A wonderul promise for all who pray in Jesus' name

Text John 14:13,14 Date 21/05/08 Place Childs Hill Baptist

I want us to look tonight at another of the great texts of the New TestameT. It is found in John 14:13, 14. Once again Jesus is the speaker. He says to his disciples And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

The verses concern prayer and so are of interest to practically everyone. You will rarely meet a person who has not at least on one occasion or another prayed. I was walking along Cricklewood Broadway on the Friday before Christmas and I saw a great pile of shoes on the pavement. I wondered why. Muslims were praying nearby. Prayer is speaking to someone (usually in English we mean someone you cannot see) and asking them for something. Even people who are not brought up to do this seem almost instinctively to engage in this sort of activity. All sorts of people pray, even those we may least expect. I am not suggesting that all this praying is right praying or good praying – not at all. I am simply pointing out that people do pray. If you don't believe me, ask around.

Jesus spoke these words on the night he was betrayed. Following the Last Supper, Jesus had many things to say to his disciples and John records a great deal of it in Chapters 14, 15, 16 of his Gospel. Chapter 14 begins with Jesus saying Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.

This prompts Thomas's objection Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way? And Jesus's wonderful answer I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

He adds If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him which leads to Philip's request (8) Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Jesus responds Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father?Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

He then says (12) I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. This is a great promise in itself but one that we have no time to look at tonight. It is trumped by the verses that follow where Jesus adds the even more amazing words that we want to look at tonight (13, 14) And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

We want to say four things arising out of these verses.

1. Consider this wonderful promise concerning prayer

So Jesus says I will do whatever you ask. I think we need to ask just two questions to get at what we are being told here.

1. Who is this promise for? Clearly Jesus is speaking to his disciples here and so when he says I will do whatever you ask the you he has in mind are specifically disciples, followers. See verse 12 anyone who has faith in me. This does not mean to say that Jesus will never do anything for anyone else but it does mean to say that he is committing himself only to doing what his own disciples ask and only what those who come to him in faith ask. If I say to someone I will do this or that for you – you only have to ask, then when they phone me or ask me personally for that offered help then I am under an obligation to help them. Of course, with others I have the choice - I can help or I may not do so. So, if you are not a disciple of Jesus you are free to ask Jesus to do something for you and he may well do it. You may be able to give me examples where he has answered your prayers. However, strictly speaking, this promise is only for disciples. It is for people who have already committed themselves to following and serving Jesus. Certainly if we do not come to Jesus in faith then there is no hope of an answer.

2. What does it commit to? Now this is the most striking element here. When I gave an illustration just now you notice that I didn't say “If I say to someone I will do anything you ask ....” rather I said “If I say to someone I will do this or that for you”. That is because I never would and never should say to anyone “I will do anything you ask”. I am not in a position to make such a sweeping promise. I know people say such things. You get it in several popular songs

I would do anything for you Anything for you

If I only had you by my side

I would do anything for you Anything for you

If you wave goodbye I'll be waiting for you

If I were a bird I would sing for you if I were a bell I would ring for you

If I were a tear I would cry for you for I would do anything for you

If I were a kite I would fly for you if I were a ship I would sail for you

If I were a heart I would beat for you for I would do anything for you

If I were the day I would dawn for you if I were the sun I would shine for you

If I were a rose I would bloom for you for I would do anything for you

If I were a joke I would laugh for you if I were a ball I would bounce for you

If I were a clown I would dance for you for I would do anything for you

Well, songs are one thing. As a norm we cannot really make such promises. But Jesus can. When he says to his disciples I will do whatever you ask then he means it. It is his commitment. It is his promise.

So that's the first thing. Here is a wonderful promise. It's not for everyone. It's only for disciples – though if that is how Jesus speaks to his disciples then there is hope for us all. If he will do whatever they ask then he must be willing at least to do something for anyone who asks. Take this promise seriously then. Become a disciple of Jesus Christ and believe his promise.

2. Consider this important qualification to the promise

So anyone who is a disciple has this promise I will do whatever you ask. But isn't that dangerous? Isn't it a bit like giving a child the key to the medicine cabinet? Isn't it like letting someone have a blank cheque book? Won't we end up with the lunatics taking over the asylum? It raises all sorts of questions. So if a believer asks Jesus for a million pounds will Jesus give it to him? Can he win the lottery or get a better job or a new car or live until he's a hundred just by asking Jesus? Does it mean that no believer need ever be ill or poor? If he prays to die will Jesus let him die just there and then, even though he might have changed his mind otherwise? Or what if he is having a really bad day and prays for some reason for some terrible thing like death for his enemies or to give in to his temptations and sin? It's beginning to sound more like a nightmare than a wonderful promise. It's starting to sound like a recipe for chaos not a great source of blessing.

Well, it is important, isn't it, to notice those three little words that we have not mentioned yet. What Jesus actually says is I will do whatever you ask in my name. 'Ah' says some one 'I knew it was too good to be true'. Well, yes there is this qualification but it is not a let out as such but a reminder that the true believer will want only to do what is according to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, what is pleasing to him. Thankfully, it is only that which Jesus commits himself to doing. He will do only what a Christian asks him to do if it is in line with his character and purposes. This is then not a get out clause but a word of reassurance. It is like a safety net, if you will. Yes, in general Jesus will do whatever a believer asks but he will not use that against them. Where their request would clearly run contrary to his own wise character and purposes then he overrides that request. Something like the way a good parent will give his child what it asks for but not in a way that will actually lead to their harm or hurt. Of course, parents can get such judgements wrong but Jesus always makes a right judgement as far as this is concerned.

So when a believer prays he has a great freedom. He is confident that Jesus will do for him whatever he asks as long as it is in his name. This is not a matter of adding on the phrase 'we ask this in Jesus' name' every time he prays but of asking for whatever he feels he ought to ask for but bearing in mind that the answer he gets will not necessarily be what he expects.

So if a believer wants to be rich he can ask for that but it may well be that Christ does not want that for him. Similarly, for the better job or the new car or the long life or the decent wage. As he gets to know what Jesus desires he will not want to win the national lottery or see his enemies die or give in to his temptations.

3. Consider why God answers prayer in Jesus's name

Now the question arises as to why God has arranged things in just this way. It is clear that if Jesus simply gave us whatever we asked for without qualification, then that could be disastrous. Why then does Jesus not simply give us what ever we need without there being any place for prayer at all? Well here Jesus explains the reason - so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. It is as we pray to the Son and through the Son and as the Son answers in accord with his own name that he brings glory to God the Father, which is the whole purpose of everything anyway.

It is important that we remember that this is the purpose of prayer. Otherwise, we will very easily be frustrated and discouraged. If we think that prayer is just about asking for things for ourselves we will misunderstand. If we think it is just about asking for things for anyone who is in need we will still misunderstand. Rather, we must see that it is a way for God the Son to glorify God the Father. Because all prayer is either to be to God the Son or in the name of God the Son then it brings all glory to God the Father. When prayer is made to anyone else or through anyone else or in our own name then it does not bring glory to God. As you know, the Roman Catholic church teaches that prayer can be made through Mary and the other saints not just through Jesus Christ. That is utterly false and all it serves to do is to draw attention away from God the Son and God the Father and to rob God of his glory. We can say the same thing about people who think they can come in their own name and on their own behalf to God. But God himself is clear on this. He will not share his glory with another. No, whenever prayer is made it is to be made in Jesus's name. It is to be made to him or through him and for the glory of the Father. Anything else is false and sinful. We must see this and apply it to ourselves.

