{"id":161,"date":"2017-04-07T09:48:29","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T09:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.penrithpresbyterian.com\/wp\/?page_id=161"},"modified":"2026-05-17T22:50:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T22:50:46","slug":"ministers-message","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.penrithpresbyterian.com\/wp\/?page_id=161","title":{"rendered":"Minister’s Message"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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DECEMBER 202<\/strong>4<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Christmas – God Engaging with US<\/strong><\/strong>
Sometimes I find myself at another church or a gathering of people I do not know \u2013 I might be on holidays or picking up one of the kids. It can be an opportunity to be anonymous, just another person among others. Instead of putting myself out there, I step back. I wait for people to approach me and start a conversation. I wait for them to engage with me first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humanity in regard to God can be like me at a church on holidays or amongst people I do not know. Humanity do not seek to engage with God. Paul quotes from the Psalms in Romans: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. <\/em>
Romans 3:10-11 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of ourselves we do not want much to do with God. He can be regarded as an intrusion into our lives, an inconvenience. We want to live our own way. Even if we do seek God, it is on our terms or because we are in trouble and he is our last resort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not so with God. The history of humanity is a history of God\u2019s dealings with us. He pursues a relationship with us. He has engaged with us. In Isaiah 65, God says: \u201cI revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, \u2018Here am I, here am I.\u2019 All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations\u2026<\/em>\u201d Isaiah 65:1-2 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, people do not seek God. Yes, people ignore and do not listen to him. Yes, people can follow gods of their own crafting and imagination. But God pursues us in love that we might turn to him and know him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is God\u2019s desire to be known by us. This desire culminates in Jesus. Christmas shows us the extent God goes to engage with us and know us. In John\u2019s gospel he begins with God\u2019s word: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. <\/em>
John 1:1-2 4 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communication starts with words. When I am standing in a group of people, a conversation starts when someone speaks words to me. Words reveal intent and interest, and our own thoughts and desires. God at the beginning when he creates the universe speaks it into existence. As such the very Creation is a revelation of God\u2019s character and purpose. But John pushes this further. The Word is a person, one who is both God and with God. A person within the God himself \u2013 God who is three in one \u2013 Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God in his nature is self-disclosing, revealing to his creation who he is. So it is we see his disclosure seen most clearly in the Word, the Son of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So John writes: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. <\/em>John 1:14 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Word becomes flesh. The Son takes on humanity. God is unveiled for us in our humanity. It is at Christmas that God engages with us as one of us. It is at Christmas that God steps into our reality to experience our weakness, our suffering, our pain as well as our joys. He enters our lives so we might know him and his love for us. Jesus is God\u2019s clearest word, spoken in the familiar tones of human experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year we have been talking about Engaging With God. It is good to end the year where we started. God meeting us in our mess. We can engage with God because he first engaged with us. The very reason we love God is because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). We know God\u2019s love in Christ, the Word become flesh. John writes in his first epistle: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. <\/em>1 John 4:10 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The babe at Christmas grew up to be our Saviour and display God\u2019s love in his sacrifice on our behalf, taking upon himself God\u2019s wrath against us for our sins. He endured divine justice for our breach of relationship in ignoring him and disregarding him to go our own way. His love turns us around to know his love in the cross of Christ as we approach him in faith. He first shows himself in the Son stretched out upon the cross, exposed before a hostile world, showing the world how far his love and mercy goes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our pursuit to know is in response to how God has made himself known to us. If you do not know God, will you seek him and see his love in the Lord Jesus Christ? Will you see what God has done for you to know him and trust in Jesus? If you do know God and put your faith in Jesus, how much do make you life about knowing him? Do you seek relationship with him in reading his word and meeting him in prayer? Do you strive to know his love and mercy, by giving yourself to others to serve and care in the same way Jesus gave himself to us in his life and death? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Steve\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OCTOBER 202<\/strong>4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Engaging God – Church<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What place does church have in your engagement with God? It is very easy to minimize the important of church in our lives. We might be faced by a \u201cbetter offer\u201d, and so ditch church in favour of a sporting match, a birthday party, a sleep in or whatever it is that we choose over church. We might find it easier to watch church online even though we are physically capable of getting to church. Church is when we are gathered together in Christ to worship God as his people, to hear his word to us and to encourage one another. This can only happen when we meet together for this purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how does church help us to engage with God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible paints a number of pictures of church and Christ as the lynchpin that holds the church together. Church is like a flock of sheep where Jesus is our Good Shepherd and we are the sheep of his pasture (John 10:11-18). Church is like a flourishing vine where Jesus is the true that gives life to us, his disciples, so we might bear good fruit. Church is a body of which Christ is the head and we are the various parts (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). Church is the bride of our groom who is Christ. Church is family and Jesus our older brother (Hebrews 2:10-11). Church is a temple built on the cornerstone that is Christ
(1 Peter 2:4-6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are gathered together in Christ to worship God. Worship is the act of giving worth to God for his glory and greatness (Psalm 95:1-7). If we had a clear picture of what it is to worship God, I think that would make us all eager to be at church each Sunday. When we are at church together, looking around, we see a few weak and feeble saints gathered together praising God. But the Bible opens our eyes to see more, to see passed physical realities into the spiritual realms. The Psalmist declares:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    worship the Lord in the splendour of hisholiness.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                Psalm 29:1-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Do you see to whom the Psalmist is talking? The angels. Heavenly beings. When we worship God, there is more going on than we can see. It is more akin to the picture painted in Revelation 4. We are gathered together before the very throne of God. We are surrounded by ranks of angels. Our empty seats filled by heavenly beings. We worship before God in his throne room declaring his glory and greatness. We are beholding by faith the God who loves us in Christ Jesus and who rules from heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are gathered together in Christ to listen to God. The New Testament places importance upon the word preached. It is in the preaching of the word that we are presented with Christ crucified and risen. It is in the preaching of the word that the word is pressed against our lives to encourage, rebuke, train, correct and equip us. It is in the preaching of the word that God is speaking to us and revealing himself and how we should live before him. (1 Corinthians 2:2-5, 2 Timothy 3:16-4:2, Colossians 1:28, 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, 2:13). It is therefore important that we prepare ourselves to listen to God\u2019s word each time we come to church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we prepare? Pray for the preaching of God\u2019s word, for the faithful declaration of the preacher. Pray we might receive God\u2019s word and that it might be like a light that shines into our lives and brings transformation. Pray that we might be presented with Christ and encouraged by the gospel. If you find it hard to sit and listen, what do you need to do to listen better. Do you need to take notes? Do you need to listen more than once? Do you need to put your phone away so it does not distract? Do you have the Bible open in front of you to follow along with the sermon? Does talking about the sermon with other Christians help you to understand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are gathered together in Christ as his people to engage with each other \u2013 encouraging one another, serving one another, using our gifts for the benefit of others, building each other up (Romans 12:9-13, Ephesians 4:11-13, Hebrews 10:24-25). We are to looking away from ourselves to our brothers and sisters in Christ to be of benefit to them. One way we can think through this is by looking at the one another statements and how we might apply them as we meet together. Here is a few of them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLove one another\u201d (John 13:34, Romans 13:8, 1 John 3:11)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cServe one another\u201d (Galatians 5:13)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSubmit to one another\u201d (Ephesians 5:21)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForgive one another\u201d (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccept one another\u201d (Romans 15:7)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGreet one another with a kiss\u201d (Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEncourage one another\u201d (1 Thessalonians 5:11)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPray for one another\u201d (James 5:16)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeach and admonish one another\u201d (Colossians 3:16)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each time we come to church we engage with God as we meet with him and worship him, as we listen to his word proclaimed and as we serve one another together at church.

