eChurch Blog

Another article on our governments so called ‘equality’ plan from the Christian Institute

I have just received a News feed from the Church Times regarding the recent successes of the BNP in the European elections and we have the typical ‘shock and dismay’ reaction from our ‘Christian Elite’

HOWEVER

They also provided an online vote asking ‘Should we take the BNP policies seriously’ and surprise surprise 83% of Christians respondents said “YES”. (Result as of 9am 12th June)

Is it possible that our Christian elite are out of step? Surely not!

Is it possible that Christians are secretly relieved by the fact that the BNP stands up against the rise of Islam in this country and are fed up with the main parties cosy relationship with this ‘religion of peace’ whilst they marginalise and persecute their own Christian community.

Is it possible that Christians are secretly relieved by the fact that the BNP stands against the relentless assault against our freedoms of speech, civil and religious liberties.

Is it possible that Christians feel the mainstream parties are ‘religionist’ against their own Christian people.

SURELY NOT!

Christians do not advocate racism, but racism cuts both ways and why is it that there is a feeling out there that our main political parties are pandering to certain folks at the expense of others.

Something is amiss, when the Christian elite are in shock and dismay and yet 83% of the Christian ‘rank and file’ are saying in this vote that the BNP policies should be taken seriously!

When will the Christian party wake up and realise that Christians are concerned with these issues and take them by the horns!!

“Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest
thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”-John 14:22.

WHAT a blessed Master Jesus Christ was! How familiar did he allow his
disciples to make themselves with him! Though he was the Lord of life and
glory, the great and mighty one, as well as the man of Nazareth, yet see
how he talks with his poor disciples, the fishermen, just as if he had been
one of the same class and order with themselves! He was none of your
dignitaries who pride themselves on that dignity-none of those ecclesiastics
who love to carry much of formality about them, and to walk above other
men, as if they were not indeed their fellows; but he talks to his disciples
just as a father would to his children-even more kindly than a master might
to his pupils. He lets them put the simplest questions to him, and instead of
rebuking them for their familiarity, he condescends to answer everything
they please to ask him. Philip uttered a sentence which one would think no
sensible man, who had been so long time with Jesus, ever could have
troubled him with. He said, “Show us the Father and it sufficeth us.” A
stupid idea! As if Jesus Christ could shew the Father; that is to say, could
shew God to Philip! And Jesus kindly answered-”Hast thou been so long
time with me, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? Believest thou not
that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? He that hath seen me hath
seen the Father.” And now comes Judas (not Iscariot); and he puts also a
very simple and easy question-one he needed not to have asked; but Jesus
Christ, instead of rebuking him, simply passes on to another subject, and
forbears most wisely to answer the enquiry, because he would teach him
more by silence than he could do by an explanation.

We must also notice here how very particular the Holy Ghost is that a
good man should not be confounded with a bad one. He says, “Judas, not
Iscariot.” There were two of the name of Judas; the one who betrayed our
Lord, and the other who wrote the epistle of Jude, who should properly
have been called Judas. Some of us, in reading the name Judas, might have
said, “Ah! it was that traitor Judas Iscariot that asked the question.” But
the Holy Spirit would not allow this mistake to be made. This again should
teach us, that it is not an idle wish for us to desire that our name should be
handed down to posterity. We ought all to wish to have an unblemished
character; we ought to desire to have that promise fulfilled, “The memory
of the just is blessed.” I would not wish my name to be mistaken for that of
some criminal who was hanged. I would not wish to have my name written
even by mistake in the calendar of infamy. However much I may now be
misrepresented, it will one day be known that I have honestly striven for
the glory of my Master; and God will say, “Judas, not Iscariot.” The man
was no deceiver after all.

But we will now forsake Judas altogether, and proceed to look at our text.
It contains two things: first, an important fact; secondly, an interesting
enquiry. “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not
unto the world?” Here is a fact, and an enquiry concerning it.

I. First, then, here is A GREAT FACT: that Jesus Christ does reveal himself
to his people, but he does not unto the world. The fact is implied in the
question; and even if Scripture did not declare it to be the truth, there are
many of us who have a Scripture written in our hearts-the Bible of
experience-which teaches us that it is true. Ask Christian men whether they
have not had manifestations of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in a
peculiar and wonderful manner, such as they never felt when they were in
their unregenerate state. Turn to the biographies of eminent saints, and you
will find there instances recorded in which Jesus has been pleased, in a very
special manner to speak to their souls, to unfold the wonders of his person,
and let them discern the matchless glories of his office; yea, so have their
souls been steeped in happiness that they have thought themselves to be in
heaven, whereas they were not there though they were well nigh on the
threshold of it-for when Jesus manifests himself to his people, it is a young
heaven on earth, it is a paradise in embryo, it is the beginning of the bliss of
the glorified; yea, and it shall be the consummation of that bliss, when
Jesus Christ shall perfectly unveil himself to the admiring eyes of all his
people and they shall be like him, and shall see him as he his.

We are about to talk somewhat this morning, then, concerning that special
manifestation which Jesus Christ vouchsafes to his people, and to his
people only. We will make four observations here. We will observe, first,
something concerning the favored persons-”unto us,” “not unto the
world.” Secondly, concerning special seasons — “How is it that thou
wilt?” He was not doing it just then; but “thou wilt.” There are special
seasons. Thirdly, some remarks concerning the wonderful display — “Thou
wilt manifest thyself unto us, as thou dost not unto the world.” Then,
fourthly, we shall dwell a little upon the effects which this manifestation
will produce upon our souls.

