus has come into the world to conquer the last enemy, the sting of death. And verse 35 - “Jesus wept”.
Jesus is indignant at sin, illness and death which are the results of our fallen world, yet the world that is at enmity with God is also the object of God’s love. And therefore it is not surprising that Jesus wept.

Well the Jews respond in verse 36 saying, ‘See how he loved him’, ‘could not he who opened the eyes of a blind man have kept this man from dying?’
Well the Jews just don’t get it, all they seem to see in Jesus’ tears, is a mark of love that he bore to Lazarus.
However what does Jesus reveal about himself to Mary and the Jews around her? Does he reveal his divine power as he had revealed to Martha?
Well it’s not so much a revelation of his divine power, but a revelation of his humanity. Jesus is God in flash, and if he is God, he must have the power to do something about the grave, but he is also fully man.

Point 3 – The Account of the Miracle (11:33-44)

So Jesus gets to the tomb, he tells them to take the stone away in verse 39, we see Martha commenting that there would be an odour by now as Lazarus is truly dead.
Jesus tells the sisters “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Jesus then lifts up his eyes to his father and says “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
I know that you always hear me, but I said this on the account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Jesus is speaking to his father, showing the crowd around him, that he does nothing on his own accord, but does everything in accordance with his father, the one who sent him so that they may believe.
Verse 43, Jesus summoned the dead man. He cries out a loud voice, he addresses Lazarus directly by name and calls him out of the tomb. Lazarus is alive!

The only person who can speak to the dead and give them life is God. Jesus is the resurrection and the life; he is the life giver, the one who has power over the dead.

Point 4 – What Does Jesus Offer?

So what is true life? Where do you put your dreams and hopes and expectations into?
Is it success, or is it fame, or is it wealth, or is it simple just having a house, a car, being married and having kids?
Well the preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes had experienced all his desires yet he tells us in Chapter 2 of Ecclesiastes that ‘I have become greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom has stayed with me.
I denied my self nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labour.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun’
The preacher had it all, yet he struggles because he fails to see what the point of it all was.
We can pursue all our pleasures like he did, yet we all share a common destiny, that we are all going to die one day.
Death is the great robber of life, as we saw in Lazarus family. It brings great grief in family members.
We need to take death seriously because death in the bible has to do with judgment; it has to do with us, facing the consequences of our rebellion against God.
Well if Jesus is the God man, the life giver, the one who has power over death, what does he offer to us?


Well verse 51 – ‘Jesus came to die for the Jewish nation and not only for the nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.’
Jesus had come to die to take upon himself the penalty of our sin so that he can gather Christians, that he can gather the church.
Jesus has conquered death in his own death and resurrection and unlike Lazarus, who ended up dieing again; Jesus will raise us up from the dead to live with him forever. This is why as Christian; death is no longer a foe we should fear.

Now Jesus wasn’t just the resurrected one, but he himself was the life of God, the resurrection and the life. And when he died for our sins, nothing could hold him down, he has been raised up in the glory of God, having paid for our sins, and he is alive now.
Do you believe that Jesus is going to raise you from the dead? Do you believe he is going to give you the resurrection life that he talked about, the true life, the life of God, the life of heaven, which is eternal life?

John also tells us in 1 John 5:11 – ‘God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son. He who has the son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.’
This is where our hope as a Christian lies, to know that we have life beyond the grave, a life with God, where God will not abandon you to the grave because the grave will not have a final say in you.
Therefore do you live for Christ, Today? Do you believe in the one whom God has sent? Well let me close with Jesus’ words.
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Well to next time, God Bless, Keeping Trusting That Jesus is Lord.
Laurence.

I will Rejoice in the Lord!

'Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.' - Habakkuk 3:17-19

This week has been a difficult and good week for me. The constant struggles of the flesh, the feelings of failures in ministries and the laziness to remain productive in work. However, I find utmost joy, that we can be part of God's work in the world, the building of the church under the Lordship of Christ. I thank God, most utterly, Its such a encouragement to see him working in people's lives, growing them in Christ likeness of Character as they actively have a zeal for growing in their knowledge of God. It's even more of a Joy, when God's elect is called out, God reconciling them back into relationship with him. I thank God for the strong friends i have, that have encouraged me so much, you know who you are!
Anyways (Thanks Jase), I have been reminded of Habakkuk 3:17-19, No matter what happens, where i end up in life, The Lord is our strength, in him do we rejoice!

Laurence.

Ekklesia

Time for an update :),
really i have nothing better to do, the joys of the life of a single man.

Two week ago i went to MYC (Mid year conference or Meet your companion) , and we looked at Ekklesia (Church). This is really testing my memory, here's what the conference had to say.

The End of our life is church, in the meantime we are building the church because Christ empowered us to build the church, He builds the church through us, by giving us gifts. We have many gifts from God, not for self purpose but so that we can build his church. Therefore we should not waste them rather, we should use them for the common good, for its original purpose.
We need people in whatever gifts they have to build the church. Thus is fundamental to our Christian living. The Church is eternal and it is what God is doing in the world. Therefore it is a great privilege for us to participate in building his church.
How does the kingdom of God grow? It grows by Christians using their gifts in love for the building of the church. Therefore the preaching of the Gospel must continue because the gathering of Christians listening to God’s word is what the church is about.
Some have the gift of expounding God's word, however all Christians should be ministers, to live in a way that maximizes the preaching of the Gospel. Therefore make decisions on the basis of Jesus’ Lordship not worldly materialism. Base everything to the building of the church. This is the mindset we need!

