Preaching Schedule:
"Never Forget What God Remembers"
Sunday 1st January 2012
"For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust" - Psalm 103:14
Our God remembers what we so often forget. He knows our frame, and He remembers that we are dust. Sometimes we forget that God wants us to remember these important truths - and because we forget them we often get ourselves into all sorts of trouble!
Whenever we speak of dust, what do we think of? We think of something that is common, something that is ordinary - it's something that we find lying on the ground. I imagine, if I walked through a few of your houses just now, I would find dust on the mantelpiece, on the dining room table, in all sorts of places. It speaks of something common, something ordinary - but what God is communicating to us through His word is: dust speaks of our weakness and our frailty. When God says 'He knows our frame, He remembers we are dust', He means He knows what we're really made of!
Dust also speaks of the tremendous potential that we have, even as humans in our weakness. When God, in the beginning, made us from the dust, He was illustrating that, while we are weak in and of ourselves, we are strong in Him. He wants us to remember that He took the common, ordinary dust of the ground and He made man in His image. So from something common, something ordinary, with His breath in it He can do great things. There is great potential in dust and clay. You see, when you're in God's hands, who is the Potter, He can mould you and make you after His will.
So God remembers that we came from dust originally, He remembers that we are dust and will become dust ultimately, but it also says in verse 14: 'He knows our frame'. I want to apply that personally: do you know that God knows your frame? Let me remind you of Psalm 139:13, which expresses how God knows us personally: 'For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them'. Some translations put it this way: 'You knew my frame in my mother's womb'. At conception, God knew your frame, and He has known it and remembered it every day since - isn't that remarkable?
If ever there was a reason why we should accept ourselves the way God has made us, it is this: He knows our frame, and He has known everything about us from our conception. Of course, we ought to grow as human beings and as believers in Christ - but what I am saying is this: some of us should stop trying to be someone or something that we are not!
Is that a message from God for some soul reading this? Do you need to hear that God made you you? He made you the way you are, and it is the wonder of God's spectrum of creation that there is such a myriad of variety. You can't get two snowflakes the same, equally you will never get two human souls, two human beings the same. You are unique! Think about that for a moment. The wonder of the New Testament Gospel, and all the truth of the Spirit-filled life, is that if you really surrender yourself, your personality and your body, and give it all over as a living sacrifice wholly to God, and He fills and possesses you, He will make a mark with your life that He cannot nor will not ever do with anyone else! There'll never be another C.H. Spurgeon, so there's no sense you trying to be him, or John Wesley, or whomever else you admire or would seek to emulate. God made you you for a purpose, for a reason. He knows you, and He understands you.
For further meditation on this verse, read, watch or listen to the sermon 'Never Forget What God Remembers'...
"He Is Altogether Lovely"
Monday 12th December 2011
"He is Altogether Lovely!" - Songs 5:16
"What a glorious fact it is that there is one life that can be held up before the eyes of humanity as a perfect pattern! There were lips that never spoke unkindness, that never uttered an untruth; there were eyes that never looked aught but love and purity and bliss; there were arms that never closed against wretchedness or penitence; there was a bosom which never throbbed with sin, nor ever was excited by unholy impulse; there was a man free from all undue selfishness, and whose life was spent in going about doing good.
There was One who loved all mankind, and who loved them more than Himself, and who gave Himself to die that they might live; there was One who went into the gates of death, that the gates of death might never hold us in; there was One who lay in the grave, with its dampness, its coldness, its chill, and its horror, and taught humanity how it might ascend above the grave; there was One who, though He walked on earth, had His conversation in heaven, who took away the curtain that hid immortality from view, and presented to us the Father God in all His glory and in all His love.
Such an One is the standard held up in the Church of Christ. The Church rallies round the Cross and gathers around Jesus; and it is because He is so attractive, and lovely, and glorious, that they are coming from the ends of the earth to see the salvation of God" - by Matthew Simpson, taken from Mrs Cowman's Devotions
It is our goal whether in missions or ministry; through means of personal communication or the wonder of preachtheword.com, simply to glorify 'the Altogether Lovely One'. We seek to introduce Him to people and when they truly see Him for the first time, or fall deeper in love with Him, all the glory and praise must go to Him alone, because, as Matthew Simpson puts it, "He is so attractive, and lovely, and glorious, that they are coming from the ends of the earth to see the salvation of God".
We give glory to God for the fruit of recent months. Some souls sought the Lord at the Olivet Hall mission, Belfast in October and at other meetings recently. The week of Bible teaching at Leaney Mission Hall, Ballymoney in November was very profitable as we considered 'Life As God Intends For His People'. The response was extremely encouraging - please pray that the Lord will mightily use this teaching.
