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No 120. May 2015

Polperro 2015

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By the time you read this issue of Our Messenger the general election will, God willing, be over and a new government for the UK in place. At the time of writing no one knows who will make up that government however I rejoice that at the end of the day the Lord God omnipotent still reigns supreme over all.

No matter who will be in authority in the country Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, and through him to us all under the inspiration of God, holds good. I draw your attention to a few things that are important in these words. Though Paul gives us an exhortation, when seen as the Word of God through His servant it becomes a command to us.

INTERCESSION

We are to offer ‘supplications’ to God. To supplicate God is to plead with Him. Then we are to offer ‘prayers’. In other words we are to make requests of God. Paul further instructs us to make ‘intercessions’. Intercession is to represent another before someone greater than themselves. Our supplications and prayers are not to be self centred but on behalf of others. We are to intercede for ‘all men, for kings and all who are in authority’. I will come back to that in a moment.

GIVING OF THANKS

This may not be the easiest thing to do in the present situation but nonetheless it is what God requires of us. ‘Giving of thanks’ is written in the same vein as supplications, prayers and intercessions. All are to be directed towards God. He is the One we are to speak to in our intercession and thanksgiving. Indeed there may not be much, humanly speaking, for which we wish to give thanks but God expects it from us, as Paul reminds us elsewhere, ‘in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you’ (1Thess 5:18). This brings us to the next important observation:

FOR ALL MEN ...KINGS ...THOSE IN AUTHORITY

There is no vagueness here at all. We recognise that we are surrounded by men, remember Paul is using the word generically for men and women, whose interests are all self-centred and in many cases utterly godless. However we are to intercede and give thanks to God for them all. Our human nature recoils at the thought but God requires no less. It is when we recognise the glorious doctrine of the Sovereignty of God that this becomes more palatable

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Pray “...for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet

and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” 1Timothy 2:2

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for us. It is not the people who have actually put the government in place though they will have cast their votes to that end. No, Romans 13:1-7 make it quite clear that ‘the authorities that exist are appointed by God’. Remember Paul’s world at the time was under the domination of pagan Rome with all its atrocities against Christians and Christianity. It was not so very different from our own society in the 21st century. That being so we can, indeed should, give thanks to God that we are not left in a complete vacuum and under anarchy. We may well have the government we do to bring us closer to our Lord and into a deeper reliance upon Him. Surely that is implied as we consider our next point together.

THAT WE MAY LEAD... Surrounded as we are by a godless society we are to pray that we will be given grace, courage and strength, to live a ‘quiet and peaceable life’. These words do not mean a laid back lifestyle without any problems but need to be taken alongside ’in all godliness and reverence’. There is a twofold application here. I understand the first phrase to indicate a life without violent opposition. The second phrase sets the context of freedom to live as Christians and to worship God according to his Word and our conscience. Far too many people, and this is a serious issue

even among ‘Christians’, simply want a quiet life so that they can live as they choose. The Christian believer seeks to live a life to the glory of God and not for themselves. Finally Paul gives us two: INCENTIVES First God wants us to live a life that is ‘good and acceptable’ in His sight. Such a life is essentially a godly life that openly reveres God and His Name. Second God’s desire is the salvation of His people from every strata of society. Paul’s words are quite startling: ‘who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth’. God’s appointed means to that end is that His people openly preach and live out the Gospel of His grace in the world as salt and light to that end. If we are serious about that we will readily take this exhortation to heart and earnestly pray that God will continue to give us opportunities for the Gospel whoever is in government. At the same time we will thank Him that, certainly at present, we have the liberty to do so.

God bless you all,

Pastor

Now, therefore, says the LORD, Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and

with mourning.

Joel 2:12

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2015

It was a great blessing to meet with over two hundred brothers again at Leicester during April. The theme of the ministry this year was ‘The Sufferings of this Present Time’ with well known speakers addressing us. Due to unforeseen circumstances Hywel Jones was unable to come and so Pastors Gary Brady (Childs Hill) and Geoff Thomas (Aberystwyth) stood in to open and close the conference. The Lord blessed us with many good things during the week and I can only highlight one or two of them.

Brother Gary Brady warmed our hearts by reminding us how the Lord Jesus Christ is precious to all believers, preaching from 1Peter 2:7. Pastor Kevin DeYoung from the USA then gave the first of three sermons on our suffering in the light of our Lord’s suffering. He began by speaking of how the Lord’s shame on the cross (Mark 15:16-32) helps us deal with shame for His sake. On Tuesday evening preaching from Mark 14:32-52 he encouraged us to pray in our suffering as pastors by taking us into the Garden of Gethsemane. His third message was a very helpful exposition of the doctrine of the Impassibility of God.