4. Hear the promise repeated and confirmed

Verse 14 really just sums up what we are told here - You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. I really want to urge every one of you to get hold of this truth and to act on it. Jesus stands with arms open as it were and he says to you all, Come to me in faith. Believe in me. Ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Do you want to be saved? I'll save you. Do you want to know the truth? I'll show it to you. Do you want to escape from hell? I will save you. Do you want to go to heaven? I will take you there. Do you want to be with God forever and forever? I can bring it about. Go to Jesus I urge you – ask him anything. As long as it is according to his will, he will do it. No questions asked.

This is how to begin to pray. Christians often go to God the Father in prayer but they also pray to God the Son. Stephen is an example of soeon ewho orayed the the Son. An unbeliever cannot really go to God and call him Father but he can go to Jesus believing he is the Son of God and asking him to act for him. I would recommend that as the way to begin to go to God. Whatever praying you may have done before I urge you tonight to go to Jesus and ask in his name for anything you want. Ask him to save you, to change you so that you are what you ought to be for the glory of God. Amen.

What must I do to be saved?

Text Acts 16:30, 31 Date 01/09/13 Place Childs Hill Baptist (Baptism)

Have you ever been in an earthquake? No? Nor me. Well, not a proper one. They tell us every now and again that there has been an earthquake in this country but we hardly notice it. No, I mean a real earthquake. I've talked to people who've experienced such a thing and I've been in a simulated one down at the Science Museum as you may have. Everything shakes. They don't last long but perhaps the worst thing is that you don't know how long it will last or exactly what it will do. They are fairly common in certain parts of the world.

I mention the subject as in Acts 16 we read how the Apostle Paul, along with his fellow worker Silas, was caught up in an earthquake, a really violent one. It happened at dead of night while they were in prison in the city of Philippi, in the most secure part of the jail. The earthquake was pretty strong and shook the prison's foundations. Somehow the earthquake threw all the prison doors open and, we read, everybody's chains came loose. In the midst of this earthquake the jailer and others come to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. through the witness of Paul and Silas.

Let's backtrack a moment to Paul's arrival in the Roman Colonial City of Philippi in Macedonia. He was on his second missionary journey, you recall, and had been directed through a vision for the first time into Europe. Philippi had no synagogue but there were a group of women who met to pray by the river and so Paul preached to them and first a Gentile God fearer and business woman called Lydia was converted. In Chapter 16, Luke, who was with Paul and the others at this time, tells us how one day, on the way to the place of prayer, a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future came up to them. This woman earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, Luke says shouting, These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved. This went on for several days until Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her. Once the people who owned the girl realised that they couldn't make money out of her any more they seized two of the group Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They say to the magistrates These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice. The crowd join in the attack and so the magistrates order Paul and Silas to be stripped and beaten. After a severe flogging they are thrown into prison. The jailer is commanded to guard them carefully so he puts them in the inner cell and fastens their feet in the stocks.

So come midnight Paul and Silas are stuck in a dark and smelly dungeon far from home. Their backs are bleeding, they are chained hand and foot. And what are they doing? Praying and singing hymns to God, of course. All the other prisoners are listening to them. Who are these people? They have never come across prisoners like this!

Now it is at just this point that the earthquake suddenly comes. Because all the doors swung open and chains fell off, the jailer, who had fallen asleep but has been woken by the earthquake, fears that the prisoners are going to escape and so he draws his sword ready to kill himself. Paul sees what's about to happen so shouts Don't harm yourself! We are all here! The jailer then calls for lights, rushes trembling into the inner cell, where Paul and Silas are, falls before them, and asks the question we will look at in a moment. We only have a brief account of the conversation. The jailer's question Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Their answer Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household. We're told (32) that they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. Clearly the jailer and others were convinced by this message. The jailer then took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family (or household – may be the other prisoners) were baptised. Obviously they'd become believers. The jailer then brought them to his own house and set a meal before them. He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole family/household.

On release Paul makes a point of complaining at their unjust flogging then leaves Philippi. He does this so that the authorities will think twice before they attack the infant church Paul left behind.

So what I want to consider is verses 30, 31 He then brought them out and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household. I want us to look then at this great question – and the great answer that Paul and Silas gave.

1. A great question - Consider this vital question and ask it

So first we have the question. It's a great question and one that we all need to ask it and know the answer to it. He (the jailer) then brought them out (Paul and Silas) and asked, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved? Let's ask three further questions about that vital question.

1. What prompted it and what may prompt it in us?

Now, what did the jailer mean by his question? We do not know if he had been awake when Paul and Silas were praying and singing. Certainly he had heard and felt the earthquake and had at that very moment contemplated ending his earthly life with his sword. We are told that when he fell before Paul and Silas he was trembling and that is no surprise. In such a situation it would be more of a surprise if he had not been shaking. The earthquake that God had sent at that particular moment had served not only to shake up the jail and the surrounding area but this man too. Any complacency or self-satisfaction was gone. He was afraid.

It is worth noting that without this experience the jailer would never have asked his question. Questions are often prompted by specific situations. A man who gets all his clothes washed by his wife may never ask the question 'How does the washing machine work?' until she is not there one day. If you never want to shoot anything you will probably never ask the question 'How do you use a gun?' If you don't like ratatouille or spaghetti Bolognese you will probably never ask how to cook them.

And so if you are never afraid or fearful then you may well never ask the question what must I do to be saved?

And yet every one of us has reason to be afraid. There is death, which lies ahead for us all. Doesn't that make you afraid? It should do. There is the Devil. He is a snake, a wily serpent. He is like a prowling lion. He is a fiery dragon. Do you know what he can do to people like us? There is such a place as hell. Aren't you afraid of ending up there? What about your propensity to sin? Doesn't it frighten you sometimes, how easily you sin? There is a God, a God with whom we have to do, to whom we will have to give an account one day and with so many sins in our lives, why are we not fearful?

2. What the question is

Whenever you become afraid at any time, when you are brought to your knees, ask this question then What must I do to be saved? How can I escape from this? How can I be healed or made whole? How can I face death? How can I escape the Devil's clutches? How can I be delivered from hell? How can I turn from sin? How can I stand before Almighty God to be judged? Oh how we need to be saved from sin and from Satan and from death and from ourselves! How can we be saved?

3. Who was asked and who should we ask?

We should also notice this. The jailer had never asked this question of anyone before I guess. But now he is desperate. So who does he turn to – not to himself or to his family or to any of the other prisoners but to these two men who have been praying and singing to God in the heart of his jail. Now there's a lesson for us all. When people today get frightened and they want help they turn to all sorts of people. They turn to their friends or to the rescue services or to the National Health or they turn to various non-directive counsellors or to alternative medicine and may be they get some help from these. They turn to astrologers and to religion and to education and to entertainment. But the truth is that the only place we'll find help is in those who pray to God and sing his praise. It is only people like Paul and Silas and their successors that can properly answer the question, what must I do to be saved? If it's a fire you rightly call 999 and ask for the Fire Brigade; if someone has a heart attack you phone 999 and ask for an ambulance; if you're fed up or lonely call a friend, if your hair's in your eyes go to the barber.

