Author: John Johnstone

Sermon: Sunday, 31st August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Mathew 11:28-30

What’s the best invitation you have ever had? It’s lovely to receive an invitation. Perhaps it was a wedding invitation to celebrate the ‘big day’ of close friends and to share in their joy. Or perhaps you were invited on holiday to a beautiful area to explore all kinds of new places with your friends. You might be invited to apply for a job and that feels like a great boost – people appreciate your efforts in the workplace. We are inviting people to come to Meal with a Message; they might accept or decline the invitation. You might receive a handwritten note from your spouse, inviting you for a special picnic and walk; sometimes these personal invitations are the most touching. Or it could be a surprise milestone birthday party you are asked to. Roger is inviting us all to a musical concert on the 1st of November. As we know, when invitations arrive then we have a decision to make, to accept or politely decline. A response is required. But the best and most important invitation you have ever received comes here in Matthew chapter 11. Make no mistake, you are invited and you are invited by Jesus himself. Let’s explore what it is exactly that Jesus is inviting us to and what the implications are if we accept or reject the invitation.

1. An astonishing invitation

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’   (Matthew 11:28)

What is astonishing about this invitation? It is staggering for one man, Jesus, to invite the whole world to come to him to receive all the things that they need most. Can Jesus really deliver that? Does he have the resources to meet all our needs? This is the kind of invitation that only God could extend. We read in the book of Isaiah; ‘Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.’   (Isaiah 45:22) God is saying that only he is qualified to rescue us. That would be arrogant were it not true. Likewise, Jesus’ claim to the only one in whom the deepest needs of the world can be satisfied is either some kind of foolish arrogance or it is the truth. We know that Jesus is far more than a human being; he both God and man in one person. That is why he is able to make this amazing invitation. Jesus is, in effect, inviting us to have a relationship with him. It is one where we trust and obey and follow him. And it is through this relationship alone that we can find rest for our souls. It is a relationship where we talk to him in prayer and listen to his voice as we read the Bible.

No politician can say to us, ‘Follow our party and we will meet the deepest needs of your soul.’ No scientist can point to a discovery which will give us peace, meaning and direction. No false prophet in other religions can accomplish this. Only Jesus can. And the good news is that he actually invites you to come to him to receive all you need and more. The question is, will you come?

But it’s also an astonishing invitation because it is an invitation made to those who have rejected him. Jesus has been denouncing the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida. They had seen his miracles and heard his teaching first-hand and yet still rejected him. The Apostle John was right when he wrote: ‘He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.’   (John ch 1 v11)

Today in Fife, the vast majority of people have no time for God or for the things of eternity. Even though these are the critical areas of life, we just focus on what we can see and touch instead. We conveniently forget about the big questions of life: what happens when we die? What will God do about all the wrong things I have done personally? What is the meaning of life? Does God love me? Even though the human race refuses to thank God for his goodness to us and to live our lives for him, Jesus still invites us into a relationship with him. Jesus is here opening his arms to receive the whole world, even a world which has ignored him. It is an invitation we really don’t deserve. Instead of condemnation, we receive an invitation.

2. Who specifically is invited?

We have already seen that the whole world is invited. But Jesus is more specific. He is inviting the ‘weary and the burdened’ He is inviting those who labour and are heavy laden. But does this not describe the whole world without Christ?

Augustine said: ‘You have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in You.’

It’s hard for people to be satisfied without knowing life’s true purpose, even if their family and work circumstances are positive. And it’s no wonder people are weary in a world full of pain and suffering when that pain and suffering seems random and pointless. Is life really meaningless? Life is not a level playing field. Some carry more burdens than others. However, life is hard for everyone. Sometimes we are burdened by guilt weighing us down. We know we have hurt others, but we don’t really know what to do about that. Our consciences begin to bother us. Sometimes we’re crushed by rejection, or bad relationships or an addiction. We are just so worn down by life. Are you loaded down by your sin, or sorrow or regret this morning? You are invited to come to Jesus.

In Jesus’ day, many were weighed down trying to earn God’s favour keeping all kinds of rules. Not just rules in the Bible, but many man-made rules as well. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus describes the actions of the Pharisees: ‘They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.’   (Matthew 23:4) In other words, they falsely teach that people must earn their place in Heaven by ensuring that their good outweighs their bad. But we cannot earn our salvation. We cannot rescue ourselves. We cannot even keep God’s laws, but break them on a daily basis. What a massive burden to place on people – telling them they must, in their own strength, be good enough for God. And even if we do go down this false road, we would never know if what we have done has been enough. We would always be in a state of spiritual anxiety.

It’s not just back in Jesus’ day that people were over-burdened trying to earn God’s favour. This happens just as much today. In fact, every religion teaches this false path and in so doing places burden after burden on people. Jesus invites us to come to him and have this burden removed from our backs. He is able to keep the law on our behalf. And he is able to pay the price for the wrongs we have committed by dying on the cross for us.

3. What does Jesus promise those who come to him?

In a word, rest! There is rest for our souls and it is found in a relationship with Jesus. There is rest for our conscience as in Jesus our sins can be totally forgiven and we no longer carry the burden of shame and guilt. There is rest in our hearts because in Jesus we know who we are, why we are here, what our true purpose is and what will happen to us at death. There is rest in Jesus because our Creator specifically designed us to have a relationship with him.

Most of us know what it is like to be exhausted and burnt out but then to have a proper rest. We might just need time away from work, or a parent might need a break from the relentless task of watching young children. To those trying to earn God’s favour, Jesus tells us that he has done everything necessary for us to be saved and to enter Heaven. We can rest in what he has done. It is not restful to live life running away from God and just doing our own thing. How can we know spiritual rest doing that?

What does coming to Jesus for rest involve in practical terms? It means coming to him in prayer, and asking him for his forgiveness and his help. It means coming to him with empty hands and asking him for all that we need. It means giving up trying to go it alone and receiving his love and grace. It means entering into a relationship with King Jesus.

4. A life-long apprenticeship

But the rest Jesus offers us is not a life of idleness. We are not called to do nothing. And it’s not an easy life but one full of battles and difficulties and temptations. Can that still be restful? Yes, it can. He says: ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’   (Matthew 11:29-30)

What does it mean to take Jesus’ yoke on us? We don’t often think about animal yokes in our culture. A yoke is a wooden collar that runs across the shoulders of a pair of oxen, helping them to pull huge weights. When we become Christians, giving our allegiance to Jesus, this is just the first day of a whole life of serving him. To take Jesus’ yoke on our shoulders means to follow him, serve him and learn from him. In other words, we become Jesus disciples, or apprentices. In the Bible, a yoke speaks of submission to authority. He is in charge of all areas of our lives. We submit to his authority about forgiving others, relationships, our use of money and time, and in terms of our attitudes and desires. Does that sound restful to you? Submitting to Jesus’ authority? The amazing thing is this- it actually is restful to give up trying to live any way we please. Doing as we please is not how we were designed and leads to frustration and hurt and emptiness. In contrast, living according to the ways of Jesus gives us true rest and freedom and peace.

In verse 29, Jesus says: ‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…’ Christian disciples are to be life-long learners. We must always have our Bibles open so that we are learning from Jesus. When we are learning to drive, we display the red L-plates. When we pass our test we have the option of displaying a green P which stands for probationary. We still have a lot to learn. As Christians, I think it’s useful to think of ourselves as always keeping the L-plate on. We never reach a stage where we no longer have to follow Jesus. We need to be committed each day to the process of learning from Jesus.

If you learn a language from the app Duolingo, you aim to complete at least one lesson every day. The number of continuous days you have is called a streak. Keen language learners become quite obsessed with making their streak as long as possible. Christians must do the same with our Bibles. We need a healthy obsession to ensure each day we are learning from the attitudes of Jesus and the actions of Jesus and the commands of Jesus. And because Christians are now filled with the Holy Spirit and because we do so with gratitude in our hearts to the one who died for us, this should not be a burden. Following and obeying Jesus should bring us rest. ‘In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…’   (1 John 5:3) Friends, is this your attitude?

5. Is there anyone better to follow?

I love the answer Peter gives to Jesus when Jesus asks if the twelve want to stop following him, as many from the large crowds had done. ‘Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’   (John 6:68-69) This is so true.

There’s another reason for following Jesus. ‘I am gentle and humble in heart…’   (Matthew 11:29) This is the only time in the whole Bible when Jesus describes his own heart. When Peter denied Jesus, eventually he was able to come to Jesus and what did he find? One who was gentle with him and humble and who would restore him to usefulness once again. For us who are Christians but have made a right mess of something or other, be assured that we can come to Jesus and he will be gentle with us. Is that not a precious truth? The religious leaders of Jesus day were uncaring and harsh and critical and proud. You wouldn’t want to have gone to them for help. But Jesus’ arms are always wide open to receive us and bless us. If you come to Jesus he will meet you with kindness and gentleness. So, come!

And if you are not yet a Christian, I would urge you to stop carrying the heavy load of sin and guilt and meaninglessness and rebellion. Instead, come to Jesus in prayer. Ask for forgiveness. Ask him to be in charge. Become his disciple. Learn from him. And you will know rest.

Sermon: Sunday, 24th August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Revelations 8:1-5

It’s been several weeks since we were last in Revelation, so let’s recap. In chapter 5, we saw a scroll with writing on both sides in the hand of God the Father. This scroll symbolises God’s plans for human history. At first, no one could be found worthy to open the scroll, and bring God’s plans to fulfilment. However, there is a lion-like Saviour who is going to put things right! This lion is also a Lamb who has been slain.

