Greetings, beloved, in Jesus' name. How is the blessing counting going? Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13: 'I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. I just want to give you three points of encouragement in this email. If we take the advice of that beloved hymn, 'Count Your Blessings', here are three blessings that I have counted from this lock-down (there are many more!):
1. There is the blessing of the many silver linings of this 'cloud'. There is the increased family time, which is a real blessing. And if you don't have your family around you, in your bubble, you will have more time to call them, or Skype them, or Zoom them (I'm having to do a crash course in these technological wizardries, and that's another example of the blessings I count). There is the increased amount of time to work on your house or in your garden. Our neighbour is putting a new roof on his shed. I hope that he's counting the blessing of having this compulsory opportunity to do his home improvements! On our daily walks, we keep seeing cars passing us pulling great trailer-loads of vegetation waste to some dumping ground. They will have spotless gardens once this is all over. How many of you are availing yourselves of the gift of time to learn a new language, such as Hebrew or Greek? Or French, or German, or Chinese? And how many of us are using the gift of time to read new and amazingly good books? I'm loving 'Our Mutual Friend' by Charles Dickens. I haven't ever read it before. You should read it! Our daughter, Jean, in Oxford, is being blessed by the opportunity of catching up on necessary sleep, and getting her work done from home due to the impossibility of socializing. She's experiencing the blessing of being prohibited to socialize!
How many of us are using the gift of time to 'meditate on God's law day and night'? (Psalm 1:2). How many of us are taking the opportunity to 'let the word of Christ dwell richly within us (Colossians 3:16) thereby remaining 'filled with the Spirit' (Ephesians 5:18). How many of us are spurring one another on toward love and good deeds? (Hebrews 10:24) (even if we can't do the second part of the exhortation “Let us not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25).
2. There is the blessing of this crisis raising and answering some teaching points. Never forget the exhortation in Proverbs: 'to let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance' (Proverbs 1:5). The addition to your learning will bless not only you, but your loved ones. For example, I have got a cousin in Surrey, England, who has a senior friend who thinks that this corona-virus is the end of the world. How would you encourage this older sister in the Lord? Go to the Book! Matthew 24:4-8 says, 'Jesus answered, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ', and will deceive many. 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 yet to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes (and Luke adds 'pestilences'. The corona-virus is a pestilence.) in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.' Corona-virus is a non-sign of the end of the age! The end is not yet!
3. But the corona-virus is a judgment. This morning I heard and saw (on Zoom) a fellow minister of mine, and a lovely, wise, Christ-like, gentle guy. He had some good insights to offer with regards to being a pastor in lock-down. But he also said that he was worried about 'the amount of Christians who say that this virus is a judgment from God. I don't think that is very helpful,' he said. But why not? What are the grounds for saying that it's not a judgment from God? If we don't know: let us go to the Book! Revelation 6 teaches about the six seals of judgment, in God's unfolding plan to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. The Lion of Judah has overcome and He is worthy to take the scroll and open the seven seals (Revelation 5:5). The fourth seal is the rider on the pale horse, who is called Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.' (Revelation 6:8). The immediate agents of judgment and destruction are demonic, but the authority for the judgements comes from heaven. I make this point for two reasons: (a) it is biblical. Romans 1:18 'The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven.' (b) For those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are unharmed by any judgment from God, because our judgment fell on the shoulders of our Lord and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. The end of Chapter 6 of Revelation asks the question, 'The great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? Chapter 7 of Revelation answers the question: 'Who can stand?' 'The people of God who are sealed with the seal of God can stand.' Those who have been sealed with the seal of God ('having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)), are able to stand and endure through the great tribulation, with its wars, earthquakes, pestilences and persecution of believers, and, having come through the tribulation, are able to stand before the throne of God. And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:14-17).
Rejoice, and again I say, rejoice! 'And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus'.
Love in Christ to you blessing-counting saints, from your blessing-counting brother,
WHAT IS GOD DOING?
