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Glen Park Gospel Church >> Archive >> Editorial >> 2000
Each month the Glen Park Gospel Church produce a one page newsletter called the Green Leaf. It's available from the chapel each Sunday. Some months include a topical article or report. We thought you might appreciate reading those previously published.
The 2000 Year Long Party
As the clocks tick over next Friday night the western world will celebrate a time milestone. The Christian Church has been celebrating now every Sunday morning for almost the last 2000 years. What is going on.
In London at the Greenwich Observatory there will be a celebration by the National and European leaders which will commence with prayer. The Brits have built a massive dome for the occasion. You will doubtless see it on your TV. In Rome the Catholics will hold Mass for 30,000 people. You will probably see this on TV too.
In Australia we have handed the evening's event over to state governments to let off the fireworks. The Anglicans are urged to turn on their lights and ring their bells. The Catholic Church is sponsoring a pilgrimage from Canberra to Uluru for a select numbers of leaders with the emphasis of reconciliation. Evangelist Bill Newman is planning a year long Celebration 2000 in every capital and many provincial cities in the nation with emphasis on family, youth and reconciliation.
The point about the 2000 years is that it marks the birth of Jesus. However we do it, that fact alone is one worth celebrating. Let's continue the party.
An Opportunity Too Good to Miss
If you take a quick look at the readings set in our monthly Prayer Calendar you will see that we begin again with Genesis chapter one. Do you know what this means?
Those people who have followed the reading schedule for the past three years will have read their way through the Bible. Now, reading right through the Bible is quite an achievement for many of us.
More than a sense of achievement, there is a blessing in the systematic reading of God's word.
In a time of trouble it can be of tremendous comfort to us. Ps 119:50 says it all: "This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me."
In a time of testing it can show us the way to go. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
In a time of temptation it can give us deliverance "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11
Why not get in on the blessing, as, this month, we recommence the reading cycle. If we read one chapter a day, we will read our way through the Bible in about three years. However some chapters are very long and some are very small: our schedule tries to even this out a little. Also sometimes the chapter divisions do not neatly fit the content matter: our schedule also tries to correct that imbalance.
We have not provided a devotional commentary. First, such an undertaking would be too much for a Newsletter like Green Leaf. Second, there are many good trustworthy devotionals and commentaries on the Bible already available. Some of the best works, unfortunately pass out of popularity and out of print. Get anything you can of such men of God as, F. B. Meyer, G Campbell Morgan, Graham Scroggie, Harry Ironside, William Newell and the like. These people have a modern easy style and are qualified scholars of repute. If you need help with this, ‘ask and it shall be given unto you'.
So, why not get involved. Join the select group of systematic Bible readers. ‘What happens if I forget for a few days or more, and get behind?' Simple, just start again. There is no penalty. There is no embarrassment. If necessary begin again and again until you get the habit of regular Bible reading.
Attractions Can Become Distractions
By Gordon Hutchinson
It would seem that in life, certain things which we consider to be attractions, actually become distractions
As the Israelites were preparing to enter the promised land, the Lord gave some instructions which were to be passed on to the people. In Deuteronomy we read that all the heathen gods, idols, altars and images were to be destroyed. God said that if they were left in the land, the people could be attracted to them and even turn their backs on God. The Israelites were not to intermarry with the other nations or even ask how they served their gods, as this could distract them from worshipping the true God.
On New Year's Eve I was interested to see the millions of people around the world, celebrating the new Millennium. At midnight millions of dollars of fireworks lit up the skies - such attractive displays. During the following twenty four hours at least one television station conducted a program of replays and interviews of the celebrations. As I watched the entertainment and deliberation I thought of the hundreds of millions of people who were being distracted from the realities of life.
Let me list a few of these things. Our defence force troops took time out to celebrate and were temporarily distracted from the horrors and unrest surrounding them. Other people were distracted from poverty, illness, broken relationships, wars, homelessness, addictions of various kinds and starvation.
Some of the areas of life which appear to be attractive, but which in fact can distract us or lure us away from living as God wants us to live are, sport, money, activities of various kinds, business, entertainment, gambling and even our own families can become a distraction.
Anything that takes precedence in our lives above God and His will for us is a distraction and is detrimental to our spiritual lives. We also need to consider those things which distract us away from worshipping God and meeting with His people on His day.
In Isaiah chapter fifty-three we read that Jesus was not attractive, that, ‘there was no beauty that we should desire Him,' yet He can bring blessing into our lives and even offers us eternal life.
