"Facts that strengthen our Faith"

I shared these thoughts with the Parkrose Nursing Home Church congregation recently and both Renmark Uniting Churches.
This version was presented at Parkrose. It was slightly different at Renmark.
Below the sermon is the order of service and the Bible Reading.

SERMON

How are you going in the Faith department?

If you’re anything like me I often don’t have much.

I wish I could be more believing more often,

more effective as a Christian.

For some of us,

when we started our Christian life,

it was all very exciting and new.

It was for me.

God’s Holy Spirit had spoken to me about my need for salvation and need of our Saviour Jesus.

I was under conviction for 3 years before I became a Christian at 28.

 but at the time I could see how He was reaching out to me much earlier than that.

Some of us may have had a subsequent period in our lives,after we became a Christian, when we were “on fire for the Lord” as some would say.

Very involved,

attending this service and that,

this convention and that,

listening to prominent speakers,

attending Bible Studies,

sharing our faith with all who would listen,

Sometimes whether they wanted to hear us or not.

Singing in the choir,

taking up leadership roles in our Church.

And then some things might have come along to cause us to stumble a bit.

Relationship break ups,

the onset of chronic illness,

tragedies all around.

You might have worked out previously in your thinking,

like me,

 how God was going to give you a perfect life.

But like me your faith may have started to wain when challenges came.

Maybe we were  starting to become a bit sceptical and beginning to think our non Christian friends might be right.

They didn’t believe and maybe thought we were a bit delusional even though they still liked us.

They came up with questions that you didn’t always have answers for.

You were quite confident there were answers but found it hard to find them when needed.

They couldn’t see how Christians could have any fun and maybe you were starting to believe them.

Some of course who are here today have come from all sorts of Christian backgrounds.

For some our Faith is something that quietly started somewhere and then just grew over the years.

It may have been a slow and steady experience and you really just enjoyed and still do, being a Christian.

For some as we get older and come into places like this we know we are not that far off from passing to the next life.

We might ,even though we are advanced in years, still be searching for answers and assurance about what happens next.

We might be wanting a faith that works that will carry us through.

Well if what I have been describing resonates with you,

or is something you have experienced,

or even still are,

then I think today's passage can bring us some comfort.

A boost to our faith if you like.

We should always hope to leave a Church service feeling better than when we came in.

That can be if we allow God to touch us. 

My prayer is that will be our experience today,

Here are 4 things I think today's reading can help get us back on track.

1. The Fact of Jesus rising from the dead.

^1.8 Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead.

This passage is reminding us of the foundation of our faith which is a fact.

 A fact born about by History and Literature and the Word of God and God’s Holy Spirit.

And the testimony of those who knew Him when He physically walked this earth.

People will dispute this.

But the evidence is outstanding to those who are not prejudiced about becoming Christians.

You see many people, who are never likely to believe, are wanting to protect their right to be who they want to be.

That really means to sin without being accountable to God.

This blinds them from ever wanting to examine the evidence with an open mind.

Their minds are largely closed.

Some such people however may still be touched by God’s Holy Spirit even though it is against their wills.

After all such were some of us.

2.  We will be living in Heaven with Jesus. In a sense we are already.

¹¹ I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for Christ it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven. ¹² And if we think that our present service for him is hard, just remember that some day we are going to sit with him and rule with him.

This passage is a reminder that the best is yet to come.

That God has a purpose right now for everyone of us.

Suffering is something we are much more able to endure when we have all the promises God has for us and that He will keep.

And this following passage is a great encouragement when our faith is failing and weak.

3.God is faithful to us.

¹³ Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us.
God is aware of our human frailty.
He will and has already imparted His faith to us.
My mum used to love that little poem called footprints.
That is a very good scriptural example of what God, Jesus, is doing for us when we are that weak that our Faith is almost gone.
He will safely and faithfully escort us on through these tough times and over the hurdles we face.

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

And this last bit from today’s passage is encouraging those of us who can, to encourage one another.

4.

¹⁴ Remind your people of these great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful. ¹⁵ Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means.

 We need to keep working on our Faith,

reading the Bible when we can,

attending Church here and other activities such as the hymn singing and communion services during the week.