'Therefore keep watch because you do not the day or the hour' (Matthew 25:13). It strikes me as significant that this lockdown is in the time of Lent, when we are supposed to identify with Jesus as he journeys towards the cross. If this lockdown does not enforce a time of privation on us, I do not know what will! Let us be thinking about Jesus; no, more than that -- let us be identifying with Jesus, as He journeys towards His cross. And as you journey with Jesus towards the cross, I invite you to consider two scriptures: 'Now is the time for judgment on this world' (John 12:31) and 'For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, despising its shame..' From these two verses, we can see two results arising from the cross of Christ. The cross is judgment on the world, and the cross saves the people of God, and purchases for them eternal life, and ever increasing joy. And ever since the cross of our Saviour, God has been doing those two things: judging the world, which is passing away, and saving His people. And with regards to the latter action of God, He is doing a further two things: (a) positively rescuing His people from the world, and (b) getting them ready for when they see Him in His glory. So I regard this present shaking as the Lord doing three things:
1 God is shaking this present world as judgment. 'The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse' (Romans 1:18-20). Children are being taught in schools that the world made itself, and time plus chance made 'prebiotic slime' to evolve into human beings. At this time, laws are being passed which would allow a doctor to kill a fully formed baby in its mother's womb. And at the same time, mainstream television channels are teaching children that there are more than hundred different genders, which is a defiant assault on the fundamental biblical truth that man was made in the image of God, male and female. As the same time, this present crisis is, by one newspaper at least, (The New York Times) being blamed on evangelical Christians. 'Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked' (Galatians 6:7). God is shaking this present world as judgment.
2 But judgment is God's 'strange' work (Isaiah 28:21). And now I come to my second way of viewing this present shaking: God is shaking this world as a means of saving His people. 'The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.' (2 Peter 3:9). The ministry of Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, is planting hospitals with expert volunteer Christian doctors and nurses into the corona-virus hit New York, providing the compassionate care of Christ, and the gospel to the sick and dying patients. This is a time when our fellow human beings are being forced to face their mortality. We can share with them the hope and the peace that we have because we are Christians – over the phone, by email, or chatting to them, one appropriately distant bubble to another. Let us be praying that, 'God will open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ' (Colossians 4:3). One cannot second- guess God, but it is not impossible that the present crisis has come about because so many Christians were praying for a door of opportunity for their witness. Let us pray that we will not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).
3 God is shaking the nations (Hebrews 12:26) to get His people prepared to see Him. He says, 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of the nations (Jesus) will come, and I will fill this house with glory' (Haggai 2:6). Let us co-operate with God and pray that the Lord will wean us from the attraction to this present age, and 'set our mind on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.' (Colossians 3:1) We already have 'Christ in us, the hope of glory' (Colossians 1:27). Let us be more and more filled with hope, and yearning to see our Lord Jesus Christ. 'Look, He is coming with the clouds; and every eye will see Him' (Revelation 1:7). There is a whole lot of groaning going on. The creation is groaning, as in the pains of childbirth (Romans 8:22). The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26). And we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23). Let us pray that our groaning will be less and less the groaning of complaining and lamenting that we have had the even tenor our ways disturbed, and more and more that groaning of yearning: yearning for the glory that will be revealed in us, when at last we have the redemption of our bodies. Because on that day – which may not be far off – we will see Jesus. God is sending this shaking to cause us to 'stand up and lift up our heads, because our redemption is drawing near' (Luke 21:28).
1. There is the blessing of the many silver linings of this 'cloud'. There is the increased family time, which is a real blessing. And if you don't have your family around you, in your bubble, you will have more time to call them, or Skype them, or Zoom them (I'm having to do a crash course in these technological wizardries, and that's another example of the blessings I count). There is the increased amount of time to work on your house or in your garden. Our neighbour is putting a new roof on his shed. I hope that he's counting the blessing of having this compulsory opportunity to do his home improvements! On our daily walks, we keep seeing cars passing us pulling great trailer-loads of vegetation waste to some dumping ground. They will have spotless gardens once this is all over. How many of you are availing yourselves of the gift of time to learn a new language, such as Hebrew or Greek? Or French, or German, or Chinese? And how many of us are using the gift of time to read new and amazingly good books? I'm loving 'Our Mutual Friend' by Charles Dickens. I haven't ever read it before. You should read it! Our daughter, Jean, in Oxford, is being blessed by the opportunity of catching up on necessary sleep, and getting her work done from home due to the impossibility of socializing. She's experiencing the blessing of being prohibited to socialize!
How many of us are using the gift of time to 'meditate on God's law day and night'? (Psalm 1:2). How many of us are taking the opportunity to 'let the word of Christ dwell richly within us (Colossians 3:16) thereby remaining 'filled with the Spirit' (Ephesians 5:18). How many of us are spurring one another on toward love and good deeds? (Hebrews 10:24) (even if we can't do the second part of the exhortation “Let us not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25).
2. There is the blessing of this crisis raising and answering some teaching points. Never forget the exhortation in Proverbs: 'to let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance' (Proverbs 1:5). The addition to your learning will bless not only you, but your loved ones. For example, I have got a cousin in Surrey, England, who has a senior friend who thinks that this corona-virus is the end of the world. How would you encourage this older sister in the Lord? Go to the Book! Matthew 24:4-8 says, 'Jesus answered, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ', and will deceive many. 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 yet to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes (and Luke adds 'pestilences'. The corona-virus is a pestilence.) in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.' Corona-virus is a non-sign of the end of the age! The end is not yet!