1. First, then, who are the favored people to whom Jesus Christ manifests
himself? “How is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the
world?” It appears from the text that the persons to whom Jesus Christ
shews himself in this wonderful manner do not belong to the world. Who,
then, are these people? I am sure it would be difficult for you or me to
discover them; I shall, therefore, this morning employ a fiction, and shall
bid some spirit from an unknown world point out these distinguished
individuals. O spirit! I give thee an errand. There are a certain number of
people in this world who are not of it: go thou, search them out, and come
thou back and tell me what thou hast found. We give the spirit time, he
flies round the world, and he returns. “I have seen,” says he, “a multitude
of men; they are all pursuing one common path, with one object I have
seen them trampling on each other in the fury of their hot pursuit; have
seen them hurrying after something which each one desired for himself; but
in the midst of the throng I saw a few marching in an opposite direction,
who with much elbowing and strong opposition were going exactly
contrary to the stream. I saw written on the foreheads of those who were
proceeding with the crowd, the word ‘Self;’ but I marked those who were
proceeding in the other direction, and behold, they had inscribed upon their
brows, ‘Christ;’ and as I listened to them frequently in their soliloquies I
heard them say, ‘For us to live is Christ, for us to die is gain.’ I marked
these men, I saw them constantly pursuing their way in the teeth of all
defiance, going against every opposition; I wondered where they were
going; and I saw that before them was a wicket-gate, and on it the words;
‘Mercy for the chief of sinners.’ I saw them enter there; I marked them as
they ran along the walls of salvation, and tracking them along to their
destination, I saw them at last fold their arms in death, shut their eyes with
tranquility; while I heard angels sing their requiem, and a voice shouted,
‘Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord.’ Surely these must be the
persons who are not of the world.” Thou hast spoken rightly, O spirit;
these are the individuals. What didst thou see of them, O spirit? Did they
assemble and congregate together; or did they mix with the rest of
humanity? “Why,” saith he, “I noticed that once in the week they crowded
to a certain place they called the House of God; I heard their song of
praise; I saw them bend their knee in reverence, not only in that house, but
in private; I witnessed their groanings, their strugglings, and their agonies,
I knew that they were men of prayer, and men that loved God. I saw them
gather in secret assemblies, to tell what the Lord had done for their souls; I
marked that they would not be found with the wicked. I saw some houses
that they would not enter. At the corner of the street there stood a house,
well lighted up with many a lamp; and there were on its front some mystic
cabalistic signs, the marks of woe and ill-doings. I saw the wicked there,
reeling to and fro; I observed them in their drunkenness. But I marked how
the Christian man put up his hand before his eyes, and passed by that place.
I saw too another haunt of hell, where there were enacted scenes that eye
should not have beheld-where shouts of revelry and mirth, but not songs of
holiness, were heard. I looked round that theater, and I discerned not a
single one of these blessed persons; they would not run in the ways of the
wicked, nor sit in the seat of the scorner, nor stand in the council of the
unrighteous. I marked that like ‘birds of a feather they would flock
together’-that they found their mates, and there they went-that they built
their nest in the same tree, and would make their habitation beneath the
self-same roof.” “Yea,” saith the spirit, “I heard one of them exclaim, ‘He
that telleth lies shall not abide in my sight.’ I saw him drive the liar from his
house, and bid the profligate depart from him. I marked them; they were a
select and separate people and I said, surely these are the men of whom it
is written, ‘They shall dwell alone, they shall not be numbered among the
people.’” Well, spirit, rightly hast thou described them. I wonder how
many there are here; the men to whom God will reveal himself, and not to
the world. They are men who are not worldly in principle, in action, in
conversation, in desires, in object, or in end. These are the persons. Do not
tell me anything about universal grace, or universal manifestations, while I
have the power I will proclaim free grace to peculiar characters, as long as
I find it written, “Thou wilt manifest thyself to us, but not to the world.”
Our next remark is concerning special seasons. These highly favored men
do not always see Jesus Christ alike. They do not always dive in the
sunshine of his countenance. There are special times when God is pleased
to reveal himself to his people. And these seasons are generally of two
kinds: times of duty, and times of trial. I never found a lazy or indifferent
Christian have a manifestation of Jesus Christ; I never heard one who gave
himself wholly to business talk much of spiritual manifestations. No, poor
soul; he had got religion enough to save him, but not enough to make him
realize the spiritual and special blessings of a Christian. Those who do but
little for Christ, Christ does but little for them in the way of special favors.
Those who sit down, fold their arms, eat, drink, and are satisfied, are not
the men who enter into the secret chamber of the Most High, and enjoy the
presence of the Almighty. The men who are the most zealous for their
Master discern the most of his lovingkindness, and enjoy the richest
blessings from the Lord. Ask a Christian when he is the happiest, he will
say, when he works the most. I know I am. I have not tried rest yet, and no
doubt I shall find it anything but rest when I have it. When I pass a day
without preaching my Master’s name I feel that I have not done what I
ought to have done, and I do not rest satisfied till I am within the four
boards of a pulpit again. When we work the hardest we feel grace the most
plentiful, when we dig the deepest we get the sweetest water. He who toils
the most has his bread the most sweetened; and depend upon it, drops of
sweat are blessed things to make dry bread go down. We shall always have
mere happiness the more we labor for Christ. As for Issachar, who is a
strong ass, crouching down between two burdens-the man who is doing
little-the promise is, “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod
for the fool’s back.” The man who is idle must have chastisement; but he
who serves his God may rejoice, for God will treat him with dainties; he
will give him his portion mixed with honey; he will say, “I have taken thy
bread and dipped it in my own dish; take it, and eat it, for thou art one who
works in my own vineyard.” It will be in seasons of duty; or, as I have said,
in seasons of trial for you must not suppose when a Christian is laid aside
from duty that he is doing nothing. Do not imagine that the time of your
sickness has been lost to you. You were not only profiting yourselves, but
actually serving God by your suffering, if you bore it patiently. Don’t you
know the text — “We fill up that which is behind of the sufferings of
Christ, for his body’s sake, which is the church.” Christ’s mystical body
you are aware is made up of the head and all the members. The head had a
certain amount to suffer-that is all finished; but the body has a measured
portion to endure also; and the more you suffer so much the less suffering
there is for somebody else. There is a certain quantum of trial which the
whole church has to sustain before it gets to heaven; for as Jesus Christ
was afflicted, even so the whole of his people must have fellowship with
his sufferings. There is a cup that is full of mixture, and the righteous must
drink it; we must all have a sip thereof; but if one of us can take a deep
draught, and do it patiently, there is so much the less for our fellows. Let
us not complain, then; for it is in the time of trouble we see most of Jesus.
Before Israel fought Amalck, God gave them water from the rock, and sent
them manna from heaven; and before Jacob met Esau, the angel of God
wrestled with him at the brook Jabbok, and hosts of angels met him at
Mahanaim. Previous to trial you may generally expect a season of joy; and
when that season of joy is over, you may say, “We must expect some
danger now, for we have received too much delight.” But when the trial
comes, then expect to have delight with it; for our troubles are generally
proportioned to our joys, and our joys are usually proportioned to our
troubles. The more bitter the vessel of grief, the sweeter the cup of
consolation; the heavier weight of trial here, the brighter the crown of
glory hereafter. In fact, the same word in Hebrew signifies “weight “and
“glory.” A weight of trouble is a glory to a Christian, for it is an honor to
him; and glory is a weight, for it often bows him down, and makes him die
low at his Master’s feet. I appeal to my brothers and sisters, and ask them
when it is they have seen most of Jesus-when they have been walking in the
garden of delights, or when the bitter medicine has been in their mouth.
Have you not had better visions of Jesus, when you have been racked with
pain, than when you have been elevated by prosperity? When the barn has
been full, the oil vat has been bursting, and the wine has been running over,
it is often then that the sanctuary of God has been forsaken and the cabinet
of God’s loving-kindness is nearly disregarded. But when the fig-tree does
not blossom, and when there are no herds in the stalls, then it is that God
often comes nearest to his children, and most reveals himself to them.

2. The next thought is, the wondrous display itself. Jesus Christ manifest
himself. There are many manifestations of God to his children, but this is
the most precious of all. Some manifestations we never wish to have again.
We do not want to have that discovery which we had of our sinfulness,
when first we were awakened: we will leave it to God, but we will never
pray for it. But here is a manifestation we should like to have every day. “I
will manifest myself to him.” He does this in different ways. I have had for
a long while a manifestation of his sufferings in Gethsemane; I have been
for months musing on his agonies; I think I have even eaten the bitter herbs
that grow there, and drank of that black brook Kedron. I have sometimes
gone up stairs alone, to put myself in the very posture Jesus Christ was in
and I thought I could sympathize with him in his sufferings. Methought;
saw the sweat of blood falling down to the ground; I had so sweet a view
of my Savior in his agonies, I hope that one day I may be able to
accompany him still further, and see him on Calvary, and hear his deathshriek
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” Some of you, I know, have seen Jesus
with the eye of faith quite as plainly as if you had seen him with your
natural eyes. You could see your Savior hanging on the cross. You thought
you saw the very crown of thorns on his head, and the drops of blood
streaming down his face; you heard his cry; you saw his bleeding side; you
beheld the nails, and before long you could have gone and pulled them out,
and wrapped him up in linen and spices, and carried his body, and washed
it with tears and anointed it with precious ointment. At other times you
have had a manifestation of Christ in his gifts. You have seen that mighty
sacrifice he offered, the pile smoking up to heaven, and all your sins burnt
up with it; you have seen clearly the justifying righteousness he has put
upon you; and as you have looked at yourselves you have said-

“Strangely, my soul, art thou arrayed.
By the great sacred Three;
In sweetest harmony of praise.
Let all my powers agree.”