Talk to each other about your faith.

How you’re feeling maybe exactly how someone else is and you can work together to lighten the burden.

We are told also to avoid arguing.

It’s sad but there was for sometime, an argument going on as to who actually was the author of the poem footprints.

The simple fact is that God actually wrote it not word for word, but in truth, in His Bible

Conclusion.

So is our Faith weak?

Does our faith need to be stronger?

In simple truth it doesn’t really matter.

If you are a Christian you are God’s Child.

We have a sign on our mantelpiece.

“GOD,  I am in your Hands.

I know you won’t drop me.”

He won’t.

That’s a fact.

We will now sing our last Hymn.

Can you guess what that might be?

Parkrose service13/10/19

Welcome

Call to worship: 

Hymn: “This is my Father’s World”  4v 

Announcements:

Bible Reading: 2 Tim 2:8-15                      

Hymn: “Great is thy Faithfulness”  3v 

Communion: 

Offering: 

Church Prayer:

Hymn:  “Now I belong to Jesus”  3v

Message:  “Facts that strengthen our Faith”

Hymn: “He’s got the whole world in His hands” 5v 

Benediction and Vesper: Now unto Him 

2 Timothy 2:8-15 Living Bible (TLB)

⁸ Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead. ⁹ It is because I have preached these great truths that I am in trouble here and have been put in jail like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even though I am. ¹⁰ I am more than willing to suffer if that will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.
¹¹ I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for Christ it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven. ¹² And if we think that our present service for him is hard, just remember that some day we are going to sit with him and rule with him. But if we give up when we suffer, and turn against Christ, then he must turn against us. ¹³ Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us.
¹⁴ Remind your people of these great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful. ¹⁵ Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means.

Living Bible (TLB)

Freedom In Christ-

Some steps to Freedom in Christ

I came across the ministry of Neil T Anderson and his associates a few years back now.

I thought that it complemented  quite well with what I had already been learning over the years and much of what you will find on my blogs.

I still think that and I believe that people struggling with being a Christian will find this helpful.

There are tools, mainly the "Steps to Freedom " that are used in this ministry.

FIC ministries will emphasise that there is no "magic" in this tool but just a tool hat enables you to get yourself to Jesus. Yur full self not just the self you present to the world.

Here is a link to vary good series of presentations on how the steps work and the essential message of the Gospel.

https://ficm.org/gfd/welcome.html

I am currently working my way through these.

Death of a Guru

When I became a Christian in 1974 I had a voracious appetite to learn as much as I could about my new faith and the beliefs of those who challenged it.

I read the book "Death of a Guru" in about 1977 when it was first published.

It is still in print.

It opened my eyes to the spiritual world that is in opposition to Jesus.

This link is to a talk by its author.
                                            .
He was brought up a as Guru and then Jesus broke into his life.

I recommend anyone searching for truth buy the book which Rabi  mentions in this talk and please watch the video..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmsAlKA8lvs

The Invasion of Planet Earth

This was the message I bought to the 2 Renmark Uniting Church congregations recently.

It is slightly different to how it was delivered.

The order of service and main Bible passage is after the sermon.

The Invasion of Planet Earth

What a title!

No! We are not talking about Martians.

We will find out who,what ,when and where shortly.

How did the world get in this mess that it is today?

How come it’s getting into an even bigger mess?

You look at our society in Australia and the rest of the world over say the last 50 years and it is remarkable how much evil and moral decay has set in.

Things that were once considered very immoral are now dismissed as a fair mode of doing things.

The world is full of people demanding their freedom to do whatever they like and they are winning these freedoms.

At their own cost and those around them.

Drug taking is rife and now we are having marihujana being made a legal drug in many parts of the world when medical evidence points quite clearly to its danger.

There are epidemics of things like “ice”.

Families and relationships are crumbling.

People rejoice when they win their so called freedoms but in reality they are putting themselves in bondage( to the devil).

And of course we have the rise of the pure evil of terrorism.

We have been invaded!

By the devil!

So who is the devil?

From the outset I will say it is 100% positive there is a devil and he is alive and active on planet earth.