Stuart Olyott’s two sermons were ‘vintage Olyott’ as he warmly expounded 2Coritnhians 11-12 under the title ‘Yes its hard, sometimes very hard, but... Paul’s testimony’ and then 2Corinthians 4 in his second address as he addressed the theme, ‘Yes its hard, sometimes very hard, but... Paul’s counsel’. As always he was a joy to listen to.

Mike Reeves, senior lecturer at WEST gave a useful paper on ‘The Puritan Theology of Suffering’ from the writings of John Flavel, John Bunyan and Thomas Goodwin before giving a warm address on Wednesday evening on ‘Faith amid suffering in the life of Charles Spurgeon’. That particular lecture dealt largely with handling depression and was a great stimulus to many of us.

The remaining two main speakers Alan Davey, you will recognise his name as the pastor in Bordeaux where James Hammond works, and Pastor Jeff Kingswood from Canada were very helpful as they pointed out the inevitable suffering that missionaries face and the church in general respectively.

A blessed and delightful week concluded with Geoff Thomas preaching from Romans 3:23 on the root cause of all suffering, sin. I have never heard a sermon on sin quite like it and brother Geoff brought the week to a powerful and challenging close.

All in all another blessed conference.

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How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Hebrews 2:3

Notes of a brief devotional given by Sukesh Pabari at the start of the Grace Baptist Mission Council Conference 2015

The salvation brought by the Gospel is ‘so great’for four reasons:

It has come from a great God He is great as our Creator

He is great in salvation

He is great in all His attributes

He is great in His grace and mercy

It has come through the offices of a great Saviour The son of God is great as our Prophet

The son of God is great as our Priest

The son of God is great as our King

It saves us from great sin From our sinful nature

From our sinful deeds

From our sin’s consequences

It brings us great blessings

The blessings of adoption

The blessing of an assured future

The blessing of union with Christ

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Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His

merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD endures

forever. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 117

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LET EVERY ONE IN THE CHURCH examine himself, and see whether there be anything in him that grieves the Spirit, and causes God to withdraw far away from his people?

MAY YOU THAT GROW OLD IN AGE AND PROFESSION take care that you do not wax rusty and stiff in your experiences, living in a backsliding spirit, strangers to communion with God, unconcerned about divine things, and indisposed to glorify him! It is very painful that any that profess that they are going to heaven, and as they draw near the much-desired haven, should become more worldly-minded, and as they approach the confines of the world of spirits, should become more carnal! O strive that you may in your old age ‘bring forth fruit, and be fat and flourishing’ (Psalm 92.I4).

OH YOUNG PEOPLE, take care that ye be not light and trifling in your religion, spending the morning of your age, the summer of your life, without the power of religion and the fellowship of God. O strive that ye may experience the peace and joy that are in true religion, and enjoy the feast of the Gospel! If you should but have these blessings, you would not feel any disposition to taste the poor enjoyments of worldly people, and you will not be buried in the graves of lust and sin. Let every one of you be laborious in the vineyard of the Lord, according to his state and situation, during the period of his life. Let each examine himself. Is there anything I may do for God that is not attempted? If so, let his hand lay hold of it immediately, for there is no work nor device in the grave.

TEACHERS OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL, is there anything more that ye may do? Is there no room for you to be more spiritual in your conversation with those that are under your care? Could you not say a few words respecting the evil of sin, the miserable state of a person without Christ, the dreadful situation of those that die in their sins? Then of the glory of Christ, and the great privileges to all those that believe in him? Leave off every conversation that tends to excite curiosity, or leads to pedantry or self-conceit. Let all your conversation tend to the salvation of souls, to their sanctification and consolation. Remember the little children, for few parents bring up their children as Christians ought to do. Have compassion on the rising generation, and give them a religious education in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, until the parents be awakened to a sense of their duty. O that they may be soon aroused before their death cometh!

May the glory of the Lord appear among you all! and when you draw nigh to God, remember me, the poorest of your brethren, and your servant in Christ, John Elias.

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Headings of an article written by Ian Hamilton, Banner of Truth trustee and Minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church.

1. If the Bible is not the infallible Word of God it cannot claim, and does not deserve to claim our undivided, unqualified allegiance.

