Dr SM Lockridge's Famous Sermon

My King was born King.
The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King.
He’s the King of the Jews – that’s a racial King.
He’s the King of Israel – that’s a National King.
He’s the King of righteousness.
He’s the King of the ages.
He’s the King of Heaven.
He’s the King of glory.
He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords.
Now that’s my King. Well I wonder if you know Him.
Do you know Him? Don’t try to mislead me.
Do you know my King?

David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament show His handiwork.
My King is the only one whom there are no means of measure can define His limitless love.
No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shore of supplies.
No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

Well, well, He’s enduringly strong.
He’s entirely sincere.
He’s eternally steadfast.
He’s immortally graceful.
He’s imperially powerful.
He’s impartially merciful.
That’s my King.

He’s God’s Son.
He’s the sinner’s Savior.
He’s the centerpiece of civilization.
He stands alone in Himself.
He’s honest.
He’s unique.
He’s unparalleled.
He’s unprecedented.
He’s supreme.
He’s pre-eminent.

Well, He’s the loftiest idea in literature.
He’s the highest personality in philosophy.
He’s the supreme problem in high criticism.
He’s the fundamental doctrine of proved theology.
He’s the carnal necessity of spiritual religion.
That’s my King.

He’s the miracle of the age.
He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him.
Well, He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously.
He supplies strength for the weak.
He’s available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and He saves.
He’s strong God and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharged debtors.
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent and
He beautifies the meek.
Do you know Him?

Well, my King is the key of knowledge.
He’s the wellspring of wisdom.
He’s the doorway of deliverance.
He’s the pathway of peace.
He’s the roadway of righteousness.
He’s the highway of holiness.
He’s the gateway of glory.
He’s the master of the mighty.
He’s the captain of the conquerors.
He’s the head of the heroes.
He’s the leader of the legislatures.
He’s the overseer of the overcomers.
He’s the governor of governors.
He’s the prince of princes.
He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords.
That’s my King. Yeah. Yeah. That’s my King. My King, yeah.

His office is manifold.
His promise is sure.
His light is matchless.
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting.
His love never changes.
His Word is enough.
His grace is sufficient.
His reign is righteous.
His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Well. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He’s indescribable.
He’s indescribable. Yes.
He’s incomprehensible.
He’s invincible.
He’s irresistible.
I’m coming to tell you, the heavens of heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explain Him.
You can’t get Him out of your mind.
You can’t get Him off of your hands.
You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him.

Well, Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him.
Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him.
The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree.
Herod couldn’t kill Him.
Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him.
That’s my King. Yeah.
He always has been and He always will be.
I’m talking about He had no predecessor and He’ll have no successor.
There was nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him.
You cant impeach Him and He’s not going to resign.
That’s my King! That’s my King!

Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.
Well, all the power belongs to my King.
We’re around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but it’s God’s power.
Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory.
We try to get prestige and honour and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His.
Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever.
How long is that?
And ever and ever and ever and ever.
And when you get through with all of the evers, then, Amen.

Fasting

I recently started the Daniel Fast with my church. The point was to make a sacrifice to God saying, "I will give up eating and drinking all but fruit and vegetables (no preservatives, dairy, meat, seafood, sugar) so that You may build our church in numbers, in monetary funds (so we can get a building), in seeing people come to know you.

Which is great. However, as I started this fast I realized a couple of things that made me uneasy. The point of Fasting is to sacrifice something of ourselves to grow that relationship we have with God. When I started this fast, though, I really started it because the rest of my flatmates were doing it. Don't get me wrong, I am passionate about seeing this young church grow and be built up to be something that influences the whole of Dunedin - but it wasn't "truly" the reason I started the fast. I hadn't actually thought about why I was doing it in much detail at all.

So I sat down tonight and had a think about it. When I did, I realised that my time with God hadn't increased at all, my motives were wrong (fitting in rather than desiring God to move in our church), cooking "Daniel Fast" foods took longer than normal meals, and I was spending most of my day thinking how hungry I was - which usually resulted ion me letting others know I was fasting.

This was a problem, because although I was making a sacrifice, it actually was sacrificing anything to God. Really I was sacrificing to conformity and looking good around others. So I had to revamp what I was doing. The Daniel fast is not for me at this time. But I do want to ask God to change our church, to build people up within it as leaders, evangelists, to see people saved, to grow our funds so that we can have a permanent building (which will allow us more free time as we have to set up and pack down every Church service, Change service and Primal service) and so we can better advertise our church to draw people in. So there are a lot of things I want to see happen in the church, and I am willing to sacrifice something of myself to God in my persistent petitions regarding this subject. After talking to God and the youth pastor, I concluded a better approach would be to ditch the Daniel fast and to instead go completely off computer games for the three weeks which should free up a little bit of time which I can give to God. As well as this, I am going to fast during lunch time, giving me more time to spend reading His word during the day.

