Now I have a soul to that Revelation sort of moment of
self-awareness and one day A lady called Jill Evans.
Had cooked this lovely and ate chicken Phillips.
The lovely chicken Phyllis with this creamy mushroom sauce.
I think James was there. I was there when he was there.
There was six of us in total but there was eight chicken Phyllis.
And here we go. We've been preaching away and
I'm tired. I'm hungry.
I really wanted a second chicken Philly.
So we're all eatin away and then viniq.
Has anyone? Who knows?
Vinny Commons? Well knows that the only time he
stopped speaking is when he's eating and there he was, he ate
away. And he got, he helped himself to
the second chicken Philip. And then there's just one more
left. And here we are.
We've got these big men around. It was thinking and he's gonna
get it. You can almost hear the cowboy
music, you know, du du du du to anyway, Vinny gets this for
sticks. It in this chicken Philly and he
says, here Johnny, you have it now, it sounds absolutely
perfect. Pathetic, but in that moment, I
wanted to cry. Honestly, I was so upset.
I was so silky. And as I was I went home to my
wife. I said, it's so unfair.
Why did he get that chicken? Put it?
Why didn't I get it? I've worked hard one and I
realized in that moment. Just how selfish I become.
I have this sort of the word would call entitlement.
I thought I deserved it and it sounds stupid, but I had a sort
of moment of Revelation. So as we come to this sermon,
this is going to be a little bit challenging I think.
But just know this Is a preacher.
I'm preaching it to Joker because we're told In this
passage to lay down our lives to the brothers.
Well, how was even prepared to lay down a chicken?
Feel it? Let alone my life.
So, you know, I'm preaching to myself here.
Okay. So I've got four head interview
today. My first heading is extravagant.
Love. My second.
Heading is share your caviar. My third heading is lamps don't
talk, but they do shine and My fourth and final heading is the
poorest person in the room. So firstly, extravagant love.
Just dip into 2. Verse 16 with me.
It says here buying perceive. We the love of God.
And then in chapter 4 verse 8, it says God is love.
So because God is love, because God is showing his look.
He must display you. And I want you now to think
about your own life. Look at the Abundant proofs in
your own life, every loaf of bread, every drop of water.
The whole me live in the help that the Lord has blessed you it
for many years. All of these things are tokens
of God's love. And yet, we can be a little bit
ungrateful. Can't we, we moment about the
price of bread, we mon that this Cafe doesn't have gluten-free
bread. We mon that it's raining another
day. But, yeah, in Africa, they
Rejoice Lee dance when it rains. Don't, we don't realize that
we're a mass of Mercies. Now, I would ask you a little
question. I don't know what your family
background was. I don't know how you were when
you grew up. But if you had Christian
parents, did you cherish those Christian parents?
When you're growing up? Do you cherish your parents?
I hesitate to say this, but we can often look down on
alcoholics. We look down on divorcees on
drug addicts on prostitutes on jailbirds.
But imagine if you could smell alcohol in the cars.
Imagine if you could hear blasphemy in the kitchen,
imagine if you had Wicked. Horrible, uncle's you see?
I meet these people on the streets.
I talk to them. I spend much time with them and
if we walked in their shoes for just one day, we might have
Meyer these people that they aren't worse than they are.
There's a reason why. All the time, but there is often
a reason why there's a drug addict.
There's often a reason. Why that man's homeless.
You see? You need to know this about me.
My parents were crazy strict. My parents were really strict
Christian parent. I'll tell you a little bit about
them if you want to ask later, but they were really strict.
But today I say hallelujah that I Christian parents that kiss me
on the head. Tuck me into bed every night and
read little ones to God with me. Christian parents are a
wonderful thing and I can see that little boys listen to sir.
I'm nervous. And he's got Christian Paris.
Hallelujah. He's cute.
He's gonna make me cry in a minute.
He's so sweet. Sorry.
And where am I now, I promise you this the clearest Window
Seat in, which you can see God's love is the window, which is
facing the cross, you know, there's a story that I don't
even have the preacher Charles Spurgeon.
And he told this story about there was a day when there was
this flood in the village and it was before the time of swimming
lessons. And those this mother and she
had Toddlers. So she did the only thing she
could do. She picked up both toddlers in
her arms and she climbed up this tree and got straight to the top
of this high tree, as she gets there and into safety.