How did he get here?

How has he got such a foothold and is doing so much damage?

Lucifer, meaning angel of light, was one of God’s created angels who decided he would try and usurp God as the ruler of the universe.

Lucifer is the devil(Satan).

He is not a guy with horns, a forked tail and a pitchfork.

We would soon run if we saw one of those.

He usually tempts us in the same way he did Adam and Eve.

“No harm will come to you. You will enjoy this.”

He is the one behind the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and is still our tempter.

Yes, Adam and Eve were our real initial parents created by God.

All people are descended from them.

Until the devil,the serpent, tempted Adam and Eve they had an idyllic life.

They were in direct fellowship with their creator and were thoroughly enjoying His creation and going about the jobs He had given them.

You can read about this in Genesis.

The whole scene is a blessed picture of peace.

We do not know how long this state of divine communion and mutual love continued.

All we do know is that the heart of God found a unique joy with those He had created.

Then out of nowhere appears this creature.

The invasion begins.

The serpent.

He may have looked like a snake.

This is recorded in Genesis Chapter 3.

Genesis 3King James Version (KJV)

3 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
⁸ And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
⁹ And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
¹⁰ And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
¹¹ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
¹² And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
¹³ And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Satan challenges Adam and Eve in a very beguiling way to disobey what God has asked of them.

They eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge and immediately they are afraid and realised they are naked.

“I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid….and I hid myself” Genesis 3:10

Guilt and fear had simultaneously entered the world.

They hid themselves from God.

This word fear is the word for the emotion that has the whole world in bondage.

At that point the devil had invaded planet earth and  considered the invasion of planet earth was a great success.

    Fellowship was destroyed between man and God , man was driven out into the agony of existence,outside of the garden.

 God was lonely and all of Satan’s accomplices rejoiced.

Now there are many questions about why God would allow the devil and evil to enter the world.

The devil wanted more than the power and authority God had given him.

He wanted to be like god and worshipped as God.

We don’t know the answers to these questions.

The Bible however tells us what we need to know, not what we want to know.

We do know that for any creature to return God’s love they need to be given freedom to say yes or know.

The devil had been given this freedom also.

Before Jesus came,after the fall, God had not given up on mankind and still, as we read in the Old Testament, He gave instruction on Godly living and spoke through His prophets.

The Old Testament clearly foretells the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, and then He arrives on earth as a baby born of a virgin.

We heard about that again in our Christmas services.

In the NT we learn of His miracle working life and His death on the cross and His resurrection.

The dying for our sins, the shedding of His blood as a sacrifice in our place.

The victory that He has won over the devil.

We learn of the authority, His authority, He gives to us to deal with evil and sin and the devil.

His authority over the devil is clearly shown in today’s Bible reading.

Now while we need to know much how to use the weapons ,spiritual weapons, God has given us, so that we are not ensnared like Adam and Eve were,

I just want to focus on one of those weapons today.

The devil does not want the world to seriously consider he exists.

He does not want the world to understand that the Bible is God’s revelation of His plan of redemption.

The word of God is one,and a very important one,
of God's mighty weapons.

The word of God!

“Hebrews 4:12King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
And from Ephesians 6.
^"17 And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God."
Note the "helmet of salvation". 
We do need to have the question of our salvation settled before we can go into this battle, against our invader, and use “the sword of the spirit” the “word of God.”

So we have been hearing today of how the devil invaded the earth and the minds of men and women.

The devil who is the driving force behind all the evil and rebellion in the world.

So one of the simple ruses of the evil one is to convince people that the first 3 chapters of Genesis, where we read about this invasion, are a myth.

In Genesis 3 we see the plan and purpose of satan in his attack in the garden and his unique pattern he follows in all his assaults on mankind.

Now the theory of evolution is a neat package to help further the devil’s cause.

It is used by many to attack the credibility of the Bible.

If people can be convinced the true story of creation and the temptation by the devil is a myth, then why wouldn’t they accept the rest of the Bible’s message as a fairy tale.

Now just a personal note and for consideration.

I was still believing in evolution when I became a Christian.

