CRISIS CALL

Picking up the newspapers in these days one could be forgiven for thinking that the whole world is falling apart.

There is a food crisis…there is a financial crisis…in Burma and china there are natural crises. The government here is in crisis over unwise decisions and some reports suggest the arms forces are in crisis in Iraq and Afghanistan because of supplies crisis.

In the Bible God gave His prophet Jonah a job to do.

All God said was “Go to Nineveh and preach against it because its wickedness has come up before me.” Like a magistrate at the bench God had a case presented to Him and told Jonah to go and tell the wrongdoers they were wrong.

Today…give that job to people like Alan Sugar or Simon Cowell and the job would be done. But when it comes to church issues, belief issues, moral issues we have come to the point where not only do we not expect anybody to tell us we are wrong but we also do not expect anybody to send their messenger to say it either -simply because we have distorted the word ‘judge’.

To tell anybody today that they are wrong is deemed to be judging them and that creates a very serious situation for the whole of society.

Drive along the road, go through a red light and have a side on collision with another car, the driver of whom thought he was safe because there are rules to be adhered to, and you will know to your cost that you have just done wrong.

But society has developed a warped mentality which insists that nobody has the right to “judge” you by telling you that you were wrong. That is how crazy our society has become.

Ninevah had done wrong in God’s eyes and God intended to do something to correct the issue so He called upon Jonah.

Jonah disobeyed God and ran in the opposite direction which left God with another correction procedure to go through. He now had to deal with Jonah…because whatever the world of today may say God had given an instruction and it had been disobeyed and in God’s economy that was wrong and needed correction.

How God began to deal with Jonah is well known He cause a ‘large fish’ which many believe to be a whale to swallow Jonah. In the midst of his foul smelling adversity Jonah cried out to God for help and deliverance promising God that if He delivers Jonah, Jonah would make it up to Him.

Do you do that? Try to barter favours with God? If He will get you out of your financial mess you’ll start going to church in Sundays? If he’ll sort the mess of your marriage out you’ll give more next time the church has a summer fete?
God doesn’t conform to that sort of manipulation. Obeying God to gain some benefit is not allowable anywhere in God’s dealing with people. He expects us to obey Him a) Because He is God and b) Because He says so.

Are you trying to live a good life in order to, hopefully, twist God’s arm to allow you into heaven?

It doesn’t work like that. The Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians Ch 2 v9 (Living Bible) - “Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it.”

The Salvation God offers is about FAITH… not about FEATS.

It is about FAITH in the fact that - a) Jesus Christ is God’s Son b) He gave up His life for your sake and my sake that we might have Eternal life. c) He was resurrected by God His Father to show the world that the price Jesus had to pay for you and for me, by dying at Calvary…was acceptable to God the Father.

It’s not about you running this marathon or that marathon to raise as much cash as possible to help the social cause you support.

Do you trip over your own FEATS missing the fact that all you need is simple FAITH?

Jonah wasn’t saved from the ‘whale’ BECAUSE HE SHOUTED OUT…He was saved because of whom HE SHOUTED TO.

Like most you may well be finding yourself in a sticky situation today looking around for someone to help. Maybe you haven’t even thought about placing your trust in God and calling out to Him….

If you’re prepared turn away from your wrongdoing, turn to Christ for forgiveness and are prepared to yield control of your life to Him…and be very serious and sincere about it
…You will find God’s solutions to your problems far more dependable that anybody on the Finance market. 

      GIVE GOD A CHANCE TO BE GOD IN YOUR LIFE.             

Living in the Wigan area and wanting to know more about God and how He longs for you to know Him? Why not visit ; www.bryn-im.org- better still why not go along to meet others, at BRYN INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH, DOWNALL GREEN ROAD, BRYN, Nr WIGAN, who will share with you their experience of knowing God.

(on this site you can now hear the latest sermons)