Online Meeting Sunday 19th July 2020

Lee Street Church

Notes of Meeting on 19^th July 2020

About 17 people joined our Zoom meeting.

Jason, Sue, Matt and Jacqueline were at the church to present the music and songs on Zoom.

Brian led our worship time.

He began with reading Psalm 100

A Psalm which simply encourages God’s people to

• come together

• worship God joyfully – with songs!

• remember who He is and who we are

• be thankful

We’re reminded too that His love endures through all generations.

So let’s heed the call of the Psalmist and sing our first song

Rejoice the Lord is King

REJOICE, THE LORD IS KING!

Your Lord and King adore;

Mortals, give thanks, and sing,

And triumph ever more:

Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;

Rejoice! Again I say: rejoice!

Jesus the Saviour reigns,

The God of truth and love;

When He had purged our stains,

He took His seat above:

His kingdom cannot fail,

He rules o’er earth and heaven;

The keys of death and hell

Are to our Jesus given:

He sits at God’s right hand

Till all His foes submit,

And bow to His command,

And fall beneath His feet:

Rejoice in glorious hope;

Jesus the Judge shall come,

And take His servants up

To their eternal home:

We soon shall hear the archangel’s voice;

The trump of God shall sound: rejoice!

Charles Wesley.

Prayer

Reading Hebrews 1: 1 – 3

A few reminders – how God spoke in the past (OT times) – how he has now spoken through Jesus – and who Jesus is.

Our second song – Jesus is the name we honour

Jesus is the name we honour;

Jesus is the name we praise.

Majestic Name above all other names,

The highest heaven and earth proclaim

That Jesus is our God.

We will glorify,

We will lift Him high,

We will give Him honour and praise.

We will glorify,

We will lift Him high,

We will give Him honour and praise.

Jesus is the name we worship;

Jesus is the name we trust.

He is the King above all other kings,

Let all creation stand and sing

That Jesus is our God.

Jesus is the Father’s splendour;

Jesus is the Father’s joy.

He will return to reign in majesty,

And every eye at last shall see

That Jesus is our God.

Phil Lawson Johnston.

Copyright © 1991 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music.

Used by Permission CCL No. 3227

In these uncertain and changing times, it’s sometimes easy to lose our focus – and at times to be so taken up with everything going on around us that we forget some of the things that have helped us so much in our lives so far. (lesson from golf range). How we need to take hold of the precious promises of God, and remember that our hope is in Christ Jesus alone.

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty ©2001 Thankyou Music Used by Permission CCL N0. 3227

Prayer Time

We prayed for a number of individual needs, as well as for our Government as they make decisions affecting the lives of all in our nation

Ken’s Talk

The Need for a Spiritual Check-Up Matthew 7:21-23 and 2 Corinthians 13:5.

In the last couple of months I’ve had requests for a blood test, dental appointment and an ear test. At some point there will probably be a need for a coronavirus test . I think Chris sometimes would like me to have a brain test to see if I have got any. We have many kinds of medical tests throughout our lives. They are important for they tell us our true physical condition. The need for a spiritual check-up is even more important. The Bible is like an X-ray machine that reveals the condition of our sinful hearts. It clearly states that unless our sins are cleansed and forgiven we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus spoke of a judgement day we must face to determine if we can enter heaven. In our reading Paul urges us to take the spiritual test to find out if we are ready for that judgement day. It’s the final test. I remember in order to get a grant from my local authority to study at Bible College I had to take a recognised qualification. I took a diploma in theology with London University for 2 years. One of the subjects was philosophy which wasn’t a favourite subject. I really study hard for that final exam. It would be foolish not to. How much more should we prepare for that final test which determines our eternal future.

Some health check-ups take a long time and often require a time in hospital. For some check-ups there are many questions to answer. Paul shows that to determine if one is a true Christian and will enter the kingdom of heaven revolves around just two questions.

The first question is “Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith”. He doesn’t say whether you have faith but do you have the faith. Everyone has some kind of faith and we exercise it every day, even when we cross a zebra crossing believing the cars will stop. There are many different kinds of faith. Many have faith in their own efforts and good works to get into heaven but that is a faith not the faith. Some put their faith in religions like Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism but those also are different faiths but not the faith. The Bible speaks of the faith by which we can only be saved. It is clear from what Jesus says that not everyone will enter heaven not even everyone who calls him Lord, Lord.

