'He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul?' (Ps 23:2,3).

Did you know that the only creature that has more trouble sleeping than we do is a sheep? Everything must be just right: no wolves, no insect pests, and no hunger. Since sheep can?t find pasture, spray insecticide, or protect themselves, they need a shepherd. So do we! Listen: ?He makes me lie down in green pastures.? (Psalm 23:2 NIV). Note: our Shepherd chooses the path, prepares the pasture, and protects the sheep. What?s our part? Just follow, eat, rest, and stay close! David said, 'He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul?' (Ps 23:2,3). Those things only happen in His presence. Ponder these three scriptures:
(1) 'Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God' (Dan 6:10 NIV)
(2) 'in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation' (Ps 5:3 NIV)
(3) 'Very early in the morning, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed' (Mk 1:35 NIV).
Jesus understood that solitude was necessary for intimacy with God, and intimacy with God was necessary for giving out to others. Job said, 'the breath of the Almighty hath given me life' (Job 33:4). Until God breathes His thoughts into you, you’re just recycling the ideas of others. In Genesis God said, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish?' (Gen 9:1). Have you learned yet how to 'replenish' your flagging emotions and drained energies? The message is clear you need more time alone with God!
Friends, the Shepherd is here today for you…and you and you….and me.

Most of what I want to say is about Sunday, the Sabbath Day…Sabbath means rest.…The fourth commandment: REMEMBER THE SABBATH. KEEP IT HOLY. EXODUS 20:8 Discussing his coming vacation to The Holy Land, a Scotsman told his pastor, ‘When I get to read the ten commandments on Mt. Sinai, I’ll feel close to God.’ His pastor replied, ‘Jock, if you want to feel close, just stay home and keep them!’

‘REMEMBER THE SABBATH and KEEP IT HOLY’. shouldn’t be interpreted:
1) In a legalistic way! Because God said, ‘Keep the Sabbath holy,’ people have made it heavy. In fact, by Jesus’s time there were over 1,500 things you couldn’t do, like bathing, walking too far or scratching a flea bite! The Sabbath’s for rest and celebration; a time to recharge your spiritual battery, not drain it. It should be the milestone, not the millstone of your week!
2) In a loose way! This is our problem The pendulum has swung so far the other way that now anything goes. People go everywhere on the Sabbath except to God’s house, and excuse it by saying, ‘I’ll be there in spirit,’ . Last time I was preaching at Scotter, there was me going South along Scotter bottom, and streams of cars going North, where to? St Tesco.
3) In a limited way! Do you attend church on Sunday, then ignore God the rest of the week? Is your Christianity so irrelevant to daily life that it’s just a one-day-a-week affair? Remember, He’s not just the Lord of the Sabbath, He’s the Lord of life. So stop confining Him to a church and start taking Him to a world that needs hope and salvation.

We’ve considered what the Sabbath isn’t; now let’s look at what it should be.
1) A day of rest! A man who went to his doctor suffering from burnout, was told he’d have to slow down. ‘Doctor,’ he replied, ‘I didn’t come for a lecture on burning the candle at both ends, I came for more wax!’ God meant life to have a definite rhythm, like work, worship, labour, rest. Why? Because the bow that’s always bent will eventually break! A group of African explorers hired some native guides. For six days they were up at dawn and ready to go. So on the seventh morning when the guides didn’t rise the explorers asked why. In broken English the head guide replied, ‘We not go today. We rest. Let souls catch up with bodies’. That says it all! The Sabbath was designed to let your soul catch up with your body. Of the ten commandments God gave to Moses, which one do you think required the most words? Adultery? Five words. Murder? Four words. Taking a day off - 94 words! (Exodus 20:8-11). God knows us so well: He knew the workshop proprietor would say, ‘Somebody’s got to work that day; if I can’t, my son will.’ So God says, ‘Nor thy son.’ ‘Then my daughter will.’ ‘Nor thy daughter.’ ‘Then an employee.’ ‘Nor thy manservant.’ God says, ‘One day a week you’ll say ‘no’ to work and ‘yes’ to worship. You’ll slow down, sit down, lie down and rest. After all, I rested on the seventh day and the world didn’t crash. So, my child, repeat after Me, ‘It’s not my job to run the world.’ Spurgeon said, ‘Even the sea pauses at ebb and flood; earth keeps the Sabbath of the wintry months and man must rest or faint, trim his lamp or let it burn low, burnout. In the long term, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.’ Today, if you allow Him, God will bring rest to your mind, your body and most of all your soul. With some airlines, before an aeroplane takes off the attendant tells you that if the plane gets into trouble, secure your own oxygen mask before attempting to help others with theirs. That's wise! Unless you get enough oxygen, how can you help anybody else? To use a timely illustration, ultimately you have to make deposits where the world you live in seems to make endless withdrawals, or else face insufficient funds. Pretty soon those cheques are bouncing everywhere: morally, emotionally, and spiritually. In His presence God will supply everything we need to thrive, to experience abundant life. He is utterly devoted to our good !!
2) A day of remembering! Toward the end of his life William Barclay said, ‘I’m old, and I’ve learned that there are very few things in life that really matter, but those few things matter intensely!’ Worshipping with other believers matters because we are bringing to remembrance all God has done for us in Christ. ‘Do this in remembrance of me’, we here at each Communion. We are reminded as we gather of His grace and mercy, His constant care and provision for us, His wonderful promises in His Word, His call upon our lives and last but by no means least, that we are members of a family.
3) A day of resurrection! For Christians every Sunday is a mini-Easter, a time to celebrate new beginnings. It’s the beginning of the week… we are launched into the challenges of the week with resurrection power!
4) It is the day the Spirit came…..’Come, Holy Spirit, revive and renew us today. Fill us, empower us with your love’.

He makes me to lie down… in this Psalm words like leads and restores are used but here the word is makes.
Does that mean we have no choice in the matter? I don’t think so. We can fight back if we so wish. But who would want to do so?
The Good Shepherd is giving His total attention to me, little me, why would I want to run away. ‘I have come that you may have life, and life in all its fullness.’
Matthew 28:20-and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen
His presence will dispel the fear, the panic and the terror of the unknown.
Jesus is here. The outlook changes and suddenly there is hope.

So here we are. It’s the Sabbath. Rest, the best of food, refreshment, restoration. He restores my soul.
Do you want some of that? Then you have to let go, and let Him make you to lie down and enjoy the immense blessings He has for you.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul

Where are you just now in relation to the Shepherd?
You have heard me preach on worry and contentment. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Some of you have been online for another look at those messages.

What is God saying to you through these messages? Why are you here? God said that to Elijah. What are you doing here Elijah? He didn’t know… he’d ran away. Hope was thin. Desperation had set in.
Who here today is worried, lonely, depressed, uncertain, empty, weak, troubled, overwhelmed, lost, etc etc. ?
If any of these caps fit, you’re in the right place today.
Maybe you heard the message, believed the Good News, lived and worked for Jesus, but you have come to a place where you are now self reliant and you’re not sure how you got here. The ground is hard and dry and you are tired. You don’t know what to do next, how to find the way again, how to recover the strength you once had.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul

Whatever you need God for today, He is here.
I’m tired
He restores my soul
I’m lonely
He restores my soul
I’m hurting
He restores my soul
I need healing
He restores my soul
I need replenishing
He restores my soul
I’m frightened
He restores my soul
I’m uncertain
He restores my soul
HELP !@*$”#?%
He restores my soul

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
O people …. you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. ISAIAH 30: 18&19

Some content from The daily devotional Word For Today... available free of charge for the UK and Republic of Ireland from UCB, Broadcast Centre, Hanchurch Lane, Stoke on Trent, ST4 8RY. Tel: 01782 642000. Email: ucb@ucb.co.uk www.ucb.co.uk

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...CONTENTMENT

(L-R) Henry Allingham, Harry Patch and Bill Stone pictured last year.

Recently we learned of the death of Bill Stone,the last British serviceman to have seen active duty in both world wars. He was a man of great faith and his recipe for long life was: clean living, a contented mind and trust in God. What a great motto to live by!

Last time we talked about worry, and how to rid ourselves of it, declaring that as the Lord is my Shepherd, then I shall not want. I will seek first His kingdom, pray to Him in faith about issues that arise in my life and trust Him with all my heart.
Worry is about our lack of trust in the Shepherd.
Contentment is the opposite…it’s about trusting the Shepherd for everything.

