Worthy Of His Calling

Dec 1, 2024

Garry spoke this morning from 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, another of Paul’s prayers that God will make them ‘worthy of his calling.’ To be worthy of God’s calling means we must understand God calls us to repentance (Acts 17:29-31) so that we can experience the fulness of life He offers us. All who respond to God’s call are the elect (see Ezek 33:10-11); we can refuse God’s call if we choose to, but to do so would be harmful to us as God always wants what is best for us.
God is able to keep us (see Jude 1:24, Phil 1:6, 1 Pet 1:3-5) but our part is to continue in the faith (Col 1:22-23) and to cultivate faith, not unbelief, in our hearts. (Heb 3:12-14) We must not reject (push away) God’s grace and must strive to keep our love from going cold (Matt 24:12).
We are called to a fresh start (see Eph 2:1-10) and to a new relationship with God (John 1:12). We are called to a new life (Rom 6:5-7) and to hope (Eph 1:18). We are called to reign with God (2 Tim 2:11-12) and to a holy life. (2 Tim 1:9). To live like this is possible because God has made it possible. Now we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor 5:19-20), chosen so that we might be for the praise of God’s glory. (Eph 1:11-13) We are not on our own but can live a life worthy of His calling by following Him closely, showing what He has done and declaring to all what He can do.

Enlarge Your Territory!

Nov 24, 2024

Guest speaker Joy Gascoigne from Grimethorpe Pentecostal Church spoke tonight from Exodus 34:24 on God enlarging our territory. God’s plan from the beginning has always been for people to live well under His blessing. The Garden of Eden was a wonderful place of blessings, but we see that even after the Fall, God’s plan has been to bless mankind and to work with people.
Isaiah 54:2 urges us to ‘enlarge your tent.’ If we want to be enlarged, we must live in line with God’s desires, living within the principles of God. If we live honourably and with high standards, not allowing the past to define us, then God has promised to bless us. God is greater than our past and we do not have to live with the labels other people have given us.
We are enlarged ultimately when we obey God. Ps 18:21 speaks of the deliverance from enemies which God brings because David ‘kept the ways of the Lord.’ Prov 11:24 tells us ‘One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.’ Generosity is a pathway to blessing.
Ultimately we are enlarged because of God’s faithfulness to us and because of the largeness of the Spirit of God within us. Our God is indeed a great big God!

The Suffering And The Glory

Nov 24, 2024

Dave spoke this morning from Mark 9:2-9, the account of Jesus’s Transfiguration. There, on the mountain top, Jesus was completely transfigured before three disciples who saw a brilliant light and saw Elijah and Moses as well as hearing a voice from heaven. The transfiguration gave the disciples a glimpse into Jesus’s true nature; unlike people who have plastic surgery and change the outward appearance without being able to change the inner nature, this incident did not change Jesus’s nature but simply allowed others to see it. This is often referred to as a ‘mountain top experience,’ and it’s true we need these experiences when God’s glory seems to be revealed to us more plainly than usual. Faith is more than a rational, educated response to God; we need the supernatural experiences which help us to see the eternal world more clearly. These experiences where we glimpse glory are vital; moments when the transcendent nature of God is real to us are precious.

Peter definitely thought this experience was more in line with what he expected of the Messiah than Jesus’s prophecies about death and crucifixion (see Mark 8). He longed to stay on the mountain-top, to build shelters for Elijah, Moses and Jesus and to stay there. His view was that ‘where the Messiah is, there is no misery.’ What he needed to learn was that there was another mountain to be faced, Golgotha, before full glory could be experienced. The truth is that where there is misery, there is the Messiah. Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of Man and we cannot have the glory without the suffering. The two things go hand in hand, and we have to leave the momentary glory of the Mount of Transfiguration to come down to the valley of everyday life, where there are disputes and healings and work to be done. We simply cannot live on the mountain top all the time, crucial though these experiences are to our faith and Christian walk; we have to understand that there are twin peaks in the Christian life – suffering and glory – and Christ is with us in both.

