Prayers - Hebrews 13:20

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everythng good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

learn Leviticus - we are!

Our bible study group has been putting off learning about the book of Leviticus. But when you really analyse it together you can see the holiness of it. See, just at the begining...as soon as the Tabernacle is set in Exodus, we go straight in to the next book, of Leviticus, with: "The Lord called.." So, we have the burnt offering of propitiation (bears the anger of God for us). The Grain offering was 'dedication' - Jesus was perfectly dedicated to His father. The Sin offering - was CLEANSING - which is what Jesus 's blood does for us - Life poured out in death. The Guilt offering was REPAYMENT - He paid our debt to God. Then, finally The fellowship offering (the sweet aroma) and in Jesus, we have the felloship of His Spirit. Each offering is a different aspect of the manisfestation in Jesus. Wow. The repentant person gives his sin via the laying of his hands on to the unblemished animal which in turn takes on the burden of that sin, in order for the man to walk away cleansed. This is what Christ has done for us. Of course, these animals did not solve the ultimate problem of sin. The problems of the universe need a deeper solution than the blood of these animals. These burnt offerings were each a kind of prophecy saying that one day the Lamb of God Himself would come to be the final and ultimate sacrifece, the Lam who would take away the sins of the whole world. See Hebrows 10:1-6. The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifieces repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ..."Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.