I shall not want…therefore I am content?
Am I?
A hundred years ago the average Westerner wanted 27 different things, and considered 18 of them essential to happiness. Today the average Westerner wants 500 different things, and considers 100 of them essential to happiness. And our obsession with stuff carries a price tag. The average family now devotes a full 25% of its spendable income to outstanding debts. Over half of us spend 110% of our disposable income trying to manage debt. And who can keep up? We no longer measure ourselves against the Joneses next door, but against the star on the screen or the model on the magazine cover.
The average person is bombarded with about 300 advertisements a day, promising everything from whiter teeth to faster cars. It's a mega-billion-pound industry designed to make us want what they're selling. But there's a subtle message being conveyed. In a word, it's discontent, and it eats away at us by creating a desire for bigger, better, more.
Do you feel better when you’ve more and worse when you’ve less? Are you always wanting something bigger? Nicer? Faster? Newer? Is joy always one delivery away, one promotion away, one makeover away? Does happiness come from something you deposit, drive, drink, or dwell in? Even if you can honestly answer ‘No’ you surely know plenty of people who are always wanting more.

Epicurus said, 'Don't spoil what you have, by desiring what you don't have. Remember that what you now have was the thing you once hoped for.'

‘If we have enough, let us be content. But people who long to be rich are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some craving money, have wandered from the faith. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Tell those who are rich not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future.’ (1 Timothy 6:8-19 NLT).

Three things constantly feed our discontentment:
1) Greed. When you dwell on what you don't have, you're not enjoying what God's already given you. God says, ‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have’ (Hebrews 13:5 NIV).
2) Fear. It wants you to run from something that's not chasing you. The Psalmist said, 'In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?' (Psalm 56:4 NIV)
3) Seeking satisfaction in the wrong places. God said, 'My people have...forsaken...the fountain of living water, and...dug...broken cisterns that cannot hold water.' (Jer 2:13)

When David said: ‘The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want,’ he found lasting pleasure where discontent goes to die. He understood that what we have in God is greater than whatever we don’t have in life.
He’d figured out two things:
(1) Your stuff isn’t yours! When John D. Rockefeller died, someone asked, ‘How much did he leave?’ His accountant replied, ‘Everything!‘
(2) Your stuff isn’t you! Jesus said, ‘Life is not defined by what you have’ (Luke 12:15 TM). When God looks at you He sees your devotion and your faith, not your image or possessions.

David's contentment was based on his relationship with his Shepherd. David is saying his Shepherd completely satisfied him and he would never want at any time for anything he really needed. He was contented in the Shepherd's care and consequently not caring or feeling he deserved anything more.

In a magazine article quoted in The Word for Today* a wife and mother tells how her family moved into a sparsely furnished rental house while their home was being renovated. Instead of missing what they'd left behind, surprisingly, they were liberated! Upon returning home they were overwhelmed by the utter excess of stuff, and gave much of it away. She concludes, 'When enough's always just a little more...you don't have room for the truly great things in life.' The message isn't new; Solomon said, '...the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.' But freedom from anxiety is more than just uncluttered closets. It's a firm conviction that what you do have is a gift from God (see Ecclesiastes 5:19), and that it's meant to be shared with others. Contentment simply frees you to enjoy what He's provided.

Did you hear about the farmer who grew discontented with his farm so he decided to sell it? A few days later his estate agent phoned wanting approval for an advertisement she intended to place in the local newspaper. She read it to the farmer. It described a lovely farm in an ideal location - quiet and peaceful, contoured with rolling hills, nourished by a fresh lake and blessed with well-bred livestock. The farmer said, 'Read that to me again.' After hearing it a second time he said, 'I've changed my mind. I'm not selling. I've been looking for a place like that all my life.' Paul would have applauded that farmer. He learned the same lesson:
Philippians 4:11-12Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

To understand how Paul and David felt we need to go beyond physical and material needs. They both knew deep personal poverty, acute hardness and anguish of spirit. The Bible never promised a problem free life when it commanded contentment:
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

From complaining to contentment:

1.Admit your need of a Shepherd. We do mess up our life.. God's goal for us is life to the fullest.
John 10:10The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
If we mess up our life and He wants to give us life to the fullest only pride will keep us from admitting our need for Him.

2.Submit to the Shepherd. The shepherd has a plan that the sheep must submit to. Our shepherd has planned out our life down to the little details.
Everything that happens in our life, even the parts we don't like is part of His plan for us. (See my sermon on ‘I know the plans’).
James 1:2-4
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
I first read that verse when at the age of 19 on my first visit to London, my car's clutch failed outside the Albert Hall, so I remember it well !
When He leads us into difficult times it is never to hurt us or desert us but to help us grow. Our Shepherd always has our best interest at heart. With this knowledge and assurance, we can accept any personal slights,ridicule, unpleasant tasks or frustrations and still be at peace without complaining.
When we submit to our Shepherd we entrust our life to Him, we place our well being in His hands and accept His direction. We know that each difficulty is an opportunity to see Him at work in our lives.
Hebrews 13:5-6
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

3. Practice being content …
1) Don’ts….(be alert).
Don't be lured by advertising and glitz.
Beware of anything that produces an addiction in you.
Buy things for their usefulness, not their status.
Be wary of 'Buy now, pay later' schemes.
Learn to enjoy things without having to own them, or be owned by them. David writes, ‘If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them’ (Psalm 62:10 NAS).
Do not let your income dictate your lifestyle. Choose a realistic level of living and do not compromise by spending more just because more arrives. Let enough be enough. If you do not choose your lifestyle the world will choose it for you, and it will probably be one beyond your means. Steer clear of anything that prevents you from putting God first in your life. He says He'll 'give you all you need...if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern' (Matthew 6:33 NLT).
2) Dos..
Make contentment a daily choice.
Come to the place where you really believe that more does not equal happier. To find contentment, simplify! Cultivate the ability to say, ‘I have enough.’
Make a habit of giving things away.
Let your lifestyle be biblically based.
Let your whole life be eternally focused! Look up, people, we are on Earth now, but we are preparing for eternity. Get your focus upward as Jesus did. Hold the things of this world loosely.
When your contentment is based on status or possessions, it can be taken away in an instant. But when it's based on your eternal relationship with Jesus, nothing, absolutely nothing can rob you of it!

An American by the name of Doug McKnight was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 32. Over the next 16 years, it would cost him his career, his mobility and eventually his life. But he never lost his sense of gratitude. When his church friends asked him to compile a list of prayer requests, he responded by sending them 18 blessings for which to be grateful, and 6 concerns for which to be prayerful. His blessings were three times greater than his needs. Doug discovered that what he had in God was greater than whatever he didn’t have in life. Have you?

Conclusion:

When you understand what the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want means you can stop complaining and coveting and start living a life of contentment.
Contentment is something you learn; you have to work at it daily! The hymn writer wrote, 'Now none but Christ can satisfy; no other name for me. There's love, life, and lasting joy, Lord Jesus found in Thee!' Are you searching for contentment? Try Jesus!

I Timothy 6:8
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Since the Lord is my Shepherd I will be content.

Finally, here’s a hymn I learned years ago when Sister Eileen Beckett, the Wesley Deaconness who taught me to preach was leaving the area. I hadn’t known it before and it has disappeared from a number of hymn/songbooks. The hymnwriter has an eternal focus. Things are never going to be perfect in this world. It is a paradox that, alongside our complete contentment here, we yearn for the life to come. See what you think of this:

My God, I thank Thee, who hast made
The earth so bright,
So full of splendor and of joy,
Beauty and light;
So many glorious things are here,
Noble and right.

I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made
Joy to abound;
So many gentle thoughts and deeds
Circling us round,
That in the darkest spot of earth
Some love is found.

I thank Thee more that all our joy
Is touched with pain,
That shadows fall on brightest hours,
That thorns remain;
So that earth’s bliss may be our guide,
And not our chain.

For thou who knowest, Lord, how soon
Our weak heart clings,
Hast given us joys, tender and true,
Yet all with wings;
So that we see gleaming on high
Diviner things.

