Mark preached from Daniel 6 last night, looking at the theme ‘Why worry? God’s in charge!’ The story of Daniel in the lions’ den, much loved by children in Sunday School, is far more than the story of what happened to Daniel. It teaches us about good and evil and shows us vividly that God is in control of our lives.

Daniel was a man of God in whom there was an excellent spirit. His integrity and godly living had taken him to a high position in a foreign land. But there were others who were jealous of his success and who wanted not only to cut him down to size but to get rid of him permanently. Fuelling those plots was the devil himself, who wanted to get rid of any godly influences in that country.

It was no accident that Daniel ended up in the lions’ den, and God was not looking away when this happened, taken by surprise. Sometimes, our lives change in a matter of minutes and circumstances send us crashing, but God knows it all and can turn the devil’s schemes into good.

Daniel did not know what the outcome would be as he stared into the mouths of ravenous lions, but He trusted God to be with him. Daniel was saved by God and his enemies were destroyed. The results were more than his personal salvation, however, for King Darius came to know that God was great through this miracle and issued a decree acknowledging Daniel’s God. Good had triumphed.

Daniel shows us how to face great stresses and trials with courage and hope. Peter urges us to ‘humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.’ (1 Pet 5:6-7) So often, we go through life with a rucksack full of worries on our backs that weigh us down like a ton of bricks. Jesus tells us not to worry (Matt 6:25-34), promising us that God will meet our everyday needs, no matter what they are. God’s Spirit lives within us, as He did within Daniel, and we are assured that God is working all things together for good for those who love Him (Rom 8:28). God opens and closes doors in our lives and we need to leave our worries with God so we can walk through the doors He opens, unencumbered by worry, guarded instead by God’s perfect peace which transcends all understanding.

We started the sermon this morning by looking at photos from unusual angles. Can you guess what it is?!



The answers are:
1) spaghetti (taken from above)
2) a chair (taken from below)
3) a kebab skewer (just for Mark!)

How we view life largely depends on our perspective and on the vision we have. We can be focussed on the immediate (since this is clearly visible to us), but this is largely like living looking through a telephoto lens: good for close-ups, but not very good at seeing the whole picture. For that, we need a wide-angled lens. We need panoramic vision if we are to see life the way God sees it.

Peter tells us he needs to remind the church of basic truths if they are to be firmly established in truth (2 Pet 1:12-15). We need to ‘forget not all His benefits’ if we are to have true panoramic vision.

These benefits are listed in Psalm 103. There, we see that God forgives all our sins, the starting point for living a free life. This psalm reminds us that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps 103:12) It tells us “He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” (Ps 103:9-10) Forgiveness is the best cleansing agent we could ever have, unblocking our hearts from grudges, resentment and bitterness and leading us into freedom.

God brings redemption and compassion into our lives (Ps 103:4). When we look back at where we were (Eph 2:12-13), we see all the more how amazing it is that God has lifted us up and set us on solid ground (Ps 40:2). God is our healer (Ps 103:3). He satisfies us with good things (Ps 103:5). The revelation of God throughout the Bible is that He treats us as a loving father, showing care and compassion for us. God is good and what He does is good (Ps 119:68). His faithfulness toward each of us is perfect and everlasting (Is 25:1, Ps 119:90). His kind thoughts toward us are as numberless as all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the world (Ps 139:17-18). His saving presence is everywhere (Ps 5:12, Ps 139:7-12). Ps 84: 11 tells us “no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” James 1:17 tells us “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” This is the kind of God we have. He satisfies us with good things. Yes, there will be times when we don’t get our own way, when God says no to us, when we can’t have the things we think are what we want most in the world. But when God says no to us, it’s because He loves us. It’s because He can see the bigger picture. He knows what is best for us. We think we know what’s best, but we only have this limited telephoto lens to view our lives with and we often cannot see how refusal can ever be for our good. One thing a right view of God does for us, however, is it encourages us to trust the goodness of God even in the dark times of life when things don’t seem to be going our way. If God is good all the time, then even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we can fear no evil, for He remains with us and remains good.