In chapter 6, we were introduced to the four riders of the apocalypse. Through these coloured horses, and the opening of the first four seals, God is telling us what must take place between the first coming and second coming of Jesus, which includes right now. God wants us to be prepared for the great suffering on the earth from the time of Jesus’ ascension, until the day he returns, at the end of the world. God says to expect a world of military conquest (the white horse), war (the red horse), famine (the black horse) and death (the pale horse). And this is exactly our experience of life. God’s warning is exactly right. The fifth seal transported us from the earth up into Heaven, where the martyrs ask God how long the suffering of Christians on earth must last for; God tells them it will be until he has finished gathering in all the saints. Then, most soberingly, we saw that the opening of the sixth seal marks the Day of Judgement. A great shaking and destroying of all evil will take place. The sun turns black and the stars fall from the sky. The universe is being dismantled. The end has come. Those who have rejected God in this life will have nowhere to hide from God’s justice on that day. They will have missed their opportunity to receive God’s mercy. They must now face the consequences of their own failures.

If the opening of the sixth seal seemed too climatic, with the whole universe being dismantled, what is going to happen when Jesus opens the seventh seal? Will the earth melt with fire? After the action-packed descriptions of seals 1-6, the last seal might seem to arrive with a sense of anti-climax: ‘When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.’   (Revelation 5:1) There is not much silence in the book of Revelation; usually we hear loud cries of praise on the sound of war or a loud voice speaking, but not silence. What are we to make of it? The silence is deafening. It is an intense and overwhelming silence, like the calm before a storm.

1. Evil will be punished

As we have seen again and again, the best key to unlock the imagery in Revelation is the Old Testament. What does silence signify there? There are many Old Testament passages which link silence to the righteous judgment of God. For example, in Isaiah 23 v2, when Tyre is being judged by the Lord, we read: ‘Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon…’   (Isaiah 23:2) And in the book of Zephaniah, God gives a prophecy about judging the whole earth on the day of the Lord: ‘Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near.’   (Zephaniah 1:7) This is a holy and reverent silence before divine judgment takes place.

The silence, then, signals to us here this morning that there will be a day when we are all brought to account for how we have lived. We cannot live any way we please and ignore God with impunity. Why does this silence last for half an hour? I am not sure. Perhaps it signals how suddenly this judgment will come upon us. We need to be ready for it, by becoming followers of Jesus.

Many Christians today struggle with the truth of God’s judgment. Some are emotionally troubled by it and others might feel even stronger and be morally outraged by it. The fear is that hell will be an unfair punishment and that it does not square with a loving God. These are genuine concerns people wrestle with. I’ve got several questions about hell myself which I don’t know the answer to. I leave these things with the most loving, just and fair being in the universe – God himself.

Recently, I read a helpful article by Rebecca McLaughlin about the link between love and anger:

‘The idea of the wrath of God seems alien to us a psychologically damaging relic from a bygone era. But just as we cannot absolve people of moral accountability without also erasing their ability to love, so God’s love and God’s judgment cannot be pulled apart. Think of the anger you feel when you see school children shot, women raped, or people beaten because of the colour of their skin. Think of your anger at the slave trade, the Holocaust, and global sex trafficking. When you analyse that anger, its root is love. No one who regards those of other races as subhuman cares about racial exploitation. No one who believes that women or children are property cares about sexual abuse. And the more we love, the more easily our anger is kindled. We rush to defend our children from the least attack because we love them: anyone who harms them inspires our fury.

Imagine that this kind of love-motivated anger is so deeply entrenched in the heart of God that your own commitment to justice is like a drop in the ocean, like the justice of a child dressing up in a police outfit compared with a high-court judge.’

In 2014, it came to light that Jimmy Savile was not the man we might have thought he was. Yes, he raised 40 million for charity. But the truth is that he was a sexual predator who never received punishment for his decades of criminal activity. Did he get away with it? No. He will be brought to account by God. We all will.

Earlier in the month, the Steadfast Global prayer notes told us about Nigeria: ‘Violent attacks against Christian communities are continuing across Plateau state with a further 17 Christians killed by suspected Fulani Muslims since 15 July’. From a human point of view, these attackers got away with it. But have they? Do you want to live in a world where evil actions do not matter? Yes, for many hell is a tough truth to wrestle with. But a universe without justice is also an awful thought. And we can be sure that God will never over-react when meting out punishments. It will be done with absolute fairness. Jesus says, ‘But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.’   (Matthew 11 v 24:) In other words, there will be different levels of punishment in hell.

What will we say to the Lord when we stand before him in judgment? What will Savile say? What will the Fulani herdsman say? Will we be complaining to God about how unfair the punishment is going to be? ‘Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.’   (Romans 1:19) Every mouth will be silenced because God will be judging us and not the other way round. Evil will not remain unpunished forever.

2. The power of prayer

Is there really any point in praying to God? What difference does it make? If we look closely at these few verses it ought to be a massive encouragement to us to pray more. Prayer makes all the difference. Who exactly is praying here? Verse 3 says it is the prayers of ‘all of God’s people’. It is the prayers of all the saints. That includes the prayers of us here this morning, if we are Jesus’ disciples. And what happens to our prayers when they are uttered? They do not bounce of the ceiling and get lost. They do not enter a black hole. Rather, they reach the front of the throne of God. In other words, God hears them. The King of the Universe listens to us personally.

If we all wrote letters to Keir Starmer expressing our various concerns and needs, I very much doubt we would get a personal reply. The letters will go through a screening process at his office with many being ignored. Probably, one of his secretaries will send us a generic reply to some people. How many letters does the prime minister get each day? How many does he read and respond to and take action on personally? A very small number. God is the opposite.

Notice that our prayers are mixed with incense. What does this tell us? That our prayers are like a sweet smelling aroma to our heavenly Father. Do you believe that? That’s why we sang from Psalm 141: ‘May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice’. Even when we do not know what to pray for and we cry out to God, and even when our prayers are mixed with wrong motives and faltering faith, because Jesus is our perfect sacrifice and we are united to him in faith, he makes our prayers acceptable to the Father. When we pray in Jesus’ name, our prayers are covered by Christ’s blood and ascend clean and beautiful and bring joy to our Father. Isn’t that wonderful?

There’s the story of a very young girl picking flowers for her mother. An older woman sees what she has gathered and says ‘let me help you – I’ll take out the weeds and the dirt’. And she does. And the girl gives this beautiful bouquet of flowers to her mother. This is what Jesus does with our prayers. He perfects them for us. He intercedes for us.

Here’s the most exciting part – God not only hears our prayers but he responds by taking action. Our prayers are influential. Far from being a waste of time, they result in the action of God.

Kevin Deyoung: ‘God has ordered the world so that our prayers make a difference. He has sovereignly ordered the world so that he responds to prayer. His sovereign purposes are accomplished through his people praying. The hands that fold in prayer move the hands of him who made the world.’

We see the truth of this as the Lord responds to the prayers of the persecuted church by finally bringing judgment on those who have attacked his church: ‘Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.’   (Revelation 5:5)

Remember what happened when the 5th seal was opened. The martyred saints in Heaven pray: ‘They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.’ (Revelation 6:10-11) God answers their prayers at the end of time.

When I think back over the last 30 years, I should have been more politically involved. I could have written more letters to MPs to both encourage and challenge. But there’s something much more powerful I could have done more of – and that’s pray. Because our prayers are more powerful than we realise. God uses them for the outworking of his purposes. I believe God pays more attention to our prayers and uses our prayers more than he does with the political structures we have. Political structures are important and we ought to be involved in them, but the power of prayer is more important than politics. May this remind us to pray for our politicians.

If we take this passage seriously, and if we really believe that God uses our prayers to fulfil his eternal decree then we won’t need to have our arm twisted to come to the prayer meeting or to pray more at home. If we trust prayer makes a difference it is likely we shall do it.

Sermon: Sunday, 17th August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Acts 16:11-40

This is a thrilling part of the Bible. It describes the first three people who were converted in Europe. We find them all in a place called Philippi, which today is in the north east of Greece. You could not find three people with less in common: a wealthy business woman from Asia called Lydia; a slave girl who is a double-slave, both to her owners and an evil spirit; and a tough, cruel jailer. However, by the end of the chapter, none of those differences matter because they all become followers of Jesus, and end up in the same church together. In verse 40, we find them all gathering in Lydia’s house for a house church. And they are now called ‘brothers and sisters’. Jesus transforms the lives of all these characters. He forgives their sins and gives them the certain hope of eternal life. He brings them into the same family. So, you have men and women, slaves and free, Asians and Europeans, lower class, middle class and upper class. None of these differences matter any more. The good news of Jesus is for everyone. It doesn’t matter what country you were born in, who your people are, what gender you are, how much education or money you have, we all need Jesus to save us. And when he does, we become a church family and the differences no longer matter.

This morning, I’d like us to focus on the jailer. I hope you are all prayerfully thinking about who you can invite along to our next ‘Meal with a message’. If you had known this jailer, you probably would not have invited him. We don’t know too much of his background, but it’s likely that he is a retired Roman soldier, as many Roman soldiers retired to Philippi where they received money, land and Roman citizenship. If so, he would have been a hard man, used to bloodshed and death. We can see that he is cruel as, even though Paul and Silas had been severely flogged, he does nothing to relieve their pain. In fact, he makes their situation worse by putting them in the inner cell, the worst and darkest place to be, and then putting them in stocks, which in Roman times were also designed to inflict pain and misery. Then the jailer went off to bed to sleep. But God is going to work a miracle in his life and bring him to a place where he sees his need of Jesus.

This should be a reminder to all of us that we have no idea who God is going to save next. He saves the slave girl. Today, he might next save an addict or a religious person or someone who seems so materialistic and more interested in cars and holidays and houses than God. What does this mean for us? It means we should invite all kinds of people along to church and to church events and to our homes. It means we should get to know all kinds of different people, whoever the Lord places in our paths. And it means that God specialises in converting the most unlikely people at the most unlikely times. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. If you are here this morning and are not yet a follower of Jesus, God is able to save you too, just as he saves the jailer here.