I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept
The best in store;
We have enough, yet not too much
To long for more:
A yearning for a deeper peace
Not known before.

I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls
Though amply blessed,
Can never find, although they seek
A perfect rest;
Nor ever shall, until they lean
On Jesus’ breast.

*The daily devotional Word For Today is available free of charge for the UK and Republic of Ireland from UCB, Broadcast Centre, Hanchurch Lane, Stoke on Trent, ST4 8RY. Tel: 01782 642000. Email: ucb@ucb.co.uk www.ucb.co.uk

Psalm 23 (2) The Lord is my Shepherd, I SHALL NOT WANT

I Shall Not Want (Psalm 23:1) ‘I shall not lack’ ‘ I have everything I need’
Do you feel that this morning?
God has promised we would not lack anything, so if we feel we are lacking something then there are issues we need to face:

This week we’re going to consider ‘worry’.
Next time we’ll think about ‘complaining v contentment’

Worry then. ‘Why pray when you can worry and take tranquilisers’, says the Wayside Pulpit.
Sometimes we think worry is not a problem for us, or we may think it's just part of our personality.
In truth, worry has devastating effects on us physically, emotionally and spiritually.
We’re going to look at what worry is.. define it, see how it differs from ‘concern’, and look at reasons not to worry.
Then we’re going to think about what we need to do about it. To decide NOT to worry and to let the Shepherd have control.

What worry is.

A. Definition of worry.
Worry is a troubled state of mind that includes anxiety, distress and unease.
Being 'uptight', stressed or impatient (why is that driver in front so slow!!) are symptoms of worry.
The Greek word for worry means to engage in a care worn, anxious fear which robs your life of joy.

B. Worry verses concern.
1. Worry focuses on uncontrollable conditions that cannot be acted on, or is a non-specific nebulous treadmill of false guilt and discouragement leading to depression.
It is usually about issues that affect me, not others.
2. Concern focuses on issues before us which we can usually take action on....specific things.
It is usually about issues that affect others, not me.
There are lots of things we need to be concerned about all day long. We are concerned about our families, about making right decisions, about injustice in the world, to name but a few.

C. Worry is a sin (and Jesus died to save us from our sins).
Matthew 6:25-34:
25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
29 "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32 "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Worry is mentioned 5 times in these verses. Jesus specifically says not to worry in verses 25, 31 and 34.
Luke 12:29:
"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
When we worry we are not trusting the Shepherd.

D. Four reasons not to worry.
1. Worry is unhelpful. It does nothing - it never accomplishes anything or solves anything.
Worry cannot change the past or control the future; it only messes up the present.
2. Worry is unreasonable. It exaggerates your problems, making mountains out of molehills.
…every time you think about an issue it gets bigger and bigger…. and that makes worry a waste of time and energy.
3. Worry is unhealthy.
Here’s a medical view:
Worry causes a person to be "keyed up with nothing to fight or flee and no way to turn off the stress chemicals. You become a ticking bomb that is not allowed to explode - consequently, you may implode. Every system in your body is affected by worry. In addition to raising blood pressure and increasing blood clotting, worry can prompt your liver to produce more cholesterol, all of which can raise your risk of heart attack and stroke. Muscle tension can give rise to headaches, back pain and other body aches. Worry can also trigger an increase in stomach acid and either slow down or speed up muscle contractions in your intestines, which can lead to stomach aches, constipation, diarrhea, gas or heartburn. Worry can affect your skin (rash or itch). It can impact your respiratory system and aggravate asthma. Growing evidence even suggests that chronic worry can compromise your immune system, making you more vulnerable to bacteria, viruses and perhaps even cancer."
The bottom line is our body was not made to worry.
The Old English word for worry is the word "to strangle" or "to choke". That's what worry does - it strangles the life out of you.
None of us were born to worry. The worriers have learned to worry.

4. Worry is unbelief.
Matthew 6:30 says people who worry have little faith.
Worry is a lack of trust in the Shepherd. "I'm not sure God will do His part."
Anytime we worry we are acting like someone who doesn't believe in God. (Vs.32)
We need to understand clearly, and the 23rd Psalm alongside John 10 shows us this….that the Lord who is ‘my Shepherd’ provides for us, protects us, guides us and corrects us.

What we need to do about worry.

A. Confess our sin of worry. Ask God's forgiveness for the times you have worried. Remember you are acting like an atheist if you worry.

B. Decide not to worry. Worry is a choice.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Choose to depend on your Shepherd and not worry about things you cannot control. Since the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.

Remember the definition of worry and concern?
Ask yourself - "Is there anything I can do?"
If there is, do it, if there isn't don't worry about it.

C. Let God be in control. This is the essence of Ps 23
1. Worry is a control issue.
The root behind worry is the fear that you are not in control and it is an attempt to control the uncontrollable, and that is a responsibility God never meant for you to have.
2. Who is in control of your life?
God gives you the choice of who controls your life. You can be in control or God can be in control but God doesn't co-pilot. ….as J.John puts it: let God into the driving seat (rather than the back seat or the passenger seat!).
If you are in control you will worry (and you ought to worry!), but when God is in control you can rest.
3. God has proved He is qualified to be in control. He is the great and good Shepherd.
God ran everything before you were born. He has fed you and clothed you so far. Since God has taken care of me in the past I can trust Him for the future.
He takes good care of the birds and flowers and you are more important to God than they are.
"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
…..Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
"Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?


There is no spiritual pill that you can take, no spiritual experience you can have and no seminar that you can attend that will instantly cause you to stop worrying. To stop worrying you must make a daily, sometimes at first an hourly or even a moment by moment choice to let God be in control.

D. Live one day at a time
Matthew 6:34
34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
1. Today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday....and all is well !
2. You can't change the past, you can't control the future so all worry does is mess up today. ‘Tomorrow never dies!’ in your stomach.
3. The future can seem overwhelming. Jesus taught His disciples to pray for enough bread for today. God wants us to break down our time into bite-sized pieces that are called days.
4. Overcoming worry is a daily decision to focus on today. That is so important! It’s about dealing with today, not worrying about tomorrow.

E. Lay it down at the Lord’s feet.
The issue that is before you this morning….lay it down before Him, and leave it there. If it hasn’t resolved, then pray again tomorrow morning. Leave it there again. That’s persistence in prayer. But don’t forget that bit which says ‘with thanks giving’(Phil 4v6). It’s when we learn to be thankful, to praise God, and bless Him for all His love and goodness.. as David does implicitly in Ps 23… that we can move forward.

F. Refocus
As we give thanks we heed the words of Jesus to ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,...and ALL THESE THINGS (the things you fret about) will be sorted for you.
In early 2003, we did ‘City of Gold’ with Winterton Comprehensive School.
It was well rehearsed and when the day of the performance came we had a further afternoon rehearsal before everyone went home for tea except me. I stayed over at the school and had a quiet spell. I had a couple of sandwiches…and wished I hadn’t…because as the time drew nearer I felt really ill! I was bent double with butterflies/stomach cramp. I was worried! Yet there was nothing I could do to change anything, so why worry? It was irrational.
I prayed to God for help. I have prayed similarly on a number of occasions when key events were approaching (such as Circuit Youth Weekends or funerals) when I was showing symptoms of a severe cold during the days before… ‘Lord. You know I can’t do what I must do like this. Please take it away.’ …and He has, thankfully, every time. But this time it was not an illness, it was worry. I was praying for the wrong thing!
‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’.What I simply needed to do was get the focus off myself….and instead, onto the Kingdom ie onto others. To pray for others.
As I did so, praying for the cast, the helpers, those behind the scenes, and the audience (even as they came in), the stomach cramps ceased immediately. Then I looked back for a moment, (as Jesus told us not to do!). And as I focused on myself again the butterflies came back with a vengeance. So I didn’t look back again, and all was well after that, and the performance was a success. (here I say a ‘thankyou’ to those who were praying for me!)
…And as I reflect, I recall a number of occasions in my life where I worried, or allowed myself to become depressed, and wondered why God didn’t answer my prayers to ‘take it away’. He has of course given us the answer:
"Therefore do not worry….But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
“O you of little faith…” !!!

Conclusion:
What are you worrying about right now?
What is keeping you up at night?
When you think about it, what gives you that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach?
Isn’t it time to let God into the driving seat?

