So how did the disciples respond to this challenge? We see in Acts 4 Peter telling the Jewish religious authorities, in reference to Jesus, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” They did not compromise their message but spoke God’s truth boldly to all.

And nearly 2,000 years later the message is still the same that Jesus is the only way to God. The world will not want to hear this message but we must not compromise it either. Jesus is not just one way to God he is the only way to God.

The video below shows Benny Hinn pointing this out very clearly to all who will listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azqoBksweZA

As one reads Psalm 62 we see a man who knew the reality of trusting God alone. Whether he was going through good times or bad times God alone was his hope. I wonder how much peace we would find in our hearts if we truly knew the reality of Psalm 62? How much time do we waste worrying when instead we should be placing our trust fully in God.

5. Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from Him.
6. He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
7.  My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
8.  Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before Him.
God is our refuge.

There was shouting and trumpets, cymbals, horns, harps and lyres were being played amongst the worshippers as they danced and celebrated before God. David was certainly someone whose worship was enthusiastic and wholehearted. He enjoyed worshipping God and did not care what others thought about him.

On Saturday I went to see Woking v Truro City. There was a mood of celebration in the air as Woking had won the Conference South title and the trophy was presented after the game. The team did a lap of honour with the trophy and the fans song celebrating the achievement. This is the first meaningful trophy that Woking have won for 15 years and some fans stayed on at the club celebrating into the night.

Now I enjoy football and was very pleased with Woking winning the Conference South title. It was great watching all the celebrations and to see the joy of the fans. However if I get excited about Woking winning a trophy how much more excited should I get about God? David’s wholehearted worship of God is indeed an example and a challenge to me. As Christians we should enjoy praising and worshipping God and if we don’t then something is wrong.

Although things appeared outwardly to be at an all time low David still trusted God. In the midst of these huge problems he faced David turned to God and sought refuge in Him. It was at this time that scholars tell us that he wrote Psalm 34 and Psalm 56. In Psalm 34 David praised God’s goodness declaring “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”  Then in Psalm 56 he declares in his trust in God’s goodness and declares “What can man do to me?”

When you consider the context in which David wrote these two Psalms it is amazing. David knew God. He really knew God. He did not just know about God but actually knew Him. In difficulties the reality of our faith is seen. It’s easy to believe when things are easy but David still held fast to God when things were very difficult. Do we know God like this?

The first thing to note about the resurrection of Christ is that Jesus actually died. This might sound obvious to mention but we need to start here and confirm this truth. Some believe that Jesus passed out on the cross and did not actually die but was buried alive. The gospel accounts disprove this as one of the Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side and at once blood and water came out, thus confirming that he was dead. Even if this had not been recorded for us we need to remember that the Romans were good at crucifying people. They knew what they were doing. If the Romans crucified you then you would die. The chances of surviving a Roman crucifixion were somewhere between nil and zero!

Jesus was then put into a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus and after it was sealed with a rock. Roman soldiers then guarded it. So could the disciples have stolen the body from the tomb? This would appear very unlikely as they were scared and in hiding after the crucifixion.  Also if they had stolen the body would they have risked their life in preaching the resurrection of Christ with all the dangers that this involved if they knew that really they had the body hidden somewhere all the time? They would have been risking their life for a lie? Most of the disciples were killed for their faith so it is unlikely they would preached the resurrection of Christ unless it was true and actually happen.

Did the Jewish religious authorities take the body? This is unlikely too. They were the ones who wanted Jesus crucified and also had asked for Roman soldiers to be placed outside the tomb. If the Jewish authorities had the body all they had to do was produce it and then the central message of the disciples preaching would have been destroyed. Immediately they would have been able to prove that Jesus was not raised from the dead. However they were unable to do this as they did not have the body.

So what other options are we left with? How about that God raised Jesus from the dead? Jesus who was crucified on the cross was raised by God on the third day fulfilling the Scriptures. This has been the central message of the Christian faith from that first Easter Sunday. The gospel writers record Jesus meeting with Mary and his disciples after He rose from the dead. Paul speaks of Jesus also appearing to a group of 500 brothers at one time, as well as James and himself.

The biblical evidence is there that shows that Jesus was raised from the dead by God. If you are still unsure why not read the New Testament and see for yourself what it says.

The fact that we know how the story ends gives us a huge advantage over those who experienced these events firsthand. So for a few moments it might be interesting to put ourselves into the shoes of the disciples, the Jewish religious authorities and the Roman rulers of Israel who did not know how the story would eventually end.

The hopes of the disciples were high as they walked alongside Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a colt. The crowds were excitedly proclaiming “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Passover time was here. Would this be the moment when God was going to restore the kingdom to Israel and the hated Romans would at last be driven out of Israel?

Four days later the Roman authorities arrested Jesus. The disciples deserted him. Peter denied knowing him. And on the next day Jesus was crucified and killed by the Romans. The disciples’ dreams were shattered. They were devastated. For three years they have followed Jesus around Israel and witnessed his miraculous power many times. They had left their jobs and livelihoods to follow him. Suddenly it was all over. It was not supposed to end like this. What would they do now? Would they be killed next?