1. God alone saves, but he uses the witness of Christians

The witness of Paul and Silas is remarkable here. They have been unlawfully arrested on false charges and severely flogged even though this was illegal as Paul is a Roman citizen. You might have expected them to be cursing and swearing at the jailer, or that they would suffer in silence, wondering why God had abandoned them in such an awful place. What we actually hear is a sound probably never heard in this inner cell before – it’s the sound of men singing praises to God. Now let’s be clear – these men do not know what is round the corner. Perhaps they will be executed. They don’t know deliverance is coming. And yet, even in these dark circumstances, they continue to trust that God is in control and that God knows what he is doing even if they do not know. These are Christian men who rejoice in knowing Jesus no matter what kind of circumstances they are in, good or bad.

Keddie: ‘To the outward view their situation was grim – flogged and imprisoned, they perhaps faced even death on the morrow. But God was in all their thoughts and as they poured out their deepest petitions before the Lord, their sense of being in his everlasting arms evoked lively singing of his praises. They had been beaten up, but they were not beaten down.’

We read in verse 25 that the other prisoners were listening to them. I think it more than likely the jailer was also listening. This is a picture of what we saw last Sunday morning, that those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength and mount up with wings like eagles. This is supernatural strength in a time of great vulnerability.

Next, the jailer is about to commit suicide, probably because he will be put to death for allowing his prisoners to escape. We see this earlier in Acts after Peter’s miraculous escape from prison: ‘After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.’   (Acts 12:19) How do Paul and Silas respond to the jailer in this extreme situation? Paul shouts: ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!’   (Acts 16:28) Sometimes we come across people who are suicidal or engaging in self-harm, and we ought to lovingly say to them ‘Don’t harm yourself’. There is hope in Jesus Christ. Who knows what situations we will come across in the coming months.

What Paul is doing for this man is a powerful witness. Paul is saying kind and loving words to the very man who had hurt him and had hurt Silas and had showed no compassion to them whatsoever. Here is a picture of loving your enemies. The prisoners make no attempt to escape. And please notice this – who does the jailer turn to when he wants to know how to be saved? Paul and Silas.

Here’s a challenge for all of us today – we are always being watched by those who know us. They notice how we react to circumstances, especially when things go wrong for us. But if we make an effort to get to know people and to show kindness to all people, even those who wrong us, then when God is at work they might well just come to us and ask us why we can be calm in the face of sickness and tragedy and even death. How we treat one another in our church and how we treat those at work and in our communities matters a great deal. God uses our witness. We are called to let our lights shine before others. Paul and Silas are not aloof from others but are among the people. They are not bitter and angry in their reactions but full of hope and love. May God help us to be the same. What a powerful witness it is when we live like that.

2. God alone saves, but he uses the words of Christians

Don’t listen to people who say: Preach the gospel at all times ad, if necessary, use words’. Christians are called to witness both with their actions and their words. You need both. You could be an amazingly kind neighbour or colleague but if you never point people to Jesus then your witness will be truncated. We need actions and words. How can someone be saved unless we tell them how?

In verse 30, we see that the jailer is beginning to think about God and his great need to get right with him. He genuinely does not know how to do this and so earnestly asks Paul and Silas the most important question in all the world: ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ The jailer might have seemed an unlikely candidate for conversion, but God is pursuing him. God sends Paul and Silas to the jail in order to witness to him and to explain the way of salvation. And God even sends an earthquake in order to bring this man to his senses. God moves heaven and earth as he goes after his lost sheep. What an encouraging fact this is. God is orchestrating events in order save the jailer from his sins.

He asks such a great question. He knows for the first time that he needs to be saved as he is lost, without God and without hope in the world. If you are not yet a Christian, do you appreciate that? Does it trouble you that you are lost and without eternal hope? Suicide was not the answer for this man. He might have escaped the judgement of his bosses but he would not and could not escape the appointment which we all have with almighty God. When we die, each one of us must stand before God and give an account for our lives. And because each one of us has broken God’s good and holy rules so many times, we urgently need to be saved.

I think Paul and Silas’ answer to his question would have greatly surprised the jailer. Notice that he asks, ‘What must I do’ to be saved. Perhaps he expected to have to make a huge financial or animal sacrifice to Jesus. Or perhaps he thought he might have to go on a long journey to a holy place or turn his life around by trying much harder to be a kind man. But none of this can save us. The answer given is much simpler: ‘They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’   (Acts 16:31) It’s crucial that we understand this- this man could not save himself. However, there is something God wants him to do. There is a step he needs to take. And it’s the same thing he wants from each one of us in this room today. He wants us to believe in Jesus. He wants our faith. There is no other way to Heaven. God wants us to receive salvation as a free gift – we cannot earn it. Faith is that receiving of the gift – accepting that Jesus died in our place on the cross.

Becoming a Christian is marked by simplicity. All that is needed is believing in Jesus. However, we must understand what it means to believe in Jesus. It is much more than just believing that he was a historical figure – that he existed. Even the Devil believes in Jesus in that sense. Faith in Jesus means accepting that there is nothing you can do to make up for breaking God’s rules. There is no programme of doing good deeds that can undo our sin. However, although we cannot make up for our wrongdoing, Jesus can. That’s why he died. And that is what we come to believe in – that Jesus, the Son of God, lived the perfect life we could never live and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Salvation is not about what we can do for God to make up for things, but the other way round, what God in Christ has done on the cross so that we can be forgiven. Through his death on the cross, Jesus accomplished salvation for all who would trust in him.

So, as we speak to people about Jesus, we must explain to them that salvation comes through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, we need to unpack that by explaining who Jesus is and why he needed to die on the cross. We cannot just give people one sentence sound-bites. And that’s exactly what Paul and Silas do – they unpack the gospel: ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’  Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.’   (Acts 16:31-32)

3. When God saves, we always see the good fruit of a changed life

What evidence is there that the jailor was truly a changed man. ‘At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds…’   (Acts 16:33) Isn’t that such a clear and practical evidence of change? It’s not that the jailer suddenly had an amazing grasp of deep theology. Nor would all of his wrong living and wrong thinking have disappeared in an instant. That would take a lifetime of work. But he had love for other followers of Jesus. The test of a living faith is faithful living, and we see that here. We also see the reality of his change in his hospitality and in the newly found joy which fills his heart.

4. When God saves, it has an impact on a whole family

‘At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptised.’   (Acts 16:33-34) Why baptise all the members of his family? The covenant sign being placed on our households goes back to the book of Genesis: ‘I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.’   (Genesis 17 v 7) God tells Abraham to place the sign of the covenant on all the males in the household. Because in conversion God embraces households. This is no guarantee that everyone will be saved all of the time in the family, but it does mean the household is now a special one. This principle is repeated on the Day of Pentecost: ‘The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’   (Acts 2:39)

Let’s consider these verses again and listen out for the way in which the jailer’s conversion impact his whole house: ‘They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’ Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.  At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptised. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God – he and his whole household.’   (Acts 16:31-34) Today, as we say goodbye to a number in our church family (the Youngs and Daniel), I doubt that God has finished working in their families. What an encouragement it is to know our God cares for the spiritual well-being of our families.

Sermon: Sunday, 10th August, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31

1. Feeling forgotten by God

Do you ever feel like God has forgotten about you? Do you ever feel that he doesn’t care? If he did, surely he would have answered your prayers by now and changed things. Can true Christians become disillusioned with God? Can people with genuine faith in Christ feel that God has abandoned them? Can they become angry with God. Yes, they can. Sometimes for a long time. Yes, Christians are those with trust in Jesus, but our trust is far from perfect. Sometimes it’s a wobbly faith. Always, it’s mixed with some measure of doubt and fear and darkness and questions. Perhaps this morning, on the outside it seems your faith is fine, but the truth is, if people could see into your heart they would see that you feel far away from God and you feel that he has let you down.

In Isaiah 40, God acknowledges that his people are feeling this way: ‘Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God’?’   (Isaiah 40:27) They feel disregarded by God. They feel ignored. They feel like they don’t matter to God. They feel neglected. Why? It’s likely because God’s people are going through a difficult season of suffering. It is possible that they are in captivity in Babylon surrounded by enemies and feeling hopeless. God’s covenant promise to be their God and the God of their children seems hollow. Often in times of difficult circumstances, our faith begins to waver. Remember what the disciples to say to Jesus in the boat during the storm: ‘Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’   (Mark 4:38)

Psalm 13 opens with David’s cry: ‘How long, Lord? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me?’ David feels forgotten by God. Doubtless he has been praying, but God does not seem to be answering quickly enough for him. That’s why four times in the first two verses he asks, ‘How long?’ Can you relate to David? You have questions for God that he is not answering. You are in circumstances that you have prayed about again and again and nothing ever seems to change. Perhaps even years and years have gone by. And through our suffering and disappointment, it is easy to arrive at a place where we feel life has ripped the stuffing out of us and God has sat back and watched it all happen from a distance, even though we trusted in him to help, at first anyway. You pray and pray and it seems like only delay and delay from God. ‘My way is hidden from the Lord.’   (Isaiah 40:27) All Christians remain sinners, and we can begin to harden our hearts towards God and think of him in the wrong way. And Christians remain sufferers; the things we have gone through and are going through take their toll on us. We ask: ‘How can God be allowing this to happen to me?’.

Here’s some good news. God understands. He’s not fazed by our cries of disappointment. He’s not going to abandon us. I love the words in Isaiah 42 v3 which outline God’s attitude towards the weak of faith and the vulnerable: ‘A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.’   (Isaiah 42:3) Our God is a compassionate God. However, he does not want his people to remain in a place of such fragile faith. He wants our trust in him to grow once again. He wants us to be able to keep going in spite of our tough circumstances. How does the LORD do this? By reminding us of who he is and by promising strength to those who trust in him. So, if you are feeling like God has forgotten you, let’s take our eyes away from our circumstances, and back to where they ought to be – on God himself.

2. The antidote: ‘Behold your God.’

We all need to be reminded again and again of the basic truths about who God is. We need to relearn them. We forget them so quickly and then we go off the rails. ‘The Lord is the everlasting God.’   (Isaiah 40:28) He is infinite. There never was a time when God was not there and there never will be. He is the one who was, and is, and is to come. He never grows old. He is outside of time. We are all so time-bound and often feel pressurised by time. There’s so much to do and so little time. God never feels that way. We need to remember this when we pray and nothing seems to change. God is not acting on our timescale but on his own. This means we need to be patient.

