By a Guest Blogger

If you love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:15

Membership of the church local is the context in which I obey God’s commands about how I am to treat fellow believers.  I can’t imagine how such obedience can happen apart from within an actual, specific fellowship of believers, regularly worshipping together and sharing life.  I do, though, have some appreciation of how much easier it is to love one another, bear with one another, forgive one another, be kind to one another, give preference to one another … from a distance, rather than when people are in my face and treading on my toes.
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Committing myself to loving others in the context of the church local demands actions, rather than merely feelings or words.  It will require me to put others’ needs before my own; it will test my patience and my willingness to forgive; it may require self-sacrifice, either small or great; it may simply require plodding faithfulness in small things, possibly without recognition or thanks.  But loving the church local is one of the means God uses to make me more like Christ, and it is a witness to the world (John 13:35).  Moreover, it’s a demonstration of my love for God through obedience to His Word.

By our Guest Blogger

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth.  John 4:23

“The worship was great!”

When I say something like this, what I’m really talking about is the music.  This takes no account of truth, or the state of my heart, or my relationship with God.  If it’s just about the quality of the music then it doesn’t even matter whether those participating know God; a believer and an unbeliever could both reach the same conclusion about the quality of ‘the worship’ based on whether or not the music is enjoyable and well-produced.  

My evaluation of ‘the worship’ in this sense is presumptuous.  It’s based on what it does for me, how it makes me feel, my own enjoyment of it.  In reality, who am I to comment on whether the worship is great, or dismal?  Worship is not for me, it’s for God.  

​Jesus said that true worshippers must worship God in spirit and in truth.  This kind of worship is a much less tangible activity than music, quite likely invisible to an observer and, therefore, impossible to assess in the terms we often use to evaluate what we call worship.  Only God, who sees the heart, is truly able to determine the quality of the worship that’s offered to Him. 

By our Guest Blogger

For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?  God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
Psalm 89:6-7

God has never invited men and women to approach Him on their own terms.  He is not like one of us, only bigger and better; He is altogether beyond our comprehension in His holiness, majesty, wisdom and power.  His love, His grace and His mercy are unfathomable, and ought to cause us to fall to our knees in adoration.   We can come to Him only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.   There is no other way for sinners to approach a holy God.
Because of what Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection we are now able to come to God freely, but we still come to God, the holy one who sits on the throne, King of kings and Lord of lords.  We have entrance into the Holy of Holies, but it is no less holy; nor is God less holy because we have been reconciled to Him.  His greatness is magnified by the saving work of Christ, not diminished.  
Our worship of God requires reverence, awe, and godly fear.   And when we worship Him in this way, He is exalted, we are blessed, and our faith is strengthened, because our focus is taken off ourselves, and we are reminded of how great our God truly is.  

By our GUEST BLOGGER

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.                                                                                               Hebrews 10:24-25
At times I have held back from commitment to a local fellowship for arguably good reasons.  It can be difficult to find a healthy local church that is faithful to God’s Word.  Church practice and style of worship can vary greatly, and is not always helpful.  There have been times when I’ve concluded that to stay at home and listen to a sermon would be of more benefit to me than to attend a place of worship.  But what if the purpose of assembling together with other believers is not only about what benefits me? 

When I encounter brothers and sisters in Christ with whom I disagree on secondary issues or those who are immature, should my response be to withdraw myself from them?  If things are not done according to my preferences do I have permission to remain distant and uncommitted?  Do all the New Testament exhortations regarding the way I am to relate to fellow believers become void if fellow believers don’t meet my expectations?  I don’t find any support for this in God’s Word. 

​Instead, I am to seek, pray for, and actively contribute to the good and the growth of my brothers and sisters in Christ.  

No, this isn’t about the EU vote.  
Something far more enduring:
John 3:36  "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

There’s a finality here.
A simplicity.
A clarity, a distinction.
You have eternal life, or you abide in wrath.
You are in Christ, or you are in Adam.
Romans 5:12  "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned-- 
… 18  …, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men." 

However you might divide humanity – from a Gospel point of view – this is possibly the clearest and most relevant.
It speaks to where people are, and how to reach them.
How many Gospels are needed?
Look at the Apostles - was theirs a uniform culture?
Those cultures were even more isolated/distinct than ours - they didn’t have mass communication.
This is the sum of the Gospel to be preached to every creature:
John 3:17  "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 
18  "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Believer, or judged.
Christ, or Adam.

Clarity for the unbeliever, comfort for the Church, for -
John 3:36  "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
The Christian has life everlasting.

And notice, lovers of Jesus – this is sweet.
It’s your state now:  has eternal life
Even now, you have everlasting life.
Not “shall have it later”, but have it now. 

Do you lack assurance?  How?  Have you read and understood the plain words?
The matter is sealed, 
John 3:33  "He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true.”
By God’s Spirit, and it’s signed, sealed, delivered -
2 Corinthians 5:5 “Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.” 
Ephesians 1:14  “… the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” 

When God gives a guarantee?             
By the grace of God, when you’re in, you’re in.

