Death comes to everyone.
Older people die.
Young people die.
It can seem that some people have power to use it. Some use death to escape from their own lives. Death is used by evil people to carry out their wicked schemes, but in the end, it is rather academic, because we will all die.
Some use the reality of war to accuse God of not caring. It is people who start wars, and people who cause so many to have to give up their lives for little reason.
The waste of death.
The futility it gives to life.
The desperate fear it engenders in the human heart.
The finality.
The end….
Death is not the end.
There is another life, a life beyond the grave.
Many fear this also, because they do not know what it is, or where it is.
The Bible is very clear.
How we live and what we put our faith in, is of crucial importance.
There is one, above all others, who is in control. He holds the keys of death and hell. He will decide who is going to live forever in Joy and peace, and who is going to be sent away to suffer for their wrong-doings.
JESUS holds the keys.
He has paid the price for the sins we do and say, and all we have to do is ask Him, and there is full and free forgiveness.
We can know His life is us, even while we still live in the here and now. Eternal life is a quality of life that all who believe do know, and will know forever.
Death is not the end.
The gift of God is eternal life, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.
Sometimes we can get into a state were we imagine we are better than other people…
Maybe we might think our family is in some way special and because we belong to it, we are above other people.
Maybe we can do things. Maybe God has given us abilities and has given us cleverness and we think it all belongs to us.
Maybe we think we look good or have great ideas about clothes and shoes.
Maybe we do really well at school, and are good at passing exams, and we come to think we are cleverer than other people.
Maybe we understand the Bible well, and think that we are a special kind of Christian.
None of these things belong to us. All that we have and are able to do, are gifts from God. We cannot claim to deserve them, as God gives them out of His love and Grace. But still, sometimes we can start to think we are important.
JESUS told a parable about two men.
He told the story to show people who were proud and believed in themselves, and thought they were better then others, that they were mistaken. Here is the story…
The two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a religious Pharisee and the other a hated tax collector. The Pharisee was well regarded by people in the community and always did and said the suitable thing. He had a well-behaved family and a good job at the temple, and always looked the part.
The tax-collector was hated by the community because he collected tax money for the Romans. Often tax-collectors kept some of the money for themselves, or over-charged people so that they could get riches for themselves. If you were a tax-collector you could become wealthy and become important in the Roman culture, but the people around you would despise you. These two men went up to the temple to pray. They both felt the need to pray and they both believed in God. They recognized their need for God, and the both knew they needed to pray to Him.
“The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’”
The Pharisee sees himself as a man apart. He doesn’t mix with the other worshippers. He stands apart and prays to GOD, or thinks he prays to GOD.
He addresses GOD as “GOD” not Father or Lord, but just as GOD. God is not a Father to him, nor is GOD his LORD.
Then he thanks God. Not for food, or clothing or any provision- he deserves all these things, and believes he has a right to own what he has and just give God a tenth of his money. He thanks God that he is not as bad as other people.!!
The Pharisee sees other people as really bad… Thieves, adulterers, and evil people… he would never be that bad… he would never do such things… Then he sees the tax-collector and he tells God that he is no way as band as this dreadful tax-collector who steals money for everyone.
Then he justifies himself. He tells God all the great things he has done for GOD… he fasts – goes without food, twice a week and gives GOD ten percent of all he has, so that GOD can be pleased with him. He does not thank GOD for anything he has been given, he does not ask for any forgiveness for sins (he hasn’t got any!) He does not ask for anything he needs – he has it all…
In another part of the temple, at a distance from the Holy place, (in the foyer?) the tax-collector stands… He feels his unworthiness acutely, and cannot bring himself to lift his head towards the sky.
He hangs his head like one ashamed. He strikes his breast, like a penitent would do, showing utter contempt for his own efforts, and mourning for his sinfulness.
He mutters, “GOD be merciful to me a sinner.”
This man has no regard for his so-called good deeds. He knows he hasn’t got any. He speaks few words to GOD. He knows God is not impressed with his words, or deeds, and he really knows he needs forgiveness.
All he is seeking is MERCY…
What is JESUS’ judgment on these two men?
Who will be listened to? Who’s prayer will be answered?
JESUS said the man who humbled himself was forgiven and the one who was proud was not forgiven.The man who admitted he was a sinner before GOD was the one who was forgiven by GOD. People who humble themselves and seek forgiveness are the ones who’s prayers are heard and are forgiven.
We all need to be forgiven. GOD says there are no good people. The good things we have and the good ideas we have are from Him. The only thing we have is our sin.
The only way we get rid of it, is by confessing it to God.
We don’t need to learn prayers… we just need to say sorry…
Sorry is the hardest word… we don’t want to say it… but we need to say it, if we are to be forgiven… To humble ourselves is difficult, but GOD is kind and when we say sorry and repent, He forgives us. We know this because His word tells us so. The weight of our sin goes and he sets us free to live our lives for His glory…
This is what a Christian is. A bad person who has been forgiven…
We all need this…
I need it and you need it too…
Matthew 7:13 Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it.