God renews our strength like the eagle’s (Ps 103:5, see Is 40:31). He helps us to rise up above the circumstances and soar. He is at work in our world, even though there is injustice and oppression (Ps 103:6-7). God’s character is summarised (if you could ever hope to do that!) in Ps 103:8 (“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” See also Numbers 14:18, Ps 145:8, Jonah 4:2, Neh 9:17). This is the kind of God we serve – no wonder we have ten thousand reasons and more to praise Him! Nothing can separate us from that love or stand in His way, for He is firmly in control (“The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” Ps 103:19). No matter what is happening in the close-up of our lives, we can know that the bigger picture includes a sovereign God who is over all and above all and in all (Eph 4:6).

When we look through a telephoto lens, there are two dangers. One is that we seem really big, important, the centre of it all. Ps 103:14-16 reminds us of the fragility of life: men are just like flowers, here today and gone tomorrow. The other is that we feel overwhelmed by all the troubles that surround us and feel afraid. Ps 102:19 reminds us that God is in control.

Our view of God absolutely, totally, desperately matters because it will determine how we live today and every day:

“A big view of God is a cure for so many of the things in life that would stand in our way or slow us down in ministry. When we really grasp the heights of who He is, and the depths of His heart for us, and the strength of His power in us, we can live a whole different kind of life. The way we view God will radically affect how our lives operate… We must see and believe Him as big enough, kind enough, real enough and strong enough to move in power in our everyday lives – no matter what we’re facing. The first step for a worshipper is to confidently get to grips with just how magnificent and mighty He is. The next step is to let that confidence in God seep into the very depths of our hearts and minds, forming a holy confidence on the inside of us. When that truly happens, we will dream bigger dreams and live brighter lives.” (Matt Redman)

When we ‘forget not all His benefits’, we can live life with that wide-angled view which will enable us to have confidence in every situation and to trust in Him, no matter what we are going through. God is good and all He does is good! No wonder the psalms exhorts us so much to praise the Lord!

Micah 6:8 is probably the most famous verse in that book. “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” The verse clearly shows us that our faith in God has to be reflected in how we live our lives. This simple truth is nonetheless so profound, cutting through our complacency and hacking away at our apathy.

The Message version translates this passage:
“How can I stand up before God
and show proper respect to the high God?
Should I bring an armload of offerings
topped off with yearling calves?
Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,
with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,
my precious baby, to cancel my sin?
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.” (Micah 6:7-8)

Christians who take God seriously take the injustice in the world seriously and work hard to reflect what God would do if He were physically present on earth. Think of all the Christians who have worked tirelessly to change things for good, offering their lives to God and campaigning and working for the poor, the oppressed, the needy. Mother Theresa. Francis of Assisi. William Wilberforce. The list is long, with many names known only to God, for our works are often unseen by the world. We may not be famous or significant in the world’s eyes, but we can still affect our families and local communities as we seek to live out Micah 6:8.

At times, movements do arise which are noticed and noticeable. 27 Million is one such campaign. It seeks to highlight the problem of human trafficking and works to stop this, working with the A21 campaign (http://www.thea21campaign.org/) which seeks to prosecute those who are involved in human trafficking and works with the victims, rehabilitating them and offering them a new way of living and the hope of the Gospel.

On 27th February, Matt Redman and LZ7 are releasing a single which aims to highlight this problem (called ’27 Million’ because that’s the estimated number of people involved in human trafficking, often associated with the sex industry and modern day slavery). They talk about this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ15rbJUnNM&feature=youtu.be. And you may not think this is particularly relevant to us in Goldthorpe or that it matters very much, but God can stir our hearts and help us to care about others in situations very different to ours. Buying the record can actually bring this problem into the news and reminds us that our worship isn’t just about making us feel good. We have to ‘rise up, open our eyes up, be the voice, be Your freedom’. Jesus came to ‘to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners’ (Is 61:1). The song is one way we remind people not only of the existence of the problem of human trafficking, but of the Saviour who came to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Let’s worship not only with words or with music, but with everything we are and everything we do.

God is above all, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal. He doesn’t dwell in time. These are big concepts for us to grasp, especially when we’re in the middle of things. Our perspective (more on that this Sunday!) is limited. But it’s tremendously encouraging to know that whatever we are going through, God is ‘already there’. He knows about it all. He is ‘waiting on the other side’. He is in control.

