The Messiah’s Secret – Crooked paths made straight

This morning's service began with prayer for the sad loss of life in the terrorist attach in Paris

Nursery Rhyme ‘The Crooked Man’

There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile.

He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.

He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse

And they all lived together in a little crooked house. 
The children put the pictures on the board

Jesus’ teachings in the Bible show us how to live our lives. Not to be like:

There was a crooked man – He was not a nice man, he was unkind and always angry.

He walked a crooked mile - He was dishonest, he made up stories that were not true.

He found a crooked sixpence – He took things without asking the person if he could have them

A crooked stile – He pushed people out of the way.

He bought a crooked cat – He encouraged fighting

The cat caught a crooked mouse. It’s wrong to fight: kicking, hitting one another, pulling each other’s hair, and we mustn’t  call each other names.

The little crooked house – He didn’t care about anybody only himself.

The Bible wants us to do what is right and that will make us happy and be kind to one another and the Bible tells us to : let people go before us, not to fight one another, not to take anything without asking.

Jesus’ house is a safe place, where he looks after us.

Hebrews 10: 11 – 14. 19 – 25. Mark 13: 1 – 8.

The origin of the poem the crooked man was in reference to King Charles’ General Sir Alexander Leslie, he was senior commander of both English and Scottish armies: he was referred to as a scoundrel, he walked a crooked mile and the sixpence referred to him  being dishonest.

The cat and mouse represented the conflicts between the two nations. The crooked stile was the border between the two countries. The crooked house this religious covenant between England and Scotland was brought in under duress.

In our New Testament reading Jesus prophesied  the ruin of the temple. It had become a crooked house.

The temple signified the agreement between God and the people of Israel, but the rituals of the temple had become man centred. The Pharisees, Lawyers and scribes were crooked by burdening the people adding more laws to those given by God to Moses.

God left the Temple at Jerusalem When the veil of the temple torn in two from top to the bottom revealing the ’ Most Holy Place’ the dwelling place of God. All those working in the Holy Place could now see beyond the veil which was unthinkable before, no one could see God and live.

John wrote that Jesus’ risen body was now the temple of God. A temple made without hands.  Jesus is the centre of worship in the kingdom of God. John wrote Revelation 22: 22 “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.” John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God.  John 2: 21. Mark 14: 58.

For the majority of Christians before we came to know Jesus we followed the course of the world, where the influences of a crooked world brought upon us fear, guilt and anxiety, with very little joy.                                     

Jesus heals and restores our broken relationship with God and as we are led by the word and Spirit we begin to walk in a straight path with the Lord.                                                                                         

Proverbs 3: 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

  

I heard recently a testimony of a young woman who had reached a point in her life were the alcohol and drug addiction had to end, she faced a choice: prison, death or chose life.  Alison chose life and made a decision to follow Jesus. God gave her a word, “I have purposes and plans for you. Jeremiah 49: 11. She said that a pathway opened up and she begged the Lord to heal her and he did and changed her longings she didn’t want drink or drugs instead she hungered and thirsted for the word of God.                                   

Jesus’ prophecy in Mark tells us that the world will continue along a crooked path by following false Christ’s resulting in wars and rumours of wars.

One can not help but feel that the time is coming when the people of the world will be looking for a leader, a false Christ to come up with a plan to solve the world problems: like the Syrian and other conflicts which are causing major disruption in the world, with the people fleeing their country of origin to escape violence and possible death.

One of the many prophesies relating to the second coming of Jesus is the destruction and desolation of Damascus.

Isaiah prophesied the destruction of Damascus and the city left desolate, uninhabited: “Damascus will no longer be a city, but will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid.” Isaiah 17: 1, 2.   (Aroer a city near the Dead Sea).            

And Jeremiah’s prophecy

“Damascus has become feeble, she has turned to flee and panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her, pain like that of a woman in labour. Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of my joy?  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord of hosts.“I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.” Jeremiah 49 24-27. (Ben-Hadad was the King of Syria.)

Jeremiah 49 24-27.                                         

Both prophesy were fulfilled in part when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Damascus, but the city was rebuilt. The other part of the prophecy where the city would be left a ruin and uninhabited has yet to happen.

From that time Damascus has remained intact until our present day, in the current crisis in Syria Damascus is being bombed and is in danger of being destroyed and its people fleeing for their lives.

Another sign

Isaiah 59: 8. “ The way of peace they will not know and there is no justice in their paths, they have made their roads crooked, no one who goes in them knows peace."

We have global investment banks using the derivatives debt system buying and selling debt digitally, which was the cause of the 2008 financial problems. Many who work in the financial world are honest, but there are those who use derivatives financial packages with non-existent money, a crooked system.

“The Root Cause of the 2008 Financial Meltdown’ investmentwatchblog.com    Forbes 'Big Banks and Derivatives

As a young child, I remember higher purchase being promoted on ITV in the 50’s and my father’s re-action to it at the time, he thought that it was a mistake. The poor families in debt to the rich, who grow richer. 

Will it ever be resolved? To resolve it, many believe that at some point it has to retract and return to a true financial system based on real money.

The Lord’s way is the only way

In the UK Christians Against Poverty have been working for a number of years with amazing success in sorting out people’s debt; by putting in place a structure that gradually pays off a person’s debt with the company or companies that they owed money to.

 Also in the process they make Christ known in what they do - Jesus has paid our debt legally by shedding his blood, his life laid down for the forgiveness of our sin, releasing us into God’s grace, his care and provision.

Hebrews 10: 13 “ Then to wait until his enemies should be a stool for his feet.”  

First Jesus will call out the church and followed soon afterwards by his return to the Mount of Olives where he takes up with the remnant of Israel and defeats the anti-Christ and his armies.

Until Jesus calls out his church, it is important for us to keep looking for the straight pathway that leads to our heavenly home.