Say it over and over until you believe it..
‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want’.

(Thankyou Lord that as I have set out to teach others about you, you have taught me so much… I repent of the sin of worry, and I pray that everyone who reads this message above will understand clearly their own failings in this area, and be led to repentance and forgiveness in Christ, and may the Holy Spirit fill us and give us discernment every day to see this temptation coming at us and the power to resist. Praise your name!)

Psalm 23 (1)

Psalm 23
Introduction (Part One)

Has the 23rd Psalm been a great help to you through the years? Many would say that it has. It is consistently used in funeral services of believers and unbelievers alike, usually in the form of the famous hymn to the tune Crimond.
Years ago many people could recite it from memory. Can you find anyone today?
Just the thought that the Lord is our Shepherd is mind-boggling. It is no wonder Ps 23 is so popular.
I want to link the Psalm to John Chapter 10:

John 10:11&14
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”

Perhaps one of the reasons Psalm 23 is so powerful is because David was a man filled with the same kind of conflicting passions and bewildering problems that all of us face.
He had many great victories in life:
His defeat of Goliath.
He was clearly a very talented musician and poet.
He became a very good king. The name David was ever remembered by the Israelites.
But he had many tough times too:
He was for many years a fugitive from King Saul, who was so jealous of him he sought to kill him.
His adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of Uriah greatly displeased the Lord. David was then to experience the death of their baby.
All of his reign as king enemies were ready to attack, particularly the Philistines.
From the beginning of his reign to his death he had constant critics amongst his own people.
His own children raped and killed each other, and his own son turned against him wanting to kill him for the throne.
Great victories, great joys, a man after God’s own heart…yet experiencing tough times, times of darkness, tragedy and deep failure.
In the 23rd psalm we get a glimpse of David's view of God that sustained him in the tough times of life.
The Lord is my Shepherd…..look at the promises in Psalm 23. We have a Shepherd that wants to meet every need of our life. Psalm 23 tells us to go to the Shepherd instead of to this world:
In life God provides for our every need.
In death God provides His comforting presence.
In eternity God provides a place to dwell together.

Psalm 23 is such a blessing to us because it gives hope. Real hope.
Our life is full of difficulties that can lead to a life of bitterness and resentment. All of us experience difficulties caused by broken relationships, broken promises and broken expectations.
Knowing the Shepherd is the key to surviving life's hurts. David saw that so clearly.
The psalm was written in a different time and place than we live in (thousands of years ago) but it is still so up to date and so relevant.

Part Two

We will look at Ps 23 over a number of sermons. Today I want us to focus on those 5 words. The Lord is my shepherd.

First:
To what extent are we like sheep? OK so David was a shepherd and he knew everything there was to know about sheep. So lets think about how sheep for a moment.
If someone asked you what kind of an animal you wanted to be I doubt many of us would choose to be a sheep.
What’s that kid’s song? ‘I just want to be a sheep.’ ???? No I don’t! A lion, a wolf, an eagle maybe. But a sheep….no thanks!

Sheep are smelly. Sheep do nothing to cleanse themselves. They do not get into water, roll, scrape or lick. They remain filthy until the shepherd finds a way to clean them. …And we can’t rid ourselves of sin, we remain filthy, until we have come to know the Saviour.

Sheep are stupid.
Have you ever asked yourself, "How could I have been so stupid?"
We must realise and admit how limited our intelligence and our wisdom really is. We only do what makes sense to us or that we know we can do in our own power. Sheep need to be taken to food and water. They will eat anything so they must be protected from poisonous plants.
Have you ever seen a trained sheep?
Even Jesus’s disciples, who had been with Him for 3 years, did some remarkably stupid things. And are we any different? I suggest not. In this age when we’re supposed to be self confident and assertive, it does not come easy to recognise the truth about ourselves, does it?

Sheep are defenseless.
Their arsenal is very limited. They have no fangs, stingers, claws and they cannot run fast, fly or swim.
No professional sports teams are called ‘sheep’.
Sheep are not used for protection. There are no guard sheep.

Sheep are stubborn and go astray. Sheep can easily get lost because they tend to go their own way. Sheep regularly wander and stray because, as many mistakes as they have already made they still think they know what is best. Like sheep, we have a tendency to go our own direction rather than follow the Good Shepherd.


All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.Isaiah 53:6
That takes our focus back to the Shepherd:

I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.John 10:11

Someone once suggested that our view of who God is in relation to us affects our Christian walk more than anything else. Is God a cosmic administrator that has no clue who you are? Is He the Gestapo commandant, waiting for you to step out of line, or sadistically making you suffer anyway? Is He apt to be impatient, even vindictive? Does He ignore you? When things go wrong does He refuse to get involved? Or what sort of a God is He?
This is really important, more important than you may realise.
How does God view you when you mess up? When you’re down, going through what John of the Cross calls ‘the dark night of the soul’? When you’re lost and so alone? When your life is in utter turmoil? When you are suffering loss, whether bereavement or other painful sense of loss?
You know, David had been there and his answer is:
The Lord is my shepherd.

Note: The hired hand cares nothing for the sheep.
The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.
The hired hand stands for a counterfeit Christianity. Leaders who appear fine, but actually are serving their own agenda.
The thief is the devil.
Satan is powerful and clever, you see, and would lead us away from the shepherd. But the Good Shepherd is always looking out for us, and He is more powerful!

We have a God who loves us, gives us abundant life, and lays down Hs life for us.
He not only takes care of us in the valley, but even prepares a feast for us right in front of our enemies. Have you ever tried to eat when you’re nervous… you can’t do it ! But we are called to exercise the kind of trust in God that would enable us to sit down and eat when someone is pointing a gun at us!

I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Here at the cross, the weak, stupid, stubborn, filthy, and defenceless find real hope… ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven. Only sinners may apply. Some of you need to hear that this morning, and come home to the Shepherd.
You may or may not feel as though you’re lost. But the Bible says ‘All have sinned and fall short’. ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ There is a Shepherd who puts everything on hold to focus on one thing……to find you ! And when He finds you, what joy!(Then he goes home, calls his friends and neighbors together, and says to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I've found my lost sheep!'Luke 15:6)

We all need to hear this: The Lord is my shepherd

Next: I shall not be in want

Signs and wonders?

I was looking back over these past months and noting God’s hand at work in so many ways in my life and in my family.
There are so many, many instances, especially from Easter Sunday through Cindy’s dad’s precious final days and death, the joyful celebration of his life at his funeral, the birth of our grandaughter, Jessica…and the next day praying with Ian’s mum as she made her last journey, taking her funeral, my first. Numerous other joys and challenges…not least that Sunday morning a few weeks ago when I was called upon to preach unexpectedly. Many ups and downs along the way. Still learning, often the hard way.
We have had some real answers to prayer… Cindy called them ‘signs and wonders’ which in a way they are. That phrase ‘signs and wonders’ also popped up at the course JeongSook and I are currently on at Lincoln and again in my daily readings in 2 different places, and again the other day when I opened a book about Holy Spirit Ministry, so I’m going with what God is saying, I believe.

Signs and wonders. Wherever God is at work, there are signs and wonders. They may be simple, everyday answers to our prayers as we offer matters to God where we need His specific intervention. They may be really big things like people being healed of their illnesses. Hallelujah!
These are evidences of God’s favour and we must be ready not only to thank Him but to trust and obey Him for the days ahead.
At the same time as we observe these signs and wonders, there are a number of instances of the devil at work, and we must be alert, watchful and put on God’s armour.

Friends, we have a huge responsibility in these dark and difficult days.
It has often been said that we are God’s hands on Earth, that He has no plan B; it is down to us Christians to do the work of the Kingdom, or rather to permit God to do it in and through us.
This is a challenge none of us can shirk. I have previously spoken about revival… If My people(2Chron 7v14)…the healing of the land can only happen through us you see. Knife crime is going to get worse, drugs, abortion and wholesale rejection of Christian standards, unless we get before God in prayer, humility and sincere repentance it’s going to get worse.
Can you see it? Can you understand? It’s down to you and me in the time we have left on Earth to be about Kingdom business. And we can’t do it while our own lives are in a mess.
I have been saying this stuff for years…. Check out my sermon blog and you’ll see…. And I know that I too need sorting constantly, I have to say that to you, or I would be a hypocrite. Daily I need to come before the throne of grace. Paul said he was the chief of sinners. How can he be worse than me? And yet at the same time somehow God in Christ is moving me forward to become more like Jesus.

