Luke 17:5-10

"A little of faith"

A nun who works for a local home health care agency was out making her rounds when she ran out of gas. As luck would have it there was a station just down the street. She walked to the station to borrow a can with enough gas to start the car and drive to the station for a fill up.

The attendant regretfully told her that the only can he owned had just been loaned out, but if she would care to wait he was sure it would be back shortly. Since the nun was on the way to see a patient she decided not to wait and walked back to her car.

After looking through her car for something to carry to the station to fill with gas, she spotted a potty she was taking to the patient. Always resourceful, she carried it to the station and filled it with gasoline. As she was pouring the gas into the tank of her car two men walked by. One was heard to exclaim, "Now that is what I call faith!"

Back to the sermon:

I am going to tell you a story, this story about a business traveller who was on his way from his home town to a large city in the Middle East by road. One night he met two other travellers travelling on the same road as he was. Their name was Fear and Plague. Plague told the traveller that once they arrived at the city, they were expected to kill 100,000 people in that city. The traveller asked Plague if Plague was to do all the killing by himself. Plague said, “Oh, no. I shall only be killing a few hundred people; it is my friend ‘Fear’ who will do the killing of all the others.

Fear, whether it is real or imagined, can discourage us, overwhelm us, beaten us and even strangle us. Dreadful things happen everywhere. There are people around the world paralyzed by fear. Fear is such a terrible thing!

Fear is widespread in this society of ours; in fact it is widespread throughout the world. We have personal fear – fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of not being loved, a fear of having no work, a fear of not being up to the measurements of our peers, a fear of not being able to help our families, a fear of being looked down by others. We also have social fear, fear that war and disasters will go on forever, a fear that society will collapse, a fear that the pollution in the air will kill us, and so on and so on. Even inside the church too there are fear, personal fears, social fears and spiritual fears. Do you have any fears?

There are many people who feel:

- That they are not able to do anything of real importance
- That they cannot and do not make a difference to society
- That they cannot and do not make a difference to anyone
- That they are unable to do even a part of what it is that God asks them to do
- That they will let God down or that God will let them down.

There are so many Christians in this world who are in a mess. They have forgotten what their faith is all about. They have forgotten that as long as it is the will of God, God will give to you the strength and the means to have it accomplished. Do these feelings describe your life – fear, despair, a sense of failure, a sense of not being competent, and a sense of hopelessness? Do you feel unexcited by your worship of the Lord? Do you feel unsure of just what the good news of the Gospel is? Do you feel burdened by life and by the tasks set to you by God? And yet wanting to believe, wanting to do the right thing, wanting to have the life that God has promised us even in the here and now?

Wanting, and yet……

How can I feed the hungry?
How can I clothe the naked?
How can I help the sick?
How can I bring peace to those around me?
How can I help my family?
How can I help others?
How can I spread the gospel of Jesus Christ?
How can I forgive the people who have hurt me so badly?
How can I even experience the joy that is supposed to be part of life with God, let alone help bring it to others?

The disciples had exactly the same feelings. From our Gospel reading of today, we hear of them crying out to Jesus. A cry similar to one that you may have made to God at one time or another.

They were feeling that what they were facing in life, not to mention what they were facing or will be facing as the ones following Jesus was too much for them to bear, too much for their small faith to handle and so they cry out to the Lord, “Jesus please increase our faith”. “Lord, help us believe enough so that we can do what it is that you have commanded us to do – help us trust enough so that we can live as you say we should be living. Lord, take away our fear.”

Jesus please increases our faith.

And what did Jesus do – how did he answer their prayers? Did he laid his hands upon them and pray and give them more faith as they asked? Did he just snap his fingers and grant them a double dose of his Spirit and his Faith?

No, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ – he did not – instead he told them that “if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted it in the sea and it would obey you.”

If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and plated it in the sea and it would obey you!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, do you not find that answer of Jesus to be a strange answer? But really it is the best answer that could be given, for you see, the real issue for everyone of us is not “how much faith do we have?” but rather the question of “do we have any faith at all?”

I would like to share a story with you: Many years ago a shoe company in England sent one of its sales people to Africa to start a business. After a few months this salesperson sent a message back to his head office telling them that he is coming home as nobody in Africa wear shoes and therefore it is a waste of time and money being there. This shoe company did not give up, so they sent another salesperson to Africa to replace the returning one. After a few months this second salesperson sent an urgent message to head office asking them to send more order forms as nobody in Africa is wearing shoes and there are plenty of opportunities making sales. The second salesperson saw the opportunity in his situation – not the difficulties that he is facing, and more to the point, he had in himself and in his products, and because of that he succeeded where the first salesperson failed.

I would like to suggest to you that faith is a bit like being pregnant. You see, you cannot make a valid distinction between having a little faith and a lot of faith, anymore than claiming someone is a little pregnant but not really a lot pregnant. I think you will be completely confused or started laughing if one day I tell you that my wife, Jenny is a little bit pregnant. You would think that Edwin must have either gone crazy or he is too happy and said the wrong thing for there is no such thing as being a little bit pregnant. It is a matter of either she is pregnant or she is not. Same with faith, it is either you have faith or you do not. You cannot just have a little bit of faith. It is something that does not make sense to the one who is listening. If we do believe in the promises of Jesus, the promises of God our Father in Heaven, even a little bit, then my brothers and sisters, we are already on the right path. I do sincerely believe that all of you who are here today are on the right track. All of you, who, if you are like the disciples were asking for an increase of our faith, are already, going on the right way.

Having said all that, and having understood the distinction between having faith and not having any faith, the question for us to answer is not how much faith we have, but what do we really have faith in.

There are many Christians in this world who look at themselves instead of God. Often we look at ourselves and say – I cannot do that. I am not strong enough, loving enough, giving enough, wise enough; I do not have the income or the money, the power or the faith to be successful in what I am doing. And those doubts, my brothers and sisters are completely true – we by our own powers are not able to accomplish what God wants us to achieve. We do not have what it is needed what it comes to dealing with what is truly important matters. We will not even last a day in this world without God looking after us. But my brothers and sisters in Christ, God has the power; God is able to do anything that he wishes to do. All we need to do is pray to him and believe in him. Ask God for help and his power will be able to flow through us, and he will work through us to complete what he wants us to complete.

Some of us, at one time or another has met people who have been through very difficult and trying times, and our thoughts were that they must be people of great faith to come out of their trial and tribulations as well as they have. If we ever say to them with respect and admiration that we do not think that we could have faced what they have faced. Your faith must be very strong indeed. Do you know what their answer would be? Their answer would almost always be with words like these: “My faith is no greater than anyone else’s. I just did not know what I had until I have need for it. God helped me through it. If it was not for him I would never have been able to make it.”

Have you not heard of this kind of thing yourselves? Is it not one of those times when we may have said to ourselves: “I wish I had a faith like theirs”?

I wish I had a faith like theirs!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you know that those people of faith that we admire are correct in what they tell us. We very often do not realise just what we have in ourselves. We let our faith in God lie sleeping inside of us, and we go out looking for it. While all the time, God is there, and our faith in God is there, but our faith is doing nothing because we allow it to go to sleep.

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ covers all areas of human life:
- It tells us of forgiveness and peace
- It tells us of eternal life
- It addresses the problems of poverty and of war
- It gives solutions to despair and answers to human distress.

But most of all, my brothers and sisters in Christ, it tells us:
- That alone by ourselves we can do nothing
- That we are, as many of us think, inadequate, incapable, sinners lost in a dark world.
- It tells us that are not alone, and that God cares for everyone of us
- That God works in the lives of all those who believes in him
- That God’s good purposes cannot be stopped by anyone or anything
- That his word does not return to him empty
- That he desires to transform not just the human heart but he wants to transform the world in which we are all living in
- And that all we need to do is to reach down to that little seed within us and begin to do what we have been called by God to do and God will do the rest

God will do the rest, which is his promise, however, we must do our part, just like Moses having to stretch out his rod, , just like Moses striking the rock with his staff in order to get water for the people, or the people who need healing must come to Jesus first. God will work in us and through us and bring his word to pass. He will pluck up the mountains and fill in the valleys. He will bring about the kingdom of God here on earth as we pray for. We are after all his partners in his work in this world.

What I am trying to say this morning is not ‘have more faith’ – but rather work with the faith that you already have inside you. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when we started acting in faith the very first thing we will notice is that a little is a lot.

There is a Chinese proverb that tells us that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I should know as I am Chinese by race, and I am suggesting to you to take the step; follow he commands of God – hear his advice found throughout the scriptures and believe – believe in what God has promised us will come about. He is not one who speaks empty words.

Remember that no matter how small the step you may be taking, each step will bring you closer to your destination when it is taken. But you have to take the step, you have to start claiming God’s word as your own if you are to receive what God has promised and do what God has called you to do.

When you practice your faith, when you pray, when you believe and when you do, then in the language of the story that I began this talk with, you will overcome – God will overcome – plague and his far more dangerous companion – fear, and the blessings of life will be completely yours, yours and your family and the world. Praise be to God, day by day – Amen.

Jeremiah 18:6

"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!" Jeremiah 18:6

Do things seem a bit crazy in your life from time to time? Does the world seem to be spinning around you? Do you have trouble with your orientation in this life? Well, consider the clay on the potter's wheel. It's being spun around, fingers are digging into it, it's beingshaped and formed and reformed. When an air bubble pops up the potter has to cut through it again, maybe even break the vessel, add water and reshape it once again.

