MATTHEW 28

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

GET UP AND GO

Jesus left some wonderful final instructions for us.. so why do we do the opposite.

Many churches have events and programmes. but where do they have them.. in their churches.

When Jesus said these words.. there was one key word.. can anyone tell me what it is?

Is it Stay? Is it stop?

NO IT IS GO

The church thinks that people will come to it. Sinners are as likely to come to church, than criminals will go to a police station, we are enemies of God before salvation, it is only by the Spirit’s leading that any of us have come to God, although I went to church as a child and read the bible, I was still a million miles from God.

Now many people are brought to church by the faithful witness of believers.. like I was. We are to do this all the time, we are to befriend and love unbelievers and yes we can invite to events at our churches like barbecues and other outreach events.

But most people never would think of coming near a church, so how do we reach them?

We must Go…out into the world…out of our comfortable, carpeted and air-conditioned churches. When we were in the United Kingdom we had the privilege of sharing the gospel on the streets of Lancaster, handing out literature to people who mostly refused them. This is tough work, there were only 8 of us, including one godly couple in their 80’s. So many Christians live in Lancaster, but oh so few are ready to stand out in the cold and share the gospel. Now Open-air witnessing is not for everybody I realise that.

Recently we have started to share the gospel near my Mother in Law’s home, Helen plays the guitar and drums and this draws a few people and we just say a few words of testimony, people are fascinated by us being a cross cultural couple.

You can say a word, it doesn’t have to be some great theological outpouring, each one of you have as story to tell.. so tell it.

Jesus said to His disciples that the fields are ready for harvest but the labourers are few. Jesus tells us to go, and yet we find excuse after excuse to stay put.

Listen believer: This world will not come to us, we have to take the gospel to the world. Sure, there are some after much prayer and friendship will come to church, but they are the exception rather than the rule.  They come to church, they sing the hymns, they hear the sermons and that’s it.

You can have all these big programmes, concerts and revival meetings in church, but unless we get up and go, sinners will continue to perish, only to experience a Christ-less eternity.  

It’s Time to go! The harvest is ready.  Jesus is calling.  Harvest time!

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING

https://www.chick.com/battle-cry/article?id=Parable-of-the-Fishless-Fishermen

https://livingwaters.com/without-this-you-cannot-evangelize

GOD BLESS

KEITH

WHY I AM A CHRISTIAN

So, I am not an atheist, I am a Christian!

You may be saying, but there is no evidence for God, yes there is.

Why do I believe in God, why Christianity?

First let’s look at the influence of Christianity. 

It is a faith that is:

Counter Cultural, it is the one faith, the culture may say one thing, but Christianity says another. It does say that we are to obey government and the authorities, but it teaches that we need to go against the flow of society and to live as lights in the world. The people of God are the salt and light of this world.

It breaks country barriers, no other faith is in every country in the world, the same faith is in China, USA, Uk and Egypt. The faith of these people in different lands is the same, it is the only true global faith.

Atheists say, where is God? if there is a God, where is He? Christ came to earth, lived on earth and died the death you deserve. God has shown his compassion and care for us.

God has sent his Son for us, he cared enough to come. So where is God? He has come and lived amongst us for thirty years,  and died for us. How much care and compassion do you want?

Christianity is the only faith, that centres on a person. It centres on Christ. You may be an atheist, but you cannot deny that Jesus was a historical person.

What made him different? What has made millions of people give up their lives and follow him over the last 2000 years?  

CS Lewis said, that Jesus was either a Liar, Lunatic or Lord. He was one of the other, you cannot ignore the man of Galilee. 

He had a supernatural conception

He lived a perfect life

He said words that were beyond belief

He dies a terrible death

He rose from the grave and defeated death

He changes lives

Christianity centres on the cross, every other so-called religion seeks to reach up to God, but Christianity has God reaching down to man. The cross is central, no other so-called prophet like Mohammed or Buddha has done anything to deal with man’s sin.

Christianity calls for change, a radical one that it calls Conversion. It starts with the Holy Spirit convicting men/women of their sin and calling them to repentance. Christianity is the only faith that changes the human heart, it has brought about change in millions of people, who were thought beyond help. It has transformed Murderers, Drug addicts, Prostitutes and the like.

It also breaks the cycle of sin, man is trapped and has no way out, we go on living day to day and then we die, the atheist says, we have seventy years if we lucky and then we are no more. If that is the case and they are right, what is the point of life?

Jesus said, I am come that they might have life and have it in abundance John 10:10. He offers life with a capital L, not just here in this life, but he opens the way to heaven, he alone can give us peace with God and eternal life.

