Acts 2vs14-41. Church Growing Pains. I calculated that during my seven years and eight months as pastor of Redruth Baptist Church I preached or taught at 571 meetings. Some members of the congregation were there for the majority of those messages. I sometimes wonder if they deserve long service medals. Have you noticed how sometimes the clock hardly seems to move when some people are in the pulpit? You sit down after a song and settle back into the seat with all good intentions of listening and getting what you can from the message. It is quite quiet and you hardly dare move a muscle. When your back aches, your nose itches, your eyelids droop, and your head seems to close in on you making you almost drop off to sleep, you look at the clock. Five minutes have passed. Twenty-five to go. Your back, nose, eyelids and head all complain in unison. Yet there are other times when gifted preachers are preaching and an almost accidental look at the watch shows that already nearly an hour has gone by! You, like everyone else there - and there do seem to be more than usual - have been enthralled and absorbed in the message of the Scripture and its meaning in your everyday life. What makes the difference? On the first occasion you have probably heard a pulpit-filler, while on the latter you heard a real preacher. A quick look through some of the sermons in the book of Acts will give more indications. 1. Acts 1vs15-22. Peter preaches to the assembled believers in a prayer meeting. The background of constant prayer, vs14, definitely helped. Peter linked the events of the day with Scripture. By doing this he showed them all that God was working. He ended his sermon by a call to action, vs21 and 22. The call was immediately taken up and put into practice. 2. Acts 2vs14-39. Peter preaches to the large crowd who came together in bewilderment hearing their different languages being spoken by the people in an upstairs room. This time the background was Pentecost. The preacher and his team were all filled with the Holy Spirit. He was enabling them to speak the wonders of God in this variety of languages, 2vs4 and 11. Again, Peter linked the day's happenings with Scripture. He centred on the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. He pointed out God's activity in all of this: vs22 God worked miracles through Jesus, vs24 God raised Jesus to life, vs33 God the Father gave to God the Son the promised God the Holy Spirit - and the sounds of both blowing wind and bold witness were evidences that the Almighty God was demonstrating something of Himself to those people. The fact that God was at work was both audible and visible, vs33. Peter did not make an appeal for action this time round. He did not have to. The crowd were convicted by the Spirit of God. Verse 37 says "they were cut to the heart". Three thousand voices were raised as one. They appealed to the preacher "Tell us, what shall we do?" Peter faithfully told them how to get right with this awesome God. "Repent and be baptised, receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ". The largest baptismal service ever took place immediately. If they had the same pattern in that service as we do in our baptismal services today, with a 2/3 minutes testimony by each person, it would have taken about six days! Perhaps my method is not biblical! We know about 3000 were added to the church. We don't know how many heard but responded negatively. Perhaps any who left early did so because they could not hear - after all there was no amplification available. I somehow doubt that many could walk away from God's revelation of Himself like this. 3. Acts 3vs12-26. Peter preaches next to a smaller crowd who ran to Solomon's Colonnade having heard (or seen) that the crippled beggar by the temple gate was now dancing with delight since being helped to his feet by Peter. The miracle-working preacher immediately points away from himself and to God. Vs12 and 13 "Not me, but my Master". He goes quickly from the miracle to the message of the miracle. He uses the healing as a signpost to direct people to Jesus Christ. He speaks of the cross and the empty tomb. He shows how the events fulfil God's promise of Scripture. He appeals to the crowd to "repent and turn to God", vs19. The sermon was interrupted when the temple guard arrived to arrest Peter and John. That must have destroyed any man-made atmosphere. But there was still a large response, 4vs4, which shows that true preaching depends ultimately on God's power. 4. Acts 7vs2-53. Stephen preaches a sermon before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling Council). The opportunity arose when he was charged with blasphemy, 6vs11. He spoke about the history of the Jewish nation. He knew that all his hearers would be familiar with that. He highlights what God was doing in his dealings with Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and Solomon. Some may say that Stephen was foolish in his direct application of the message. Stephen saw himself as being faithful to God. He was using his God-given grace, power and wisdom, 6vs8 and 10. Fearlessly, he bore testimony to the resistance God's people had towards God's prophets. He described the Jewish leaders as possessing the Law of God but not practising it. To say that his hearers did not receive this too well would be an understatement! In anger and unleashed hatred they killed him. Stephen's success as a preacher brought him an ugly rejection on earth but a glorious reception in heaven. 5. Acts 10vs34-43. Peter preaches to Cornelius' household in Caesarea. The meeting came about after much prayer and sincere devotion. There was an angelic call to the audience and a God-given vision for the preacher, vs3 and 17. Both Peter and Cornelius were walking in obedient faith after God. Peter's message began with his own testimony. He explained why he had come to a meeting that he wouldn't have come to a week earlier. He shows how God acted for the whole of mankind. God anointed Jesus and was with him in his doing good, vs38. God raised Jesus from the dead, vs40. God prepared witnesses to preach the message of peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, vs36 and 42. Without any warning God moved into that house and into the open hearts of the people. The large gathering, vs27, was speaking in tongues and praising God, vs46. The preacher knew when to stop. Whatever he planned was now put aside as preacher and people responded to the overwhelming presence of God. Peter sealed a commitment by ordering the Gentiles be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. When he was asked later to give a report of what had happened, he was able to, precisely, 11vs4. At every moment all through these exciting events, Peter was listening to God and learning from Him what was happening. 6. Acts 13vs16-41. Paul preaches to the assembled synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. The great missionary had a strategy of going to the synagogue wherever he was in order to meet with, and perhaps speak to, the congregation, 13vs5, 14vs1, 17vs2, 17vs10, 17vs17, 18vs4, and 19vs8. He also used other platforms to speak from such as the proconsul's home, 13vs7, the riverside place of prayer, 16vs13, the market place 17vs17, the Areopagus 17vs22 (by invitation), and the lecture hall of Tyrannus 19vs9. From this sermon in Acts 13vs16 onwards we can learn how he spoke to the Jews. (What he said did vary according to where he was and to whom he was speaking.) He did not 'compromise' or change his message. He began where his hearers would identify with what he was saying and then he led them to the cross of Jesus Christ. He focuses on what God has done in history and is doing today. Through the captivity, the Exodus, the promised land, the judges and kings, he traces God's hand. By quoting John the Baptist Paul speaks about events most of his hearers had lived through. When he speaks about Jesus Christ, no less than four times he drives home the same vital point: God raised this Jesus from the dead, vs30, 33, 34 and 37. In this sermon the application is by way of a warning. The prophets had foretold that some people would choose to scoff at, rather than submit to, this teaching. Paul lovingly says: "Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you" vs40. When God is at work the call to attend meetings comes to both the preacher, vs42 and the congregation, vs44. The results of the preaching are shown to us in verses 45, and 48-50. There was a spreading of the word of the Lord and a stirring up of persecution for the servants of the Lord. Some received the word gladly and others rejected it with hostility. The preacher had no control over either response. That was between individuals and God. 7. Acts 14vs15-17. Paul and Barnabas preach to the crowd at Lystra who are wanting to deify the evangelists after witnessing the healing of another lame man. This preaching was in immediate response to an error beginning to take hold of the people around and about. "Don't look at men look at the Maker!" See behind the events, whether supernatural or everyday, the testimony of God to Himself. 8. Acts 17vs22-31. Paul preaches to the meeting of the Areopagus in Athens. The comment of Luke in verse 21 sets the context. These were men who liked to discuss and debate, not to come to the truth and make a decision, but simply because they liked discussing and debating. This makes even more startling Paul's chosen topic: a clear declaration of the One they call the Unknown God. The Athenians were open to admitting they did not know everything. Paul seizes the opportunity and proclaims God the Creator, vs24, God the Spirit, vs24, God the Sustainor of all life, vs25, God the truly self-sufficient, vs25, God the planner of human history, vs26, God the encourager of men to worship Him, vs27, God the omnipresent, vs28, God the commander, vs30, God the Judge, vs31 and God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, vs31. The response shows that while the majority either sneered or stalled, among the minority both men and women were soundly converted. If I draw together some of the characteristics of these sermons we should get a picture of what it is to preach relevant sermons. Immerse preacher and congregation in prayer. Apply the Scripture to daily life. Analyse daily life using Scripture as the gauge. Seek the fulness of the Holy Spirit for speaker and listeners. Major on what God is doing. This needs emphasising. All good preaching is God-centred and not man-centred. The danger in starting with man's needs is that God is involved on man's terms and for man's benefit. In all of our examples the listeners are told about a God before whom they are accountable for their response to His actions. Other characteristics of relevant sermons include beginning with subjects or illustrations that are known to the people. Never be afraid to apply God's truth directly. Accept the consequences of doing so. Be ready to stop preaching when God moves in a special way. Drive the central theme of your message home repeatedly. If it takes three, four or seven direct blows to knock in the nail of truth, never mind the noise of the banging - drive it home. Always bring people to a point of action. Let no-one leave without having said 'yes' or 'no' to God. How we need God to raise up more preachers in our churches! In Acts there are at least fifty-seven references to different people preaching the message in some form. They "declared the wonders of God", 2vs11. They "never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ", 5vs42. They gave "attention to prayer and the ministry of the word", 6vs4. They "proclaimed the Christ", 8vs5. They "preached the word wherever they went", 8vs4. They "proved that Jesus is the Christ",9vs22. They told "the good news about the Lord Jesus", 11vs20. They "spoke so effectively that a great number believed",14vs1. They "taught and preached the word of the Lord", 15vs35. They "reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead", 17vs2 & 3. They "spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God", 19vs8. It is true Paul preached a rather long sermon in Troas, but even that ended with a mighty miracle that led to more preaching, see Acts 20vs7-12. In his farewell speech to the Ephesian elders, Paul sums up his own view of his preaching amongst them: "I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God"., 20vs27. His methods are shown in vs20 and 21: "I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus". Bible teaching and preaching need to be emphasised again in order to see people coming to faith. Romans 10vs17 says "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ". The local church should commission people to preach the message of Christ. This enables others to hear and to have enough faith to call on the name of the Lord and be saved, Romans 10vs13-15. Just because some church sermons are not up to the mark a certain group of people today want to relegate preaching to a back seat. The answer to boring sermons is not to ban preaching. It is to be much more selective as to who is in the pulpit. Pulpits are for preaching and therefore not for every pastor, not for every public speaker, not for every person in the church on a rota, and not for anybody who is willing to fill the empty place. There are times when an empty pulpit would speak more eloquently than a full one - but the congregations do not generally want to hear that truth! If we said 'No' to more people entering the pulpit, we may be able to say a wholehearted 'Yes' to more of what is said from that same pulpit. Let every local church recognise who has gifts to develop. Let them be like the church at Lystra that released Timothy to be schooled by Paul and Silas, who then sent him to different places with the commission to "Preach the Word", 2 Timothy 4vs2. Let every individual who feels called to preach study the progress of Timothy, which is outlined later, in chapter 17 of this book. Discussion questions Define the difference between criticism of a preacher and discerning whether God is speaking. (See Philippians 1vs9 and 10). "You will preach better with training". "You must preach the message as God gives it - you don't need to prepare". Are both these statements valid? Is there a middle line between them? Is there a way they can go together?

