DONT AGONISE – ORGANISE

This was the strapline for a message I preached last week about giving called “The Success Factor” (check it out online)– part of our Treasure Hunt series. I found it uncomfortable because money is such a touchy subject in church. But the problem with many of us is not that we dont WANT to give to God’s work, we just don’t know HOW TO. That’s why we need to get organised.

Most of run our lives on the basis of SPEND – SAVE - GIVEin decreasing amounts for each of those categories. In fact,there is so much to spend on, often little is saved or given, no matter how much we earn. Financial institutions and lending bodies recognise this as your pattern; thats why they absolutely INSIST that you repay your mortgage or your car loan by direct debit. They don’t just allow you to decide how much to pay back by how much you’ve got left over at the end of the month. No, they insist you make the regular commitment and give them access to your bank account to take the money!

To organise means to turn your list – to run your life on the basis of GIVE – SAVE – SPEND. Paul wrote to the Corinthians to encourage them to give to the special collectionfor the believers in Jerusalem. He encouraged them to “set it aside” (ch 16 v1) i.e. to plan, decide, agree, have a plan – not just to rummage around in a pocket or purse to see what is there. Organise it. Likewise in his great chapter on giving in 2Corinthians  9 he urges them to “decide” in their hearts. Thatswhy a standing order or direct debit is such a great thing. Money comes in and then you give it without hardly noticing.  And if you Gift Aid it also, then the government will give back to your chosen recipient another big whack on top to be used for God’s work (Don’t take this for granted – it wont last forever) Many think it’s unspiritual to think like that – but it’s actually incredibly WISE and prudent and God-honouring.It’s practical discipleship.

Most Christian organisations and churches suffer from a lack of praying and a lack of giving, which hinder the fulfilment of vision. Our own 60 for 60 appeal in Newtownbreda is a simple yet challenging concept. An extra £60,000 to celebrate 60 years of our life and witness. And to enable us to go forward in the areas of missions, childrens work, facilities,evangelistic  events and to give us a financial buffer so that when sudden unexpected needs arise, we can respond quickly.  Thereby, we believe we honour the Lord.  Spread over 2014 and spread between our entire congregation, the target becomes possible. But we all need to organise , not to agonise.

Pastor McConnell, The Christian Faith and the Challenge of Islam

Well Christianity and Islam are back in the news again. Pastor Jim McConnell’s sermon in the Whitewell Tabernacle on “One God – One Faith” certainly drew a lot of media attention particularly because of what Jim had to say about Islam and its followers.

As preachers, one of our tasks is to teach truth. In order to do that sometimes we have to expose error.  We need to point out truth and error forcibly and clearly.  In a confused, mixed-up world words have to be used clearly and unambiguously and sometimes people might be offended by that.  Remember, even religious people were furious at some of the teachings of Jesus.  Paul upset people.  Both were persecuted and hounded because of what they taught. Persecution comes with the territory.
But also as preachers our words have to be weighed carefully, chosen wisely and delivered compassionately.  We must never appear to have mixed motives or personal agendas.  Do preachers always get that right?  Absolutely not – and in the online world and live stream and so on, the pressure is all the greater.

We live in a very PC world where tolerance is heralded as a virtue.  To appear intolerant of others beliefs or religion or sexual orientation, is regarded as the ultimate sin.  Preachers cannot bow to this pressure.  We must obey God rather than men.  Whatever the consequences

So what of Islam then?
 
It has 6 basic beliefs

Belief in Allah as the one and only God, in angels, in the holy books, in the Prophets... e.g. Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David),Isa (Jesus), Muhammad is the final prophet.  Belief in the Day of Judgement.. and belief in Predestination...

Simply, when you analyse Islam it is diametrically opposed to biblical Christianity.  In practice therefore its most fervent and misguided advocates often see Christianity as an ‘enemy’ and that sometimes leads to persecution and, in extreme cases, death.  This is the outworking of Sharia law.

Wikipedia in an impartial but factual way reports this about Sharia law.

“According to scholars of traditional Islamic law, the applicable rules for religious conversion under Sharia are as follows:

• Leaving Islam is a sin and a religious crime. Once any man or woman is officially classified as Muslim, because of birth or religious conversion, he or she will be subject to the death penalty if he or she becomes an apostate, that is, abandons his or her faith in Islam in order to become an atheist, agnostic or to convert to another religion. Before executing the death penalty, Sharia demands that the individual be offered one chance to return to Islam.'