I thought at first that God had caused evolution but the more I looked into it the more I came to dismiss that theory.

It is still a theory, not a fact.

Folks evolution is the fairy tale.

I am not knocking science.

There is true science and false science.

If it were not for medical science I possibly wouldn’t be standing here today.

One fairy tale we know of is of the Frog Prince who is awakened from his curse by the kiss of a beautiful maiden.

The only difference between  that fairy tale and the theory of evolution is several million years.

No amount of years, however how many millions, will turn a frog, a fish or a monkey or any other creature into a man.

The much maligned Charles Darwin was one of the main culprits behind getting this theory off the ground.

He started off a Christian but became agnostic much to his Bible believing wife’s despair.

According to the book,”The Kiwi’s Egg”she believed the Genesis account of creation.

They remained faithfully married to each other all their lives but you can read about their conflict in the book.

Christians,

 believe the Bible!

every word of it!

It is a matter of life and death.

For all of us.

Take it at Faith value.

So the one thing?

The one weapon of God we can all use.

The word of God.

The Bible.

We should read it and study it.

 If you are challenged by today’s message take some steps to thoroughly investigate the evidence for the truth of the first chapters of Genesis.

Then share what you find whenever you can,

even though some may ridicule you.

A caution though,

share it when you have thoroughly studied the subject.

Know what you are talking about.

Become a champion for the Word of God.

The Bible.

You need to study your Bible thoroughly.

The devil knows the word of God,

 the scriptures,

 and tried to trick Jesus by misquoting it when Jesus was tempted for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness by the devil.

Jesus countered all his arguments with scripture in correct context.

Promote the Bible as the whole truth,

including the story in Genesis of our creation,

and the part the devil plays in the fall of man.

So folks, particularly the younger people, study the word of God.

Find out that reputable scientists also believe the Bible and its Creation account rather than Evolution.

We are not here by chance but by a deliberate act of God.

There are many fine books and Christian documentaries on this subject.

Older people here, it is equally as important no matter how old you are to make sure you are right with God.

Don’t allow your faith to be nullified by the devil’s lies.

Just last weekend at the Parkrose Village Church service I was sitting next to a little lady,

 she is 94,

who told me that this,

meaning Christian fellowship and the Gospel message,

was what she had been longing for.

I think it was her first day in our church service.

A new resident.

She told me she had done much wrong in her life and did not think herself worthy to be in the same room with all the other worshipers there.

She said she desperately needed to do something about being forgiven.

I prayed with her and assured her that the first step to getting right with God is repentance.

I also assured her she would be accepted by the people present.

I arranged for her to have a follow up meeting with the Village chaplain who had been leading the service that day.

What surprised me was that this was a service attended by about the same amount of people as here, many in their 90’s.

It was just a simple service like this.

We did have communion incorporated into the service which always reminds us of Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross for us.

There were no bells and whistles, people leaping and praising God, which is the impression you can get in some modern churches.

Obviously the Holy Spirit was working in her life at the late age of 94.

Where 2 or 3 are gathered in Jesus name then He is in the midst of them.

He was there speaking to this lady.

^{Ephesians 6:17 says this.
"17} And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God."

We do need to have the question of our salvation settled before we can go into this battle with satan.

Maybe the Holy Spirit is speaking to someone here today who may over the years may simply have been going through the outward motions of being Christian.

The outward motions but no inner stirring or change.

No recognition that we are all sinners and need to be reconciled to God,

and seeing the need to share that with others.

If young or older people here today are stirred by God’s Holy Spirit, don’t delay making a decision for Jesus or a rededication and re affirming of your faith.

Folks don’t allow the devil in his subtle ways,to  steer you away from Jesus.

Jesus has all authority over the devil and defeated him once and for all on the cross.

When Jesus lives in us we have that same authority.

We do need to exercise it and not just keep the seat warm in Church.

I close with this reading.

Luke 10:17-20

Living Bible
¹⁷ When the seventy disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Even the demons obey us when we use your name.”
¹⁸ “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan falling from heaven as a flash of lightning! ¹⁹ And I have given you authority over all the power of the Enemy----------²⁰ However, the important thing is not that demons obey you, but that your names are registered as citizens of heaven.”