2. If the Bible is not wholly infallible it enfeebles faith.

3. A denial of biblical inerrancy robs preaching of its power and undermines its authority.

4. A denial of biblical infallibility will lead to a careless attitude towards biblical obedience.

Our usefulness to God, to His church, and to a perishing world, rests at heart upon the measure of our commitment to God’s infallible Word. History proves it. The present state of the church confirms it.

Bib

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All Scripture is given by inspiration of God

Everyone ought to examine himself whether he praises God by singing. We ought to attend to three things in singing—the tune, the words, and the state of our minds.

1. The tune; in order to sing in unison, and with melody in a congregation, tunes, and a proper manner of managing the voice, ought to be acquired. We should, in order to sing the praises of God, choose those tunes which are the most suitable to cherish sober and devotional dispositions in the mind, and engage all the powers of the soul. The praise is not contained in the voice and tunes, yet both ought to be adapted to the service of God.

2. The words of praise; we cannot sing the praises of God in every kind of words. The expression employed to set forth love, reverence, and gratitude to God, which animate the soul, ought to be proper and suitable. The words we use in singing to God’s glory, whether in the form of psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs, should be all according to the analogy of faith, agreeing fully with the Word of God; and those who sing the praises of God, ought, at least, to consider and understand the words they sing.

3. The state of our minds; in singing — ‘Singing with the spirit,’ ‘singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.’ It is as necessary to sing to the glory of God, in spirit and truth, as in performing any other part of God’s service.

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Having lived in the UK and Papua New Guinea (PNG) for nearly 20 years, it is hard not to notice the difference in attitudes to ‘risk’ in both countries. In PNG, I see children, barely more than toddlers, carrying bush knives nearly as long as they are tall, which makes me wonder, ‘What are their parents thinking about?’

Then there are the parents themselves, walking across wet, slippery logs which serve as a bridge, with nothing either side, crossing a deep ravine filled with a rushing torrent of water. There’s also the motorised method of transportation — bus drivers speeding up to claim whichever side of the road belongs to them. Or the number of people who cram on or into the buses as they speed away in a trail of dust!

And then there is MAF in PNG. The short, steep, slippery airstrips we land on every day are hardly normal as far as global aviation regards normal. Even though we do all we can to keep our flights safe, a risk is involved.

The UK is now incredibly risk averse, afraid that an injury just might occur or that something might just go wrong. Fear paralyses: fear of risk; fear of failure; fear of litigation; fear of doing wrong. Inaction and lost opportunities follow the fear.

However Jesus calls us to take a risk and follow Him. He demands priority over money, possessions and relationships — including strong and legitimate family bonds.

He speaks strongly in what He says to people who say they’ll follow Him, but then look

back at what they’ve left behind. Then there’s the parable about how riches and worldly cares affect our productivity in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus speaks about endurance, meaning that the road can be long and tiring. He speaks about perseverance, meaning that the road can be difficult and needs effort and determination. He speaks about victory and joy, meaning that the journey is more than worth it.

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Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

(Mark 8:34-36)

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Many times, people have said to me, ‘I do admire what you’re doing, but I could never do that.’ Maybe not, as God has given me my own set of skills to serve him with. However what about the risk of following Jesus? Yes, this is for us all — equally — and with the Lord’s same set of demands and challenges, along with the same privilege, joy and glorious hope before us. Be certain, however it is not for the faint—hearted and neither is it without risk If I can dare to paraphrase Jesus:

"Take a risk! Live dangerously! Follow Me out of your protective and secure comfort zones, Embrace whatever difficulties come your way as a result of following Me. I’ll be with you through them all and in the process you’ll gain true life. Don’t lose your life in possessions and money—they will steal your soul. Remember one day, you will have to give an account of whether you took the risk of following Me, or not.’

Let us trust the Lord in all He calls us to do.

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Never look back in sorrow and shame,

Only look up and whisper His Name

Don’t look ahead at the future unknown,

Look up and remember that God’s on the throne.

Don’t look around you and dwell on your fears,

Only look up for Jesus is near.

Don’t look within at the weakness and dross,

Look up, look up at Christ on the cross.

As you walk in the midst of sorrow and woe,

Only look up and trust as you go.

Marlene Gausden-Smith

[Contributed by Evelyn Saunders following a sermon on this theme]

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PREACHERS WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE Although not perhaps the easiest of reads, this book is well worth persevering with. It gives a brief history of nine men, with very different backgrounds, educations and skills. Each account is only a few pages long, but in these few paragraphs we see that they all had something in common. They all loved God and sought to serve him. They all had a passion for Biblical preaching; true Bible-men “set apart by God and equipped by the Holy Spirit for their life’s work”.