May I encourage you to evaluate your life and to focus completely on the Lord Jesus Christ and His desire for you to live for Him alone. In doing this with prayerful consideration, we ourselves should not be distracted, but through example attract others to Him.
May God bless you and enable you to live according to His plan for your life.
Three Keys to
Finding The Will of God In Your Life
George Mueller was used of God to bring in millions of pounds to care for thousands of orphans in old England. He maintained an intimate fellowship with the Lord Jesus. In the biography of his life by Dr. A. T. Pierson we find three vital factors that he employed in his ministry and personal life. They are:
1 Assuming that there are two ways that may be taken, which of the two appears most in accordance with the teaching of the Word of God? This necessitates are careful study of the Word of God.
2 Which of the two ways is most in accord with the witness of the Spirit of God within? When we move in the will of God, the Spirit of God bears witness that no man can refute or contradict, a deep seated conviction that no man can shake.
3 Which of the two ways seems most in accord with providential circumstance? When the Word of God, the witness of the Spirit and providential circumstance come together in a straight line we can move down that line confident that we are in the very centre of God's will. If one of these points is out of line then we are not in God's will or in God's time. Little else is of consequence in life until we have confidence that we are moving in the will of God. Only there can we know deep settled peace, the fulness of joy and the abundance of fruit which he has purposed for His own.
Testimonies of the Jesus Video
Story of Rod LeNepveu
"When
I was thirty years of age I started to question how man came to
be and what life was all about. I met a Christian, and he seemed
to have confidence in what he believed. He gave me the Jesus video
and a Bible. After watching the video, I was so moved that I decided
to believe in Jesus. This film showed me what being a Christian
was all about. Jesus has changed my whole life. I now have total
purpose and meaning in my life. Praise the Lord!"
A Changed Life
"I
was divorced in 1985 from a violent marriage, and moved to Perth
where my life became worse. I started drinking, smoking and dabbling
in the occult and alternative life styles.
Nothing seemed to fill my life. In 1992, I met the Pastor from a Baptist Church. Over the next few weeks he spoke about God and offered me a video called Jesus I watched it that week and at the end of it accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour.
My life has completely changed. I gave up the drinking, the cigarettes and many more things. I've stopped searching. My eldest son has also become one of God's children and so has my husband. And this is all because I watched a video called Jesus.
Misled Life
A
sixty five year old lady from country Victoria recently trusted
the Lord after viewing the Man behind the Millennium video.
As a teenager she sought answers from her Church leaders about the parable of the sower. She was told by them, That's a mystery of religion." Now, after forty years of searching she has been set free in Jesus after watching the video. With tears in her eyes she now claims, "I have finally come to understand the meaning of Scripture."
Taxi Driver in a Tangle
A
taxi driver in Maddington had two calls and had to select one.
He ended up driving an eighty year old man and his wife home from
a shopping centre. After making small talk in the cab, the conversation
turned to God and the taxi driver said that he had once been quite
religious, but that now his life was in a mess.
The passenger replied, "I have something that will help you," and when they arrived home he gave the taxi driver the Jesus video. A few days later the old man rang the driver and found that he had already watched the video three times. He said, "I believe I was meant to pick you up."
Things Working for Good
A
man gave his mother the Jesus video. She was a busy real estate
agent and was always on the go. However, she fractured her leg
and suddenly had a lot of spare time on her hands. When her son
suggested she watch the video, she didn't want to, but he said,
"I'll just put it in the video player, just in case."
Later he found out that she did actually watch the video! And she accepted Christ after hearing the invitation at the end of the tape. At first her son couldn't believe what had happened and kept checking with her on whether she really understood what she had done. But his mother was very clear on her decision and is now rejoicing in he faith in the Lord.
Little Witnesses
A
father of two boys in Narre Warren, Sam 6 and Michael 5, tells
of his children's enthusiasm to show visitors and school friends
the new Jesus video, The man Behind the Millennium.
"At first some visitors would say , ‘Who is Jesus?' At this point my little witnesses would reply in almost disbelief ‘I thought everybody knew about Jesus!' and they would quickly sit their friends down and all watch the video eagerly.
Is
The Gnome in Genome
the same as
The Genie in Genesis?
In Recent months there has been a lot of media attention to the fact that geneticists have mapped the full human genetic code, more than three billion sequences, surely a mammoth, expensive, exciting and intricate task. Along with the announcements there has been considerable speculation as to the benefits and dangers that will flow through to the world. Is a cure for incurable diseases now finally possible? Do we really want to be recreated in the image of man?
