Week Commencing February 14th 2021

Devotional Materials. Week Commencing Sunday 14^th February 2021

Call to Worship

“Praise the Lord, O my soul, robed in majesty and splendour. Praise the Lord.” Psalm 104

“Who is like you- majestic in holiness.” Exodus 15:11

Opening Prayer

‘O Lord our God, enthroned on high, filling the whole earth with your glory; holy, holy, holy is your name. Our eyes have seen the king, the Lord almighty, but our lips are unclean. We cry to you in our sinfulness to take our guilt away.’

Thank you Lord, you forgive all who truly repent. Have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness and keep us in life eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Lord, accept and make holy all that we are, all that we have and all that we offer you. Keep us firm in our faith and strong in your service; create in us a new heart that we may respond to your great mercy; One God, our Saviour, now and forever. Amen’

Hymn

2 Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

3 Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinfulness thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.

4 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed trinity!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwuDSw-9cUQ

Reading. Matthew 3:1-17

3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Hymn

Purify my heart,
Let me be as gold and precious silver.
Purify my heart,
Let me be as gold, pure gold.

Refiner’s fire,
My heart’s one desire
Is to be… holy;
Set apart for you, Lord.
I choose to be… holy;
Set apart for you, my master,
Ready to do your will.

Purify my heart,
Cleanse me from within
And make me Holy.
Purify my heart,
Cleanse me from my sin, deep within.

Refiner’s fire…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Idw-_ce1vQ

Sermon. “A voice of one calling in the desert.”

John the Baptist would have already been a well-known figure by the time he came to preach in all the country around Jordan. John’s father was the Priest Zechariah. Zechariah had been struck dumb by the angel Gabriel because of his unbelief but shortly after John’s birth his speech had been miraculously restored. Many of the people knew about that. Now they hear that John had appeared publicly to Israel. This prophet of the Most High who Isaiah had prophesied would go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him (v3). The first part of our passage teaches us how to…

Prepare for the Lord Jesus (vv1-10)

Israel had yearned for the coming of the Messiah for centuries. Not surprisingly the crowds flocked to hear John. But there were many mistaken ideas about the Messiah; false ideas about his kingdom and the nature of his rule. So God raised up John the Baptist to prepare the way for the Messiah’s coming.

To prepare to meet the Lord, the people must first acknowledge their inner decay (v3) The Jewish religion was decaying, it was traditional rather than a living reliance on God and His revelation.

People were speaking about religious things without the reality of them. The outer reliance on ritual was symptomatic of the people’s inner moral decay. The decay is hinted at in the quote from Isaiah: “make straight paths for him” Isaiah goes on to describe how every mountain and hill must be made low, and the crooked roads shall become straight. These images speak of pride and moral perversity.

John the Baptist’s ministry involves the exposure of these sins in people’s heart; this inner decay that is destroying their own lives and those they come into contact with. The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:22-24 also identifies pride (futile thinking) and moral crookedness (sexual impurity) as the twin evils that characterise the person who has turned from God: “Although they knew God they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him…their thinking became futile although they claimed to be wise they became fools…God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity.”

Any authentic gospel preaching today begins where John begins. His mission wasn’t to win a popularity contest. His message was straight and true and went to the heart of the problem however uncomfortable it made his hearers. He delivered God’s message. Our pride and moral crookedness must be addressed. These evils are seen behind false philosophies that now influence the Western World:

The influence of the Enlightenment 18^th Century is still with us. It was the attempt to replace God with human reason. Men in their pride looked at the world as if it were a self-contained machine. Anything you needed to know was within the machine. Moral progress would be made through the supposed goodness of the human heart. The social sciences would explore behaviour within the machine. Of course the social sciences are beneficial where they study people’s conditions and seek to improve these. But it’s human pride that says these are sufficient to deal with man’s inner decay. A noted psychiatrist recognised his own limitations in a conversation he had with clergyman William Barclay. “All that a psychiatrist can do” said the doctor, “is strip a man naked until you get to the essential man; and if the essential man is bad stuff, there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s where you come in. Barclay later commented, “I think he meant that this is where Jesus comes in”

Political and sociological ideology clearly cannot cope with the moral disintegration around us. Think of the culture of violence and family breakdown. How can marriage and family life be sustained when our young people are encouraged to be sexually active from early on. The problem is so huge that now letters are sent out routinely from the schools offering children protection from certain sexually transmitted diseases. Education and throwing money at the “bad stuff” of the human heart will not appease or cure the problem. Only the Lord can cleanse the heart of pride and moral crookedness- but these decaying elements must be acknowledged in the first place.