Contents: 1. Waiting for the 2nd Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11-14. 2. Know that the Lord Sets Apart the Godly for Himself. Psalm 4:1-8. 3. Wealth is Not Always a Blessing. 1 Timothy 6:10. 4. Too Much Training and Not Enough Trials. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. 5. Deeper Understanding comes through Darker Experiences. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. 6. The True Freedom Enjoyed by the Slave of God. Galatians 5:1. 7. Making Peace by Learning to See All Different People as God Sees Them. Matthew 5:1-16. 8. The Lord Jesus – My Saviour and My Sovereign. 2 Corinthians 11:1-4. 9. Our Lord Jesus and some of His wishes for us. Matthew’s gospel. 10. Work for Peace – from the Peace Jesus Gives. Psalm 120:1-7. 11. The Kingdom-centred Life Jesus wants for us – seeing Life as an Outstanding Loan from God. Luke 11:1-4 and 12:13-21. 12. Being Positive about Death. Ecclesiastes 6:12-7:6. 13. Genocide and the Cross. Genesis 1:26-27. 14. Fighting to Forgive. Matthew 5:38-42; 7:1. 15. Jesus makes us Different. Hebrews 10:19-25. 16. Being sure of your place in God’s plans. Jeremiah 29:4-23. 17. Bringing on Self-inflicted Suffering, from God. Psalm 38. 18. When God apparently does nothing. Psalm 35. 19. Our Citizenship is in Heaven. Philippians 3:20. 20. One Replacing Another to Restore Their Great Relationship. Romans 5. 21. Do Not Resist an Evil Person. Matthew 5:38-48. 22. Think carefully before praying these. Psalm 139. 23. Joining in with God’s Purpose. Titus 2:11-14.

Bible readings Matthew 5vs13-16; Colossians 3vs1-4; 22-25. My life alongside God's word, volume 1. In Matthew 5:13-16 our Lord Jesus says His disciples are both “salt” and “light” in the world in which they live. Jesus uses common, everyday, household items to teach a very important lesson. It is as valid today as when He spoke. A person living in a radically Christian way will be different from most of the people he or she lives amongst. Living this salt and light way, Christians can influence their country towards the values and standards of God’s kingdom. But, be warned, it is a costly way of life. Salt loses itself – its own identity – in seasoning a meal, in preserving fish, in purifying a festering wound. God wants Christians to permeate society with His sweetness and purity. Salt gets so involved in its mission that it cannot return to just being salt. It gives itself away by following it’s calling to mix. Jesus calls to us, “Follow Me”. Live this sacrificial, self-denying way. Light does not mix with darkness. One or the other will always prevail. God wants Christians to show they are His people by living “holy” lives. Holy lives radiate Christian light. God wants holy Christians to be noticed by everyone they meet – at home, at university, at work in factory or field, at community gatherings around a campfire, at church. He wants His people seen to be like Jesus in relation to their world. Light challenges darkness by its very presence. Light exposes. Light attracts. Light shows the way. Genuine Christian living will always point to our Lord Jesus. He is the only Way to God, John 14:6. Like our Lord Jesus, who lived among sinners but influenced them for good, we must do the same. Jesus never let others influence Him for bad! Jesus did not isolate Himself from sinners. He went around doing good among them for so much of His ministry it was remembered, Acts 10:38. Can we apply all of this to ourselves at any election time? I believe “Yes, we can”! One elderly English Christian has written that there are six weapons Christians have to use in bringing about social change.[1] I will expand them: Prayer – 1 Timothy 2:1-2, bowing down before God to seek His will, individually and corporately. Evangelism (and discipleship) – 1 Peter 2:11-12, producing Holy Spirit changed fruitfulness, in being socially responsible Christian citizens. Example – 1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Timothy 4:12, influencing others as each Christian takes a responsible stand for Jesus. Argument – 1 Peter 3:15-16, listening to those around and answering them in a gentle, God-honouring way. Socio-political action – John 13:12-17, serving others by being responsible citizens, exercising our democratic voice, both by voting and speaking out about current issues, always in a Christ-honouring way. Suffering – Matthew 5:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:12-13, paying the price with no complaints! Our Lord suffered to bring us salvation. We are called to follow in His steps. The way of the cross does not promise to be easy! “How is God using this upcoming election?” This is a key question that every Sudanese and South Sudanese Christian must always ask. Whenever there is a general election in the United Kingdom, where I live, I ask a similar question of myself. Keep in mind Romans 13:1-7. Human authorities are all ultimately under God’s sovereign control. I am responsible to obey the elected British government, unless they require me to do something specifically against God’s commandments. The same is true for you towards the Sudanese or the South Sudanese governments, depending where you live. When campaigning, or advising others in church and Christian Union, or voting, or receiving the results, Christians are asked by God to live Christianly. We must all be God-honouring through everything. God is working out His purposes. He is the ultimate and Sovereign power, Isaiah 46:8-10, 55:6-9. Where does real power lie? How can we be a part of it? In Colossians Paul writes to Christian slaves about how they can live Christianly in their life circumstances. “Rather than exercise revolutionary power, Christians proclaimed a transforming power. By their life and message they set a process in motion that eventually led to the abolition of slavery”.[2] Colossians 3:1-4, 22-25. We must learn to reverence God by our lives – what we do and what we say. We must see ourselves as slaves of God first. We must serve others to please Him. Then our all-powerful God will take our Christ-honouring lives and use them to bring about the changes He wants in Sudan and South Sudan. He will do it in His time – and His time is always the right time. So, during every election time, it is over to you. You are the salt of the Sudan or South Sudan, and you are the light of the Sudan or South Sudan. Make sure you live the Christ-honouring way – and watch what your God will do! Discussion questions: 1. If you don’t vote when you have the opportunity, what is that doing to your Christian salt and light? 2. What do you think is the difference between a “revolutionary” power and a “transforming” power? 3. Elections are only one day every several years. From the examples of salt and light, what are Christians to do during those years in order to make their votes count on polling day? [1] John Stott The Living Church (Inter-Varsity Press: Nottingham) p. 144-148, 2007 [2] Arthur Patzia New International Bible Commentary Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (Carlisle: Paternoster) page 92, 1995.

