The Danger of Assumptions

Dave spoke tonight on the danger of assumptions, taking as his starting point Luke 2:40-49, where Jesus is at the Temple and his parents have to go back to Jerusalem to find him. They made the assumption that he was travelling with them, but this turned out not to be the case, and Dave went on to speak of the assumption we can have that Jesus is with us when in fact we are not certain of His presence at all.
People assume that they are safe becaue ‘of course I’m a Christian’, but their reasons are often flimsy (believing that to be born in a ‘Christian country’ confers Christian status on us, when in fact no one can ‘accidentally’ become a Christian; this is a conscious choice we make to follow Jesus.) Others believe their upbringing guarantees God’s presence with them (but each child must make their own decision to accept Jesus) or that ‘I believe in God’. James 2:19 reminds us that even the demons do that, but it’s no guarantee of Christ with us. Attending church services is not of itself a guarantee, nor is leading a ‘good life.’
We need to know that we have been born again and that Jesus is always with us, not assume these things. John 14:23 reminds us that Jesus is looking for love and obedience from his followers, but then he promises the presence of God the Father and the Son with those who do these things. We do not become a Chrhistian because of our upbringing, family circumstances or church membership. We become a Christian through receiving Christ as our personal Saviour. When we do this, we have the assurance of Christ’s presence with us and can be reunited with Jesus as his parents ultimately were.

A Place Prepared

Garry spoke this morning on a ‘Place Prepared’, from Genesis 46:1-7. Jacob and his family returned to Egypt to be with Joseph. God promised to make Jacob a great nation there (Gen 46:3), but this was a promise not really fulfilled in his lifetime. Instead, it was not until 215 years later that we see just how numerous the nation of Israel had become in Egypt (see Ex 1:8-10).
Heb 11:13-16 reminds us that the Old Testament heroes, including Jacob, were still living by faith when they died. They did not see the life we now live; our spiritual vision needs to be enlarged always. Heb 12:1-3 reminds us that to run the race of faith, we need perseverance, endurance, a resolute continuance. We need to trust in the promises of God (2 Cor 1:20).
Jacob sent Judah ahead of them: praise and thanksgiving as the forerunner, as his name reminds us. God wants us to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (Ps 100:4). In many ways, Jacob’s gesture was one of faith. Jesus Himself was descended from Judah (Rev 5:5); the promises given to Jacob may have taken a long time to fulfil, but God was faithful to His promises.
God has promised great things to us as well. We need the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened (Eph 1:17-18); we need to see God better and understand that He will deliver in abundance.

Sponsored Toddle

We are blessed with a great Parent & Toddler group at GPCC which meets twice weekly in term-time on Wednesdays and Fridays (9-11 a.m.) Last year, we had our first summer outing to Gulliver’s Valley, and this year we are aiming to go to Flamingo Land on 28th July.

The cost of tickets for children aged 4 or above is very high and so we have been fund-raising for some time (and have currently raised £1,147 towards the cost of the trip through coffee mornings, an Easter raffle and a sponsored walk done by Beverley Wassell to Barnsley!) Yesterday, a number of parents, grandparents and children walked from Goldthorpe Park on Doncaster Road to Barnburgh Park in Barnburgh on a ‘Sponsored Toddle’ to raise money for the trip.

Once at the park, they had a good time playing!

Even the adults joined in the fun!

They all got certificates and medals for taking part.

Some of them had a picnic as a reward for all that walking.

Our thanks to Hayley who organised the Sponsored Toddle and to Bev for buying medals for the children. Thanks to all who took part and to all who have sponsored the toddlers. Please note that all sponsor monies need to be handed in by Friday 26th May at the latest so that we can bank money and pay for the Flamingo Land tickets.

Singing A Song

Revelation is a book with many songs of praise to God for who He is and what He has done. Rev 15:2-4 has another such song (this time accompanied by harps) called ‘the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb.’