The enemy is out to get you the moment you start to disturb him. And nothing disturbs him more than the prayers of believers. Satan trembles when a Christian prays, you know, because prayer is a bridge over which the powers of the Kingdom, powers of the age to come, reach into the here and now, and bring The Light of the World into the dominion of darkness., bring healing and wholeness where there was previously sickness and depression.
You want to suffer….then pray. You want to follow Jesus, then take up the cross.
On that Sunday four weeks ago I said that we are called to be witnesses… people who ‘know’ the saviour…really know him in our hearts. People whose words and deeds witness to those around us. And as witnesses we are martyrs (the Greek word for witness and martyr is the same). No messing. No nominal Christianity. It’s all or nothing.
Wesley was diametrically opposite to most Western Christians today.
We talked about Wesley a few weeks ago at the men’s cell group. He was not self satisfied. Seeing the state of the world around him he committed himself to be different. He was determined he was going to live a holy life, following Christ. He would pray, fast and discipline himself and demand that of others. He was a tough cookie. It was an uphill struggle and he made no converts.
His determination was admirable, and puts most of us to shame. But he didn’t know the Jesus he sought to serve. Every ounce of his energy went into doing what he thought was God’s will. But he had not experienced the love of Jesus. Each day he rose early and set out to live simply so he could devote himself to God’s work. But he did not have the power of the Spirit.
Until Aldersgate Street, when someone was reading Luther’s dry and academic preface to the book of Romans. God’s timing is wonderful. Imagine the dryest and most boring sermon you have ever sat through! Might be one of mine. Imagine feeling utterly miserable and worthless. And then God intervenes. Whoomph! And takes you to a new place within. Peace, joy, love, power.

We on the other hand want the blessing without the discipline. Disciple means discipline.
When Wesley got the blessing, he already had the discipline.
And the rest is history as they say.

This, I fear, is where the Church is today for the most part. The reverse of Wesley.
Desiring the blessing, but unwilling to count the cost, in terms of true discipleship.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about ‘costly grace’ and ‘cheap grace’ in his book ‘The Cost of Discipleship’.. Keith Norton has preached on that. So ask him about it. I have yet to read the book.
A book I have read however is Arnold Bittlinger’s ‘Gifts and ministries’. In it he says this:

'Frequently the real enemies of the gospel are not heathens or atheists: rather, they are those who know about Jesus but refuse to bow to His sovereign claim.........those for whom Christianity merely constitutes one sector of life, the centre of which is their personal ego, who are not prepared to let another have dominion over them. Such people have always been ready to cry ‘Lord, Lord’ and to take an active part in worship--but they have not been ready to change their lives and do the will of Jesus. Bearing the semblance of a godly life they lack its power. Jesus imparts no power for the execution of personal desires and representations. Power is only available to the Christian in order that he may place his life into the hands of Jesus and permit the Holy Spirit to be active through him. Jesus does not grant power that is independent of Himself. He either bestows himself or he bestows nothing at all. Jesus himself is the power.’

This paragraph spoke to me a number of years ago, and I keep reading it to remind me that I need always to place my life into the hands of Jesus and let the Holy Spirit be active in me., it is a matter of the will. If the Holy Spirit is not working in me and through me, what’s the point?
Bittlinger suggests that I might even be an enemy of the gospel… God forbid!

There is always a cost. Read the gospels! As I have said, the Greek for ‘witness’ is martys which is precisely the same word used by the NT writers for martyr. So where Jesus says,’ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ read: ‘you will be my martyrs in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
Does that encourage you?
You and I can choose one way or the other.
But we may not expect the real blessings, the signs and wonders, the necessary power, the going with the Spirit’s flow, unless we are prepared to count the cost.
It will impact on our time, money and relationships, but I can tell you, it’s worth it…He is worth it. !!
Will you choose to take up the cross and follow the Master? Be a true disciple? Make a difference?

I know the plans I have for you says the Lord

Some of the content of this sermon is from 'Word for Today' http://www.ucb.co.uk/index.cfm?itemid=88&sectionid=3
For other bits I am grateful to Martyn Atkins the retiring President of the Methodist Conference. This sermon desperately needs refining, but as I am not likely to have opportunity to do that soon, and as some of you have asked to read it, here it is warts 'n all with my prayers that God will speak to you through it....

I know the plans I have for you says the Lord…..Jeremiah 29v11

This is a favourite Bible Verse of mine, simple and to the point.
How was it received by those who heard it from the lips of the dreaded prophet, I wonder?
No-one wanted to hear what Jeremiah had to say. That the plan of God was exile for 70 years and that they should not resist. There was no point in trying to fight, despite the lies of the false prophets. And Jeremiah writes a letter from God to the exiles telling them to settle down and marry and work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon, even to pray for its peace.
..and I will choose the time when you will return. I know the plans…

well, here’s some thoughts:
1. I know the plans
Isn’t it good that God knows the plans he has for us. Sometimes we would wish that we also might be allowed to know. But whether we know or not, God knows.
It is more important that God knows than that we know.

When it comes to finding out what God knows, people use different methods.
There are those who say their prayers and ‘If the door opens I’ll walk through it’. The opening is God’s answer to prayer and I need to get on and follow his call. I have used this method on several occasions. It is in theological terms known as the VIA POSITIVA. (the way of the positive) and was promulgated by St Aquinas… though people had been doing it for years before him.
On the other hand there are those who say ‘When things go wrong, when doors have to be pushed at, when everything stacks up against a particular route, that shows me it is the way God wants me to go. The evil one is blocking the way and I need to put on God’s armour and stand, and take hold of God’s word and move forward.’ That’s called the VIA NEGATIVA (the negative way), promulgated by St Augustine. Or as Martyn says, if you’re from Yorkshire 'the bloody-minded never say nay route'.
I think I’ve been into both at some times in my Christian life !

The message in all of this is that there are plenty of times in our lives when we simply do not know what God has planned for us.
It is the acid test of faithfulness that I accept that for a time I will not know and must wait for the Lord, and must simply accept that He knows the plans He has for me even though I do not. I rest in this promise until he chooses to reveal His plans.

If you are there just now, in that waiting time, you’re in good company. God will be God, and making us wait, whilst watching and praying and living by His rules, is the way He works. Complete trust, not resignation, is the way we handle it.
Here we can help our brothers and sisters by praying for them and supporting them while they wait.

I know the plans I have for you…says the Lord. Thankyou Lord that you do, even though I don’t.

2. I know the plans
I know the plan s I have for you. Plural….’s’.
This a wonderfully gracious and liberating word is it not?
I have come across people, I could name one or two that you know, who blew it spectacularly at the age of 18, 34, 41, whatever…. they believed God had a plan for them, whether it was to go here, do this or that, marry this person, go to train for Christian work, or whatever. they were certain of God’s plan for their lives and for some reason it didn’t work out and they left it behind and now they are convinced they have blown it for ever.
Listen, God has plan s.
There is no evidence in the Christian gospel that there is just one plan, and that if we miss it we’re disqualified forever from serving God. No, on the contrary.
Martyn Atkins uses the marvellous illustration of SatNav.
‘When I first came across a SatNav it was in my friend’s Lexus. It had a beautiful, sexy voice like Joanna Lumley telling you where to go. Amazing!
Well me being a sinner, I said, ‘What happens when you don’t do as it says?’ ‘Watch’ said my friend, with an evil glint in his eye. He is after all an accountant. ‘I’ll show you.’
‘turn left in 100 yards’ said Ms Lumley. So he went straight on. Now if I had had my son’s SatNav and done that it would have uttered expletives from Dr evil telling me what a stupid bleep I was. But this was a Christian SatNav…and uttered a complete word of grace, ‘I have worked out a new route for you.’ That says Martyn is pure gospel.

