Genesis 26:1 – GOD RIDES A MOUNTAIN BIKE

Genesis 26:1 – GOD RIDES A MOUNTAIN BIKE

Rachel's Bicycle

She has no money or likelihood of obtaining the $500 needed for its purchase, but my daughter Rachel sees a beautiful green bicycle with a basket advertised and decides that it is hers. She continues to believe that God will provide as she prays for her bike even though seemingly there is no way ahead. Psalms 37:4-5 (NLT) says “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.” It’s not unusual then when Rachel’s husband Joel informs her that money that had been promised to them has unexpectedly been forwarded to him, more than enough. He purchases the bike, the basket, and everything she needs to ride her new green bike. Very cool.

In Genesis 26:1 Isaac and Rebekah are experiencing a time of “Not enough”. “A severe FAMINE now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time.” Why does the Lord allow FAMINE in a land where He said He would BLESS Abraham? Doesn’t seem to be right. Isaac is very wealthy. Not much good having wealth if he goes bankrupt because of a famine.

Isaac moves to Gerar. This is still in the promised land. Why did he go to Gerar on the coast, where the Philistines live? More water? Trade? But LESS SAFE. Later the Philistines are enemies. Isaac has a large retinue of people trailing after him and he is responsible to protect and feed them. Why go there in the middle of danger?

During this famine time the Lord appears. We are not told exactly how He shows up but obviously Isaac was intending to go to Egypt like Abraham had done during a similar time of famine, and the Lord specifically tells him not to go. He doesn’t want him there. Why? Was it because people in Egypt served other gods? Was it because it would mean Isaac would have to leave the promised land? Later a descendent of Isaac called Joseph would go to Egypt, but not by choice. Why does God so often want me to stay where He has put me rather than quit?

What interests me is that we are NOT necessarily protected from the “FAMINE” times. Don’t misunderstand me. What I am saying is that God can bless us even in times of extreme need, when the finances aren’t there, when the river runs dry, when there seems no way ahead. In fact God seems to speak the LOUDEST in the midst of the famine and testing times. Unfortunately when all I see is famine, potential loss and difficult circumstances then my spiritual hearing is affected and I can easily miss the powerful voice of God’s authority.

God gives Isaac the OPPORTUNITY TO OBEY Him during a tough time and to stay within the sphere of His PROMISES. The land He promises is the land that sustains them. What God promises in His Word will always sustain my life no matter what I am going through. I don’t need to look elsewhere just because it gets tough.

I am reminded that Psalms 23:5 (NLT) says that the Lord prepares “a feast for me in the presence of my enemies”. He promises to provide for me even when all I can see is potential trouble. That means that when God calls me to a ministry, and things get a little tough, then I won’t simply get off my bike and resign because it isn’t working for me. I will trust in God to help me work things through.

In Genesis 26:3 God tells Isaac to “Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.”

This famine is a TEST OF TRUST for Isaac as it was with Abraham. Same test, different member of the family. The question – “Will I trust the Lord to provide?” Will I face such a test? Even Jesus faced a desert experience with no food and extreme temptation to take the easy way out.

As a follower of Christ I am a CITIZEN of heaven but I walk as a FOREIGNER in this world. God’s intention is that He will be with me and BLESS me. He will never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). The invitation is to TRUST Him during the difficult times I am facing.

Do my desires for my life reflect His! When the going gets tough am I staying within the boundaries of His promises and trusting Him to provide and bless.

You have no money? What colour is that bike again? When even my wants are in line with the desires of the One who has authority in my life, then God will provide for me, and His presence will RIDE WITH ME! Only I’m sure that He would want me to ride a mountain bike. Lord?

Pastor Ross

Part 5 – Genesis 22:1-19 – CHRISTMAS SUBSTITUTES!

Part 5 – Genesis 22:1-19 – CHRISTMAS SUBSTITUTES!

Christmas Substitute

In the very centre of Christmas cheer, amidst the silver bells, coloured baubles and lights, enormous sparkling chandeliers, banners and wreathes and beside a gigantic Christmas tree, there in the middle of everything stands a huge throne that dominates the centre of the plaza. No, it’s not for Jesus. It is for Santa Claus, enthroned as the CHRISTMAS SUBSTITUTE of a naughty and nice world.