So this leaves us with three questions to ask ourselves as we come to church:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Am I coming expecting to meet with God?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Am I coming ready to listen to God?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Am I coming prepared to give to others?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                               ~ Steve<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    AUGUST 202<\/strong>4<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ENGAGING with GOD – Spirtual Transformation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How much do you long to be changed by God? It can be easy to look at our lives and be discouraged. We can see little change in our lives in what we think and what we say and what we do. We want to live for God but we always fall short. We have besetting sins that we never seem able to shake. We want the difference that the Holy Spirit in our lives makes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Spiritual transformation is what in theology is called \u201csanctification\u201d. It is the process by which God transforms our character to reflect his holy character. It is God\u2019s work in us to save us from the power of sin in our lives. This process of transformation is important as the writer to the Hebrews says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Make every effort \u2026 to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hebrews 11:14<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is as we are transformed to be holy in character that we come to know the Lord more. The degree to which we are sanctified by the transforming work of the Spirit will impact the degree to which we know God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So where do we start thinking when we consider spiritual transformation? In the Bible change begins in the mind. We see it in Ephesians,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds<\/strong>; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                                          Ephesians 4:20-23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here the difference between putting off your old self and putting on the new self is being made new in the attitude of your minds. Transformation from the old to the new is made possible by the Spirit\u2019s work to renew our minds. We see it again in Romans,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind<\/strong>. Then you will be able to test and approve what God\u2019s will is\u2014his good, pleasing and perfect will.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                                          Romans 12:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here the difference between conforming to the pattern of this world and testing and approving what is God\u2019s will is the renewal of your mind. Transformation from the ways of the world to the ways of God is made possible by the renewing of our minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By why the minds? Why is the renewal of minds integral to the transformation of our whole lives. It is because our thoughts, our words and our actions are the result of a faith position we hold about ourselves, about God and about what God has done. It is a faith position that we only see upon reflection. When we respond sinfully to something someone has down, or say a word that is out of line it flows from the mind, the heart, where we hold fundamental beliefs often without realising it. We need to move from the \u201cfruit\u201d that is our actions and dig down to the \u201croot\u201d of what we are believing at that point of time.[i]<\/a> There are three questions we should then ask ourselves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                What do I believe about who I am?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                What do I believe about what God does?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                What do I believe about who God is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s look at an example. We might find ourselves anxious and trying to control situations so that things happen in the way we think they should. This is the fruit of what we believe in our minds. Let\u2019s run through the three questions to see how we might understand our faith position at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What do I believe about who I am?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I should be in control but I am not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What do I believe about what God does?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I believe he has stopped loving me. I believe he has lost control over what is happening in my life. He has abandoned me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What do I believe about who God is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He is unloving. He is powerless. He is absent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is as we identify and confess these wrong faith positions that we can practice repentance and experience God\u2019s renewal in our mind to then refocus and hold to a right faith position. Here we work from \u201cRoot\u201d to \u201cFruit\u201d, so in our example we will re-answer the questions from a gospel perspective.
     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What do I believe about who God is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He is love. He is powerful and in control. He is present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


    What do I believe about what God does?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He has loved me by sending Jesus who died for me. He rose again from the dead. He gives me his Spirit. He is control over everything that happens in my life and he never lets me go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


    What do I believe about who I am?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I am loved. I am not alone. I am not in control but I am more than conqueror through him who loves me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is by this shift in the way we think, to trust in what God declares is true in Christ, that we will then bear the fruit of righteousness in our lives as God makes his truth a reality in our lives through the work of his Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Are you partnering with God in his work to transform you by his Spirit so you might grow in godliness and know him more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                                                                                ~ Steve<\/em>
    [1]<\/strong> This paradigm is articulated in \u201cGospel Fluency\u201d by Jeff Vanderstelt<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    JUNE 202<\/strong>4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Engaging with God – Word and Prayer<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    Our relationships grow with one another through loving communication \u2013 listening and speaking. So<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    too our relationship grows with God through loving communication \u2013 listening to God in his word and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    speaking to him in prayer. God\u2019s word and prayer are two means of grace that God gives us that we<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    might grow in him. They are means by which God gives us grace to know him more and transform us to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    be like Christ. They are gifts for our spiritual health. In our \u201cEngaging with God\u201d seminars we spent a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    session on each one of these areas of the Christian life. What follows is a brief summary of what we<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    considered in each seminar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ENGAGING GOD WITH HIS WORD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The word is important in engaging with God as it makes us wise for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15), it is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    sustenance for our souls (Deuteronomy 8:3), it