You see there is not one immutable plan for your life and mine. We all mess up from time to time. Do not think that what you did back then has blown out of the water any possibility of God leading you forward into His plans.
Guidance and grace work together.
Whenever we go our own way instead of God’s, whenever we disobey, there is, as the SatNav, a pause, and then a word of grace, ‘I’ve worked out a new route for you.’…because ‘I know the plan sss I have for you’, says the Lord.
Friends, we never exhaust all the permutations of the plans. God sees the big picture. There is always another route, even when we look back and can see that what we were sure of then and now we’re not so sure of may seek to drag us down into discouragement. Discouragement is the enemy’s work.
God is a God who invites us to Renewal, redirection and fresh opportunities to serve in obedience to his will. He never gives up on us…I am a work in progress and so are you.
Hear this. You will never exhaust all the possibilities of God using little clay pots, some cracked pots, like you and me, to contain the treasure which is His good news. He has plan s


3. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I’m reminded here, as I’m sure you are of Romans 8v28…… ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’

God exercises His sovereignty toward the Christian in such a way that everything that touches our lives has been allowed or brought about by Him. Those things which would prove to be detrimental to our good have been kept from us. Those things which will work together for the “good” God has planned for us, God arranges and controls in such a way as to produce that good. Everything in the life of the Christian is designed for accomplishing the positive plans God has for us.
The “prosperity” for the Israelites was the restoration of their nation, beginning with their return from exile. So that which God purposes for us is of course in the future and which we cannot presently see. For us as New Covenanters that hope and a future includes our salvation, sanctification, and our future full adoption as sons of God…to put that another way.. All can be saved to the uttermost, as we shall discover at the Men’s meeting on Tues. We will be tested as God’s purpose is not so much our happiness as our holiness.

4. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD

As we think about this business of God having a perfect plan for our lives, we need to be about using the gifts and talents He has already given us, with all our hearts.
Ask yourself this: 'What are my strengths?' Do you enjoy working with computers or cars or animals? Maybe you're an adept people-manager or you like fixing things or you're good with finances. Are there certain jobs that come easily to you and you wonder why others can't do them? If so, that says something about your particular strengths and your God-given assignment in life. What kind of working environment brings out the best in you? Do you thrive on routine? Are you motivated by other people's needs? Do you enjoy tackling challenges that discourage others? And how about your relationships? Do you enjoy being part of a team, or do you function better alone? If you only come to life around people, you'll probably be miserable sitting in front of a computer all day. What lights your fire? In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell described his zeal for running in these words: 'God made me to be fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.' What makes you feel like that?
As we seek to serve Him and to know the plans He has for us these are things we can discover about ourselves.
Then we take what we have and offer them to God, seeking Him with all our hearts in daily living.
‘I will be found by you’ declares the Lord. ..And so His plans and purposes will come to fruition in and through us.

Conclusion
I find it really exciting that God has plans for me, don’t you? I remember when I was 50 and thinking that I was heading over the hill, getting a picture from God of the time I climbed The Cheviot. I remembered it well. Every time you thought you’d got to the top there was another hill to climb!
You see, as I have said before, Christians never retire, they only get promoted. So young people, old people, and those in the middle…God’s got plans for YOU !

Time to GET SERIOUS

OK. This isn't a recent sermon. It's a compilation of four sermons from 2006 (headed PRAYER, SMALL GROUPS, WORSHIP and EVANGELISM). You need TIME for this!

Where is the Methodist Church going?

As part of my Foundation Training for Ministry in the Methodist Church I prepared four talks on the Future of Methodism. Having concluded the assignment I developed and delivered these talks at my own church, Trinity Methodist, Winterton.

What do I see as the future of the Methodist Church in the UK?
Meteoric Church growth is being experienced in many countries, with Methodists at the forefront. That’s good news. However, here in the UK we are seeing a disastrous decline. And it’s not just traditional Methodists who are leaving our churches. Young people, and many older, are also leaving.
Josh Hale, a Minister in the UK on a year’s placement, asked his congregation ‘Who thinks the Methodist Church is in crisis?’ I said ‘It is!’, but although I was one of the first to make a statement, most people in the room (including Josh) held the view that it is not in crisis. Perhaps the cultural differences between North America and the UK influenced his comments. However, statistical returns from his native land also point to decline.
As I have said, on a world-wide scale it’s good news, but I couldn’t help feeling after that service that far too many of us in the UK are burying our heads in the sand. We have got into a deep rut where hope is thin, and power scarce. Where is the vision without which ‘the people perish’ ?
It’s time to look to the future, face realities and get serious with our discipleship. If we do, that is if we are prepared to work at this, I do believe the decline can be reversed.

1. Prayer
At Peniel (Genesis 32) Jacob had reached crisis point in his life. He had, for all of his life, got away with doing things his way at the expense of others, including his brother Esau who he was about to encounter 20 years after Jacob had stolen his birthright. All the signs showed Esau set for revenge the following day. Faced with this danger, Jacob does what he can to protect his family and then goes down to the brook alone. Here he meets with the God of his forefathers in human form (a Christophany…early manifestation of the second person of the Trinity), and there follows a unique occurrence, a wrestling match. Jacob knows who he is wrestling with and is singularly determined to keep a hold. It is his only hope. If he loses or allows the man to escape all is lost. It’s the last chance saloon. Perhaps from God’s point of view it was time to bring Jacob to his knees. This schemer needed to change his life and his name (Jacob means ‘deceiver’), and obey God as Abraham had.
Wesley, prophetically, feared for the future of the people called Methodists, that they might deteriorate into a ‘dead sect’ having the form of godliness but not the power. This is the key issue. Like many Methodists today, Jacob had a form of godliness inherited from his forbears, but no power.
There is much in Christian teaching and modern hymnody about ‘surrendering to God’ and the inherent danger of passivity and even ‘Quietism’ (a heresy of the early 18th Century). But Jacob is not surrendering here, rather he is ‘laying hold’ on God and he is permitted to do so…the GodMan he wrestles with does not destroy him, but sees in Jacob a deep desire to be changed and allows him to fight for what he most wants. Jacob demands to be blessed. ‘I won’t let you go unless you bless me’, he cries out. Many of our Methodist forbears knew what it meant to wrestle with God in prayer. Often 19th century chapels and those of the early 20th century Welsh revival are named ‘Peniel’.
Oh for the blessing! That we might have today that which they wrestled for and gained in large measure.
In his book, The Power Of Crying Out, Bill Gothard writes: 'The most significant difference between the prayers of God's people in Scripture (so powerfully effective) and our prayers today (so seemingly ineffective) is this: there was a fervency in the prayers of biblical saints - a fervency that is inherent in crying out. When we grasp this fact, the pages of Scripture come alive with sound!'
David said: 'In my distress I...cried unto my God: He heard my voice...' (Psalm 18:6 KJV). The Hebrew word that describes David's outcry is shava, a higher pitched cry for help.
Again the Psalmist says: '...I called to You for help and You healed me' (Psalm 30:2 NIV). We know from our own families that a true father's or mother’s heart hears their children's cries, and that their children naturally cry to them. In the same way, crying out to God is our child-to-father impulse, planted within us by the Holy Spirit. '[Because we are His children],' Paul says, '[We] have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, "Abba, Father"' (Romans 8:15 KJV). The Greek verb here for crying out is a strong word usually translated as 'shouting.'
Forget dignity and decorum! Desperate situations call for desperate measures. We must allow the Holy Spirit to cry out from within us. We must wrestle in prayer for when we are really serious, we may be sure God will intervene and will undoubtedly bless us.
Someone once said ‘God has no grandchildren’, and we must understand that clearly. Each of us is responsible for our own relationship with God. Our Methodist heritage will not get us to heaven. Passivity, complacency, will not get us anywhere in the Christian life. We need to repent, return, receive. All of these are active, I suggest; even receiving, for we must reach out to receive a gift. It is not ours until we make it ours.
Therefore it is time to pray, and I mean active, Spirit-filled prayer. Of course there is a time for stillness and meditation, and surely this is part of our daily prayers. But as we come together to seek first the Kingdom, there is a deep longing, ‘as pants the deer for water, so my soul longs after you’.
William Arthur, a leading Methodist of the 1850s. Arthur argued that the primary need (of the ministry) is the power of the Holy Spirit; he believed that it’s absence is our corporate responsibility. ‘Prayer is the condition of obtaining this power. Prayer, prayer, all prayer – mighty, importunate, repeated united prayer’. He goes on to insist that a Church’s members must be ‘mighty in prayer’.
So we need to pray, to cry out to God, to wrestle in prayer, to pray all night if necessary as many have been doing this year. To refuse to ‘let go’ until the blessing is ours.
Let’s get serious about prayer. Methodism has a future if we can get this right.