The Christian life

Bible Reading: Genesis 12. 1-9 - from Park Evangelical Church - a 'MUST READ'
The Christian life is a journey from out of darkness into God's marvellous light. From out of unbelief, to faith in the Living God and the One God sent to be our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus. John Bunyon portrayed it like that in his book Pilgrim's Progress. That journey is wonderfully illustrated in the calling and life of Abraham.
If there was a list of the 100 most significant and important people in world history, then number one would have to be Jesus Christ, and after Him I reckon would come Abraham. He's one of my favourite Bible characters, and what makes him such an important person is his place in world history.
He is the father of both the Jewish nation through his son Isaac, and the Arab Muslim nations through his other son Ishmael. But even more important, he is called in the NT "the father of all true believers". Paul says in Gal 3.29 "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
So where does he come in the road map of history. After God created the world, and man chose to go his own way, the earth became so wicked and corrupt that God destroyed all of mankind in a global flood except for those who were saved by in the ark, Noah and his family.
This was a new beginning for mankind, but again it was not long before the knowledge of God became distorted and corrupted again. All the world was then of one language and they united together in their idolatry to build a tower at Babel. A tower that represented all man's glory, and all man's achievement but had no place for the true and living God.
So to weaken the grip of idolatry, God confused their languages, dividing people into nations and causing them to scatter across all the world. The scene was now set for a new beginning for the world. God would build his own nation. God's own people, a people belonging to God, a holy nation, a chosen people to whom He would reveal himself and a people who would keep the knowledge of God sacred.
A nation that would have a sacred trust. A responsibility from God to hand down from father to son, from mother to daughter, from generation to generation all that He revealed about Himself. A nation out of which would come prophets, priests and kings who would maintain the true and only faith against all opposition, all corruption, until the time when God's son should come Himself and reveal the Glory of God to the nations.
And then the nation itself would give way to that which was even more glorious, the Church. A spiritual nation that is not defined by geographical boundaries, or racial prejudices, or language differences, but one body, united together by one Spirit, in one faith, called to one hope and worshipping one Lord.
And it all began with one man. Abraham is the beginning of all that. One man to whom God would reveal himself, His truth, His grace and through him establish a family that would grow into a nation, a nation through whom the Saviour of the world would come.
But He is more than just the beginning of that glorious work.
Abraham is the prototype believer. He is the first example in the Bible of a true believer. There were other believers before him but He is God's chosen example of how every man, woman and child is brought to a knowledge of God, and saved, and then goes on to live and serve the Lord. Right at the beginning of the Bible, we have a complete life story of a true believer, who was to be the father of all believers.
So in the study of God's grace towards him, his life, his trials, his faith, his obedience, his prayers, and his faults and failures, we have a very practical illustration of the life of faith and of God's grace towards us. So how did it all begin?
1) It began with the sovereign gracious calling of God.
We journey back 2000 years before Christ to the city of Ur of the Chaldees. Now a famous archaeological site. Situated in Persia, modern day Iraq.
They have thoroughly excavated it and discovered, exactly what the bible said about it. That it was the centre of a highly developed civilisation, with a complex system of government, a well developed system of commerce, it had streets, drains, two story houses and a great temple tower dominating the whole city.
It was an idolatrous city and Abraham and his family were thoroughly immersed in it's life.
God says this of Abraham in Joshua 24.2 "Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods."
And in Isaiah 51 God says: 1. "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
"Remember" God says "where you came from". "Remember the miserable pit, the quarry, the hole in the ground. That's where I found Abraham, his heart as hard as rock."
Where did God find you? Remember the words of Paul to the Ephesians.
2.1 "As for you , you were dead in trespasses and sins".
2.12 "Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world."
5.8 " you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord".
My friends, we forget. We forget the magnitude of God's grace towards us. We forget how God saw us at one time, what we once were in His sight, what you maybe still this very moment.
Remember God's grace. Do you ever take time to think and reflect upon what you might be this evening if it wasn't for God's grace towards you. Where you would be, what you might be doing, what sort of person you might be, what scale of values you would be living by and what ambitions would be driving you. How your family would be organised, and what would be your attitude to life and to death? Don't forget the sovereign grace of God towards you.
And how did that grace come? How did it come to Abraham?
It came out of a clear blue sky. There was no build up, no preparation as far as we can tell. One day the glory of the true and living God appeared to Abraham. God revealed Himself to Abraham.
Stephen tells us in his sermon Acts 7.2 "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran."
Abraham saw the glory of God. God revealed himself to Abraham. It was all of God's doing. Abraham did not chose God, God chose Abraham. It was a personal call. And it is the same with every true born Christian.
Jesus said just the same concerning his disciples. "You did not chose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last."
Like Lydia by the river in Philippi. "The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message". The faith that brought you to Christ began when God began to reveal the glory of His Son to your heart. When Jesus suddenly becomes real to you and you see His glory, the glory of the One and only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. That's where the glory of God shines in all it's splendour, in the face of Jesus Christ.
When Peter exclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, what does Jesus say to him? "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
This is what happened to Abraham. This is what happened to Paul. Paul speaks of "Christ being revealed in Him." That is the new birth, conversion, when we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
A Christian is a person who has had an encounter with the living God through Christ, the way, the truth, the life. This is where the journey begins. We have not begun until we have seen Jesus as the glory of God, the only way to God, the full truth about God, the very life of God.
Do you remember the time when first you saw the glory of God? When your heart was strangely warmed? When you saw Jesus, not merely as a person of history but as a living Saviour? When you looked upon the cross for the first time and realised your interest in the saviour's blood? To you who believe He is precious.
2) The call was to separate himself, to leave.
Gen 12.1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you."