Please do remember us in prayer for the very busy schedule ahead in the New Year - especially for the Gospel Missions - that there will be a harvest of souls for the glory of our Blessed Saviour.
"Ministry Update"
Saturday 1st October 2011
A very busy season of ministry has begun. We are excited with the anticipation of what the Lord will do in the coming weeks and months. We are so grateful to you all for your prayerful support and partnership in the work of God. "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you... for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now" (Philippians 1:3,5). We know the blessing of God's gracious answers to your prayers on our behalf and we praise the Lord for you!
We had a great week of ministry at the Christian Police Association's Summer Bible Week in August at Portrush Presbyterian Church. It was a privilege to share the ministry with Noel Darragh of the Faith Mission who brought the morning Bible Readings on Isaiah. In the evenings there were very good sized congregations and, as was the case in the morning Bible Readings, we knew the blessing of the Lord's help and Presence. The theme for the evenings was the book of Amos: the God of Justice. The Lord was gracious and we believe lives were touched and the voice of God was heard by some.
God willing, we look forward to two Evangelistic Missions in the near future. The first at Olivet Hall, Belfast from 2nd – 14th October 2011 and then Woodford Hall, Armagh from 19th February – 4th March 2012. Please pray that lives and eternal destinies will be changed by the gracious power of God.
We are also excited about a week of ministry entitled "Life As God Intends For His People" taking place at Leaney Mission Hall, Ballymoney from 6th – 13th November 2011. This week of Bible teaching will focus on developing and maturing the Christian's walk with the Lord. Please pray for a reviving and renewal among God's children.
Please do continue to remember the usual ministry in various places on the Lord's Day and during the week.
"The Way Back"
Thursday 1st September 2011
"A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, 'Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times'. And when he thought about it, he wept" - Mark 14:72
This is an occurrence that all four gospel writers record. We learn from Matthew and Luke that Peter wept bitterly. Mark says he wept when he remembered the word of the Lord, but Luke tells us that it wasn't just the memory of Jesus' word that caused these tears. We read in Luke 22:61 that as Peter was at the fire, as he has just finished denying the Lord with oaths and curses, Jesus is brought out and He passes by and looks toward Peter - and it stabs him to his very soul! Then he went out and he wept bitterly! Can you imagine what that look of Christ must have been like?
How often do we deny the Lord? I'll be honest, I've denied Him - perhaps not with my words, but with my actions, with my behaviour; with omission, things that I leave undone; and commission, things I do that I ought not to do. I believe this look from the Lord Jesus that broke Peter was not a look of condemnation, nor a look of disappointment or disdain, I believe it was a look of love. In John 13 we see that the Lord tells the disciples what's going to happen before He goes to Gethsemane. He tells Peter that he's going to deny Him, and the next thing that Jesus says to Peter is found in John 14:1 - He's speaking to all of the disciples, but this is what Peter would have heard after being told he would deny Jesus: 'Let not your heart be troubled' (remember that the chapter divisions have been put in by men). You remember that Jesus also told him: 'Simon Peter, Satan has desired to sift you, he wants to have you and sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you'. Oh, that has brought me so much encouragement many times in my life! I know my own weakness, I know my propensity to let the Lord down and deny Him and disown Him - but what it is to know, even though I might be in the darkest temptation and trial of life, that Jesus is praying for me!
If you're reading this and you have denied Him, you have let Him down, you need to see this look of love. If you could only see Him in His love toward you, even in your backslidden state, even in the sins that you're dabbling with - you're so far away, maybe as far away as Peter, cursing and swearing against Christ! It's hard to imagine a person could be saved and be doing that, isn't it? But if you could only see His look of love, I believe it would melt you.
Warren Weirsbe says: 'Before we judge Peter too severely, we need to examine our own lives. How many times have we denied the Lord, and lost opportunities to share the Gospel with others? Do we, like Peter, talk when we should listen? Do we argue when we should obey? Do we sleep when we should pray? Do we fight when we should submit?'. We're all on trial in relation to Christ, every one of us. Unsaved people are on trial in relation to their Christ rejection, but we as believers are on trial in relation to our Christ denial.
Peter appears to fail, doesn't he? But notice: Peter's failure was not final - there's a way back! Wherever you've been, whatever you've done - and I don't care what it is - there is a way back! This Saviour still looks upon you in love. In fact, after he was forgiven and converted and restored by grace, Peter was brought to an even greater place - that's marvellous! God's grace is like that: greater than all our sin.
Read or listen to more on Peter's denial of Christ in "Trial And Denial".