She sought to take her sigh of relief, but then she hears this
noise. The branch was beginning to
snap. So she did the only thing she
could do she puts her two children, the safest part of the
branch. She climbed onto the edge.
She took a deep breath, and she tumbled down into the flood,
waters and drown. Now, anyone who was reading that
story. No, one could doubt the love
that, that mother had for a children.
And some of you in this room who are mothers, you would do
exactly the same thing, wouldn't you?
No one could doubt it. But let me say this.
Do you ever doubt the love that? Jesus Christ.
And for you when he died on a cross, for your sins, a bit more
recently in the news, remember that, and scuba dark.
Not that, that IBS it in Thailand and those football as
they got trapped in this cave and and it was terrible.
And this British diary went in to save those scoot those, those
Lads and he died in the cave and we read it.
And we admire him and rightly. So what bravery, what, courage,
so much admiration. But the sad thing is, we don't
have much admiration for the Son of God.
This works. World doesn't have much
admiration for the Son of God who laid down his life for us as
sinners. Now, I believe one of the
hardest challenges in the Bible is in verse 16 and it says this
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
I'm going to make a statement now and you tell me if you agree
with this statement. Yes or no.
A person's life is the most prized physical possession.
They owned. Do you agree with that
statement? It's true.
I think I think it's true because once someone loses their
life, it's gone. There's a finality to death.
It's the most prized possession. That's why if you lay down your
life for someone in the church, if you like lay down your life
for another brother. It's the greatest expression of
love. So, what am I going to water-ski
next? Would you do it?
Would you die for the person who did the flowers this week, for
the person who makes the coffee for the person three rows behind
you for the person you bumped into in the toilets for this man
here. Would you die for the people in
this church, you know, there's a story.
It didn't happen in the time of polycarp.
It didn't happen in the Axiom. Apostles.
This happened about 10 years ago.
You might have heard it before, but there was this 23, South
Korean guys, and they are missionaries and they Really,
really wanted to get the gospel out.
So, you know, where they went sit on a missionary Venture went
to Afghanistan. And as you can, imagine they all
got abducted by the Taliban and you are the SAT in a room,
probably similar size to this and they're all sort of chained
up a little bit. And one of the girls, this is
what's amazing. One of the girls had had a new
testament in a pocket and she ripped it up into 23, different
pieces and gave them all at a piece.
So when they got separated, they all have portion of God's word.
They all I'll have the most important thing with them and
then the Taliban took each of them, one out one by the other
to interrogate them. And one of the men walked in and
he said, it's bad. News is the worst news.
They are going to kill us. But I told them, I said, if
they're going to kill anyone first, I want them to kill me
first because I am a pastor. I die first.
And that this point, another man stood up and he said, no, no,
no, no. No, that's wrong.
That's wrong. I too am a pastor but I am older
than you. I'm your Elder.
So, I will die first. And then this other guy, stood
up the third man, and he stood up police.
He said, sit down the pair of you.
I am ordained. You are not.
I will die first. It's a challenge, isn't it?
But they were fighting on now. If it was me person, I'd be
like, yeah, let the pastor's go first.
I don't want to die. I'll be thinking normally, I
wouldn't really but it's a challenge isn't imagine if the
Taliban, if they broke into this room now, and they said just
three of you were going to kill just three of you, but you Would
you volunteer? Would you put your hands up
first? That's what were called to do in
this passage is a big challenge. Secondly, share your caviar.
Look at verse 17 with me, but whosoever have the world's goods
and see if his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of
compassion on to him. How dwelleth the love of God in
him. Matthew Henry says that God
allows some Christians to be rich so they can exercise Grace.
What do you like to exercise Grace?
Will it be a good thing for you yourself to exercise?
Grace Jesus. Our lord said it is better to
give than to receive. Now for honest, very few of us
are going to find up. It might happen, who knows?
Only the Lord knows but it's very unlikely that any of us are
going to find ourselves in in that position of those South
Koreans where we're going to have to physically lay down our
lives. But every single one of us in
this room must deny ourselves. We must take up her a
christ-like sort of humility where we were.
We're prepared to give all and to lay down everything.