God called him to undertake a journey. A journey that had a destination. Abraham was called to leave his country, his people and his Father's household. To get out of where he was and go to a place that God would show him. Abraham had to leave his idolatrous city. Like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress, he must leave his home town because it is doomed to destruction and make a journey to the celestial city of God.
Now like Abraham we have been called to undertake a journey. Christians are people who are going somewhere. It's like getting on a train. A train whose journey's end is to be in the very presence of God and live with Him. "Our God is the end of the journey". Our journey is a journey of faith. I think that's why I like the story of Abraham so much. It is so much like my story and your story as a Christian.
The story of God's amazing grace and the story of a man who followed God without knowing where it would take him. He followed faithfully but he made his mistakes as well.
His story, just like our own is marked by failure and inconsistency, yet through it all, he is chosen by God, and God will bring him into his inheritance.
The first step in that journey towards God is a step away from this world. ""Come out from among them and be separate", says the Lord. " 2Cor 6.17 The world as the organisation of life apart from God, is no longer to be our home. James says "Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." James 4.4 John says "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-- comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives for ever." 1John 2.15-17
The Bible calls that repentance. Repentance is not an emotion, it is not something you feel. It is somethi ng you do. It is a decision. It is deciding you have been wrong in thinking that you could manage your own life and be your own god in this world. It is deciding that you have been wrong in thinking that all you needed was to have a good education, a good job and plenty of money. It is deciding that you have been wrong about God and only the Bible tells you the truth about yourself and the world you live in.
Repentance is the decision to follow Jesus Christ and become His disciple on the path to knowing God. It's saying "No" to the way of life you see all around you and "yes" to God as you set out on a new path to know the true and living God. The journey begins with leaving. You have not begun the journey until you have left. Until you have turned your back on the world.
Now this is very searching. A person may claim to have seen the glory of God like Abraham. They have seen that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world. They say they are converted, born again. But the reality of that is not in the profession but in the fruits.
Have you left the world? Have you left those sins that characterised your life in the world. Have you started on the journey? Has your heart been captured by God, so that you want to serve and honour Him with your life. God issues to us a call and a command to leave, to go, to make a break with the past and to launch out in faith, trusting him. That's the challenge!
And when we obey, we begin on God's program for our life. A journey that will take us we know not where.
Peter the fisherman could never have imagined that he would preach to 1000's. Martin Luther could never have imagined that his faith in Christ would lead him to be the instrument that would transform all European history. Or that C.H.Spurgeon, when he responded in that little village Church would have become the chiefest of preachers in modern history.
And maybe in your life, though nothing so dramatic, but doors of opportunity have opened and your life has gone in a direction you could never have imagined. Just like Abraham, no-one could have imagined how his life would be transformed by God's call. And this is your calling, to leave the security you have made for yourself in the world, to leave the sins that characterised that life and to go forth trusting God, to lead you, direct you and provide for you. Have you obeyed that call?
3) The call came with great promises.
What enabled Abraham to leave the security and comforts of Ur and respond to God's call? It was the promises God made to him. Gen 12v2 "I will make you into a great nation". "I will bless you". "I will make your name great." In compensation for leaving your own country, family, friends, wealth, I will provide for you. "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse". Promises of protection and safety.
And perhaps the greatest promise of all: "You will be a blessing, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Hidden there was the promise of the Saviour. That through Abraham would come the Saviour of the world.
All these promises begin "I will". This is what God would do. His sovereign intention. His divine purpose.
The promises got bigger as he responded with obedience .
When he was in Ur of the Chaldees, God's promise was "Go to the land I will show you". He journeyed to Haren. Half way. Stayed there five years.
Then he journeyed on. When he arrived in the land, God's promise in v7, To your offspring I will give this land."
then when he acted in a truly Christ like way by offering to Lot wherever land he wanted, God's promise came again. 13.15 "All the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring for ever."
Are the promises of God to you getting bigger? Better? The only way to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey. The promises get bigger.
4) The calling brought new objects into his life.
a) A tent. v8 It was deeply significant. "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Heb 11.9
A tent has no foundations, it's tent pegs can be pulled up. His life under canvas symbolised his new life. He was like a stranger in a foreign land.
That's how we are to live. Not living by the standards of those around him. Not putting down roots, not allowing our love for our home, our work, even our family, to stifle our ambition to serve God. Not allowing social issues to become so large that we forget the priority of spiritual things. But moving forward in one direction, towards the city of God. Pilgrims but not tourists.
There is a tourist mindset among some Christians that is counterproductive to a spiritual life. It's going here, there and everywhere, with no particular commitment to anything. It's a weekly visit, if you have enough time to fit it in, to some attractive religious site of particular interest. A weekly jaunt to church, or to a CU meeting or to some special service, to hear a special speaker, or to get some new experience. It's the "Do London in one day" mindset. Visit all the high spots and then think that you have done London. Many Christians today have the tourist mindset, they are impatient for instant results. But the Christian life is not like that. It is a journey in one direction. It will only bear fruit when we commit ourselves to going in one direction all the time. It is long obedience in the same direction that produces fruit and a life worth living.
b) An altar. When arrived in Canaan, and came to a place called Shechem, he built an altar. Gen 12.7 When he moved on to Bethel and pitched his tent, he built an altar. v8 Wherever he went he built altars to the Lord. He sanctified each place he was in. He made it a place of worship.
And that is just what we are to do. To sanctify every new place, every new situation, every new chapter of our life. Not waiting for the idolatrous Canannites to leave the land, v6. Not waiting until things are perfect or easy. But honouring God where you are now, in the situation where He has placed you, in the midst of present trials. Build an altar. By faith build an altar and worship God and trust Him.