So I just pray that as I sacrifice these coming weeks these things that I desire - God would build higher my desire for His Kingdom here on earth, that he will provide for His church as it grows through evangelism by His Spirit through the people of c3 church, that His church would willingly and cheerfully give of what you give them for a bigger vision, a bigger hope for the future of bigger city. Amen

The year sure has gone quickly. To be honest, I think this is about the second time this year I've posted here. Blogging seems to have died out in the circles that once were. Perhaps it was the novelty of sharing thoughts with people you cared about, and who cared enough to read about you, in a way that didn't require finding a common free time, making an appointment, using leftover pocket-money on petrol and espresso coffee and then forgetting how to make conversation with the person sitting in front of you. I really do miss blogging, but I don't think I blogged because of time restrictions. High school provides so much free time and perhaps that is why I spent so much time updating my blog and reading other blogs in those times. It just seems that now it's much more important for me to actually make time to (physically) catch up with people. The problem is, most of those people I love dearly in Christchurch I see very seldomly because I head back up there when I get a chance and spend a lot of time with a few people. For the rest of the people who I don't get to see, I just kind of hope that they join facebook and update there, given its system of notifying updates on other people's webpages updates everyone's webpage. For instance, when my brother started dating his status changed from "single" to "in a relationship" which posted the change on everyone's webpage that was associated with him.
This really just allows people to keep up to date with everyone they know with just a 2 minute glance at their own webpage; which to me is very appealing as spending hours going through all the different blogs cannot really justify anything more than procrastination in a daily routine where very little free time for web-browsing is possible.

But I will update this page still, occasionally.
My life at the moment is reasonably stressful. The Human Body Systems exam is on Friday, then three more (Metabolism, Biology and Protein Structure) over the space of the next few weeks. On top of that, I've changed church from DCBC to BATCH (Breakfast at the Centennial Hall) in the mornings (8.30-10) and CCC Dunedin Metro (Christian City Church) in the evenings (6-late). I've started getting involved in the AV team again and intend to be better trained for more of the sound and lighting aspects of this over the start of next year. Myself and 3 people from CCC are flatting together next year (one of whom I flat with now) but are yet to find a flat that doesn't charge the earth or is unfixably insanitary. I'm also looking at getting a job over summer and am waiting on a friend to get back to me on whether I have it all not. So all in all there is a bit of stress in my life at the moment. But I will survive.

In Christ,
Rayd

Web browsing

I came across a site today, in which a girl talked about watching a TV programme that involved a mother telling her child how creation theory was the be-all and end-all, and science was all lies. The girl made the comment on how it made her mad that the child, and other children in Christian fundamentalist families were being brainwashed. I couldn't resist sending a comment back, as I feel this is one of the stumbling blocks for many pre-christians in accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour; that they believe the Bible and science are seperate, and can only contradict one another. The original post can be found here

This was my reply:

It's interesting that you talk about brainwashing Christians. I'm not arguing with you that what the mother said was wrong. What she said was wrong, but I feel I need to express my own opinions here (even though I came across this site by googling my nickname). I am a university student doing a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and I am a Christian. A creationist at that. Despite the many allegations that science has to dispel a 6-day creation, I have found no backup proof to claims. I believe science has an important impact on our lives, but I think that to say everything you hear about science and in science is correct, is a form of brainwashing in itself. To argue effectively against creationism you need to understand why you believe what you believe, with evidence to back it up, or essentually you're just defending someone else's theories and are the same as the mother on the TV programme you so despise. And it's a sad truth that much of science has become like that. People are so caught up on trying to reliquish the fact that there is someone who has more control over their lives than themselves that they are willing to "free" themselves by becoming slaves to lies.

If you have questions about my beliefs, or just want to have a go at me, then please email me @ aliasrayd@gmail.com. I believe that people deserve to know the truth, which is understandably near impossible to get published, based on the presupposed evolution stigma surrounding universities today.
Cheers,Rayd

Living For Something Bigger

Something I've been learning over the last few days, that has sunk deeply into me as water does into a sponge, is the need for more discipline in my life right now.
"The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly."
"Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him."
"How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond, and want like an armed man"
I feel this last verse is especially for me, as I have had plenty of days where getting up seems impossible. It's not that I'm feeling down, but perhaps the seeds of laziness have grown into trees and are now bearing their fruit. It puts me in a place, in my life right now, where I have to actively decide where to go from here. I need to consult God, because it feels as if, since I got to Dunedin a year and a half ago, my dreams have dwindled away, and I no longer am living with purpose, direction and determination in my life.