So the only question I need to ask you now is this How's the
Lord blessed you with the world's Goods?
Have you got a good salary? A decent, pension.
A nice house. A bit of spare money.
Are you prepared to share those things with the world?
Or do you want to hold on to them yourself?
Are you giving to God, what is, right?
Or what is left? I don't know if when you were
kids. Did you used to play at that
game called, Hot Potato? I wonder if you now the kids
these days. They don't know what hot potato
is because they don't have an app for These days, they don't
play it. But for those who don't know, a
hot potato is basically it's that game.
When you've got a ball and you throwing this ball around, and
just let me go hot jacket, potatoes out of the oven.
It's too hot to hold on to it. And then there's another guy and
they shout out 10 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
And if you have the ball in your hand, at the end of the game,
you're out, you lose. And that's kind of how we should
treat our resources, isn't it? It's sort of like we've got this
book, all of our resources, this big ball and we're getting away
from me. Pass it on, pass it on.
Give it to someone else. I don't want to add up and then
it's like there is literally someone counting 10, 9, 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2 1 and then that's it. We stand before the almighty
Creator and the Bible says, all of us will stand before the
Judgment seat of Christ. Do any of us want to stand that
they would with big bars where we've kept all of these
possessions for ourselves or do we want to have given away as
much as we can. It was a great man called John.
Leslie. And John Wesley said this.
Now, this is probably the most challenging thing.
I want to say in the whole message, but it came from,
Wellesley, not me, but he said, if I die, and I'm found with
more than 10 pounds to my name. The whole world will know that
I'm a live, my life as a thief and a robber.
Now, when I was 10 pounds is probably a bit more back then
but you get the idea you wanted to give everything away and
leave the message. He preached.
Now, this next bit is a little bit important in verse 17.
It says If anyone see it, his brother, if anyone sees.
So, you've got to notice, you can't be so wrapped up in
thinking about me, me me. I, I'm the center of the wall.
What about my needs? You've got to sort of noticed.
Another person who's in need, who needs help and Jesus.
Our lord was the master at this. Jesus, he's walking through town
and he sees this little man puppetry who wasn't Zacchaeus.
Now, tell me how often do you look up truth.
Very often, but our lord, Jesus was observing.
And he saw this man back here. Soon.
The world didn't think much of any sense.
That key is calm down or I'm coming to your house for tea.
And then we've got Martha and Mary there in this house with
these two ladies and he's sitting down.
And and he says, Martha Martha, you're anxious.
You're careful about many different things.
He noticed that woman who was anxious and then he said, come
on, worship me just like Mary has chosen that, which is
better. The only things needful is to
worship me. My favorite example, is this
one, the blind man, at the pool of Siloam and it says the
walking by, and Jesus notices, he sees this blind, man, and
then it's the disciples get wind of it.
And they also seem as well. And they look at this, man.
And they start asking him some questions.
Would you lie like that? Particularly?
How many times do we walk past homeless people on the streets?
Thousands, thousands of people walk past the homeless, man.
And yet, I wonder how many thousands of people walk past
that blind, man, and Salon, but Jesus Took time bent down and
made that blind, man. See, he mattered to Jesus people
matter to Jesus. So they matter to us.
So in church, We've got to have an, I have an eye for the young
person. The old person who might be
lonely, spend the whole week on their own and they're excited
about talking to people, make sure they don't go home without
someone saying hello and telling them, they matter.
The old church, the socially awkward the disabled.
All of us in this room. We all need a little bit of TLC
every now and then, don't we? Let's pray that God would give
us an eye for people especially the church.
Now, you see, I love a good him sandwich as much as the next
guy, but church is so much more than him sandwiches.
You see, we should be prepared to give the shirt off our back
for another brother or sister in Christ.
We should be prepared to carry a brother or sister on our back.
Even If the roll away for 10 miles because of the, the body
of Christ. We should be prepared to give up
our bed for a night and let a brother and sister.
Sleep in that bed. Why?
Because it's the Bride of God is the Church of Christ and then
suppose, a non-believer supposed non-believer walks into Birkdale
Christian Fellowship. Imagine they were walking to
this church and they say no way, no way the way you love that
lady there. It's as if she's your own sister
the way you love this man here. It's like he's your own brother
you re I've seen love before but you really really love each
other. So so much.
