sometimes a prompt for a message
can come sort of from an unlikely source and it's not necessarily
something that is spiritual and that's the case this evening there was a it popped up on my
phone there was this interview that I saw it's only lasted a
few minutes on Saturday it was it was an out fairly elderly
gentleman who was being interviewed and he was a Crystal Palace fan
and he'd just been to the FA Cup final which Crystal Palace
won in case you didn't know that and he was being interviewed
by this reporter and you know say well this must be a great
day for you you know Chris Vallis won the epic up and said yes
they've never won the cup before and so yeah I'm very happy he
said yes you must be very happy and surely there's nothing better
than that at which point he kind of paused a bit then the reporter
sort of took it a bit further said do you mean to tell me that
there's nothing better than Crystal Palace winning the FA Cup and he thought about it and he
said what's better and he said falling in love which I thought
was quite Quite an interesting thing to
say but yeah falling in love and that's what he said. So he
valued falling in love whenever he fell in love years before. Not with the game of football
but obviously with his wife. And so there is isn't there with
falling in love perhaps a lovely feeling and a lovely experience
to have isn't it to fall in love but thinking about it spiritually
what about falling in love with the Lord Jesus Christ what about
that and thinking about really our conversion when the time
when we knew that we were a sinner and that our sins have been forgiven
and that we're loved by the Lord Jesus Christ and we love him. And before we didn't love him
and had no interest. Now all of a sudden we love the
Saviour and we rejoice in forgiveness and in being saved and the joy
of conversion. Now there are certain events often perhaps bad ones that live
in our memories and we can we sort of remember what we were
doing when they happened I remember when Princess Diana
died, the 31st of August 1997, because that was my dad's birthday. And I woke up, my mum and dad
were living in Wiltshire then, thought I must ring dad today,
it's his birthday, and put on the news and that was the news
that we got that morning that Princess Diana had died in that
car crash in Paris. And then the other that sticks
in my mind was 9-11, the events of September 11th, 2001, when
the Twin Towers there in New York fell as those planes flew
into them in that terrorist attack. that happened in New York and
this the same day in the same city of New York I was at work
and we were all at work wondering about this when I worked in battle
what was going to happen to what we knew that on that day in New
York a decision was going to be made about our office in little
battle over there in England because we were an American company
by then and a decision was being made that day about the future
of the office and then all of a sudden that happened with the
terrorist attack. The meeting concerning our company
our office did actually happen in another part of New York on
that day and we were told the next day that the office would
be closing so it was quite a time and you can't really forget that
in a hurry and when we think about conversion
we've been converted sometimes people are able to say I remember
when I was converted I can tell you the place and the time and
the date they can be very specific about it many can't I mean I
can't with me it was a process of time involving different people
but there are some people who can say yeah in that place at
that time on I was saved through maybe a particular
person's ministry or whatever it might have been. Reminds me of the Apostle Paul
in Acts chapter 26. In Acts chapter 26. Now have an Acts 9 about the conversion
of Paul on the road to Damascus but then in Acts chapter 26 he
sort of goes through it himself to Agrippa And in Acts chapter 26 from verse
1, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for
thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the
hand and answered for himself. I think myself happy, King Agrippa,
because I shall answer for myself this day before thee, touching
all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews. especially because
I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are
among the Jews. Wherefore I beseech thee to hear
me patiently. My manner of life from my youth,
which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem,
know all the Jews, which knew me from the beginning, if they
would testify that after the most straightest sect of our
religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged
for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto
which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and
night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, King Agrippa,
I am accused of the Jews? Why should it be fought, a thing
incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? I verily
fought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to
the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which thing I also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints did I
shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests,
And when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them,
and had punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled
them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly mad against
them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon, as I went to Damascus
with authority and commission from the chief priests, At midday,
O King, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness
of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with
me. And when we were all fallen to
the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me and saying in the Hebrew
tongue, Saw, saw, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee
to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord?