2. Small Groups
In this context we may include fellowship, teaching and discipleship, support and accountability.
Let’s look at Small Groups, their value, and how they can be instrumental in growing the Church.
Most of us having been brought up through the church, have come to believe that the strength of the Church is primarily in its Sunday worship. That is the mindset we need to change. The numbers games…bums on pews. The real strength of the church is in relationships, vertical and horizontal. Again this is how the early Methodists began. They were to attend the parish church on Sundays…..but the dynamic, the spiritual powerhouse was not there but in the weeknight Class Meeting. A small group for each member, where each member would undergo a spiritual check-up, give testimony, confess his struggles and hurts and receive valuable loving support . This has been lost to Methodism. I have never attended a Class Meeting in my church. And if we trace the history of Methodism we may conclude that the decline of meaningful Class meetings was the start of the decline of Methodism.

But things are changing.
Graham Carter President of the Conference 2006-7, says:
'In order to achieve the discipleship we are called to, we need each other. And we need each other in a special way. The Church Life survey of a few years ago showed that Methodists were good at what we call "fellowship", but not good at experiencing God’s presence. It’s clear that for many ‘fellowship’ equates with friendliness, and this is not enough.
What has been lacking in the Church for some time is the element of accountability for our discipleship. How often are we accountable to each other for what we do as we try to keep following the way of Christ? Does anyone ever ask you how your discipleship is going? We’re afraid of that because it sounds too much like facing judgement – measure up or you’re out. But that isn’t how Jesus treated his disciples. He once told Peter to "Get behind me Satan" and warned him that he would deny that he knew Jesus, but the risen Christ still challenged him to "Feed my sheep." Peter had to be accountable, but accountable in love and trust.
We need to develop the practice of meeting in small discipleship groups where a high level of love and trust can grow and we can watch over each other in love. In such groups admitting our failure becomes not a fearful thing, but a way of building a firm platform for encouragement and growth. The Time to Talk of God report and study guide has been helping us to take the risk of speaking about our faith and understanding to one another. We all have to start from where we are and not where we’re told we should be. Only starting honestly from where we are, with all our doubts and uncertainties and journeying with each other, will faith grow.'

One of the really useful things we have discovered here about Alpha Course is the ‘Small Groups’ after the talk. As the weeks go by each group member begins to realise how valuable the group is….starts to let go of the masks and dares even to ask for prayer. As I have already suggested, in a small group you can relate at a much deeper level than you could ever achieve in a Sunday morning worship, not denying for a moment the value of this hour But if we are serious about loving one another then we need to get into real fellowship.

Three pastors went to the pastor's convention and were all sharing one room.The first pastor said, "Let's confess our secret vices one to another. I'll start - my secret vice is I just love to gamble. When I go out of town, it's cha-ching cha-ching, let the machines ring."The second pastor said, "My secret vice is that I just love to drink. When I go out of town, I like to take a little nip of something."The third pastor said, "My secret vice is gossiping and I can't wait to get out of this room!"
The lesson to learn from that one is obvious enough.
Across the world churches are rediscovering the immense value of small groups, for support and accountability. A group of people who can be trusted to bear one anothers burdens and humbly pray for each other in absolute confidentiality. These groups are often called cells. The idea is that a living cell will not only grow but multiply. So will the small group as other people want to become part of them. But these ‘Cells’ are just an updated version of the earliest New testament home groups we encounter in Acts, and Mr Wesley’s classes. Here we discover Methodism’s heritage.
So it’s time to get serious….with small groups for fellowship. The Greek word for fellowship is Koinonia, and the best way to describe it is in the words of Jesus Himself: ‘Love one another as I have loved you’. The Greek word is ‘agape’…utterly self sacrificial love.
‘Love one another’. ‘How?’ ‘As I have loved you’….a love which is utterly selfless and sacrifices all for the loved one. Risks all…and as Paul says ‘always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, love never fails. That’s what you call real love.
Now people of God…..’by this (agape) love all will know that you are my disciples’, says Jesus, ‘because you have this love one for another’. Young/old, black/white, native/foreigner, educated/uneducated, intelligent/with learning difficulties, rich/poor, Anglican/Methodist, employed/unemployed, student/retired, trendy/old fashioned, musical/tone deaf…(I could go on)…love one another as I have loved you.
It is within this context of deepening fellowship in small groups that we develop a shared ministry as each member discovers their gifts and uses them for the upbuilding of the whole. It is in this context that mutual support develops mutual accountability and even discipline. ‘You are my brother (sister) in Christ, therefore I love you unconditionally, therefore I can help you live as Christ commands, pray for you, share your struggles, and you can do the same for me. Let’s open our Bibles and learn together, grow together, journey together’.
Let’s get serious about small groups. You and I all need to be members of a small group for support and accountability. Let us begin to develop these groups now.

3. Worship
It’s time to get serious about Worship. I have read twenty or so books about worship. I have done a college course on worship. I have led worship for 35 years….and still a full understanding of what worship really is about eludes me. I do not get the chance often enough to simply ‘be’ in worship, I am often leading. Nevertheless, I want to share with you today my thinking on the future of the Methodist Church in the context of worship.
In many chapels up and down the land people meet on Sunday to go through the motions. It isn’t worship, that’s why it never attracts.
Revival when it comes will change everything. There will be a rediscovery of worship as God desires it.
The outcome will be that the hymns we know and love will mostly vanish…perhaps only 30 or so will carry forward. The next generation of Christians will sideline much of what we are used to now, (even so-called ‘Contemporary Worship Songs’, which almost always lead me into God’s presence, will decrease in importance). People will come and go at a time that suits them. The how and the when and the where and the what will change. The future will be completely different. There will be a rediscovery of worship with links to ancient forms and styles. The packaging will be different but it will still be Trinitarian Christian Worship. Scary? Maybe.
How can we in the Methodist Church worship effectively in the days ahead? How can we be sure we are worshipping at all when we meet, rather than just filling time with what we think is good stuff?
We need to ask the question: What is worship? Why do we do it?
Well,...praising God for who he is, thanking Him for what He’s done, allowing Him to mould our lives, cleanse, heal and make us holy.... comes into it.
Most important, we need to consider that in the life to come we will be worshipping God all the time. So how can we prepare for that? How can we make our worship on earth reflect the worship of heaven? Can we reach the dizzy heights in worship where we say we don’t want to stop?…..on earth as it is in heaven? Can we not at least make this our aim….worship permeated with the presence of God?
John Henry Howard in his book ‘Transformed Church’ 1910 writes:
"We leave our places of worship and no deep and inexpressible wonder sits upon our faces. When we get out on the streets our faces are one with those of the people coming out of the theatres and music halls. There is nothing about us to suggest that we’ve been looking at anything stupendous or overwhelming.
I remember an old saint telling me that after some services he liked to make his way home alone by quiet paths so that the ‘hush of the Almighty’ might remain on his awed and prostrate soul. This is the element we are losing."
And if this sense of awe was declining then, a hundred years ago, how much more now. How we need to rediscover this. The Bible tells us Moses face shone from being in God’s presence. Does yours or mine? I long for the time when the worshipping people go out of the church doors and passers by ask,
‘Where have you been.?’
‘What’s happened to you?’
We are driven by the clock…by time. Where does it say in the Bible we start worshipping at 10.30 and finish by 11.30 please tell me. The worship I read about in the Bible is 24/7.
Getting serious is about coming into God’s presence and waiting on Him. ‘Sorry God, can’t wait any longer, unless you want me to come back with a chicken as a burnt offering.’ People, God doesn’t work by our timetable. I’m sorry, but He doesn’t. It’s no wonder our worship isn’t worship. If this gathering makes no difference to you today then you haven’t met with God, you haven’t worshipped. You might feel a kind of warm feeling because you’re with the friendliest group of people in the community !!But you haven’t worshipped.
So how can we get worship right?
First, by saying to God, ‘You are Lord of my time. You have given me a certain time on Earth to prepare me for Heaven. Lord, you decide how much time you want me to wait for you. Forgive me for my shallow worship and self-serving. Help me to worship you and serve you alone.’
Most of our morning services are now 90 minutes. Good. We’re doing 24/7 prayer. Good. We’re moving forward. Don’t let us look back. Time in God’s presence can never be wasting time, but gaining time, always gaining time.
Let’s go to the words of Jesus: ‘in Spirit and in Truth’.
‘in Spirit’….worship must be Spirit led. In all our preparations and prayers we are invoking the Holy Spirit. The expectation of all worshippers must as we have said be an encounter with God in worship. If He is pre-eminent style, time, liturgy, music, environment, being secondary to this, will serve rather than be themselves the focus. The Spirit will bring to bear the deep awe and reverence, the ‘stupendous and overwhelming’ John Henry Howard was convinced had been lost.
I reckon that is what I have come back with from many hours alone with God on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. A sense of awe. Walking or standing many many times on the edge of immense cliffs, aware of my own mortality, where a gust of wind or a false step might end my life. You know. That’s sobering. The God who holds my fragile life in His hands showing to me, little me, His awesome creation…the immense cliffs, the roaring sea… the tiny flower, the butterfly. The whole world of wonder. Stupendous, overwhelming, deep awe.
Listen. The same awesome God is here by His Spirit…..can you sense that. You want to stay?
Worship must be ‘in Spirit and in truth’.
'In truth' ...means a number of things. Here are some: From our side; Honesty and Openness. I come ‘just as I am’. No pretence, nothing hidden, nothing held back. There is conviction of sin whenever we are this open. Repentance is needed, opportunity must be given. Broken relationships restored and healed. With open hearts and minds. With sincere faith. (David Perry ‘s HOT is all here…Honest, Open, Trusting). From God’s side, ‘in truth’ means; the Word comes to us.…we are led 'into all truth’ by the Holy Spirit. Proclamation of and hearing the Word takes place. Our understanding of Biblical Truth is deepened. His truth ‘sets us free’ to be truly and fully the People of God.
Getting serious about worship means to ‘let go and let God’ as we come before him.
Let’s discover real worship and make it relevant, and allow God to meet us.
In His presence ..may He renew, restore, refresh, equip, encourage and enable you to be the gift He intended you to be.
Response: Imagine Jesus standing before you. What is He saying to you? What do you want to do about it? I set the Communion rail for you to kneel at. Come and kneel before Him. Don’t be afraid. Today, maybe for the first time you will leave here and someone will say, ‘What’s different about you?’ ‘I’ve been to Church, Jesus was there.’