So, come on. Let's be the Talk of the Town.
Not because of are falling out. Not because of our wonderful
singing, our great building, our great Children's Program.
Let's Be The Talk of the Town because we love one.
Another, wouldn't that be a lovely thing to be known for
thirdly lamps? Don't talk, but they do shine
Verse. 18 says, my little children.
Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed, and in
truth. Spurgeon said I would not give
much for your religion unless it can be seen lamps, don't talk,
but they do shine. And what John saying here is he
said it's time for you to roll up your sleeves.
It's time for you to get your hands dirty.
This isn't a time for Pleasant chitchat.
You need to do something to put something in action.
Now. Now please don't misunderstand
me there. Definitely is still a place for
kind words. We're told in the Bible to build
one another up to encourage one another.
Another were told sir to care for one another in Proverbs.
It talks about having a sweetness of speech.
The Evangelist David Shepherd said, I can go for a month on a
compliment and in Ministry. I know exactly what that's like.
Sometimes someone will just give you a word in season and it
blesses you. It's like a balm of Gilead on
your hand. So, let me gently challenge you
now. I preached this a few churches
and I'm challenging all the churches that preach at this
same thing. When was the last time, you told
your pastor that you love them? You see how it's a full-time?
Christian were. Do you say I love you there?
Well, he's, he's applying the message went to full-time
Christian. Work in January 2016.
And there's one thing that's been more apparent than anything
at all. And it's that Satan really hates
pastors. He hates them more than anyone.
And if it's not in the, in the home where he's dividing
families, which we've had a problem with our pastor is had a
hard time in the hole. Eco since the church.
I spoke with a pastor once very recently actually.
And with tears in his eyes. He sent this to me said before
he went into the ministry and all the Pastor said to him, when
you go into the ministry, you will be blessed upon blessing
upon blessing, but it will break your heart.
And if it's not church members that break your heart, there's
always these different things. Comment.
And I know the devil is trying to tempt all of us, but it seems
to me that seems to be a particular Target, which is on
the back of a pastor and he just throwing dagger after dagger
fiery Dart day after day trying to bring down the pastor.
But why does he go for the pasta?
Why is that? Well, let me tell you.
It's this, the devil knows the scriptures better than any of us
in this room together, doesn't it?
And there's a scripture which says this strike the shepherd.
And the Sheep will scatter. So he knows that if he goes for
the main man, if he takes out the shepherd and that's it, the
church we broke and it will divide.
It will break up and the church will be left.
Empty and some of you you've been in this game for a long
time. Haven't you?
You sent churches the 30 40 years ago.
The pasta was taken out and those churches are still a mess
today. There's still broken today.
So now together in 2019, more than ever we as the Sheep need
to love and protect our Shepherds.
Now more than ever. So over to you now, how can we
look indeed? How can we do that?
How can we look the members of this church, indeed?
What do you think? Maybe you could bring a meal
over to someone perhaps the someone who's not like we're in
South Portland. I'm working now, but maybe
there's someone is struggling for cash possibly.
You could give them a bit of money.
Maybe you could open the home up, visit someone we always need
to be thinking. How can we help people?
How can we see them? Who was the, there's a reformed
Pastor in America called Paul Washer.
Just anyone heard of Paul Washer.
I don't know if you have but Porsche said there's some people
and they're a bit like theology machines.
Touch them in one place and theology.
Pours out, you touch them in another place and their deep
doctrines pour out. And it's like they've got these
big big brains. But then shrunk and hearts is
that you is that me, we've got these big brains full of
theology, full of all these doctrines, but they're very
little hearts. Now.
Some of us are doubly blessed. We've got small hearts and small
brains, but that's another sermon altogether, but let's not
be there with all these things in our minds.
Let's ask that God would carve out a Channel of love that we
would See, people and care for people and let all of these
great things. These great books that we read
and then let them flow out into a heart that we love people.
Augustine said, give to all, that's the one you pass over.
Should be Christ himself. Okay, fourthly.
And finally verse 23, and this is his Commandment that we
should believe on the name of his son.
Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us that
Commandments. Now if you haven't already
believed in that commandment, if you haven't already abeid that
commandment and put your trust in Jesus Christ, you could have
a six-figure salary. You can have a mansion in
Formby. You could have to Jags on the
drive, but it doesn't matter. You're the poorest person in
this room and likewise. You might not have a lot of
money. You might not know where your
next meal is coming from. You might not even as they say
have two pennies to rub together.
But today you could walk out of this building and out.
Of spiritual riches in Christ for all of eternity and it's all
it is, is you come to the Cross rich or poor, believe on the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who became poor so that
you might become spiritually, rich, and more my words.
He really did become poor. He preached my borrowed bowls.
He wrote a Jerusalem on a borrowed, donkey.
He was even buried in a borrowed tomb, one day when he wanted to
illustrate a point. He said, excuse me.
Could someone lend me a coin? He comes.
Reach into his own pocket and pull out a coin, he had to ask
to borrow one. He really did become poor, so
that you might become rich. He was hungry.
He went without food for 40 days and 40 nights, so that you might
Feast on the bread of life. He was thirsty.
He cried. I thirst on the cross, so that
you might drink of the Water of Life.
He became nothing so that you might gain everything.
See, him there the righteous Son of God, bleed in there on a
cross. And so you could be forgiven,
cleanse purified made, right? In his eyes come to him.
Today. He loves you repent.
Turn of your sins and put your trust in here in the one who
rose from the dead and can give you eternal life.
I don't know if you've heard of the Evangelist, Roger, Carswell.
Well, he's a very Gifted Man and I heard a story from an
illustration. I'll close with this and it's my
favorite illustration. I've heard yet today.
There was a fair going on in Colchester, sort of sir.
I'm is really everything was going quite well, and there was
this sort of aristocratic gentlemen, a man called Sir
Roger Bolter and Sriracha bolts. He's enjoying himself seeing the
jugular see in the Clowns enjoying all of that's going on
and as he's in the middle of Colchester, he hears the town
clock, go off at and it Chimes a little bit like a little child
would do. He starts to count because one,
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. 1112.
13. This he's looking around
thinking. I'm going crazy.
Did I just hear that too? It was another matter.
Really cool man. A bit like Zacchaeus.
I imagine really sure Connie. He looked at his, did you hear
that too? Yeah.
I heard it. It turns 13 times.
I thought I was going crazy, but obviously not he didn't think
much of it, but he wrote it down in his diary, he went away and
he went back home. Anyway, two months later.
He was he was asleep now. So, Roger bolt.
So he wasn't a man who was given to dreams.
Hearing voices in the night, but he woke up with a cold sweats.
And you heard this voice. Go to York.
This is ridiculous.
Anyway, that morning is eating his breakfast.
He heard that voice ringing over his mind, go to York.
Go to your. So he said, to his servants,
must be nice, having servants, reset.
Okay. Well, we better go to your get
the horses ready. So we went over it took about
two or three days to get there. Anyways, he arrives in your
PC's. This big crowd in the town
center and he says to him and he said, excuse me, what's going
on? Oh, haven't you heard the news?
Oh, it's a murder trial. It's the last day of the trial
and we all want to know. The outcome is, so Sriracha
bolts. We followed everyone into the
courtroom and he couldn't quite see over the crowd.
But he heard this voice. Do you have anything to say
before? I pronounce?
You guilty, your honor? I am not guilty.
I was more than 400 miles from this place.
I was there, I stood and there was a town clock.
Right, 13 times. If only there was a man there,
he heard it too. If he was here, he could prove
my innocence. And so Roger bolts are stood up
and said I am that man. Now I know I was supposed to
come to your, I was there, I heard it to here.
It's in my diary and he walked down and he showed the judge the
diary in. There's a bit of commotion a bit
and then the judge went very well innocence and Sriracha
Bolter and that little man, they walked out of the court case
together. and that little man looked so put Sriracha bowls and
he said, you know, there's not a man in all the world who could
save me, but you there's not a man in all the world who could
save me, but you Friends, there is only one who can save you
from sin and the consequences of it who can give you eternal
life. Don't resist.
Don't put him off. The day.
Longer can't believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and he
receives all, who come to him. How close by reading the verse
23. Once more, and this is his
Commandment that we should believe on the name of his son.
Jesus Christ and love one another.
As he gave us this commandment. Oh, man.