From Latimer, who paid the ultimate price for his faith, to Dr Lloyd-Jones, whose sermons are still read and listened to all over the world today, all these men sought to tell the world of “the greatness and glory of the gospel, the power of the living God, and His love in sending His Son Jesus to die for us on Calvary’s hill”.

Reading these short accounts one cannot help but be stirred up to pray that men of this calibre would be raised up today. That men and women would be confronted with the wonderful truth of the gospel. That, in the words of M’Cheyne, we would “pray for the outpouring of the Spirit on the church of Christ and for the world… for the raising up of godly ministers, and the blessing of those that are already…”

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A PEEP BEHIND THE SCENES I picked this little book up again at the beginning of the year and was struck with how well it fitted in with our motto text ‘It

is time to seek the Lord’. The book is about a little girl called Rosalie who travels around with her parents. One day a kindly gentleman gives her a picture of a shepherd carrying home a lamb. Underneath the picture is a caption ‘Rejoice with Me, for I have found My sheep which was lost. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth’.

O. F. Walton drives home the message that it is time to seek the Lord now. That if we pray Rosalie’s simple prayer from our hearts ‘Please Good Shepherd, come and seek me… and find [me]…’, He will! Rosalie was young; she sought Him, and she found Him. Her mother was sick and dying; she sought Him, and she found Him. But how dreadful to be like Rosalie’s father, whose conscience was ‘seared as with a hot iron’, he suppressed it, resisted the Spirit of God; and died without Christ.

Young as she was Rosalie learnt the most important lesson of all. She learned that there is ‘no lasting joy in anything of this world’, that true happiness and peace is only found in ‘keeping near to the Good Shepherd, hearkening to His voice and following His footsteps’. May we all learn this for ourselves, and run to the Good Shepherd while there is yet time!

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2Corinthians 4:1-6

Look what Paul says about...

Christ

He is glorious v4

He is Lord v5

We see God’s glory in His face v6

The Gospel

It is the Word of God

It is the truth v2

It is veiled from the perishing v3

It is light revealing the glory of Christ v5

The Devil

He is the God of this age v4

He rules the minds of the unconverted but not ours v4

Conversion

It is seeing what once was veiled to us v3

It is seeing the glory of Christ v4

It comes about by a creative act of God v6

It is then we see and know v6

Gospel Preachers

Our ministry comes from God v1

We have renounced shameful things v2

People know we are straightforward v2

We preach Christ as Lord and self as a servant for His sake v5

We have the light and the glory in our heart v6

2Corinthians 4:7-12

We have treasure in these jars of clay

So that the power is always of God v7

How does this work out?

We come under pressure and get perplexed v8

We are persecuted and struck down v9

The life of Jesus is manifested in us v10-12

Death is an ever present reality

2Corinthians 4:13-18

We cannot stop preaching because...

The fire never goes out v13

We believe we shall rise with our converts v14

We do it for the glory of God in others v15

We don’t lose heart v16

Our troubles take on a new perspective v18

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Notes of an address given at the Banner Ministers’ Conference 2015 by Stuart Olyott [the punchy headings are his].

Please read the references in the headings as you read this piece.

WOW!

OW!

NOW!

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We think of our need of God’s grace at the

time of our conversion to Christ, but is it

not true that we need it constantly as we

live the Christian life? What do you think?

[Dale Davis]

It’s not just job satisfaction that keeps us going: it’s knowing

we’re where God wants us to be. [An

MAF wife in Uganda]

Talking to men for God is a great thing but talking to God

for men is greater still [E M Bounds]

In his grace ,God offers us peace

with himself through Christ. How

can we communicate this

wonderful aspect of the Gospel to

others? [Dale Davis]

I am discovering that if, instead of worrying,

I focus first on God, His sovereignty, power

and love, then worrying somehow becomes

unnecessary. [Angela Harding MAF]

What does it mean to leave all things to God? In short it means resting in

the great truths of God: God’s sovereignty, God’s goodness, God’s

wisdom. It means admitting our own powerlessness to figure everything

out and fix everything that is broken, and then trusting that our God is not

as stymied as we are. You see, there is rest for the weary after all! No, it

is not the rest of inactivity, but something far better: the peace of heart

that comes from knowing that there is such a God, and that he is our God,

and we are his people. God is the Alpha, the one who has ordained our

circumstances, and he is the Omega, the one who will guide us to his

glory. [Paul Woolfe in ‘My God is true’]

If everyone in your church was like you,

would your church be dead or alive?

[Alec Taylor]