Does any of this sound familiar? I know it does in my life. I remember some years ago, a friend of mine said something that made a lot of sense. He said, "The problem with people on the potters wheel is that they look around them and see the room swirling about so they get dizzy. What they should be doing is looking up toward the still point of heaven and let the potter do his work." Not a bad idea. When the world seems to be spinning out of control and we are feeling overwhelmed by things around us, we need to stop looking at them.

We need to look at that which is not moving and cannot be moved. We also need to know that the potter knows his business. He knows what He's doing in our lives. The clay doesn't know. The clay doesn't know whether it is being shaped into a vase, a cup, a water vessel or a flower pot. But never worry, the potter knows what He is making of you. Our job is not to figure out the potter's plans or even to help with the design. Our job is to sit still on the potter's wheel and let the potter mold us into what He wants us to be.

Several years ago, John Fisher wrote a song called Master Potter which went:

~~ Master Potter ~~

Turner of the Wheel
Lay your hand upon me
Show me what it real
It's hard to trust you
Yet you know the way
To make a useful vessel
From this piece of clay

Lord, help me to remember that you are the one who is shaping what I am becoming. Give me the endurance to stay on the wheel until you have finished your work. Amen and Amen.

Numbers 13:33

"And there we saw giants..." Numbers 13:33

Someone has said, "If you want to enter Caanan, you have to first fight a few giants." That is so true, but so rarely do we realize the truth of that statement. As Christians, too often, we want to have victory without a battle, we want to attain the heights of Zion, without a climb, we want resurrection power without a crucifixion.

No blessing of God comes without a struggle. And, in our heart of hearts, would we want it any other way? It is also said "things easily gained are lightly held." Think about your most prized accomplishments. Were they the ones you achieved easily. Or were they accomplishments which came through great struggle? Probably the latter. The larger the giant, the greater the victory when he fell.

So, then what are some of these giants we have to fight to enter the promised land. Well, we have to fight the giant of frustration. We have to fight the giant of doubt. We have to fight the giant of opposition. We have to fight the giant of hopelessness. And often, after fighting all these other giants the largest one of all looms on the horizon and that is the giant of weariness.

But the giants were only one half of the report. Joshua and Caleb had another report. "Sure there are giants," they said, "But God can deliver the giants into our hands. And then we will find a land flowing with milk and honey where the grape clusters grow so large that it takes two strong men to carry each cluster. The Giants may be big, but our God is much, much bigger." Amen and Amen.

Matthew 7:1

"Judge not, that you be not judged." Matthew 7:1

When you enter a courtroom, there is one thing and one thing only that counts in judging a defendant - evidence. You have to have all the relevant facts to make a decision about the case. If you don't have all the facts then under our system of juris prudence you have to acquit because you cannot be sure the person is guilty.

It's too bad people didn't apply the same logic to their judgements outside the courtroom. We jump right in judging other Christians behavior. Yet, do we really have all the evidence? No we don't. We simply don't know enough to judge someone else.

For instance, we don't know where people came from. We don't know what they've gone through. We don't know what they are stuggling with. I remember one young Christian saying to me once, "You know people criticize me because I still smoke. But less than a year ago, I was mainlining heroin. God delivered me from that. He'll deliver me from nicotine too. It just takes time."

To judge someone's walk we have to know from where they started. If they haven't caught up with you yet, it could be they started further down the road. Perhaps most importantly, we don't know the heart of the person. We only see how they dress, what they say, how they act. We can tell much from that but not all. God though doesn't judge based on outward appearance, but rather he "looks on the heart" (I Samuel 16:7) Until I can look at a person's heart, understand his motives, know why he is the way he is, I cannot judge his actions. Besides, I don't have time to judge anyone else's faults. I have a full time job dealing with m own.

Lord, help me remember who is best at judging the hearts of men and keep me focused on my own walk and not on the walks of others except to be a good companion on the journey. Amen and Amen.

Galatians 6.2

"Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ." Galatians 6.2

In a traditional wedding ceremony, the couple vows to love each other "in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse." According to I Corinthians 13, this quality of endurance is characteristic of Agape love whether that love be for a spouse, a friend, a co-worker, family member, fellow Christian or someone to whom you are ministering. We are called to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6.2)

Within any type of relationship, difficulties will arise. Sometimes they will arise within the relationship. One or both persons will say or do things which hurt the other. For the most part such hurts are unintentional, but that doesn't always assuage the pain. More often the difficulties arise from outside the relationship itself. Sickness, persecution, financial distress, emotional pain, attacks of Satan which affect one of the people will by extension affect both.

Remember the context in which I Corinthians 13 appears. In Chapter 12 is a discussion of the body of Christ and how what affects one member affects all. True Agape love feels the pain of others, and in so doing, helps carry that burden. Their prayer needs become our prayer needs. Their distress becomes our distress. Their need for salvation, deliverance or healing becomes ours as well.

But, you say, that's hard. How can I carry another person's need as though it were my own? That isn't natural. Absolutely correct. It isn't natural. But neither is Agape love, it is supernatural. When you have loved as much as you can in your own strength and that strength begins to lag, step out of the way and let God love that person through you.

To bear another's burdens doesn't require that we need to be strong, it simply requires that we be willing. There will always be another pair of hands helping with that burden. And if you look closely, you will find that they have the imprints of nails in them from a time, when he carried a burden that wasn't his. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Matt 6:28

"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin" Matt 6:28

Some years ago I was reading a magazine and saw this beautiful picture of an orchid. It was bright and colorful. Red with yellow markings. Under it was a short note about the markings. According to the article, biologists discovered that the markings are more than just beautiful, they are practical as well. Bees and other insects which need the nectar of the flower for food, use the colors as a type of road map to the nectar inside. The more hidden the nectar by the design of the flower the more colorful the blossom.

Think about that for a moment, God was so concerned about the very insects of the field that he put markings on flowers like the advertisement in the street showing the way to the nearest Burger King restaurant. To me this is mind boggling. How much care went into the design of a flower just so tiny insects could have a good meal.

Now, if God has taken that much care to provide guidance and provision for the very least of his creation, how much more will he provide the same for His children? Of course, like the insect sometimes we have to look for the colors and follow them to their source. God doesn't always drop the provision into our laps, but he always gives us directions to find what we need.

So, today, if you are wondering if God really cares about your needs you can stop wondering. He cares about the tiniest insects, why shouldn't he care for you? Amen and Amen.

1 Samuel 3:1-10 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 John 1:43-51

When my wife calls me, sometimes I cannot hear her calling, even though she might even be shouting for me. At such occasions, she gets rather angry about it, and my one and only excuse is that I am getting old, and I am getting a bit hard of hearing.

The stories from the Gospels as to how Jesus called his disciples are all very known to some of us present here today, and over the years, some of us have heard it many times. The story of how God called Samuel to be his prophet should also be rather familiar to some of us present here today.

However, I am very much aware as I am standing here speaking to you, that there are many people who are failing to hear the call of God. Although the church often talks about how we are all called to be followers of Jesus, and despite all the sermons we hear every year that tells us that we are all called to be like the prophets of old and to hear and speak of God’s word to one another.

Why do you think that may be the case?

Why do you think that so many people, many of them are very fine people, many of them are people who already believe in God, who already believe in Jesus, and accepted Jesus as their Saviour, believe that God is not and has not been speaking to them personally? That God is not trying to, in some way or other, guide them in the path that they should be taking? That God is not, and has not been reaching out to them?

I think that the answer to that is that some people failed to hear the call of God, that they failed to notice how God is summoning them. They did not hear it not because the call has not been issued, but it is because either they have no idea as to how God calls us, or maybe because they allow themselves to pass over that call. Maybe they are used to putting aside the call of God as it were, as it might be something that they do want to do, or do not think that they can do it, and so grow used to ignoring the Word when it comes.

Let us think about the boy Samuel for a moment…

He was a special boy – like some of you are – he was a special gift from God to his mother Hannah. He was dedicated to the Lord by his mother upon his birth and sent, when still at a very young age, to live with the Priest Eli at a place call Shiloh.

The scriptures told us that he was living in a time when the Word of the Lord was rare, a time when visions of the future were not widespread at all.

Nevertheless, Samuel was living in a holy place in the holy presence. He witnessed the sacrifices made at the alter in Shiloh, and even as a young boy, he was wearing the line ephod and ministered in the house of God.

Just like his teacher, Eli, Samuel prayed to God.
Just like his master – he served God faithfully.
Like other people, he had heard the teachings proclaimed, he heard the story of the love of God.

Samuel was living in a very special place. In fact, the scriptures told us that Samuel grew up in the presence of God.

Samuel in that case, of all people, should have been able to recognize the call of God when it came to him. But as the story in chapter three of the Book of Samuel told us, when the time came, he did not. He did not recognize the call of God, until Eli recognized that call for him.

We are told by the Scriptures that three times the Lord called out to Samuel when he was lying in bed, and three times he answered by saying “Here I am” and ran all the way out to see Eli who was in the room next to him.

The third time that this happened, Eli understood that it was God’s voice calling Samuel and he instructed Samuel to “Go, lie down, and if the Lord calls you, you shall say, speak, Lord for your servant is listening.”

