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Viewpoint from Colin Wooden 04/09/2015
Colin Wooden
Gorleston Baptist Church
and
volunteer at the Great Yarmouth Seafarers Centre
The Saviour's in Town
 Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the Saviour's in port. Well, recently it was, but at the time of writing, it is somewhere east of the Humber in the North Sea, and by the time you read this it could be 'who knows where'! I am referring, of course, to the rig safety and supply vessel Putford Saviour, which is registered in Lowestoft and is a frequent visitor to the Great Yarmouth harbour
Its job is to take necessary equipment and supplies to the rigs and stand by to effect rescues in the event of emergencies. Their rescue activity these days is very much routine and rarely called into operation due to much improved safety measures on the rigs
When you think, though, of the rescue mission that was initiated in heaven before creation, and put into operation over two thousand years ago, there was nothing routine about that. God knew the desperate need of a fallen and rebellious human race, and "sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world". A preacher in London suggested recently that Jesus meant, 'God to the rescue'!
 Sometimes, those involved in rescue missions, find that for their bravery they pay the ultimate price. When the Lord Jesus came He knew that nothing short of His death, and that by crucifixion, would suffice to bring salvation for men and women. The apostle Paul put it like this; "When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, to redeem…that we might receive the adoption of sons". And again, when writing to the Christians at Colosse he said "He has rescued us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love". No half measures in this rescue; it is total and complete
The message of the Gospel comes today in the same way as it did to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem two thousand years ago. They were the first to hear that heavenly announcement - "Unto you is born this day…a Saviour…" - and their reaction was decisive - "Let us now go…and see this thing…which the Lord has made known…" - and their move was immediate and with some urgency - "They came with haste and found…"
The Saviour is still in town, and still receives all who come to Him by faith. So the Word of God says; "They that call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved"
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