However, if you're fearful and your question is What must I do to be saved? Then turn to those like Paul and Silas who know God and who can properly answer your question. Ask me. Don't just listen to the sermons. If you don't understand, be bold and ask to know more. Ask other believers here. They can tell you.

2. A great answer

So this is the great question - what must I do to be saved? What would you have said in that situation? Great questions are easier than great answers, I suppose. What is the great answer that Paul and Silas give to this great question? Perhaps we're best to begin by noticing what they did not say

1. What is not the answer – ignore the wrong answers that abound

They didn't say to him 'It's just an earthquake and it's okay now. You don't need to be saved.' They knew this one local shaking was pointing to the final great shaking that will come at the end.

They didn't urge him to believe in himself either. They didn't say, you just need to know yourself and be at one with yourself.

Nor was it – think positive. Get your attitude right and all will be well.

They didn't urge him to be religious either. They didn't suggest that what he needed was a trip to the prayer meeting or some ritual act.

Nor did they simply tell him to try and be a better person.

Some of you perhaps think in these terms. You feel things are wrong. You are fearful. You think may be what you need is a fresh start, a new religion, etc. I want to urge you not to think in those terms but to listen to what Paul and Silas say here.

2. What is the answer – Hear this important command and obey it

So what did they say? Paul and Silas had no hesitation in giving the answer they did. Verse 31 They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus. The man had asked what must I do to be saved? There is a sense in which their answer was 'Do? Do nothing. You don't need to do something. You don't need to do anything. What you need is to believe in someone.' Or we could take it in the sense that the thing he had to do concerned a person - the Lord Jesus, and what the jailer needed to do in relation to that person. What they said to him, of course, is the same for us all. Many things have changed since then but not this. So two things.

Focus on the Lord Jesus

He is the only one who can save you. He is called Lord here because he is God. There is no point in thinking we can be saved by any human agency. We need to look to God. He is the only one who can save us. No other can. He alone is our hope. Jesus, of course, means 'he saves'. He is the only Mediator between God and man. There is no way to be saved except through him. He is the one who has come and lived the perfect life that none of us can live. He is the one who has died on the cross in the place of sinners. He is the Saviour of the World.

If you were in need of rescue – say stuck on a desert island, in a dinghy on the ocean or fallen on a mountain – then you know that you would be looking for rescue. You'd be looking for a ship or a helicopter. You wouldn't be thinking of ways to save yourself. You would look carefully every moment. You would be ready. I'm saying to you only Jesus can rescue you. Look out for him.

Are you looking to Jesus then? Do you see him as your one hope, your only hope? Are you eager to know about him so that you may be saved? I urge you to get to know him. Find out all about him that you can. He is the key. Without him you are sunk. We are all sunk.

Believe in him.

Of course, simply reading about the Lord Jesus or knowing about him will not save anyone. The Lord Jesus is the one who the Father loves and delights in. He is the one who has all power and might. What needs to happen then is that we need to be attached to him. We need to be joined to him. That is done by putting our faith in him. It is as you trust in the Lord Jesus that you are saved. Put your confidence there and nowhere else. Lean on him. He is the one you must come to and rest upon.

Are you doing that? Are you putting your trust in Jesus Christ? Many of you are I know. Go on trusting in him. If you have begun to trust, don't stop now. May be you have never realised that you simply need to look to Jesus. You keep thinking it's all sorts of other things but no, trust in Jesus. That's what is needed. Trust in him now. Believe. Just like this Philippian jailer did – just where he was and when he heard that was what he needed to do. Oh what joy was his when he did that. He became a different man. He was still big and gruff, I guess, not the most genteel of men. But God had changed him. No more rough treatment for followers of Jesus or thoughts of killing himself. No, all was changed now.

3. Hear this wonderful promise for all who obey

Let's get the whole sentence then to close Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved - you and your household. Simply by believing a person is saved – saved from hell, from death, from sin, from the devil. This does not mean they will never have any troubles ever again but it does mean that their biggest troubles are over. They are safe. They are going to heaven. They no longer have to sin,. The devil cannot demand anything with regard to them. What applied to the jailer applied to all his family (or perhaps all the other prisoners) - you and your household

Think of our previous illustrations. Once the boat reaches the desert island, once the big yellow helicopter looms in sight, you know you are safe. Once you see Jesus as portrayed in Scripture and put your trust in him, you know all is well.

This is for everyone then. If you truly believe then you will truly be saved. What you do now will have an effect way into eternity.

Are you unashamed of the gospel?

Text Romans 1:16, 17 Time 17 06 18 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

I want us to look this morning at one of those texts where important truths are succinctly summed up in just a few sentences. The words are in Romans 1:16, 17 where Paul says

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

One writer (Leon Morris) has said that the words in these two verses have an importance out of all proportion to their length. This is really what the letter is about. 

The well known American preacher John MacArthur has said of what is in these verses 

"This is the most life-transforming truth ever put into men's hands. If we really understand and respond to the truths in these two verses time and eternity is totally altered." 

I want to say three things about these verses.

1. Here is a gospel of which you can be unashamed

Paul begins by saying For I am not ashamed of the gospel. That for follows on from his statement in the previous verse that he was eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. At the time of writing the letter (about 57 or 58 AD) Paul had never been to Rome but he knew that there at the heart of the Empire there was a church and indeed their faith was being reported all over the world. He had met many of its members when they had travelled elsewhere and his hope was that he could visit Rome. This for two reasons.

Firstly, so that he could impart to them some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that they may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. He had often made plans to travel to Rome but had been prevented. He wanted to have a harvest among them, just as he had had among the other Gentiles.

The other thought that comes out towards the end of the letter is that he could pass through Rome en route to Spain, where he wanted also to preach the gospel and they could assist him in this new venture. What Paul does in Romans then is to set out his stall, to say what he preached, his gospel. And this is where he begins and the first thing he says is that he is not ashamed of this gospel.

The word gospel is a funny word. It is from the old Anglo-Saxon word godspel or good news and we use it to represent the Greek word evangel or euangel. Literally that does mean good news and so some modern Bibles translate good news rather than gospel. The Greeks would use the word for a piece of good news and Christians began to empty it to refer in brief to the good news that God had sent his Son into this world to be its Saviour. We use the word now both to refer to the first four books of the New Testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who each tell us the story of Jesus's coming - and the basic message of salvation, the message about how salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

That is what Paul is talking about here then when he says that he is not ashamed of the gospel. His statement that he is not ashamed suggests that he might have been tempted to be. People get ashamed for various reasons good and bad.

• Some people are ashamed of their background - where they are from, their family, the fact they are poor, etc.
• Some are ashamed about things they can't do or don't know - I can't dance, my Greek is no good, I'm not a great driver, etc.
• People are ashamed of what they look like (their height, their spots, etc)
• People get ashamed because they need help, because they are lost, because they are socially awkward, etc.

Many things we are ashamed of we don't need to be ashamed of, although sometimes shame is the right response. Shame on us all that we are not better than we are, that we do not love the Saviour more. 