There are times when you have felt much joy at the exaltation of Jesus
Christ, as displayed in his gifts. Then, again, you will see him in his
triumph, with one foot upon Satan, and the other upon death. You will be
able to behold him, marching up the sky, with all the glittering hosts behind
him; and in due time you will have a manifestation of him to your soul, as
sitting on his Father’s throne until his enemies are made his footstool. And
faith will sometimes so outsoar the wings of time, that we can bring
futurity to the present, and see that great and pompous appearance, when
on the great white throne the king shall sit and grasp his scepter, and when
his saints before him shall shout his praise. If I were to go much farther, I
should be accused of fanaticism, and so it may be; but yet I will believe and
must believe that there are seasons when the Christian lives next door to
heaven. If I have not gone within an inch of the pearly gates I am not here;
if I have not sometimes snuffed the incense from the censers of the
glorified and heard the music of their harps, I think I am not a living man.
There have been seasons of ecstatic joy, when I have climbed the highest
mountains, and I have caught some sweet whisper from the throne. Have
you had such manifestations? I will not condemn you if you have not: but I
believe most Christians have them, and if they are much in duty and much
in suffering they will have them. It is not given to all to have that portion,
but to some it is, and such men know what religion means. I was reading a
short time ago of a Mr. Tennant. He was about to preach one evening, and
thought he would take a walk. As he was walking in a wood he felt so
overpoweringly the presence of Christ, and such a manifestation of him,
that he knelt down, and they could not discover him at the hour when he
was to have preached. He continued there for hours, insensible as towhether
he was in the body or out of the body; and when they waked him
he looked like a man who had been with Jesus, and whose face shone. He
never should forget, he said, to his dying day, that season of communion,
when positively, though he could not see Christ, Christ was there, holding
fellowship with him, heart against heart, in the sweetest manner. A
wondrous display it must have been. You must know something of it, if not
much; otherwise you have not gone far on your spiritual course. God teach
you more, and lead you deeper! “Then shall ye know, when ye follow on to
know the Lord.”

4. Then what will be the natural effects of this spiritual manifestation?
The first effect will be humility. If a man says, “I have had such and such
spiritual communications, I am a great man;” he has never had any
communications at all; for “God has respect unto the humble, but the
proud he knoweth afar off.” He does not want to come near them to know
them, and will never give them any visits of love. It will give a man
happiness; for he must be happy who lives near to God. Again: it will give
a man holiness. A man who has not holiness has never had this
manifestation. Some men profess a great deal; but do not believe any man
unless you see that his deeds answer to what he says. “Be not deceived,
God is not mocked.” He will not bestow his favors upon the wicked; for
while he wild not cast away a perfect man, neither will he respect an evil
doer. Thus there will three effects of nearness to Jesus, all beginning with
the letter h-humility, happiness, and holiness. May God give them to us!
II. Now for the second point: AN INTERESTING INQUIRY. Judas said, How
is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” How
was this inquiry suggested, and how was it answered.

First, it was suggested by ignorance. Poor Judas thought — “How can
Jesus manifest himself to us, and not to the world? Why, if he comes down
again, the world will see him as well as we do. How can he do it? Suppose
he appears in a chariot of fire, or descends in a cloudy pillar: if we see him,
the world must see him too.” So, poor thing, he very ignorantly said, “How
can it be, Lord?” Perhaps, too, the question was put by reason of his great
kindness. “Ah! Lord”, said he, “how can it be that thou wilt manifest
thyself to us, and not unto the world?” He was slightly an Arminian; he
wanted it all to be given to everybody; and he said, “How is it that thou
wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world? “O Lord!” said he, “I
wish it were for everybody. I wish it were: my benevolence bids me wish
it.” Ah! my beloved, we never need be more benevolent than God is. Some
say, “If all sinners were saved it would glorify God more.” Certainly God
knows better than we do how many sinners will glorify him, and we had
better leave the number to him, and not get meddling with what we have
no business with. It says in Scripture, “Fools will be meddling;” and fools
they are who go meddling with what is no concern of theirs. But however
this was, Judas said, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto
us, and not unto the world?” Perhaps, again, it was love to his Master that
made him put the question. “O Lord, I thought thou wouldst come and be
king over all the world; and now it appears that thou art only to be king
over some.” He wished Christ’s dominion might be universal; he wanted to
see every heart the Savior’s throne, he desired every one to bow to him,
and a very just and laudable wish it was; and so he asked Christ, “How can
it be, Lord, that thou wilt not conquer all?” Jesus never answered the
question. It was right to ask it; but we shall never get the solution of it till
we get up yonder; perhaps not there. Yet again: perhaps the question was
proposed by admiration. “Oh!” he said, “how is it that thou wilt manifest
to us, and not unto the world?” Why, he might have said of himself, “What
am I? What is my brother Peter here? Nothing but a fisherman. What is
John? Nothing but a fisherman. And as for Matthew, he was a publican,
and cheated hundreds. And Zaccheus, how many widows’ houses did he
devour! And yet ‘thou sayest thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not
unto the world.’ There stands Mary the sinner: what did she do, that thou
shouldst manifest thyself to her? And there is Mary Magdalene: she had
seven devils. ‘Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us and
not unto the world.’ Is not this a question we have often had to ask of our
own souls?

“Pause, my soul, adore and wonder;
Ask, O why such love to me?”
And the only answer we could give was,
“Grace hath put me in the number
Of the Savior’s family.”

Come to me and ask me, “Sir, why am I a Christian? Why does God love
me?” I must reply “Because he does love you.” “But why does he love
me?” The only answer I can give you again is, “because he would love
you.” For it is written, “He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy.
Surely we might admiringly stand here and say, “Lord, why, Lord, why
dost thou manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” “Yes,” but
some would say, “because ye are better than the world; that is the reason.”
A fine lot better by nature, certainly! Better than the world by nature?
Why, some of us were rather worse. There are some of you here who
indulged once in every form of vice; who would blush to stand up here,
and tell the sins you have committed. But God has manifested himself to
you as he does not unto the world. Surely we shall have a perpetual cause
of wonder in the doings of sovereign grace.