The nativity scene is hard to find, tucked away in a glass case around the corner somewhere. At least in Australia we still have them. It’s not that we don’t want to include Jesus, the Saviour of the world, in the celebrations, it’s just that there is no room in the … well you know what I mean. It seems you still have to search for Jesus, like wise men of old, without the help of the star. So much for Matthew 6:33 (NLT) “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” 

I’m not sure Jesus would go for the big red throne adorned with tinsel and holly anyway. The stable seems to indicate that God is less interested in all the frills and more interested in ruling over the hearts and lives of those willing to love, honour and obey the real King of kings and Lord of lords, people such as Abraham.

In Genesis 22, Isaac is the promised son, whom Abraham loves. It is interesting to me that this is the first time the word “love” is used in the Bible and it is in connection with the love of a father for his son. The New Testament makes it clear that this real life story is also a picture of Christ, the Son of God, whom God loves. In Matthew 3:17 (NLT) God says about Jesus “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy.”

You know the story. God stops Abraham from killing his only son at the last minute and provides a SUBSTITUTE SACRIFICE. In Genesis 22:13 it says, “Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering IN PLACE OF his son.” God provides for us even in the most dreadful of circumstances.

Substitution. Isaac is Abrahams only son of the promise. Jesus is God’s only Son, the promised Messiah. The ram SUBSTITUTES for Isaac. The lamb of God, Jesus Christ, SUBSTITUTES for me. Isaac carries the wood. Christ carries the cross. Abraham offers Isaac on Mt. Moriah. Years later, Solomon’s Temple is built on Mt Moriah, where many sacrifices take place. Christ is offered up on the same mountain ridge, once and for all for my sins. Abraham travels three days and received back his son. Christ spends 3 days in the tomb and He is resurrected. Abraham calls Mt. Moriah Jehovah-Jireh, “the Lord will provide.” God provides for Abraham. God provides a SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE for me in the Lord Jesus Christ.

God says to Abraham in effect, “Because you have not withheld anything from Me, even the one person you loved the most, then I will not withhold anything from you concerning my purposes.”

Abraham’s submission to God’s will, in an ultimate act of worship, pictures beautifully the SUBSTITUTIONARY WORK of Christ. In Matthew 26:39 (NLT) Jesus says “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Hebrews 5:8 (NLT) says “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned OBEDIENCE from the things He suffered.” 

Abraham’s obedience to God is a direct application of Proverbs 3:5 (NLT) in the most trying of circumstances “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” 1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT) asks, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your OBEDIENCE to His voice? Listen! OBEDIENCE is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”

God bless you as you as you abdicate the throne this CHRISTMAS. I object that Santa has become a SUBSTITUTE for Jesus, but on closer inspection behind the beard and the red suit, if you look hard enough you will see me, bowing to culture and the “naughty and nice things” of the world. Sitting on a throne of my own making.

But I choose to abdicate! I choose to take off the mask and look for the manger. Forget the naughty and nice. I just want to be Ho, Ho, Holy! (Sorry, couldn’t resist). I choose His righteousness as a SUBSTITUTE for my sinfulness. I realise that all I have to offer Him is more akin to a stable, not a palace, or some fancy throne, yet here in this place, without all the frills of a Christmas substitute, I choose to recognise Jesus as my King.

Now with that established, let’s have a lot of fun! Have a happy holiday but most of all a Merry CHRISTmas!

Pastor Ross

Part 13 – Matthew 12:38-42 – LIFE BEYOND THE TRAMPOLINE!

Part 13 – Matthew 12:38-42 – LIFE BEYOND THE TRAMPOLINE!

Beyond the Trampoline

I fell through a trampoline once. It was totally unexpected! One minute I was airborne and the next I was standing on the ground, wearing the trampoline like a giant torn tutu, and all my helpful family could do was laugh at me! I mention this because my granddaughter, normally so cooperative, sent a very clear message to her parents the other day. She said “NO! I won’t go!” She had been playing on the trampoline with her cousins, laughing and having such a great time that when it was time to go home, she simply refused. She was more interested in having FUN than in OBEDIENCE. She was more interested in playing games than in the implications of a world that existed beyond jumping on a trampoline. I fully understand, although my experience with a trampoline was a little more traumatic.