Why might Paul have been ashamed of the gospel? Writing about the gospel in 1 Corinthians he says that Christ crucified, which is at the heart of the message, is a stumbling block to Jews who demand signs and foolishness to Gentiles, who seek wisdom. On the face of it the gospel is not marked by amazing miracles or remarkable wisdom. It is a simple message about ho sinful we are and how we can be saved through a man who died on a wooden cross. At the time it was a forbidden religion and then as now persecution of Christians was common. 

But Paul was not ashamed of the good news and we ought not to be either. Are you ashamed of it? I'm sure that if you understood it better you would not be. There is nothing to be ashamed of.

2. Understand why you can be unashamed of the gospel - it's God's power to bring salvation

The reason you do not need to be ashamed is this because it is the power of God that brings salvation. 

It is tempting to think of the gospel as simply a message or way of life, like a philosophy or a lifestyle choice. It is much more than that. The good news is that God is at work in this world, powerfully at work and he is transforming everything by this very means - through the gospel. 

There is something dynamic about the gospel, something powerful. God is in it. It is not a self-help thing or a bit of good advice. It is not a course to do or simply a set of beliefs to subscribe to. No there is power in it. 

Paul know that power in his life and if you have come to know the gospel for yourself then you will know the power that it has to change lives. It can indeed change whole families and communities and nations. The power of the gospel, as unassuming as it may seem, is something incredible. One of the proverbs says that a gentle tongue can break a bone and the gentle gospel of Christ can bring men down and build them up again with great power.

I read a story by an American preacher about a young woman in his church who worked in a large umbrella factory in Philadelphia, at that time thought to be the biggest umbrella factory in the world. She said to him one day, rather discouraged, "Pastor, I'll have to hunt another job." He wondered what the problem was. Had she been sacked or made redundant? Were they short of orders? No, they had more orders than they could fulfil. The problem was a lack of electricity. They didn't have enough power to keep all the machines going at once, and so her machine was not running half the time and if she didn't work she wasn't paid. The trouble with the factory was that they had more machinery than power.

That is our problem sometimes. We have the machinery - the meetings points, the man power, the literature. What we lack is gospel power. Never forget the power of God found in the gospel. It was great power that created this world and great power that sustains it and great power that raised Jesus from the dead. That same power is at work when the gospel is declared. 

The gospel is not something aimless or without direction either. It can save people, it can rescue them. By nature we are lost, sunk in sin and degradation. There is no hope for us but the gospel gives the hope of salvation - that is all the blessings that trust in Christ includes. Negatively, it is salvation from God's wrath, from futility, from slavery, from hell itself. 

There is no reason to be ashamed of good news that can actually save people and deliver them from their sins!

I read a story of a terrible fire in Dublin many years ago. It was a high rise block and many people could be seen at the window pleading for help. Part of the tragedy was that a portable fire escape was brought and when it arrived there was great hope. However, it proved to be too short to reach any but those n the lowest floors. The gospel is not like that - it's not like a bridge that reaches only half way across. No it saves completely.

Remember that is what the gospel can do – it saves, it delivers, it rescues.

3. Recognise that the key to the gospel is always faith

In the rest of the material we want to consider this morning the emphasis is on the importance of faith or trust. That is at the heart of the gospel of salvation. We can say three things from there. It is by faith 

1. In every case

Paul says For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Paul reminds us that the gospel is received by faith. Because it is based on faith and no other qualification then everyone who believes can be saved. having said that, there is an order about things. God brought his gospel to this world by first taking a man, Abraham, and from him creating a nation, the Jews. It is to the Jews that the Messiah was promised and to the Jews that the Messiah came. He was a Hebrew and Aramaic speaking Jew who lived in the Promised Land and who was circumcised on the eighth day and who kept the Jewish Law revealed to Moses and who worshipped in the Jewish Temple first built by Solomon.

After the coming of Messiah, however, after his life and death and resurrection and ascension into heaven, he poured out the Holy Spirit on all people and so the gospel began to go out to all peoples - not just Jews but Gentiles or non-Jews too. Messiah having come the importance of the Jewish laws began to fade into the background and the thing that had really mattered anyway all along came to the fore - faith, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I think we can extrapolate here too and says that if the gospel is first for believers and for religious people, people within the orbit of the church, people like ourselves, it is also for the unbeliever, for the non-religious, those outside the church's orbit. They also can believe in Jesus Christ - indeed must if they are to be saved.

This ought to give us confidence as we go out with the gospel then. It is for everyone. We don't have to worry that we are evangelising the wrong people. Who ever we come into contact with, we can assure them of the saving power of God as long as they believe in Christ. All they have to do is to trust in him. 

2. At every point

Paul then gives some further explanation - For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Again he is emphasising faith. Yes righteousness is important. No-one can go to a holy and righteous God who is not holy or righteous themselves. But how can sinners like us be righteous? And here is what we might call the genius of the gospel. We can be saved through an alien righteousness. By that I mean a righteous that in the first place is not our own. It is someone else's. It is, we learn elsewhere, the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself. That righteousness becomes ours when we trust in Jesus Christ.

We have no righteousness of our own but by faith we can receive the righteousness that God himself provides. In the gospel a righteous status, which is God's gift, is being revealed – a righteous status that is altogether by faith. Through Christ we can be righteous, we can know a righteousness from God, as we trust in him. 

Again this should give us confidence. Here is a righteousness from God that can be ours and that is found nowhere else, the righteousness we need for life on earth and for heaven. 

As for the phrase from faith to faith which is what Paul actually wrote. It could mean from God's faith to our faith, or from the faith of one believer to the faith of another as the gospel spreads or from one degree of faith to another or just faith through and through from first to last as the NIV has it. Certainly the emphasis is on faith. We cannot know this righteousness except by faith but once we believe then that righteousness is ours whoever we are. 

We have a great message then. You can be right with God just by believing. 

3. In every time

The last thing Paul has here is the line just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." The quotation is from Habakkuk 2:4. Habakkuk had complained about the wickedness in the land and God had replied that he would send the Babylonians to judge the people. But how can God use such wicked people to judge them? Part of the answer is that the people are to live by faith – humble commitment to God in faith. Even in the Old Testament then this idea of living by faith, of finding righteousness through faith is there. This is the second time that Paul underlines this point - that even in the Old Testament the teaching was that we find righteousness by faith. 

This has been the teaching down the ages then and we should not try and abandon it now. Rather we should boldly go out and let everyone know. We have an obligation to do so and we ought not to be ashamed of this wonderful gospel for all.

Forsaking Satan and worshipping the Lord

Text Matthew 4:10 Time 11 1 09 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

I want us to look this evening at a text found in Matthew 4:10. There we read Jesus said to him (that is to Satan) Away from me Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. 

The verse comes at the end of Matthew’s description of what we usually refer to as “the temptation of Jesus”. Throughout his earthly life Jesus knew temptation, of course. At the end of his account Luke says (4:13) when the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him – not for good but – until an opportune time. 

Having said that, the temptation of Jesus was a particularly testing time of direct temptation in the desert that occurred at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. Having reached the age of about 30 and being ready to begin his ministry he was baptised by John and the Holy Spirit came on him in anointing power. The first thing the Spirit did was to drive him into the desert where he fasted. Throughout that time Jesus was tempted by the devil or Satan, then at the end of that six week period there were three particularly strong temptations that both Matthew and Luke describe for us. 