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. Theology is to be considered and experienced. How do we rightly think about God without breaking the second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below”. Exodus 20:4. We even think in ‘forms’ as we picture things in the imaginations of our minds. Wrong thinking could lead us into accidental idolatry! Firstly, we should think about the statements which the Bible makes about God, together with His activities which it describes. We must always use these to check against our own observations. God is the God Who speaks. What He says is written in the Bible for us to read and learn. The Bible gives us several clear models to think about when it describes God as a shepherd (Psalm 23), as a parent (Matthew 7:7-11), as light (1 John 1:5), and God as a rock (Psalm 18:1-3). The Bible also likens God to a lion, to hovering birds (Isaiah 31:4,5), and to shady protection from the heat of the sun (Psalm 91:1). Many roadside trees in Khartoum city shade seated tea sellers and drinkers. They give respite from the fierce midday sunshine. Seeing this happening every day can remind us to take daily moments of spiritual rest and refreshment. We do this by specifically turning to share our days’ events with God. Secondly, we should think about God by using the things He does that we can see. He is the mighty Creator of the wonders of our natural world. They show us something of how great He is. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands … there is no speech or language where their voice is not heard”. Psalm 19:1-3. It is the very nature of God, or essence of God, we are seeking to understand. “God is Spirit,” John 4:24. A spirit is invisible. God cannot be seen; certainly not in the way that someone could see their friend when they get on the bus and go to sit next to them. Yet God is real. We don’t pretend there is God. He is genuinely here with us. The heat of Khartoum was sometimes made more comfortable for me by a gently blowing wind. I couldn’t see the wind, but I definitely felt it. I would know the wind was there as I saw thrown away plastic bags blowing high across the sky. The fine dust carried on the wind was dumped on to the ground everywhere indoors and outside, especially during haboobs! The wind was without doubt real. I only ever saw the things the wind did. I felt what the wind caused to happen. I lived with all the results of it blowing around without ever actually seeing the wind itself. So it is with God. Thirdly, we can always think of Jesus Christ: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness”. Philippians 2:6,7. God the Son existed before becoming the baby Jesus. His first eternal form, (Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 1:1-2), took on to itself the form of a human being. He did not stop being at all what He was before, but He also became what He was not before. As the God-Man, Jesus was fully God and fully Man. The fact that we can read in the gospels about Jesus will help us think about His divine self. Jesus shows God perfectly because He is one with God essentially. When Jesus shows us God, He shows us Himself. Meditating on the life of Jesus helps us understand His human activity and points us to Who He really was, the Son of God. To know what God is like, read the story of Jesus, (John 14:9). Fourthly, we can borrow the experiences other people have had, to think about God for ourselves. I have never been to the Nuba Mountains. The closest I came was on a visit to El Obied via Kosti. My travelling friend, Pastor Nagi Konagi, originally came from near Heiban. He told me that the hills I could see in the far distance from the bus travelling along the main road, were just the small beginnings of the Nuba Mountains. I have met many people from the Nuba. I have seen pictures of the mountains, of village huts, of people hunting, of people farming and even wrestling. I have seen and heard enough evidence to convince me that the Nuba Mountains really do exist, even though I have never actually been there. The experiences of many different people can also help us to think rightly about God. Theological writings are basically collections of people’s experiences and understandings gathered over many years. I find these four ways helpful in trying to think correctly about God. Thinking it through. (a). Describe some of the ways you personally think about God. (b). For each of these ways you have mentioned, decide did you learn it from the Bible? from nature? or from another person? (c). Why is the Bible the most important resource (but not the only way) for thinking about God?

Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. (from Paul’s New Testament writings) Eschatology, in Greek ‘the last word’, is the part of theology that deals with life after death, the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, plus the final outworking of God’s plan for us and His world.[1] Here we have set limits. We are listening to what Paul says in the New Testament. We may have listened to our Lord Jesus from the four gospels, but we are not. We may have listened to what Luke reported in Acts, but we are not. We are not jumping into any human theories of God’s plan, even if they claim Bible backing. We believe there are three main parameters for Paul, inside of which his other understandings sit. 1. Wait patiently, with an eye on the heavens Read Titus 2:11-14: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good”. Let us ask ourselves what is the meaning of this text today in relation to Jesus’ 2nd coming? Our living today is to be supervised by our “waiting”, in Greek ‘looking for’. As when a wife cooks a meal for her husband’s arrival home, “hope” here means ‘confident expectation’. Titus 1:2 uses it of the basic Christian reward for faith. “Appearing” is ‘becoming shiningly visible’. The same word is used of sky-spanning “lightning” in Matthew 24:27, and, “the splendour of His coming” in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. Jesus will gloriously return to earth with a huge congregation of His people. Thinking and living Christianly is constantly training us to focus our everything on this climax of all earthly things. In Titus 2:13 our Lord Jesus is described as our ‘Megas Theos’, “our great God” and Saviour. This clearest Bible statement of His deity has been criticised, but I am convinced Paul wrote it as a conclusion to his lifelong study of Jesus’ deity. The veiled glory of His first coming at Christmas will give way to an unparalleled heavenly splendour in His 2nd coming. He will be seen to be Who He is: 24/7 and eternally God the Son. 2. Wait eagerly, with heart set on the heavens Read Philippians 3:20-21: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body”. Let’s ask ourselves what is the meaning from this text to us today? We all live on planet earth, but this is not our real home. Heaven is much, much better than Sudan, South Sudan, or the United Kingdom! “Citizenship” describes the heavenly status of believers. The same root word is used to describe the eternal living home of Christians in glory, “an eternal house in heaven built by God”, 2 Corinthians 5:1. We should all try to live where we really are. In December 2012 the church I once pastored in Khartoum became increasingly harassed by authorities. During the following months members, friends, with other non-Sudanese Christians, were asked to leave Sudan. Some were given only 48 hours to go even though they had lived there for more than 20 years. Locals were intensively questioned about what they did and their relationships with Khartoum International Church. I was in my home in England. It was hard to watch these events involving my friends, even from a safe distance. Christians are really blessed! Wherever we are on the planet, we don’t actually live there. Focussed on our home in heaven we “eagerly await” to be taken there. We wait expectantly. The NIV word “eagerly” means ‘impatiently desiring’. Please do not become too attached to life here. That is a worldly attitude. A “Saviour”, a deliverer, a keeper is the One “we … await”. Philippians 1:1 tells us the “we” is “all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi”. Our Lord Jesus Christ will ‘rescue, preserve, deliver’ us from this sinful environment where we find ourselves and into God’s holy heavenly presence. We will be at home with God in God’s home. And it is our home too. We will be “transformed”. Our Lord Jesus will do it. It is not up to us. From our perspective this is a passive word. To “transform” is to ‘radically alter’. The Greek text order of Philippians 3:21 is: ‘Will transform body of humiliation our, for it to become conformed to body of His glory, according to the working of His power”. In heaven’s home there will be no more downward pull to sin. No more failing physical or spiritual strength. When we use earthly words to describe heavenly things, remember, there is always more than we can express at the moment. 3. Wait longingly, with no treasures on earth Read the end of 1 Corinthians 16:22: “Come, Lord” “Maranatha” – an Aramaic expression used by early Christians. Suffering Christians, persecuted Christians, older and sick Christians, those who have a deep and daily walk with God, will often have a more intense desire for their Lord Jesus’ Christ’s return. What differences would it make for your life if it was positively announced this week in your church notices, “The Lord Jesus will return this Tuesday at midday”? “The degree we long for Christ’s return is a measure of our spiritual condition”.[2] The whole of 1 Corinthians 16:22 sums up the Christian message: “If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord”. We must be serious. Jesus is coming back. Judgement Day, when Jesus returns is either ‘anothema’ ‘the curse’ or ‘maranatha’. Those who have ‘chosen by default’ will meet the Lord Jesus as their Judge. True Christians will meet Him as our Saviour. When the verse was written Christians were being persecuted by Rome and Jerusalem. Part of their response was ‘maranatha’. ‘Hold on, be brave, the Lord is coming’. Paul had had enough hostility in his earthly life. He did not want to prolong it unnecessarily. He also wrote: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!”, Philippians 1:21-22. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. We should leave timetabling to God on when our Lord Jesus will return. “Paul’s cry of ‘Marantha: Come, Lord’ reminds us of how much our world, even our Christian world, lives in the present without longing for the age to come”.[3] Other Pauline references to think carefully about: 1 Corinthians 1:7-8, “Eagerly await for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed … keep … blameless on the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Live every second in the light of this. 1 Corinthians 4:5, “Wait until the Lord comes … At that time each will receive his praise from God”. Who do you work for? 1 Corinthians 11:26, “Whenever … you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes”. The Lord’s Supper is itself a practice with a promise that preaches. 1 Corinthians 15:22-24, “So in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn … Christ the firstfruits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power”. ‘The end’ is what today’s life is all about. It is the ultimate objective. God’s purpose will be fulfilled. Philippians 1:10-11, “You may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until that day of Christ, … to the glory and praise of God”. Others powers have temporary ‘power’. Our Lord Jesus is ready for the Day. Colossians 3:4, “When Christ, Who is your life, appears, then you will appear with Him in glory”. Therefore today we must set our minds on the real things above. Generally boats anchor by throwing their line into the water and mud below. For us Christians our anchor is above. Look up and reach up. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, “To wait for His Son from heaven”. 1 Thessalonians 2:19, “What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you?” Make sure you are present in His presence, with as many others as you can. 1 Thessalonians 3:13, “May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones”. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. Notice the nine things I have put into italics in this text: “According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words”. When people ask you, “How are you?”, a Christian answer could be, “I’m listening for the shout!” When you say this it may well open a witnessing opportunity with your non-Christian friends. The text almost finishes with (in English) ten ultimate words, “And so we will be with the Lord for ever”, verse 17. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night”. Our Lord Jesus’ coming is expected but at the same time it is not expected. For many this will be discovered too late and be quietly devastating. Today is the day to be saved by the Saviour Jesus Christ, Son of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One Who calls you is faithful, and He will do it”. To be blameless is to be free from the responsibility of wrong. Jesus is the complete Saviour! 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to those of you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels”. Here we have a glimpse into the character of God and His action on what He knows is unjust suffering. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us – whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter – asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God”. Beware of tricks, lies, frauds and cheating. Do not believe anything that may be untrue. Do not even deceive yourself by believing things you would like to believe to be true, because it would suit you if they are.[4] 2 Thessalonians 2:8, “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendour of His coming”. Our Lord’s return will be imposing in magnificence, brilliance and illustriousness. No cheap imitations must be accepted even if they suit your pocket more. 1 Timothy 6:13-16, “In the sight of God, Who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, Who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Who alone is immortal and Who lives in unapproachable light, Whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honour and might for ever. Amen”. Our Lord Jesus is about to move into a position where we can see Him as He actually is. Are you excited? You should be. 2 Timothy 4:1-2, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction”. In 2 Timothy, Paul’s last written letter, he was anticipating the appearance of his Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. The English word carries the meaning of arriving unexpectedly somewhere. Paul was definitely expecting Jesus. Why? Read on. 2 Timothy 4:8, Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing”. This “is a crown of mercy – a crown which free grace bestows”, “a crown bought with the price of blood”.[5] When you crown your career with a success, you have done something greater than anything else in your life. Born again Christian, our Lord Jesus has a crown just the right size for you. It is ready for Him to officially welcome you into heaven at His chosen time. Keep this always in your mind and heart. Discussion guide 1. Describe briefly teaching you have heard about our Lord’s 2nd coming? Give a Bible reference if you can. 2. Is it better for a Christian to keep the 2nd coming of Jesus ‘at the back of his mind’ or ‘at the front of her mind’. Why? How will it affect living behaviour? Support your answer from Scriptures in this chapter. 3. I write in this chapter, “We should all try to live where we really are”. Give several practical examples of how Christians can do this. 4. How does anyone ‘choose to meet the Lord Jesus as their Judge’? 5. Choose one of the 18 “other Pauline references” I quote to be your favourite to keep in mind as you wait patiently, eagerly and longingly for your Saviour’s return. If you have time, share with the group why you made this choice. End notes: [1] Dictionary of Theological Terms: EMIS, 2003. [2] Wayne Grudem Systematic Theology, p.1093. [3] Craig L. Bloomberg NIV Application Commentary 1 Corinthians (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI) 1994, p.344. [4] See “deceive” also in Matthew 24:4,24; 1 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 2:4; 1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 3:13; James 1:22, 26; 1 John 1:8; 2 John 1:7. [5] Thomas Watson, May 1st 1656 at the funeral of Thomas Hodges. www.gracegems.org/Watson/crown_of_righteousness.htm .