There are some changes I am now implementing in my life because I feel my lack of discipline greatly impacts the resulting fruit of apathy, laziness and neglect. Firstly, I am to give myself set deadlines to do things. For example, I am going to give myself one hour to write the results part of my lab report. This, I feel is a great need, as I have noticed that my attitude has rubbed off on the boys I am leading and if I am not acting responsibly with regard to being an example of someone actively living the abundant life in God's strength everyday then I should not be in a position of leadership. Secondly, I am now going to make a commitment to go to bed at 11:30pm on school days (save thursday night when I go into town to evangelise). Failing to do so in the past quite possibly has a lot to do with my fatigued state of mind and inability to get to university on time for all my classes. Thirdly, I am going to spend more time with God in finding out the dynamic direction in where He wants me to head. If my old dreams are dead, then it is time to bury them and allow the new dreams to take hold. But I want to make sure that my dreams are on parr with God's. "Trust in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" has struck a new chord with me, when a friend explained to me that God doesn't give us what our heart desires, He gives us the desires that our heart needs, which are in line with His desires, so that we can live a life with an eternal perspective. So, this blog was really just about how I'm going to change my life to start living for something bigger. If anyone still reads it, I want to challenge you: Are you living for something bigger? And if not, what changes will you make in your life in order to start living life for what you could be, God willing, rather than just waiting for it to happen?

Beach Project

Summer Beach Project

As many of you know already, I am going to Nelson over Summer to share the Good News with holiday-makers and beach-goers for a couple of weeks. Now I realise that I am not the most experienced evangelist nor the most appropriate for the job of being in the ministry of evangelism. Surely, some of you say, there are others that could be sent to more effectively talk to these people. Perhaps, others think, money would be better spent on one who has spent their life talking to people, someone older. Others maybe even dare to think that perhaps Christians' money is wasted on me and my comrades and the damage our limitedly experienced selves on those lives in Nelson could be worse than if we would not go at all.

For you I have no answer, nothing to repell your claims, because there is no doubt that someone God has spent years working in and changing and developing into a well honed instrument who fully relies on Him would be a much more effective person to go on this mission and money would be better spent as the lives of those he speaks to are rapidly changed.
But I can say that that well honed instrument began as a mixed-emotioned young infant in Christ, both excited and anxious about the mission God placed before them.
And I can tell you that, though I know not the full extent of God's plan for my life, this beach mission will be used by God to hone me, to challenge me, to stretch my faith in Him and to grow me with abilities, passions and uses that will be essential to both my relationship growth with God in the future as well as the relationships of others with God that He will use my hands and feet, my mouth and ears to show them what it really means to have a realtionship with their Creator. I can't hope to be someone with a witty tongue, with enticing words or with attractive orations but I can hope to spend time to share a simple message of Truth and to pray His Spirit would work in their hearts and that they will know we are Christians by our love. And maybe one day, that hope will grow to faith and that faith will put me in situations where I am comfortable talking to anyone, without little surveys and booklets, to show love to all those who are hurting, who are feeling lost, alone, scared, regretful, tormented, sorrowful, or unloved. Don't we all want to live in a world where people don't ignore the boy who sits alone at lunchtime, the girl who cries in the toilets, the woman who's been abused, the man who's haunted with the ghosts of his past? I know I do, and I know it pains God to see them like that, and it pains God to see His Children walk on by more concerned about the ackwardness of sitting down on the bench and offering one of those ham sandwiches they just spent $4 on.

Apathy is a problem in our society and Christians can't exactly boast about their good deeds when they send $10 a month to a child in Africa when they let the teenage girl go out and get drunk every weekend because she thinks it's the only way she'll get the affection she desires. If we're not speaking Truth into people's lives and letting them know what they're doing to themselves then we're not doing our job! God put us in this world to change it not to conform to it!

I could end it there but I want to challenge the people who read this. I relied on God to provide me ALL the money for this beach project. The expenses, the accomodation, the transport and the postage costs, etc. God provided it all. Every last cent! So before I end this post I want to challenge people to rely on God to give them opportunities to notice the hurting AND to rely on God to work through them when they ackwardly sit down next to them AND to rely on God to be a cheerful giver AND to rely on God that even when we tell the Truth and it upsets people that He is using our words to change the life and relationships of that person in a way that will benefit them eternally! Let's not just talk about fighting apathy, let's accept the responsiblilty that we have as Christians, as Children of God, let's take the leadership that this world so lacks, let's reject passivity and just DO IT!