Guest speaker Yan Hadley spoke last night from Isaiah 54:1-3 on ‘living beyond your limitations.’ There are some limitations or restrictions which God gives us which are for our own good, but many of the limitations we accept are not from God. Personal circumstances, financial restrictions, unbelief, apathy, unforgiveness and a sense of inadequacy and inferiority can all limit what we do, but there are 4 things which can change how we live in regard to limitations.

1. Positive expectation
2. Practical preparation
3. Persistent determination
4. Promised culmination

The world tells us that ‘seeing is believing’, but the Christian life involves believing before we see. Isaiah tells the barren woman to sing and rejoice. Even if circumstances don’t seem favourable, we are called to praise God in faith. Jesus said at the tomb of Lazarus, before he raised him, that ‘if you will believe, you will see the glory of God.’ (Jn 11:40) Caleb and Joshua did not let the negativity of the other 10 spies influence their faith in God. We have to learn to see beyond our limitations to the unlimited possibilities with God, how barrenness can give birth to new life in Him.

There are practical things we are called to do, however, as Is 54:2 makes plain. ‘Enlarge… lengthen… stretch…strengthen’ are the key words here. We have to prepare and train, just as runners do before undertaking races or Sir Edmund Hillary did before climbing Everest. Prayer and fasting, Bible study, intercession and evangelism are all ways we can prepare to do what God has called us to do. We might need to learn practical skills, as William Carey did in learning many languages before going as a missionary to India. As Henry Longellow puts it, ‘The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.’

Persistent determination is also required if we are to live beyond our limitations. We must not give up or give in. A fear of failure can hold us back, but even if we fail frequently, that does not mean we can’t succeed! Peter may have sunk, but he also actually walked on water! As the SAS put it, ‘he who dares wins.’ Is 54:2b reminds us not to hold back. God’s grace is able to make us abound in every good work (2 Cor 9:8). The boy with just a picnic lunch was able to help feed over 5000 people. The disciples who listened to Jesus caught many fish after a fruitless night’s work. We must not let mockery, fear, doubts and disappointments stop us from attempting great things for God.

If we do our part, we can be sure that there will be a promised harvest (see Gal 6:9, Is 55:11). Is 54:3 tells us ‘you shall spread out to the right and to the left.’ There will be growth and expansion. Faith expressed in praise, preparation and persistence will reap the rewards of God’s faithfulness.

Mark Burgin spoke this morning on the subject of ‘Shalom’, the Hebrew word for peace which also conveys a sense of fulness, wellbeing and contentment. God’s blessing on us brings peace (see Gen 1:27-31); His blessing on us brings peace and contentment. (Numbers 6:22-26).

God’s peace does not necesssarily mean the absence of trouble or trials. The Israelites were slaves for years before the Exodus and then during the wilderness wanderings they had to be prepared to move on at a moment’s notice. Life was not always easy for them! Even when they went into the Promised Land, there were battles and wars to win; life was far from tranquil most of the time. But ‘shalom’ does not focus on outer peace; instead, it is something which holds us steady throughout life becasue we know God is in control. This inner peace from God comes from His presence, so as we dwell in Him, we can know peace, no matter what. God is able to sustain us and speak peace over us; Jesus promised to leave us His peace and this is always available to us. (John 14:27)

The Bible is actually made up of 66 books within the one book, written by many different authors and in many different genres. Part of the problem in understanding the Bible lies in understanding each genre and reading it accordingly.

Many books are historical narratives, but others are poetic (e.g. Psalms, Proverbs) and use imagery and symbolism to convey truths. The Gospels in the New Testament focus on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, but are not ‘biographies’ in the traditional sense of the word. We have letters to churches; we have prophetic writings in the BIble. Revelation, along with parts of Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel and Amos, are part of what is known as ‘apocalyptic literature’, relying heavily on imagery and symbolism to convey spiritual visions connected with the end times and the ultimate establishment of God’s kingdom.

When a child learns to read, there is the challenge of vocabulary: what does this word literally mean? My granddaughter was reading a book this week about a ‘banquet’ and ‘goblets’. She had never encountered either word before, so although she could read them easily enough, I had to explain what they meant to her. Then, however, we move to the realm of idiom and metaphor. When we say God is our rock, we do not mean God is a literal rock; we are talking about the elements of a rock which He represents (strength, stability, immovability etc.) When we read Revelation, there are images a-plenty which take some fathoming, but even when things are not meant literally (Satan being a dragon, for example), that does not mean they are not true.

Learning to read the Bible in context and with these spiritual eyes and ears isn’t easy, but it’s the path to real understanding!

This week, in our Bible study looking at the ‘end times’ or ‘last days’, we started looking at the book of Revelation. This last book in the Bible seems daunting to most of us, full of symbolism and imagery that we struggle to understand and interpret. Nonetheless, if all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for us (2 Tim 3:16), we cannot afford to ignore a whole book of the Bible just because of these difficulties. Moreover, Rev 1:3 promises a blessing to all those who hear its words and take them to heart.

The nature of the book is such that it belongs to the genre of apocalyptic literature, which is very different to the historical writings of the Old Testament or the poetry of Psalms, for example. This genre, which is also seen in parts of Daniel and Ezekiel, cannot always be interpreted literally, and uses symbolism, imagery and numerology in places. We may feel we do not fully understand what Armageddon, the Beast, the great tribulation, the woman or the ‘Millennium’ mean, but the overall message of the book of Revelation is clear: God is in control and ultimately, all evil will be defeated, and all wrongs will be righted. This message is positive, and God has much to say to His people through this book (see Rev 2-3). We look forward to investigating further in weeks to come!

Dave spoke tonight from John 21:1-14. The things that are narrated here happened just after Easter, when life was getting back to normal after the trauma of all that happened that week. Peter, tired of being in limbo and waiting, had decided to go back fishing, but things were not going well for him and his friends. When Jesus called to them from the beach, his disciples did not recognise HIm. This was a recurring theme after the Resurrection: Mary thought Jesus was the gardener initially; the disciples on the road to Emmaus did not recognise Jesus at first. We can be like them too, failing to recognise Jesus in our ordinary, everyday lives.

We may perhaps not expect to meet Jesus anywhere but at church services, but the truth is that we can meet Him anywhere – whilst we are shopping or at work, for example. We do need special places to meet with HIm, but must understand that He can be found also in the ordinary as well. He was found by Mary in a cemetery garden, by two disciples on a dusty road, and here, He is found by the lake. Previously, He had been found at a wedding, at a well, at a funeral (not just in the synagogue). Jesus is with us everywhere and the ordinary places can become sacred ones when we recognise His presence there.

We do meet with God in the church building when we gather together, but we must be careful not to restrict meeting with God to this one place only. Jesus is with us wherever we go and we need to seek to recognise His presence in our everyday lives.

As a church we support Innocent Okot in Uganda, who is 17 years old. Below is his latest photo and news:

When your friend is sad, what do you do to make
him/her happy?
When my friend is sad, I tell him Bible stories to
encourage and make him happy.

Tell us about the most interesting thing you’ve
learned in school this year.
This year, I learned about the missionaries that came
to Uganda to share the Word of God and I found that
very interesting.

If you could be a teacher for one day, what would you
teach friends about and why?
If I could be a teacher for one day, I would teach my
friends about respect because I want them to be good
peopl