And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, but rise and
stand upon thy feet. For I have appeared unto thee
for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both
of these things which thou hast seen and of those things in the
which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people
from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee to open their eyes
and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of
Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and
inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that
is in me. So there's sort of recollection
isn't there of Paul very vivid recollection of his conversion
and that's good and that's how it should be is if we are converted
whether it was when we can pinpoint it or not the time or whatever
the experience of being converted and knowing that we've been brought
from darkness to light you know that should stay with us and
thrill us and be in our hearts and minds
it's something that really that we shouldn't well we wouldn't
want to forget because it made such an impact in our lives but of course it's not just about
being converted that's a wonderful thing to be saved and may it
be that we know that we are and if we're not we are told aren't
we to confess our sins and to believe savingly on the Lord
Jesus Christ but as much as conversion is wonderful we should desire
more Matthew 6 11 in the Lord's Prayer
it says give us this day our daily bread and we you know in
a physical way you know we eat and we drink don't we each day
because if we didn't we would become very thirsty and very
hungry so we eat and drink don't we each day day yesterday Anna
and I had a family funeral up in Wiltshire we just went there
and back in the day and we sort of in terms of eating it sort
of was a bit sort of funny we sort of stopped at one service
station and bought a bun or something and cookie or something and then
and then we had a bit of food at the wake But then on the way
home, quite late then, so a bit peckish now, so at the service
station we took advantage of the McDonald's that was there. But so is, you know, each day
we eat and drink, don't we? In order to live, we need to
do that. But may there be with us a spiritual
hunger and a spiritual thirst. In Matthew 5, 6 in the Beatitudes,
blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled. And is that our experience? And so may there be that hungering
and thirsting for the things of God. We're told in Hebrews
10 and verse 25 of the people gathering together for worship
to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as a manner
of summies but exhorting one another and so much the more
as you see the day approaching and so it's important isn't it
to sort of gather as we're able regularly and to attend God's
house. Conferences are good and I've
been blessed much in the past by conferences but They're sort
of one-off, aren't they? They're now and then. Now we
need to regularly attend, don't we, God's house and of course
there needs to be the daily reading of God's Word and daily communion
with God. And in Psalm 42, 1 and 2, there
it says, as the heart panteth after the water brooks
so panteth my soul after thee O God my soul firsteth for God
for the living God when shall I come and appear before God
and this is a psalm isn't it where the psalmist was very distressed
and disquieted but a good remedy if you like that is to hope in
God as it says in that psalm and to thirst and crave after
God and to seek his face. Just so isn't it if we're thirsty
then we sort of gulp down perhaps drink
you know perhaps we just normally drink it a certain way but then
when we're very thirsty isn't it we sort of gulp it down because
we're so thirsty and so it is and I remember you
know when I sort of in the years when I was a young Christian
and sort of sort of not long probably after
was converted as I say I can't give a particular date or time
but I remember sitting under the ministry and I couldn't get
enough of it I just wanted it more and more I was studying I obviously had
my studies to do but I had a real hunger for God's word and I thank
God for that and regret sometimes that that is
not always seen now, that desire that I had then. And also in Psalm 63, one similar,
Again, O God, thou art my God. Early will I seek thee, my soul
thirster for thee, my flesh longer for thee in a dry and thirsty
land where no water is. So may there be indeed that real
hungering and thirsting after the Lord, a real desire to learn
more of the Lord and to have fellowship with his people and
to serve him, not to sort of burn ourselves out or something,
we probably have a limit, we don't want to be burnt out but
may it be that there is that measured hunger and thirst for
the Lord just as if we overeat well that can do us ill if we overeat so that we
can't get enough of the Lord perhaps in our service for the
Lord there may need to be sort of
modifications sometimes and sometimes this person they've been a pastor
for a long time in this church and then maybe yes it's time
for that person to retire but still serve the Lord but in some
other way and and I often think of Christians that
I've known over the years that they have retired as a pastor
of a church but the Lord has still greatly used them or somebody
who is serving the Lord in a particular way where they can't carry on
doing that anymore through their health or whatever but they're
able to serve God in some other way and that's it we don't retire
do we as a Lord's people But it might be that there is a change
in what we do and what the Lord would have us to do. It moves
us on. Yes, that work, you've completed that work, now is this
work for you. And then of course we have conversion. We think about it involves great
change. and I think here in John chapter
4 John chapter 4 and the woman at the well the woman of Samaria which begins in verse 7 I'll
take it from there There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water
Jesus saith unto her give me to drink For his disciples were
gone away unto the city to buy meat. Then saith the woman of
Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, ask a drink
of me, which I am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no
dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus asked and said unto her,