The resurrection of the body, the final judgement of all mankind by our Lord Jesus Christ with the eternal punishment of the wicked, and the eternal blessedness of the righteous. Passages for study: John 14:1-6, 5:24-29, 11:21-27; Acts 1:6-12; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; Revelation 1:4-8, 19:1-9,21

I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life 1(A) "Let not your hearts be troubled.(B) Believe in God;[a] believe also in me. 2In(C) my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that(D) I go to prepare a place for you?[b] 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you(E) to myself, that(F) where I am you may be also. 4And you know the way to where I am going."[c] 5(G) Thomas said to him, "Lord,(H) we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6Jesus said to him, "I am(I) the way, and(J) the truth, and(K) the life। No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 1:6-12 (New International Version - UK)
6 So when they met together, they asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?
7 He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
11 Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven।

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (New International Version - UK)
The Coming of the Lord 13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.
18 Therefore encourage each other with these words।

Titus 2:11-14 (New International Version - UK)
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
12 It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self- controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13 while we wait for the blessed hope— the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good।

Revelation 1:4-8 (New International Version - UK)
Greetings and Doxology 4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father -- to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

7Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

8I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.

Luke 18; v9-14 - Get right with God

The Parable about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9Jesus[d] also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I'm not like other people—thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’
13“But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, ‘O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!’[e] 14I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

These two men both want their consciences cleansed. The first man - the focus was not God, but himself. he exaulted himself; had no humility. False confidence. In his desire to self justify himself he despises others. He reckoned God should accept him on his terms.
Jesus says it's not about that. Christian faith is not about what I must do but what God has done.
Many so called Christians end in this trap. We must not hide from our guilt but must be responsible for what we see in ourselves. Humble ourselves and ask to be put right with God. We need to look at what we are doing about the blood of Jesus Christ. He gave us the wonderful gift of forgiveness - His death for our life. Our attitude ought to be..."Accept me Lord, because you're merciful. We don't deserve it." This is not at the heart of the Christian faith, sadly. (All not my words - listened to a tape from All Souls Langham place, last evening.. in our bible study" May be useful to YOU!

Shedding light on The Parable of the Lost Son

The Parable of the Lost Son 11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[b]'22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

So you've read this probably many times, or heard of it. this Father can be compared to God. Two sons: one cuts loose (like many of us do! cut loose, from our homes and what we know, for so called freedom.) Then the other son, an establishment figure - like many we see - those who choose to stay at home, and enjoys his 'religious', good, life, BUT looks down on others as he is obviously self righteous and sees himself as morally superior over other people. Here we have a deceptive contrast between the wto brothers. Both we find out is loved - and equally welcome - by their father. the younger brother, leaves home to find freedom, squanders his money and it runs out. He chooses to goe home - home is a place of belonging and acceptance - that place where we find God. His love is unconditional. The Father in this story is so happy he RUNS to his son and KISSES him - How do you experience God's kiss - has God ever 'kissed you?' He has me!! Thank you God! The son says 'Sorry' - have you said sorry - it's something to say to God EVERY day! In the Lord's prayer we say 'forgive us Lord...' The generosity of the father is overwhelming - in this passage and in our lives - if we can but see it. Jesus (for HE IS GOD) has paid the price for us to go home. We won't go to heaven if we think we are good.Here endeth the message! Do you get it? Please take every opportunity to read the bible before it is too late! His word - gives light and salvation for He IS. Amen