Proverbs 3:35 states, “The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools”. Note the stark contrast. These are words which apply to this life, but they ultimately apply to the great last day when Christ returns. The wise are those who have turned from sin, and believed in Christ; the fools are those who do not. The gospel presents men with two stark contrasts : glory or shame. Our task as Christians is to make known to the people of our day the realities of this contrast : eternal glory or eternal shame?

The Lord rewarded Andrew and John’s diligent seeking of Him, and if men today would find God, they must diligently seek out Jesus Christ, and learn of Him. God is near, He graciously draws, and He has done everything necessary to bring men into fellowship with Himself; but the unbeliever for his part must do the seeking. Whoever wants to find God must apply himself to the task with the utmost urgency and with the utmost effort, remembering God’s promise.

“Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

The Christian’s everyday life is under God’s protecting hand of God, watching over our material needs and physical safety. The believer who pursues holiness will not experience the earthly judgements upon sin, to which the unbeliever is so prone. He will rather enjoy an earthly security and peace of mind of which the world knows nothing. His times are in God’s hands, and he has the privilege of God Himself communicating with him.

"We shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ". All are answerable to Christ as Judge, whatever their religion or none.

This sermon was preached following the arrest of Pastor John Sherwood in Uxbridge on 23rd April 2021 simply for upholding Biblical truth country to the fashions of the moment. These last words of teaching and counsel from our Lord in Luke 23:26-31, just before His crucifixion, are a warning of coming judgement. They are relevant to Pastor Sherwood's arrest, because Britain today is also a nation which has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. The Saviour declares in these verses, I do not need your tears, for I remain in the Father's perfect will and am accomplishing His work of salvation. You should, however, weep for yourselves and for your children. These particular women of Jerusalem, who have chosen to engage in public mourning for Jesus, represent the people of the city, the religious establishment, and the people generally who have rejected the Messiah. They have rejected their true King in David's line and the One who would redeem them from their sins.

What an enormous contrast these verses bring out between a believer and unbeliever. May we ensure that we are trusting in Christ, and not among the fools who by their speech show that they will eternally die for want of God’s wisdom. Let us remember that the state of THE BELIEVER’S AND UNBELIEVER’S HEARTS ARE MADE KNOWN BY THEIR WORDS. May the Lord help us to use our tongues to His own glory and help our speech always to be seasoned with salt, so that our words are a blessing to those around us.

The believer in Christ is sustained by a glorious hope. The sons of God currently suffer, but they will be manifested to all the world and publicly vindicated in great glory. By the indwelling Spirit Christians experience a measure of liberation already in this life, but they also possess the glorious hope of complete liberation at the resurrection of the body. Yes, we labour and suffer in this vain and fallen world, but let us remember that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”.

CHRIST ; THE ROCK OF SECURITY OR THE ROCK WHO GRINDS TO DUST (1 Peter 2, v4-8) by Penn Free Methodist Church, nr High Wycombe

These three verses contrast the believer’s security and the non-believer’s insecurity. The Christian is one who all the time diligently seeks that which is good in God’s sight, and he thereby procures God’s favour in this life, as well as on the great last day. The unbeliever in contrast is constantly displeasing God and exposes himself to punitive strokes of justice, not only on the Day of Judgement, but also in this life.

Christians cannot keep quiet about national sins, but must openly challenge and rebuke them. If Christians do not challenge the God-rejecting wickedness of their times, the likelihood of war and other grievous national afflictions becomes much more likely. If a nation desires freedom from health crises, economic collapse and even war, then it must humble itself before the one true God by coming in repentance and faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.