If thou knew'st the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee,
Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would
have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir,
thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence
then hast thou that living water? So she'd come to get ordinary
water from the well, and is still thinking in this way. Are thou
greater than our father Jacob, which gave us a well, and drank
thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answers
then unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in
him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir,
give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. So she's very interested in having
this water and the thought of not coming again to the well
to draw out water. She would have, as a Samaritan,
sort of an outcast, she would have gone at the hottest time
of the day. Others would have gone earlier
in the day when it was cooler. And they would have sort of gone
quite a few together to have a bit of a natter. But this woman
came alone. And said, well, you know, it'd
be good to not have to come. So again, she's still sort of
thinking a bit in that way. And Jesus said, go, call thy
husband and come hither. And of course then, a bit sheepish,
well, the woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus
said, unto thou as well said I have no husband, for thou hast
had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband,
in that says thou truly. And the woman said unto him,
sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. And so she goes on
and tries to sort of deflect the argument a bit. But We notice later on that indeed
the Lord really spoke to her and there was a great work done
in her heart. And what I love, like in verse
28, she went... Verse 28, I particularly like
this verse. woman then left her water pot
and went her way into the city and said to the men come see
a man which told me all things that ever I did is not this the
Christ so she was there sort of evangelizing but I just love
that expression right at the beginning of verse 28 she left
her water pot really all focused she's come to draw water and
then conversation with the Lord and you know how are you gonna
give me some water I haven't got anything to draw with and
so on so what was dear to him what mattered to him what mattered
to her what was dear to her then she just left her water pot And
so it is so with conversion, isn't it? That there can be lots
of things that we've loved about the past, a past life. And then when the Lord works
in our life, we have no interest. We have no concern for these
things. They don't give us the pleasure
and the satisfaction that they once did. And she received, didn't she,
living water and others too. She evangelized, come see a man
which told me all things that ever I did. And as I say, she was a bit of
a loose woman with all those husbands that she'd had in the
past and currently a man she was with was not her husband. So conversion involves great
change, doesn't it? A great work of God, brought
from darkness to light and, as I said, raised to spiritual life. How dead in trespasses and in
sins being quicker. And then in John chapter 7, we
have an encouragement, don't we, of those who thirst. The Lord said in John 7, 37,
in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried, saying, if any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water
with the spake of the Spirit. which they that believe on him
should receive for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus
was not yet glorified. Just as real living water being
given to that woman at the well and so it is isn't it that Well,
our Lord is obviously concerned about our natural state and that
we have natural food and water to eat and drink. But it's spiritually,
isn't it, these things that are most important. But there is indeed, isn't there,
a wonder, as sort of said, of conversion, isn't it? But it can wear off, though. And we must be careful about
that. And we have the hymn, don't we,
that we sing from time to time, that verse that says, where is
the blessedness I knew When first I saw the Lord, where is the
soul-refreshing view of Jesus and his word? And in Revelation
2 concerning the church at Ephesus we have in verse 4 Nevertheless,
I have somewhat against thee because thou hast left thy first
love. So it's all about talking about
falling in love at the beginning. And here is a leaving of the
first love. And it's possible, isn't it,
we can perhaps become a bit stale sometimes. And something of the
joy conversion the joy of the Lord we can lose we can't lose
our salvation if we are the Lord's but the joy of it you know we
can we can lose and but the Lord the Lord was wonderfully restores
as he did with David things that he did that were
certainly heinous crimes and sins that he committed regarding
Uriah the Hittite and Bathsheba and he didn't lose his salvation
but we really don't read that psalm that he lost the joy of
his salvation and asked for that to be restored. But we know that in the end the
hungering and thirsting will end and that's why I read Revelation
7. You might wonder when I was going
to get around to Revelation 7 and it was really just really at
the end In verse 13, one of the elders
answered, saying unto me, what are these which are arrayed in
white robes? And whence came they? And I said
unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation. And as the Lord's
people, we can say that, yes, we go through great tribulation. We go through many trials, you
know, in life. we are to expect these things
aren't we? But have washed their robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb and if we are the
Lord's then we are cleansed we are forgiven therefore they before
the throne of God serve him day and night in his temple and that
will sort of be an eternal sort of service for the the Lord and
he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them they shall
hunger no more neither thirst any more imagine the day when
we don't have to worry about eating and drinking you know
hungering no more neither thirsting any more and we have don't we
the picture of heaven really You
know, there'll be no more sin, no more crying, no more pain,
no more sorrow. We read about this, don't we?