And so, it only after that did Samuel finally heard what it was that God wanted to say to him. So it was only then that Samuel learned of the fate that was to befall Eli. So it was only at that time did Samuel learned that he was to speak the Word of God to others.

How very much like Samuel are a great many of us. Living in a special place. Listening to the stories of His love for us. Serving Him in his house and in this world where we are living in. Just like Samuel we are dedicated to the Lord. Just like Samuel, a lot of us are thinking that the voices we hear in the middle of the night comes from another room, thinking that those are just dreams which came to us as a result of eating that midnight snack before bedtime. Quite often many of us feel that the inner nudges that we feel is only coming from our own intuition, or from maybe from the fact that our unconscious mind is just playing tricks on us.

God calls all of us in many ways. God speaks to us all in many different forms. And almost of His calls are gentle. Almost all of them are subtle ones; almost all of them can be mistaken as for something else. That is until we really hear those calls, then we discover the power of God is in them and behind those calls.

That is what happens in today's gospel lesson. The power behind the call of God is discovered by the one who finally decided to listen to it. The Gospel reading tells us that shortly after his baptism Jesus decided to go up to Galilee. At that time he already had Andrew and Simon Peter as his disciples.

As he was getting ready to leave Bethany to go on to Galilee Jesus goes out and finds Philip – he seeks him out, just as he seeks out Samuel, and just as he seeks us out – and he says to Philip, “follow me”.

Philip responded to the call of Jesus and as he was preparing to join Jesus he goes out and locates a man by the name of Nathaniel, telling him “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote. Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth”. It is obvious from the Gospel reading that both Philip and Nathaniel were men who were seekers, men who were looking for the promised one of God. However, we can see that Nathaniel was not prepared to accept that it was the call of God that he has heard through Philip. He doubted what Philip told him replied to him: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Still, Nathaniel went along with Philip. He went with Philip to check out what he has just been told by Philip. And in doing so discovered that Jesus is a prophet, that Jesus has special powers. For Jesus knew without being told where he was at the moment when Philip called him.

Jesus said to him: “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these. Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Do we listen to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ – Do we check out the calls they issued out to us on behalf of God. Do we check out the call to meet the Lord in a particular place and time? Do we check out the call to discover what we have been looking for?

Do we check out the call?

If I praise all of you all too much now – let me know, because when I look out here on Sunday morning, I see faithful people. I see people here who have decided to follow Jesus, people who are struggling real heard to do what is right. I see people who worship and who pray. I see people who listen to the holy stories, and seek to obey the will of the Lord.

I see amongst you all people who are like Samuel, and Philip and Nathaniel. I see here people who work for God.

But still, I cannot help but wonder, when I see you, how many of you here today believe that God has spoken to you? How many of you do believe that God has called you in person and not sent an angel to do it. He has personally called you to do what you are doing here in the church? Here in this place call Hong Kong?

And of those of us who do believe this. How many of you here believe that God is still with you – guiding you, or tying to guide you, each and every day?

God is calling all of us – He is calling ALL OF US! He is calling us not to just Him. He is also calling us to do and say certain things at certain times. He is calling for us to walk a particular path with Him, a path that is very similar to, but not the same as the path of all the disciples, apostles and saints of all the ages before our time and of this day and age.

God has a personal plan for you.
God seeks to guide you in your daily life.
And that call of God to you is a personal call.

God is seeking you out, just as Jesus called out Philip.
God is calling you by your name – just as He called Samuel by name.

God calls us in our dreams. He calls in the voice of those people who are tying to help us find our way. He calls us through our spouses and the people at work. He calls us when we take the time to calm down and to read His Word, or to meditate. He calls us when we are trying to decide as to what to do next in our life. He calls us when we gaze upon the heavens. He calls out to us when we are praying.

God is calling us.

A great many people speak to God, they pray to him daily, whether it be five minutes a day or half an hour a day, or even an hour a day. They do that without even really thinking of how it is that God might answer them, without seriously thinking as how they are meant to listen to Him.

It is like picking up the telephone to speak into it, and instead of HOLDING IT LIKE TH IS, they are trying to HOLD IT LIKE THIS.

I remember a cartoon I looked at in a newspaper some time ago. In the cartoon the yard was filled with children playing in the way that only children can. They were yelling and screaming, blowing horns, and crying. The dog was barking, a plane flies overhead, and there were two boys beating drums. Inside the house, the mother of one of the children says to her husband, “Listen. That is PJ crying!”

I am sure that those of you who are mothers sitting here today will be in agreement with me if I said that mothers’ ears are conditioned to h ear the sound of her child’s voice, no matter how much noise there might be in the background.

God calls each and every one of us for a purpose – a very good purpose. He calls us to come to him so that He may be able to transform our lives. He calls on us to listen to Him and to do what he tells us to do, so that he might change us, and the world we are living in, making it holy and good, full of love and joy, whole and at peace…

If we really want to hear what God is trying to tell us, it will certainly help to hold the telephone in the correct way. It will certainly help if we have learned as to how and where He will speak to us. It will certainly help if we, by continual practice, conditioned our ears and hearts and minds to hear His voice.

Listen for God’s voice where-ever you may be – in whatever you see or hear. Whether it is a dream you have just had. Whether it is the message of a preacher you have just heard. Whether it is in the still small voice y9ou have heard inside you at the seashore, or in the words of a friend who is telling you how God has dealt his or her situation, and what it is that he or she thinks that God is trying to tell you.

That happens when you belong to a church you know. That happens when you are gathered with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Sometimes they speak to you about God. Sometimes they have a message from God that is meant especially for you.

Listen to the “Good Book” and judge the things you hear by the Book and by the Spirit that is within you. Examine what is happening around you and pray about what you just heard or read. Look and listen – and I promise you that you will hear the voice of God, you will hear his call.

LISTEN.

Listen and then do as you feel or believe that you have been called to do, and if it is truly the Word of God, you will find and experience the power that lies behind that very Word, that very call.

You will see things happening as promised. You will see changes that are good. You will see God glorified and people who only seek after their own desires humbled. You will see mercy and grace, judgment and vindication. You will see new life arise out of sinners and new hope comes out of despair.

Listen, and it will be as Jesus promised to Nathaniel, you will see heaven opened up and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.

Listen and you will find what you have been looking for all the time.

Let us pray. Dear Lord, we know that you do call each and every one of us. Help us to listen for you call. Help us to be able to recognize it and to accept it. Help us discover your personal Word for us. Help us discover your personal demands upon each and every one of us. Let us discover your personal will for each and every one of us. We ask of it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Phil 4:12

"I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" Phil 4:12

Ah, sweet contentment! What would it take to make you contented? A new house? A new car? A fully equipped yacht? A new dress? In size "S"? Happy children? The perfect job? The perfect Church? The perfect wife? The perfect husband? If we stop to think about it, we could probably come up with a lot of things. A winning Mark Six ticket might be at the top for some of us. Will these really make you contented? I can guarantee if you had one or all of the above, you wouldn't be contented very long. Why? Because contentment can not be found in physical things. All of these things will become less alluring with time. The house will age. The car will rust. The dress will "be out of fashion." The children will be children. The job will grow old. The Church - well if you join it, you will ruin its perfection. The wife, she will get fat after three kids. The husband won't do anything but sit in front of the TV watching soccer. The million dollars will soon be spent. These things only offer temporary contentment.

Paul has learned a bit about contentment. He has found it in poverty and riches; in what ever situation in which he has found himself. He has found contentment in hunger and plenty; in ease and suffering. What is his secret? Paul has learned that contentment is found in Jesus. Paul had such a hunger for God that nothing else would do. He was so sold out to Jesus that whatever He wanted was fine with Paul. Would you sing if you were beaten, bleeding, and cast into a stinking, wet, rat infested prison cell? Paul did. Would you return to the city that beat you, stoned you and cast you out of the city gates thinking you were dead? Paul did. Would you witness to the men who held you captive, awaiting a trial that would likely deliver you to the executioner? Paul did - and won the majority of Caesar's personal guard over to Jesus!

See the difference? Paul's contentment never changed, never rusted, never died, never argued, never faded away. His contentment was based upon the Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever! We could learn a lot from Paul. The next time we look at our "want list" let's ask the question, "Will it bring real contentment? Or will it only provide temporary happiness?" Then decide if you really want or need it. Amen and Amen.

Beloved let us love one another." I John 4:7

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinth. 13:4-7

A favorite Bible study method of mine is to take a passage of scripture and personalize it by putting it in the first person. It was a humbling experience when I tried to do this with I Corinthians 13. I am patient and kind? Hardly. I envy not. No. I am not proud. Yeah right! I don't seek my own way. Ask people who know me. I think no evil, bear all things, believe all things, endure all things. I don't think so.

Yet, as I read this, I begin to realize that this is not simply a nice idea or a goal to work toward, but a commandment of God. It's very clear. He says "Love one another as I have loved you." Ouch. He obviously believes I am capable of such love. Maybe the problem is that I don't see that in myself. God has a lot more faith in my ability to love than I do. I know the affronts I've suffered. I know the hurts I've endured. I know my weaknesses. And what I forget is that God knows all this too, and He still says, "Beloved, love one another."

So, then a lack of love results from a lack of faith. I really don't believe God's word which says I can love in this manner. I don't believe that God can plant that type of love inside of me. It's one thing to believe that God can move a mountain, but to allow me to love the person who insulted me, that's something else entirely.