His name is the LORD, which reminds us that he is the covenant God, who always keeps his promises to us, even if that takes longer than we would like. He is committed to us. He loves us.

He is the Creator of the ends of the earth. There is no part of our world where God is not in control. He is not only the infinite God but he is also the God who is everywhere, even at the ‘ends of the earth’. He is omnipresent. Maybe the Israelites felt abandoned by God in exile in Babylon. But God was right there with them. And maybe you feel abandoned by God here in Fife, in the circumstances of your own home and your own work, but God sees you and he knows what you are going through and he cares.

He will not ‘grow tired or weary’. We grow tired and weary quite easily. If we don’t get enough food or enough sleep we can quickly become jaded. Our strength is so limited. There is only so much we can do. If we are doing housework, which never seems to end, we will need to take a break. We need to rest. In so many jobs in the modern world the workload seems to increase and the number of people helping us seems to decrease. We get stressed and exhausted and burnt out. God never grows tired or weary. Isn’t that amazing? He can make the world in six days and not even break sweat. He never sleeps. He never needs to recharge his batteries. Like the burning bush in Exodus 3, he burns with energy all the time but his resources never diminish. Isaiah is saying to us all this morning: ‘behold your God’. He is eternal and everywhere and all-powerful. And there is more.

‘His understanding no one can fathom.’   (Isaiah 40:28) God is the all-knowing God. He is infinite in his wisdom. I believe this is one of God’s attributes which we need to keep particularly in mind today. When things go wrong for us, we are so quick to put God in the dock and to judge God and find him guilty, as if we are the ones who have infinite understanding.

JL Mackay: ‘…our complaints against his ways of acting are misguided because they are based on incomplete information.’

Often the LORD allows things to happen to us and we simply don’t know why. We cannot see the purpose. But does that mean there is no purpose? Does that mean it is just all meaningless? No! God, and God alone, has all the information. He alone sees the end from the beginning. And he is working all things for our good. When the going gets tough for us, we need to return to the fact that God is wiser than we are. We need to learn to be comfortable in a place where we don’t understand what God is doing, but we understand that he knows what he is doing. We need to let God be God. We need to trust him. We need to trust in his infinite wisdom. I myself have many questions God has never answered. Many things have happened to me that I really don’t understand. What will I do with all of these things? Will I put God in the dock and judge him? Or will I humbly accept that he has infinite wisdom and trust that he knows what he is doing?

During the times of our suffering, Satan wants us to doubt God’s love and wisdom. He attacks our faith and wants to extinguish it. He wants us to think of God as harsh and uncaring. We need to fight these temptations with truth. We need to be reminded about who God is, the one infinite in greatness, strength and power and wisdom.

But we also need to hear the truth about God’s graciousness. What do I mean? We need to know that God is a God who shares his power with those who are weak. ‘He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.’   (Isaiah 40:29) This is wonderful news. God is the one who sustains us in our weakness. He gives supernatural power to the faint. This might be a word for you here this morning.

3. The antidote continued: ‘Wait on the LORD.’

Verse 30 reminds us that even youths grow tired and weary. Sometimes we look at young people in the prime of life and we think ‘I wish I had half of their energy’. But even they grow tired. Our puppy Jura is 7 months old, just a bairn, and out on walks she seems to have boundless energy. But even she crashes when we get home. ‘Young men stumble and fall.’   (Isaiah 40:30) These young men are those specially chosen for the army because they are so fit. Perhaps for an elite army group. Even they eventually collapse in a heap. If even youths and young men are eventually ground down by life and cannot survive on their own resources, how much more are we going to come to an end of our own resources.

But here’s the thing: it’s good when we come to the place where we realise we cannot cope on our own. It’s good when we stop relying on our own limited strength. Because only then will come to God in prayer and wait upon him for strength from above. We don’t have the spiritual energy to continue following Jesus but the good news is that God has a surplus of energy. So, if you are here and you are disappointed with God, rather than becoming angry with him, why not find a quiet place and ask him for strength instead? ‘… those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.’   (Isaiah 40:31)

Do you want this supernatural strength from God? Then, we need to understand what it means to ‘wait upon’ the LORD. Because only those who wait upon him shall receive such strength. Perhaps the first step in waiting on the LORD is coming to the end of our own resources. Someone once said, all we need to receive God’s power is to be weak enough. Have you given up on trying to live life on your own strength yet? Then you are actually in a good place to be.

Waiting on God means to adopt a posture of trust, trusting that the LORD will come through for us in his time and in his way. He might not give us what we want but he will give us what we need and what is best. Waiting on God is a patient anticipation that he will help us. We hope on him. We can be content in hard circumstances because we know he will not let us down. It might take time. It might take a very long time from our limited point of view. Waiting on God means crying out to him in prayer for strength each day and then trusting that our heavenly Father will give us our ‘daily bread’. We spread the matter before him in prayer and then leave it in his capable hands.

Waiting on God is not something passive. We don’t just pray and do nothing. Yes, we pray, but we also read our Bibles, reminding ourselves of the character of God. We read his promises to us in the Bible and we trust in them. We wait with patient expectation. ‘The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.’   (Psalm 34:10) Do you believe that? We trust that God will act in the right time and in the right way, and in the meantime and this is crucial, we get on with the task of following Jesus in all the areas of our lives. We want his will to be done in our lives as we wait on him.

Then something wonderful happens. We are able to do things we once thought would be impossible. We are able to continue on the path of following Jesus. We are able to keep going in those hard circumstances: ‘They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.’   (Isaiah 40:31) Have you ever watched an eagle flying? Have you seen how effortlessly they seem to soar on the air currents with their huge wings. We might think we could never do that. But God can give such strength to us. He can help us to keep on running when we get a stitch and want to stop and he can help us to keep on walking to our destination when it seems like we cannot go on. He is the God who gives strength to those who ask and wait.

Sermon: Sunday, 13th July, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Psalm 46

Sometimes our lives plunge into chaos and darkness. Perhaps you are fit and healthy, hardly ever seeing a doctor, but then you receive a life-changing diagnosis and you know nothing will ever be the same again. Perhaps you lose of job you have had and enjoyed for many years, and you don’t know what way to turn. Death brings chaos in its wake. Perhaps your relationship with your spouse or child is really good, but then through death, you find yourself all alone. When the poet W H Auden lost a loved one he wrote the poem ‘Stop all the clocks’. He felt as if the whole world was now meaningless and that there was no hope: ‘The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good.’ There is no light for the poet in the darkness of death. These are circumstances he cannot cope with and he has no where to turn. Proverbs 27: ‘Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.’   (Proverbs 27:1) What if tomorrow brings you an extremely tough circumstance? What if you are in such a time right now and are struggling to cope? How should we respond to these things as Christians? At such times, one place we can turn is to Psalm 46. The Sons of Korah have gone through experiences that have tested their faith. How did they respond?

1. Faith in life’s chaos

This Psalm opens with an amazing confidence in God (verse 1): ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.’ Actually the Hebrew says ‘troubles’ (plural). In other words, our lives are full of troubles, but time and time again, God proves to be there with us to help and support us.

‘The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.’   (Psalm 34:19)

Such confidence in God is not glib, but borne out of experience. We go through a crisis, and somehow in the darkness, God sends his light and supports us and gets us through it. We know he has carried us. And that experience of God’s grace allows us to look ahead with confidence. This was David’s logic before he went to fight Goliath; ‘The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’   (1 Samuel 17:37) David remembers God’s faithfulness in the past and that allows him to look to the future trials with great faith. For us here this morning, we need to actively remember the ways the Lord has been with us in crises, so that when the next one comes (and it will) we will instinctively know what to do. We will take shelter in our God. We will pray to him for help and grace.

In verses 2-3, the Psalmist thinks the unthinkable and imagines that the most stables things in life, the earth and the mountains, give way and collapse into the sea. Even if that happens, we will still trust in the Lord. Let me be clear, sometimes there are things in our lives that we thought of as permanent and stable and immovable and yet they can be taken away suddenly. Things that are not supposed to happen happen. Those campers at a Christian camp in Texas swept away by a freak storm. The many Christians thrown into jail just because they follow Jesus. You are struck by physical or mental illness. A pandemic hits the country and we find ourselves staying at home for months at a time. What if something happens this year which feels like the mountains themselves are falling into the sea? What if we we have to face our worst fears?

One writer helpfully put it this way: ‘In this Psalm our what-ifs become even-ifs. Rather that focusing on the fearful circumstances, we focus on the God who has promised to be our refuge and strength.’

I remember walking out to Cramond island, a tidal island in the Firth of Forth. Suddenly, a huge storm blew up and we desperately wanted somewhere to take refuge. Fortunately, there was a WW2 structure where we could shelter and keep the driving rain and powerful winds at bay. It was a huge relief. After 30 minutes the storm subsided. The thing is, most of life’s storms last for far longer than 30 minutes. Some will remain with us our whole lives. And it is our belief that the only secure shelter for us is not the relief which money brings or even other people, but ultimately in the Lord himself.

Daniel’s three friends faced being thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar, they shelter in the right place. They place their trust in the right person. They did not despair amidst the chaos: ‘If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’   (Daniel 3:17-18) Do you know what it is to shelter in the Lord? He is our refuge, protecting us from the attacks of the evil one. And he is our strength, pouring out his grace into our hearts in supernatural ways.

Why is the Lord the only true refuge? And what makes him so special? The refrain in verses 7 and 11 answers that question for us: ‘The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.’   The Lord ‘Almighty’ also means the Lord of hosts. This means that God has all the resources of the universe at his disposal for us! He is able to command the hosts of angels to do his bidding. Remember the words of Jesus: ‘Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?’   (Matthew 26:53)

The ‘Lord’ is God’s special covenant name, reminding us that he has promised to always be our God and the one supplying the help we need. Sometimes we wonder if God would really presence himself with us in our troubles. Why would he help someone like me. Well, he is the God of Jacob, that twisted deceiving character. God takes people like that and becomes a refuge for them!

