Worship led by Dawn Budd
As I mentioned last week, its almost 15 years since I first visited Lee Street Church with my sister. I had recently found out I was expecting my third baby. A surprise but also a blessing!
And since then, all we have ever felt here is love!! I am so thankful for that love, that feeling of family that we have here John 13:34 & 35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Carolanne and Brian visited Love Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There's a statue of the word ‘LOVE’ there. They took a picture of themselves standing beneath it and posted it on their social media. In the next few minutes, they had “likes” from all around the world- the UK, the USA, India, Australia, Hong Kong, Germany and the Philippines. “It was a bigger, fastest response than my posts usually get “ Carolanne said. “It just goes to show how keen the world is for a message of love”
SING 22 A new commandment I give unto you.
Love. What or who do you love?
I love chocolate - I love my job - I love my children - I love my husband. All of these are different types of love. Clearly I don't love chocolate in quite the same way as I love my children! Mahatma Gandhi once said “Where there is love, there is life.”
SING 329 Let there be love shared among us
Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Sophocles, the Greek playwright, said “One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love.” This could not have been more true than at Calvary. It was there that Jesus became the true reflection of love.
SING 514 Such love
Marge Piercy, an American feminist and writer, one said “Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding the third.” I'd disagree with this. If I was to rewrite this from a Christian perspective, I'd say “ Love was the first gift, understanding is the second and life is the third” Without God's first gift of love, we'd not be given the chance to understand his love and therefore not be able to receive the third gift of life, eternal life.
READ 1 John 4:15-19
SING 1111 What kind of love is this?
Prayer :
Lord Jesus, Thankyou for the love that you have shown us. The love you have shared with us both physically and spiritually, by leaving your Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, Thankyou for the love that you have shown us through sending your Son. Your perfect son who became our sin for our redemption. Thank you for this church. Thank you for the people here. For the love shown here, the brotherly love that you spoke of. As we go into the next week, give us strength and understanding for our brothers and sisters. That we might be examples of your love to others. In Jesus name, Amen
SING 236 I'm special
Ken’s Message
Distractions Luke 8. 4-8 11-15
As I am getting older I am finding it more difficult to cope with distractions. If I am doing something and get distracted, I often forget what I was doing before I was distracted. For example, I plan to go upstairs to get something and whilst I’m going upstairs I start thinking about something else so that when I get there I can’t remember what I came upstairs to get. That distraction is amusing, but often some distractions can be far more dangerous. Many serious car accidents are caused by distractions such as using a mobile phone, eating and drinking in the car, or even looking outside at something.
What is the meaning of distraction? One dictionary definition says, “a thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else.” A distraction isn’t the main thing but takes our focus off the main thing to something less important. We live in an age of so many distractions. There are 8 most common distractions. They are technology, such as smartphones, tablets and computers, other people, our thoughts, the news, money, social media, food and shopping. We can meet distractions in a variety of places. It can be in a car, a workplace, the home, outside and even in church. Distractions are impossible to avoid. The big problem is that for some people, distractions have become the main thing. Becoming a Christian is choosing the main thing to do in life. What is the main thing? Jesus commands us to do it. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” (Matthew 6.33) It is basically putting Jesus first in every part of our lives. Being a fruitful Christian is keeping the main thing, the main thing.
We face many distractions in our Christian lives. We may think that distractions are just caused by our modern way of living. Certainly with our increased technology and our busy lives our distractions have grown. However, distractions are not just a feature of modern life but have been around since man was created. The first distraction occurred in the Garden of Eden when the devil turned Eve’s focus from God to a tree. Sadly, she disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the tree with the result that her sin brought separation between her and God. Adam also committed the same sin which led to all mankind following the same path of rebellion causing the broken world in which we now live. So right from the beginning we discover that the source of distraction is the devil. Whilst the actual distraction was just a tree, the devil used it to turn her focus from God, and became the instrument used in her disobedience to God. The devil will use anything as a distraction to cause us to sin which he knows separates us from God. That is his ultimate purpose of all the devil’s distractions.
How does the devil today turn our focus from God? He does it by turning our focus from the word of God. The word of God is the main instrument to introduce God to us and to also to lead us to a fuller knowledge of Him. In the parable of the sower we see how the devil uses all kinds of distractions to keep us from God’s word and its impact on our lives.