But then perhaps I'm getting this all wrong. I'm expecting to be able to love others in my own power. Maybe I'm rewriting this the wrong way. Let's try it again: Jesus is patient and kind. He envies not is not puffed up. He beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things and endureth all things. Well, now that makes sense. And He is living in me and through me right? Does that mean that one day, that scripture might just be describing me. Well...maybe... Amen and Amen.

Philippians 3:8-9

"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" Philippians 3:8-9

One of the first things that the Holy Spirit will do in us is to wipe out those things that we rely on naturally. Paul argues this out in Philippians 3, in which he catalogs who he is and the things in which he might have confidence; "but," he says, "I deliberately renounce all these thing that I may gain Christ."

One of the biggest differences between Christianity and the occult is to simply examine their sense of power. An occult will claim that you can receive some special power to be used at your beckoning will, at your command, it is a sure sign that God is out of the loop, and you must reject all of it and run. Believe me, if you find that the slightest bit humorous, you are mistaken.

Let us get this understanding right up front, the only way any of us can ever be of service to God is when we are willing to renounce all natural abilities and determine to be weak in Him. Whenever we think we are of use to God, we hinder Him. We must form a habit of letting God carry on His work through us without obstruction or hindrance from our own determination to do good works apart from Him. Amen and Amen.

Romans 7:19,24

"For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice...O wretched man that I am! Romans 7:19,24

One of the things I love about the Bible is it's honesty. Paul was an apostle. Among the gentiles, possibly, the chief apostle. Yet, here he is being very honest with us about his own struggles. I don't know about you but this sounds very familiar to me. I am stuck with this problem. I can perceive perfection, but, this side of heaven, I cannot achieve perfection. So, knowing my weakness, I feel worthless when I fail.

I remember hearing a song before which expresses this doubt well. The chorus goes: "What if I stumble? What if I fall/ Where will the love be when my walk becomes a crawl?" This fear paralyzes many Christians. I am afraid that if (or should that be when) I stumble, then God will desert me. If he stays with me, then, my fellow Christians will desert me.

Certainly, God will not leave me. When I have fallen is exactly the time he wants to help. His hand is reaching down for me to grab hold of to be lifted up even higher than before I fell. More likely than God deserting me during my time of failure is my deserting God. Very often, when I have failed, I feel so guilty that I turn away from the very one who died for my failures. As a child, when I ran too fast for my little legs and I fell down, I ran to my Mom or Dad for sympathy and a band-aid. Should I be any less trusting of my Heavenly father than I was of my earthly parents?

Unfortunately, sometimes it is true that the people I go to church with may turn away when I fail. This is not so much a judgment of me as it is of themselves. When we see another person fail, it reminds us of our own failures, so if we distance ourselves from those who have failed, we don't have to deal with our own shortcomings. However, many times this too is an unfounded fear. These are my brothers and sisters. For the most part they care for me want to see me back on my feet again. If they look down on me for the moment it is only because they are reaching down a hand to help me back up.

Yes, living the Christian life can be a risky business. I might stumble, I could fall. But all that proves is that I really need God. And those failures then become the pathway to my total dependence on him. Only when I realize t hat my legs are not up to this race, does he come on the scene and give me new legs and a new strength. Amen and Amen.

Matt 7:1

"Judge not, that you be not judged." Matt 7:1

Someone had this in their email signature and I loved it: "Bless 'em all and let God sort 'em out!"

Of course, this is a take off on the ugly T-Shirt many of us have seen which says, "Kill them all and let God sort them out." Of course, my friend's email signature is more true to scripture.

Jesus tells a story that relates to this idea. He tells about a man who planted a field of wheat. But an enemy came along and sowed Tares (or weeds) in with the wheat. The field hands wanted to go out and rip out all of the weeds, but the owner of the field was wiser than his workers. He said, "No, if you pull out the tares, you might also hurt some of the wheat in the process. Let's just wait for the harvest and then separate the wheat from the tares.

Sometimes Satan comes along and sows discord within Christian communities. Having taken part in a few Christian email discussion lists, I am amazed that often times my secular email list participants are more civil to each other than some of the so-called "Christians" who are downright vicious at times. Certainly, there are a lot of tares in the Christian wheat field.

And, we, as workers in the field, want to immediately rush out and rip them up by the roots. We gossip about the gossipers and hate the haters, and in so doing we simply sow more tares and hurt the innocents around us.

But I wonder what would happen if we did do as my friend advises in his email signature file. What if we did bless them, pray for them, do good for them? Maybe we would could eventually do a little spiritual genetic re-sequencing and turn some tares into wheat. But even if we can't. It's not our job to judge them, it's Gods. So, let's just "bless them all and let God sort them out." Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Prov. 22:20 - 21

"Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?" Prov. 22:20 - 21

There are some things I am certain of:

- The sun will come up tomorrow, even if I don't and unless the Lord returns.
- The government will continue to collect taxes.
- My wife loves me.
- Jesus loves me more.
- The Father loves me so much He sent His Son to die for me.
- When I do die, I will see Jesus face to face, and I will not be afraid.

I like certainties. They are things "a man can hang his hat on." I like knowing that I have a job to go to. I like knowing that my wife loves me, bad points and all. I like knowing that there is something beyond this life, and it is far better than what I have now.

I don't like uncertainties. I don't like being made to wait for the outcome of something I have no control over. I don't like owning a car that may or may not start in the morning. I don't like the feeling I get when I know I have done something wrong and anticipate the possibility of discipline.

Uncertainties are like quicksand. It looks like solid ground, but it will not support his weight. Solomon has spent the past twenty-one chapters of his book of wisdom telling us things of certainty. His words are like solid stones quarried from bedrock. We can use them to lay a solid foundation. We can use them to build beautiful walls. We can use them to provide a solid roof to protect us from the elements. His words of wisdom direct us in the paths of righteousness. They guide us through the legal morass of the Law.

They provide a laugh from time to time and always direct our paths in God's ways. There is another certainty that I am aware of: Unless the Lord returns, I will eventually die. It may not happen tomorrow or next week or next year or ten years from now, but my body will eventually give up and I will cease to exist on this earth. What's more, it is a certainty that if we study the words of Solomon and know Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we will be able to stand before the Father without fearing death but with certainty that we are able to enter into the reward He has for us.

That's what Solomon means by the last line of today's verses, "that you may be able to correctly answer him who sent you." On that day, the Father will ask us one question: "What have you done with my Son?" We will answer honestly, for that is the only way to respond when we stand face-to-face with the God who holds our future in His hands. Most of us who read this will be able to say, "I have made Jesus my Savior and serve Him as my Lord." God will proudly say "well done" and we will enter into the place God has for us. A few may bow their heads in shame and say, "I denied Him, many times." God will utter a "depart from me" and cast those into the eternal reward for evildoers.

Perhaps you are one of the few who will stand in shame before God, if you were to die today. You don't have to. Yes, you have denied Jesus in the past, but you don't have to live in that denial. There is still time to change that decision. Accept Jesus as your Savior right now. Tell Him that you are a sinner and are sorry for your sins. Ask Him to forgive you, He longs to do that. If you accept Him, He will not deny you on the Day of Judgment. Don't delay. Respond right now... before it is too late. Amen and Amen.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 and John 11:1-45

"My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways"

O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.

It would be interesting to poll this congregation and ask -- what do you
think is the hardest problem to handle in the Christian life???

Your answer might be different than mine.

For me, the hardest problem I have to handle as a Christian is what to do
when God does not do what I have been taught to expect him to do; when God gets out of line and does not act the way I think he ought.

We have an occasion like that in the story of the raising of Lazarus from
the dead.

John introduces this last of the great miracles of Jesus in chapter 11 in
these words:

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying "Lord, he whom you love is ill."

When the message reached Jesus, this was his remarkable response:

"This illness is not unto death, but it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it."

The remarkable thing about that is, if you carefully check out the schedule of timing of this event, Lazarus was already dead when the message reached Jesus. It took two days for the messenger to get to the Jordan, so when Jesus returned to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days.

It is difficult for us to believe that Jesus did not know that because of
the insight that the Spirit of God had given him on numerous occasions.
But he sees this as a signal from the Father that something tremendous is
going to happen in connection with it, thus he sent back this remarkable
word: "This illness is not unto death."

In verses 5 and 6 we get the real shocker here, however when we read:

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill... he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

That is incredible to us. That is the part of the story which is hard to handle.

Martha loved Jesus; Mary loved Jesus; Lazarus loved Jesus; and Jesus loved them. From the record of scripture we know that their home was filled with love and that it was one of the most welcome havens for our Lord during his three years of ministry.

But when Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick - what does he do?? He waits.

It is a tough thing to believe that Jesus deliberately waited. We are so
used to critical illness being a signal for immediate action –ambulance rushing with sirens on, flashing red lights, frantic phone calls - get right down to the hospital, that it seems incredible that Jesus, knowing that his friend was ill, or in this case dead, nevertheless stayed right where he was for two more days.

Somebody may well say,

"If he knew Lazarus was dead why would he hurry? There was nothing he could do."

But remember Mary and Martha's hearts were breaking. This was a dearly loved brother, and his death would be a grievous loss to them. Jesus' presence with them would have been a tremendous comfort even though he may never did a thing about raising Lazarus from the dead.

