(SERMON) Isaiah 41:1-20 Overcoming the Enemy

 In Isaiah 41.1-20 we learn how to face our enemies, whatever they may be.  It starts with silence and then seeing that God is in control of all things.  Then we must reject the ways of the world in seeking to survive by our own strength and instead trust in the strength of the Lord who calls us His own.  When we place our trust in Him we become the very thing which crushes the enemy and new life awaits.

This prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus--and if it was true for Him facing the greatest enemies of all (our sin and sentence of death) then it is true for us His people.

Revd Adam Young · Isaiah 41:1-20 Overcoming the Enemy

(SERMON) John 12:12-35 Seeking and Serving Jesus

 In this passage the crowds DECLARE Jesus as Saviour, Lord, and King but they don't understand what they are declaring. Instead it is the Greeks who actually SEEK to see the real Jesus and know Him as He is.  Through this seeking Jesus tells them the hard TRUTH: He is all the crowd said and so much more but that means dying on a Roman cross and rising to new life.  Even harder--we too much die to sin, self, and the world and rise to new life if we are to know peace and joy eternal.  This truth leads to a simple CHOICE: will you believe in the Light or be lost in darkness?

Revd Adam Young · John 12.12-36 Seeking and Serving Jesus

With the heaviest of hearts but trusting still...

Today was supposed to be my first day in Japan. I was going to be spending eight weeks working through OMF with a church in Hirosaki City. I can't think of anything in my life I've been more excited by. Living in Japan has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember—from a year 9 school project where I wrote about what life would have been like if I had grown up in Japan, to starting Japanese lessons at university due to my desire to do missionary work there. Eventually life and other ministry priorities smothered that dream; but then God opened so many doors and powerfully relit the fire that had never fully stopped burning.

Now, of course, I am not going to Japan—at least not yet. I don't know when it will be possible to go either. It's fair to say I am devastated, my spirit is heavy, and my heart aches. In the past five years I've had so very many setbacks, so many doors closed, but none have hurt anywhere near as much as this. It finally felt like all those setbacks and closed doors had a purpose, had a goal—God had been saving me and my ministry to actually give me what was a hope I dared not hope and a dream I could barely put into words it seemed so fantastical.

Now I'm back in the mud and the mire.

I know that God is sovereign. I trust in what He is doing and His purpose—even as I feel crushed I submit knowing full well that whatever He is doing is ultimately good and perfect. But that doesn't make it taste any less bitter in the present. An old friend recently described me as a "tank." He meant it as a complement! He said that all the bullets and rockets of the enemy, all the landmines of life, I've faced haven't stopped me moving forward towards the goal or killed my deep-seated joy—and they won't now. That was something I sorely needed to hear.

One thing is sure—I'm not giving up on this mission; on this dream. I will go and test this calling and ministry as soon as I can, and I will put on hold everything else for as a long as I can in doing so. Even if, ultimately, long term mission work in Japan is not my God-given destiny, exploring this call—and the growth that exploration will bring to all aspects of my life—is something I am not letting go of.

But as for me, LORD,

my prayer to you is for a time of favor.

In your abundant, faithful love, God,

answer me with your sure salvation.

Rescue me from the miry mud; don’t let me sink.

Let me be rescued from those who hate me

and from the deep water.

Don’t let the floodwaters sweep over me

or the deep swallow me up;

don’t let the Pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, LORD,

for your faithful love is good.

In keeping with your abundant compassion,

turn to me.

Don’t hide your face from your servant,

for I am in distress.

Answer me quickly!

Come near to me and redeem me;

ransom me because of my enemies.

...

But as for me—poor and in pain—

let your salvation protect me, God.

I will praise God’s name with song

and exalt him with thanksgiving.

That will please the LORD more than an ox,

more than a bull with horns and hooves.

The humble will see it and rejoice.

You who seek God, take heart!

For the LORD listens to the needy

and does not despise

his own who are prisoners.

Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them,

for God will save Zion

and build up[a] the cities of Judah.

They will live there and possess it.

The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love his name will live in it.

Psalm 69. 13-18, 29-36

(SERMON) God is Sovereign: Hope, Peace, and Mourning in God's world

The book of Job is fantastic in so many ways. One of the main themes that it addresses is the utter and complete sovereignty of God over our lives.  In a time when the world and our lives are being turned upside down by a "natural disaster" it is important to take a step back and ask where is God in all of this?  How can I respond faithfully to this tragedy?

In Scripture we see that God is utterly sovereign in many ways.  He is
- Sovereign in creating
- Sovereign in sustaining
- Sovereign in ordaining
- Sovereign in allowing

Through all of this we can discern many reasons why God does what He does, but it would foolish to point to one and proclaim it alone to be the cause behind the movement of God's hand.

As Christians we are uniquely equipped to respond to the tragedy around us, whatever it may be, with hope and peace -- but this hope and peace does not diminish nor relativise the real weeping and mourning we express and feel when calamity comes.

(SERMON) 1 Corinthians 15.50-58 "We believe in the resurrection of the dead"

In this last sermon on the Nicene Creed we look at the wonderful hope given in the truth of the promised resurrection of the dead; the fulfilment of the work and life of Jesus.

The unbreakable promise of the resurrection should change how we live our lives today:

1.) We should live during this life sacrificially knowing what is to come.
2.) We should live steadfast and immovable in our faith, our doctrine, and war against sin.
3.) We should be always seeking to excel in all that we do. Christians above all others should strive for excellence in all of our life.

(SERMON) YHWH Shammah - The Lord is There: hope yesterday, today, and forever

When we face trial and temptation, darkness and fear, we can find great hope in the fact that The Lord is There.  The Lord was there showing faithful love to Israel through ages past and thus providing hope for today.  The Lord is here among the Church giving hope to the world and He is here in our hearts sealing our hope for today.  The Lord will be there in all His fullness when the New Heaven and the New Earth come and we dwell in the New Jerusalem in joy and pleasure for evermore - this is our unshakeable hope.

(SERMON) Micah 7.1-13 - from misery to hope.

Looking around at the depravity and sickness of the world can leave us miserable and feeling like lone voices crying out against an impossible storm - but Micah, who felt the same way, knew that He could trust in the Lord and have hope.  Micah knew that God was a God of restoration and turning around the impossible.  We too, through Jesus, can lay claim to an even more immovable hope - that our sins have already been dealt with and no wrath comes for us.