But what is the answer? Why does Christ manifest himself to some as he
does not unto the world? The question was not answered; for it was
unanswerable. Our Lord went on to say — “If a man love me, he will keep
my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and
make our abode with him.” He did not tell him why he would manifest
himself unto them, and not unto the world. I have often been asked this
question myself; “You say God manifests himself to some, and not to
others-can you tell me why?” Well, Jesus Christ did not, and I cannot be
expected to do it, any more than he did. But I will ask you whether you
have any objection to it. Is it no enough that he should do so? He has
declared that has he “power over the clay, to make of the same lump one
vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor;” and if any one finds fault he
saith, “Who art thou, O man? Shall the thing formed say to him that
formed it, why hast thou made me thus?” What man shall ask of his father,
“Why hast thou begotten me?” “Am I not God, and can I not do what I
will with my own?” “But,” says the objector, “is it not unjust for God to
manifest himself to one and not to the other?” God replies: “Dost thou
charge me with injustice? In what respect? Do I owe thee anything? Bring
the bill and I will pay it. Do I owe you grace? Then grace would not be
grace; it would be a debt. If I owe you grace, you shall have it.” “But why
should my brother have it? He is equally as bad as I.” “Surely,” replies the
king, “I may give as I please.” Thou hast two beggars at thy door: hast
thou not a right to turn one away, and give the other something? And can I
not do as I will with my own? “I will have mercy upon whom I will have
mercy, and to whom I will I give it.” “Well,” says the objector, “suppose I
ask and plead for it, shall I not have it? “Yes, thou shalt,” says God, for so
the promise runs — “Every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh
findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” “But I cannot have it
unless it is written that I shall have it.” “Yes, but if thou askest, it is written
that thou shalt ask; and the means are as much ordained as the end; thou
couldst not ask unless I inclined thee; and now do not talk to me of
injustice. I ask you to find the passage in my word where I ever promised
to give grace to every one. Vile wretch! hast thou not rebelled against me?
Thy doom is to be sent to hell for ever. Dost thou not deserve it?” “Yes.”
“Then who art thou that darest to accuse me of injustice? If I have fifty
men on a scaffold to be hanged, have I not a right to pardon which I will,
and give the punishment to all the rest? Wilt thou not yield to it?” “No,”
says the objector, “I will never yield to it.” “Then, my friend expect not
salvation till thou dost.” Is there a man here who kicks against divine
sovereignty? It is a testing doctrine; and if he does not receive it, it shows
that his pride is not out of him. If we do but preach divine sovereignty,
some will say, “That man is an Antinomian and a hyper. “We disdain your
slander, and remind you that the accusation might more properly be made
against yourself. It is you that are the Antinomian, in rebelling against
divine sovereignty. But a man who receives the doctrine of sovereignty will
go to the throne, saying,

“Perhaps he will admit my plea,
Perhaps will hear my prayer:
But if I perish I will pray,
And perish only there.”

And now, what say you to this, my friends? I know what some would say.
They would cry, “Nonsense” we believe religion is a thing very good to
keep people in order; but as to these manifestations and these ecstacies, we
do not believe in them.” Very well, beloved, I have just proved the truth of
what the text says. He does not manifest himself unto the world; and you
have proved yourself that you are one of the world, because you have not
any manifestations. But there are some Christians here who say, “We do
not know much about these manifestations.” No, I know you do not. The
church has been getting for the last few years into a lean, starved state;
God has sent very few preachers who would preach up these special things,
and the church has been getting lower and lower; and what would become
of us I cannot tell, if there were not saved a little salt, which God has
scattered over the putrifying mass. Some of us have been living on low
ground, when we might have been standing on high places; We have been
tarrying in the valley of Baca, when we might as well have been living on
the top of Carmal. I would not choose to dwell in a valley, if I might build
my house on the delectable mountains. O Christian! up this morning! Let
thy feet be shod with light once more; trip lightly across the plain of
trouble; get to the side of Calvary; ascend to the very summit; and from
Calvary I tell thee, thou canst see across the plain as far as heaven itself if
thou canst but get to Pisgah’s top, thou shalt sing,

“Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
Stand dressed in living green.”

And your spirit shall become like the chariots of Amminadib. Seek, my
brethren such spiritual manifestations, if you have never experienced them;
and if ye have been privileged to enjoy them, seek more of them; for what
is there can so certainly make life happy, and so fit you for the sky, as these
revelations of Jesus Christ? Oh! ye who despise what we enjoy, from the
depths of my soul I pity you. Take heed, lest the first revelation you have
of Christ be, when he shall be revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance on
his enemies; for if he is not revealed in mercy, he will be in justice. God
give you grace to see him on Calvary before you see him on Sinai, to
behold him as the Savior of sinners before you see him as the judge of
quick and dead. God bless you, and lead you to back these manifestations
constantly! Amen.

I think this is worth some exposure:-

One of the UK’s leading theological research centres is launching a series of one-day seminars to help resource the church as it faces challenges from parts of society and the media to its core beliefs.

The first event, the Bible and Church Conference, is to be held on June 20 at Westminster Chapel in London. Organisers of the free day-long gathering say they want “to provide Christians with reliable scholarly evidence in support of the historical basis of the faith and, to equip Christians to share that faith with confidence”.

“Society is being bombarded with misinformation about the Bible, such as allegations that it has been corrupted by power-hungry Christians who, for example, omitted books they did not like, and changed the original message of Jesus,” said Dr Peter Williams, Warden at Tyndale House and an expert in the study of ancient languages related to the Bible.

“When these and other wild claims are made in the media, and by members of the public, most Christians do not know how to respond. Some even find their faith shaken.”

Dr Williams will address the issue of history, and how early core Christian beliefs were established.

He will then discuss whether early Christian records were legend, myth or fabrication before addressing how easy it would have been for fabricated accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry to be circulated in the early church.

Delegates will then be offered contributions by Dr Dirk Jongkind, an expert on the Codex Sinaiticus, (the oldest complete copy of the New Testament, who will explain the evidence for the New Testament text, before addressing whether the Bible has been deliberately corrupted or changed through the passage of time.

Editor of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Dr Simon Gathercole, will focus on why there are only four Gospels and the significant differences between them, before exploring contemporary views and books referring to the gospels of Mary, Thomas and Judas. Delegates will be given the opportunity to ask questions of a panel of experts.

Dr Williams said the conference would expose “false claims” about the New Testament and “show how the New Testament can be trusted”.

He added that he hoped the conference would help Christians face “the many philosophical and secular challenges to orthodox Christian beliefs” and share their faith “with real confidence and conviction”.

On the web: www.bibleandchurch.com

I have just received the following news feed from the Jubilee Centre and to be honest I am quite relieved to see a balanced approach to the BNP rather than the mass hysteria from the media that we have become used to.

As we demonize the BNP we also demonize all those who voted for them and it may come as a surprise to some but not everyone who voted for them is a skinhead thug!

The BNP have received support because the main political parties are generally perceived as inept, self-interested, greedy and corrupt.

Issues such as immigration, the rise of Islam, freedom of speech and civil liberties are on the BNP agenda, unlike any other party. These issues are important to folks and until the Christian party begins to deal with them vocally, they will not make any inroads.

‘Questions of asylum and immigration will only become more important as the new century progresses. Many believe these issues will be major battlegrounds in future general elections … Fear and ignorance will persist until dispelled.’ [Ram Gidoomal, in Asylum and Immigration: a Christian perspective on a polarised debate]

Last week’s European elections saw two of the UK’s 72 seats go to the British National Party. The media has attempted to dismiss this ‘racist’ vote by patronisingly suggesting the public didn’t realise what they were voting for, that it was only a protest vote, and that it really reflected disillusionment with Labour and/or all the main parties.

It is true that, as we warned last week, at times when there is ‘a deep suspicion of all established parties,’ proportional representation makes us far more vulnerable to ‘a flight to new parties on the political fringes’. So, given that overall turnout fell from 38.2% to 34.5%, there is a degree of truth to say the BNP’s success was caused by disaffection with the established parties. However, although the Labour and LibDem shares of the vote both fell, the Conservative share of the vote increased by 1.0% nationally and by 1.5% in the North West, where the BNP’s leader Nick Griffin was elected. The BNP share of the vote increased by 1.3% nationally, by 1.6% in the North West, and by 1.8% in Yorkshire and The Humber, where they won their other seat.

So the media is disingenuous and wrong. If the public had simply wanted to register a protest vote, they had plenty of other minority parties to choose between. UKIP’s vote share, by contrast, increased by just 0.3% (gaining one MEP), while the under-reported Greens increased their share by a not insignificant gain of 2.4% (albeit resulting in the same number of MEPs as previously).

