Week commencing June 27th 2021

Devotional Materials. Week Commencing Sunday 27^th June 2021

Call to worship.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8, 9.

^“And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18: 3, 4

Opening Prayer of Praise and Adoration

“Praise our God all you his servants, honour him, you who fear God, both great and small. Heaven and earth praise your glory, O Lord, all creatures in heaven, on earth and under the earth, let us praise and glorify him for ever.” (St Francis of Assisi 1182-1226)

Hymn (Piano)

1 Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy:
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

2 Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe:
Be there at our labours, and give us, we pray,
your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

3 Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace:
Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

4 Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm:
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8mti7VL3gg

Reading. Luke 5:27-32

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

I’ve trouble with a sickness, but it’s nothing you can see

Crawling through life on my hands and knees

Have you got a cure for this wasting disease?

I’m supposed to be the doctor but I can’t heal myself

Because I’m troubled with this sickness like everybody else.

It’s a terminal illness that won’t give you peace

Sin is the name of this wasting disease.

Chorus

You’ve got a sick heart and a sick mind

The ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind

With a sick heart you will find

The name of the doctor who gives you new life

Things were getting desperate, I was feeling worse

If the doctor can’t help you then you’re ready for the hearse

But out stepped this man with a Bible in his hands

A voice of compassion said ‘I understand’

Chorus

You need a new heart and a new mind

The god of this world has been making you blind

With a sick heart you will find

The name of the doctor who gives you new life

He looked me in the eye and said ‘I’ll give it to you straight

If you want to live forever then I’ll have to operate

Your cold heart is stony, deceitful and mean

The new one is tender, obedient and clean.’

He performed the operation with a confidence and skill

He said that I’d died and there wouldn’t be a bill

When I awoke I was a brand new man

I heard my Physician say ‘Do you understand?’

Chorus

You’ve got a new heart and a new mind

If you only believe you’ll be doing just fine

With a sick heart you will find

The name of the doctor is the Author of life

Author of life

Give you new life

Bryn Hayworth (from the album ‘Pass It On’)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhEGLl6UXqM

Sermon. ‘Jesus Welcomes Sinners.’ Part Two

We saw previously how tax collectors like Levi were bitterly resented by the Jews. They not only worked for the hated Romans but often collected money for themselves.

But Jesus welcomes Levi. Jesus call is personal. Levi probably had a low view of himself, certainly others had a low view of him. But Jesus singles him out. Levi is significant. He counts. The Lord has purposes for him. Levi will be called ‘Matthew’ and Matthew means ‘gift of the Lord.’

We saw how in response Levi got up, left everything and followed Jesus.

Levi hosts a great feast for Jesus at his home, a party for tax collectors and others. And Jesus joins in with them.

The Pharisees cannot understand how Jesus can do this. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees complain to Jesus disciples: ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?’ (30)

They were indignant. We looked at the pharisaic spirit previously. The Pharisees believed God was only interested in people who kept every aspect of the Law.

So today let’s look at Jesus’ reply:

Jesus says to the Pharisees ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ (5:31, 32).

Jesus is not saying the Pharisees are righteous. The Pharisees thought themselves righteous, but that did not make them so in God’s sight.

Saul the Pharisee, later to be known as the Apostle Paul, reflected back on the ‘righteousness’ he had as a Pharisee- a ‘righteousness based on the law’ and counted it as ‘garbage’:

“^4bIf someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Philippians 3: 4b-9).

Here Paul is echoing the truth of Isaiah 64:6 ‘All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.’ All people, not only ‘obvious sinners’ like Levi, are infected and impure with sin. Even when we put on our prized robes of righteousness we find they are but filthy rags (literally ‘like as rags of menstruation’).

The Scriptures are clear that we all are naturally sinners. Ephesians 2:1 states ‘As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.’ Romans 3:23 ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’

The legalistic and self-righteous person who thinks they can achieve their way to heaven, and have no need of Christ, is as much in need of Salvation as the licentious person.

Some gases like Hydrogen Sulphide are obvious, they have a powerful smell, and you know you are in trouble. Similarly licentious people- tax collectors, prostitutes, the addicted, know they are spiritually and morally in trouble. They know they need saving.

Other gases like Carbon Monoxide are silent killers. You don’t smell them but they will poison you just the same. The root sin here is pride. This ‘I am good enough’ attitude, which translates into the pharisaic, judgmental, self-righteous outlook- toxic to relationships, and unaware of the dangers to one’s own soul. Their predicament is direr because they are unaware of what that poison is doing to them and their relationships.

All are sinners. The Apostle Paul speaks to the licentious in Romans 1:18-32 and to the self-righteous/legalistic in Romans 2. Both groups are equally in need of the grace of God that brings true life and salvation in Christ.

Jesus’ answer to the Pharisee’s complaint gets to the heart of the issue. ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick ‘Why does He eat with sinners?

People like Levi know they are sinners. They know they are ‘unhealthy’ spiritually speaking. They recognise their need of a Saviour. Jesus mixes with them so He can show them they still have hope and leads them to repentance.