In other words if a Moslem converts to follow Christ, the death penalty may be applied.
But following Jesus means loving people, including our Moslem neighbours, caring for people and urging people of all creeds and religious beliefs to follow Christ.  Without fear or favour.  The pagan protestant and the religious Moslem – both equally need Christ.
As the mighty Peter once said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” Acts 4 v12

The Road to Success

Great night at the Ramada Hotel.  When was the last time you saw hundreds of people queuing to get into a Christian event and the police having to manage the traffic?  God just amazed us with his blessing.  I thought they might have been coming to hear my preaching (??) but I guess the real draw was the rugby boys and the great venue.

Nevertheless, if you missed it, and even if you didn’t, here’s a summary of my brief message on the night.  What is the real Road to Success?

If anyone knew how to spell SUCCESS it was him. He had it all as the leader of a vast empire. In fact, it was so good that when a rival leader arrived to see him, she exclaimed “I knew it was good but the half hasn't even been told me”  Like many successful people, he wrote a book about SUCCESS and warned against some of the things he had tried that REALLY LED TO NOWHERE!  Cul-de-sacs' and dead end roads that petered out and weren’t success at all. 

Wealth?  He had that.  But that wasn’t the road to success.

 Pleasure?  Misguided hard work?  Learning?  Wisdom? 

All good in themselves but not the road to success.  The man’s name was Solomon and the book is in our Bibles.  It’s called Ecclesiastes.  His answer is simple “Remember Him” That’s right.  Acknowledge God – the Creator God, who hung sun, moon and stars in the sky; who created plants and rivers and mountains and trees and flowers and monkeys and donkeys and kangaroos!  Remember him before you get too old before all the cul-de-sacs of life crush you and leave you disappointed and hopeless.  Don't exclude him from your life.

1000 years later along came that very God who said “What does it profit a man or woman if they gain the whole world and lose their soul?”  You could have everything and yet be a failure.  So he went to a cross and died for people like you and me to give us real hope and a new beginning.

SUCCESS?  Here it is...

SIMPLY

UNDERSTANDING that the

CROSS of

CHRIST

ETERNALLY
SAVES

SINNERS like us !!

Unforgettable Good Friday

Good Friday!  What’s so good about it?  Well for those who were or are part of it, it’s not only good – it’s unforgettable.

Unforgettable for those involved - I've read again this morning Mark’s wonderful detailed account of those last hours of the life of Christ.  Some say that the longer you live the more cynical you get; but the more you read these wonderful accounts the more unforgettable it all becomes. 

Unforgettable for Pilate – the hard, cynical,  twister of a politician who was ‘amazed’ at Jesus silence in the face of unjust accusation.  Yet in the face of all his judicial instincts he handed Christ over to be executed.  He would never forget that day.

Unforgettable for Simon of Cyrene - plucked from the crowd and forced to carry the cross. His name immortalised on the pages of Holy Scripture – an obscure country dweller, father of two boys.  He would never forget that day. 

Unforgettable for the soldiers – experts in the art of crucifixion but never a prisoner had died like this one, who breathed his last with a loud cry and seemed confident of his future. They would never forget that day.

Unforgettable for the thief on the cross – from certain death to glorious entrance into paradise. He could never atone for his sins, yet was remarkably saved, by simple faith alone. He would never forget that day.

Unforgettable for Joseph of Arimathea – a member of the Jewish ruling council who dissented from the decision of his fellow leaders, who boldly went to Pilate and asked for the body and then buried Jesus in his very own new tomb. He went against the crown and he would never forget that day. 

Unforgettable for you – if you have trusted the man on the cross and given him your life. There is no turning back from this life. We should never forget this day.

“Bearing shame and scoffing rude

In my place condemned he stood

Sealed my pardon with his blood

Hallelujah what a Saviour”

The Dark Road of Loss

I had the privilege of speaking at the Caring Ministries conference on Saturday with folks who have been through the dark road of loss – either through separation and divorce or in my case, the pain of bereavement and grief.  I took 2 sessions – in the latter we had a very profitable Q and A where I was very open about my own journey through loss.  In the former, I shared 10 things you learn from tough times.  These were lessons that the Lord taught me through the crucible of experience.

Here’s a quick summary

1. God is God and He can do what he likes

He neither owes us nor offers us full explanations for his actions. Why should he? He is God!!