From where I’m standing
Lord it’s so hard for me to see
Where this is going
And where You’re leading me
I wish I knew how
All my fears and all my questions
Are gonna play out
In a world I can’t control

When I’m lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
Cause You’re already there
You’re already there
Standing at the end of my life
Waiting on the other side
And You’re already there
You’re already there

From where You’re standing
Lord, You see a grand design
That You imagined
When You breathed me into life
And all the chaos
Comes together in Your hands
Like a masterpiece
Of Your picture perfect plan

When I’m lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
Cause You’re already there
You’re already there
Standing at the end of my life
Waiting on the other side
And You’re already there
You’re already there

One day I’ll stand before You
And look back on the life I’ve lived
I can’t wait to enjoy the view
And see how all the pieces fit (x2)
(Casting Crowns, ‘Already There’)

You can listen to the song here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouj1Ai4lIeY
You can hear Mark Hall talk about the inspiration behind the song here: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KWG7GPNX

I’m sure most of us realise the need to declutter from time to time… getting rid of the junk, sorting through the rubbish we accumulate, tidying, spring-cleaning… whatever we like to call it. There are countless programmes about this type of thing on TV: how to make your house attractive to sell it, how to live more simply, getting rid of things so that you can live more simply. Decluttering, downsizing, getting back to basics… all these synonyms point to a less materialistic lifestyle which, hopefully, results in a less stressful way of living.

As we approach the Lenten period when we reflect on the last weeks of Christ on earth, leading up to His death and resurrection, this is perhaps as good a time as any to think about decluttering our spiritual lives and getting back to basics. Our souls get cluttered perhaps even more easily than our houses, and we need to be careful that we keep Christ first and foremost in our lives, in central position, not relegated to a tiny corner of our hearts, but being pre-eminent in everything.

That means letting go, clearing out, spending time with God.

Have you been walking on a surface that’s uncertain?
Have you helped yourself to everything that’s empty?
You can’t live this way too long.
There’s more than this, more than this.
Have you been standing on your own feet too long?
Have you been looking for a place where you belong?
You can rest, you will find rest.
You can rest, you will find rest.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade.
Let this new life offered be your saving grace.
Let this old life crumble, let it fade, let it fade.

Have you been holding on to what this world has offered?
Have you been giving in to all these masquerades?
It will be gone, forever gone.
It will be gone, it will be gone

Let this old life crumble, let it fade.
Let this new life offered be your saving grace.
Let this old life crumble, let it fade, let it fade.
(Jeremy Camp, ‘Let It Fade’)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h843f2GXie0

Not surprisingly in February, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the family service looked at the subject of love.

We all brought questions on love to the quiz:


Most of the questions people came up with were impossibly difficult! Here is a sample:
1) Which shop in Goldthorpe has the word ‘love’ in its title?
2) Who said ‘A wise girl kisses but doesn’t love, listens but doesn’t believe and leaves before she is left’?
3) Which year was the film ‘The Bodyguard’, featuring Whitney Houston singing ‘I Will Always Love You’, released?
4) Who said it is ‘better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’?
5) Who is the Roman god of love?
6) Where in London can you find the statue of Eros?

Answers:
1) Love It Boutique
3) Marilyn Monroe
3) 1992
4) Tennyson
5) Cupid
6) Piccadilly Circus

Hallmark cards used to do a series of cards entitled ‘Love is…’ Stephen spoke at the family service last night about love. Love can be hard to define, but we looked at four Scriptures:
Deut 6:5-6 and Matt 22:37-39, where we are commanded to love God with all that we are (showing us God’s requirements of love) and John 3:16 (where we see that He gives us His own love ever before He requires love from us: our love is a response to God’s love.) We also looked at 1 Cor 13:4-13, which is probably the longest ‘definition’ of love in the Bible, showing us the characteristics of love: patient, kind, forgiving, thinking the best, not holding grudges, working for the good of the other person.

God’s love provides deliverance for us. Stephen reminded us how we often used to draw pictures of love hearts with initials on it to signify who we loved. Whose name is engraved on our hearts now?

We also had a birthday to celebrate, in anticipation of Valentine’s Day: