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We are a Christian Fellowship meeting in North London with a strong interest in teaching the Bible and understanding our time in
the light of Bible prophecy
Exit the Church?
The assault on traditional Christian values continues from within and
without the professing church (mostly from within). The Dean of Gloucester
argued that Harry Potter books, which successfully market witchcraft to the
young, are splendid and children should be encouraged to read them. 'They
emphasise that truth is better than lies, good overcomes evil and the use of
gifts should be responsible,' he said.
The Diocese of Salisbury has fully complied with EU legislation banning
Christian organisations from advertising for 'Christian' employees. Its new
employment document encourages Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and practising
homosexuals to apply for jobs, stating that 'by acting according to the
principle of equality of opportunity we will benefit from a workforce drawn
from a wide cross section of the community.' Protesting against this Rev
Dick Luther, vicar of St Mary's, Ferndown, said, 'Can you imagine the Labour
Party employing a Conservative as one of their senior staff? If you really
believe that the church is a team to extend the Gospel, you want those
committed to the philosophy and way of life. Why are they always giving way
to those of other faiths and afraid to discriminate in favour of the
Gospel?'
I suppose the answer is that much of the Church Establishment has given up
on trying to spread the Gospel and taken a position of servile obedience to
the politically correct ethos of the modern world.
Premier Christian Radio has been given an official warning from the Radio
Complaints Authority for offering to 'deliver listeners from occultism' and
saying that the 'holy books of other religions are full of superstition and
absurdities.' The station was given a 'Yellow Card' and warned that it must
not 'abuse any religious beliefs whatsoever.' While it may have been unwise
to use the phrase 'full of superstition and absurdities' the result of this
verdict is that it restricts the possibility of making a comparison of the
claims of Jesus Christ and those of other faith leaders, especially if the
conclusion drawn is that Jesus is the unique Saviour.
The BBC has chosen for its flagship religious programme on Good Friday a
controversial former bishop, Rev Richard Holloway, who denies the divinity
of Christ, believes the Gospels are a myth and promotes homosexuality.
Responding to this Rev Geoffrey Kirk, the national secretary of 'Forward in
Faith', said, 'Why is Christianity the only religion in Britain to be
persecuted by the media in this way? The BBC would not do this if they were
dealing with Islam.'
In fact as I pointed out in our autumn edition the BBC goes out of its way
to promote Islam. I suppose the answer to Rev Kirk's question is that
authentic Christianity is the truth and when it comes to religion, the BBC
is on the side of the Father of Lies.
Enter the Lord
The true church is not going to exit (except when the Lord Jesus comes for
us). Whether his message is accepted or not by the majority, the answer to
all this is to fix our eyes on Jesus, 'the author and perfector of our
faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who
endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and
lose heart (Hebrews 12.2-3).'
There is a story of a young man who was being taught by an experienced
ploughman how to plough a furrow in a field. In order to plough a straight
furrow he was told to fix his eyes on an object in the next field and aim
for it. When the experienced ploughman came back he found that the young man
had gone all over the place. 'Why didn't you do what I told you and fix your
eyes on something in the next field?' he asked. 'I did,' came the reply. 'I
fixed my eyes on that horse over there.'
I find today that many Christians are fixing their eyes on moving objects -
meetings, preachers, their own interpretations of the Bible, whether their
circumstances are good or bad. As a result they are like the young man
ploughing the field. Going all over the place and in the end totally
insecure. A friend told me about a meeting he went to where they sang a
chorus with the words, 'I'll live for revival, I'll die for revival.' What
happens if there is no revival? You end up disillusioned and depressed, or
even worse manufacturing a false revival.
Jesus is the fixed point in our lives. He came in fulfilment of prophecy to
bring eternal redemption to those who call on his name. He will come again
in power, also in fulfilment of prophecy, to judge us in righteousness
according to how we have responded to his message of salvation. In the
meantime he has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us and that
none can snatch us out of his hand. He is the one we should live for and if
necessary die for.
People may let us down and churches may let us down, but he will never let
us down. He will be with us throughout this life and in the life to come he
has prepared for us something so wonderful that we cannot even conceive of
it. As the present world becomes darker and darker, the glorious coming
world in the kingdom of God is shedding its light on those who come in faith
to Jesus as Saviour and Lord. If you have not yet come to this faith you can
do so now by praying this prayer:
'Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe
that Jesus the Messiah died in my place paying the penalty for my sins. I am
willing right now to turn from my sin and accept Jesus the Messiah as my
personal Saviour and Lord. I commit my life to you and ask you to send the
Holy Spirit into my life, to fill me and to take control and to help me
become the kind of person you want me to be. Thank you Father for loving me.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