For many of us the announcement just came and went. It didn't make that much impact because we don't really understand what all these things mean. The scientific, economic, commercial, social, legal, philosophic and religious implications are beyond us. We are interested in the personal benefits, but they haven't touched us yet. If they did, do we have the power to do anything with them anyway. Besides, many of us are probably too far gone for any flow on benefits to touch us, we are on the ebb, not the flow of life's tide.
An article in the ‘Melbourne Age'* was entitled, "A First Step Into the Realm of God" in which President Clinton is recorded as saying, "Today we are learning the language in which God created life. We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity and beauty, the wonder of God's most divine and sacred gift." This quotation and the claim that the DNA code is ‘The Book of Life' illustrates the misleading and inappropriate descriptions of the work. A few days earlier the same newspaper recorded a different view. The code was seen as proof that Darwin was right, and that the evolution theory was now to be considered fact. What are we to believe?
The Bible is not a scientific book, but where it speaks it speaks with authority. If God is the omnipotent, omniscient God and if he has spoken of His creative acts, then what He said must be eventually at least found to be accurate. Our task then, is to understand what He did say, to believe it and act on it.
It is recorded simply in Genesis 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." God had also said "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . ." Furthermore the process of generation is stated to be a process of reproduction in speaking of the herbs. He said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so." (Genesis 1:11) Despite the advances in cloning technique, the principle of producing the next from the former has not been bettered. It is still so. Generally the system works well.
The completed Code has been better described as a street directory to the genetic make up of the human body, the dust part of man. It is a more powerful virtual magnifying glass of physical man. With it, men of science may better understand where they are and decide about where they want to go in intervening in physical human processes. The genomic Code is neither religious nor moral. It is a medical tool to be used with skill.
God's gift of life is yet to be understood. The gift of life was withdrawn when man first sinned against God. God's greatest divine gift to us is not a DNA record which, used aright, may help to postpone our dying. That gift is the person of Jesus Christ who came to us, took on Himself the nature of sinful flesh and on our behalf took the punishment of our sins, that we might have fellowship with God. Those who accept God's gift, receive also His gift of eternal life.
To call the Code ‘The Book of Life' is a great misstatement. The Book of life is the record that God is keeping with the names of all those who have believed on Jesus Christ. Those, and only those, whose names are found in that ‘Book of Life' are received in favour into the presence of God.
Eternal Ink
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I dreamed I was in heaven Where an angel kept God's book. He was writing so intently I just had to take a look. |
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It was not, at first, his writing That made me stop and think But the fluid in the bottle That was marked ‘Eternal Ink'. |
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This ink was most amazing, For quickly as a wink The words were disappearing That strange eternal ink. |
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I thought he wrote for nothing, His efforts were so vain He wrote a thousand pages He'd never read again. |
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Then I saw some words stay black Oh what satisfaction. That he had some print to show For such earnest action. |
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A line or two dried and stayed The angel's records true, But most of it was blank, just A few words coming through. |
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I had to know the reason. And so I dared to ask The angel's explanation Of his amazing task. |
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And what I heard was frightful The angel turned his head. He looked directly at me, And this is what he said... |
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"I know you stand and wonder At what my writing's worth But God told me to record The lives of those on earth. |
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The book that I am filling An accurate account Of every word and action And what they do amount. |
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And since you have been watching I tell you what is true; The details of my journal Are the strict accounts of YOU. |
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The Lord asked me to watch you Each day you worked and played, Saw you as you went to church, I saw you as you prayed. |
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I was told to document Your life through all the week. Wrote when you were proud and bold, I wrote when you were meek. |
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So now I'll tell the wonder Of this eternal ink, Its reason, its mystery Should make you stop and think. |
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I keep writing faithfully The ink does all the rest It is able to decide What's useless and what's bless't. |
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And when the books are opened , As sure as heaven is true; The Lord's eternal ink will tell What mattered most to you. |
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If you lived to please yourself The pages will be bare, God will issue no reward To you, when you get there. |
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But you will always wonder As you enter glory's door How more glad you might have been If only you'd done more. |
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So Then I made my mind up That soon as I awake I'll Jive my life for Jesus I'll live for His dear sake. |
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I'll give in full surrender; All as He wants me to; Turn my back on self and sin- Whatever isn't true. |
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And although the way seems rough I promise to endure, Determined to love such things Are holy, clean and pure. |
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With Jesus as my helper, I'll seek lost souls for Thee, Who will live with Jesus Christ For all eternity. |
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And now what really matters When my life on earth is gone I will stand before the Lord And hear Him say, well done. |
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Should all my life be focused On things that turn to dust? From this point I'll serve the Lord; I can, I will, I must! |
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I will NOT send blank pages To God's majestic throne Where that record's going now Is my eternal home. |
Author unknown |
Life After Death After All
Doctors say
Did you miss it? The Herald Sun newspaper on Tuesday 24th October and The Age newspaper on Wednesday October 25th both wrote an article quoting the Telegraph in UK saying two eminent doctors in a study have found evidence for life after death.