As we read the parable of the sower we learn of several distractions that prevented the seed from growing to bear fruit. Also in the Garden of Eden the source of the distraction is made clear in the three words in verse 6 “the devil comes.”
We see the devil’s main purpose in all his strategy as we read, “so that they may not believe and be saved.” The devil’s greatest fear is that people will believe the word of God and be saved. He hates the word of God especially the gospel of Christ, “for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone that believes.”
His other purpose for the distractions is to stop believers growing in their faith and producing fruit to become mature Christians. So this parable has an important lesson both for the unbeliever and the Christian. The vital question it raises is how much priority has the word of God in our lives?
The devil’s first words to Eve concerned her attitude to God’s word. “Did God really say, you must not eat from any tree in the garden? (Genesis 3.1) The devil sought to cause doubt as to what God said. But then he tempted her to disbelieve what God said, “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3.4) God had already said to Eve, “for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2.17) Following Eve’s doubt and disbelief of God’s word she then disobeyed it and ate the fruit. That is what sin is. It is disobedience to God’s word. As we hear the word of God this morning, the devil will use the same strategy. What will our response be? His success is very much dependant on how much priority we give to God’s word in our lives.
How does the devil distract us from believing God’s Word? His first method is not to allow God’s word even to enter our hearts. This is illustrated the in first soil of the story where the birds come to steal the seed left on the surface of the ground. This is the like person who hears the word but it is stolen from them before it has a chance to even to enter their lives. We must be aware that the devil tries to steal the word from us as soon we have heard it. He uses different methods to prevent the word from entering our hearts He will focus our mind on other things like thinking about our Sunday dinner or our plans for coming week. We must be alert and give God’s word careful attention even before we hear it. The devil can use our apathy to distract us from listening to God’s word. Our apathy can be our first distraction to hearing God’s word.
At the beginning of his message he says, “He who has ears to hear, let him ear.” Jesus is commanding us to be alert and listen. There is a big difference between hearing and listening. When we just hear the word, the word remains on the outside and so the devil, like the birds can also easily take away the word we’ve heard. We must come to listen to the word not just hear it. The devil doesn’t mind us hearing God’s word as long as we don’t truly listen to it. It is so easy to develop the habit of hearing God’s word instead of listening to it. We can hear God’s word many times but it doesn’t change our lives unless we listen and obey it. The goal of hearing God’s word is to listen, believe and obey it. The battle isn’t over after we have listened to God’s word as we can from what happened to the second seed.
The seed only settles in the rocky shallow ground but it still grows up quickly. However, because the ground is shallow the seed cannot go deeper to form roots. When the heat of the sun hits the plant because it has no roots it soon withers and dies. Jesus gives the clear interpretation saying the sun is likened to persecution which tests our faith which results in the faith withering and dying. This shows that the faith isn’t genuine for true faith continues despite the persecution. The devil’s purpose is not to allow God’s word to reach the heart and take root in the person’s life. The devil knows that if there is no deep root of faith in the heart, then when opposition comes the person’s faith will not continue because it isn’t genuine faith. True faith comes only when we believe the word of God in our hearts. So many just believe in God with their heads but that isn’t true faith and cannot save us or produce a transformation in our lives.
True faith doesn’t come just by hearing, knowing and understanding God’s Word but by believing and obeying it.. That kind of faith continues even when trials and opposition come to attack it.
What can we learn from the seed that fell on the third type of soil? We read that the seed fell among thorns which choked it causing it not to produce good fruit. In the third soil we come across the three most common distractions of worries, riches and pleasures. The devil uses these distractions to prevent people becoming Christians and also hinder spiritual fruit in the life of a believer.
What kind of worries does the devil use as a distraction to prevent people becoming Christians? Some worry about what people may think or say if they become a Christian, particularly amongst their family members. In some countries a confession of faith in Christ can result in fierce persecution from the family that the person must leave home for their own safety. In our country there isn’t usually that level of persecution. However, there is still the need to put Christ first above all others. It comes down to pleasing God before pleasing men. We must have a fear of God before a fear of man.
Some have worries if they could keep up living the Christian life in their own strength. The answer to that is the promise of the word of God in Philippians 1.6 “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” Living the Christian life isn’t to be our worry but God’s. Instead of worrying, we are to trust in God and his promise that he will keep you until Jesus returns. Jesus tells us that we are in His Father’s hand and no one can snatch us out of his hand. Jesus also says we are in his hand and shall never perish. What could be more secure than being held by the Father’s hand and the hand of Jesus. These worries often stop people becoming Christians.