The media should also reconsider its portrayal of the BNP as ‘far right’. Most of Europe’s ‘far-right’ are not as extreme as Hungary’s far-right radical party Jobbik, with its paramilitary wing, the Hungarian Guard. In fact, with their socialist manifesto, a good case could be made for describing the BNP as a ‘far left’ party – indeed Lord Tebbit recently described them as ‘that awful socialist party’ and ‘Labour with racism’.

My point is that the political elite need to take seriously the concerns of the 6.2% of voters who gave their support to the BNP last week. Anecdotally, when voters told TV interviewers why they supported the BNP, their main concern was immigration. According to the most recent polling, race and immigration is now the greatest concern to voters after the economy – and it has consistently been one of the greatest concerns since January 2003

From our friends at Christian Concern For Our Nation

An open-air preacher from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, was told by the police that he was committing a criminal offence by saying that homosexuality was a sin.

Andy Robertson, an evangelist with Open Air Mission, had never mentioned homosexuality in his open air preaching. Despite this, the local council sent a letter to him saying that they wanted him to stop preaching because they had received ‘complaints’. The council asserted that Mr Robertson was breaking the law by his preaching and that the Police would be called if he didn’t stop preaching. In the letter, the council did not specify which law was broken.

When the police arrived where Mr Robertson was preaching they told him they had received complaints that he was making ‘homophobic’ comments and that it was a crime to say that homosexuality was a sin.

At CCFON we have become increasingly aware of how difficult it is to speak publicly on sexual ethics from a biblical standpoint particularly regarding the practice of homosexuality. At the Christian Legal Centre we are dealing with many cases where Christians are discriminated against because they hold biblical views on sexual ethics.

In the current Coroners and Justice Bill, the Government wants to remove the existing free speech clause that allows for discussion and criticism of sexual practices – (http://www.ccfon.org/view.php?id=745). The case of Mr Robertson and others is a clear indication that the society needs to keep a free speech protection.

“And I will make them and the places round about my hill a
blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in his season;
there shall be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel; 24:26.

The chapter (Ezekiel 24.) that I read at the commencement of the service is
a prophetical one; and, I take it, it has relation not to the condition of the
Jews during the captivity and their subsequent happiness when they should
return to their land, but to a state into which they should fall after they had
been restored to their country under Nehemiah and Ezra, and in which
state they still continue to the present day. The prophet tells us that the
shepherds then, instead of feeding the flock, fed themselves; they trod the
grass, instead of allowing the sheep to eat it, and they fouled the waters
with their feet. This is an exact description of the state of Judea after the
captivity; for then there arose the Scribes and Pharisees who took the key
of knowledge, and would not enter themselves nor allow others to enter;
who laid heavy burdens on men’s shoulders, and would not touch them
with one of their fingers; who made religion to consist entirely in sacrifices
and ceremonies, and imposed such a burden on the people, that they cried
out, “What a weariness it is!” That same evil has continued with the poor
Jews to the present day, and should you read the nonsense of the Talmud,
and the Gemara, and see the burdens they laid upon them, you would say,
“Verily, they have idle shepherds;” they give the sheep no food; they
trouble them with fanciful superstitions and silly views, and instead of
telling them that the Messiah is already come, they delude them with the
idea that there is a Messiah yet to come, who shall restore Judea and raise
it to its glory. The Lord pronounces a curse upon these Pharisees and
Rabbis; these who “thrust with side and with shoulder;” those evil
shepherds who will not suffer the sheep to lie down, neither will feed them
with good pasture. But after having described this state, he prophecies
better times for the poor Jew. The day is coming when the careless
shepherds shall be as nought; when the power of the Rabbis shall cease;
when the traditions of the Mishna and the Talmud shall be cast aside. The
hour is approaching, when the tribes shall go up to their own country,
when Judea, so long a howling wilderness, shall once more blossom like
the rose; when, if the temple itself be not restored, yet on Zion’s hill shall
be raised some Christian building, where the chants of solemn praise shall
be heard, as erst of old the Psalms of David were sung in the Tabernacle.
Not long shall it be ere they shall come-shall come from distant lands,
where’er they rest or roam; and she who has been the off-scouring of all
things, whose name has been a proverb and a bye-word, shall become the
glory of all lands. Dejected Zion shall raise her head, shaking herself from
duet, and darkness, and the dead. Then shall the Lord feed his people, and
make them and the places round about his hill a blessing. I think we do not
attach sufficient importance to the restoration of the Jews. We do not think
enough of it. But certainly, if there is anything promised in the Bible it is
this. I imagine that you cannot read the Bible without seeing clearly that
there is to be an actual restoration of the children of Israel. “Thither they
shall go up; they shall come with weeping unto Zion, and with
supplications unto Jerusalem.” May that happy day soon come! For when
the Jews are restored, then the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in;
and as soon as they return, then Jesus will come upon Mount Zion to reign
with his ancients gloriously, and the halcyon days of the Millennium shall
then dawn; we shall then know every man to be a brother and a friend;
Christ shall rule with universal sway.

This, then, is the meaning of the text; that God would make Jerusalem and
the I laces round about his hill a blessing. I shall not however, use it so this
morning, but I shall use it in a more confined sense-or, perhaps, in a more
enlarged sense-as it applies to the church of Jesus Christ, and to this
particular church with which you and I stand connected. “I will make them
and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower
to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.”
There are two things here spoken of. First, Christ’s church is to be a
blessing; secondly, Christ’s church is to be blessed. These two things you
will find in the different sentences of the text.

I. First, CHRIST’S CHURCH IS TO BE A BLESSING. “I will make them and
the places round about my hill a blessing.” The object of God in choosing a
people before all worlds, was not only to save that people, but through
them to confer essential benefits upon the whole human race. When he
chose Abraham he did not elect him simply to be God’s friend, and the
recipient of peculiar privileges; but he chose him to make him, as it were,
the conservator of truth. He was to be the ark in which the truth should be
hidden. He was to be the keeper of the covenant in behalf of the whole
world; and when God chooses any men by his sovereign electing grace,
and makes them Christ’s, he does it not only for their own sake, that they
may be saved, but for the world’s sake. For know ye not that “ye are the
light of the world!” — “a city set upon a hill which cannot be hid.” “Ye are
the salt of the earth;” and when God makes you salt, it is not only that ye
may have salt in yourselves, but that like salt ye may preserve the whole
mass. If he makes you leaven it is that like the little leaven you may leaven
the whole lump. Salvation is not a selfish thing; God does not give it for us
to keep to ourselves, but that we may thereby be made the means of
blessing to others; and the great day shall declare that there is not a man
living on the surface of the earth but has received a blessing in some way or
the other through God’s gift of the gospel. The very keeping of the wicked
in life, and granting of the reprieve, was purchased with the death of Jesus;
and through his sufferings and death the temporal blessings which both we
and they enjoy are bestowed on us. The gospel was sent that it might first
bless those that embrace it, and then expand, so as to make them a blessing
to the whole human race.

In thus speaking of the church as a blessing, we shall notice three things.
First, here is divinity — “I will make them a blessing;” secondly, here is
personality of religion — “I will make them a blessing;” and, thirdly, here
is the development of religion -”and the places round about my hill.”