Yet, knowing that they needed him there to comfort them, knowing that they longed to have him there to the point that they sent a messenger to let him know the situation, he deliberately remained two days longer at the place where he was.

Why?
That is the question we all ask.
Why?

When you have gone to God for help which you feel you desperately need and nothing happens, when your heart is breaking over something and you need God to intervene, but the heavens are silent, it is not at all easy to understand, it is very difficult to accept, and it is tough to get any kind of grip on why there is complete silence from God.

But what this passage is telling us is that a delay in answer like that is
not a sign of God's indifference or his failure to hear. It is a sign of
his love. The delay will help us. It is for our sake. And it is so that
Christ may be glorified through it.

Jesus deliberately delayed going to Mary and Martha because he loved them and knew this would strengthen their faith as they learned the ultimate outcome which God would work through Him.

That is a very hard and difficult lesson to accept. I myself have struggled over this many times. But it works - something we expect and long for does not occur and then - bingo - sometime after we think that everything is lost and that there is no hope, God does something remarkable that totally reverses our view.

Think of the reaction in Bethany as the messenger returned with the news
that when he told Jesus that Lazarus was ill, Jesus had said, "This illness
is not unto death." Yet when the messenger got back with that message
Lazarus had already been dead for two days.

What do you think the reaction of his sisters was?
How do you think they felt?

According to the account, two days later Jesus acts. He says to his
disciples

"Let us go back Judea... Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up."

The disciples, who had every reason to believe that if they returned to Judea that Jesus would be stoned to death, protest, saying:

"Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

To which Jesus replies

"Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe"

Notice that Jesus says he was glad he was not there when Lazarus died,
"for the sake of the disciples."

Just as Jesus delayed his going for Mary and Martha's sake in order that their faith might be strengthened by that delay, so that they might see His glory in it what will happen because of it. So he delayed as well for the sake of his disciples that they might believe.

I want to tell you there have been times when I have cried out to God for
help and said, "Things are so bad it can't get any worse. Lord, do
something. Help me!" But no answer came. That is hard. It is hard to
believe. It is hard and difficult to wait.

But I am gradually learning that this is never the end of the story, gradually learning what God said so clearly through the prophet Isaiah, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways."

That is what is so difficult. God is sovereign. God is not a mortal that
he should act like we act. There are dimensions of the problems which he sees that we do not remotely imagine. There are possibilities and
opportunities in every situation that we cannot conceive of.

So we must wait and quietly trust, knowing that he is working out
something.

"Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe"

As we go in the story, as Jesus arrives at the outskirts of Bethany - we
see that Martha greets Jesus with a phrase that must have been frequently
on all of their lips when Lazarus was sick.

How many times must they have said, "Oh, if Jesus were only here." They had said it so many times that it comes automatically to Martha's lips when she meets him: "Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died."

I do not believe this is a word of reproach.

Martha is not saying, "Lord, why didn't you come sooner? We sent for you. If you had responded we wouldn't be in this pickle." It is clear from the account, that she realizes that the message did not reach him until Lazarus was dead. Martha's word rather is one of regret: "Lord, I wish you could have been here, because if you had, my brother would not have died."

Then she goes on to say, "But even now, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will give it to you."

Many ask at this point, "What does she expect? What is it that she wants
from him?" Some commentators say that she really did expect Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead, pointing to her words, "Even now."

These commentators miss the point because, of course, the very next word of Jesus is, "Your brother will rise again."

If Martha had any idea that would happen then, she would have said, "How wonderful, Lord! That is exactly what I expected you to do now that you have come."

But she does not say that. What she says is, "Yes, I know. He will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

Clearly Martha is not looking for the immediate resurrection of her
brother. What, then, is she looking for from Jesus? What does she mean by the words, "Even now, whatever you ask of God, God will give it to you?"

We have to conclude that she is looking for his comfort, for the release
that God can give to a heart that is burdened and saddened, torn with
grief, anticipating the loneliness and emptiness of the days ahead. God
can give marvellous inward peace. Many have testified to that. This is
what Martha is asking for, "Even now, Lord, even though he is gone..."

There is so much God can give us at a time like this. As we listen to the
story we can see that Martha's faith is like the faith we so often have.
She believes in what she thinks will happen now and then later, rather than in what God might make happen whenever God decides to make it happen.

How many times have you said to yourself, "I know God has worked in the past, and I know that he will work again in the future, but today, well,
this is not the day of miracles..."

This is Martha's faith: in the future, at the resurrection of the last day, yes, the program of God is certain. But for today - well - that is a different matter.

The same thing can be said of Mary -- who greets Jesus with the same words that Martha used: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.".

Neither Martha, nor Mary, nor any of those who accompany her to the grave side - nor the disciples expect what happens next. They do not even hope for it.

How often are we in the same position with regard to the Lord's work in our lives?

In our brokenness - in our experience of grief - in our despair- we weep,
as Mary wept - we weep and we expect nothing - nothing but heartache for today and for as long as we live and breathe..

Jesus wept too - It says that Jesus asked where they had laid Lazarus, and
as he started out to the tomb, that "he wept".

He weeps not because he loves Lazarus - not because Lazarus has died – for he knows what he is about to do -- he weeps because Mary weeps. He weeps because he is sharing the heartache of the sisters - because he sympathizes with them in their pain..

I read once of a little girl who hurt her finger, and she ran to her daddy, who was busy studying for an exam in his study. She showed him her finger, but he was so caught up in what he was doing he just looked at it and said, "Oh, that will be all right," and sent her on out. She ran to her mother, weeping and crying, and her mother said, "Oh, dear, does it hurt so much?" The little girl said, "No, mommy, it's just that daddy didn't even say, 'Oh.'" That is what she wanted, somebody to say "Oh" with her.

In Romans 12, Paul tells us to "weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice." Here our Lord himself sets the example of this.
Knowing that he is going to turn it all around, he yet feels the sorrow of
their hearts and weeps.

Now we come to the actual miracle.

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone."

Notice how he answers. He does not rebuke her, he encourages her in the words, "Remember what I said." "Did I not say to you that 'if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"

Then Jesus turns to do the great deed. He begins with a simple prayer.

And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

Notice the many times in this account that what Jesus did he did for the
sake of the ones involved.

Earlier he said to the disciples, "I am glad I was not there for your sake.
He stayed two days where he was when the message reached him "because he loved Mary and Martha." Now he prays out loud for the sake of the people there.

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. And Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

What does this miracle say to us this morning?

One answer to that is given by the apostle Paul in his Second Letter to
Timothy. Timothy was a young man who was left in the pagan city of Ephesus. He had to struggle to live as a Christian in that polluted, pagan
environment, just as we have to today in our society. He was sometimes
discouraged, sometimes defeated, facing many problems. He was a little afraid. He was frail of health.

What were Paul's words to him?

"Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead. Remember Jesus right where you are. Remember he is with you."

This is his word. He is with you.
He knows how to handle the situation you are in.
He knows how to lead you through it,
he can - and in fact will even raise the dead.
He can do anything.

Focus your faith on him, not on the solution to the problem or the eventual working out of it.

Trust in him, despite the delays
- turn to him, knowing that he is able
- and knowing that whatever illness may strike, with him it is never an
illness unto death - rather it may well be the pathway to new life.

Blessed be God, day by day. Amen.

Prov. 22:13

"The lazy man says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!" Prov. 22:13

Excuses, excuses, everybody has excuses. Way back in the dark ages, when I was a boy, excuses for not having homework done ranged from "my sister destroyed it" to "I finished my work but it dropped out of my notebook into a mud puddle on the way to school."

Solomon tells us that the sluggard or lazy man always has an excuse. Solomon's example is that there is a lion outside and it might eat the sluggard. Indeed there were lions roaming Israel at the time of Solomon, but not in the streets of Jerusalem! Note that the sluggard is afraid he will be killed in the streets, not in the forest! It seems that lazy people have no lack of imagination when they need an excuse, and the more outrageous the better!

The real question is "why does a sluggard need an excuse?" Why doesn't he just say, "I didn't do my homework?" Or "I just don't feel like coming in to work today." The answer is rather simple. The sluggard doesn't want to look lazy! He is, but he wants to appear better than he is. The result is that the lazy man with excuses appears to reasonable folk as more of a fool that he may truly be.

So what's the point? There are several. One, don't make excuses. If you don't get something done, admit that you didn't and promise to keep working until it is finished. Two, if you don't want to do something, say no when first asked. This won' t work when the boss, or teacher, gives you an assignment, of course, but it will work about any other time. We all must learn to say "no." It is hard. I have a tough time doing it. But all of us have a limited amount of time and if that time is already allotted to other tasks, we must learn to refuse to allow others to burden us more. Three, when you are assigned a task that you can't refuse, assess how best to accomplish the job, plan a step-by-step procedure to accomplish the assignment, plan to finish the task early, and keep at it until it is finished. Always allow extra time in the schedule for unforeseen obstacles that steal time.

"So what is the spiritual application, Brother Edwin?" The planning stage fits God's assignments to you as well as those from a boss. Seek God's direction, and He will help you formulate the plan and accomplish it to perfection! Come to think of it, He desires to help with every task we might undertake. He desires to be our partner in our everyday lives. All we have to do is ask for His guidance, and He helps us say "NO," too! Amen and Amen.