with special reference (though not exclusive) to Sudan and South Sudan. Contents: 1. Introduction – Elisama Daniel Wani 2. When Citizen’s Groan – Alex Bolek Abuk 3. Leadership and Nation-building as portrayed in the book of Judges – Caesar Drasi Bua 4. Integrity in Secular Leadership and in Christian Leadership – David Fugoyo-Baime 5. Integrity and Nation-building – Madut Tong Ngor 6. Keeping Christian Testimony while in Secular Roles – James Dema Marchello 7. Biblical and Practical Integrity in National and local Church Leadership: Jesus’ Style of Leadership – David Mamush Jangjual 8. Sheep and their Shepherds – Amoko Fodomula Laku 9. Biblical Leadership in Nation-building – Kur Deng Anguie Kur 10. Seven Qualities of God-Chosen Leaders – Alek Bolek Abuk 11. Dare to be Like Daniel! – Joseph Noel Sati 12. The Leaders People are Expecting – Amoko Fodomula Laku 13. Integrity – Mama Brenda Salter 14. Christian Leaders and their Role in Wider Society – David Mamush Jangjual 15. Thoughts on Independence – Colin Salter 16. Increasing a Leader’s Power in an Organisation or a Nation – Amoko Fodomula Laku 17. Preparing the Church in our Country for our Country – Kot Bol Kot 18. Political Characters in the Sight of Our Lord – Colin Salter 19. Are “All Authorities … Established by God”? – Colin Salter 20. Who Really Rules the Nations? – David Mamush Jangjual

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. Theology is to be considered and experienced. I have found the following exercise helpful using my Bible. Read a chosen section quietly and carefully. Underline every word that describes God, or every phrase that teaches something about God. After finishing the reading, copy a list of all the different underlined words on to a sheet of paper. The result is the beginning of a theology: a study of the existence and nature of God. For example, doing this with Genesis 1:1-2:3 (NIV text) would produce a list like something like this: “God created, the Spirit of God, God said, God saw, God separated, God called, God made, God blessed, God rested, God made holy”. A little more thinking may add still more to that list, from the same verses. These are not specific words about God but ideas about Him implied by what the Bible says: ‘God has no beginning, He was already there’, verse 1. ‘God judges between what is good and what is bad’, verse 4. ‘God sets specific purposes for certain things He makes’, verse 14. ‘God wants things to happen’, verse 22. ‘God speaks to Himself within Himself’, verse 26. ‘God gave mankind a special role in His creation’, verse 28. An exercise like this can be done with any part of Scripture. It should always be remembered that the result is only a part of what the Bible says God is like. Until you have done it with the whole Bible you will not have a complete picture. Thinking it through. Amongst otherBible passages for this exercise, try: Psalm 145:1-21 Isaiah 55:1-13 John 17:1-26 Ephesians 1:1-22

Acts 3vs1-26; 4vs1-4. Church Growing Pains. Christians in a small church often say: "If only we had the resources of a large congregation, more suitable premises, a greater workforce and a stronger financial base, we would be able to be much more effective in our witness." Strangely, I've sometimes heard Christians in larger fellowships seeking almost the reverse! More people in a church means more demands on the ministry in terms of money and manpower, and it gives greater scope for the devil to get a foothold and create time consuming problems. I cannot think of a single incident in Acts when the newly-born church prayed that God would provide the resources before they embarked on witness. It was as they did the things God was telling them to do, that He provided all they needed. Surely this was the practical outworking of the promise Jesus had given, Acts 1vs8, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." God the Holy Spirit prompted some people to go as missionary evangelists, Acts 16vs9-12. He also nudged others to provide financially for the team, Philippians 4vs15 and 16. The Holy Spirit burdened still more Christians to wrestle in prayer for the expanding ministry, Colossians 4vs12, and to send encouraging messengers back and forth between the team and supporting churches, Philippians 2vs25-30. The Christians, and the churches, that took God at His word, clearly showed that God was in their activities. They could not have done what they did if God was not demonstrating His own power. Perhaps those of us in small fellowships ought to meditate on Paul's words: "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong", 2 Corinthians 12vs10. Our inability is God's opportunity. Our acknowledged impotence is a prerequisite to an exhibition of God's never-failing supply. As we take steps of faith we prepare the ignition switch for God's power. In Acts 3 Peter and John had an unplanned encounter that visibly shook the people of Jerusalem. From this story it can be seen immediately that the basis for any similar work of God is prayer. If Peter and John had not been going to pray at the temple then this miracle would never have happened. It was as they went to pray that they encountered the particular man whose need God was about to meet. God brought Peter and John into contact with this man for a purpose. He does nothing at all by accident. The man was at his place of need. He knew his own charity collecting was quite successful by the temple and so friends carried him there everyday. I am reminded of this story every time I see the lame, blind and otherwise disadvantaged beggars in Khartoum Bari, Sudan. They are brought to sit daily outside the mosques and along the walls of the church compounds. This was probably the lame man's only source of income. Presumably, Peter and John must have seen this man before, but today was going to be different. God had something special in mind and only He knew it. The Christians did not know it and neither did the lame man. God made sure the right people were in the right place at the right time. We need to believe He is constantly at work in and around us preparing our circumstances. It is sad to see that this lame man did not expect very much from religious people. He begged for money because he knew he would receive some. He did not ask for anything more. I wonder what people around us see in our lives that would make them expect a miracle? Perhaps our community expects very little from the church, because the church expects very little from God. What kind of advertisements are we for the living, triumphant, more than capable, Jesus Christ? Peter allowed God to speak to him as he looked at the needy man. He stopped what he was going to do. He thought about the condition of the lame man, and the money that was being sought. He knew that money would be at best a temporary solution. The need would reappear when the money was spent. I am sure Peter also recalled many of the miracles he had witnessed while following the Lord Jesus on his travelling ministry. He knew that Jesus healed people. He remembered the events of Luke 5vs17-26 when a paralysed man was lowered through a hole in the roof by friends who wanted him to be able to lie at the feet of Jesus Christ. The Lord had demonstrated his authority over sin and sickness when he had said to the man "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." "Jesus still had the same authority now", Peter reasoned. "He could do it, but would He?" Peter had to step out in faith. He was going into the realm of the unknown. He was entering an area beyond his own control. He was applying the Jesus Christ he knew to a need that he saw. Acts 3vs6 "Then Peter said, 'Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.'" To name the name of Jesus Christ was to claim His presence. Peter admitted he could not meet the need himself, but he knew Someone who could. Publicly, courageously and in incontrovertible faith, Peter and John risked looking foolish or being ridiculed as failures. They demonstrated Christ's power in the complete healing of the man from every trace of weakness, stiffness and being lame. Peter's words led him into action himself. He told the man to walk and then immediately helped him up on to his feet. Both Peter and the once-lame man were walking by faith. The presence of John in a supporting role encouraged Peter in his boldness. There are three simple facts in this historical event. Firstly, a lame man was lifted on to his feet. His need was totally met. He could not only walk, but jump as well. Secondly, a man with faith in Jesus Christ showed the truth of the words he spoke. A living visual aid could not be disputed. Thirdly, the people who were watching were made to think about God. They knew the beggar by the Beautiful Gate and they had never seen him do what he was doing now. The crowd gathered hardly able to believe the transformation their eyes could see. How did Peter resource this miracle? He said "What I have I give you", vs6. This is the secret of demonstrating Christ's power. Jesus Christ commenced His work when He was living with His disciples and He now continues His work by living through those same people. Today Jesus Christ lives through individuals and fellowships who:- 1. actively pray, vs1. 2. listen to the expressed needs of people around them, vs3. 3. attract attention by becoming involved with them, vs4, 5. 4. invite Jesus Christ to live in their situation, vs6. 5. encourage the needy to act on the basis of faith, vs 7, 8. 