Luke, for his own purposes, describes them in a different order to Matthew but the three were: 

1. The temptation to turn stones into bread 

2. The temptation to throw himself off the highest point of the temple 

3. The temptation to bow down to Satan 

In each of the first two temptations Satan begins If you are the Son of God …. This was the issue. Satan was challenging the central question of just who Jesus was. He knew that Jesus is the Son of God but he strongly challenged that idea and wanted to do all he could do to undermine this truth. 

In each case Jesus fought against Satan’s temptation by quoting from Scripture. 

1. When tempted to turn stones into bread he replies It is written Man does not live on bread alone but one very word that comes from the mouth of God 

2. When tempted to throw himself off the highest point of the temple he counters Satan's quotation from Scripture by saying It is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test. 

3. When tempted to bow down to Satan we come to the words of our text, Away from me Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. 

In each case Jesus replies from the book he most often quotes across the whole of his ministry the book of Deuteronomy. Indeed, the three verses he quotes (6:13, 6:18 and 8:3 all occur in the same range of less than three chapters from that book). 

The temptation of Jesus is a fascinating part of Jesus’s life story. It is full of interest both for what it teaches us about Jesus and his ministry and for the way it instructs us with regard to how we should face temptation too. 

Rather than looking at the temptations, however, I want us to focus this evening just on the text Jesus said to him Away from me Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. 

You will see that what Jesus says can easily be divided into three or four parts. Each part gives us an insight into the character of Jesus the Saviour and also shows us how we should seek to live. And so I want to say three things to you this evening. 

1. Always be ready in Christ to utterly reject Satan and all his evil suggestions 

Jesus's opening words are by way of conclusion here - Away from me Satan! he says. Satan has tempted him a third time now and it is enough. Jesus will have no more of this. 

Satan, of course, means accuser (as does 'devil') and it is the name we most often use to refer to God's greatest foe. Satan is a creature, probably the greatest and most intelligent creature God ever created but one who through pride rebelled against God in his efforts to be equal to him. Since that time he has done all he can to oppose and to undermine God's purposes and plans. Despite this the truth is that Satan can only do what God allows him to do. He is bound by God. It is not a straight fight - the devil on one side and God on the other. Rather it is God using Satan's opposition to further his own ends. 

In this passage we see Jesus and Satan head to head as it were and Satan clearly comes off worst. He is well and truly beaten by the Saviour. We are told (1 John 3:8) that the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. Later on after the sending out of the 70 Jesus says I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Jesus went on to die on the cross. No doubt Satan thought of that as a great victory but in fact it was only his final defeat. Jesus speaks of it being when Satan would be cast out (Jn 12:31). By it he destroyed the one who has the power of death, the devil (Heb 2:4). Col 2;15 says that having disarmed the powers and authorities including the devil) he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 

It is because of Christ's victory over the devil that we too can say Away from me Satan and hope it to have an effect. There is a wonderful promise in Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God it says Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Nobody is promised exemption from the devil's attention. Not even Jesus knew that. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8). However, we can resist if we submit ourselves to Christ. We must give the devil no opportunity but put on the whole armour of God so that we can resist him. Otherwise we will be at his mercy. See Ephesians 6:10-18 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 

This is how to see Satan flee then in Christ. We must make use of the armour of God. 

2. Always rely in Christ on what is found in God’s Word to guide and protect you 

The next things Jesus says is For it is written – written, of course, in the Bible. Jesus defeated Satan. How did he do it. In a word he did it by the word. It was with Scripture that he was able to triumph. That should again be a lesson to us. One of our most important weapons in this fight is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

In order to use it, of course, we have to get to know it. If you don't know the Word then you will not be able to use it very well. Read it every day, try and learn individual verses. Here the word preached. Read books about it. Do everything you can to immerse yourself in the word. 

You also need to call it to mind when you are in the midst of temptation. If you are used to separating out things in your life so that you read the Bible on Sunday or in your quiet time but not at other times then you will not be very good at making the word work for you. We should always be ready to apply the Scriptures what ever the situation. 

Jesus is a master at work here. He has just the right Scripture for just the right situation. We need to be just as astute. Satan tends to attack us in certain areas – he seems to be able to pick out where we are most likely to sin and then work at tripping us up in just that area. We ought to know or own weaknesses or just where Satan is most likely to attack and have our Scriptures ready to hand for just such an eventuality. 

You know how in the Gideon Bibles there is usually a section headed Bible verses- where to find help. There is where to find help when ... and then there are some 32 sections.

So for example when in temptation they draw attention to this passage, to Psalm 1 (and to not walking in the council of the wicked but meditating on the Word, etc) and to 1 Cor 10:12, 13 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. If you face temptation – and who doesn't at some point - then learn these verses so that you are able to quote them when temptation comes on. 

Concentrate on So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! When you think there isn't going to be a temptation and you're tempted to trust in yourself and be over confident. 

Then when temptation comes don't think 'oh no!' and just crumple but say No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. In other words – this is normal, it is to be expected. 

Then quote And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. I won't have to give in to this. God won't expect me to go further than I can. 

Then But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it and start to look for the way out. There is one - you just need to find it! 

May be you tend to be weak in faith and something of a warrior . On that they recommend Joshua 1:6ff Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous, etc. Also the centurion of Matthew 8 (what and example he is) and Hebrews 11 the gallery of the faithful.

Also Luke 12:22-31 

Then Jesus said to his disciples: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 

If you could learn that passage of by heart then you might not be so much of a worrier. 

Or to take one more example someone who loses his tempter easily. This is not in the Gideon Bible but here are 9 good verses for anyone with a problem like that to learn 

Psalm 37:8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil. 

Ephesians 4:26-32 In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. ... Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry 

Proverbs 14:17, 29 A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated.... A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. Etc.

See 16.32, 19.11, 19.19, 25.28 

3. Always be committed in Christ to worshipping the true God and only serving him 

The verse that Jesus actually quotes is Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. It is a very simple and basic verse but totally appropriate for the situation. It gives us a third important principle. We have said that we must resist the devil and that we need to get to know God;'s Word and know how to use it against him. Positively we must be entirely committed to worshipping the Lord and serving only him. It is unlikely that the Devil will ever confront us and ask us to bow down to him. Nevertheless that is what he wants. He wants your worship and service. We must not give it to him. He often approaches subtly and tries to draw us off to him in other ways than this most obvious one. We must always resist and worship God alone. 

Again, how can we do that? We must make God the focus of our lives, the sun in our solar system, the one on whom everything focuses. Regular prayer is important as well as reading the Bible. The Lord's Day is important for structuring our week so that we begin each week with him. It is through Jesus Christ that we can do this. Indeed there is no true worshipping God and serving him except through Christ. 

We need to look at our lives regularly and root out any idols and rededicate ourselves to serving the Lord.

Let the little children come to Jesus

Text Mark 10:13, 14 Time 01 12 08 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

In Mark 10:13-16 we have a fascinating incident recorded for us in the life of the Lord Jesus. It is recorded in just four verses, most of which are taken up with the saying of Jesus that was connected with the incident. However, before we come to the saying we get a fascinating glimpse of Jesus going about his earthly ministry. We learn firstly something of how people in general saw him and reacted to him, then how the disciples reacted to this and finally how he saw it too. After that comes the interesting and important saying and then the moment when he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. 