Let us take on the invasion of planet earth in our part of the world.

Amen

 

Order of Service for Renmark 28/1/18 

Call to worship and Opening Prayer. 

Hymn: “How Great thou Art”

Prayer of confession praise and thanksgiving

Hymn: “Jesus the name high over all”  AHB 150

Bible readings: Mark 1:21-28

Offering and Prayer: Geoff

Hymn: “Be thou my guardian and my guide” AHB 498

Bible reading: Genesis 3:1-13

Sermon: “Invasion of Planet Earth”.

Hymn: “I will sing the wondrous story” AHB 173

Benediction: and Vesper

May or Lord God of Peace, bless and keep you forever.

Bible Reading: Mark 1: 21-28

²¹ Jesus and his companions now arrived at the town of Capernum and on Saturday morning went into the Jewish place of worship—the synagogue—where he preached. ²² The congregation was surprised at his sermon because he spoke as an authority and didn’t try to prove his points by quoting others—quite unlike what they were used to hearing!^[h]
23 A man possessed by a demon was present and began shouting, ²⁴ “Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth—have you come to destroy us demons? I know who you are—the holy Son of God!”
²⁵ Jesus curtly commanded the demon to say no more and to come out of the man. ²⁶ At that the evil spirit screamed and convulsed the man violently and left him. ²⁷ Amazement gripped the audience and they began discussing what had happened.
“What sort of new religion is this?” they asked excitedly. “Why, even evil spirits obey his orders!”
²⁸ The news of what he had done spread quickly through that entire area of Galilee.

Satanic Accusation:Satanic Oppression by Frank Hunting

The attached podcast was part of a School of Prayer conducted by Frank Hunting at the Church of Christ at Grote Street Adelaide in the 1970's.
Frank was visiting the Church prior to taking up a part time appointment alongside his good friend Pastor Harold Long.
I had never heard anything like this and was privileged to sit under Frank's teaching for the next several years.
I may be able to post the whole school on this site progressively.
It was not recorded professionally but you will benefit if you concentrate on this.
I have notes on his school of prayer that compliment this podcast.
Contact me if you wish to have a copy pertaining to this subject.
Unfortunately many Christians and most non Christians are ignorant about the devil.
In this message Frank distinguishes between satanic accusation and satanic oppression.
As CS Lewis remarked, along these lines anyway in his preface to the Screwtape Letters, mankind makes 2 main mistakes about the devil.
They are either totally disbelieving about any such thing or tend to see the devil being responsible for everything that goes wrong.

Put on Christ

This was my working draft for the message I brought to The Parkrose United Church on 5/11/17.

I added a little extra during the actual presentation.

The Church meets every Sunday within the Parkrose Nursing Home,Everard Park.

Text for the day.

Matthew 23.

Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ Therefore whatever they tell you to observe,^[a] that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. ⁴ For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. ⁵ But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. ⁶ They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ ⁸ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ,^[b] and you are all brethren. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Sermon:

  

Put on Christ!

All of today’s reading are the words of Jesus Himself.

So we need to say what is this saying to us.

Bear in mind this was being spoken to Jewish people not Gentiles who are us in this modern day.

Jesus had gone into the temple where He was teaching the people there.

This was not long before the time of His crucifixion.

He was being bombarded with questions by the Scribes and Pharisees who were trying to trip him up as their very authority and standing with the public was being threatened..

^“23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?”

They could see Jesus was a lot more popular than them and they basked in their power and authority.

We will take one piece at a time from our reading, or some of them anyway.

23 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ Therefore whatever they tell you to observe,^[a] that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

Have you ever heard the phrase “do what I say but don’t do what I do”.

The world is full of hypocrisy like that isn’t it?

This sort of thing is most evident to kids when their parents might say not to smoke or drink but they are continuing on their way practicing their bad habits in front of their children. 

Notice Jesus did say to those present don’t ignore the things the scribes and pharisees are saying but practice them,for  they do have authority in the Jewish religion, but don’t follow the examples they set which are really poor.