6. clearly state that all appreciation should go to Jesus Christ, vs12 and 16. We have all the resources we need to do everything God is calling us to do. As we obey His commands He supplies all that we need. When my wife, Brenda, and I resigned from the pastorate of Redruth Baptist Church, we also left behind a modest, but regular, monthly salary. We believed God was calling us to a wider ministry, largely in the county of Cornwall, but embracing some overseas responsibilities too. We did not know how God would provide for our financial needs or where ministry invitations would come from. We did believe that God would meet every need according to the inexhaustible ability of Jesus Christ. And He has! We have learned the secret of being content in times of want as well as in times of plenty. "To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Philippians 4vs20. To us, and to those close to us, this is another way in which Christ has shown His power. In three years of national recession, employment uncertainties and economic difficulties our God has proven worthy of implicit trust. He always will. In the second half of Acts chapter 3 and on into chapter 4 we can read how Peter used the opportunity of an assembled crowd to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Peter used the opportunity, so God used Peter. This is genuine Christian witness. The believers shared what they knew with people who needed to know it. They gave what they had to people who needed to receive it. And several hundred men became Christians through what they saw and heard, Acts 4vs4. The crowd on the day of Pentecost gathered because of what they heard, Acts 2vs6. They were attracted by things they could "see and hear", 2vs33. As Christianity touched more and more people the apostles worked "miraculous signs", 2vs43. The Greek word 'semeion' is also used elsewhere of a personal authenticating autograph!, 2 Thessalonians 3vs17. This was Jesus Christ pointing to the reality and relevance of Himself through their activities. We need to be very careful at this point. Not all miracles come from God. Not all who claim to work miracles, even in Jesus' name, have His signature on their ministries. See Matthew 7vs15-23. As a general guide we can discern God's workmanship by looking at a person's everyday lifestyle and conformity to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ never drew attention to His miracles (with the possible exception of John 14vs11, when He used them as a second-best evidence as to who He was). We have noted the crowd gathered around Peter and John in Acts 3vs9 and 10 when they "saw" a walking lame beggar. The Jewish rulers who were threatened by the early Christians' activities were impressed when they "saw" the courage with which Peter and John stood their ground in a hostile interrogation, 4vs13 and 14. It is not unreasonable to infer that the people around the Jerusalem church heard the bold preaching, 4vs31, and saw that "there were no needy persons among" that Christian community as their love for Christ loosed their hold on material possessions, 4vs34 and 35. News travelled very fast when Ananias and Sapphira were taken out of the church by God for lying to the Holy Spirit. Little wonder that "fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events", 5vs5 and 11. More "miraculous signs and wonders" demonstrated the living presence of Jesus Christ, this time "among the people, 5vs12. The Christians could be seen meeting together regularly, 5vs12 and 42, and people would have heard about the incredible healings being witnessed even if they had not been personally involved, 5vs15-16. Neighbours and friends would also have known about the great (Greek: mega) persecution that resulted in many Christians fleeing for their lives or being arrested and jailed because of their beliefs, 8vs1-3. If they were not eye-witnesses they at least knew people who knew of someone mysteriously missing from their street. In Samaria, as Philip proclaimed Christ, "when the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said", 8vs6. Simon the sorcerer "saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles hands, ..." 8vs18. I wonder what went through people's minds when they tried to understand what had happened to Saul of Tarsus? After weeks of dreadfully harassing Christians, 9vs1, he appears in Damascus a changed man preaching the very gospel he had so vehemently opposed. "All those who heard him were astonished and asked, 'Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?'" 9vs21. At Lydda, God used Peter to heal the paralytic Aeneas. "All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord" 9vs35. The even greater miracle of Dorcas being raised from the dead "became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord," 9vs42. The proconsul of Cyprus, Sergius Paulus, saw his attendant Elymas the sorcerer struck blind. He also heard the word of God through Barnabas and Saul. He became a believer on the evidence of what he both saw and heard, 13vs6-12. What do people see and hear from the Christian church today? They see odd buildings, often inadequately maintained, with sub-modern day standards of lighting, heating and plumbing. However it does not matter much to them because the churches are closed and shuttered for at least eighty per cent of the week anyway. Should folk happen to attend a service they hear quaint music that doesn't quite fit into a commercial Radio 1, 2 or 3 listening pattern. They are given several books to look at that are dog-eared and contain a language they had gratefully left behind with Shakespeare at school. They may see an effeminately dressed man at the front. They see sombre looking people even at their places of work, where the Christians have a deserved reputation for being those who don't join in with anything because they are too busy with church activities (an apparent contradiction in terms!), or because they don't approve of them in any case. The outsiders see and hear Christians in sincere evangelistic enterprise sometimes doing the world's things not quite as well as the world does them, and yet saying this is because of Jesus Christ and the difference He makes! When will we learn? In Acts 19 the Bible records what happened when Paul arrived in Ephesus. After two years of evangelising, with some conversions, the Ephesian Chamber of Commerce decide to oppose him. Some of their businesses, built on a basis of false worship, were being severely hit as people were born again. They stirred up mob riots to threaten Paul and the little church, complaining that their city culture and traditions were being undermined. The goddess Artemis was their pride and joy, as well as a good source of income! Confusion and uproar ensued. Later on, when Paul wrote back to those Christians from a prison cell, he prayed a prayer that should inspire anyone who wants to see God's power tangibly demonstrated in their fellowship. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen", Ephesians 3vs20 and 21. When there are just one or two people who will be available for God to do His work in a place, He will always work through them. The success of their ministry depends simply on their own availability. God's ability is never in question. Ever since He made everything out of nothing at the creation of the world, God has been pleased to partner those who are ready to help Him express Himself to those who don't yet know Him. Discussion questions What things does the community expect from "religious" people? What do you hope to show the community? Be specific rather than general. What requirements are there for demonstrating Christ's power?

Bible reading 1 Timothy 6vs1-19. My life (put) alongside God's word, volume 1. 1 Timothy 6:6, quoted above, gives Christians a terrific opportunity to live differently from everyone else who lives around and about us. Cattle raiders will steal to get more livestock. Animal herdsmen may fight to secure the best grazing land. Villagers can dispute ownership of fields and tukals, sometimes resorting to violence when proper procedures are exhausted. Students may be tempted to plagiarise and cheat when they know their results mean they will fail exams. In our cities and on the media, materialism and advertising try to persuade us to want more and more “things”. If we listen to fashion we may easily become dissatisfied with the things we have because we are told we “need” the latest, from mobile phones through shoes, to glasses and kitchen appliances. Corporately we can become annoyed because we do not have a hospital, a school or a good link road for our area. Perhaps political promises are broken. We respond by demanding “our rights” in a very unchristian way. Should Christians be the same as everyone else? Or should Christians see an opportunity to witness to the fact we do not live only for this world, but much more for the next? We are always free not to join in. 1 Timothy 6 begins by saying, “All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered”, v1. I suggest this means for Christians today that, although we may not be “slaves” as Paul knew them in his time, (some will be), our response to situations where we are not free to change things by ourselves, should be a response which honours our God and which helps outsiders to see this for themselves. We do not have to go along with shameful and violent opposition. We can rightly use any legitimate means to state our case and to push for change, but we must urge restraint, and say, “No. I will not do that. I will not get involved. I will not be carried along with the many”, when any movement gets out of hand. We should follow godly teaching and not be swept along by false teaching, however popular that false teaching is, 1 Timothy 6:3 We should live in godly contentment and not be greedy always for more. We must realise honesty is the only policy for the Christian, 6:6 We must be “men and women of God” – in whom people can see the characteristics of our Heavenly Father working in our lives, 6:11 We must always live knowing we are “in the sight of God”. Even if no one else is watching, our God is. Darkness is no defence against Him, 6:13 We must wait patiently for the right time “which God will bring about in His own time”. Waiting is often the mark of a trusting Christian, 6:14-15 We can “put our hope in God” and in God alone, from day to day, from situation to situation, from opportunity to opportunity, 6:17. In this way we can live what is called, “Life that is truly life”, 6:19. Since Christians believe in the God Who is “the only Ruler, the King of kings and the Lord of lords”, 6:15, it is not at all right that we take matters into our own hands and try to seize what we want in our own way. God loves all the other people as much as He loves us! Never treat them as if they are unimportant! It is a wonderful Christian witness when Christians genuinely say, “We have shared our views, now we will wait for God to bring them about in His own time”. We can pray, being confidently content that our Heavenly Father Who knows what is best for His children, will work everything together for our good, since we love (and have honoured) Him. Romans 8:28, 1 Samuel 2:30. “Godliness with contentment is great gain”. “The piety that greedy people exploit because of their insatiable desire for money could have brought them contentment. They fail to rejoice in the fact that they have the necessities of life: food, clothing and (we may add) shelter, 6:8. When saying this, Paul is not implying that believers should remain poor. Rather, he is pointing out that those who are content with what they have are happier than those who are never satisfied, 6:9-10”. [1] Discussion questions: 1. What is the opposite of being “content”? My dictionary defines “content” as “being happy and satisfied with life and situations”. 2. “Greed” is “a strong wish to have more money, possessions or power than you need”. Look up Luke 12:15, Romans 1:28-29, Ephesians 5:3-5, Colossians 3:5-6, 1 Peter 5:2-3. What must our attitude be towards “greed”? Why? [1] Solomon Andria, Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi: Word Alive Publishers) 2006, p.1476. Italics added by me.