The songs associated with Moses (Exodus 15 & Deuteronomy 32) focus on God’s power in delivering His people from Egyptian slavery and His faithfulness to His people. The song of the Lamb focuses on what Jesus has accomplished for us through His sacrificial death (Rev 5:9-10). Both songs acknowledge who God is (the Rock, the Lord) and this song does too, acknowledging God as ‘King of the nations’, ‘Lord God Almighty’ and the One who is holy before pondering how His deeds are great and marvellous, His ways are just and true and His righteous acts have now been revealed.

All our songs of praise should reflect this dual emphasis on who God is and what He has done, because we are so prone to forget these truths. This is the yardstick for what we sing in our services and what we sing in our personal praise times with the Lord. It matters what we sing; it matters that we sing truth. There is a place for our ‘response’ in songs, but we can only respond rightly when we know who God is and what He has done for us.

The Wrath of God

The wrath of God is not an easy topic to tackle, but any study of the book of Revelation must do so, because it is here that the most frequent references to God’s wrath are found. We are uncomfortable with the idea of God’s wrath, often feeling that the New Testament message of love and forgiveness act as a negation of any idea of wrath. Some see the God of the Old Testament as a wrathful deity appeased by Jesus in the New Testament, but the unity and immutability of God remain at the heart of both Testaments. God’s love is evident in the Old Testament; His wrath is found in the New Testament as well as the Old. We cannot divide God and hope to remain true to the Biblical account of who He is.

Another reason we are uncomfortable with the subject of God’s wrath is that we know only too well the fickleness of our own human anger. Wrath is defined as “the emotional response to perceived wrong and injustice,” often translated as “anger,” “indignation,” “vexation,” or “irritation”, and we know only too well how our anger is often unjustified and leads to further problems. We have to differentiate between human anger (which James reminds us does not produce the righteousness God desires (James 1:20)) and God’s anger or wrath, which is always holy and always justified.

The wrath of God is a divine response to human sin and disobedience, which cannot be condoned for justice to be done. There must be consequences to sin and disobedience, and God’s wrath ensures that these consequences are fulfilled. He is patient and has made a way for all people to avoid the consequences of wrath (separation from God and hell) (2 Peter 3:9-10), but Revelation 15-16 make it plain that the wrath of God will come on those who persistently refuse to listen to God. The one who believes in the Son will not suffer God’s wrath for his sin, because the Son took God’s wrath upon Himself when He died in our place on the cross (Romans 5:6–11). Those who do not believe in the Son, who do not receive Him as Saviour, will be judged on the day of wrath (Romans 2:5–6).

King of Kings and Lord of Lords

At our special service on Sunday we looked at the fact that Jesus is the ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’ (Rev 19:13). There, we read that on His head were many crowns – crowns even more splendid than the St Edward’s Crown, Imperial State Crown and Queen Mary’s Crown used in the Coronation service on 6th May.

Yet we see from the description in Revelation 19 that Jesus is not a king like any earthly king. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood (Rev 19:13) – not blood from having killed many, which is what kings of old were famous for: how many battles they had won, how many enemies they had killed. His robe is dipped in blood and His name is the Word of God because Jesus is our King through His sacrifice on the cross for us. One of the greatest crowns He ever wore was the crown of thorns which was rammed onto His head by Roman soldiers just before His crucifixion. (John 19:2-3) There, He was called the ‘king of the Jews’ somewhat scornfully and the crown He was given was really a badge of shame, but in actual fact, we still remember this crown today because we understand that it is through what happened at the cross that we are saved.

The armies with Jesus in Revelation 19 wear white linen – they are white and clean because His blood was shed. Paul reminds us that ‘For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.’ (Col 119-20) Christ did not come to be served but to serve. Amazingly, He will give us crowns too:

  • A crown that will last for ever (1 Cor 9:24-25)
  • A crown of rejoicing (1 Thess 2:19)
  • A crown of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8)
  • A crown of glory (1 Pet 5:4)
  • The crown of life (Rev 2:10)

Yet when we see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we will find that those crowns will mean nothing compared to the greatness of being with Him forever. Rev 4:10-11 tells us, ‘They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”’ Only the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is worthy of our worship, worthy of our crowns.