The greatest proof of Christianity is the resurrection, all the 

other so called great religious leaders such as Mohammed, Confucuis and Buddha, they are just a heap of dead bones, but the tomb of Jesus is empty, as the angels said on that first easter morning:

HE IS NOT HERE

He lives in the hearts of his people, he alone offers hope to people, what does Islam offer, try hard, pray five times a day and you may have a place in heaven.

Jesus says come unto me and I will give you rest, you come to me and you will have abundant life, not just in this life, but eternally.

Does it cost?

Of course, anything worth having does.

It will cost you:

your pride

your sin

But let me tell you, like the man who Jesus said found a pearl of great price in a field, he sold everything to buy that  field.

Jesus is the pearl of great Price, knowing him is beyond every ounce of gold on the planet and more.

The message is clear, Jesus came and died and then rose again, defeating death and will come again. It is a true message; it couldn’t be any clearer. The bible speaks with clarity, creation speaks with clarity, people with changed lived speak with clarity.

The clock is ticking, we all have a limited time on this earth, the most important question, we face is this:

What we will do with Jesus?

As CS Lewis said he is either a liar, Lunatic or he is Lord. 

As an atheist, you can’t get away from this fact, one day you will die. Are you scared, you bet you are!. But Jesus has defeated death and the grave and he offers life, the one you refuse to believe in loves you and went to the cross for you.

God’s command is for everyone to repent, man’s greatest need is peace. Peace with God. Man’s burden is sin, it is like pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress, he carries it around, it burdens him. There were many people who tried religion and good works to get rid of their sin, but the only place, sin is dealt with, is at the cross of calvary.

Paul has a great discourse, with the learned men of Athens, here is what he says:

:

Acts 17

,27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 

 but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Is God calling you, time is passing. Acts 4:12 says, today is the day of salvation. In Hebrews we read harden not your heart. 

It’s up to you, please carefully consider the evidence.  I write this because of deep care for people, I am saved only because of God’s grace and mercy and can write this and say like Paul Romans 1

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek

God bless you

Keith

PSALM 14

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

    there is none who does good.

PSALM 53

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

    They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;

    there is none who does good.

WHY I AM NOT AN ATHEIST

When someone repeats themselves, you need to sit up and take notice. 

Well in two of the wonderful psalms , God repeats himself. We have many today, who call themselves atheists, and it is to them, that I address this message.

In the Hebrew, the true meaning is:

THE FOOL HAS SAID IN HIS HEART, NO GOD

So, let’s get this straight, you aren’t an atheist, you are an idolater. You are someone who worships an idol, which is anything that takes the true place reserved for God and you won’t let it go.

Romans 1 verses 18-32, gives a clear outline, why people are idolaters, they love sin and they won’t let it go.

At the start, let me, pull no punches, the evidence is clear and I wish to tell you, Why I am not an atheist, by the end of this message, you won’t be either.

First of all, I don’t believe in Chance, Atheism is strongly linked to evolution, which says that we came about through some explosion many millions of years ago.

That is like looking for a ten-dollar bill in a stack of hay, the chance of finding it is so remote, you wouldn’t waste your time even trying. 

Secondly, I don’t believe in chaos, if there was an explosion, all explosions, lead to chaos, they leave everything in disorder, look at the order in the world, the earth is spinning on its axis, if it moved off its axis a small amount, we would be all burnt alive by the sun rays. We have seasons, we have order in our universe. We have order and not disorder.

Look at the evidence:

Creation and the cosmos

Atheists believe that we have slowly evolving over millions of years, that we came from monkeys or that we climbed out of the sea. Look at the beauty of creation, look at a flower, so many beautiful flowers/animals and birds, brightly coloured. Do you think, this just happened over millions of years?

Yes, I believe in intelligent design, because all designs need a designer. God created all we see around us in six literal days, he did it all, I know it astounds the mind, but our finite minds are unable to grasp this, it is almost too wonderful for words. Look at the human body, everything, we even have the most advanced waste disposal system, God thought of everything.

Look at the cosmos, it would take us 1000 years to reach the end of our galaxy flying at the speed of light, and there are many millions of galaxies, did they happen by chance?

Look at man’s conscience, man is the pinnacle of creation, he is the only one, with a moral conscience, he is capable of regret, of compassion, he/she has emotions. Again, I ask you, did these unique features come about by chance or evolve over millions of years.

Look at man’s chasing, every single people group, worships something, there are people all over the world, that worship trees, spirits, rivers and animals, why?. There are tribes in deepest China, that worship nature, everyone seeks something to worship, even so-called Atheist’s worship something, even if it is themselves!