How can we find out what the faith is? Jesus clearly tells us. On that judgement day he says the only way of entering the kingdom of heaven is by doing the will of His Father who is in heaven. (v21). On one occasion the religious leaders asked Jesus “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (John 6.28) It would seem they were expecting a list of things they had to do. Jesus replied “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (v29). Jesus confirms this by following with this statement: ” For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.” (John 6.40). The faith that only gives eternal is faith in Jesus. It is a command of God for everyone to believe in Jesus for eternal life. There is salvation in no other person other than Jesus Christ. The people who spoke to Jesus on the judgement day did many good works like prophesying, casting out demons and doing miracles in his name, but they didn’t enter heaven. That seems strange to us for we would expect them to be allowed in. They did many things but seemingly didn’t do the one work that God required that of believing in Jesus. They obviously believed in Jesus’s existence and confessed his name so had faith but they didn’t have the faith in him which would give them eternal life. When we truly believe in Jesus we also are given righteousness from God which qualifies us to enter heaven. In Romans 3.22 it says “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Our good works could never earn that righteousness. We are given this righteousness “through faith in his blood” which speaks of his death when he died on the cross for our sins. His death for us on the cross is the only way our sin can be taken away. It is our trust in his finished work of salvation on the cross alone that brings eternal life. One reason those people couldn’t enter heaven was that they trusted in their good works instead of the work Jesus did for them on the cross to save them. They had faith but not the faith. They had faith in their good works but not the faith which trusts in Christ and his work on the cross alone that saves from judgement. Only faith in Christ and in his blood forgives sins and enables us to enter heaven. The people who didn’t enter heaven failed to prepare for the final exam by not doing what God told them to do. Do you have the faith?

The second question “Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you?” Becoming a Christian is not just about having faith in Jesus Christ so I can go to heaven when I die though that is our great hope for the future. Eternal life begins now. The real essence of eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ as Jesus states in John 17.3. “This is eternal that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Knowing Jesus doesn’t begin when I get to heaven but when I believe in Jesus. For when I believe in Him at the same time I receive him into my life. Eternal life is none other than the resurrected Jesus taking up residence in my life. Eternal life is His life living in me. This knowledge of Jesus isn’t just knowing facts about Christ but an encounter with him which results in Christ living in me. Paul describes becoming a Christian as “I no longer live but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2.20). Jesus enters my life when I repent and trust him as my Saviour and Lord. Having Christ living in me is what is meant by knowing Christ. It is a transforming experience of receiving new life. The Bible says “if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come”.

The people who met Christ at the last judgement knew many things about Christ but He said to them “I never knew you”. Of course he knew of them but he had no relationship with them because they didn’t have him living in their lives. Not having Christ in them is the same as not having eternal life, for God’s word says “He who has the Son has life; he who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life.” Not having Christ in them meant not having eternal life which prevented them from entering the kingdom of heaven. Having Christ in me is the guarantee of my being with Jesus in heaven. Paul reminds us of this when he tells the Christians in Colosse the wonderful truth of “Christ in you the hope of glory”. The word hope here isn’t wishful thinking but a sure certainty. Paul’s assertion that Christ Jesus is in us is so important. So the two questions that are important for entering the kingdom of heaven are: Am I trusting in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross alone for my salvation? Is Jesus Christ living in me now?

For a final exam one needs to wait several weeks before you get the result. However, that’s not the case with God’s final judgement verdict. If I have done what God has told me to do and am trusting in Christ and in his finished work on the cross alone for my salvation and Jesus Christ is living in me then I can be sure of being welcomed into heaven. There is no fear of facing God’s judgement for that person. Jesus says now of the sheep he knows “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish”. It is not pride for a Christian to say he is definitely going to heaven but it is just his confidence in Christ and his saving work on the cross along with His promise that the believer will never perish. Let’s rejoice in the assurance of our salvation.

Closing Song

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus' Name

Christ alone
Cornerstone
Weak made strong
In the Saviour's love
Through the storm
He is Lord
Lord of all

When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

My anchor holds within the veil
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless stand before the throne
 

REMINDERS:

• Wednesday evening 7.30pm – Zoom meeting, 1Timothy 5

• Next Saturday 25^th July – work party at Church 9.00am onwards – car park bollards

• Next Sunday - service led by Sue Clarke and Worship team

20/7/2020

BML