4. Evangelism
The Methodist Church needs to rediscover how to do Evangelism in the 21st Century.
How many short-term missions have come and gone with little evident impact?
The old style Cliff College Hit & Run evangelism doesn’t really work very well today, does it?
What does work, then? That’s what we need to discover. It’s the question every church leader worth their salt wants to know the answer to.
This morning can we spend a little time looking at Evangelism in 2008 and how we can all be a part of it. Yes, all of us.

i. If necessary use……
Francis of Assisi is credited with the phrase "Preach the gospel and, if necessary, use …..what?." A group of trainee evangelists was once asked to fill in the blank in the sentence. A large number of them replaced the blank with the word "force" - not quite what St. Francis had in mind. Words ! "Preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words."
This is an important issue. Not all of us are good with words. It’s not failure to admit to people that we’re not very good at explaining the faith. We might be petrified at the thought of trying to convert people. However, the implication of this phrase of Francis of Assisi is of course that we can be preachers without words. I want to say to you this morning that each of you can be a powerful influence to those around you, you may be unaware of it, but by simply following Christ in daily living, your life and mine can be a compelling witness to our Faith. In this sense you, too can be an Evangelist.
In that famous jungle encounter, Stanley said of Livingstone ‘If I had spent another day with him I would have been compelled to become a Christian, and he never spoke to me about it at all.’
What sort of a challenge do you and I present to unbelievers? Let’s turn to scripture: "When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). The world’s looking for people who look and act as though they’ve been with Him. They’ll be convinced only by the God we know; the One Who’s met all our needs. So today we need to pray, "Lord, others are watching; help them to see You in me!"
A number of years ago, I went to a posh Insurance dinner some distance away. Great meal, I love my food, and I love humour, but some of the jokes going round were not ones I would wish to add to my Cybersmile list. I guess I must have shown that in my body language, or in some other way have shown that I was a Christian, because one guy there, who I didn’t know, found out my phone number and gave me a call. He said, ‘You’re a Christian, aren’t you?’ I said, ‘Yes’. He had a particular serious problem which was affecting his business and asked if he could come over from Sheffield to see me. I was able to listen to him and talk through some issues with him and he went away much happier. I haven’t seen him from that day to this, but I always remembered the importance of being an evangelist even without words.
The subject of ‘Influence’ could keep me going for several sermons. But let’s move on…

ii The Journey of Faith
It’s important to remember that God is already at work in people’s lives. Wesley called it ‘prevenient grace’. When we come onto the scene we need to be aware of that and not think this person or that person’s a hopeless case. God’s doing his work before we arrive on the scene.
We need to remember, too, that the process of bringing another to faith requires a series of people and events usually over quite a long time. All Christians have a part to play. It does not rest upon one person having all the right words to say at a specific time that will instantly convert the unbeliever .
At Alpha we were talking about our ‘journey of faith’ whereby each person may move step by step towards conversion and beyond to growing discipleship. This view is positive in that it shows that just as I am on a journey so are you, and so is everyone. We need to journey alongside people where they are, so they can get to know us. You and I can help people move on another step. It may be that you will be the one who will hear them say; ‘Now I know I’m a Christian’, but up to that point many believers may have done their bit too, through influence and prayer and maybe even words.

iii Invitation
We don’t read much about Andrew in the gospels, but where we do come across him he is always bringing people to Jesus. ‘Come and you will see…’ Andrew is credited with bringing Simon Peter his brother to meet Jesus. How important that encounter was!
The teenage Billy Graham was not interested in spiritual matters. When an evangelist visited his local town – he rejected invitations to attend, even his good friend Albert McMakin couldn’t persuade Billy to come along. However Albert owned a truck and offered 16-year-old Billy the powerful incentive of driving to the meeting – that swung it. Billy drove a truck full of young people to the revival meeting and was captivated by the message, triggering the 180 degree turn that his life took. Every Christian knows the name Billy Graham, while Albert McMakin is virtually unknown. We can’t all be Billy Graham, but we can all be an Albert McMakin and engineer an invitation.
Simple, isn’t it, an invitation. I am an unashamed Alphaholic. Debbie thought I said alcoholic the other day and nearly fell off her chair. A simple invitation is all it needs…you might have to come too….with the person you invited. That’s ok. Please don’t knock Alpha. If you do knock it you’ll have to answer to big blokes like Ian or Steve, and an even bigger bloke called Bob. Men are coming to faith, women too, through Alpha. We praise God!
This is an invitation which works. Why does it work? Because doing Alpha people discover Christ for themselves…no pressure. An easy, relaxed voyage of discovery.
Well, maybe even words, too…
Explaining the faith can be a difficult thing to do. Whatever words we use, we can never fully explain the mystery of salvation and God’s love. He doesn’t expect us to be brilliant at articulating the faith, just to share what we’ve experienced as a result of being a Christian and knowing God’s love and forgiveness in our own lives.

Conclusion: Not so much our ability, but our availability…
How many times have I said this ! ?
Here at the end we draw together the four aspects of the Future of Methodism we have been examining. For if we are to pray, be involved in small groups, worship effectively, and witness to those we meet we must find time to do so. We may feel totally inadequate, that God passed us by when it came to talents, gifts, skills and abilities. It’s not true, but whatever, we have time. We can make ourselves available for the Kingdom of God. If we do not, Methodism will go down the pan. God will raise up another people to do what we have failed to do.
If however we choose to make ourselves available for Him…He will do in us and through us 'far more than we can ever ask or imagine'. Let me encourage you to open the door to Jesus and let him in.
The future of the Church depends on this. Many people, especially the young, are seeking spiritual things. They need to see Christ is alive, that the Holy Spirit makes a difference …before they choose dark spirits instead. You and I can show this ‘difference’ in the home, the workplace, wherever we may be as we make ourselves available to God.