2. The reason for our faith (vs 4-5)

The city of God mentioned in verse 4 is Jerusalem. What river runs through the city of Jerusalem? There is no such literal river. The river symbolises God’s grace. Because God is with his people in a special way, there flows from him an endless supply of life-giving water for all of his subjects. This is a wonderful picture of blessing. This river supplies the waters of God’s grace, not to a few, but to all the homes in this city. As New Testament Christians, this river speaks to us of the Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell within every single Christian, giving life-giving power and strength. Perhaps this river looks back to the beautiful river in Eden. And perhaps it looks forward to that river in Heaven, when Eden is restored: ‘Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.’   (Revelation 22:1-3)

In verse 6 we are told that the kingdoms of the earth will fall. This will never happen to the Kingdom of God. ‘God is within her, she will not fall.’   (Psalm 46:5) Martin Luther was great friend’s with the Greek scholar Philip Melanchthon. Melanchthon was a more anxious character than Luther, and would often worry about the cause of Christ, especially in times when they faced great opposition. Often Luther would say to Philip: ‘Come now Philip, let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm’. One day when Melanchthon was concerned whether the church would even survive, Luther said to him: ‘If we perish, Christ must fall too; he is in the midst of us’. In other words, because God is within his church, she will not topple. We do not need to be afraid. Luther was rubbing the logic of Psalm 46:5 into his own situation.

I love the image in the second half of verse 5: ‘God will help her at break of day.’ So often in the Bible, there is darkness, but then the Lord bursts through in the dawn, changing everything and bringing in shafts of light to the situation.

Think of the amazing Old Testament picture of salvation in Exodus: ‘Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.’ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.’   (Exodus 14:26-27) Salvation comes at daybreak.

Think of Mary Magdalene going to the tomb ‘while it was still dark…’   (John 20:1) But then the light comes as she meets the risen Saviour at the break of day.’

Think of Psalm 30: ‘…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.’   (Psalm 30:5) For those of us in dark times right now, know this: we usually do not feel God is early bringing his help, but he is never late. When the time is right, at the breaking of the dawn, the darkness will give way to light, and the Lord will prove himself faithful once again.

3. Our faith in God will be vindicated when he is exalted on the earth

When we read in verse 6 that ‘the nations are in uproar’ it has a contemporary feel to it. Jesus reminds us: ‘You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth-pains.’   (Matthew 24:6-8) However, God is the one ultimately in control of all of history. The wars which seems totally chaotic will be stopped by the voice of God: ‘He lifts his voice, the earth melts.’ (Psalm 46:6) While now humanity seems to endlessly enter into wars, the day will come when the Lord will enforce peace by coming again to the earth, and destroying these weapons of war: ‘He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.’   (Psalm 46:9) The truth is, all wars will never cease on earth because of wise international diplomacy. Wars will cease when Christ returns, destroying the weapons of his enemies once and for all, and ensures the eternal safety of his people.

Verse 10 is the most famous verse in this Psalm: ‘Be still, and know that I am God…’ But the question is, who is the Lord speaking to here? Is he calling us to go off to a quiet place in a forest and to take our Bibles out? I don’t think so, though that is a great thing to do! In verse 10, God seems to be speaking to his enemies, the warring nations that have been in uproar. He commands them to be still, in other words, to stop their futile attempts to harm God’s people and to pretend they can live in rebellion against God without consequences. Be still. Lay down your arms. Know that it is the Lord who is in control of history and no one else.

Our Psalm moves to a conclusion with the magnificent prophecy in verse 10: ‘I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ Surely, the New Testament equivalent of this verse is found in Philippians: ‘…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’   (Philippians 2:10-11)

That is where history is going. We can take shelter in the God of all history.

Sermon: Sunday, 6th July, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Psalm 119:9-16

Psalm 119 is, of course, the longest Psalm with 176 verses. In a nutshell, it’s a Psalm about the Bible by a person who loves the Bible. Every single verse except for one mentions God’s Word. We have to return to the theme of living according to God’s Word again and again, because it’s the only way to live in order to please God and because it is the only way for us to know lasting peace and joy in life.

Donald Whitney: ‘No spiritual discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture. The reasons for this are obvious. In the Bible God tells us about Himself, and especially about Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God. The Bible unfolds the Law of God to us and shows us how we’ve broken it. There we learn about how Christ died as a sinless, willing Substitute for breakers of God’s Law and how we must repent and believe in Him to be right with God. In the Bible we learn the will and ways of the Lord. We find in Scripture how to live in a way that is pleasing to God as well as best and most fulfilling for ourselves. None of this eternally essential information can be found anywhere else except the Bible. Therefore if we want to know God and be godly, we must know the Word of God – intimately.’

So, if reading the Bible and living out what it says is so important, we need to keep on reminding ourselves of what this looks like in plain and practical ways.

The section of this Psalm begins (verse 9) with a wonderful question: ‘How can a young person stay on the path of purity?’   In other words, how can we live more like Jesus? What do we need to do to live a God-pleasing life? The God-pleasing life is also the most fulfilling and enriching and peaceful way for us to live, because by following our Maker’s instructions, our lives will work far better than if we go our own way instead, ignoring his instructions.

Although the focus might be on a young person, seeking to get on the path of godliness early in his life, of course, this Psalm applies to all of us today, young, middle-aged and older in years. The answer to this crucial question of how to be godly comes immediately: ‘By living according to your word.’   The key to being like Jesus is to read, meditate and practice what we find in the pages of Scripture.

‘You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.’   (John 15:3)

‘Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.’   (John 17:17)

The rest of this section (vs 10-16) gives us a diagram of what it means to live according to God’s Word. However, before we look at those verses, let’s be clear about what the Psalmist is claiming here. He is claiming that the Bible is truly God’s Word and is the absolute truth. We are not left by God to grope around in the darkness not knowing why he made us or how to live. He communicates to us in love.

In Scotland in 2025, most people reject the idea that the Bible as absolute truth. Most of us know that to be true. Even the hundreds of supernaturally fulfilled prophecies point to that. But most people don’t like being told what to do, not even by their Maker. They want their own moral autonomy. But it’s really important to ask, what takes the place of God’s truth in their lives? They just choose any way they want to live. And because everyone has different ideas about how they want to live, we now live in a relativistic age. People do what is right in their own eyes, and not according to the wisdom of the all-knowing God. Satan wants to delude us into thinking living this way is true freedom. He’s being doing that since he met Eve at the tree.

The thing is, God has already decided the best way for his creatures to live and by kicking against that we do damage to ourselves and others. The opposite is also true. Living a life which truly tries to follow Jesus is a life of blessing. Please don’t miss out on that life. Jesus says, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’   (John 8:12)

Friends, listen to this – it is only as we actively follow Jesus’ commands and principles that we experience the light of life. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? It’s not easy following Jesus in all areas of life but not doing so logically leads to darkness, as we break the Maker’s instructions, and doing so floods your hearts with his life-giving light.

1. True holiness is found when God’s word leads you to prayer

‘I seek you with all my heart…’   (Psalm 119:10) This might seem like a basic point, but it is crucial. We don’t read the Bible just for knowledge; we read the Bible as it leads us to God himself. Since we cannot see God, we can only know him through his Word. The Pharisees had much head-knowledge of the Bible, but they did not know God. So, as we read the Bible, pray beforehand, asking for God’s help. Then we read and meditate on the Bible. And then we move from reading to worship and heartfelt prayer. We do this because holiness or Christ-likeness is found through a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. We listen to him as we read and live out the Bible and talk to him in prayer.

So, although this is a Psalm about reading the Bible, it welds that reading to speaking with God in prayer. Seek him in prayer each day. And what does the Lord promise about seeking him? ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’   (Jeremiah 29:13) Christianity is not just some moral code or philosophy; it is actively pursuing a relationship with God through Bible reading and prayer. Discovering a closeness with God is the greatest human experience imaginable.

I love the balance we find in verse 10. On the one hand, the Psalmist knows he is responsible for getting his Bible out and reading over it carefully and seriously. However, on the other hand he is also humble enough to know that he is weak and can easily be moulded by a godless culture, so he pleads with God for help: ‘…do not let me stray from your commands.’   This Psalm is honest about how easily we wander far from God, like sheep. Usually, the first wandering steps happen when we stop listening to God, when we stop reading his Word. Have you ever stopped listening to God. I have! Friends, each day may the Bible lead you to talking-time with God – relationship with God.

2. True holiness is greatly helped by memorising God’s Word

‘I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’   (Psalm 119:11) I had stored up piles and piles of old sermon notes on passages which I used to help prepare my sermons. There were thousands of pages. The truth is, I wasn’t going to use them again. They needed to be binned! Storing up God’s Word, however, is different. It means storing up many objects of great value so that they can be used again and again in the future.

Wyn recently shared on our facebook page a fun way of memorising Bible verses – the ‘mumble card method’. It still involves hard work as everything of value does. But it really works. And what happens when we commit Bible verses to memory. For example, in Genesis 39, Joseph is being tempted by Potiphar’s wife. Joseph says to her: ‘How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?’   (Genesis 39:9) What would happen to you if you memorised this and many other verses? The Bible is so powerful (a living Word) that this verse would start to change the way you think and even feel about temptation. And as this verse travels through your head and into your heart this results in a change of behaviour. It really changes you. Now, when temptation comes, you are more likely to feel a repulsion to it. You feel differently about it because of the actual power of this verse. And over time, your behaviour changes and you fall less frequently into sin, by God’s grace. ‘Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’   Ephesians 6:17) Doubts about God’s wisdom come into your mind, but the verse from Job 38 comes to your mind like a sword, slaying the doubt: ‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.’   (Job 38:4)

3. True holiness asks God for help to understand his Word

‘Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees.’   (Psalm 119:12) Yes, we need to get stuck into our Bibles. However, before we start reading, the best possible think we can do it ask God to help us to understand and to believe and to help us apply it to our everyday lives. Otherwise, we can read the Bible at it just does not resonate. Be humble enough to ask for help. ‘But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.’   (John 14:26)

I love Psalm 43:3 as rendered in the Scottish Psalter: ‘O send thy light forth and thy truth; let them be guides to me.’ This is a great prayer to make before we read the Bible and before we listen to a sermon. God, supernaturally enlighten me. Show me what you want me to see in the Bible.