And here they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more.
Why, neither shall the sunlight nor any heat. For the lamb, which
is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them and shall lead
them unto living fountains of water. And God shall wipe away
tears from their eyes and I'm sure we all shed tears don't
we over different things we have sorrows and many things we cause
us to shed tears but it is knowing that wonderful thing to know
that one day these things will be removed from us and in glory
there won't be any more shedding of tears or any more pain or
sorrow or death or anything like that. It's difficult to describe
heaven and you have to sort of think of it well there won't
be that and there won't be that. It'd be good to have a life where
I'm not in any pain where I'm I'm not sad at all and when there
is there is there is a continual sort of satisfaction just as it is isn't it when we
eat and drink you know you know we're satisfied aren't we for
a short time and then of course we need to eat and drink again
at some point but there is satisfaction isn't it you have a good meal
Just as last evening when we just had a bit of food that satisfied
us for the rest of the journey home. And so it is, isn't it? But may it be that we know a
real satisfaction in knowing the Lord and knowing that we
are saved and that we're forgiven. and there's great joy and satisfaction
in knowing the Lord and knowing peace with God through the Lord
Jesus Christ and a contentment. You know it's good to be content.
I was reading recently of somebody and it was so encouraging contact
that I knew of, he'd written this letter, written by hand
as well, which is quite unusual in these days, but it was lovely
to receive this letter by hand. And somebody who was, got a shoulder
injury, he also had prostate problems, and it was very unwell,
and the church where he is has got problems as well in terms
of the the fabric and yet it oozed his letter just oozed with
thankfulness to God and he was just so realizing how he how
he was being kept and how God was good there was no complaining
at all it was all praising and acknowledging the goodness of
God and that's good isn't it you know if we're up against
it and perhaps lots of things seem to be going against us to
be able to say God is good yeah his purposes are being worked
out I don't know understand why this is happening or whatever
yeah on this surface it's it looks a tough situation but God
is good and God is help me through everything in my life and may
that be our testimony that we know we're saved we have the
joy of that still even many years after being converted and if
we're not converted may we know Even this evening, this night,
the joy of our sins being forgiven and knowing peace with God. And then as the Christian life
goes on, our lives go on with all its ups and downs and all
that happens, may there be that constant sea that we're able
to say, God is good. God is working his purposes out
he won't fail he won't forsake I'll still let him down but God
is good God is faithful and may we know that God is indeed a
faithful God and may we rejoice in in him. So just a few remarks
really concerning conversion and our hungering and thirsting.
May we have that appetite for the Lord and a real desire for
the Lord. May it be that we have this insatiable
appetite for the Lord and for his word and for his service
and may it be that people can see that we are full of the Lord,
that the Lord shines through in our lives. Amen. May the Lord help us as we close
our service by singing hymn number 105 from Hymns of Worship. Jesus Sovereign, Lord of all,
at thy feet we humbly fall. Lift our hearts and eyes to see.
Send, O Lord, prosperity. Hymn number 105 from Hymns of
Worship to the tune 478. Lift our hearts and eyes to thee,
Send, O Lord, prosperity. With thy new years on record, God bless thee is thy word. Tis thy promise great and free. Send us in prosperity. Spirit bring, say the Holy Ghost
receive, void of this plain it shall see, days of sweet prosperity. Signs and wonders in thy name
In this place that's called his head, Raise the dead that can't
be free, Send to earth prosperity. If thy temple he brings now, to thee. Send, O Lord, prosperity. Small professions from thy throne,
come and bless us as thine own. And the power and fruit shall
be The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us
all now and for evermore. Amen.