 

Kindness

Nov 22, 2024

At last night’s Bible study we looked at 2 Samuel 9, a chapter which shows us David’s kindness and willingness to keep a promise as he seeks out Mephibosheth from Jonathan’s family so that he can show ‘God’s kindness‘ to him. Mephibosheth, crippled at the age of five and living in Lo-Debar, is welcomed into the king’s presence, has his grandfather’s lands restored to him and is welcomed to eat at the king’s table from this moment onwards. This is a picture of our lives before we knew God and after we have received His grace and mercy, as we are ushered into His presence, given acceptance, blessings and communion with Him!
Kindness is one of the attributes of God (see Rom 2:4, Luke 6:36), and we are urged to reflect His nature (see Eph 4:32, 2 Tim 2:24). As many have commented, kindness reaches people when words do not. We looked at some of the things people have said about kindness:
• “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” (Jennifer Dukes Lee)
• “Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.” (Bob Kerrey)
• “Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” (Mark Twain)
• “You can never know the ripple effect you create with one tiny gesture of kindness.” (Elle Sommer)
As we receive God’s kindness, we should let it spill over to others. (Luke 6:38) What random acts of kindness can we show today? How can our speech and actions reflect kindness?

Servants of God

Nov 17, 2024

This morning we looked at our identity as servants of God, an identity mentioned in almost every New Testament letter (see James 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1, Jude 1:1, Rev 1:1, Titus 1:1, Phil 1:1, Rom 1:1, Col 4:7, 12, Eph 3:7 and 2 Cor 6:4). Being a servant is generally not something we are too keen on, though popular TV series such as ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ in the 1970s and ‘Downton Abbey’ more recently show us the importance of servants in a life of wealth and prestige! Nonetheless, we see that it is important to understand our role as God’s servants if we are to live as God wants us to.

God is the boss and we are not! Jesus told many stories about masters and servants (see Luke 17:7-10, Luke 12:35-48, Matt 25:14-30, Matt 18:21-35) and remind us of the authority of the Master. Jesus reminded His disciples that we cannot serve two masters (see Matt 6:24) and that whoever wants to become great must be your servant. (Mark 10:43) The reason we can ultimately view servanthood with different eyes is that God Himself came as a servant (see Isaiah 42:1-4, Isaiah 52 & 53) and thus set the example for us (see Mark 10:45, John 13:14-17, Phil 2:1-11).

 

Being a servant does not mean being enslaved under oppressive conditions, but understanding that we serve a merciful Master who is worthy of our all (in the words of the hymn, ‘Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.’) Our eyes should look to God like the eyes of a slave (Ps 123:1-2) and we should be like the Old Testament slave who did not want to be set free but whose ear was pierced as a sign of his devotion to his master. (Ex 21:5-6) As we serve God, we are set free to follow our Master’s example and to bless others, even as He served us and gave His life as a ransom for many.

Personal Encounters With Jesus

Nov 10, 2024

Tonight we looked at personal encounters with Jesus that underline the truth that being known by God can really shape our identity and change how we live.
We looked at Nathanael, the Samaritan woman, Mary Magdalene and Simon Peter, and saw how Jesus demonstrated a knowledge of them which clearly came from divine revelation and which led to their deepening knowledge of Him.
Nathanael (see John 1) was initially dubious that the Messiah could come from Nazareth, but Jesus’s knowledge of his character led him to see Jesus as the Messiah and to understand that to be fully known was proof of His divine identity. The Samaritan woman debated long and hard with this strange Jewish male intent on engaging her in conversation (John 4), but Jesus’s knowledge of her personal life led her to see that this one who told her everything she had ever done had to be the Messiah. Jesus’s knowledge of her gave her purpose as she sought others to meet Him too. His knowledge of her was more important to her identity than her ethnicity, gender or religious background.
Mary Magdalene recognised Jesus only when He spoke her name. From being afraid and tearful as to where His body was, she recognised Him as her Lord and this recognition meant inclusion now in God’s family. She too was filled with new purpose, going to tell the disciples she had seen the risen Lord. (John 20)
Simon Peter, that impulsive, fervent follower of Jesus, declared his undying support for Jesus at the Last Supper, but Jesus revealed the future that Satan desired to sift the disciples as wheat and that Simon would deny him three times before the cock crowed. Nonetheless, Jesus reminded Simon Peter that he had prayed for him that his faith would not fail. Peter ultimately would become that rock, being restored to faith after the resurrection, reminding us that God knows us through and through and still loves us, forgives us, prays for us and restores us. (Heb 7:25)
Being known by God gives us worth, significance and purpose – it’s not just head knowledge but our relationship with God fuels our everyday lives, giving us a secure identity which can weather all storms.