It is very hard to become a Christian and to walk in the way of God. It goes against all our personal beliefs and desires, and all our thought patterns and processes. To become a Christian, requires a complete change in every part of our person. It means I must lay down my life for JESUS and serve and obey Him. It means living a life of self-denial and giving everything to GOD.
But in return I get everything. God gives me a new life, His Holy Spirit to teach me, and thousands of promises of His love and power.
I must go through the narrow gate… I will be alone, suffer mocking and temptations, but I will have everything, because Jesus is with me.
I loose only my own filthy sins, punishment and eternal suffering, and get an eternal life with the one who loves me best.
If you read the Bible, you will see more about this message…John chapter 3 and chapter 4
Have you something to hide? Everyone has…
One day our secrets will be laid bare. Everyone will know what we have done, said and thought.
We have two faces: the face we let others see and the real inner face – what we are really like. Its like wearing a mask with two sides, and we change it according to who we are talking to.
God knows what we are really like and we will not be able to hide from Him.
JESUS called such people Hypocrites. They say one thing and do another. He tells us that our outward life must match the inner life, we are to be truthful and sincere in how we present ourselves.
Witnesses:
Ashamed of Jesus? Do I really love Him?
If I am ashamed of Him, he will be ashamed of me. If I honour Him, He will honour me.
Am I really loving Him, or just trying to put on a front? I cannot pull the wool over God’s eyes.
The Unforgiven:
Some people will not be forgiven…
What do you think God cannot forgive?
JESUS said, if we speak against Him, we will be forgiven, but if I speak against the Holy Spirit- that is a sin that can never be forgiven.
Why is that so bad?
It shows I don’t value the Holy Spirit.
It shows I don’t value His work in human hearts.
I have no sorrow or regret for having this point of view or attitude – I refuse to see my own wrong views.
My heart becomes hard, and I don’t want forgiveness anyway…
I find myself hating GOD, and His ways.
The valuable ones:
Those who truly believe are valuable to God, because of what He has done for them. God loves us, never lets us out of sight
God cares in every way.
God is sensitive and loving to his creatures.
He loves human beings and wants us to be in his family forever.
Sparrows: God sees when they fall down dead. Jesus didn’t die for sparrows, he died for you..!
God knows how many hairs are on our heads. He knows all about us, and shows that he cares deeply.
He loves our bodies that he made, and loves our souls.
God never gives up on us, even though others might.
This is why denying the Holy Spirit is so serious. God has such love for us and yet we turn Him away. We are foolish and reject Him. We need to turn from this attitude and seek Him.
Our popular society does not approve of God. The Bible is rubbished and Christians are regarded as unscientific. We are surely in the days of Noah; the days of Ninevah; the state of Sodom and Gomorrah; the time of the Queen of the South; the unbelieving days of Christ, when God walked the earth.
Noah was a sign to the wicked people in his day, to show them they needed a refuge from the judgement of God. They refused to believe and were all drowned in the flood.
Jonah was a sign to the people in Ninevah, and he preached to them to repent and turn and be delivered from certain punishment. They repented and searched for forgiveness and turned away from their wicked lifestyles and trusted in God. They were saved.
Sodom and Gomorrah would not repent, or turn from evil, but persisted in provoking God, so they were all consumed by the raging fire of God’s wrath.
News of the glory of Solomon and his glorious God, reached the ears of the Queen of Sheba. She travelled far across the world, carrying rich treasure for Solomon, so that she could learn about his wisdom and his God. People in our culture will make no effort to even hear God’s message to them- it does not matter how attractive it is. The mighty Queen of Sheba will show them up and they will have no excuses left.
When Jesus walked on our world, he brought hope, forgiveness and mercy to many, many people. Many saw “the sign” and believed and were healed in body and spirit. He is the ultimate sign- the final sign of the message of deliverance and forgiveness to all who believe. Even yet there were those who refused to accept him. They wanted a “sign” A sign of their choosing.
As the crowds grew, Jesus said to them… “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.” Luke 11:29-32
Unbelief is everywhere, in every generation of people, and it is specific to us all. God sends His messengers and “signs” to warn, teach, preach and lead people to righteousness. Either we come to God or we resist. The pattern is clear. If we kick against His mercy and will, we will be ultimately destroyed.
Our culture is no different from any other. We refuse and deliberately go our own way. Gods “signs” remain. The “signs” are seen in scripture, in history and in the lives of every Christian believer today.
Our lives and behaviour and our words, are “signs” to our generation that there is another way, and we all must walk it, so that people see there is a difference. May we listen and look at the signs we have been given, and turn our lives over to God.
Lettsom Inn 