It is an interesting incident then from many points of view – the insight it gives into Jesus's earthly ministry, the presence of these children, the misunderstanding of the disciples, the saying that the whole thing provoked. 

So let's look at these verses. I want to say two main things 

1. Consider the people and learn from their attitudes good and bad 

1. Consider the people and their desire to have Jesus touch the children 

First we learn that People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them. We tend to think that celebrity is a new thing but that is not really the case. 

For long ages people have become famous for one reason or another and when they become really famous then people simply want to be connected to them in some way. 

When I was a boy back in the seventies Wales had one of the finest rugby teams in the world. The outside half (10) was a man called Barry John. They used to call him the King. He was one of the greatest players ever. However, in 1972 he retired at the remarkably young age of 27. One of the reasons he stopped playing was the adulation from fans. Mothers would send their children up to him just to touch him. One day he was opening a bank and a little girl curtseyed to him, as if he really was royalty! It was the last straw. 

The Beatles saw similar things. Ringo Starr once described how at concerts disabled people would be “brought backstage to be touched by a Beatle. It was very strange. Also some sad thalidomide kids with little broken bodies and no arms or legs and little feet.” John Lennon really hated the fact that such people would be brought to them in the hope they could be healed. 

Or what about the royal touch or king's touch? French and English monarchs from Mediaeval times down to the time of Queen Anne would touch their subjects, regardless of social class, with the hope of curing them from various diseases and conditions, especially scrofula or the King's Evil. The disease rarely resulted in death and often went into remission on its own, giving the impression that the monarch's touch cured it. 

Now something like that may be operating here. Jesus has healed many people. He is a good and gracious man. The Holy Spirit is upon him. And so these good people bring their little children to Jesus to have him touch them. 

2. Consider the disciples and their stern opposition to this sort of thing 

But says Mark the disciples rebuked them. I don't know what their thinking was. Maybe they thought it was rather superstitious, which perhaps it was a little bit. Perhaps they thought it was a waste of Jesus's time. 

These days a lot of people wouldn't mind. In fact there is an expression kissing babies which is what politicians are said to do to try and increase their vote although it usually just involves complimenting parents on their babies these days. 

That is partly because our whole idea of children is different to theirs. We live after the sentimentalisation of children that came largely in the Victorian age The disciples and their contemporaries didn't tend to ooh and aah over babies. In fact, given that many children didn't survive childhood the general attitude to children could often b quite negative. 

They really did feel that Jesus was not making good use of his time and perhaps we have some sympathy with their point of view. 

3. Consider Jesus and his attitude to the disciples and to the children 

It is at this point, in verses 14 and 15 that we read that When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 

So Jesus takes the very opposite view of things to the disciples. In fact he was indignant about the way they were behaving. They must not stop the children coming to him and indeed they must do nothing to keep them away. Rather, they must see that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,and people ought to learn to receive the kingdom like little children. 

4. Consider the children and how they were brought to Jesus and touched and blessed 

We read that he then (16) took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. Jesus was happy to welcome them and to touch them as the mothers wished. 

2. Consider what Jesus says and learn about God's kingdom and how to be in it

So at the very least what Jesus says should make us be welcoming to children. We have an important highlight here on what our attitude to children should be. But there is more here. There is something about how we should understand the kingdom of God itself, the rule of God in the hearts of sinners. Three things then 

1. Realise that little children should be allowed to come to Jesus 

1 What that does not mean 

Now our paedobaptist friends would be tempted to say. Look isn't this what we always say. You Baptists won't let people join the church until they are baptised as older people. We are happy to baptise babies and little children. Surely we are right. The trouble here,of course, is that Mark 10 doesn't say one word about baptism. It is not a passage about baptism but about the importance of making children welcome. 

2 What that does mean 

So what can we learn from the passage? The obvious thing here is that though we do not baptise babies we must not, on the other than exclude them from everything so that we give the impression that they are not welcome. No, quite the opposite. Rather, we do everything we can to make the children feel welcome. It is one of the reasons we have a children's talk in the middle of our morning meeting and a Sunday School too. We always want the children to feel welcome, as Jesus himself would. When babies are born we usually give thanks to God publicly for them in order to make this clear. When my first grandson was born his parents were in the congregation and so we got him in front of the people and gave thanks for him. 

2. Understand that God's kingdom belongs to such as these 

When Jesus says for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these it is important that we are clear about what he is saying. Some are tempted to think he might be talking about the innocence or the simplicity of children. In fact what he is talking about is their weakness and their invulnerability. That was the chief thing about a child in those days and it is still an important thing about children today. They are weak and exposed, indefensible and powerless. 

Now it is to those who are weak and poor that the kingdom is accessible. Being strong and powerful is not the way in. Rather, it is meekness and sense of one's own inadequacy that are the key things. 

If you want to know how to become a Christian then the first thing you need to know is that you need to have a strong sense of your own weakness and of your own vulnerability. Without that you will get nowhere. 

Let me ask you that. Do you have a strong sense of your own weakness and need? That is vital if you are ever going to enter the kingdom of God. 

3. See that no-one can enter God's kingdom except by receiving it as a little child 

Think finally of verse 16. Jesus says emphatically I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 

When we are adults it is hard to remember what it was like to be a child. We an think back then Think of how weak and powerless children are by nature. They need protection. Now to come to Christ we must first see how weak and empty we are by nature. We are absolute nobodies. That is the starting place. Once we see that then coming to Christ for his forgiveness and help should be easy. I urge you to come.

What the Bible is really all about

Text John 5:39 Date 19 03 17 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

I want us to look this evening at a text that is found in John 5:39, 40. The words are the words of Jesus. He is speaking to Jews in Jerusalem, people who were refusing to trust in him, and he says to them had been an invalid for 38 years. Jesus famously told this man to take up his bed and walk. Because the incident occurred on a Saturday, on the day of a Jewish Sabbath, the Jews were very concerned and accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath laws. This is one of the things they persecuted him for.

In verses 16-18 we read So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defence Jesus said to them, 

"My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working." For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

From verse 19, Jesus speaks to the Jews and explains his intimate relationship with the Father. Then from verse 31 he comes on to the question of why they should believe him. He agrees that if he testifies about myself, his testimony is in some ways not valid. But he says (32) There is another who testifies in my favour, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

This is probably a reference to the testimony of his Father, which was known from time to time. He goes on though to speak about John the Baptist. Verses 33-35 You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. 

Then he says (36) … the works that the Father has given me to finish - the very works that I am doing - testify that the Father has sent me.

Quite apart from that (37, 38) … the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. Their problem is that they have never heard his voice nor seen his form, - nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.

It is then that he says You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, … he adds yet you refuse to come to me to have life. He is pointing to the Scriptures then, to the Bible, as another major source of testimony to him. With these two verses in mind I want to say four things to you

1. Here is a good practice but that in itself can guarantee nothing

Jesus begins by saying You search the Scriptures. By the Scriptures he means, of course, what we now call the Old Testament Scriptures – the Bible, the Word of God as it is. These people did search the Scriptures, they studied them, they worked hard at examining them. And Jesus doesn't object to them doing that. Far from it, that was one of the better characteristics of these people. It is good that people search the Scriptures.