II Kings 7:3

"Now there were four leprous men at the of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?" II Kings 7:3

Have you ever been watching a television show or movie when half way through the show you discovered you really didn't like it, but you kept watching anyway? Many people treat their lives that way. They start out on a path. It may have looked good at the start, but it was the wrong path to take. It wasn't long before they realize this, but now they are alking down that path simply because it's there rather than because it is right.

But like the men in our scripture verse, we sometimes need to take account of where we are at in our spiritual and secular walks with the Lord. Are we sitting in a place which will eventually destroy us spiritually, emotionally, physically, occupationally? Change can be hard. No doubt about that. It can be frightening. It can even be painful. Those four lepers would have found it difficult to go anywhere considering their physical conditions. But the alternative was more unpleasant.

Very often, change does not occur in our lives until we reach a point of desperation, until we reach that point at which the pain of change is seen as being less than the pain of staying the same. Chemical dependency counselors call this hitting bottom. Sometimes God will allow trouble to come into our lives to force us out of our comfort zone so that we can remain vital in him. Like the eagle who "stirs up the nest" slowly removing the feather lining until the eaglets are left sitting on hard jagged stones so they have an incentive to get out of the nest and learn to fly. The eaglets undoubtedly feel the mother is cruel, but the mother simply wants the eaglets to be come the mighty eagles she knows they can be.

So it is with the Lord, he wants us to soar as eagles, but he knows we will never do that as long as we sit in our nest. So, if the nest you are sitting in is becoming uncomfortable or unbearable, maybe it's time to do some praying. God may be trying to get your attention. He may be telling you it's time to move on and make some changes in your life. In order to soar with the eagles, you have to get out of your comfortable nest. But the view is much better up there.

Lord, stir up my nest today so that I won't become comfortable in places I no longer belong. Give me the courage and strength to make those changes you would have me make in my life today. Amen and Amen.

Matthew 5.4

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5.4

What a paradox! We think of grief and happiness as being mutually exclusive. In fact, even in Christian circles, we are often taught that the Christian always has a smile on his face and a song in his heart. We are told that to be sad is sinful, that grief represents a lack of faith, and that pain comes from sinful living. Yet, this teaching is directly contrary to what Jesus is saying here.

Let's look for a moment at the word "mourn." In the Greek it means to grieve a loss. This may be the loss of a loved one, but it may be other losses as well: loss of health, loss of security, loss of a relationship, loss of a dream, loss of a job, etc. Too often when a Child of God mentions a loss to another Christian she is met with rebuke for her lack of faith or told she is "having a pity party." It's doubtful she was having a pity party. To have a party you need guests and, usually, there is no one around to show pity on the Christian in sorrow.

Sometimes the person is alone in their sorrow, not because of lack of concern among the Christian community, but because no one knows about the pain. Many people get up in the morning under a burden of circumstances, filled with pain, but they put on their smile along with their Sunday clothes and go to church. They never let anyone know what they are going through. Sometimes this is because they don't want to appear weak. Sometimes it's because what is causing the pain might seem trivial to others. Sometimes it's because the pain is caused by something no one else would understand. So, even the person sitting next to them, even their spouse, child or best friend doesn't know that something is wrong.

But, Praise God, Jesus is telling us that he knows our heart. He knows when we mourn in silence. He knows that what is trivial to others may be overwhelming to us. And he says, "Child, I know what you are going through. I felt your pain in my body on the cross. And I will heal that pain."

So, when we mourn, when we face hard times, when we are sad, when our hearts break and the pain mounts up inside so badly that we feel we can't stand it any longer, we are Blessed. We are Happy. Why? Because at those times we really know how much we need him. We become "poor in spirit." We feel his presence. And when he does the work (He will do the work), then we will come out on the other side of the loss with a stronger testimony and a greater endurance for what is yet to come.

It is only against the darkness of night that the brightness of the stars be seen. The jeweler displays his most precious diamonds on his darkest cloth. God shows his glory against the backdrop of grief. So, blessed are those who mourn, for we shall be comforted.

Lord, wrap your arms around me in my grief and give me the strength only you have. And let me pass that strength along to others. Amen and Amen.

Luke 9:1-2

"Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" Luke 9:1-2

Notice how Jesus equipped His disciples for ministry. He knew that when they began preaching the kingdom of God and healing the sick, demonic powers would bring opposition. So He specifically gave them power and authority over demons.

Later Jesus sent out 70 of His followers on a similar mission, and they "returned with joy, saying 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name'" (Luke 10:17.) These missionaries were spiritually in tune enough to know that demons existed and that they were a force to be reckoned with in their ministry. Jesus' followers had been eyewitnesses as the evil spirits opposed the Master, and they probably anticipated the same treatment. Perhaps they even started out on their mission with pangs of fear and doubt about encountering demonic resistance. But they came back astonished at the victory they experienced over evil spirits.

But Jesus quickly brought the issue of spiritual conflicts into perspective: "Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Jesus sent out the 70 to preach the gospel and to heal, but all they could talk about when they came back was how they sent the demons running. "Don't be demon-centered," Jesus replied. "Be kingdom-centered, be ministry-centered, be God-centered."

That's a good warning. As you learn to exercise authority over the kingdom of darkness in your life and in the lives of others, you may be tempted to see yourself as some kind of spiritual freedom fighter, looking for demons behind every door. But it's truth which sets you free, not the knowledge of error. You are not called to dispel the darkness; you are called to turn on the light. You would have no authority at all if it weren't for your identity as a child of God and your position in Christ. Amen and Amen.

James 4:15

"Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that" James 4:15

The Apostle Paul was traveling from his last mission trip to Jerusalem. Two times he received prophecy that he would be bound in chains in Jerusalem. Two times people encouraged him to not go to Jerusalem. He went anyway. When He reached that holy city, he went to the holiest place of all - the Temple - where he fulfilled a vow he had previously made. Then he was arrested, bound in chains and cast into prison. Why? Why did Paul not listen to the prophets? Why did he not stop somewhere else until the prophets said it was OK to proceed. Why didn't he return to Galatia, or Corinth, or . . .anywhere but Jerusalem?

Paul had learned a lesson. The Lord told Him to go to Jerusalem - and so he would. The Lord told him he would go to Rome - and so he did . . . from Jerusalem . . . in chains . . . with Rome picking up the travel expenses! But the prophets? Wasn't their word valid? Yes, they were right. Paul was bound in chains. But why didn't Paul stay away? Because God told him to go. You see, Paul's lesson was that he was in the hands of God. Whatever God wanted, Paul wanted. Whatever God said, Paul did. If God said, "Go to Jerusalem." To Jerusalem he went. If God said, "You will be bound in chains." That didn't bother Paul. It had happened before. It would probably happen again.

James says that we should not say "I will do this and that." (my paraphrase.) Instead he says, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that." Note the difference . . . it's found in four little, single syllable words, "if the Lord wills . . ." If the Lord wills, I will become a millionaire. If the Lord wills, I will be a teacher. If the Lord wills, I will be healed. If the Lord wills, I will marry. If the Lord wills, I will . . . be bound in chains and cast into prison.

That was Paul's attitude. It should be ours. I fear that we think entirely too much of ourselves and our ability. How often to we presume to tell God how to run our lives - or the lives of others? What if His will is different? Is it any wonder that some of our prayers go unanswered? How can God answer our prayer if it is in direct opposition to His will? Why do we ever think that we know more than the God of the Universe - the God of Creation? When God speaks, we need to respond with the
words of Jean Luke Piccard Captain of the USS Enterprise, "Make it so," Lord. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Rev 2:10

"Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" Rev 2:10

This verse starts with an ominous tone: "Do not fear what you are about to suffer." That is very much like the doctor who walks into the room saying "Now, I don't want you to worry, but . . ." Sure. Don't worry. Don't fear. OK. Let's get this over with. What am I about to suffer.

Remember that Jesus suffered. At the end of 40 days of fasting, He suffered serious temptation. At the hands of the religious leaders of the day, He suffered ridicule. Finally, in order to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind, He was beaten, abused, stripped naked, nailed to a cross, and died. Our Lord knows a bit about suffering. Not too many of us have suffered to that extent. Also remember that our heavenly Father is keeping His eye on us - not to pry, but to protect.

So, He knows what we are about to suffer. What is it? "Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days." The question is: "ARE WE READY?" If this word were spoken directly to you, what would you say? "Hey, I'm outta here. Suffering was not in the contract!" OR "Well, I suppose the devil is ok. After all, God created everything - including satan - so I'll just make friends with him. Perhaps he will go easy on me." OR " Come on, satan. I've been looking for you and I'm ready."

"What's that?" you say. "Thrown in jail? What for? Testing? Hey, I graduated from university years ago. I don't need any more tests." Perhaps you have already read the last part of the text, "ten days." "Oh, that's ok. I can surely endure prison for 10 days!" STOP! In the scriptures, 10 is a number of judgment and trial and tribulation. In this case, 10 days means the trial will last a while, but the time is predetermined. It will not go on forever. That's supposed to be an encouraging word - IT WON'T LAST FOREVER! And it fits whatever you are going through right now. IT WON'T LAST FOREVER!

"Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." Jesus encourages us with these words - be faithful. I think we can do that - ONE DAY AT A TIME. Be faithful until death - some of the Smyrnan believers would die in their prison cells. Some would die from the persecution. But they could be faithful. As an incentive, Jesus promises the faithful a crown of life! So we are faithful a day at a time until we finally die. Then we trade our fleshly tents in for a crown of ETERNAL LIFE! What a trade! The perishable for the imperishable. The sick for the whole. The dying for the ever living. I'll take it! How about you? Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Not a bad way to begin a new year

O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.