I think one of the main things that was really emphasised was the importance's of the public reading of scripture in Church. Over the past few years, i speak of the denomination I'm familiar with, Sydney Anglicans, the public reading of scripture in the church meeting has declined. The old prayer book used to start off with Psalm 95, every Sunday. Today, if you would only hear the word of God, do not harden your hearts as Israel did in the wilderness. Today, when you hear the word of God, what are you doing? what is your response to the word of God?

Theirs a lot more that was said, but that is basically the summary of it. I also went to an elective called "Working in the church" which was very good and made me rethink my future. If you imagine a triangle with three pieces in it. Purpose at the top, industry in the middle and existences at the bottom. Someone ones defined three types of works. Job, career and calling (not the biblical sense of the word). A job is what a person merely does to support their family and they are moderately happy. A career is where a person strives for nothing except advancement and they are profoundly unhappy. A calling is where the person is not interested in money or advancement but loves the job. Having a job keeps the three pieces of the triangle evenly spaced while a career minimizes purpose and existence. The dangers of uni students and careerism is that the advancements and bigger salaries become so appealing to the point where purpose gets smaller and smaller, and eventually God is out of the picture or only a small part of life. Christians should be aiming to increase the purpose in life while minimizing industry and existence. That means organising life in a way that maximises the preaching of the Gospel. What about full time paid ministry then? Well there is three main things Christians should have in teaching roles. Conviction, character and competency. trained theologically and absolutely convicted in the truths of the Gospel. Your christian living should reflex your convictions. We must be committed to living to what we preach. Last of all we should be able to teach. We need Men in public mission today to willingly sacrifice their lives to take leadership. I think this really made me think, am i fully convicted in the truths of the Gospel, is it changing my character, i know like all of us, I struggle at working on my own Godliness. Am i able to teach? Do i take lead? Am i clear? Things i defiantly need to continue working on however why do anything else in life then devote my life to the preaching of the Gospel!

Another thing i went to was an elective on mission. They made a very good point which challenged me. One of the big things missionaries face in the first year of mission work is their personal bible reading and prayer. Unlike here they don't have that constant encouragement and bible teaching from fellow Christians because they don't understand the language. So personal Godliness is very important, i know it something i have to really continue working hard on. The other things we had during MYC was seminars where we looked at the elements of church such as order and what needs to be in a church meeting. We looked at the idea of Ekklesia and the development of covenants throughout the scriptures. We also had bible studies where we wrestled with 1 John.

It was very encouraging to see so many first years come this year. It was even more encouraging to see first year being challenged by the word of God and willing to get more involved in CBM this coming semester. The classic quote, I released their just so much i don't know about God, their so much i need to continue learning. It was very encouraging to hear people say that.

Therefore MYC was a great time to share in fellowship with each other, real fellowship lol, hearing God's word together and challenging each other even during lunch, supper and even compulsory fun time :)



My ministries for the rest of this year have exponentially increased. I am now on two CBM committees, the penrith and cross-campus committee. Last week, i lead my first service at Emu plains Anglican, got some positive feedback. I was apparently too wordy, even started the service with Psalm 95. But from thinking over the questions from MYC, i was very encouraged to get feedback from people telling me i was very clear. I've also taken up to help with Sunday school. I'll be continuing in the scripture ministry. I'm down to preach on the 7th of October on John chapter 11. I'll be beginning my exegesis on Monday hopefully. Hopefully Mike can challenge me with all sorts of questions :) At CBM so far it looks like I'll be leading a biblical theology training strand on Mondays which i'm very excited about :). So I ask for prayer to be effective in those ministries, and that i might do all those ministries for the glory of the Gospel, for the glory of the kingdom.

I've ran out of places to explore Emu Plains. Some nice spots around the plains and at the foot of the mountains. Haven't done really any work over the holidays on Thesis, so i have to get back into it next week. Last semester i ended getting a HD and a D and i passed my Old Testament exam. What else? I saw the movie Amazing Grace yesterday. Was good, i would of liked it if they explored the struggles of William Wilberforce with God's word. However it was still a good movie. I've also been blessed to have some close friends nearby where i can meet up with them, and encourage each other in God's word.

Heres the latest conundrum to think about, the first question may be obvious.
The church is for the Christian, God’s gathered people listening to the word of God. This raises the question, then what about the non-Christian? 1 Corinthians 14:24 tells us that if all prophecy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship and declare that God is really among you. Therefore if we faithfully proclaim the Gospel, the power of Gospel will convict the unbeliever or outsider if it’s in God’s will.
However we should not neglect to welcome unbelievers or outsiders during and after the church meeting. In my old church, we changed some of the pews to chairs, so that the service would be much more loving to de-churched (generation who have not been bought up in church) people.

My questions is then, is there a fine-line in how much we can change our church meeting to make it more appealing to outsiders before it hinders the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel still might be preached faithfully, but may hinder the churched people, particularly the older congregation members. And finally what is that line.

My next questions is, which in some way relates to the first, should we be using words such as fellowship, sin and service in a church meeting, When even the Christians may have a misunderstanding of these words. For example sin, should we be using sin in our meetings, when most non-Christians see sin as breaking the law, rather than rebellion against God, trying to live lives our way.

How can we then be loving and welcoming to outsiders and preaching the Gospel faithfully while not being a stumbling block to the congregation, to the church?

Till next time,
May you continue to give all glory to him who called you out of Darkness into light.
Laurence.