Dr Peter Fenwick a consultant neuro-psychiatrist at London's Institute of Psychiatry and Dr Sam Parnia, a clinical research fellow and registrar at Southampton Hospital studied 63 patients within a week of their surviving cardiac arrest. Seven patients recalled experiences after cardiac arrest, and four of these passed the near death experience test.
"These people were having these experiences when we wouldn't expect to happen, when the brain shouldn't be able to sustain lucid processes or allow them to form memories that would last" Dr Parnia is reported to have said. Dr Fenwick is reported, "If the mind and the brain can be independent then that raises questions about the continuation of consciousness after death."
To the Bible believing Christian this is no surprise. Did not Jesus say "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." The Bible teaches clearly that it is the ‘soul' which is the person who is the real me. The soul will not only be conscious after death, but will have to answer to God for the things done whilst still in the body. This is a rather sober thought. Is it worth the risk?
It is for this reason that Jesus came and died, to rescue those who come to God by Him from the guilt due to such actions and the penalty of hell. Here is the good news, all who come to God will be accepted by Him on the basis of the merit of the death of His Son. Jesus has paid the full cost. Redemption comes to us as God's free gift. There is no other way. Consciousness after death is certain, but confidence after death is your choice. Put your trust in Jesus Christ today!
Target Nativity
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
and
the government shall be upon His shoulder." Isaiah 9.6
Prophetic words as found in the Old Testament are guide posts to events in the plan of God for the redemption of mankind from the curse of sin. Prominent in these Divine utterances are those which point to the coming of Jesus Christ. One of these is the text quoted above.
Isaiah, and all the other prophetic writers missed the point that they were foretelling not just one advent of God's Redeemer to this world, but two. "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given . . ." These words were literally fulfilled when Jesus the baby was born in Bethlehem. ". . . the government shall be upon His shoulder." will be fulfilled when Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives as the ruler-king. No one anticipated that there would be an interval of at least two thousand years between the two events.
The prophetic detail given is amazing, not only in its accuracy, but also in its manner of delivery, as God revealed to mankind that which was in His mind to do. Each prophetic revelation given was more specific, more detailed, and more relevant as the event approached. Consider:
1. God first told Adam through which race to bring a Redeemer. He would do it through the human race. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3.15.
2. God next told Abraham which nation. He would bring His redeemer through the Jewish nation. "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed . . ." Genesis 22.18.
3. Then God told Jacob which clan. He would use the tribe of Judah. "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Genesis 49.10.
4. God told David which family he would use, He would use David's family. "I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall come from you, and I will establish his kingdom." 2 Samuel 7.12.
5. Next God said that the Redeemer would come as a male child to that family. "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder." Isaiah 9.6.
6. Last God told one woman that she was to be the mother of a Child who would be known as the Son of God. "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1.35.
Holy men and women of old who had the learning, the time and the opportunity, to prayerfully examine and compare scripture, to observe and assess the times in which they lived were able to accurately anticipate the first coming of God's Redeemer. One such person was Simeon who when he saw the infant Jesus in the temple proclaimed, "Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word: For mine eyes have seen your salvation, Which you have prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel." The prophetess Anna in the temple confirmed the words of Simeon.
Holy humble men of God today, who like Simeon and Anna of old, who wait prayerfully on God and His word, observing the politic of the times will be able to anticipate with some accuracy the second Advent of Jesus, coming to fulfill the second part of our text. Daniel perceptively sought God to be able to understand end times. This request was denied, but a promise was given that those men of God who lived in the days of the end would have that wisdom; even though it will be hidden from even the men initiating those very events. "And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Daniel 12.9.
Are you one of those people who because you prayerfully and humbly meditate on God's word understand the days in which you live?
Isaiah 9.6&7. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
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