Remember this was still the time before Jesus Crucifixion and Resurrection.

The Jews were still living under the Law as handed down by Moses and the Prophets.

The fulfilling of the Law was still required to be right with God, and the age or dispensenation of grace had not yet begun.

⁴ For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

The scribes and Pharisees had by this time so expanded on the commandments and practices and rituals of the Old testament that it made life very difficult for the ordinary practicing Jew.

Willian Barclay a Christain author shares this with us.

“in the 4^th and 5^th centuries bc there came into being a class of legal experts known as scribes.

They were not content with great moral principles; they had what could only be described as a passion for definition.

They wanted these great principles(of the old testament law) amplified and expanded and broken down until they issued in thousands and thousands of little rules and regulations governing every possible action and every possible situation in life.”

I will not describe all the weird things that they brought in here but according to William Barclay,

 “to the Pharasaic and scribal Jew these things were their religion.

Ritual,ceremonial and regulations that they considered to be the essence and of the service of God.

Ethical religion was buried under a mass of tabus and rukles”

They were on about things being clean or unclean to a ridiculous level.

“but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”

The scribes and Pharisees while putting on a great show of their religion did nothing to help the common man.

The passage we had read to us today refers to these things called Phylacteries.

. ⁵ But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. ⁶ They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,

This is still a Jewish custom practiced in these times as well as then.

I don’t know if you have ever had in your possession little plastic box with cards for every day of the year with a scripture promise written on them.

These were popular a while back.

They were supposed to help you with your daily devotions but were a bit like a lucky dip.

I guess they might be helpful as thought starters much like you can still read a thought for the day verse each day in the Advertiser.

Well Phylacteries are mentioned in the Old testament and were quite specific in

construction,

what passages they contained from the Old Testament, 

(The same 4 old testament passages were in all of them)

and where you wore them or displayed them.

They made a big show of wearing these things on their foreheads and also their wrists.

It was like a status symbol and also an amulet.

Much as some people today where amulets and some bracelets to protect them or their children of illness or tragedy.

It was like “look at me I am a practising jew”, all the while turning a blind eye to the real needs of their fellow men,

The Law of the Lord is perfect, according to Psalm 19:7. Psalm 1 emphasizes the importance of meditating upon God’s Word both day and night. We should never forget it; it should be a part of our daily lives. The Word belongs in our hearts, not just on our foreheads.

So to all appearances the Pharisees and Scribes were highly religious people.

They tended to strut a bit which is what Jesus is focusing on.

⁶ They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ ⁸ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ,^[b] and you are all brethren. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.

We have a tendency with our clergy of today to place them up on pedestals.

How soon does the world, the media, jump on members of the clergy who do bad things.

They and we can see the hypocrisy of bad behavior.

We need to check our own behaviour to make sure we do not become like the Pharisees and scribes.

Before we jump on the Pharisees and Scribes we need to ask ourselves where our true heart lies.

Do we come to Church just like in  that old TV programme.

It was called “keeping up appearances”

Is that the extent of our faith?

Are we wanting to be seen to be doing “the right thing”?

Do we think that if we put some money on the collection,

Join in the singing,

Listen to the sermon,

Take communion,

that this means we have arrived,

We are paying for our ticket to heaven?

Is our faith coming from God,

  

in the person of the lord Jesus residing within us,

through His holy Spirit,

speaking to us as we meditate daily on the Word of God and seeking to apply it’s truth to our lives?

When we become Christians we can become a whole new person inside.

We are told we can become a new creation,

<sup>2 Corinthians 5

17</sup> Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

We are urged to put off the “old man” or woman, and to put on Christ.

¹⁴ But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

This actually means we are to realise and put into practice that Jesus is our Saviour.

We are to be clothed in His righteousness.

He has made all things new.

He lives within us.

"It is no longer I that lives but Jesus who lives in me".

As we allow Him to work and live through us then the laws that the Pharisees were on about will be more than fulfilled.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

Romans 13:8-14King James Version (KJV)

⁸ Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
⁹ For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
¹⁰ Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
¹¹ And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
¹² The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
¹³ Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
¹⁴ But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.