4. True holiness involves telling others the Word of God

‘With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.’   (Psalm 119:13) Let’s keep this point short and simple: when God’s word seeps into our minds and enlarges our hearts and leads us to a real communion with God in prayer, we cannot help but pass his Word on to others. God’s love floods our hearts and it just comes gushing out.

5. True holiness brings joy to our hearts

Again Satan wants us to think that holiness is boring and starched and a kill-joy and will lead to us missing the best things in life. Listen to verse 14: ‘I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.’   (Psalm 119:14) Possessions usually end up possessing us; they do not bring lasting joy. Wealth certainly counts for nothing from an eternal perceptive. For example, last Sunday evening we looked at the theme of adoption. We are taken into God’s family and made heirs with Christ. We are more loved than we realise by God himself. This brings a deep joy which cannot be taken from us and which no amount of extra thousands in our bank accounts can come close to. Do you want deep joy?

6. True holiness is cultivated by meditation

‘I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.’   (Psalm 119:15) We always remind ourselves that Christian meditation contrasts with new age meditation in that rather than emptying our minds, we fill our minds with Scripture. This takes time. Just as meat needs time to marinade in a sauce, so we must let God’s Word marinade in our hearts. You cannot rush meditation.

Consider this verse: ‘I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.’   (Psalm 16:8) You might write this verse out on paper. You ask questions of it. What does it mean to keep my eyes on the Lord practically speaking? Why will doing this keep me from being shaken? What is it God really wants me to do? Can I turn this verse into a prayer? For example: “Lord, help me to consider the words and actions of Jesus each day so I can keep you before me”.

My old flatmate used to eat roast chicken slowly. He’d take his time and then suck the marrow out of the bones. I don’t really follow this practice. However, that’s how we should dine on God’s Word. Suck all the goodness we can out of it. Take your time. Meditate.

7. True holiness delights in God’s decrees because we delight in God himself

‘I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.’   (Psalm 119:16) Why should we delight in God’s laws? Satan wants us to cringe at them. We delight in the command ‘Do not lie’ because God is a God of truth. Truth is light in the universe stemming from God. So delight in the law to tell the truth.

We delight in the command ‘Do not commit adultery’ because God is a God of total faithfulness in his relationship with his. He is fully committed. His love will not let us go. Faithfulness is light in our universe stemming from God himself. So delight in it.

Let’s go back to the question in verse 9. Do you want to live a pure life? Here’s how not to do it. ‘Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.’   (Proverbs 19:27) Just stop reading God’s Word. That’s enough. But if you do want to live a life knowing Jesus’ light flooding into you, then treasure up, memorise, apply, and pray over his Word. Ask God for the light of understanding and the ability to obey it. And you shall know the power and fellowship of God himself in an enriched life.

Sermon: Sunday, 29th June, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Luke 18:15-17

2. To help establish a new church in Leven through prayer, finance, and other support. Video 2

Jesus really does love babies and toddlers and children of all ages. Boys and girls here this morning – Jesus thinks you are very special and important and always has time for you when you pray to him. How do we know that? Well, this story of Jesus spending time with wee ones and blessing them teaches us that this is true.

D R Davis: ‘There must have been something about Jesus that indicated he was ‘approachable’… the parents assumed Jesus would welcome their little on… What a grand assumption and what a superb Saviour’.

In Jesus’ day, it was customary to take your children to a Rabbi in order to receive a blessing from the Lord. This goes all the way back to Genesis 48, where Jacob places his hands on the sons of Jospeh and blesses them.

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘Jesus seems to be moved by the fact that these parents wanted him to receive and pray for their children. It was an expression of their recognition of his grace and their trust in him.’

Picture the scene: many cheerful families are gathered around Jesus, waiting for their turn to spend some time with him. Mothers carried their babies; toddlers would be wandering around and other children would no doubt be laughing and playing. Probably some were even crying about something or other! Imagine you were there with your children and were nearing the front of the queue and were getting excited! Suddenly, Jesus’ own disciples stride over to you scowling and try to break up the expectant crowd. You’re so disappointed. You may think, ‘My children will never receive Jesus’ blessing now.’

But happily, you are proved wrong. Jesus himself comes over and gives his own disciples into trouble. It is a bit embarrassing! And you hear what he says: ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’   (Luke 18:16) You smile at Jesus’ wonderful words. Jesus says the kingdom of God belongs to my children. Jesus really does love and care for our children.

1. Don’t be like the disciples and block people from Jesus

The disciples really get it wrong here. They rebuke the parents for bringing their children to Jesus but they themselves end up being rebuked by Jesus. It’s hard to know exactly why the disciples want to get rid of all the children. At best, perhaps they wanted to try and protect Jesus from burning out, and getting shot of the children seems like a no-brainer. After all, in those days, young children had no standing in society. They seem to assume that Jesus should not give quality time to children. Or, maybe the disciples feel that they themselves are too busy doing ministry and that the children are just getting in the way. How wrong they are. This wrongness is itself a reminder to us that we can think we are doing the Lord’s work, but actually we are not. We must make sure we are doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way. We can be busy in the church but can do more harm than good, because our thinking is not right.

This is a really sad picture, as the disciples were meant to be those bringing people to Jesus, as Andrew often did. But here, they are so wrong-headed and actually try to prevent people from coming to Jesus. They behave like bouncers, not disciples. They might not have had time for children, but Jesus did! And so, Jesus rebukes them: ‘Do not hinder them!’

Before we all get too comfortable at how stupid the disciples are being here (and it is stupid) we have to realise that we can be more like them than we’d like to admit. There are many ways in which Christian parents, as well as those who don’t have children, can act as barriers preventing children from coming to Jesus. This is a most serious thing. You don’t want to be that person.

In what ways can we be like the disciples here? We could neglect the children in our church by failing to take an interest in them, not really even ‘seeing’ them, except as a nuisance. As parents we could be so focused on our work or hobbies that we fail to give our children the time and love they need. We can both overvalue our children, which is idolatry, or undervalue them which is neglect.

Another easy way we can block our children from Jesus is simply by our own silence. We fail to teach them the core Bible stories and fail to teach them to pray. We don’t bring them to church regularly and we don’t have family worship in the home, so our children are not hearing the voice of Jesus much at all. This is our silence. On in conversation at home, the time comes when we need to speak up about something happening in current affairs but we say nothing.

When we read Deuteronomy, God specifically tells us to speak to our children constantly about him. This is a long way from silence: ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.’   (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

All of us are guilty of closing the road to Jesus by our hypocrisy. When our children see us acting winsomely at church but then being short-tempered and unkind or disengaged at home then they can see right through us. If our children don’t see us walking the walk as well as talking the talk then we are in danger of putting them off the faith. This too is a serious business. There are many times when I have failed my children in this way, and acted as a barrier to Jesus. What about you? If money, our appearance and success and having a good time and being happy are the most important things to us, then our children will soak this in. If serving Jesus and loving him is what makes us tick then our children will soak this in like sponges. They have eyes! What are they seeing?

2. Be like the parents and bring people to Jesus

In these parents we have a beautiful picture of faith and godly parenting. The parents truly believe Jesus could bless their children. They do the very best thing possible for their children – they bring them to Jesus. There were obstacles – no doubt – there always are. The disapproving disciples. They had to take the time to stand and wait their turn. There is a cost involved.

But there is nothing better for a parent to do than bring their children to Jesus. Never say that you are too busy to bring children to church. There are always obstacles in bringing our children to church. But I’d encourage you to do that every week. This is what Christ wants. Sure, sometimes you have to miss out on social opportunities for your children – there are lots of other things on in our society on Sundays and you can’t be in two places at once. What are you going to choose? Our society has very little interest in Jesus so expect many things to compete with the preciousness of bringing our children to Jesus at church.

Bring your children to Jesus at home with family worship. Bring your children to Jesus at Sunday School and church. Will they be able to come to the 5:30 pm service to get used to that? Let’s keep being like these parents and keep on bringing our children to Jesus. One of my good friends lived in a remote part of Scotland and there were very few other Christians his age around. As an adult, he now looks back with massive appreciation at the efforts his parents made to run him to Christian clubs and youth groups. His parents made great efforts to bring him to Jesus. At the time, he did not appreciate just how valuable this spiritual investment was. Now he does.

3. Parents who trust in Jesus have covenant children

‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’   (Luke 18:16)

Jesus is telling us here than when parents trust in Jesus and look to him for blessing, their children are special – they are covenant children. The blessing Jesus gave the children that day does not automatically mean they will all be saved; however, these children are brought up in a privileged way, hearing about the love of God. Why does the Kingdom of God belong to such children? Remember the promise the Lord made to Abraham. ‘I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.’   (Genesis 17:7)

We see from this verse that in the Old Testament, children were part of the covenant community. Did this stop in the New Testament. ‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.’   (Ephesians 6:1) In the New Testament also, Jesus is viewed as the covenant Lord of these children. And that is exactly why we baptise our children, because the Kingdom of God belongs to them. We Christian parents belong to Christ and our children also belong to Christ, and we pray that one day they will repent and believe in the gospel for themselves.

S Ferguson: ‘The inheritance of believing parents belongs to our children – they still have to come to faith – but they have this great inheritance on offer to them.’

4. A picture of becoming a Christian

If you are not yet a Christian, what does God want from you? How does he want you to come to him? God gives us a really helpful picture of how he wants us to come. ‘Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’   (Luke 18:17) So, the logical question is this, how do children receive things from their parents?

When they need some food, do they try and pay their parents for it, or do they need to earn it? No! Do they need to convince their parents that they deserve their food? No! They simply come to their parents with empty hands, expecting to receive the food as a gift.

