Archives for February 2019

‘I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 1:3-6).

There are many good lessons we can learn from the prayer life of the apostle Paul. Today I want to highlight the importance of being thankful. As a church, we should be thankful for every person that is a part of our fellowship, no matter if they are visiting for the first time or have been a part of the church for many years. Every person has a purpose in the Lord’s great plan.

As a church, we are working together in a partnership for the gospel. We are living witnesses for Christ because of the good things He has done in our lives. He began the good work, and He has promised to carry it on to completion. I claim this promise for Ranui Baptist Church. Jesus began the good work many years ago, and we are blessed to be a part of it today. The work will continue until Christ returns when He comes with His reward to bless His faithful servants.

How thankful we should be for having the love of God in our hearts. Let’s rejoice in the ways that God has blessed us and let’s remember one another in our prayers. The apostle Paul was ‘giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins’ (Colossians 1:12-14). We should have this same kind of joyful thanks for one another’s great salvation.

We should appreciate everything that the Lord has done for us with joyful praise. Even in our difficult times, we can be victorious over those circumstances when we have a heart of worship for God’s love and grace. Thankfulness purifies us from grumbling and complaining so that we can shine the light of God to those around us (Philippians 2:14-18).

As the apostle Paul was pouring out his life in service of Christ, he was full of joy. His main hope was that the people he was working with would be blameless and pure on the day of Christ so that he would be able to rejoice with them. Our hope for Ranui Baptist is that we will also stand before the Lord in the light of His approval. Let’s seek to please our Lord and Saviour in all that we do, as we maintain thankful hearts that rejoice in Him.

God bless you as you pray with thankfulness,
Pastor Matthew.

‘As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a

woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

    “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her”

(Luke 10:38-42).

 

There are a number of lessons or steps within the word of God that teaches us how to be seated with Christ so that we inherit the kingdom of God. Here is a summary of the four steps we must take:

1) We need to sit with Christ as sinners who need forgiveness. This step was covered last week, but I want to make a few more comments on it. ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23), and the only way we can be restored is by sitting with our Saviour and High Priest, as He makes intercession on our behalf.

2) We must sit with Jesus to listen to what He has to say. We must learn to hear His voice. We enter this level of intimacy with God by waiting upon Him and by learning how He speaks to us.

3) We must sit with Jesus to receive greater revelation of who He really is. We are to sit with Christ so that we can discover the depths of His glory.

4) Christ has invited us to sit with Him upon His throne. He wants to entrust us with His power and authority.

The grace of God is for us to be seated with Christ in all four of these positions. It is also necessary for us to take one step at a time so that we grow to maturity. I trust that you will be greatly encouraged in your walk with the Lord as you put this message into practice. Jesus is worthy of your love.

God bless you, as you love the Lord Jesus by sitting at His feet,

Pastor Matthew.

 

 

DEMONSTRATING YOUR LOVE FOR JESUS

  ‘When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
  When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
  Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
  “Tell me, teacher,” he said.
  “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
  Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
  “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
  Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
  The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace”
(Luke 7:36-50).   

In part 2 of our “Love Jesus” messages I will be looking at the following points:
1) This woman was known for being a sinner.
2) She humbled herself in repentance.
3) The Pharisee committed the greater sin.
4) Forgiveness is shown by love.
True love brings people into the light of God. True love brings repentance, forgiveness and salvation. It removes self-righteousness, causing us to humble ourselves at the feet of the Master. If you need love you need Jesus. Every one of us does need love and that is why we need to know the Lord.

God bless you, as you love the Lord Jesus Christ, Pastor Matthew

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

This week we are starting a series on the importance of loving Jesus, for we should aim to be the people who most love God. The Scriptures that I’ll be focusing on come from the gospel of John.

‘Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!” (John 8:42-45).

    “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15).

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

    Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me” (John 14:21-24).

 ‘When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

    “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

 Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

    Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

    Jesus said, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17).

Let your love for Jesus grow stronger and stronger. God bless,

Pastor Matthew