Garry concluded his series ‘Looking For Heroes’ tonight, which has been looking at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. A hero is someone out of the ordinary, who deals with situations in ways others can’t and who are courageous or possess special abilities, but God is looking for heroes who will simply reflect His character. As the Kutless song Hero reflects, however, being a hero comes from the love God gives us which enables us to to ‘rise above the normal’, even when we are (in ourselves) weak and weary.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The poor in spirit are those who realise they have nothing of worth in themselves but need God, who understand that God has everything of value that we need and who reach out to God for all they need.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Mourning involves not just grief when we lose loved ones, but understanding that the world is not now as it was meant to be, for we have lost our fellowship with God through sin and we long to have that relationship restored. Matt 23:37 reminds us that God can restore our relationship with Him, comfort us and give us joy.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

The world does not value meekness, equating it with weakness, but the word itself implies the taming of a wild stallion, someone who has been harnessed and brought under control. Meekness is the opposite of self-will, like an ointment that soothes wounds or gentle words which are well chosen. We need humility towards God and gentleness towards people, courage that is brought under control and is coupled with kindness.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

We need a deep and earnest desire for righteousness, even when we might find ourselves personally disadvantaged if we do the right thing.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

We all need to receive mercy and therefore we must all show mercy as well. Mercy is a reflection of God’s character, for He helps those who do not deserve to be helped. God’s chesed enables us to climb into someone else’s skin and relate to their situations and feelings; it is love without conditions, forgiveness that is offered to all freely.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

In ourselves, we are  not clean or pure at all (Prov 20:9, Rom 3:23), but God makes purity possible for all, since He purifies our hearts. (Heb 12:1, 2 Tim 2:22)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

God seeks peace and making peace is important. Rom 12:18 urges us to live at peace with people as far as it is possible for us to do so. No personal price is too high (think of the sacrifices made by those helping the Jews in the Second World War, for example.) God gave His everything to make peace and expects us to do the same.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We  will be persecuted when we live for Christ (Matt 24:9), for we are living in such a way that our values are different to the worlds. If we show these characteristics, however, we will be heroes, standing up for God’s values in the world.

Jesus said we are the salt and light of the world. We have a new nature; all God wants us to do is to live it. Be different. Don’t act like the world, but act as children of God. Then, when people ask us why we are behaving like this, we can witness to that divine nature within us. (see 1 Pet 3:15-16)

Kutless sing ‘You could be a hero.’ The question is, though: will we be a hero? The choice is ours.

We had another birthday to celebrate tonight: someone who positively wanted to get on the birthday box!

Dave spoke from John 4:39-42 on the power of the Samaritan woman’s testimony. Earlier in the year, he spoke from Prov 11:30, reminding us that he who wins souls is wise. In this passage in John 4, we see Jesus cutting through social conventions in travelling through Samaria  and addressing a woman, taking the initiative in reaching out to one who had been shunned by many for her colourful lifestyle. Jesus started the conversation by talking about something eminently practical (asking for a drink of water at a well), but through his personal knowledge of the woman’s situation, he went on to talk of spiritual matters and revealed His identity to her. The woman’s response was startling. Leaving the jar behind, she went back into the village to communicate with the people she had previously tried to avoid, to share with them the fact that this man she had just met ‘told me everything I did. Could this be the Messiah?’

Jesus is still in the business of seeking those who are lost and giving them a new life. Because she testified about Him, others came to Jesus to see for themselves. Personal testimony remains one of the most powerful forms of witness. When God is moving in our lives and the Holy Spirit is bringing people across our paths, we can be sure that our words will have an impact greater than we could ever imagine. We have to be willing to share our testimony, simply telling others about what God has done in our lives. It’s not all down to evangelists: God wants us to share with others so that they have the opportunity to come and see for themselves what God has done and can do.

If you think that a good number of blog posts recently have been on the topic of love, blame John! We are studying 1 John in our Bible studies, and this theme is one he returns to over and over again. Last night, we looked at 1 John 4:12-21 and again, the theme of God’s love and how it is manifested in the lives of believers is developed.

God lives in us and His love is made complete in us, John says in 1 John 4:12. He goes on to look at how God lives in us by His Spirit (1 John 4:13) and how our acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son of God is required (expressing positively the truths told us about liars and the antichrist in 1 John 2:22-23.) The key point of remaining in Christ (dwelling, abiding, as expounded in John 15:1-8 and already expressed 7 times in 1 John 2 and 5 times in 1 John 3) is highlighted as the way we access God’s love. This abiding gives us confidence so that we can not only know but rely on God’s love for us. Love is such an important part of the life that God gives us because ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8, 16). If we are united to God through faith in Christ, then we share His divine nature (see 2 Pet 1:3-4) and we need to understand that despite our sinful nature, positionally we are right now as God is (‘in this world we are like Jesus’ 1 John 4:17). This same truth is expressed in Eph 2:6, when Paul reminds us that God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. We may not always feel we are like Jesus, but the truth remains that because He has taken our sins, we are now accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:4-6, NKJV) and given confidence to approach God as beloved children, not as slaves cowering before a Judge.

John deals with the subject of fear in 1 John 4:18. This is not the healthy respect and reverence due to God (see Heb 5:7), but the nagging fear that cripples us: ‘a fearful life, fear of death, fear of judgment’ as the Message version puts it. Christ was sacrificed one to take away the sins of many (Heb 9:27-28) and so those who believe are given assurance that we have eternal life and have crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24) Because of this, there is now no condemnation (Rom 8:1-2) and God’s perfect love banishes (casts out, flings out of the door) all fear of punishment or torment. God’s Spirit dwelling in us testifies that we are children of God and we do not live in fear as slaves (Rom 8:14-16, see also Rom 8:35-39).

This love fills us with confidence and security, and therefore enables us to love not only God but all people. We may find it easier to profess love for God than to practise love for people, but John is adamant that God’s nature living in us must result in practical demonstrations of love towards others. Instead of fear dominating and causing us to hide and pretend (as with Adam and Eve after that first sin, Gen 3:10), our hearts are confident and there is no need to pretend, to God or to other people. Love for others grows only as we remain in God, however, allowing His love to flourish in us.

We are thrilled to hear that Matthew Murray, for whom we have been praying to recover from a severe strain of malaria which affected his kidneys, lungs and heart, has just been discharged from hospital in America. Matthew, who works for the Christian charity One By One, helping needy children all over the world, contracted malaria whilst in Kenya and has been in intensive care for a number of weeks now. His wife, Becky, wrote movingly of the situation here.

We are so grateful for God’s mercy and healing and thank everyone who has joined us in praying for Matthew. Please continue to pray for his full recovery and for God to continue to bless this couple’s ministry.

Eileen has helped at the youth club for many years, and is proof that you don’t have to be young in years to have a heart for young people. Tonight was her last night serving sweets and drinks there and in honour of her many faithful years of service, she was given some flowers:

Eileen is affectionately known as ‘the Queen’ at church, and she certainly looks very regal here!

Our whole-hearted thanks go to her for her servant heart and faithfulness and we are so grateful to all we learn from her about loving and following Jesus.