Many people do study the Scriptures. The Pharisees especially were famous for it. There have been many scholars since who do the same thing. Today there still many like that. Some of them are university professors and they write very learned tomes on these things. Others are of a more amateur sort but they study the Scriptures and are able to come up with all sorts of things about the Bible. Some are quite liberal and simply want to debunk traditional views. They look for errors, anything that will undermine the real truth. Others are rather cranky. Remember that book that came out a few years ago and was a bestseller The Bible Code. Many others have claimed to have found secret codes in the Bible as well. You have heard of Kabbalah which became very popular with some a few years ago. The Kabbalists have been coming up with that sort of thing for years.

It is right that we should be encouraged to read the Bible. It does contain wonderful things. Sometimes people are encouraged in this direction by stories like this one (which comes in various forms but is probably based on something that H G Wells wrote many years ago in the nineteenth century).

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, and somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold.

Rather angry, he shouted at his father and said "with all your money, you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house.

Many years passed and the young man became successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but he realised that his father was getting old, and he thought perhaps he should go see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.

Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still gift-wrapped Bible, just as he had left it, years before. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matt.7:11, And if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in Heaven, give to those who ask Him?

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had wanted. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL!

Now, as far as it goes, the story is good in that it says read the Bible, you don't know what treasure you might be missing out on and I certainly want to encourage you to study the Scriptures. Search them, research them. Do all the study in them you can. Take time to read them every day. Get to know them as well as you can.

However, it's important that you don't see this as an open sesame. Merely searching the Scriptures guarantees nothing in and of itself. These people searched the Scriptures but they didn't benefit from them. It did them no good.

Some people who don't live in London wished they did. The things they would do if only they lived in London – the plays, the musicals, the museums, etc. We live in London and we know that it is not that simple. Just living here is not enough. If you want to do all there is to do you still need time and money and the energy to do it all.

Similarly, reading the Scriptures, searching them, is good but guarantees nothing of itself. So, search the Scriptures but realise that this good practice guarantees nothing.

2. Here is a correct idea but that in itself can guarantee nothing

Jesus goes on by saying for in them you think you have eternal life. Now again they were right and they were wrong. Jesus recognised that they saw the Bible as the key to eternal life. He does not argue with that for one moment. It is in this book that the key is found However, even if you know that you are still not quite there.

Yes, the Jews accepted that there was a coming resurrection to life and they hoped to take part in that world to come but they thought that the way to it was by means of doing good deeds. They thought that because they were Jews and kept the law (they thought they kept the law) this would lead to eternal life.

No doubt there are people today who read the Bible and they read the Bible because they think that it will give them eternal life. However, if you do not know how the Bible will lead you to eternal life then it will be of no use to you.

Did you hear the story of the man who went on the holiday of a lifetime to America and wanted to take good pictures so that he would remember it and be able to share with others. He borrowed his son's Gopro camera. Sadly, he put it in selfie mode and so all his pictures were of himself (except for one selfie he tried to take). At one point he says “Look at that for a view of the mountains. Isn’t it stunning? There’s the Trump Tower – same colour as his hair.”

All you actually see is his face again. The video is on Youtube. 

Now there are people who are doing the same thing with the Bible. They believe it will lead them to eternal life and it will but they are going about things all the wrong way.

I trust you are not making the same mistake.

3. Here is a vital thing to understand if the good practice and the correct idea are to be of any value to you

Jesus then says and these these Scriptures are they which testify of Me. Here is the key to it all. If you fail to see this then all your Scripture reading will be of no use, all your realising that the Bible is the key to eternal life will do you no good.

I happened to flick through the channels on the TV the other day at home and I came across a woman telling a story. It was about how she and some friends of her had got into a party by saying at the door “we are friends of Peter's” which they were not. She was able to get away with it for a while until someone began to ask her questions. “What's your connection with Peter?” she was asked. Instead of opening up she claimed to have been in university with him. Where? In Manchester. Anyway after a few more a painful moments describing her deceit. She explained that in fact this party was a memorial one. Peter had died a year before from cancer. The party was a fund raiser organised by friends who wanted to remember him and raise money for charity. She and her friends felt pretty embarrassed you can imagine.

Now you may read your Bible every day and you may say you think it will lead you to eternal life but if you don't understand what it is really about then you will get nowhere. You need to see that it is all about Jesus

Let me give you some examples

Let's start with Genesis 3:15 where God says And I will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. That is what happened at the cross – Satan struck Christ's heel and he did die but at that moment Satan's head was crushed. He will rise no more. This was God's purpose from before the fall.

In Exodus we read of the Passover Lamb by means of which the Israelites escape the Angel of death. John the Baptist points to Jesus and says

Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

Think too of the rock which Moses struck in the desert and water flowed. Paul says very boldly in 1 Corinthians 10:4 

they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 

In Leviticus we read of Aaron the High Priest who represented the people. The Book of Hebrews reveals that Christ is our High Pries who has gone not into the Holiest place of the Temple but into heaven itself on behalf of his people.

In Deuteronomy 18:18 God says through Moses 

I will raise up for them a prophet like you like Moses from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. That Prophet is Jesus. 

Have you read that bit in Joshua before the Battle of Jericho (5:13-15) where Joshua sees 

a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, Are you for us or for our enemies? Neither, he replied, but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come. etc

And what did Joshua do next? He fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" 

He is told by The commander of the LORD's army … Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. He is meeting with none other than the Second Person of the Trinity. 

When you come to the Book of Judges you learn about the judges or saviours who led the people then. They were all flawed individuals. They remind us that Jesus is the Saviour that God's people really need – One like them, raised up by God, filled with God’s Spirit. One who rescues people, who fights for them and defeats their enemies, who provides lasting peace and security for God's people. Jesus is the Saviour the people were longing for. One not flawed like the Judges but better than all the judges put together.

After Judges comes Ruth where we learn how Boaz becomes a guardian and redeemer to the outsider and cast off Ruth. He is referred to as Guardian-redeemer many times in the second half of the book.

Boaz and Ruth are ancestors of David the King, who himself points to his greater Son in so many ways. We saw this morning how he defeated Goliath as representative of his people and fought on their behalf.

There are many other places where we can see this so obviously.

In Job 19:25-27 Job says 

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes - I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Again in Esther you have the idea of one representative of the people, the Jews, who are under threat of extinction. Esther goes into the King and pleads on their behalf, saving not only herself but all the people too.

Psalms is full of prophecies about Christ. We mentioned some this morning. What about Psalm 2:6-9 (God says) I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. I will proclaim the LORD's decree: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.

Proverbs teaches us that Christ is our wisdom from heaven. 

In Isaiah 9:6 we read 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

In Isaiah 53:3 we read He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Jeremiah 23:5 The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.

Ezekiel 34:23, 24 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.

It is Jonah's three days and three nights in the great fish that point to the death and rising again of Christ. 

Zechariah 9:9 says Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Malachi 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.

You can argue about exactly how you see Christ in Scripture but he is its theme. That is what it is all about. Have you seen that? It is vital to grasp.

4. Here is a tragic mistake to avoid if you have understood this much

What Jesus actually says to his hearers is You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Because these men were so opposed to Jesus they refused to come to him. The truth is that the Bible that they claimed they loved so much is full of Jesus Christ but they had decided they would not go to him for eternal life and so in fact they were about to lose it all – Christ, the Bible and eternal life itself.