By our GUEST BLOGGER
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… that we …  may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.                                             
                                                                                                                                               Ephesians 4:14-16
God’s Word commands us to join ourselves to a local fellowship of believers, to submit ourselves to elders and to obey God’s commands to live out the Christian life in relation to one another.  God commands this for His glory, for our good, and for the effectiveness, growth and building up of His Church. 
One of the dangers of disobeying this command is a tendency to become an onlooker.  I know because I’ve done it myself.  Rather than taking my God-ordained position within the body, under the authority and care of elders, at times I have remained on the edge, looking in from the outside.  From this vantage point I have had a clear perspective from which to observe flaws and failings, theological errors and practical mistakes, the shortcomings of the people and the weaknesses of the leaders. 
By placing myself outside of the body, and beyond the authority of elders, there was nothing constructive about my observations - even when they were accurate they benefited no one, because I was not a fellow builder, merely an onlooker commenting on the weaknesses of those who were doing the work.  

John 3:19 - "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”

Why do the people we love the most seem to have the greatest ability to paralyze us with regards to speaking of the truths of the Gospel?
Words get stuck in our throat and we feel incredibly awkward.
Why is it so hard to speak to them of Jesus?
 
Well, this we know: “the Light has come into the world” (John 3:19)
Jesus is the “true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” (John 1:9) 
He is the Light, He has come into the world, every person is enlightened by this Light.
So why won’t they hear of Him?
Could it be the next verse:
John 3:20 - "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
He is the Light, and they don’t want anything to do with the Light, they shun the Light, they resist any talk of the Light.
Verse 20 says this about them: "… everyone who does evil hates the Light …”

That sounds harsh, doesn’t it?
Surely members of your family don’t actually hate the Light?
They're more ambivalent, or merely polite about it.
Well, just ask the simple question: “do they do evil?”
Sin is evil, and they do sin, right?
To sin is to break God’s commands, and they take His name vainly, they steal, they lust, they lie, they break God’s law.
Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Sin is evil, they do sin, so, yes, they do evil.
And everyone who sins i.e. does evil, hates the Light.
Sadly confirming why your dear one,
"… does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:20)
 
Scripture is accurate in describing all of us when we are still in our sin as God’s enemies:
Romans 5:10 –
“ … while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,”

Romans 5:1 makes that great declaration of peace, our VS Day (Victory over Sin) –
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
“Peace”?  Peace now, because before, I hated all that had to do with God and His Light, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
We were not at peace - when we are in Christ, that war ends, for Christ is our peace.
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This is why things get tense when you mention Jesus.
They don't want to know. 
Things were no different for Him,
"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

 I love the doctrine of God’s sovereignty.
In all things.
What peace, what confidence, what assurance.
Freed from self-reliance.
It was in exercising that sovereignty that God sent the Son into the world, “that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:17)
The sovereign God is a saving God!
That’s the big point of the Christmas story: Jesus came to save.
That’s the big point of the crucifixion story: Jesus came to save.
That’s the big point of the resurrection story: Jesus came to save.
That’s the big point of my personal story: Jesus came to save.

And that is the message of GCW.
John Harper was greatly used of God, and one of his challenges to people was, “are you saved?”
He knew Jesus came to save, so he went around asking people.
If I ask someone that question today, do they know what I mean?
Are they aware of what it means “to be saved”?
And, more importantly, are they aware that they are in urgent need to be saved, for they are facing an imminent and terrible peril (death, and judgment)?
Jesus came to save.
It is because all perish that God gave His only Son - only whoever believes in Him shall not perish.
But instead have eternal life.

All of this is called good news by Christians, which it is.
Tell the world!  Immediate rescue from certain death!  God's mercy and favour!
It’s news that the desperately needy people of Shropshire (and everywhere) need to hear.
People need to know that they are in dire spiritual danger, but they can still be saved.
"God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." (Act 17:30-31)
God sends His people with this good news.

Jesus came to save.   Are you saved?

Jesus promises,
John 14:16 - "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;”
Or, the “Comforter”.

The original word is Paraclete, literally, “called to one’s side”, “comforter”.
The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, He is to be to us all that Jesus was to His disciples.

“I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter.”
Notice, our Lord did not say “a” Comforter, not “the” Comforter”, but “another”.
Telling us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the first Paraclete, and the Holy Spirit is a second Paraclete occupying the same position as the living Jesus did.
They had Jesus with them, we have Holy Spirit with us!
He is our Paraclete, “called to my side”, “comforter”.

With Christ ascended, what would have become of these forgetful and fickle fishermen without another Paraclete?
Powerful preachers, leaders?
More likely they – and their eyewitness testimony – would have disappeared.
Any influence the Church has had, or is having, or that we Christians have comes from the abiding Presence of the Paraclete!
Thus we should treat the Holy Spirit as we would have treated our Lord had He been among us.

I was thinking this week: “Should you ever sing, “come Holy Spirit”?”
The disciples didn’t say “come Lord Jesus”.
That would have seemed silly – He was right there, they could see that.
Is the Holy Spirit any less here because my eyes do not see Him?
Hasn’t the Holy Spirit already come down from Heaven?
Romans 8:9 – “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 – “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”
He has already come down from Heaven and has never gone back again!

At the airport we leave the Arrivals hall once the flight has arrived and our beloved has joined us.
Romans 5:5 – “… the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
We need not stand around waiting.
Since He's here, within -
Galatians 5:25 – “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”