3. But the corona-virus is a judgment. This morning I heard and saw (on Zoom) a fellow minister of mine, and a lovely, wise, Christ-like, gentle guy. He had some good insights to offer with regards to being a pastor in lock-down. But he also said that he was worried about 'the amount of Christians who say that this virus is a judgment from God. I don't think that is very helpful,' he said. But why not? What are the grounds for saying that it's not a judgment from God? If we don't know: let us go to the Book! Revelation 6 teaches about the six seals of judgment, in God's unfolding plan to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. The Lion of Judah has overcome and He is worthy to take the scroll and open the seven seals (Revelation 5:5). The fourth seal is the rider on the pale horse, who is called Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.' (Revelation 6:8). The immediate agents of judgment and destruction are demonic, but the authority for the judgements comes from heaven. I make this point for two reasons: (a) it is biblical. Romans 1:18 'The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven.' (b) For those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are unharmed by any judgment from God, because our judgment fell on the shoulders of our Lord and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. The end of Chapter 6 of Revelation asks the question, 'The great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? Chapter 7 of Revelation answers the question: 'Who can stand?' 'The people of God who are sealed with the seal of God can stand.' Those who have been sealed with the seal of God ('having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)), are able to stand and endure through the great tribulation, with its wars, earthquakes, pestilences and persecution of believers, and, having come through the tribulation, are able to stand before the throne of God. And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:14-17).
Rejoice, and again I say, rejoice! 'And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus'.
Love in Christ to you blessing-counting saints, from your blessing-counting brother,
WHAT IS GOD DOING?
'Therefore keep watch because you do not the day or the hour' (Matthew 25:13). It strikes me as significant that this lockdown is in the time of Lent, when we are supposed to identify with Jesus as he journeys towards the cross. If this lockdown does not enforce a time of privation on us, I do not know what will! Let us be thinking about Jesus; no, more than that -- let us be identifying with Jesus, as He journeys towards His cross. And as you journey with Jesus towards the cross, I invite you to consider two scriptures: 'Now is the time for judgment on this world' (John 12:31) and 'For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, despising its shame..' From these two verses, we can see two results arising from the cross of Christ. The cross is judgment on the world, and the cross saves the people of God, and purchases for them eternal life, and ever increasing joy. And ever since the cross of our Saviour, God has been doing those two things: judging the world, which is passing away, and saving His people. And with regards to the latter action of God, He is doing a further two things: (a) positively rescuing His people from the world, and (b) getting them ready for when they see Him in His glory. So I regard this present shaking as the Lord doing three things:
1 God is shaking this present world as judgment. 'The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse' (Romans 1:18-20). Children are being taught in schools that the world made itself, and time plus chance made 'prebiotic slime' to evolve into human beings. At this time, laws are being passed which would allow a doctor to kill a fully formed baby in its mother's womb. And at the same time, mainstream television channels are teaching children that there are more than hundred different genders, which is a defiant assault on the fundamental biblical truth that man was made in the image of God, male and female. As the same time, this present crisis is, by one newspaper at least, (The New York Times) being blamed on evangelical Christians. 'Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked' (Galatians 6:7). God is shaking this present world as judgment.
2 But judgment is God's 'strange' work (Isaiah 28:21). And now I come to my second way of viewing this present shaking: God is shaking this world as a means of saving His people. 'The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.' (2 Peter 3:9). The ministry of Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, is planting hospitals with expert volunteer Christian doctors and nurses into the corona-virus hit New York, providing the compassionate care of Christ, and the gospel to the sick and dying patients. This is a time when our fellow human beings are being forced to face their mortality. We can share with them the hope and the peace that we have because we are Christians – over the phone, by email, or chatting to them, one appropriately distant bubble to another. Let us be praying that, 'God will open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ' (Colossians 4:3). One cannot second- guess God, but it is not impossible that the present crisis has come about because so many Christians were praying for a door of opportunity for their witness. Let us pray that we will not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).
3 God is shaking the nations (Hebrews 12:26) to get His people prepared to see Him. He says, 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of the nations (Jesus) will come, and I will fill this house with glory' (Haggai 2:6). Let us co-operate with God and pray that the Lord will wean us from the attraction to this present age, and 'set our mind on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.' (Colossians 3:1) We already have 'Christ in us, the hope of glory' (Colossians 1:27). Let us be more and more filled with hope, and yearning to see our Lord Jesus Christ. 'Look, He is coming with the clouds; and every eye will see Him' (Revelation 1:7). There is a whole lot of groaning going on. The creation is groaning, as in the pains of childbirth (Romans 8:22). The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26). And we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23). Let us pray that our groaning will be less and less the groaning of complaining and lamenting that we have had the even tenor our ways disturbed, and more and more that groaning of yearning: yearning for the glory that will be revealed in us, when at last we have the redemption of our bodies. Because on that day – which may not be far off – we will see Jesus. God is sending this shaking to cause us to 'stand up and lift up our heads, because our redemption is drawing near' (Luke 21:28).