is a means towards transformation (John 17:17), it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    equips us to live for him (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and lays bare our hearts before him (Hebrews 4:12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are five ways we can engage with God\u2019s word, each represented by one of the fingers on our<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Most of the terms are self-explanatory. Meditate is the thumb because like the opposable digit it helps<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    us to get a grip on God\u2019s word. By meditating on God\u2019s word we spend time lingering over a portion of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Scripture, contemplating its application to our lives, ruminating on what it shows us about God and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are a variety of ways we can utilise each of these practices to grow in our engagement with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    HEARING: Listen to Scripture on mp3 in the car, prepare to listen to the Bible on Sunday<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    READING: Follow a Bible plan like those on the YouVersion App<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Romans 10:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hear<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Colossians 4:16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Read<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Acts 17:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Study<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Psalms 119:9,11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Memorise<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Psalm 1:2-3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Meditate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    STUDYING: Learn how to ask questions of the text, the Swedish Method, the COMA method<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    MEMORISE: Use palm cards and post it notes and place somewhere visible, use what you memorise<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    MEDITATE: Rewrite the verse, create an artwork\/music piece that conveys ideas of the verse, pray the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    ENGAGING GOD IN PRAYER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prayer is important for engaging with God. As we draw near to God, he draws near to us (Deuteronomy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4:7), he exceeds what we pray and ask for (Ephesians 3:20), by prayer we grow to know him more<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Ephesians 1:17) and by prayer we come before God in Christ to avail ourselves of his mercy and grace<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Hebrews 4:14-16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are five ways that we can engage with God in prayer, each represented by one of the fingers on<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    our hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    APRIL 202<\/strong>4<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Engaging God – the Heart<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    How is your heart? When our physical heart needs a check up we see the doctor and he tells us what is wrong. But when the Bible talks about our heart, it is not our physical heart that it is generally speaking about. It is with our heart that we love God and engage with him. In March, a group of us investigated some of what the Bible says about the heart and its importance with how we connect with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Bible has much to say about the heart. But what exactly is the heart? At our Engaging with God seminar on the heart we looked at a variety of passages about the heart to piece together a picture of what the heart is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We see emotions residing in the heart like sorrow (Psalm 13:2) and rejoicing (Psalm 13:5), distress and anguish (2 Corinthians 2:4). We see thoughts and plans in the heart (Romans 1:21, Proverbs 16:1). What you value is in your heart (Matthew 6:21). Wisdom resides in the heart (Job 38:6, Proverbs 2:9-11). It is with our hearts that we believe, trusting in God (Romans 10:9). It is with our hearts that we love God (Deuteronomy 6:5). The heart encompasses our emotions, our thinking, our decision making, what we trust in. The heart then is the centre of who we are and directs what we think, say and do. It is why if you know a man\u2019s heart then you know the man (Proverbs 27:19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But there is a problem: all is not well with our hearts. Jeremiah writes about human hearts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,
           inscribed with a flint point,
           on the tablets of their hearts
           and on the horns of their altars.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is what the LORD says:
    “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The heart is deceitful above all things
       and beyond cure. Who can understand it?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                      Jeremiah 17:1, 5, 9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The heart is described like a stone tablet on which their sin has been engraved with an iron tool. This stands in contrast to the Ten Commandments that God wrote upon stone tablets, commandments that direct how we are to live before God. In effect, our hearts are like tablets with competing commands directing our lives, reflecting how we think we should live and what we think is right and wrong. We forsake God\u2019s laws for our own laws to live our own way. The heart is sick with sin, deceiving us to live according to our sin. Its lies and deceptions make it complicated and beyond our ability to understand. Paul in Romans says our hearts are in the dark (Romans 2:29) making it impossible to know the right way to live and to find God of ourselves. We stumble along like blindmen. Our hearts are corrupted by sin and consequently all we think, say and do is directed by our sin, so even our best efforts are stained by sin. Nothing we do is truly and completely good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With the wonders of modern medicine, doctors can now perform heart transplants if someone is born with a heart defect. We too need a heart transplant and that is the promise of Scripture. Elsewhere in Jeremiah we read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jeremiah 31:33<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now instead our sin being written on the tablets of our hearts, in the New Covenant, God\u2019s law is written upon our hearts so we do not live for sin but to please God as his covenant people. Ezekiel tells of how God will remove our hearts of stone and give a heart of flesh, God\u2019s Spirit living in us to obey him (Ezekiel 36:26-27). It is God who gives us a new heart, transforming our inner selves that we might live to please him. It is through God\u2019s work in Christ that he performs a heart transplant upon us, so with a new heart renewed by the Spirit we might see him, know him and live for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the Engaging with God seminar we came up with this statement concerning the heart:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The heart emotionally, mentally, spiritually, volitionally directs how we live for God or for sin. It is corrupted by sin and needs to be transformed by God.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With this understanding we talked through how we might understand our hearts and engage with God. We looked at four things that we can do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Listen to your heart, not follow your heart (Proverbs 20:5)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      While the world might tell us to \u201cfollow our heart\u201d, the Bible says not to follow our heart because it often will not lead us in the right direction. But listening to our heart can help identify our own internal responses \u2013 emotions and thoughts \u2013 to people and situations that direct our word and actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n