Acts4:1-31; 5:1-11; 6:1-7. Church Growing Pains. According to the dictionary, to oppose means 'to resist, to strive to defeat, to argue against or to be an obstacle to'. The Greek word 'antithesis' is used by Paul in his letter to Timothy. He warns the young church leader "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you", 1 Timothy 6vs20 and 21. He is saying 'Be prepared for opposition to your work. It has sidetracked others and will try to sidetrack you'. In 2 Timothy 2vs24-26 he encourages Timothy to press on: "And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." It is much easier said than done to gently instruct those who oppose you! In Falmouth Bay there are frequently several ships anchored and waiting to use the docks. The anchor allows them the freedom to drift with the tide and wind. Although basically in the same place the ships face in different directions at different times. When called into port, the engines are started and the bow set on the course for the short journey. It may be against the prevailing conditions of sea and weather, but the captain knows he has to plough through them to progress and to meet his goal. Similarly, a church that has been marking time and little more can swing about sufficiently to keep most of its members happy with its general tenure. But once that church embarks on a mission, to move forward with God into unfamiliar territory, a variety of opponents will be revealed who will do their very best to take the church in another direction or to maintain the status quo. There are many examples of opposition to God's work recorded for us in the book of Acts. In chapter 4 Peter and John were arrested and questioned by the religious authorities of the day. The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection and were adamantly against the apostles' emphasis that God raised Jesus from the dead. In Acts 5 God's work was opposed by a husband and wife who made out they were totally committed to community sharing but in reality they were holding back. It was like a cancer attacking from within rather than an open bombardment from outside, but it was opposition nonetheless because, unchecked, it could have brought God's work into disrepute. In Acts 6 complaints about unfairness were the next obstacles the church had to overcome. Perhaps a lack of efficient administration and supervision were contributing factors. In the second half of the chapter Stephen is having to face false accusations from religious people who had been stung by the truth he preached. By the end of chapter 7 this had intensified and led to the first Christian martyrdom - yet this apparent reversal for the church had planted the seeds for still greater growth through Saul of Tarsus. His aggravating persecution of Christians was violent and bloody. The phrase in Acts 8vs3 "But Saul began to destroy the church" is explained by the various translations: "made havoc of the church" Authorised Version, "laid waste the church" Revised Standard Version, "harassed the church bitterly" J.B. Philips, and in the Living Bible "Paul was like a wild man, going everywhere to devastate the believers, even entering private homes and dragging out men and women alike and jailing them." No wonder the believers found it hard to accept his conversion in chapter 9! By 9vs23, 24 and 29 the hunter has himself become the hunted. I wonder if we really would like to have lived in the New Testament church? I have been alongside Christian converts in the Islamic Republic of Sudan and have experienced with them their job losses, home evictions and life threats. Some of them have been like Paul on both sides of the religious fence at different times. Those who oppose us in this way I am sure we are not called to "gently instruct", but Jesus Christ does tell us to "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you", Matthew 5vs44. Paul wrote "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse", Romans 12vs14. The Greek for 'bless' literally means ' to speak well of'. As Stephen gave up his life, he had prayed blessing on his executioners. I wonder if Paul could ever get those words of Acts 7vs60 out of his mind? I am sure Stephen prayed that those who now wanted to kill him would soon have the same life-transforming experience of Jesus Christ that he had. The next opposition to God's work of church growth comes from fellow believers in Acts 11vs2. Peter had obeyed God in going to the Gentile household of Cornelius. Those believers who had a cut and dried, black and white, theologically sound list of do's and don'ts, criticised Peter for 'doing a don't'! They distanced themselves from what he had done and passed judgement on him for being so wrong. Through his response, 11vs4, Peter shows us how to "gently instruct" our opponents. "Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened." He was patient in that it took his time, but he gladly gave it. He was personal in that he spoke face to face with those initiating the controversy. He was also accurate with his testimony, neither covering up incriminating evidence nor embellishing it to suit his own view. Because Peter himself had concluded it was God's leading through the vision, he trusted God and respected his fellow believers sufficiently to let the facts speak for themselves. It was the right thing to do, 11vs18. In the next few chapters the church encounters continuing opposition from outside its own ranks. There is martyrdom and imprisonment, Acts 12vs1-4; a plot to stone the evangelists 14vs5 and 6; and an actual attempt to do so in 14vs19. There were more false accusations and beatings in 21vs27-36. Consistently the religious people were jealous of the influence of evangelical Christians and they tried to incite riots at Pisidian Antioch 13vs45, 50; Iconium 14vs2; Lystra 14vs19; Thessalonica 17vs5-9; Berea 17vs13; Corinth 18vs6; and Ephesus 19vs9. The phrases used to describe their methods may ring bells in our minds today. The opposition "talked abusively against what Paul was saying". They "stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas". They "poisoned their minds against the brothers". They "won the crowd over". They "formed a mob and started a riot in the city". They "agitated the crowds", "became abusive" and "publicly maligned the Way". How hard it is for us to react in the way Jesus Christ urged us to in His Sermon on the Mount. It must be possible though, because God never calls us to do anything without enabling us to do it. So when we encounter stiff opposition that hurts us in our attempts to follow God's will remember, "Blessed are you when people insult you, and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you", Matthew 5vs11 and 12. I can find three other types of opposition in Acts. On the island of Cyprus a spiritualist false prophet called Elymas deliberately tried to stop the proconsul Sergius Paulus from being converted, Acts 13vs6-12. His spiritual blindness was visibly demonstrated by physical blindness at Paul's words, vs11. The sorcerer's deceit and trickery were no match for the man of God walking in the Holy Spirit on the Great Commission. At Philippi a young fortune teller whose evil spirit recognised Paul and Silas as "servants of the Most High God" was released "in the name of Jesus Christ", Acts 16vs16-18. The ensuing clash with the business people who had lost a valuable source of revenue actually appeared to end in disaster. The apostles were imprisoned. But there was a reason God allowed their loss of freedom. It was to demonstrate His own sovereign power to the Philippian jailer and his household who had an encounter with the truth they probably would not have had any other way. God's work will always be done God's way. A similar confrontation in Ephesus with the silversmith Demetrius contributed to the formation of a church that knew "every spiritual blessing in Christ", Ephesians 1vs3; Acts 19vs23-41. No spiritual force on earth or in heaven is able to permanently withstand the Christian church as she goes on the offensive in the name of her Lord and Master Jesus Christ. In Lystra, Acts 14vs11-13, the people were so impressed by the miraculous healing of a lame man that they tried to deify Paul and Barnabas. It is a subtle attack of the enemy to try and make the success of a mission into the failure of the missionary. Paul and Barnabas kept their feet firmly on the spiritual ground by insisting on their own humanity. Anything of value done through them was the activity of Almighty God who would use people that turned away from idols and acknowledged Him alone as the Creator and keeper of all things. While considering opposition we must not pass over the doctrinal dispute resolved by the Council at Jerusalem in Acts 15. We will look at it in more detail in chapter 15, "sorting out tradition". The opposition to the growing church came in the form of making additions to the Christian gospel. The Jewish rite of circumcision was essential for salvation according to these protagonists who were attempting to influence the whole of God's work from Jerusalem. This implied that Jesus Christ's death and resurrection were insufficient for the salvation of any human being. To their credit the church leaders convened a Council to consider the issue in its entirety. They heard testimony of what God had been doing, they considered the Scriptural injunctions. Finally they clearly communicated with all the involved parties their collective ruling, using both a written document and respected Christian men who could explain it and answer questions. There will always be opposition to any work of God. The devil will always try to destroy the work, and he frequently uses deceit as one of his ploys. In over twenty years of Christian ministry in England I have experienced more difficulty from within church ranks than from outside. One church minister closed his churches to me because I preached too much about being born again. Some church members, sincerely longing for church growth, would not change from their traditional service times and forms. They wanted a revival within their old system and not simply revival from God at any cost. I have known lonely times when God-given vision has been frustrated by lack of faith. I have experienced being squeezed out of decision-making by false accusations. I have been misquoted, misunderstood and misrepresented, as I suspect many Christian leaders are from time to time. I am pleased to say there have been times when godly friends around me have rescued me from wandering into the devil's traps. No human being is infallible nor incapable of making mistakes. We can all listen to and learn from criticism. It may be God's way of speaking to us. Paul urged the Galatians: "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you may also be tempted", Galatians 6vs1. If we lead a Christian group and never accept criticism we will soon find ourselves leading a cult. We must remain permanently open to rebuke, correction and direction from God's word and God's people. Yet, at the same time, we must learn to overcome the opposition that is derived from the evil one and his hosts. Faith is the shield which extinguishes every single one of his flaming arrows. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is often easier to retaliate ourselves than to wait for God to exact justice in His own time, but true church leaders are gentle rather than violent or quarrelsome, 1 Timothy 3vs3, In the three initial examples of opposition in Acts, the church's reaction gives us guidelines to follow ourselves. After the threats of the Sanhedrin, the early church prayed unitedly "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus", Acts 4vs29 and 30. A fresh infilling with the Holy Spirit was God's immediate answer. When Ananias and Sapphira deceived the church with their hypocritical involvement in financial sharing God revealed instant judgement which brought a very healthy fear of God on the rest of the church and community, Acts 5vs11. Peter's God-given discernment was the trigger for these events. Then, when he and the other apostles found themselves in danger of neglecting their priorities of prayer and preaching by becoming absorbed in administration, they involved the entire church in developing a practical solution worked out by spirit-filled men to facilitate the excellent and necessary practical caring ministries of the church. God honoured their stand by giving growth and blessing. Suffering is not a sign of failure. "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name", Acts 5vs41. Paul was warned before his ministry had even started that he would suffer in carrying it out. The Lord told his nurture-group counsellor Ananias "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name", Acts 9vs16. Paul writes a list of them in 2 Corinthians 11vs23-33. Verse 30 says "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness" and in 2 Corinthians 12vs9 he quotes the Lord's words to him when he wanted to be delivered from the suffering, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me." We will be mature in our Christian attitude to opposition when we can genuinely agree with Paul in verse 10. "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong". To take pleasure in everything God allows to happen, while continuing to work out His will, is Christian worship at its highest level. Discussion questions Share how you define opposition - in your personal Christian walk - in the life of your fellowship How can outright opposition be recognised? How can subtle opposition be recognised? Work out together a plan of Christlike thinking for facing opposition.

Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. Bible reading Psalm 4:1-8 (all). I am not a Hebrew/Greek language scholar but I do use good language dictionaries in preparing Bible teaching. I am very respectful of language developers and Bible translators. It is of vital importance that God’s word is heard clearly in as many local ‘heart-tongues’ as are needed. If God calls you to that life changing and society transforming work, please don’t disobey Him! It is a foundational ministry, affecting people groups for many generations to come. Psalm 4:3 is openly instructive simply by comparing several English versions of Scripture, where qualified translators have opted to use different words (which I have put in italics) to capture and express the meaning of the Hebrew original: “But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself [and dealt wonderfully with] the godly man [the one of honourable character and moral courage—the one who does right]. The Lord hears and responds when I call to Him”. (italics mine for emphasis, in all references), Amplified Bible. “Know this: the Lord takes personal care of the faithful. The Lord will hear me when I cry out to Him”. Common English Bible. “Remember that the Lord has chosen the righteous for His own, and He hears me when I call to Him”. Good News Translation. “You know that the Lord has chosen for Himself those who are loyal to Him. The Lord listens when I pray to Him”. International Children’s Bible. Since 1975 when the New International Version was first published, and when I was pastoring my first local church, I have mainly used it for study, preaching and devotional reading. I deliberately put this restriction on myself so that I would memorise Scripture more easily, something the Bible itself encourages us to do. You may not always have good enough eyesight to read! Constantly reading, thinking about and speaking the same wording is an invaluable aid, helping to hide God’s lifestyle and behaviour changing words in our hearts, see Psalms 1:1-3; 37:30-31; 119:11. Psalm 4:3 in my NIV reads: “Know that the Lord has set apart His faithful servant for Himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him”. I confess I still recite it best from the Bible I used before 1975: “But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto Him”.[1] “The godly” person” is described by compilation as someone “of honourable character and moral courage; one who does right; the faithful; the righteous; loyal to Him (God); the faithful servant”. When I read that God sets apart such people for Himself I am immediately challenged. Am I the kind of person God wants to be a Special Friend with? I recently read a sermon by English preacher Charles Spurgeon on this verse. God used it to impress on me that writing down the messages He gives to me and producing them in book form (plus electronically these days) preachers can minister to many people generations after they themselves will have died. About 140 years after Spurgeon preached it in London, I read his sermon in my personal quiet time, and God touched my heart so that I could write and – hopefully – touch yours by the Holy Spirit. Nobody knows better than God what godliness is! Let Him share with you about your life with Him. 1. A godly Christian is God-fearing, with Holy Spirit led religious behaviour, piously and devoutly living according to the biblical moral code of revealed thought and conduct for a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2. A godly Christian is God-trusting, believing that God will look after all things for you as you do your part, quietly confident that He always has your ultimate best interests at His heart. 3. A godly Christian is God-loving, caring and showing enjoyment in pleasing God with every attitude and act. You are attracted to God more and more intensely and exclusively as you allow your Christian perspective to correct all other perspectives you may have on life. 4. A godly Christian is God-knowing. Just as in marriage and family life, you want to know more and more about this One you increasingly love. And you want to know by experience, not just by words or second hand information. As Spurgeon preached, “How are you a child of God if you don’t try to know your Father?” 5. A godly Christian is God-like. Of course we can never be exactly the same as God, although humans are created in His image, Genesis 1:27. I was sitting in my garden after a shower of rain passed by. The firethorn bushes against the end wall had water drops of glistening bright light, as it were winking at me. They were incredibly beautiful. Of course, they had no real light of themselves. They were simply reflecting the mighty and glorious sunlight which was behind me as the sun began to set in the west. In one sense there is no comparison between a shining raindrop and the sun in the sky. But in another sense there is. We Christian disciples of our Lord Jesus ought to reflect as much as we can of His greatness, goodness and graciousness to everyone who we meet. 6. A godly Christian is in awe of God. Awe involves respect, overwhelming wonder, amazement, reverence, often together with a touch of being correctly frightened. I believe we often spend too long thinking about what we want from God and too little time thinking about what He wants with us. “Be still and know that I am God”, Psalm 46:10-11. “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress”.[2] If you stay ‘still’, you stay in the same position and do not move. I have found that without any distractions it makes it easier to begin to ‘know’ more of Who God is. Looking again at those different English versions of our text we saw earlier I notice that God “sets apart for Himself” the godly; He “takes personal care” of them; He “has chosen (them) for Himself” “as His own”. This means that God really wants our friendship, our partnership, our company. It matters to Him. So as a pastor I must ask, ‘Does it matter to you?’ Not what you want from God, but what God wants from you? God sets us apart, takes personal care of us, and chooses us because He plans to use us. As a teenager I had two jobs to earn some pocket money for myself. Early mornings before school I delivered daily newspapers to some 150 homes six days per week. Then Wednesdays after school and Saturday afternoons I delivered groceries to people’s homes, using a bicycle built especially with a frame in front of the handlebars to carry large cardboard boxes. I was glad for the discipline God taught me through this work, how to be industrious in helping to provide for my own needs. God provided for me as I contributed by working hard myself. God-willing Brenda and I will celebrate later in 2019 49 years of ‘living by faith’, trusting God to meet all our needs as we minister together following God’s call to us. We have never had much of this world’s goods, but we have always had enough to live on. Not as much as we (or our dear children) may have wanted, but always as much as we needed. What more does anyone need than enough? We can agree with the Psalmist in 4:8, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety”. It is our responsibility to always keep ourselves clean in personal and public life so that we are ready for God to take us and use us, as He wants, in His work. We must dare to be different from other people around us, whatever the price to pay. God Himself is always enough for the godly person. As Spurgeon preached: “God wants nothing of you but that you will agree to let Him be everything to you”.[3] “On reading this Psalm, it is very clear that this “godly” man is a man misunderstood, or, not understood on earth. The ungodly cannot comprehend the godly; they scoff at them, they turn their glory into shame because they themselves love vanity and seek after lying. The godly man is not understood by the people among whom he dwells; God has made him to be a foreigner and stranger in their midst. They who are born twice have a life which cannot be comprehended by those who are only born once. Those who have received the Spirit of God have a new spirit within them which is so singular that the carnal mind cannot perceive what it is. Spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. When a man has become a new creature in Christ Jesus, the old creatures round about him cannot make head or tail of him".[4] Psalm 4:1 and 3 records the writer thinking about answered and unanswered prayer. Verses 1-2 imply strongly that David has spent time praying to God, but not getting the results he wanted from God. Verses 4-5 show he had examined his own heart to see any hidden reasons for this. My NIV reads, “The Lord hears when I call to Him”, 4:3. This is true even when it does not appear that He does. Sometimes God withholds an answer to prayer because His priority is dealing with things in our lives that displease Him. These may be things we do that we should not do, or, things we do not do that we should. Either must be dealt with God’s way so we can get closer to Him, becoming more the friend He is looking for. I read that Sudan produced 93 tons of gold, worth about US$4 billion, in 2018. This brings about US$3 billion income to the country’s treasury per year, hopefully for use in balancing the country’s accounting books while providing good public services for all of the people.[5] More international partners are being sought to help with the processing, smelting and refining of gold, as well as to stop illegal tax avoidance in the sector. Apparently gold of a high yield will give more than 20 grams of gold per ton of ore. Just think about that! What a tremendous amount of work is involved in the processes of cyanidation, oxidisation, leaching and agitation just to get such a tiny amount of high carat gold from huge piles of rock.[6] Godly Christians are ready to spend time alone with God on their own so that God can get rid of all the rubbish from their hearts and lives, to have for Himself pure and spotless friends thanks to the provision and processes of the blood of Jesus Christ. It may be painful, but it is oh so profitable for any Christian. Remember, pain is part of God’s creation, increased by the Fall into sin, Genesis 3:16-19. Godliness makes you grieve more over personal sin. Strangely, the closer you get to our Holy God the more sinful you will likely feel. Spurgeon preached that instead of saying, “I am a sinner”, as David once did, our text describes a man who would write “I AM A SINNER” in capital letters so big the whole sky and sea would not be big enough to write those terrible words on.