No doubt the Pharisees and other people around Jesus in Matthew 12:39 are also surprised and discomfited when he calls them an “EVIL AND ADULTEROUS generation” and affronted when He accuses them of “refusing to REPENT.” (Matthew 12:41-42). I mean this seems to be such a SWEEPING STATEMENT. Surely there is no need to be so CONFRONTING, so DEMANDING!

So what am I saying? Is Jesus trying to TAKE AWAY my fun? Give me the toys and the desires of my heart, Lord, but don’t demand anything from me,? How can a loving God be so judgmental and insistent? “After all I’m not a bad person. I am just having fun on my trampoline with my playmates and not bothering anyone. And I’m NOT GOING TO REPENT!” (Well, OK. Maybe not the bit about the trampoline, but you get the idea.)

Bumper sticker – “Jesus loves me just as I am, and He loves me too much to have me stay that way”. It’s not about taking away our fun. It’s about living life to the full. THE WORLD BEYOND THE TRAMPOLINE. There comes a time when our rebellion and our wanting to play games with God demands REPENTANCE! John the Baptist preached the same message (see Matthew 3:2) and so did many others who paved the way for Christ.

DENIAL - “The world isn’t all that bad!” Have you followed world news lately or walked around a video shop? We have movies that justify homosexuality, adultery and murder as entertainment and world leaders who justify their corruption as a normal part of their governance. It would seem that an “EVIL AND ADULTEROUS generation” (Matthew 12:39) is actually quite a fitting description of our world. DENIAL - “I am not all that bad.” Have you read your Bible lately? Romans 3:23 (NLT) says “…everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” And I don’t see a whole lot of REPENTANCE taking place in the lives of our generation. Lots of denial. Very little repentance.

So what is this “REPENT FOR THE END IS NEAR!” T-shirt that Jesus seems to be wearing? What is this placard He is holding? It isn’t exactly a message that stirs my heart and makes me feel good. It’s UNCOMFORTABLE to be confronted with my sin, and sometimes I want Jesus to take a much SOFTER approach. Then again “REPENT PLEASE” isn’t going to cut it with me or in an evil world. Perhaps SEARED CONSCIENCES (1 Timothy 4:2) need the encouragement of ELECTRIC SHOCK treatment!

Paul seems to sum things up. When he preached at Athens in Acts 17:30-31 (NLT) he said “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now He COMMANDS everyone everywhere to REPENT of their sins and TURN TO HIM. For He has set a day for JUDGING the world with JUSTICE by the man He has appointed, and He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead.”

When Peter preaches to a crowd at Pentecost in Acts 2:37-38 (NLT) they responded to the message. It says “Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said …”What should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must REPENT of your sins, TURN to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received FORGIVENESS for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  

Somehow Jesus’ message is clear. There’s LIFE BEYOND THE TRAMPOLINE! It’s meant to be lived to the full. The invitation to real life, abundant life is there before you. Jesus hands it to you. You open it up and you look down to what it will cost. It says “REPENT AND BELIEVE! TURN AND RECEIVE! LET ME DIRECT YOUR LIFE”. Am I willing to pay such a price? Now that’s the choice.

God bless you Church as you affirm the message of Christ and show the fruit of repentance (Matthew 3:8), the example of a life which is responsive to the touch of God, rich and full, giving hope and incentive for repentance for others in our evil and adulterous generation.

Pastor Ross

Part 2 – Genesis 19:1-38 – SAVED BUT STUPID!

Part 2 – Genesis 19:1-38 – SAVED BUT STUPID!

Close Call!

How amazing was the news story of the 15-month-old boy who survived the train accident in May this year.

It all took place in a split second but for the grandmother who looked away for just a moment from the pram she was pushing, it must have seemed like eternity. When she turned back, the pram was rolling off the platform at Tooronga station (Sydney, Australia). The pram fell onto the tracks into the path of an oncoming train.

I have grandsons and I can’t imagine how that grandmother was feeling – the SICK FEELING OF DREAD as this transpired before her and there was nothing she could do. When they pulled the baby from under the train, everyone thought that it was a MIRACLE he was alive. A few scratches and that was it. Talk about a CLOSE CALL. Some say the grandmother should have been more careful. Easy for us to say.

Have you read Genesis 19 lately? Talk about a CLOSE CALL! By the absolute merciful grace of God Lot and his immediate family is saved when Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. It is a MIRACLE they survive at all.