Because they know deep inside them, that there is something else, something outside them.

Look at Man’s crisis, he surely is in trouble, the deeper he/she goes and the further we go into history, the worse it gets. History goes from one disaster to another, every one worse than the last. Wars and disease are now man’s daily battle, it is like a chain weight around his neck. What disaster will it be next? Covid has surely shown man’s complete impotence, he is helpless, but still, he seeks to handle things on his/her own, he/she refuses to hand things over to God and acknowledge who God is, and that he has made a complete mess of things.

It would mean man would have to humble himself, and believe me, he is far too proud to do that!

Look at man’s condition, man hates the S word. He/she hates the word sin, every atheist, right at the bottom of them, will tell you, that there is no God, because they want no moral responsibility.

If there’s no God, like they argue, there is no judgement, we can live how we like, but there is a God and there is judgement Hebrews 9:27

These are the facts, look around you, look inside of you.  You have all the evidence, The uniqueness of the universe, the uniqueness of man, his utter helplessness and his deep need.

I am not an atheist, because every time, I see a flower or an animal, I see God’s hand, every time I see another human, I am reminded that they are uniquely created by God.

Why believe in something like atheism, that gives people NO HOPE?

Let’s eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die, but there is more to life.

There is a purpose and that is a God who created you and loves you.

I am a Christian, I wasn’t always a Christian, something or someone changed me. I met and know the Living God.

He is a moment-by-moment reality, it is not some religious fantasy, I know his presence, I have seen and am seeing his power, not just in my life.

In my second message, I will share Why I am a Christian.

God bless you

KK

Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Jesus

So what’s the difference?

These were all great moral teachers, but one is different to the others, Jesus is different and unique because of the following reasons.

But it is important to note that Jesus is not merely “different” than these men: He is King of kings and Lord of lords.  Here are some more reasons why Jesus is more than just a great teacher.

1. Jesus is the Son of God

In Matthew 3, Jesus was baptized by in the Jordan by the prophet John the Baptist.  As He came out of the water, the heavens opened and His Father spoke saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16). There is no other person in human history whom God refers to as His Son.

2. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary

Jesus is the only One who was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  In Luke 1, the Angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary and declares to her that she had been chosen to give birth to the Son of God. 

3. Jesus died for ME

2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that “He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  Jesus is the only One who was willing and able to give His life for you and for me.  And it is His blood, and His blood alone that makes atonement for sin and makes us right with the living God.  

4. Jesus rose from the dead

Jesus is the only One who rose the dead.  Confucius, Mohammed, and Buddha died and they are still dead.  In Matthew 28, we have one of several accounts of Christ’ resurrection.  Mary goes to the grave of Jesus, expecting to anoint His body to slow the pace of decomposition.  However, she is met by an angel who tells her that He is not there, but that He is risen from the dead.  She then meets her Saviour who is resurrected!  Her sorrow over the death of Christ is immediately replaced with the joy of knowing that He has risen. And it is His resurrection that sets Christianity apart from every other religion on earth.

 5. Jesus is the only way to God.

There are some that say there are several ways to get to God.  Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father, except they come through me.”  If you want to know God, you must go through Christ.  How do you do that?  By asking Him to forgive you of your sins, repenting of your sin, realising that you can’t save yourself and throw yourself on his mercy and grace.

How does God save us?  He saves us by grace through faith.  Ephesians 2:8-9 say, “For by grace are you saved through faith, and not the of yourselves.  It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.”

What will you receive when God saves you?

You will receive life in abundance, you will have God’s Spirit living inside you as you go through life to guide and comfort you. You will have a new Christian family and you will have the assurance of heaven and eternal life. That abundant life starts here on earth as you have fellowship with God as your relationship with Him has been restored. There are millions across China and across the world, who have made this commitment and as someone who made it 40 years ago, it is the best thing I have ever done.

Are you ready to receive Jesus?  Say this simple prayer:

Father God, I realise that I am out of fellowship with You, because of my sin and I come before You, to ask that You would forgive my sin, because of the shed blood of your precious Son on the cross. I repent from every evil way and give my life over to You to use in any way You see fit. Thank You for making me a child of God and I will live for You and You alone. In Jesus name, amen

If you prayed that prayer, here is what you should do next:

Pray… Talk to God about everything.

Read the Bible. Start in the Gospel of John or Luke.

Fellowship… join with your brothers and sisters in the faith on Sunday and during the week.

。

Share… tell others what has happened to you.

Baptism… be immersed in water.

God bless you

Keith