1. First, with regard to this blessing which God will cause his church to be,
here is divinity. It is God the everlasting Jehovah speaking: he says, “I will
make them “blessing.” None of us can bless others unless God has first
blessed us. We need divine workmanship. “I will make them a blessing by
helping them, and by constraining them.” God makes his people a blessing
by helping them. What can we do without God’s help? I stand and preach
to thousands, or it may be hundreds; what have I done, unless a greater
than man has been in the pulpit with me? I work in the Sabbath-schools;
what can I do, unless the Master is there, teaching the children with me?
We want God’s aid in every position; and once give us that assistance, and
there is no telling with how little labor we may become a blessing, Ah! a
few words sometimes will be more of a blessing than a whole sermon. You
take some little prattler on your knee: and some few words that you say to
him he remembers, and makes use of in after years. I knew a gray-headed
old man who was in the habit of doing this. He once took a boy to a certain
tree, and said, “Now, John, you kneel down at that tree, and I will kneel
down with you.” He knelt down and prayed, and asked God to convert him
and save his soul. “Now,” said he, “perhaps you will come to this tree
again, and if you are not converted you will remember that I asked under
this tree that God would save your soul.” That young man went away and
forgot the old man’s prayer; but it chanced as God would have it that he
walked down that field again and saw a tree. It seemed as if the old man’s
name was cut in the bark. He recollected what he prayed for, and that the
prayer was not fulfilled, but he dare not pass the tree without kneeling
down to pray himself, and there was his spiritual birth-place. The simplest
observation of the Christian shall be made a blessing, if God help him. “His
leaf also shall not wither”-the simplest word he speaks shall be treasured
up; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

But there is constraint here. “I will make them a blessing.” I will give them
to be a blessing; I will constrain them to be a blessing. I can say myself that
I never did anything which was a blessing to my fellow-creatures without
feeling compelled to do it. I thought of going to a Sabbath-school to teach.
On a certain day, some one called-asked me-begged me-prayed me to take
his class, I could not refuse to go; and there I was held hand and foot by
the superintendent, and was compelled to go on. I was asked to address
the children, I thought I could not, but no one else was there to do it, so I
stood up and stammered out a few words. And I recollect the first occasion
on which I attempted to preach to the people-I am sure I had no wish to do
it-but there was no one else in the place, and the congregation must go
away without a single word of warning or address. How could I suffer it? I
felt forced to address them. And so it has been with whatever I have laid
my hand to. I have always felt a kind of impulse which I could not resist,
but, moreover felt placed by Providence in such a position, that I had no
wish to avoid the duty and if I had desired it, could not have helped myself.
And so it is with God’s people. If they will go through their lives, wherever
they have been made a blessing, they will find that God seems to have
thrust them into the vineyard. Such-and-such a man was once rich. What
good was he in the world? He did but loll in his carriage; he did but little
good, and was of little service to his fellow-creatures. Says God, “I will
make him a blessing:” so he strips away his riches, and brings him into low
circumstances. He is then brought into association with the poor, and his
superior education and intellect make him a blessing to them. God makes
him a blessing. Another man was naturally very timid, he would not pray at
the prayer-meeting, he would hardly like to join the church soon he gets
into a position in which he cannot help himself “I will make him a
blessing.” And as sure as ever you are a servant of God, he will make you a
blessing. He will have none of his gold in the lump; he will hammer it out,
and make it a blessing. I verily believe there are some in my congregation
to whom God has given power to preach his name; they do not know it,
perhaps, but God will make it known by-and-bye. I would have every man
look and see whether God is making him do a certain thing; and when once
he feels the impulse, let him by no means ever check it. I am somewhat of a
believer in the doctrine of the Quakers as to the impulses of the Spirit, and
I fear lest I should check one of them. If a thought crosses my mind, “Go
to such a person’s house,” I always like to do it, because I do not know
but what it may be from the Spirit. I understand this verse to mean
something like that. “I will make them a blessing.” I will force them to do
good. If I cannot make a sweet scent come from them in any other way, I
will pound them in the mortar of affliction. If they have seed, and the seed
cannot be scattered in any other way, I will send a rough wind to blow the
downy seed everywhere.” “I will make them a blessing.” If you have never
been made a blessing to any one, depend upon it you are not a child of
God; for Jehovah says, “I will make them a blessing.”

2. But notice, next, the personality of the blessing. “I will make them a
blessing.” “I will make each member of the church a blessing.” Many
people come up to the house of prayer where the church assembles; and
you say, “Well, what are you doing a: such-and-such a place where you
attend?” “Well, we are doing so-and so”; “How do you spell we?” “It is a
plain monosyllable,” say you. Yes, but do you put I in “we?” “No.” There
are a great many people who could easily spell “we” without an I in it, for
though they say, “We have been doing so-and-so,” they do not say, “How
much have I done? Did I do anything in it? Yes; this chapel has been
enlarged; what did I subscribe? Twopence!” Of course it is done. Those
who paid the money have done it. “We preach the gospel.” Do we, indeed?
Yes, we sit in our pew and listen a little, and do not pray for a blessing.
“We have got such a large Sunday-school.” Did you ever teach in it? “We
have got a very good working-society.” Did you ever go to work in it?
That is not the way to spell “we.” It is “I will make them a blessing.” When
Jerusalem was built every man began nearest his own house. That is where
you must begin to build, or to do something. Do not let us tell a lie about
it. If we do not have some share in the building, if we neither handle the
trowel nor the spear, let us not talk about our church; for the text says, “I
will make them a blessing,” every one of them.

“But, sir, what can I do? I am nothing but a father at home; I am so full of
business, I can only see my children a little.” But in your business, do you
ever have any servants? “No: I am a servant myself.” You have fellowservants?
“No, I work alone.” Do you work alone, then, and live alone,
like a monk in a cell? I don’t believe that. But you have fellow-servants at
work, cannot you say a word to their conscience? “I don’t like to intrude
religion into business.” Quite right too so say I; when I am at business, let
it be business; when you are at religion, let it be religion. But do you never
have an opportunity? Why you cannot go into an omnibus, or a railway
carriage, but what you can say something for Jesus Christ. I have found it
so, and I don’t believe I am different from other people. Cannot do
anything? Cannot you put a tract in your hat, and drop it where you go?
Cannot you speak a word to a child? Where does this man come from that
cannot do anything? There is a spider on the wall; but he taketh hold on
kings’ palaces, and spinneth his web to rid the world of noxious flies.
There is a nettle in the corner of the churchyard; but the physician tells me
it has its virtues. There is a tiny star in the sky; but that is noted in the
chart, and the mariner looks at it. There is an insect under water; but it
builds a rock. God made all these things for something; but here is a man
that God made, and gave him nothing at all to do. I do not believe it. God
never makes useless things; he has no superfluous workmanship. I care not
what you are; you have somewhat to do. And oh! may God show you what
it is, and then make you do it, by the wondrous compulsion of his
providence and his grace.

3. But we have to notice, in the third place, the development of gospel
blessing. “I will make them a blessing,” but it does not end there. “And the
places round about my hill.” Religion is an expansive thing. When it begins
in the heart, at first it is like a tiny grain of mustard seed, but it gradually
increases, and becomes a great tree, so that the birds of the air lodge in the
branches thereof. A man cannot be religious to himself, “No man liveth to
himself, and no man dieth to himself.” You have heard, a score of times,
that if you do but drop a pebble in a brook it causes a small ring at first,
then another outside of that, and then another, and then another, till the
influence of the pebble is perceptible over the entire bosom of the water.
So it is when God makes his people a blessing. “I will make a minister a
blessing to one or two; I will then make him a blessing to a hundred; I will
then make him a blessing to thousands; and then I will make those
thousands a blessing. I will make each one individually a blessing: and
when I have done that I will make all the places round about a blessing. I
will make them a blessing.” I hope we shall never be satisfied, as members
of Park Street, until we are a blessing not only to ourselves, but to all the
places round about our hill. What are the places round about our hill? I
think they are first, our agencies; secondly, our neighborhood, thirdly, the
churches adjacent to us.