The Pharisee, in contrast, is spiritually ‘blind’. This person thinks they do ‘see’- and so their guilt remains (John 9:41).

To recognise we are all sinners- for you to recognise you are a sinner before a holy God- is the first step to restoration. Just as in the realm of healing, the disease has to be diagnosed before treatment follows.

Jesus welcomes sinners. He calls sinners (32). The meaning here equally suggests He ‘invites’ sinners, and He eats with them.

This is a familiar theme in Luke’s Gospel. We see a pattern of welcoming the despised or undeserving followed by feast/celebration:

So in Luke 14 in the Parable of the Great Banquet a man prepares a great feast and invites many guests. But they each make their excuses. So the owner says go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town. Bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Bring people in off the streets and the byways. These are the people who get to taste of the man’s banquet, not those who made their excuses.

In Luke 15 in the parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger son squanders his inheritance and is reduced to poverty. He returns to his father. At best he hopes to be made a hired hand. But Scripture says ‘While he was still a long way off his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’ What a welcome!

Again the pattern of welcoming the despised or undeserving followed by feast/celebration.

Jesus welcomes sinners.

That is wonderfully liberating for us. It means we can be honest before God. We do not have to pretend. We do not have to try and justify our pride, hatred, sexual immorality or lying, and so remain ‘blind’ and in chains. Instead we recognise and own our guilt. But having been convicted we look forward to the fulfilment of Christ’s mission and to which these teachings point.

We look forward to the cross. There we see he was ‘pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ (Isaiah 53:5). Christ’s body was broken, his blood shed as an atoning sacrifice sufficient for our sins.

Because of the love of God we can draw near in full assurance, whatever we have done; on confession and repentance we will receive an assured pardon and all the blessings of Salvation. All because He died for us.

Yes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23…and (verse 24) are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.’ We all have need of the cure for our disease- the salvation obtained for us by the Great Physician.

Grief over our sins- guilt can take a great toll on people. Without cure it leads to depression. Such guilt swallows them up and they feel they are drowning. ¹

But Christ the Great Physician is willing to apply the benefits of the salvation He has won for us at the Cross. As we come to the foot of the cross, we come in faith- our faith is in Christ and what He has obtained for us there. We come humbly, in sorrow for our sins and in repentance, asking Him to help us make that decisive U turn that we see in the life of Levi, who left all his love of Money to follow Christ and the values of His kingdom. He forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:7, 1 Peter 1:19, Acts 22:16).

This is Jesus welcome for sinners throughout all Ages. Not only to the prostitutes and tax collectors of His own day, but throughout history men and women like John Newton, the slave trader who wrote the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ speak of this welcome. Testimony after testimony of converted thieves, murderers, and drunkards testify to its truth, and show it, like Levi, by the obvious U turn in their lives. They know the touch of the Great Physician on their lives.

And not only licentious people, but the self-righteous, those like the Pharisee, blind to their guilt but who think they can see. God is gracious toward such and can open their eyes to their spiritual blindness and need of Him. When the Lord appeared to Saul on the Damascus road, Saul was temporarily blinded, that was a sign to him to show him his self-righteousness - his attempt to be accepted by God through his own righteousness- was symptomatic of pride and his sinful nature. He was dependent on God to remove the scales from his eyes and for the first time to see clearly that he could only be saved through the salvation God Himself provides. Saul became Paul, but his was more than a name change. His whole life was a U turn. He went from persecuting Christians and having them killed, to preaching the message himself- called by the ascended Christ to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. He took no heed for his own safety, he did not bow to any form of opposition whether verbal, physical or imprisonment, but remained a dedicated servant of Christ, starting up churches throughout the Mediterranean world for the rest of his days until he was martyred. (For more on Paul’s conversion please see Update 5/7/20 available on our website.)

A relatively modern example of someone converted from a ‘self -righteous’ background was Chuck Colson. He was not religious in his sense of personal pride, but a secularist, with a powerful and prestigious position. Colson was President Nixon’s right hand man. This is how he relates his Christian conversion in a piece that describes the U turn in his life, entitled ‘One night in a Driveway:’

“Thirty years ago today, I visited Tom Phillips, president of the Raytheon Company, at his home outside of Boston. I’d represented Raytheon before going to the White House, and I was about to start again.

But I visited for another reason as well. I knew Tom had become a Christian, and he seemed so different. I wanted to ask him what had happened.

That night he read to me from Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, particularly a chapter about the great sin that is pride. A proud man is always walking through life looking down on other people and other things, said Lewis. As a result, he cannot see something above himself immeasurably superior—God.

Tom that night, told me about encountering Christ in his own life. He didn’t realize it, but I was in the depths of deep despair over Watergate, watching the president I had helped for four years flounder in office. I’d also heard that I might become a target of the investigation as well. In short, my world was collapsing.