To prepare to meet the Lord, the people must also “flee from the coming wrath” (7-10)

That’s verse 7, and verse 10 states “every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire”

It’s fashionable today to decry the reality of hell. Richard Dawkins¹ calls it “mental cruelty”. But that’s the trouble with pride. Pride blinds us from the seriousness of our sins before a Holy God. It denies our accountability before Him and blinds us to the demands of Justice- Sin must be punished. Pride also makes a mere mortal think they know better than God. It’s a question of Authority. Who do you listen to- Dawkins or Jesus Christ the Son of God. John says this of Jesus “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard.” (John 3:31-32) Jesus has seen and heard. He knows of eternal realities and He more than any other frequently warns us of hell’s reality (Cf Matt. 13:40-42).

You might say- yes, but hell is for the wicked for evil doers- Hitler or Genghis Kahn, people like that. The crowds who heard John thought about themselves in the same way “We have Abraham as our father” we’re okay, we’re decent people, a privileged line. What was the reality? “You brood of vipers” says John. You think you’re children of God but actually you are children of the devil.

But surely God knows this cannot be true of the respectable religious leaders too?- well actually the scribes and Pharisees are the ones specifically warned. The hypocrites and self-satisfied better watch out. It’s worth remembering even as Christians that it’s no good saying “we have Jesus as our Saviour” and then proceed to live selfish, sinful lives, caring only for ourselves and showing no fruit of Christ like character or compassion for others. There are many warnings against such an attitude in the Gospels and letters of the New Testament. If your Christian profession makes no difference to your life then it’s doubtful you have encountered Christ in the first place and you are still on the road to hell. To prepare to encounter Jesus you must…

Repent (2, 8, 11). John’s challenge is hard to hear, but it is the ultimate reality check. He is saying that anyone who refuses to repent show they belong to their father the devil. The devil does not repent of his evil, he deliberately persists in it. If you do the same you show you belong to him, however much you might call God your father.

So we need to repent! Repentance has been defined as taking God’s side against ourselves. It’s agreeing with Him that our pride and moral crookedness are sins. We need to express our sorrow before God at these, and in private confession seek his forgiveness. In this way our pride is humbled and crookedness smoothed.

Dr Cyril Joad, was head of department at London University. He believed that Jesus was only a man, that God was part of the Universe and that, should the Universe be destroyed, God would be destroyed. He believed that that there is no such thing as sin, that man was destined for Utopia; that given a little time, man would have heaven on earth. In 1948 a picture of Joad appeared in various magazines and with it a statement concerning a change that had taken place in his life. He told how for many years he had been antagonistic toward Christianity. Now he had come to believe that sin was a reality. “Two world wars and the imminence of another had demonstrated conclusively to him that man was sinful. Now he believed that the only explanation for sin was found in the Word of God, and the only solution was found in the cross of Christ. Before his death Joad became a committed and zealous follower of the Lord Jesus.

Positively, true repentance leads to fruitfulness. In Luke’s Gospel John the Baptist calls the people to show the fruit of repentance by acts of justice and love. Luke 2:11-14: “The man with 2 tunics should share with him who has none and the one who has food should do the same” There follows a list of good deeds according to people’s respective walks in life. Repentance for Christians must be shown in change in moral behaviour and expressed in love for others.

To prepare for the Lord’s coming, John required a baptism for repentance (vv 6, 11). True repentance leads to public confession in the form of baptism. When people were baptised by John they were testifying to this change in attitude towards sin. As the water cleansed them outwardly so they were showing to others God had cleansed them inwardly. He had forgiven them of their sin.

John did warn the people that baptism in itself would not save them- any more than being in Abraham’s line would. Baptism must signify inner cleansing.

Baptism is still ordained by God as an expression of this inner change. However, full Christian baptism is now reserved for those who have already encountered Jesus and become Christians. Baptism reflects our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and our being raised to newness of life. Here at ABC we give people opportunity to express publicly their repentance and faith in Christ. If you have not yet been baptised and would like to think further about or consider being baptised, then please see me after the service, phone or contact me by email (dlhbarnes.db@gmail.com).

We have considered what it is to prepare for the Lord. Now we…

Encounter the Lord Jesus (vv 11-17)

In verses 13-17 Matthew draws our attention to Jesus’ own baptism. Why is Jesus baptised? He has no need to repent of any sin. John the Baptist has the same question: “I need to be baptised by you and do you come to me? Jesus replied “Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness” Then John consented.

 “To fulfil all righteousness.” Jesus baptism is best understood in terms of his mission. Jesus identifies with sinners. Already he identifies with us in going through a baptism for repentance. He shows his humility by so doing. He is prepared to take on the lowly penitent role that should be ours. We can see here that Jesus is willing to receive baptism- the sign of repentance- on behalf of the people. His baptism already gives us an insight into the kind of Saviour Jesus is. The scene points us forward to the cross, where Jesus the perfect, spotless Lamb of God will fully identify with us. He will die in our place. He will carry our sins on Himself. He will take the punishment we deserve, and so fulfil all the demands of righteousness. All this so you and I can experience salvation and life.