Young children are marked by a helpless dependence on others in order to survive. They have nothing to offer. That’s exactly the way God wants us to come to him. He wants us to come as beggars, with empty hands, asking for his forgiveness and love, even though we don’t deserve it. Children are good at receiving gifts without trying to earn them. We must come to God like them.

The 3rd verse of the hymn ‘Rock of ages’ goes like this:
Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress, helpless, look to thee for grace:
foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me, saviour, or I die.

Kent Hughes: ‘The soul that receives the kingdom is grace-oriented – it is open to the unmerited favour of God.’

Some people do not like to receive charity. But when it comes to God, we need to. Imagine you have run out of money and food. You decide to go to the foodbank. You arrive with an empty bag, that’s all. You are given food to tide you over for a few days. That’s how we should come to God spiritually. We come in prayer and say to God, ‘I am empty; please fill me. I am a sinner; please forgive me. I don’t deserve your love; but please love me on account of your grace and mercy.’

Have you come to Jesus like this? You won’t get to Heaven any other way!

Sermon: Sunday, 22nd June, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Zechariah 4

Something significant is about to happen in the life of our church. From August, Leven Free Church will commence their own morning services. We will no longer be meeting together here. Around 20 people will move on and will be greatly missed but will do so in the best of circumstances – to plant a new church. It would be easy for some from both sides to become discouraged. Sometimes we say that there is safety in numbers. Should we not stay together and plan for a megachurch in the Gallatown, Kirkcaldy’s finest suburb? Will Leven Free Church be able to kick on and grow and develop? Will Kirkcaldy Free Church grow once again, having been pruned back? Will either church have enough resources to even survive in the secular environment of modern-day Scotland, with churches closing left, right and centre? We all might have our own thoughts on this matter. But we’re gathered around God’s Word this morning to try and find a Biblical way to think about this new venture. Perhaps a strange vision 2,500 years ago seems like a strange place to turn to. I hope we will see together that it is not. In fact, this vision will instruct and inspire both church planters and church revitalisers alike.

This is the 5th of 8 visions which the prophet Zechariah receives from the LORD. We need a little background in order to understand the vision properly. In 586 BC, Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. The city was burned, the temple destroyed and thousands were carted off 1000 miles east to Babylon. The Lord used the Babylonians to judge his own people for their spiritual adultery. Around 70 years later the Babylonian empire gave way to the Medo-Persian empire. Their king, Cyrus, allows the Jews to return to their homeland and around 50,000 did so. These people make a good start laying the foundation for a new temple. However, they face outside opposition and become more focused on their own homes and forget about the importance of the temple. The work grinds to a halt. So, what does the Lord do? He sends two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to stir the people to action once again. But the task of rebuilding the temple and the walls of the city seem enormous. It just looks too difficult. The task seems to loom over them, like an ominous mountain.

1. A magnificent vision

Zechariah sees: ‘… a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.’   (Zechariah 42-3) Oil pours from the olive trees into the bowl, allowing the lamps to burn continuously. What is the lampstand? It is the community of God’s people. It stands for the church. We see this both in the Old and New Testaments.

‘The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.’ &nbsp: (Revelation 1:20) The lampstand is made of gold to indicate how valuable and precious the church is to God. The function of a lampstand is to give light to the world.

‘Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.’   (Philippians 2:14-16)

‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’   (Matthew 5:14-16)

What is God saying to the people in Zechariah’s day? He is reminding them that although the task of rebuilding the temple and the city might seem daunting and even impossible, they will be able to do it because of the divine resources they have. By his Spirit, represented by the oil, God enables us to do his work. God will supply the power needed for the temple to be rebuilt. Nothing is impossible with him. In fact, verse 9 says: ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it.’ In other words, God is promising that in Zerubbabel’s own day, the temple shall be completed. It is as if God is saying: ‘I will build my temple.’

And what was true for God’s people then is also true for God’s people now in 2025. Jesus says ‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’   (in Matthew 16:18) If Jesus promises to build his church, will he not supply the power for it to be built? Can we not step out in faith to plant and revitalise? There is really not too much difference between church planting and church revitalisation. In both situations, we are sowing seed, and depending on the Spirit of God to work.

There will be times in the next few months and years when we see obstacles to our gospel work piling up into a mountain. We might wonder if there’s any point to the prayer meetings and witnessing and worship services. We will wonder about our own resources. Where can we get the strength to continue in the work? Some of our people might have low morale. At such times, let’s return to this vision; the resources which really matter, which really change lives, all come directly from the Spirit of God.

2. Do not trust in human strength

Verse 6 is the key verse in this passage: ‘So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.’

Maybe some of the Israelites looked at the foundations of the temple and started to play the ‘if only’ game. If only we had the resources Solomon had when he built the first temple. Israel was so wealthy and powerful back then. If only we had access to the great forests and skilled craftsmen. Verse 10 indicates to us that some doubted the temple project: ‘Who dares despise the day of small things…’ Today, maybe some of us will be tempted to say, if only we had £1,000,000 to buy our own church and manse in Leven. If only we had purpose-built café and large group of musicians to make our worship services more attractive. In KFC, we might think, if only we had more elders at this end of Fife. If only we could see more people coming to faith. If only people in Scotland were more interested in speaking about spiritual things. If only I wasn’t so busy. If only I wasn’t more gifted and better at speaking to people.

What does God say? He says that it’s not really about the human resources in Leven or in Kirkcaldy. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.’   (Zechariah 4:6) We might seem weak in the eyes of the world. Our gatherings might even seem pathetic to some. We might not have millions in the bank or influence and power in our society. But the wonderful truth is this: building the Kingdom of God in the Kingdom of Fife is not about our own resources. It is not about our strength or might. It is, rather, about God’s Spirit being at work. We sang from Psalm 146: ‘Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.’   (Pslam 146:3-5)

In Scotland, our oil is running out. There is not an endless supply of oil in the north sea. Humanity is always stressing about how we can find new sources of the energy we need. However, when it comes to the energy the church needs, we actually do have an endless supply of power. Isn’t that remarkable? Do you believe that? In the vision, the oil from the trees gives a constant supply. We need not fret about the future.

The success of Leven Free Church does not depend on the Murrays, or even the Brooks or Donalds. They are all dispensable, in the best possible way. And Kirkcaldy Free Church certainly doesn’t need me and or anyone else in the church family. We need the Spirit of God to work. Many of us know this already. And yet, if we are honest, we can slip into worldly thinking. Once we do this or that, then the church will really take off, we start to think. It is not true. I love the fact that you are who are leaving are doing something which is actually beyond your ability to succeed. Because that means that you are utterly dependent on God to work, if things are to progress. And that’s the best place to be. We need a vision statement that allows for the power of God. That means we can legitimately step out in faith and trust in God to supply all that we need, and all that we currently don’t have!

3. Trust alone in the Spirit of God

If Leven Free Church is to grow numerically, see conversions and see saints discipled in the faith then they will need to depend on God’s Spirit for everything. Only the Holy Spirit can breathe life into those dry bones of Ezekiel chapter 37, making them into a vast army. Only the Holy Spirit can remove the veil of unbelief which covers the eyes of the people of Leven and its surrounding towns and villages. To change even a single person in Leven necessitates a divine miracle of God. God’s Spirit must bring light into the darkness even as he did on the 1st day of creation. ‘The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.’   (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)

How will be able to tell if Leven Free Church and Kirkcaldy Free Church are trusting in the power of God the Holy Spirit? That is a good question. The short answer is just one word: prayer. Prayer is the barometer of how much we are trusting in God’s Spirit. Prayerlessness, not praying, means that we think we can get on fine in the church without God’s supernatural help. We become self-dependent. That’s why it’s a really concerning sign if a church’s prayer meeting is small and if people lack enthusiasm to gather to pray. Each and every day, as individuals, as families and as churches, let’s do all we can to be a praying people. Remember Exodus chapter 17 and the scene with Joshua and his men fighting in the valley against the Amalekites; it was when Moses’ arms were help up in prayer that the battle was won. It is the same today.

Let’s end by considering the 2 olive trees with their branches found on either side of the lampstand. What do they represent? ‘These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.’ (Zechariah 4:14) One stands for Zerubbbel the governor, who was anointed for his task and was in the family tree of Israel’s kings. The other stands for Joshua the High Priest, who was also anointed for the task. The priest and the governor are the divinely appointed channels for conveying the blessing of the Holy Spirit to the people of God. Together, they point forward to the true priest-king, the Lord Jesus Christ. They foreshadow Christ, through whom the Holy Spirit came to the church on the day of Pentecost. ‘Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.’   (Acts 2:33)

Whenever a church tries to use its own oil for its work it always ends in unfaithfulness, pride and disaster. So, let’s pray that in this new chapter for both of our churches, we will so depend on God in prayer that there would be a continuous supply of God’s oil in order that we can shed light into this dark world, share the gospel with those around us, maintain the unity of the church and understand the will of God through the Word of God. This is the Word of the Lord all of us here this morning: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.’ (Zechariah 4:6)

Sermon: Sunday, 8th June, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Leviticus 16

These days, we have a good understanding of how dangerous dirt and viruses and bacteria can be.  If you go to an operating theatre in the Victoria hospital, you would expect the whole room to have been disinfected and you would expect the surgical instruments to be sterile.  Whatever comes into that operating theatre also need to be totally clean.  For example, instrument trolleys entering the room must be clean.  These things seem obvious to us.  But it wasn’t always obvious.   My grandmother was a midwife and when she worked with the indigenous people in the Amazon, they would cut the umbilical cords with dirty knives and so lost many babies.  Thankfully, that was something they could learn and quickly put right and these unnecessary deaths stopped.  Even small amounts of bacteria can be deadly.  The pandemic brought that home to us too.  You couldn’t have people carrying the corona virus walking into an old folk’s home and infecting the vulnerable.  We got used to washing our hands again and again, wearing masks and some of us even wiped down our grocery shopping.