GOOD FRIDAY 2020
Dear Saints at Wellsford Co-operating Parish,
I wish that we were coming together this Good Friday, but our heavenly Father knows best, and the Sovereign Lord is working His purposes out.
I'm struck by the timing of this word crisis. We are approaching the Passover, and at that first Passover, the Israelites were in lock-down as well. The angel of death was going through the land, but the Israelites were told to mark their doors with from the Passover Lamb, so that the angel of death would pass over the people of God. We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have put His blood (the blood of Christ, our true Passover Lamb) over our the doorposts of our hearts with the hyssop sprig of faith. The angel of death will pass over our houses - not because we are more innocent than the surrounding 'Egyptians' but because God has chosen us, and the judgments for our sins fell on the shoulders of our Passover Lamb on the hill of Calvary 2000 years ago. And even if we do succumb to sickness (we're living in a fallen world), we can know that it's not a judgment.
This is a time for us to be praying to God, that He will have mercy on His people -- all the people that belong to Him, but do not as yet know it. Pray that the Lord will use this crisis to draw His people unto Himself.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I have have copied and pasted another link below. It was to have the sermon that we all would have heard on Good Friday morning. As I say, it is a challenge standing here in my bedroom and 'preaching' to a camera, so if the sermon is not inspiring, just delete it. There are plenty of other sermons out there on You Tube.
Love in Christ,
David
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=victory+david+balchin
Dear Saints at Wellsford Co-operating Parish,
I wish that we were coming together this Good Friday, but our heavenly Father knows best, and the Sovereign Lord is working His purposes out.
I'm struck by the timing of this word crisis. We are approaching the Passover, and at that first Passover, the Israelites were in lock-down as well. The angel of death was going through the land, but the Israelites were told to mark their doors with from the Passover Lamb, so that the angel of death would pass over the people of God. We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have put His blood (the blood of Christ, our true Passover Lamb) over our the doorposts of our hearts with the hyssop sprig of faith. The angel of death will pass over our houses - not because we are more innocent than the surrounding 'Egyptians' but because God has chosen us, and the judgments for our sins fell on the shoulders of our Passover Lamb on the hill of Calvary 2000 years ago. And even if we do succumb to sickness (we're living in a fallen world), we can know that it's not a judgment.
This is a time for us to be praying to God, that He will have mercy on His people -- all the people that belong to Him, but do not as yet know it. Pray that the Lord will use this crisis to draw His people unto Himself.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I have have copied and pasted another link below. It was to have the sermon that we all would have heard on Good Friday morning. As I say, it is a challenge standing here in my bedroom and 'preaching' to a camera, so if the sermon is not inspiring, just delete it. There are plenty of other sermons out there on You Tube.
Love in Christ,
David
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=victory+david+balchin
EASTER SUNDAY 2020
Dear Saints at Wellsford Co-operating Parish,
I hope you have had a restful and peaceful Good Friday. Chris and I want to wish you a very happy and joyous Easter weekend.
I have preached a sermon into the camera again. If you watch it, I apologize for the pauses and inarticulate phrases and sentences. I can quite understand if you decide to pass this one up. That is why I am sending it to you now, before Sunday - so that you either view it, or delete it before Easter Sunday. I wanted to free you up to watch, or participate in, an online service.
So, for what it is worth, this sermon is called 'What We See And What We Do Not See' -- as a result of that first Easter Sunday morning.
You are all in Chris's and my prayers.
Love in Christ,
David
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=what+we+see+and+what+we+do+not+see
Dear Saints at Wellsford Co-operating Parish,
I hope you have had a restful and peaceful Good Friday. Chris and I want to wish you a very happy and joyous Easter weekend.
I have preached a sermon into the camera again. If you watch it, I apologize for the pauses and inarticulate phrases and sentences. I can quite understand if you decide to pass this one up. That is why I am sending it to you now, before Sunday - so that you either view it, or delete it before Easter Sunday. I wanted to free you up to watch, or participate in, an online service.
So, for what it is worth, this sermon is called 'What We See And What We Do Not See' -- as a result of that first Easter Sunday morning.
You are all in Chris's and my prayers.
Love in Christ,
David
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=what+we+see+and+what+we+do+not+see