First, there are our agencies. There is our Sabbath-school: how near that is
to our hill? I speak a great deal about this, because I want it to be brought
into notice. I intend to preach a practical sermon this morning, to move
some of you to come and teach in the Sabbath-school, for there we require
some suitable men to “come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the
Lord against the mighty.” Therefore I mention the Sabbath-school as a
place very near to the hill; it ought to be just at the very foot of it; yea, it
ought to be so near the hill that very many may pass from it to the church.
Then there is our Visiting and Christian Instruction Society which we have
for the visiting of this neighborhood. I trust that has been made a blessing
God has sent among us a man who labors zealously and earnestly in
visiting the sick. I have, as the superintendent of my beloved brother the
missionary, a regular account of his labors; his report has most highly
gratified me, and I am able to bear testimony to the fact, that he is very
efficiently laboring around us. I want that society to have all your sympathy
and strength. I consider him as a Joshua, with whom you are to go forth by
hundreds to those who live in the neighborhood. Do you not know what
dark places there are? Walk down a street a little to the right. See the
shops open on a Sunday. Some, thank God, that used to open them, now
come and worship with us. We shall have more yet; for “the earth is the
Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” and why should not we have it? My
brethren, as you visit the sick, or distribute tracts from door to door, make
this your prayer-that this society, being one of the places round about our
hill, may be made a blessing! Let me not forget any agency connected with
this church. There are several more which are places round about our hill;
and the Lord has just put it into my heart to fashion other societies, which
shall be made a blessing to this hill, and in a little while you shall hear
thereof. We have several brethren in this congregation to whom God has
given a mouth of utterance; these are about to form themselves into a
society for proclaiming the Word of God. Where God has so blessed his
church, and made us to be so noted and named amongst the people why
should we not keep on? We have been brought up to a great pitch of
fervency and love; now is the time for doing something. While the iron is
hot, why not strike and fashion it? I believe we have the materials not only
for making a church here that shall be the glory of the Baptist churches in
London, but for making churches everywhere throughout the metropolis,
and we have more schemes on hand, which matured by sober judgment and
backed by prudence, shall yet make this metropolis more honored than it
has been by the sound of the pure gospel and the proclamation of the pure
Word of God. May God make all our agencies-the places round about our
hill-a blessing.

But next, there is the neighborhood. I am paralysed sometimes when I
think that we are of so little service to the neighborhood, though this is a
green oasis in the midst of a great spiritual desert. Just at the back of us we
could find you hundreds of Roman Catholics, and men of the very worst
character; and it is sad to think that we cannot make this place a blessing to
them. It is made a great blessing to you my hearers; but you do not come
from this district; you come from anywhere and nowhere some of you, I
suppose. People say, “There is something doing in that chapel; look at the
crowd; but we cannot get in!” This one thing I ask,-Never come here to
gratify your curiosity. You that are members of other congregations, just
consider it your duty to stay at home. There are many stray sheep about. I
would rather have them than you. Keep to your own place. I do not want
to rob other ministers. Do not come here from charity. We are much
obliged to you for your kindly intentions; but we would rather have your
room than your company, if ye are members of other churches. We want
sinners to come-sinners of every sort; but do not let us have that sort of
men whose ears are everlastingly itching for some new preacher, who are
saying, “I want something else, I want something else.” Oh! do, I beseech
you, for God’s sake, be of some good; and if you are running about from
one place to another, you can never expect to be. Do ye know what is said
of rolling stones? Ah! ye have heard of that. They “gather no moss.” Now,
don’t be rolling stones, but keep at home, God, however, so help us, as to
make us a blessing to the neighborhood! I long to see something done for
the people around. We must open our arms to them; we must go out into
the open air to them; we must and will preach God’s gospel to them. Let,
then, the people around listen to the word of the gospel; and may it be said,
“That place is the cathedral of Southwark!” So it is now. Out of it goes a
blessing; God is pouring out a blessing upon it.

What else do we mean by the places round about our hill? We mean, the
churches adjacent. I cannot but rejoice in the prosperity of many churches
around us; but as our beloved brother, Mr. Sherman, said last Thursday
morning, “It is not invidious to say, that there are very few churches that
are in a prosperous state, and that taking the churches at large, they are in
a deplorable condition. It is only here and there,” said he, “that God is
pouring out his Spirit; but most of the churches are lying like barges at
Blackfriars Bridge when the tide is down,-right in the mud,-and all the
king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot pull them off, till the tide
comes and sets them afloat.” Who can tell then, what good may be done by
this church? If there is a light in this candlestick, let others come and light
their candles by it. If there is a flame here, let the flame spread, until all the
neighboring churches shall be lit up with the glory. Then indeed, shall we
be made the rejoicing of the earth: for there is never a revival in one spot,
but it shall affect others. Who shall tell, then, where it shall end?

“Fly abroad, thou mighty gospel;
Win and conquer, never cease”

And it never will cease, when God once makes the places round about his
hill a blessing.

II. The second point is, that God’s people are not only to be a blessing but
THEY ARE TO BE BLESSED. For read the second part of the verse. “And I
will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers
of blessing.” It is somewhat singular, as a prognostication of the showers
of blessings we hope to receive here, that God sent us showers on the first
day of opening. If I were a believer in omens, I should pray, that as it
rained the first day so may it rain every day since. When it stops may the
chapel be shut up; for we only want it open so long as showers of grace
continue to descend.

First, here is sovereign mercy. Listen to these words; “I will give them the
shower in its season.” Is it not sovereign, divine mercy, for who can say, “I
will give them showers,” except God? Can the false prophet who walks
amongst the benighted Hottentots? He says he is a rain-maker and can give
them showers; but can he do it? Is there an imperial monarch, or the most
learned man on earth, who can say, “I will give them the showers in their
season?” No; there is only one; it wherein all the clouds are held; there is
only one hand in which all the channels of the mighty ocean above the
firmament are contained; there is only one voice that can speak to the
clouds and bid them beget the rain. “Out of whose womb came the ice?
and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?” “Who sendeth down
the rain upon the earth? who scattereth the showers upon the green herb?
Do not I, the Lord?” Who else could do it? Is not rain in God’s power?
and who could send it except him? We know that Catholics pretend that
they can get grace without getting it from God directly; for they believe
that God puts all his grace into the pope, and then that runs down into
smaller pipes, called cardinals and bishops, through which it runs into the
priests; and by turning the tap with a shilling you can get as much grace as
you like. But it is not so with God’s grace. He says, “I will give them
showers.” Grace is the gift of God, and is not to be created by man.
Notice next, it is needed grace “I will give them showers.” What would the
ground do without showers? You may break the clods, you may sow your
seeds, but what can you do without the rain? Ah! you may prepare your
barn, and sharpen your sickles; but your sickles will be rusted before you
have any wheat, unless there are showers. They are needed. So is the
divine blessing.

“In vain Apollos sows the seed,
And Paul may plant in vain.”

In vain you come here, in vain you labor, in vain you give your money;

“Till God the plenteous shower bestows,
And sends salvation down.”