The Jewish religious authorities were happy. For three years this preacher from Galilee had been a real pain in the neck for them. He had undermined their authority as leaders. This Jesus had become very popular with the people. But what did they know anyway? Furthermore he claimed to be God and healed people on the Sabbath breaking God’s commands.

Anyway they could know now return to the status quo. Jesus was now dead. The temple was safe and so were the privileges they enjoyed as leaders. They were certainly glad to see the back of him. Within a couple of weeks everyone would have forgotten about Jesus.

The Roman authorities were glad that Passover had finished. This was always a difficult time of the year. Thankfully there had been no attempted revolt by any of the Jewish terrorist groups. They had though crucified a man who was claiming to be the king of the Jews.

However this crucifixion seemed strange because the Jewish authorities and the crowd appeared keen to kill this man. Thought he was supposed to be their king? Rome would be pleased though that events had passed off peacefully. Pilate’s job is still safe!

And as everyone prepared to go to bed at the end of this week life was continuing as normal. Another week in the history of Jerusalem had passed. So our story ends …… or does it?

He had earlier in this speech recalled how God had blessed the Israelites in bringing them out of Egypt and leading them victoriously into the Promised Land.

Joshua also had warned them not to disobey God and be unfaithful to Him. He then laid his cards on the table and stated where he stood and said concerning his household “we will serve the Lord.”

This event happened when Joshua was 110 years old just before he died. Joshua had been faithful to God throughout his life and even right at the end of it he was determined to serve and follow God.

We can certainly learn from Joshua’s commitment and faithfulness to God. He was determined to follow God even when his fellow Israelites were reluctant or refused.

We need to heed and follow his example. No one else can make this decision for us. It is a personal one that we need to make ourselves. Have you made that decision?

Shortly after this the Gibeonites came to see Joshua and asked him for a peace treaty between themselves and the Israelites. The Gibeonites pretended though they were from a far away country rather than admitting they were neighbours. However for some reason the Israelites did not enquiry of the Lord about what was the right decision to take in this situation and instead went ahead and make a peace treaty with the Gibeonites. Three days later though they discovered that the Gibeonites were in fact neighbours and they had been tricked. Although the Israelites were upset about being deceived they had to live with the decision the leaders had made as an oath had been taken to this effect.

I wonder why Israel did not enquiry of the Lord about the Gibeonites and ask God what was the right decision to take? Maybe they were over confident after the victory at Ai and were relying on their own strength? The Bible does not give us any answers to that question.

The lesson for us to take from this story is to ensure that we do not make the same mistake ourselves. It is important to ensure that we pray and seek God’s guidance whenever we have an important decision to make in life e.g. do I marry this person? Should I take that new job? Is it time to move house? These are big choices and it is foolish to undertake these decisions without enquiring from God beforehand. We can avoid a lot of unnecessary heartache if we heed this simple advice!

Additionally many of us, including myself, find it difficult to go any length of time without checking either Facebook or Twitter. We seem to have this constant urge to either check our friends’ status or whether anyone has replied to our latest update. No matter where we are we must stay connected to our favourite social media tool.

I’m reminded that Jesus tells his disciples in John15 that they must abide in Him. Jesus describes Himself as the vine whilst we are described as branches. The only way to grow as Christians and bear fruit for Christ is by staying connected to Him, because unless we are connected to Him we will wither and die.

1. Saving your life which leads to losing your life or
2. Losing  your life for Christ and the gospel which leads to your life being saved.

Jesus is telling us that we have a choice of what to do with our life on this earth and that choice has long term consequences.

The first choice is that we can choose to save our life i.e. run our own life and live for ourselves. This is what the majority of people choose to do. We base our decision making in life on what feels best to us. If we want to do something then we do it. Does participating in something give us pleasure? If so we do it. We can conveniently forget that sometimes that particular pleasure is only short term and can lead to long term regrets.

Jesus acknowledges that those who live this way might gain the whole world. We could be rich beyond our wildest dreams. However this comes with a huge cost. Jesus said that if we want to save our lives and live like that then we will lose our life i.e. we will lose our souls. It does not matter how rich you are if you end up losing your soul. To be in that position must be avoided at all cost.

The alternative choice is that we lose our life for Christ and the gospel. Instead of running our own life we willingly give up our life and follow Christ. In verse 34 Jesus refers to this as denying ourselves, taking up the cross and following Him. It is not easy to deny ourselves. Sometimes it is very difficult and we need to be honest about this. There will be occasions where it is probably the last thing that we want to do in some areas of our life! However as disciples of Jesus this is what we are commanded to do.

Paul speaks about offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God and this is something we do as we lose our life for Jesus. What are the long term consequences of living like this? Jesus promises that if we do lose our life for Him then our life will be saved i.e. our souls are saved. We will live for ever with Jesus enjoying His wonderful presence for eternity.

We all have a choice to make today. Which one will you choose? Please remember though that whatever choice you make it will have long term consequences.