[7] God is the very best refiner of the human beings He has created. My sisters and brothers, put yourself often into His hands for the Christian discipleship process of confessing sin and receiving cleansing by the blood of Jesus, the only Saviour. “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, (going to live with God in heaven) make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him”, 2 Peter 3:14. Regularly remember that “(Jesus) Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by His wounds you have been healed’”, 1 Peter 2:24. The godly set time apart for themselves to know God better and, as they do so, they discover that they do it because God has been setting them apart in order to do so! We can never 'out-God God'! Live in cooperation with Him, not in conflict with Him. Psalm 4:3 “But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto Him”.[8] But you may say, “‘I am the man who has seen affliction’. Are you dear brother? Then you are the very man who ought to pray, and to say, ‘The Lord will hear when I call unto Him’. He will either take your trouble away, or else make you glad that it ever came. He will either take your burden off, or else He will give you a stronger back to bear it. You know the deeper your troubles, the louder shall be your song at the last; and God will get more glory out of you by a life of trial than if you had a smooth path all the way. Come then, call unto Him: ‘The Lord will hear when I call unto Him’”.[9] I remember watching the Nile boat builders down river from the Shambat bridge, in the Abu Rof area of Omdurman. The men were very skilled in working with wood (as our Lord Jesus was, being trained in Joseph’s carpentry shop). My wood working skills are so poor that I would never dare step into a boat I built if it was floating on water! These men measured, cut, trimmed, positioned and fitted with precision. Local fishermen used the boats for overnight fishing for the delicious ‘Nile perch’, (which I did enjoy eating). Safely in your Heavenly Father’s hands you are being made more and more like your Lord Jesus Christ Himself, of Whom the Father said twice from heaven, “This is my Son, with Whom I am well pleased”, Matthew 3:17; 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17. When you rest in His hands, with complete confidence in Him, you are being set apart by Him to become more and more godly, more and more the Christian man or woman He wants you to be. Let me ask you, surely that is what you want for yourself don’t you? There is no better life than life as God intends it for you. And there is no better ‘you’ than the ‘you’ God intends making for this life. The following prayer may help you as you meditate on Psalm 4:3 and this chapter we have just looked at together: It is Psalm 51, of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; so You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet You desired faithfulness even in the womb; You taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, so that sinners will turn back to You. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, You who are God my Saviour, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. 15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare Your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise. 18 May it please You to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on Your altar. Discussion guide 1. Do you think it is a good idea to memorise Scripture? Why? / Why not? How does using largely one Bible translation help this? Mention any downsides to this. 2. List the plusses and minuses of writing your sermons and Bible teaching, then carefully keeping them. (This can apply to pen with paper or storage on a computer). Think about who God may reach with His gospel this way? 3. I suggest in this chapter six descriptions of “a godly Christian”. Identify which one challenges you the most. Then share this with your group – perhaps noting if the majority of people select the same one or almost everyone is different. If you can, share why you picked the one you did. 4. Discuss my belief that, “we often spend too long thinking about what we want from God and too little time thinking about what He wants with us”. Justify your understandings from the Bible if you can. 5. Read 2 Peter 3:13-14. Then share the ways you have found to live “at peace with God” in spite of the sinful world around us. How does God help you to develop your godliness? End notes: [1] The Authorised (or King James) Version of 1611, (Oxford University Press: London), undated edition. [2] For further help in ‘knowing God more’ see my Christian Theology in a Sudanese Context on my website www.colinsalter.net . Book available in Arabic and English in Sudan. [3] C.H.Spurgeon Sermons on the Psalms (Marshall, Morgan, Scott: London) 1960, page 74. [4] C.H.Spurgeon Sermons on the Psalms (Marshall, Morgan, Scott: London) 1960, page 8. [5] http://www.sudansafari24.com/index.php/en/reports/item/20045-sudan-produces-93- tons-of-gold-in-2018-ministry. [6] https://www.gold.org/about-gold/gold-supply/gold-refining. [7] C.H.Spurgeon Sermons on the Psalms (Marshall, Morgan, Scott: London) 1960, page 67. [8] The Authorised (or King James) Version of 1611. [9] C.H.Spurgeon Sermons on the Psalms (Marshall, Morgan, Scott: London) 1960, pages 16-17. italics mine.

Bible readings 1 Samuel 13vs2-3; 14vs1-46; 15vs10, 23; 16vs1, 11-13; 18vs1-4. My life (put) alongside God's word, volume 1. I have recently been reading a book called “Looking for a Leader”.[1] In my own devotions I like to work through every Bible book in turn, reading the Scripture passage, noting my own ideas from it, before comparing them with a chapter of the commentary. I mark the date in the Bible index when I do this. This is my third time of developing my personal walk with God in this way. In 1 Samuel 13:2-3 and 14:1-46 Jonathan is seen fighting and defeating the Philistines. The people could see God was with Jonathan, giving him victories. Jonathan was a man of faith, 14:6. He was also the son of King Saul. Humanly speaking, Jonathan would inherit the kingdom when his father died. This was the tradition and custom. It was right and proper. Everyone would reasonably expect that to happen. But God had other plans in mind! To follow God Jonathan must go against national and family traditions. In 1 Samuel 15 we read the Lord rejects Saul as king, “because he has turned away from Me and has not carried out My instructions”, vv10, 23, and 16:1. Jonathan would not take Saul’s throne. In 1 Samuel 16 God helps Samuel the prophet to anoint His chosen king. We are reminded in this story that “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”, v7. We already know that “the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart”, 13:14. Now we discover this man is David, the youngest son of Jesse, 16:11-13. And because it is David – by definition, it is not Jonathan! God breaks family and national traditions to ensure His man is in the right place at the right time. The right man for any position is always God’s man, and not necessarily the expected man. It may have been expected that Jonathan would be angry that his right to be king had been taken away. A natural human reaction would have been for him to resent David and make him a despised personal enemy. Yet the Bible tells us that Jonathan “became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself”, 18:1.[2] Jonathan and David make a brotherly pact, 1 Samuel 18:1-4. Giving away his robes and weapons was symbolic of “all that could have been his on the throne”.[3] The two men wait for God’s time to bring into reality the promised kingdom of David. For Jonathan that meant going more and more into disobedience to his human father, and to the expectations of his royal household, 19:1-8; 20:1-42. His own life was put at risk by his actions. He was always prepared to die, 14:43. He risked his own life again and again for the sake of his friend David, 20:30-34. Notice, for our own encouragement, that God preserves him for as long as He plans to use him. Jonathan eventually dies in battle, 31:2. David’s moving lament for his friend can be read in 2 Samuel 1:19-27. It may well have been sung first at an event like the Sudanese tribal gatherings to mourn the death of family members and friends over several days.[4] Nothing bad is said even of his enemy, Saul. Jonathan is “a model of loyalty to truth and friendship, as well as … peace making, which is the role of the sons of God”.[5] Perhaps he can inspire us to stand for Jesus Christ, where necessary against tribal or family traditions and even culture? As Christians we are all given the priority of standing up for the cross of Jesus Christ. Paul was never “ashamed of the gospel”, Romans 1:16. To him the cross was the power of God – even if it was foolishness and a stumbling block to other people, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 23-24. His handwritten prayer was this: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”, Galatians 6:11,14. Verses12-13 show that Paul was not interested in outward appearances. He followed the advice of God in his heart – his heart that was crucified to worldly temptations and alive only to Christian discipleship. Since being born again he was a Christian first, Acts 9:1-22. He was a Christian before his family, before his tribe, before his earlier education and experience. Before his previous religion, before anyone or anything else Paul was a Christian. Jonathan chose to give over his rights and help make David king. Jesus Christ chose to live and to die by the way of the cross. They both knew the seed (of their old lives) must die in order to bear much fruit for God and His kingdom, John 12:23-26. Who is seen to be the king and ruler of your life? What is God calling you to do at this time for your country of Sudan or South Sudan? I pray God will raise up men and women of gracious faith – people who will stand firmly but gently on the side of Jesus Christ; people who will attract others to our faith; people who will be selfless, because Jesus Christ is everything to them. Discussion questions: 1. What is the hardest thing about choosing to go against what your Family or Tribal Elders expect of you? Why? 2. “The right man for any position is always God’s man, and not necessarily the expected man”. Discuss why this is true – or argue that it is not. 3. What is the meaning of “the world is crucified to me, and I to the world”, Galatians 6:14? 4. Does it make standing up for what is right easier, or more difficult? [1] John Woodhouse 1 Samuel Looking for a Leader (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway books) 2008. [2] Please be aware that some try to twist this verse into supporting homosexual relationships. This is not possible, especially as verse 16 uses the same words saying, “all Israel loved David”! Beware of false teachers, 2 Peter 2:1-3. [3] African Bible Commentary (Nairobi: Word Alive Publishers) 2006, 1 Samuel by Gbile Akanni. [4] African Bible Commentary (Nairobi: Word Alive Publishers) 2006, 1 Samuel by Gbile Akanni. [5] The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press), 1998 edition, p.808.