Then, next, it is plenteous grace. “I will send them showers.” It does not
say, “I will send them drops,” but “I will send them showers.” “It seldom
rains but it pours.” So it is with grace. If God gives a blessing, he usually
gives it in such a measure that there is not room enough to receive it.
Where are we going to hold God’s blessing that we have obtained already?
I told the people on Thursday that God had promised us, that if we brought
the tithes into the storehouse he would send us such a blessing that we
would not have room to hold it. We have tried it; and the promise has been
fulfilled, as it always will be as long as we rely upon it. Plenteous grace!
Ah! we shall want plenteous grace, my friends; plenteous grace to keep us
humble, plenteous grace to make us prayerful, plenteous grace to make us
holy, plenteous grace to make us zealous, plenteous grace to make us
truthful, plenteous grace to preserve us through this life, and at last to land
us in heaven. We cannot do without showers of grace. How many are there
here that have been dry in a shower of grace? Why, there is a shower of
grace here; but how is it that it does not fall to some of the people? It is
because they put up the umbrella of their prejudice; and though they sit
here, even as God’s people sit, even when it rains, they have such a
prejudice against God’s Word, they do not want to hear it, they do not
want to love it, and it runs off again. Nevertheless, the showers are there;
and we will thank God for them where they do fall.

Again, it is seasonable grace. “I will give them the shower in its reason.”
There is nothing like seasonable grace. There are fruits, you know, that are
best in their season, and they are not good at any other time; and there are
graces that are good in their season, but we do not always require them. A
person vexes and irritates me; I want grace just at that moment to be
patient; I have not got it, and I get angry; ten minutes after I am ever so
patient; but I have not had grace in its season. The promise is, “I will give
them the shower in its season.” Ah! poor waiting soul, what is thy season
this morning? Is it the season of drought? Then that is the seasons for
showers. Is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? Then that is
the season for showers. What is your season this morning, business man?
Lost money all the week, have you? Now is the season to ask for showers.
It is nighttime; now the dew falls. The dew does not fall in the day-it falls
in the night; the night of affliction, trial, and trouble. There stands the
promise; only go and plead it. “I will give them the shower in its season.”
We have one thought more, and then we have done. Here is a varied
blessing. “I will give thee showers of blessing.” The word is in the plural.
All kinds of blessings God will send. The rain is all of one kind when it
comes; but grace is not all of one kind, or it does not produce the same
effect. When God sends rain upon the church, he “sends showers of
blessing.” There are some ministers who think, that if there is a shower on
their church, God will send a shower of work. Yes, but if he does, he will
send a shower of comfort. Others think that God will send a shower of
gospel truth. Yes, but if he sends that, he will send a shower of gospel
holiness. For all God’s blessings go together. They are like the sweet sister
graces that danced hand in hand. God sends showers of blessings. If he
gives comforting grace, he also gives converting grace; if he makes the
trumpet blow for the bankrupt sinner, he will also make it sound a shout of
joy for the sinner that is pardoned and forgiven. He will send “showers of
blessing.”

Now, then, there is a promise in that Bible. We have tried to explain and
enlarge upon it. What shall we do with it?

“In that book there hidden lies
A pearl of price unknown.”

Well, we have examined this rich promise; we as a church are looking at it;
we are saying, “Is that ours?” I think most of the members will say, “It is;
for God has poured out upon us showers of blessing in their season.” Well,
then, if the promise is ours, the precept is ours, as much as the promise.
Ought we not to ask God to continue to make us a blessing? Some say I
did so-and-so when I was a young man; but supposing you are fifty, you
are not an old man now. Is there not something you can do? It is all very
well to talk about what you have done; but what are you doing now? I
know what it is with some of you; you shined brightly once, but your
candle has not been snuffed lately, and so it does not shine so well. May
God take away some of the worldly cares, and snuff the candles a little!
You know there were snuffers and snuffer trays provided in the temple for
all the candles, but no extinguishers; and if there should be a poor candle
here this morning, with a terrific snuff, that has not given alight for a long
while, you will have no extinguisher from me, but I hope you will always
have a snuffing. I thought the first time when I came to the lamps this
morning it would be to snuff them. That has been the intention of my
sermon-to snuff you a little-to set you to work for Jesus Christ. O Zion,
shake thyself from the dust! O Christian, raise thyself from thy slumbers!
Warrior, put on thy armor. Soldier, grasp thy sword! The captain sounds
the alarm of war. O sluggard! why sleepest thou? O heir of heaven, hast
not Jesus done so much for thee, that thou shouldst live to him? O beloved
brethren, purchased with redeeming mercies, girt about with lovingkindness
and with tenderness,

“Now for a shout of sacred joy,’’

and after that to the battle! The little seed has grown to this; who knoweth
what it shall be? Only let us together strive, without variance. Let us labor
for Jesus. Never did men have so fair an opportunity, for the last hundred
years, “There is a tide that, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune,” Shall
you take it at the flood? Over the bar, at the harbour’s mouth! O ship of
heaven, let thy sails be out; let not thy canvass be furled; and the wind will
blow us across the sear, of difficulty that lie before us. Oh! that the latter
day might have its dawning even in this despised habitation! O my God!
from this place cause the first wave to spring, which shall move another,
and then another, till the last great wave shall sweep over the sands of
time, and dash against the rocks of eternity, echoing as it falls, “Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!”

The religion and society think-tank Ekklesia have posted the following article relating to the churches reaction to the European election success of the British National Party (BNP).

It’s all very well, everybody condemning the BNP, but lets face it they seem to be the only ones voicing concern over the rise of Islam in the UK. I wish folks would begin to understand that this is a pivotal issue in the minds of those that vote for them.

This issue does not seem to be acknowledged or discussed in any forum including secular news reports. Maybe if the Christian party had voiced such concerns over the rise of Islam in this nation they would have done a lot better.

I believe most of the votes for the BNP have nothing to do with race but more to do with religion and folks are sick and tired of our political ‘elite’ pandering in unbelievable naivety to Islam.

I haven’t even mentioned the relentless assault on our religious and civil liberties that the ‘main’ parties seem so desperate to attack and destroy. At least these issues are raised by the British National Party (BNP).

Churches challenged to act against electoral rise of the racist right

Hooray…..finally!

Early Intervention by the faith sector can repair broken Britain

Future governments need look no further than faith organisations to see the kind of best practices that are going to help deliver solutions to repair broken Britain, Iain Duncan Smith told the Charities Parliament on Wednesday.

“We need to change the culture in government,” he said. “I think the tide has turned. The time when the government thinks that there is some sort of threat from an organisation because they have a belief and a strong faith must now be seen as an absurdity.

“What they should be interested in is the outputs. What exactly do they do, do they do it well, do they achieve things? That should be the be all and end all of the requirement.”

The former Conservative Party leader speaking on ‘Breakthrough Britain: The role of faith inspired and voluntary agencies in mending broken Britain’ singled out the Christian charity, Save The Family, which helps homeless families stay together, as an example of an organisation delivering the kind of best practice that needs to inform government policy as well as command their funding.

Steve Chalke, founder of the Charities Parliament, praised what he called “the far sighted approach” taken by Mr Duncan Smith and Centre for Social Justice of which he is a director.

“In times when the failures of our political system are so evident, it is heartening to hear such a deep sense of trust expressed in the vital role of the third sector, and specifically the exemplary work of churches and other faith groups, in achieving the goals that continue to elude successive governments.”

The next Charities Parliament event will take place on Monday June 22 when Mr Chalke will chair ‘Finding Hope: Restoring Trust in Politics and national Life’. In response to public concern over MPs’ expenses, the evening will provide an opportunity to debate the current crisis of confidence in our parliamentary system with Christians involved in Westminster.

MPs Andy Reed and Alistair Burt, Bishop of Rochester and member of the House of Lords the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, and Times religious correspondent Ruth Gledhill are among the speakers on a panel that will address questions from the audience.

Source: Christian Today

Hmm quite an interesting article from the Christian Institute:-

It would seem that there is an acceptance of the commandments relating to ‘Love thy neighbour’ but certainly not ‘Love thy God’. The world wants the morality of Christianity without Christ, they want to be their own Gods….yeah….good luck with that!