When a person realises the enormity of God’s love for them lying behind this costly identification, it is life changing:

Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf was born into one of Europe’s leading families in the year 1700, and he grew up in an atmosphere of prayer, Bible reading, and hymn singing. He excelled in school, and seemed to possess all the qualities for national leadership. After finishing his studies at Wittenberg, Germany, Zinzendorf embarked on a grand tour of Europe, attending lectures and visiting museums, palaces and universities.

It was while visiting the art museum at Dusseldorf that the young count had a deeply moving experience that stayed with him for the rest of his life. Seeing Domenico Feti’s Ecce Home (‘Behold, the Man’), a portrait of the thorned-crowned Christ, and reading the inscription below- ‘I did this for thee! What hast thou done for me?’ Zinzendorf said to himself, “I have loved him for a long time, but I have never actually done anything for him. From now on, I will do whatever He leads me to do.”

His life was never the same again, and he went on to found a spiritual community on his property, Herrnhut, which provided hundreds of Moravian missionaries over the next several decades and sparked the modern missionary movement.

Do you see what Christ has done for you? This love reaching down and in to our condition, God becoming man, bearing the punishment we should bear for our sins and instead offering us a clean slate- sins forgiven, sin’s power over us broken, adoption into God’s family and ongoing union with Christ by the Spirit. Such mercy and such grace, this undeserved love for you- and I.  Such privileges. Do you want to know this love for yourself? Motivating you? Changing your life for the better. However much you already have in this life, or however little- you need to know this love through an encounter with Jesus Christ. Jesus identifies with sinners. And…

Jesus baptises with the Holy Spirit. (11-13)

John admits he only baptises with water. But the Lord, the one mightier than he, is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit. We see the Lord Jesus first baptise believers with the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:5, 2:1-4).

At Pentecost the disciples were baptised by the Spirit. They spoke in tongues as the Spirit enabled. They declared the wonders of God. Here and elsewhere in the New Testament Spirit baptism is shown to be an identifiable phenomenon. Jesus himself taught “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive” (John 7:39). The believers were filled with an inexpressible joy by the Spirit. 

The results of Baptism in the Spirit are tangible too. The Holy Spirit’s presence in the lives of these men and women was like a fire; the fire of the Spirit; a refining presence bringing a new quality of life. We see it at Pentecost. After they are baptised with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 42) the believers have a fierce devotion for the Apostles teaching, a fierce devotion to one another- “everything in common”- They practise generous giving. They have a hunger to fellowship together. They preach God’s Word and they preach it boldly. Filled with the Spirit Peter and John courageously witness to the Sanhedrin.

God’s Word demands much of us if we are serious about Christian discipleship and being Christ’s Church If we are to progress then we will need the courage and strength that only the Spirit can give us:

On 12^th October 1492, Rodrigo de Triana was aloft in the rigging of the good ship Pinta. They were somewhere in the Atlantic. At two in the morning he set up the long awaited cry ‘Tierra, tierra!’ (‘Land, land!’).

Christopher Columbus went ashore and named the island San Salvador in honour of the Saviour for answering their prayers. One of the major reasons why Columbus discovered the New World was his courage. It is an interesting feature of the history of marine exploration that most maritime explorers have fought against the wind and sailed into the wind. They did this because, although they wanted to discover new things, they were more fearful of not being able to go back to where they came from. But Christopher Columbus, a man of courage, sailed with the wind. So keen was he to discover the New World over the horizon that he was prepared to sail with the wind.

We must sail with the wind. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can give us the courage to do God’s will so we move forward in Him.

You see an encounter with Jesus through the Holy Spirit is the “real McCoy” John only baptises in water. But Jesus actually cleanses, purifies and empowers our lives by the Holy Spirit. His activity within us is the real engine that brings about moral reform, zealous pioneering service and other fruits of repentance.

Have you been baptised with the Holy Spirit? Is religion for you a form of outward show and ritual - or do you have a sense of closeness to God and the Kingdom within that John’s hearers could only dream of. Are you thirsty? The Bible encourages you to ask, and the Lord will pour out His Spirit on you so you can know him intimately and be empowered to live the Christian life.

An encounter with Jesus includes the recognition he is the Son of God. (v17). A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” The word “Son” here transcends even the title Messiah. What is described here is the unique relationship Jesus has with the Father. An eternal and essential relationship. The idea of what is happening here can be expressed like this: “because you are my unique Son, I have chosen you for the task upon which you are about to enter” Jesus did not become the Son of God at his baptism. He already is the Son of God. The Father testifies to it.