This morning we heard a portion of the "Christmas Story" that we do not hear as often as the rest. Beginning from the worship of the Shepherds and the naming of the child, we heard what happened when, in accordance with the law of God, Mary and Joseph presented Jesus at the temple.

The scriptures tell us that on the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

Then we are told that:

When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."

And we are told that when this latter occurs, two persons in the temple, Simeon - an old man who had been told that he would not die until he saw the consolation of Israel appear,and Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, a prophetess, who was 84 years old, blessed God and the child - and spoke over him - to Mary and Joseph - and to the temple crowd - the word of God concerning what had occurred and was occurring and would occur through the life of the babe called, as the angel had commanded, Jesus - Emmanuel..

I don't want to go into the meaning of those prophecies this morning, other than to note that both Simeon and Anna were blessed with visions, that they were touched by God, and that they spoke of what God put upon their lips and their hearts.

Some of their words were sweet to the taste, but sour in the stomach speaking as they did of a time of suffering, And others were of pure joy and elation - for despite the suffering - and indeed - perhaps only through the suffering - the Messiah would take his throne and the people Israel and the nations beyond would be blessed beyond measure.

Rather I want you to think today with me of the obedience and humility of both Mary and Joseph, and of how they resolutely began their life with Jesus and his life with them - and with us with worship and prayer - with obedience and thanksgiving, with sacrifice and joy.

Which is not a bad way to begin a life - nor to continue it. To begin a life - or a new year.

In the first 40 days of the life of Jesus among us Mary and Joseph did four things with and for Jesus, four things that bound them, with him, closer to God, closer to the people of God, and closer to one another.

The first thing is that they named Jesus in the manner God had commanded through the Angel Gabriel. They gave him the name "Saviour" for through him God would redeem his people. They believed in what they had been told in their dreams and visions - and obeyed the giver.

This bound them closer to God - closer to Jesus - and closer to one another.

Sharing a vision draws us into a special intimacy and living by that vision - creates a special community.

As you go into the new year - consider how you name one another. Do you call others what God asks you to call them? Do you name as your brother or sister the person next to you? Do you see in their face the face of Christ?

The first thing Mary and Joseph did at the beginning of the life of Jesus was to name him as God asked them to name him.

The naming ceremony was done on the eighth day - the day when the male children of those born to Abraham and Sarah were, in accordance with Covenant God made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, circumcised - and thereby became identified as the children of Israel and heirs to the promises made to him - the promise of a people, a land, and a God who cares - a God who would deliver and vindicate his people.

That is the second thing Joseph and Mary did - they made Jesus a part of the family of God. They said to God - look he is a child of promise - this baby is meant with all who call on your name - to inherit your kingdom. He is your servant - he is one of us - the ones you gave yourself to after the time of Noah - the ones you said to Abraham and to Moses would be a nation of priests and kings to serve you and bring everlasting glory to your name amongst all the nations.

Do we make those God has given us a part of the household of God?

Do we extend to them the privileges and responsibilities that we have received from the Lord?

I do not speak of mere circumcision or baptism here - I speak of the living faith that claims the power of God's love upon the lives of those in our care, upon the lives of those for whom we are called to care by the Spirit of the Lord and the words of the prophets.

The second thing Mary and Joseph did with Jesus was make him a part of the family of God, and this bound them closer to God - and closer to God's people - and closer to one another.

Not a bad way to begin a life - or a new year. Not a bad way to live.

The third thing that Mary and Joseph did was, when the time of purification was over was present Jesus, as their first born, to God at the temple.

This is a very special thing to do - a thing that is related to all the commands regarding things that are first. Each of them - from the first fruits of our gardens to the first born of our loins and wombs - belong to God. And God asks that we present them to him where he abides. And name them his.

By this act Mary and Joseph recognized that their child was not their child. Rather he was God's child - and that the purposes of his life should be, would be, determined by God, and that as parents entrusted with God's child, they should seek the wisdom and counsel of God each day, so that they might raise him as God asks.

The first child is a Hannah child - and if truth be known - every child after. But the first is special because it is first. And what is first goes to what is First. Our best, our finest, our hopes and our dreams - belong to God - God who is first in our lives.

So yes - Joseph - this child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.

And yes - Mary - A sword will pierce your own soul too.

And that is the way of it - for this child is God's and God will accomplish his work in him and his love will redeem his people.

This is the third thing Mary and Joseph did as they began their life with Jesus - they gave him to God and recognized that God would raise him in God's own way and in that recognition - they bound themselves to loving Jesus in accordance with the counsel of God, in accordance to the law and to vision that God gave Moses and gave them.

Not a bad way to begin a life - not a bad way to begin a year.

We too have people - and plans - that belong to God - and need to be given to God.

Time will bring sorrows that pierce our hearts - but it will bring too the consolation we all seek, consolation for us - and for all the people of God.

The fourth thing Mary and Joseph did - they did on the day of Presentation. Mary made sacrifice - the sacrifice of the poor among Israel - she sacrificed two doves or pigeons for her purification.

And so Mary and Joseph show themselves as seekers of holiness, and as ones who possess it - for what they do is set apart - dedicated - to God.

Not a bad way to begin a life - not a bad way to begin a new year.

Mary and Joseph did not simply begin it as they might have - with an anticipation of great and wonderful things to occur - some with the pain that pierces the soul; nor did they begin simply with an awareness of their own poverty and inability - the kind of poverty that is represented in offering in sacrifice two pigeons instead of a two year old lamb - and the inability that every new parent - and indeed most every person - feels deep in their hearts when faced an unknowable future and holding in one's heart the desire to love perfectly.

They began with these most surely, but they began in those things with God, and in humble obedience to all that God has promised, all that God has commanded.

They began with God, they named their child as the Angel told them they made the one in their care a part of the people of the God - joint heirs with them of the promises, they gave him into God's care - recognizing that he was God's, - not simply theirs and they sought holiness - to live in it and by it - they set themselves, as they set Jesus, apart for God.

And us as we enter the new year? Us as we raise up a family? Or take under our care - under our love - those God asks us to care for and love? Will we name people as God wants us to name them?

Will we make them - will we treat them - members of God's family - members of our family? Will we let them be God's and heed God's counsel as he tells us how to be his stand-ins? Will we seek holiness? Will we allow the lamb of God - sacrificed for us upon the cross - to proclaim that we are clean?

There is a time for everything. This is a time to begin with what should always come first. May God be praise day by day. Amen.

Isaiah. 6:8

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." Isaiah. 6:8

I received a call the other day! It went something like this: "Rev. Pun, this is your dentist's office. We just want to remind you of your appointment at 10:00 AM tomorrow." I knew it was a call because my phone rang. I know it was from my dentist's office because I knew I had an appointment for a check up tomorrow. Besides that, the dentist's phone number and name appeared on my caller ID. There was no doubt that at 10:00 AM tomorrow I must be sitting in the dentist's office ready to be tortured by the dentist! Did I tell you that I hate going to the dentist?

Don't you wish that God's call was as easy to discern? It would certainly take the questions out of Christian life. The phone rings and you look at the caller ID unit. "God" it says and gives His number. With a bit of fear and trepidation you answer. "Edwin", this is God's office calling.

At 10:00 AM tomorow the Father wants you to be at the corner of Connaught Road and Pedder Street, where you will meet a man by the name of "James." He will be wearing a red shirt and blue slacks, you won't miss him! Tell him that his wife will be OK and his daughter, she has been missing for three weeks, will call him at 7:54 PM tonight. She will ask him for a bus ticket home."

"Not likely," you say. You are right. It would be nice if God's call was that clear, but perhaps by studying some of His calls to simple people like you and me, yes, Isaiah and Jeremiah were both simple men, we can become more clear when He calls us.

Isaiah's call is rather straightforward. "Whom shall I send?" If Isaiah was in a crowd, he might have turned and looked for volunteers. He did not feel that he was particularly special. Just moments before, Isaiah had feared for his life as he saw the presence of God. "Woe is me. I am an unclean man. I shall surely die in the presence of the Almighty," is how we can translate his words. The angel of the Lord placed coals from the altar upon Isaiah's lips and cleansed him. Isn't it interesting that the coals were placed upon his LIPS and not his HEAD? Isaiah's head did not need the cleansing. The lips comprise the doorway to the soul, his soul needed cleansing, and the cleansing of the lips symbolized the cleansing of the soul. (Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.") Still, Isaiah did not feel all that confident before God.

But when the call came, "Who will go for us?" Isaiah did what he knew God wanted. He replied, "Here am I. Send me!" What else could he do? No one else was around, except the angels. The call was not to them. He was the only one who needed to respond. He didn't know where God would send him, the request was for someone to volunteer without doubting, to trust completely. He didn't say, "I'll go where ever you send, just as long as it isn't to that joker of a northern king." Or "I'll go as long as you don't want me to do something that I have not been trained to do." He simply answered, "Here I am. I'll go for you. I'll be your ambassador to wherever you send me." Thus Isaiah began an incredible journey into the heart of God.