Worry can also be distraction for the believer. God says to us, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” (Matthew 6. 25) Worry affects our relationship with God causing us anxiety instead of peace which is God’s gift to us. It is not God’s will that the believer should be anxious. He has commanded us to pray about everything with petition and thanksgiving so we can experience his peace that transcends all understanding which will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. God says pray about everything so you won’t need to worry about anything. Worry is also an indication that I am not trusting God or his promises. Instead of walking by faith I am walking in fear. To be distracted from peace to worry and faith to fear is not the place where God wants me to be.
For others the big distraction is riches and wealth. Riches are a major distraction because for so many as they see riches as the source of happiness and security. Jesus warned people that life is more than what than what we possess. He also told the parable of the rich farmer who had much wealth but wasn’t rich toward God so spent eternity without God. Riches in themselves are not evil. There are many rich people in the Bible who served God faithfully. It is not wrong for us to have riches but it is disastrous when riches have us. Do we want enough wealth to make us content and secure? The answer is the word of God, “But seek first his kingdom and all these things will given to you as well.” (Matthew 6. 33)
True happiness doesn’t come by having what you want but by having what God provides for what he believes you need. Paul spoke of contentment both in want or in plenty. He let God decide what it should be and the result was contentment.
The third distraction is pleasure. We live in a world of pleasure seeking. One of the signs in the world that the coming of Jesus is near is that people will be, “lovers of pleasure rather then lovers of God.”(1 Timothy 3. 4.) God is not against pleasure. When God made man “he richly provided us with everything for our enjoyment.”(1 Timothy 6. 17) Think of the pleasure and joy God has already provided through our natural and ordinary life. The happiness we experience through what we see, hear, taste, smell and touch. Just on a normal level for everyone God has given us pleasure.
But there’s even greater pleasure through the eternal life that Jesus gives, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10.10) We all have life from God with its pleasures on the natural level. But there’s another level of joy and pleasure which is far greater called “life to the full.” The Bible calls it “eternal life.” Eternal life is not just a life that goes on after death that lasts forever with Jesus in heaven. Although that is great in itself. This life to the full begins now. We don’t need to wait till we get to heaven to enjoy eternal life it begins when we meet Jesus and he comes to live in us. This is the life Christ came from heaven to give us. Jesus died for us that we might have this full life. All the pleasure, satisfaction and joy that the devil offers is a sham, a counterfeit and a fake. Adam and Eve found that out when they decided to trust the devil’s word rather than God’s word in the Garden of Eden. He deceived them and led them away from who gives eternal life. Let’s learn from their mistake to trust and obey God’s Word. All that we need for life and godliness comes through our knowledge of God. The essence of eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ. The way to know God and Jesus Christ is through God’s Word. The devil knows that he keeps us from God’s word and distracts us to other things.
The final seed falls on good soil and produces abundant fruit. On this soil we don’t see any distractions ruining the growth for fruit which points to the devil’s inability to distract this seed from bearing fruit.. Why is that? It is because of the good soil in which the seed falls. The good soil describes heart of the person that produces good fruit. What are the characteristics of this heart that bears abundant fruit.
It is a noble and good heart showing that the person has a sincere desire to receive God’s word so he listens earnestly to the word preached. They listen with a humble and teachable attitude. This leads to understanding the word. The person then accepts the word in faith and follows it with obedience They continue to obey the word overcoming the opposition and bear abundant fruit. With such an attitude to listen, understand, believe and obey the word, they overcome the distractions of the devil and bear fruit.
There are many distractions that the devil uses to attack our faith. One of his major methods is to us keep from believing and obeying God’s word. He hates it when we believe God’s Word for he knows it brings salvation. He also opposes our reading and hearing God’s word because it enables us to grow spiritually and become more like Jesus. The word of God is also our main weapon to overcome the devil’s temptations as Jesus showed us when he was tempted in the wilderness. May God enable us to make His Word a greater priority in our lives.
Closing Song: Speak, O Lord
Notices
- The funeral service for Kevin Boswell is on Tuesday 16thApril, 9.30am at S&S Crematorium
- Wednesday this week is the Coffee Morning at 10.30 am.
- Next Sunday will be a continuation of the Alpha studies on the Holy Spirit.