EXTRA ORDINARY PEOPLE

MATTHEW 22 - 14

For many are called but few are chosen.

The Moravians were a truly extraordinary group of Christians and their witness led to the conversion of John Wesley.    John's journal was full of observations and encounters of this German fellowship of christians.

Although only seven years old and on a ship bound for Germany he noted "they performed servile offices for other passengers, which none of the English would undertake for which they refused to accept payment saying "it was good for their proud heart and that their saviour had done more for them"

How simple an explanation, how genuine their faith, their lives far above the materialistic plain many christians enjoy.

John commented "they were pushed, struck down, ill treated and they rose again and went.   When the seas rose and the boat flooded it caused panic among the English who were screaming.    The Germans were singing and Wesley asked them were they afraid.   They replied "No, thank God.  When John asked "were not the women and children afraid to die" the Germans replied "No, our women and children are not afraid to die.  John then went to their English neighbours on the boat and pointed out the difference in the hour of trial between him that feared God and him that did not.   The sea fell calm.

For John that was a glorious day.

When they arrived in Germany they lodged with the Moravians.   He kept a journal, observed their daily lives, always cheerful, always in good humour with one another, they had dispensed with anger, strife, wrath, bitterness and evil speaking, they followed the gospel teaching and walked worthy to be called followers of Christ.

Back in England in the year 1736 John was strongly convicted of his unbelief when Peter Boehler came to London and he expressed the real meaning to faith.

Two fruits inseparably attending the true Christian.

PEACE from a sense of forgiveness.

John contended this argument and worked to prove Boehler wrong considering he himself did not feel forgiveness there if that was the case.   All his pretensions to faith dropped at once.   He eventually retreated to his last line of defence "that experience would never agree with the literal interpretation of those scriptures" and he told Peter "I could not allow it to be true until I found living witnesses of it.

Peter said he could provide such witnesses at any time if that were required.   

He arrived the following day with three witnesses all of whom testified to their own personal experiences that a TRUE LIVING FAITH IN CHRIST IS INSEPARABLE FROM A SENSE OF PARDON FOR ALL PAST, AND FREEDOM FROM ALL PRESENT SINS.

They added that FAITH WAS A GIFT, A FREE GIFT FROM GOD that He freely gave to every soul who earnestly pursued it.

That convicted Wesley.   He renounced all dependence on his own works or righteousness which he considered would get him into heaven (a belief he held from childhood) and a full reliance on the saving blood of Christ and a trust in Christ for his sole justification, sanctification and redemption.

He was also convicted by their total trust in God to such an extent that when a child died he asked the father "how do you find yourself" as the father stood by the side of his child's grave he replied "Praised be the Lord, never better.   He has taken the soul of my child to Himself.   I have seen, according to my desire, his body committed to holy ground, and I know that when it is raised again, both he and I shall be ever with the Lord.

That is faith and trust in Almighty God by a people committed to a true christian walk far removed from the country club "inner circle" church and the happy clappy good time worship or a leadership with an amazing lack of concern for anything outside their own agenda and prominence.

God created mankind and knows our every weakness and imperfection, but it is only when we realise how truly unworthy we are of His saving grace we become a pilgrim with our compass set for His Kingdom.   We fall off the narrow path and get a real bashing from Satan but we climb back and stagger on.

The dark Lord has been busy highlighting both past and present wickedness in those who witness and profess to follow Christ and a world of hypocrites enjoys every story.  Perhaps he says to a subordinate "turn the spotlight on that guy, now I have him"   The anti.christian lobby gleefully point the finger at the discredited target.   Yet their amazing arrogance, pride and conceit is just one of the less colourful, less visible sins that could well cost them eternity.

No one that is truly repentant (and God knows the fakes) however heinous the crime is beyond the forgiveness of God.   The creator made his creatures, he knows their every weakness and those that witness and struggle are the target of the adversary.  "Oh its okay - God isn't looking - He's too busy to watch you, go ahead"

In the days of Noah it was time to eliminate a wicked generation.   We were given free will and with that gift a rainbow of emotions both good and bad.   The human race is capable of such incredible greatness but its finger hovers above the self destruct button.

As the world descends into an orgy of violence maybe the final biblical prophecy draws ever nearer.

Next time by fire.

What might be left from the ashes would be the machine.    How utterly amazing that in the recent airline tragedy in the Ukraine unbroken bottles of alcohol were found amongst the broken dead bodies.

May the innocents walk safely in His Kingdom.   Their battle over.   The rest of us must struggle on to the finish line.

Baruch ha ba b'shem Adonai.

SHALOM.