27/10/2024

Angus Buchan

27/10/2024

The Holy Spirit

October 27, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Proverbs 18:24, John 16:7

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 27th of October, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Proverbs 18:24:

“But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

You don’t have to be lonely today. Then we go straight to the New Testament to the Gospel of John 16:7, and this is the Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples. He says: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” The Lord Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit.

I want to say to you this morning if you are feeling lonely or if you are feeling fearful, you have got a huge task on your hands next week and you just don’t know what to do, call upon the Holy Spirit. You know, so often we talk about our Heavenly Father, we talk about the Lord Jesus Christ, our best friend, but we don’t always talk about the Holy Spirit, and I want to tell you, He is part of the Holy Trinity, and we cannot do it without Him, believe me! Whenever I stand on that platform and I look out on that sea of faces, I say, “Lord, Holy Spirit, please help me because I can’t do this.” And He does, every single time. In Zulu, we call Him, “Umoya oNgcwele”. Umoya oNgcwele - the Spirit who lives within us. Isn’t that beautiful? In Afrikaans, we say, “Heilige Gees”, He is my Friend, He is my Helper. The Greeks call Him, Paráklētos which means The Helper.

I want to say to you today, we need to call upon Him, we need to love Him, we need to speak to Him because He wants to speak to you. Do you remember that beautiful chorus, “Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me”? Why don’t you sing it with me?

Spirit of the Living God,

Fall afresh on me,

Spirit of the Living God,

Fall afresh on me.

Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.

Spirit of the Living God,

Fall afresh on me.

God bless you and have a lovely day,

Goodbye.

27/12/2024

December 27, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Mark 4:14

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 27th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Gospel of Mark 4:14: “The sower sows the word.” That is what Jesus said. The seed of life, but it is not the responsibility of the sower for the growth. No, he plants the seed but the seed must do the rest of the work. Now, the Lord doesn’t say, “the sower sows the seed”. He says, “The sower sows the word.” He plants the word into our hearts, but it is not the preacher’s responsibility to see that word grow, that is our responsibility. So, today, as we draw near to the end of the year, 2024, we have a responsibility. Are we going to receive the word of life that the Lord has been sowing into our hearts for many, many years, or are we going to reject it? That is quite simply the difference between life and death. We are going to go into a new year in a few day’s time, and how are we going to approach the new year? Are we going to live it the same as we did last year or are we going to draw a line in the sand and say, “This far, devil, and no further.”? I had the privilege of speaking to a group of people just a short while ago. These people have been through a very rough time in their lives. Many of them are struggling with addictions in their lives. I asked them a question. “Are you going to make a difference? Are you going to change? Are you going to receive God’s Holy Word, what He says about you, or are you going to continue to listen to the lies of the devil over your life? It’s your choice." With my cowboy boot, I drew a line in the sand and I said, “I want to encourage you, get up out of your seat and come and step across the line and say, “This day I am going to receive the word that the Lord Jesus Christ has sown in my life, and I am no longer going to listen to the accusations of the devil and of other people who have no love for me. I am a child of God and I am starting again.” I would encourage you to do the same today. The sower sows the word, we must receive it. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

26/12/2024

December 26, 2024 • Angus Buchan • James 4:14

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 26th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go straight to the Book of James 4:14: “For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Oh folks, we are coming to the end of 2024. Can you believe it? You know, it is not just older people I am talking to. When I speak to young people they say, “Where is the time going?” Just the other day I had the privilege of going to an old age home, and I sat there and I spoke to the old folk and I greeted them one by one. Some were smiling, some were tearful, some seemed to be in another place - they were daydreaming, and I just thought, “Lord, each one of these precious souls has got such a story to tell.” They have walked such a long road. The one old lady was about to celebrate her 90th birthday. This life is so short, it is like a vapour. I sat there and I remembered all the people that have gone home to be with Jesus, and were in that old age home that I visited, wonderful people with incredible testimonies and stories. Then this morning, I read this beautiful reading that I want to share with you. You have probably heard it before. It goes like this: “Only one life, it will soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Isn’t that so profound? I was telling them that story of an old man who came to me many years ago and I now am also becoming an old man. I know! It’s a fact, you cannot get away from it. He said to me with tears in his eyes, “Angus, I cannot go down the well anymore, I am too old, but I can stand at the top and hold the rope for you.” So precious, and that rope is prayer. And I encouraged those old folks, some of them can’t walk, some of them need to be assisted, “You can still participate, you can still serve Christ, and probably in the most valuable way of all, and that is by praying and interceding for others, especially for the young people who have still got to run the race and walk the road that they are walking." Today, let us not waste any more time. Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

25/12/2024

December 25, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 7:14

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Christmas Day, 25th of December, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. I want to wish every single one of you, my dear friends, a very blessed Christmas. We start today in the Book of Isaiah 7:14: ”Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” What a beautiful word! I went to school with a young man named Emanuel, who was from a Portuguese background - Emanuel Da Silva. Maybe he’s listening to this message on this Christmas Day. That was about 60 years ago. Folks, I want to say to you that that Scripture was prophesied about Jesus about 700 years before it took place because if we go to Matthew 1:23, it’s the exact same Scripture. What a day Christmas Day is for us as believers all over the world. Jesus Christ said to His Father, ”My people are struggling, Father. I’m going down to earth and I’m going to help them.” And because of that little innocent helpless baby born in that little manger, a feed trough in that stable in Bethlehem, you and I have hope. We have hope to get up again, dust ourselves off and keep up the good work for the Lord. We have hope in Jesus! Folks, you know we used to do a lot of campaigns in the early days, in the 1980’s and we called it, “Hope in Jesus”. I want to encourage you today, whatever you do, wherever you go, encourage people and tell them there is hope in a hopeless situation because the Babe from the little manger in Bethlehem has told us it’s going to be alright. I have come that you might have life and that you might have it abundantly. I want to pray for you as we close: Heavenly Father, I thank you for my dear friends who have been with me this past year, 2024. I pray that they’ll have a blessed day today with their loved ones, with their children, their grandchildren, and their families, and they will celebrate the birth of the greatest Person who has ever walked on the face of the earth, our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. God bless you and happy, prosperous and peaceful Christmas be to you and yours, Goodbye.