When God calls you, and he will if He hasn't already, you will most likely have doubts. "Who? Me?" "Where are you wanting me to go? I have to know that so I can weigh my options." "You mean you want me to go, but You are not going to tell me where? How do I know I can trust You? You might send me to Indonesia or Pakistan or some other dangerous place."

"Who will go for Us?" God calls again. How will you answer? Are you ready for an incredible journey, a journey into the very heart of the Father Himself? Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Jonah 4:1-2

"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the LORD, and said, "Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, One who relents from doing harm." Jonah 4:1-2

Jonah should have been the happiest man alive. He had preached the Gospel. The people had heard and responded to the Word of God. He single handedly lead one of the greatest revivals of all time! -------- and he was so depressed he wanted to die. He even complained to God that he knew this would happen - that's why he ran away!

Can you imagine this fellow? Such arrogance. Such self-centered pride. HE felt HE had the authority to tell GOD what to do?!!!! What's a righteous God to say to a man like this? If I were god, a bolt of lightning might have been a good choice. Or perhaps a great big cobra staring Jonah in the eye might have been appropriate. But I'm not God - a fact for which you all ought to be eternally grateful. God simply asked Jonah a question. "Do you have a good reason to be angry?" With that question to ponder, God left Jonah alone for the evening.

Evidently Jonah slept (I think that question would have haunted me all night.) The next morning a vine grew over Jonah providing a wonderful shade. This had to be a God vine because it grew in a day - actually it was grown to full size by the time the mid-day heat arrived. Jonah figured the question was forgotten. God never said a word to Jonah. The vine just appeared. Jonah went to sleep that night. The next day a worm with a voracious appetite devoured the stem of the vine and it withered in the blistering heat. Jonah railed against God. "Why did you destroy the vine?" God replied, "Oh, you enjoyed the vine? Why? You did nothing to deserve it. You didn't plant it. You didn't water it. You didn't nurture it. Why were you upset when it died?"

Now the kicker. "If you were upset about the vine and felt sorry for having lost it, shouldn't I be able to feel sorry for the lost people of Nineveh and desire to redeem them?"

Count your blessings. Go ahead, name them one by one. Too many to count? Probably. Why argue with God over a little temporary discomfort you may be encountering today? "But I have cancer (insert your own current affliction). You call that temporary?" Certainly. Even if you die from it, you will be set free from it forever. How does a couple of years - or even 10 or 20 years - compare to eternity? Your suffering here on earth is but a very small part of eternity - a trivial amount of time - very temporary. The real question is this, "What are you doing with the time you have?" Are you spending on yourself? Are you wasting it on earthly dissipation? Or are you giving it back to the God who gave it to you in the first place? Which will bring the best results? The life that brings pleasure for the moment - or the life that brings eternal joy - laying up treasures in heaven?

You be the judge - but choose carefully. It is the most important choice you will ever make. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Jonah 3:2

"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you." Jonah 3:2

So Jonah headed for Nineveh. He still wasn't happy about it. If we could have heard his proclamation of the Word of God, I suspect it would have been without power and authority. The only thing is, God's Word cannot be preached without returning a harvest - and God provided an instant harvest in Nineveh. The people who heard Jonah proclaim "Repent or die," repented, dressed themselves in sack cloth, and dusted themselves with ashes of remorse. In a matter of days the Word passed throughout a city so great that it took three days to walk from one end to another. Finally the Word reached the throne room of the king of Nineveh. He too repented! Imagine. A whole city won to God in days.

So Jonah rejoiced, right? Hardly. He looked to God and said, "I told you this is what would happen. Now you can't destroy the city!" Jonah wanted a great big fireball to consume the city. He wanted the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. He was disappointed that it did not happen! Certainly we are not like Jonah. We would never preach a half-hearted sermon to a people we hated - or would we? Even better, have we? Sorrowfully, I admit that there are those I would rather have not shared the Truth of salvation with. There are those I have crossed the street to avoid. Some received the Word willingly - others never heard because I never spoke! Indeed, there may be some who never heard before their death because I was God's final choice!

With this in mind, I must call upon you to hear the Gospel. Jesus died for you. His blood cleanses you and me from all sin - and we are all sinners. We have all failed to live up to God's expectations. We have all failed to live up to our own expectations. No matter what standard you use to measure success, we have missed it in one way or another. But you do not have to live in your sinful condition. You do not have to die a sinners death - separated from God. All you need to do is call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Tell Him you are a sinner. Confess to Him that you have failed. Ask Him to forgive you. Accept the forgiveness that He so willingly gives. He will save you. He will redeem you and set you free. Then He will lead you in everything you need to do. Sure, you're not a Ninevite. You may not be an unbeliever. But if you are, today is your opportunity to find the freedom that comes through salvation in Jesus Christ! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Jonah 1:17-2:1

"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly" Jonah 1:17-2:1

Ok, so you didn't listen yesterday - or it was already too late. Now you're in the belly of some great fish. It's dark, it stinks, it's wet and your skin burns a bit with the bleaching acids. Now what are you going to do?

Jonah prayed! Not surprising, is it? Someone said there are no atheists in a fox hole. I imagine that is more true in the stomach of some great big deep diving fish. What did he pray? "I'M SORRY GOD!" was probably a good, simple translation. He asked for forgiveness. He praised God. He turned his face towards the Temple (but I have no idea how he knew which direction to twist!) and worshipped (how in the world did he get his hands over his head?) Then the fish became sick of the whole thing and at God's command belched Jonah up on the shore.

If you are in the belly of that fish, don't you think a bit of prayer might be advisable? What are you going to pray? Some would say, "God, how could you possibly let this happen to me? I'm your best man (or woman). You can't get along without me. Sure I messed up - but this? Do you really think I deserve this?" Making deals with God is probably not the best thing to do in this situation. After all, you did go against Him. That's how you got on the ship to start with. You did run. That's why God sent the storm. You did confess you were at fault. That's why God prepared the fish - he could have let you drown, you know. Did you deserve what you got? NO WAY! You deserved a whole lot worse!

"OK. I'll ask for forgiveness. I'll tell God I was wrong. I'll worship Him for who He is - the almighty God. I'll even thank Him for loving me enough to send this stinking fish." That's good. Do you really mean it? Yes? Good. Ah, yes. The fish has turned east. Your ears pop with the lessening of the pressure on them. You hear the muffled sound of surf through the sides of the fish ----- whoa! You didn't know the fish was that sick of you! You hit the ground - running I hope! Amen and Amen.

Jonah 1:3

"But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD" Jonah 1:3

Don't tell me you've never done it. We all have at some time or another. Most likely we've done it quite recently. Running from the Lord is a common human condition.

Jonah did it in a royal way. He was ordered to Nineveh. He ran for a ship. That would be fine - if Nineveh were on the sea shore - but that lovely, enemy community was landlocked! Running for a ship was not in God's plans. However, God had made plans for Jonah's disobedience. He provided a ship, a storm and a prize winning fish - and Jonah was the bait!

Of course we know what happened to Jonah. It is said by those who have found people who lived in the belly of a great fish - yes, there are numerous historical accounts of this in modern times - that the swallowee is bleached white by the stomach acids of said swallower. What a sight Jonah must have been when he finally strolled into Nineveh - a pure white man, smelling of fish, shouting "Repent or die!"

I can personally testify that I have never been swallowed by a great fish though I have run from doing the will of God. Sometimes I almost wish I had met a great big fish. The lesson may have been easier to learn. Then again it might not have been because Jonah was a tough student. Though he did the will of the Father, he did it without conviction and enthusiasm. Still, the work was done and the desired results were achieved.

Are you running from God? Is He telling you to do something that you don't desire to do? Have you fled for a ship when a camel would be more appropriate? May I suggest that you stop where you are, turn around and head for the nearest used camel dealer, lay your money down, and ask directions for your Nineveh. I won't ask. I won't even suggest it. I strongly urge you to do it. Remember, your fish may chew his food a little more thoroughly than Jonah's! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

James 2:18

"But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" James 2:18

When my son Edward was just a toddler, I would stand him up on the table and call for him to jump from the table into my arms. Did Edward believe I would catch him? Yes. How did I know he believed? Because he jumped. Suppose he wouldn't jump. "Do you believe I will catch you, Edward?" I might coax, and he may nod yes. But if he never jumps, does he really believe I will catch him? No. Faith is active, not passive. Faith takes a stand. Faith makes a move. Faith speaks up.

There are a lot of Christians who claim to have great faith in God but are spiritually lethargic and don't do anything. Faith without action is not faith; it's dead, meaningless (James 2:17, 18)! If it isn't expressed, it isn't faith. In order to believe God and His Word, we must do what He says. If you don't do what He says, you don't really believe Him. Faith and action are inseparable.

Sadly, one of the common pictures of the church today is of a group of people with an assumed faith but little action. We're thankful that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus is preparing a place in heaven for us, but we're basically cowering in fear and defeat in the world, just hanging on until the rapture. We treat the church as if it's a hospital. We get together to compare wounds and hold each other's hands, yearning for Jesus to come take us away.

The church is not a hospital; it's a military outpost under orders to storm the gates of hell. Every believer is on active duty, called to take part in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19, 20). Thankfully the church has an infirmary where we can minister to the weak and wounded, and that ministry is necessary. But our real purpose is to be change agents in the world, taking a stand, living by faith, and accomplishing something for God. You can say you believe God and His Word. But if you are not actively involved in His plan, are you really a mature believer? Amen and Amen.