What is true in the physical realm regarding dirt and bacteria is also true in the moral and spiritual realm regarding sin.  Sin is deadly.  It contaminates and spreads easily.  The wrong things we all do and say and think cause chaos in the world.  Just as medics have a no-nonsense approach to bacteria in an operating theatre, so God has a no-nonsense approach to sin.  He will not tolerate it.  He hates it.  It must be dealt with.  And just a someone with dirty hands cannot just walk into an operating theatre, in the same way, we, contaminated as we are, cannot just saunter into the presence of God.  And because God is the Creator of all things, he is the one who decides the way he must be approached.  Sadly, this is not always obvious to us.  But here’s the good news.  Despite our rebellion and sin, God still loves the world.  Astonishingly, he offers us reconciliation.  He can be approached if, and only if, we come with sacrifice for our sin.  And this sacrifice must be offered in the way he has commanded.  We are not free to just make up our own terms.

When friends fall out, it is a beautiful thing when they reconcile; this often means both sides apologising.  But with God, the blame is all on our side.  The obstacles blocking our relationship with God is our guilt and rebellion and selfishness.  How does God deal with all of these obstacles? How can we be reconciled to God.  In one word, through atonement.  God needs to do something to remove our sin, to remove the barrier which separates us.  Jesus leaves Heaven and comes to earth to pay the penalty for our sin, so we can be at-one with God again.  What is atonement?  Atonement refers to the work of Christ in which he bears the penalty for sin, paying the debt owed to God’s justice and reconciling humanity with him.  Jesus sacrifices himself to pay our debt.

Atonement is what is necessary for us to have a relationship with God, so it is absolutely crucial that we understand it well.  And one of the best ways to understand atonement is to come back to the holiest and most important day in the Jewish calendar, the Day of Atonement, also called Yom Kippur.  What lies at the heart of this day? ‘This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.’   (Leviticus 16:34)  The heart of this day is that animals die as substitutes for the people.  Blood is shed in sacrifice in order to deal with human sin.

1. A solemn warning: do not underestimate how holy God is

This chapter begins reminding us (verse 1) about what happened to Aaron’s 2 sons – Nadab and Abihu.  These men ignored God’s clear instructions about how he is to be approached.  They enter the Holy Place, where God’s special presence dwelt, but did so on their own terms, and not on God’s terms. They are behaving as if God isn’t really that holy and they weren’t really that sinful. Here’s the thing – God does want us to approach him but only in his way, on his terms.  And today there is only one way to do so- through trusting in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross.  Jesus says: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.’   (John 14:6)

Through Moses, the Lord once again warns the High Priest Aaron not to worship God any way he pleases.  Everything has to be done according to the Lord’s instructions.  This was a matter of life and death.  ‘Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.’   (Leviticus 16:2)

For the last few years, we have attended the fireworks display in Buckhaven.  The bonfire is enormous and so the organisers put up a fence around it and try to ensure the safety of the public.  It would not be wise to ignore this fence and start moving closer to the fire.  It might be deadly.  We need to respect the intensity of the fire.  We don’t act as we please around it.  Sometimes we forget that our ‘… God is a consuming fire.’   (Hebrews 12:29)  We need to understand that we are unholy sinners and so if we want to draw close to a God who is totally holy and pure, we need to come carefully, on his terms. 

AW Tozer: ‘God’s justice stands forever against the sinner in utter severity.  The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions.  It hushes their fears and allows them to practice all pleasant forms of iniquity while death draws every day nearer and the command to repent goes disregarded.  As responsible moral beings we dare not trifle with our eternal future.’

Tozer is right.  We have tried to domesticate God and water down his holiness. This is a huge mistake.  Let us heed the warning given through Nadab and Abihu.  We must approach God in God’s way.  And the way is magnificent!

2. What happened on the Day of Atonement?

How did the Lord want to be approached by his people?  On one day of the year, the Day of Atonement, one man, the High Priest, would come into the LORD’s presence to represent the whole nation.  He has to wear special clothes and wash himself before putting them on.  These clothes were not the impressive, regal clothes he would often wear, including the royal ephod with its 12 precious stones and the gold-plated turban (see Leviticus chapter 7) but a plain white linen tunic.  In other words, he dressed like a slave in humble clothes, reminding us all that God must be approached with humility.  Because no man can see God and live, he must take finely ground fragrant incense into the Most Holy Place, throwing it onto the fire, creating a kind of smokescreen, protecting him from the dazzling glory of God.

He must not come into God’s presence empty-handed but with sacrifices.  Although Aaron was High Priest, he was still a sinner and so first a bull had to be sacrificed to make atonement for him and his household.  The bull’s blood is to be sprinkled 7 times before the atonement cover (verse 14).  Seven is the number of completion and so this speaks of total and complete atonement for all sin.

Now we come to the two goats.  ‘He is to cast lots for the two goats — one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.’   (Leviticus 16:8)  The first goat is to be sacrificed as a sin offering (v9).  Its blood will also be sprinkled on the atonement cover of the ark of the covenant (verse 15), which lies within the Most Holy Place.  The reason given for this act is clearly given:  ‘In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been.’   (Leviticus 16:16)

There was so much drama on this day. Part of the tension would have this- will the priest make it out alive?  Will his sacrifices on behalf of the people be accepted by God?  They would only know for sure when the priest reemerged from the tabernacle.  What about the other goat, the scapegoat? We read: ‘He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.’ &nbsp: (Leviticus 16:21-22)

What happened to the scapegoat happened publicly, in the sight of all the people.  Again, the meaning is clear: because the wages of sin is death, the sins of the people are symbolically transferred onto the scapegoat, which carries those sins away, never to be seen again.  Why two goats?  You could say that the first goat is sacrificed so God’s people would know their sins had been forgiven.  The second goat, the scapegoat, is led far away into the wilderness, never to return, and this was so God’s people would know that their sins had been forgotten.  What a powerful symbol.

3. The Day of Atonement fulfilled by Jesus

How should we respond in our hearts today to the rituals which took place thousands of years ago on the Day of Atonement?  We must realise that these rituals were temporary yet important signposts pointing to the true Day of Atonement – Good Friday, when Jesus laid down his own life on the cross.  So, as you picture the High Priest moving into the Most Holy Place, what should you be thinking about?  You should be thinking about the real event itself – Jesus entering Heaven with his own blood to make atonement for us. 

‘But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.’ &nbsp: (Hebrews 9:11-12)

Sinclair Ferguson: ‘The rituals of the Day of Atonement was an acted parable, a copy of what Christ was to do on the great day when He made atonement. The blood of animals is both inappropriate and inadequate to provide the cleansing necessary to approach God. Animal sacrifice could not atone for human sin. Neither could any finite individual atone for sin against the infinite God. Only the blood of the divine image incarnate could cleanse our sin and enable us to enter safely into the presence of God, who is a consuming fire.’

The Day of Atonement was inadequate and never intended to be a permanent solution to human sin.  Why were these rituals not enough? 

• Very briefly, because the blood of bulls and goats cannot wash away human sin.  Only Jesus’ precious blood can. ‘It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.’   (Hebrews 10:4)     
• Also, the High Priests who taking part in the rituals were sinners themselves.  We need a perfect High Priest, and only Jesus can be that for us. 
• Finally, this Day of Atonement had to be repeated year after year.  Only Jesus’ death can provide a once-and-for-all solution. ‘Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.’   (Hebrews 7:27)

Friends, when we read Leviticus chapter 16 understanding that it all points to a future Day of Atonement at Calvary, the actions here become all the more precious.  The first goat which was slaughtered points ahead to Jesus who was slaughtered on the cross, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Because of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, when we come to trust in Jesus through faith, God’s rightful anger at us is turned away.  Jesus’ sacrifice of himself atones for our sin and satisfies the just wrath of a holy God. 

The word for turning away God’s wrath is propitiation. ‘If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.’   (1 John 2:1-2)    

As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we give thanks that the penalty for our sin has been paid for and now we have been reconciled to God.  Because of Jesus’ blood shed for us, we now have the enormous privilege of being able to come into our Father’s presence any time we like.  We no longer need animal sacrifices.  They were just temporary.  The rituals of the tabernacle and temple are now no longer required.  This fact was dramatically displayed when Jesus died on the cross and simultaneously the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom.  Jesus’ death is all we need to make us clean in God’s sight.  Truly, it is a marvellous thing that something as serious as my sin no longer blocks me from having a relationship with the Lord  Each time you pray to your heavenly Father, instead of taking prayer for granted, rejoice in what Jesus has done to make it possible- he entered Heaven for us with his own blood to atone for all of our sins.

Think again of the scapegoat, this time more personally.  Jesus is the true scapegoat.  All of our sins were laid on him, and he carried them away, never to be cast before us again.  This is wonderful news.  Think of the scapegoat in the light of this verse: ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.’   (Isaiah 53:6)

I have always loved Psalm 103:12 – ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us’.  The scapegoat expresses the same truth- our sins have been sent away with no possibility of coming back.  They have been removed.  Jesus’ blood is so powerful and effective that our sins have gone for good.  Satan loves to remind you of all the ways you have let gone down.  He loves to cast our sins before our faces.  ‘Look what you did!’  We can say to him: ‘Satan, yes I am a sinner, but Jesus has carried my sins so far away that they are never coming back.’

Before the throne of God above
‘When Satan tempts me to despair, And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there, Who made an end to all my sin,
Because the sinless Saviour died, My sinful soul is counted free,
For God the Just is satisfied, To look on Him and pardon me.’

If you are not yet a Christian, what does God want you to do? ‘On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work…’   (Leviticus 16:29)  ‘Denying’ ourselves speaks of humbling ourselves before God, recognising we are sinners and he is perfect.  Who receives God’s grace?  Those who humbly confess their sins.  ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’   (James 4:6:) 

If you repent of your sin, and ask Jesus to cleanse you with his blood, you too can know the peace of being reconciled with God.  Never come to God arguing you’re quite a good person.  Come confessing your sin, and asking Jesus to wash you.  In other words, come to God in God’s way.