Don't make that mistake. The Bible is the source of eternal life. It is all about Christ. It is through Christ that eternal life is known. In this same chapter he says (24)

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. That is the transition we all need to make. It is possible only through Jesus Christ.

How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?

Text Hebrews 2:3a Date 11 02 18 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

This morning I want us to look at a text. It is found in Hebrews 2:3a. It is a question and the question is this

how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?

We do not know who wrote the letter to the Hebrews - perhaps it was Paul but it is more likely to have been Barnabas or Luke or someone else in that circle. It was written some time before 70 AD. The people to whom the letter is addressed were Jews who had professed faith in Christ but were thinking of going back to being just Jews again. The letter argues that is not possible to do that and urges them rather to seek the Lord more earnestly.

Chapter 1 begins with an exposition of the superiority of Jesus Christ to all angels. That is followed by the words that we find at the beginning of what we call Chapter 2 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels the giving of the 10 Commands was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?

He adds that This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him the apostles. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will mainly to the apostles but also to others.

What is said to these ancient people needs to be heard by us too. We are not tempted to become Jews or follow some other religion I'm sure but that danger of drifting away is ever present and so I want to call on you this morning, if you believe, to consider this vital question - how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?

There are four important words here that we need to understand in order to benefit from this verse. The words are escape, ignore, great and salvation. Let's ask four vital questions then.

1. Do you know what the salvation he speaks about here is?

When the New Testament talks about salvation or safety or deliverance it is referring to the present reality for every true Christian - the fact that a person is saved - saved from their sins, from themselves, from death and from hell.

We can think of salvation as salvation accomplished and salvation applied.

The reason we need to be saved, of course, is because sin has come into the world. A rebellion began before the creation of the world that was led by Satan. This later led to man joining the rebellion and all the consequences that meant for the whole of creation - chaos, sickness, death.

How did God intend to accomplish salvation for his people? Long before, he had decided that it should be through a man. There never would be a man good enough to do such a work and so it was decided that God himself, God the Son, would be that man. Indeed God would become a man. Now if there was to be such a man on earth he had to belong to a certain people and live in a certain place.

And so throughout the Old Testament period you can read of how God chose first one man - Abraham - a man as good as dead the Bible says but who became the father of Isaac who in turn became the father of Jacob or Israel from whom the Twelve Tribes come. These people ended up as slaves down in Egypt but God raised up Moses who led them out through the wilderness to a Promised Land the land of the Canaanites. The Canaanites were godless and so God gave his people the task of destroying them and taking their land. They did this with mixed success. There was also a split between north and south following a civil war. The temptation to turn to Canaanite ways was always strong and the northern tribes were so given to such ways that in God's providence they were taken away by the Assyrians never to return. Eventually the southern kingdom was taken away by the Babylonians too. However, in an amazing turn around God brought them back to the Promised Land.

Finally the Jews were established in their own country with their own language. They were under the Roman yoke but they were there and it was to these people that eventually the Messiah was born - Jesus of Nazareth. Now this Jesus, a you know grew up in obscurity but when he was about thirty he was baptised by John the Baptist and he began a three year ministry of miracles and preaching. At the end of that period, after much persecution he was taken and put to death on a cross, a cruel instrument of torture. Although he died he rose again from the dead before ascending into heaven again his task complete. When he died he took the punishment his people deserved for their rebellion and sin and so he accomplished salvation for them.

Then ten days after Jesus had ascended into heaven he poured out his Holy Spirit on his people. The Holy Spirit is the one who inspired his servants to write down the Scriptures and he is the one who applies salvation to his people. As the Word is preached the Spirit takes hold of a person and they are transformed so that they begin to live for the glory of God. They know and believe that Jesus has died in their place and by the help of the Spirit they live the life that God calls them to on earth until they enter heaven and the glories of that place.

This is the salvation we are talking about then, the deliverance accomplished by Jesus Christ and applied by the Holy Spirit.

2. Why does he call it a great salvation? Do you understand in what sense it is a great salvation?

From an early age in this country you learn that this is Great Britain. That Great is actually a actually a geographical thing Great or Greater Britain or Brittany as opposed to Brittany in France. However, that doesn't stop patriotic Brits from telling you all the reasons why Britain is great not geographically but in other ways. Any number of arguments are given.

You notice secondly that here he calls it a great salvation. In what sense is it great? Not geographically, of course. It's not like great grandparents are great either.

Many things come to mind as to why salvation is great. Most obviously

1. It is a salvation accomplished by a great Saviour

There are various DIY self help remedies out there that claim to be able to do something for you. Forget them all. Once you see this Great Saviour you will give up on yourself. Then there have been various movements that have formed behind charismatic leaders of the past. Such men die and do not rise again. Loo rather to the great and risen Saviour Jesus Christ.

2. It is a salvation applied by the Holy Spirit

Here is another thing that makes it so great. It is not a man centred movement but something God himself does.

3. It is a salvation that is all of grace and does not depend on me

This salvation is all about the grace of God. He does all the work. He is the one who saves us. It is not about righteous things we have done, but about his mercy. Nothing greater than that.

4. It is a salvation that I cannot lose

Once you are saved you are saved forever. That really is great. Jesus says of his sheep I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one.

5. It is a salvation that cannot be improved

Sometimes people are tempted to think they can add to it and so improve it but in fact all additions only dilute and obscure it. No this great salvation cannot be improved.

6. It is a salvation that is open to all

It is difficult to think of anything as open and available to anyone and everyone as is the case with salvation in Christ.

You see what a great salvation this is.

3. How can it be possible for me as a professing Christian to ignore such a great salvation?

They say that during the Revolutionary War in America a loyalist spy appeared at the HQ of Colonel Johann Rall, carrying an urgent message. Rall was leading an army from Hess in support of George II. The spy's message was that General George Washington and his Continental army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and were advancing on Trenton, New Jersey where the Hessian army was encamped. The spy was denied an audience with the commander and instead wrote his message on a piece of paper. A porter took the note to Rall who it is said was playing poker. Whatever was the case, he stuffed the unread note into his pocket. Rall still not realise what was happening until his camp guards began firing their muskets in a futile attempt to stop Washington's army. With no time to organise, the Hessian army was captured. The date was December 26, 1776.

Now what the writer here is saying is that these Hebrews are in danger of doing what Rall did - ignoring something vital. The danger they are in is of ignoring this great salvation. How could that be? Why would you ignore such a great salvation? And yet it happens. People become complacent. They take salvation for granted and begin to think that may be they can do better elsewhere.

Do you ever find yourself thinking like that? Are you tempted to think about giving up and just drifting? It is always a danger but it must be avoided.

4. Why does he see no way of escape for those who ignore such a great salvation?

The Great Escape is a 1963 American World War II epic film based on an escape by British and Commonwealth POWs from German POW Camp. It starred Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough. it is a fictionalised account of real events. Now in this case only three of the 76 men who escaped actually got home. Really speaking it should be called The Great near escape. A real escape gets you all the way home.

The whole point of this verse is that if we do ignore such a great salvation then there is no way of escape left. How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? I don't think there is any doubt about the answer the writer would give to the question. Escape? There is no way we will escape if we ignore this great salvation.

Later on in the Book the writer repeats himself (10:28, 29) Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

12:25-29 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

I plead with you not to ignore this great salvation. Trust in Jesus today. God on trusting him always.