That night, as Tom was telling me about Jesus, I listened attentively, but didn’t let on my own need. When he offered to pray, I thanked him but said, no, I’d see him sometime after I read C. S. Lewis’s book. But when I got in the car that night, I couldn’t drive it out of the driveway. Ex-Marine captain, White House tough guy, I was crying too hard, calling out to God. I didn’t know what to say; I just knew I needed Jesus, and He came into my life.

That was thirty years ago.

I’ve been reflecting of late on the things God has done over that time. As I think about my life, the beginning of the prison ministry, our work in the justice area, our international ministry that reaches a hundred countries, and the work of the Wilberforce Forum and BreakPoint, I have come to appreciate the doctrine of providence. It’s not the world’s idea of fate or luck, but the reality of God’s divine intervention. He orchestrates the lives of His children to accomplish His good purposes.

God has certainly ordered my steps. I couldn’t have imagined when I was in prison that I would someday be going back to the White House with ex-offenders as I did on June 18; or that we’d be running prisons that have an 8 percent recidivism rate; or that BreakPoint would be daily heard on a thousand outlets across the United States and on the Internet.

The truth that is uppermost in my mind today is that God isn’t finished. As long as we’re alive, He’s at work in our lives. We can live lives of obedience in any field because God providentially arranges the circumstances of our lives to achieve His objectives.

And that leads to the greatest joy I’ve found in life. As I look back on my life, it’s not having been to Buckingham Palace to receive the Templeton Prize, or getting honorary degrees, or writing books. The greatest joy is to see how God has used my life to touch the lives of others, people hurting and in need.

It’s been a long time since the dark days of Watergate. I’m still astounded that God would take someone who was infamous in the Watergate scandal, soon to be a convicted felon, and take him into His family and then order his steps in the way He has with me. God touched me at that moment in Tom Phillip’s driveway, and thirty years later, His love and kindness touch and astound me still.” (You can read for yourself a full account of how Chuck Colson became a Christian in his book, “Born Again.”)

Both the licentious and the self-righteous can know the touch of the Great Physician on their lives.

They know Jesus is their righteousness. They know what it is hear His voice and open the door. And He has come in and eaten with them, and they with Him (Revelation 3:20). The joy of their celebration reverberates throughout eternity.

Again the pattern of welcoming the despised or undeserving followed by feast/celebration.

Let me finish with a poem written by George Herbert (1593-1633). A poet and ordained minister of the early Seventeenth Century. He says the poem (Love III) celebrates the final communion in Heaven. A celebration when ‘God shall gird Himself and make them to sit down to meat and will come forth and serve them…’

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
            Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
            From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
            If I lacked anything.

"A guest," I answered, "worthy to be here":
            Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
            I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
            "Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord; but I have marred them; let my shame
            Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
            "My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
            So I did sit and eat.

Jesus welcomes sinners.

…………………………………………

¹‘Insight for Living’ have published a very helpful article entitled ‘Getting Past Guilt: Overcoming Barriers to Feeling forgiven.’ https://www.insight.org/resources/article-library/individual/getting-past-guilt-overcoming-barriers-to-feeling-forgiven

…………………………………………..

Hymn (Guitar)

Father me, faithful Father.
Father me;
No one else could ever be
The perfect Father God to me.

You now clothe me with Your righteousness,
Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.
And even in my darkest days,
Your light will guide my way.
Hallelujah to the King of grace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL1CmJCL6KU

Prayer of Forgiveness
A prayer of forgiveness is something we all seek at some point in life. Forgiveness is a valuable gift that is neither easily obtained, nor easily given. Forgiveness is essential for life; it frees us from past wrongs and gives us hope for the future. It is for forgiveness sake that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for mankind.
 

All knowing, God grieves even at the mere thought of evil. Thus, ultimate forgiveness must also come from God. However, because of His justice, forgiveness cannot be freely given. Every wrong must be accounted for in order for God to be a just judge. Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary in our place so that our sins may be forgiven. His suffering paid for our transgressions. "For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28).

In His love, God knew that our conscience needed to be freed from guilt and condemnation. He knew that forgiveness of sins was our greatest need. In the ultimate act of love, God not only suffered the pain of our wrongs, but also paid for their consequences in order that we may have forgiveness offered to us when we sin. All we need to do is to accept His free gift of forgiveness.

The promise is "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

Notes and Dates

• There will be a maintenance morning at the church on Saturday morning 24^th July 2021.
• Our annual thank offering will take place this Sunday and next, envelopes will be available. The Deacons have decided that this year all the thank offering will go to The Barnabas Fund. This Christian Charity supports persecuted Christians. ‘Barnabas Fund works to provide hope and aid for the persecuted Church, from Christians, to Christians, through Christians.’ https://barnabasfund.org/
• The ‘Prayer diary’ will be given out at the service next Sunday.
• After our Deacons’ meeting on Monday, and given the Prime Minister’s most recent announcement, we have decided to resume mid-week meetings and Sunday evening worship in September. Similarly, all being well, our next Church Meeting will take place on Wednesday evening the 1^st September 7.30pm. Meanwhile the morning service and Wednesday afternoon time for prayer (2.00-4.00pm) continue as usual.