Lot is told to gather his family and bring them out of the city before the angels destroy it. Here’s an opportunity to OBEY GOD AND BE SAVED. He speaks to his sons-in-law and they think he’s joking. As you would. You try telling your family that you’ve been told by two angels that they are about to destroy Sydney and they need to leave everything, and take the Pacific highway out of town. Lord, if such a time comes, would You mind telling them personally? They’ll think I’m mad.

Nevertheless I find it strange that few people today take the message of judgment seriously. Sometimes in the seconds remaining between life and death, they are laughing that hell exists rather than acting on what God has said about salvation. STUPID!

It took all night for Lot to try to convince his family and when morning dawns, the angels are on Lot’s case to leave or be “SWEPT AWAY in the punishment of the city” (Genesis 19:15).

Even then there was EQUIVOCATION. They gave Lot opportunity to take the initiative and leave. Lot HESITATES and the angels have to seize the hands of his family in order to DRAG them outside the city. SAVED BUT STUPID!

Even when they are outside the city one angel says “ESCAPE FOR YOUR LIFE! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.”

CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS! But Lot says to them, “Oh no, my lords! What is going on here? He asks to flee to Zoar instead. This isn’t time to come up with a new plan? Sometimes I am just plain stupid. I want to come up with an ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTION to what God says in His Word, when I just need to be QUICK TO OBEY. By the grace of God the angels don’t strike Lot down as an example to the others. 

2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT) says, “Indeed, the “RIGHT TIME” IS NOW. TODAY is the day of salvation.” DON’T PUT IT OFF!

It gives me a whole NEW APPRECIATION of what it means to be SAVED BY GRACE (Ephesians 2:8-9). NONE OF US deserve it.

God bless you Church as you seek to see things through the eyes of the Cross and gain a true picture of what it means to be saved by grace. “Lord, help me to be QUICK TO OBEY AND SLOW IN BEING STUPID”.

Pastor Ross

Genesis 8 – Part 1 – WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Genesis 8 – Part 1 – WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

I feel as if a flood of memories from the last 10 years is sweeping over me, and like Noah I would like to hear the voice of God say “come into the ark” where you’ll be safe. Instead, He is saying “GO OUT OF THE ARK” and face whatever is out there. It will be a new beginning. God has lifted me up and brought me safely through some stormy times, and when the fountains of the deep burst open God closed the door of His protection and shielded me. But now it’s time to move on.

You can’t stay in the ark forever or it becomes a comfort zone. It was never intended to be a permanent dwelling place, just a temporary safe haven, but that hasn’t stopped me from asking “Lord, I want to know where to go to from here.” Noah gives me some good advice for this new year.

Noah is one of the greatest men who ever lived and he knew how to please God. In fact that’s why he was great. I imagine him as an old man, face weathered, hands boney, pure white hair and beard, older than any man I’ve ever seen, although sometimes I look in the mirror and catch glimse of such a man.

I’m a little seasick, like the first time I went out in a boat in the Whitsundays, but I want to know WHERE TO GO FROM HERE. If Noah was here he would say, “Where you go from here will be determined by your faith and your faith will be tested by what remains after the storm.”

Noah would say, “Let God close the door on your past.” It’s no use carrying around the baggage of my past. Christ died to forgive me. I accept that forgiveness and find a new future by trusting in Him.

Noah would say, “Wait for God’s timing. Sometimes His timing isn’t ours, which means we have to wait. But waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. Make good use of today.” Noah prepared for the future, even while he was in the ark. He sent out a raven, then a dove and then removed the covering. When opportunity comes it’s too late to prepare. I need to prepare ahead of time. I can always ask God what I need to do to prepare for your future.

Noah would say “Don’t stay in the ark.” It’s easy to stay in that place where God has met me in the past and never progress beyond that point. God wants my testimony to be up to date.

What interests me is Genesis 8:15-16 (NLT) “Then God said to Noah, “leave the boat, all of you-you and your wife, and your sons and their wives.” The last time Noah heard the Lord speak was when the Lord said, “Come in to the Ark” and then he doesn’t hear anything for a long time – for a year and nearly a month. And then God says, “Go out!” I notice that Noah didn’t ask any questions. I’m sure he was glad to obey! When God has just destroyed the world as you knew it completely, you do as He says, no questions asked.

God bless you Church as you let go of the past and step out in faith and obedience to God this year.

Pastor Ross