Since Jesus is the Son of God, then you and I must come before Him in humility. Like John we should say of Jesus, he is “one more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry”. In light of who he is and what he has done to rescue us. In light of the seriousness of our own sin, then John’s attitude towards Jesus is the only one we should have. Jesus Christ deserves our worship.

This morning you sense you are at a cross roads. If you stay unrepentant, beware, John says “the axe is already at the root of the trees” Peter says the same thing at Pentecost “save yourselves from this corrupt generation” The warning is plain. But to the one who would repent and risk a genuine encounter with Jesus, then the invitation is there for you. During Pentecost Peter is able to give a much fuller invitation than John ever could. The invitation still stands today: “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off- for all whom the Lord your God will call” (Acts 2:38, 39).

¹Richard Dawkins is the most popular exponent of atheistic naturalism (See Updates 14/6/20 & 10/1/21 for problems with this worldview. Access on Angmering Baptist Church website.) For Christian worldview see excellent overview on our origins: Ken Ham’s ‘Science Confirms the Bible’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74UIt8uHQPs or ask me for a free copy of ‘Creation & Evolution. Why it matters what you believe’ by Colin Garner.

…………………………………………………………

There is in the preaching of John the Baptist a dual emphasis; on the one hand the holiness of God in a recognition of the seriousness of sin, God’s wrath against it, its just punishment and therefore the call to repentance. On the other hand the love of God underpins the sacrifice of Christ for our sakes bringing forgiveness of sin undeserved, inner cleansing by God’s Spirit who now comes to live within us, along with the gift of eternal life in Christ.

1 Peter 2 highlights that in any true Christian teaching there will always be this dual emphasis resulting from God’s holiness and love, and a dual effect on those who listen. To those who refuse to repent, Christ is a ‘Scandalon’- who offends them. He is like a stone they stumble over and fall. But to those who believe, there is still the initial ‘scandal’; the challenge to pride, but they do repent and consequently come to know God’s love for them with all the benefits of salvation. To them Christ is ‘precious’- a cornerstone who holds their lives together, and on whom they build.

Song. ‘Scandalon.’(Recording)

That the long awaited one would make men stumble

But they were looking for a king to conquer and to kill

Who'd have ever thought He'd be so meek and humble

Chorus

He will be the truth that will offend them one and all

A stone that makes men stumble

And a rock that makes them fall

Many will be broken so that He can make them whole

And many will be crushed and lose their own soul

Along the path of life there lies a stubborn Scandalon

And all who come this way must be offended

To some He is a barrier, to others He's the way

For all should know the scandal of believing

Chorus

It seems today the Scandalon offends no one at all

The image we present can be stepped over

Could it be that we are like the others long ago

Will we ever learn that all who come must stumble

Repeat Chorus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaVTcVNQxms

Prayers

Lord our healer, we intercede for people in the 43 counties with the highest poverty rates, whose lives have been devastated by covid-19 and its aftermath. Please grant wisdom and determination to governments and organisations to find ways to meet this great need.

God of all freedom, we remember those who are trapped in slavery of any kind. We pray that UK legislation will soon be amended to properly protect and provide for victims of trafficking and exploitation. We especially cry to you for freedom and healing for the 71 per cent of all human trafficking victims across the world who are female- three out of four of whom are sexually exploited.

Lord, many serious inequalities exist in Britain and we pray for those who are unfairly disadvantaged and discriminated against because of ethnicity, social class, or beliefs. Please help local and central governments to address injustice and invest generously where the need is greatest.

Dear Lord, we remember the 6.5 million people who care for someone who is older, disabled or seriously ill. Please help them as they navigate through the complications of our health and social services, to access information and receive support to cope with the pressures of caring.

.Heavenly father, thank you for the many opportunities churches take to help people in need; providing foodbanks, homeless shelters, debt advice, job clubs, support for families and frail people and many other projects that demonstrate the love and truth that is at the heart of the gospel.

Almighty God, You are holy and righteous, yet Jesus laid down his life to deliver us from sin and grant us eternal life. Please help us always to reflect Your divine justice, forgiveness and compassion towards all that You have made, in how we live and relate to others. Amen. (Care Prayer Diary October 2020- January 2021)

Hymn

2 Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into every troubled breast.
Let us all in thee inherit, 
let us find the promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning; 
Alpha and Omega be.
End of faith, as its beginning, 
set our hearts at liberty.

3 Come, Almighty, to deliver, 
let us all thy life receive.
Suddenly return, and never, 
never more they temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, 
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing, 
glory in thy perfect love.

4 Finish, then, thy new creation; 
true and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation 
perfectly restored in thee.
Changed from glory into glory, 
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee, 
lost in wonder, love and praise.