2. Life is Preparation for Eternity

We are only here for a short time and eternity matters far more than what happens in our three score years and ten. Just make sure your actions, habits and decisions down here prepare you for Immanuel’s land

3. We are more Sinful than we ever Thought.

Its easy to excuse our sin – so easy.  We can even make tough experiences a reason for going wrong. Romans 3 describes our nature in all its horrible state.  Jeremiah 17 v9 reminds us that our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked!
 
4. The Gospel is our Only Hope

We cannot find redemption in people, relationships or circumstances - only in Christ.  Our spouse or parents or children cannot be our Saviour.  Jesus is our only Saviour.  We live in a broken and fallen world.  Bad things happen.  That's why we need a Saviour.

5. Satan really Hates God’s People

Don’t expect him to go easy on you because times are tough.  He hates you and will do anything to cause trouble he is a thief who comes to steal and destroy.  He becomes even more real in difficult times.

6. Crying is Good but don’t Cry for ever

At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus wept (John 11 v35).  Hence crying must be good.  But you should not get stuck, move on into a bright new future.  If you crawl under the duvet and turn off the phone, eventually you will have to emerge into the light.  Better do that sooner rather than later because time is short.

7. Acceptance is the Key to Healing

We cannot change the past.  That’s a fact.  Time only flows in one direction.  So many cannot or will not accept that what has happened, has happened.  But acceptance sets you free and allows you to grow.  This key is vital.

8. Avoid Bitterness and Live with no Regrets

Hebrews 12 v15 is a solemn warning to us of the damage that bitterness can cause.  Don’t allow this root to grow.  Start living now with eternity in view.  How will you regard your present thoughts/feelings when you look back on them?

9. You can only Practice in the Darkness what you Learn in the Light

Got that? Dark times will come.  Those are not the times to learn to pray, have devotions or get intimate with God.  When you are in the light is the time for that.  Learn good lessons in good times – store them up and then make withdrawals in times of darkness

10. Small Actions have Big Consequences

Ever hear the saying – 'Big doors swing on small hinges'?  It’s true.  The smallest things that you do in tough times and the smallest things others do for you have big consequences.  So be careful about everything.

Every one of those life lessons is worth a chapter on its own.  Think about them!!

A Man You Should Know

Church history is full of some fascinating figures.  Some of them are my heroes (and some of them are definitely not!!).  One of those heroes has to be the great C H Spurgeon, of whom I've always been a fan and I've been back recently reading more of his life.  The 'Prince of Preachers' has come down to us as a somewhat austere, irrelevant puritan but the reality is far different.  Here was a man, who was innovative way beyond his time, who connected with his culture and day in a way few preachers had ever done before and who delighted in using the language and imagery of the ordinary people, as opposed to the obscure references and quotations from literary classics, beloved of other preachers of his day.  You see, that’s why I love this man so much.  He has so much to teach us about how to be contemporary and yet remain biblical at the same time, to be ‘orthodox’ yet fresh.  When he died aged 58 in 1892, almost 100,000 attended the funeral.  That’s impact!!

Spurgeon came to faith as a young man one very wintry morning.  Making his way to a local Primitive Methodist Church, he discovered that the invited preacher had been unable to make it to the service due to the fierce weather.  An old deacon, untrained in preaching and unable to deliver a proper sermon, simply quoted the text from Isaiah “look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth” and urged all to look and believe.  God used the words to bring conviction to Spurgeon’s heart and he fell in love with Christ.  His unique gifts became apparent early and he eventually found himself in the big city of London, daunted by the prospect of bringing Christ to the masses.  Quickly, God blessed him and the New Park Street Church was soon too small for the thousands who flocked regularly to hear the message.  Plans were drawn up and the mighty Metropolitan Tabernacle was constructed and opened in March 1861.  Spurgeon was 27 years old.

Here was a man of the people – an uncompromising believer in the inerrancy and authority of God’s word and a fearless opponent of liberalism in all its forms.  But he refused to bow down to the conventions of his day.  His dress sense was deemed too casual, his language too ordinary, his methods uncouth.  He was an ardent opponent of slavery and lost friends because of it.  And when he and his church leaders decide to hold services in the Surrey music hall, critics were aghast.  Was not the music hall for entertainment and dancing? Surely it was far too worldly for religious services?  Was not this man a charlatan, a con man, a deceiver?  Undeterred, he pressed ahead to great advancement of the gospel.

See - this is contemporary and relevant.  Some of the issues are today’s issues – some of the lessons are bang up to date.  Get to know this man; you won’t be disappointed.

If you would like a very straightforward but helpful introduction to this man try 'Charles Spurgeon: The Great Orator' in the Heroes of the Faith series by Barbour Publishing.