eikōn

We have moved......

2006-12-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Eikon has moved. You can now find it here.

Sunday 3rd December 2006

2006-12-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

This morning's service was a baptismal service, and you can hear the sermon here.

This evening I preached on 1 Peter 5:1-4, and you can listen or download here.

Sunday morning's sermon is now online.

2006-11-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9 E.S.V.

Get the sermon here.

Download of the day

2006-11-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, there won't be one of these every day, but every now and then, When I find a great message I'll stick a link to it here. This is C.J. Mahaney, who is the leader of a group of churches called "Sovereign Grace Ministries" and he is speaking on James 4:1-2 with the title "Cravings Cause Conflict." In case you are wondering he is speaking at chapel in the Sothern Baptist Theological Seminary.

To download the link you may need to right click and select "save target as."

Overcoming Sin and Temptation

2006-11-29T07:17:00.000-08:00

Ever read anything old? Ever read anything on doing battle with sin?

Do you mortify;
do you make it your daily work;
be always at it whilst you live;
cease not a day from this work;
be killing sin or it will be killing you.

John Owen

I first read “Of the mortification of sin in believers” by the Puritan John Owen (1616-1683) having downloaded a copy from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library and printing out all 66 pages of it on scrap paper.

“You cheapskate!” I hear someone cry. Well, I’d heard it recommended by J.I Packer and John Piper and thought I should read it, but found it hard to get my hands on an unabridged version, so I was left with no choice!

I can remember thinking as I read it what an awesome book it was, and how practically useful it was and yet also so full of God. I had never really read anyone who had such wise counsel to give concerning the Christian’s battle with sin.

Now here I need to say that John Owen has a reputation for being hard to read. My experience was that he was not that bad, but that there were three difficulties that I faced. First, some of his English is archaic. Second, he persists in using un-translated Latin and Greek phrases and finally, it’s easy to get lost in his very confusing numbering system.

“Overcoming Sin and Temptation” edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor has just been published and is a re-printing of “On the Mortification of Sin” along with “Of Temptation” and “Indwelling sin.” This presentation overcomes these difficulties. Excellent footnotes help the reader to navigate the archaic English, Latin and Greek, and a more modern approach to layout makes it easier to follow the flow of argument through the book.

Even more useful and worth the price of the volume is the simple two page summary by Justin Taylor of “On the Mortification of Sin” which provides readers with a “roadmap” to assist and help prevent them from getting lost in the work.

What is so special about John Owen? I’m not sure I can get the flavour better that to quote Sinclair Ferguson’s blurb for the book. He writes:

With a volume of Owen in your hands you may wonder why you have wasted so much time reading lesser things. True, as Dr. John Duncan once said, if you are going to read this you will need to ‘prepare yourself for the knife.’ But that knife is the scalpel of one of the finest spiritual surgeons in the history of the church. Owen understood as few have how the gospel makes us well.

Sermons on Mark 1-8

2006-11-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

I've been preaching through the first eight chapters of Mark's gospel, and enjoying it! Mark has such a vision of the greatness of Jesus! Anyway, here are the mp3 files for the series. In order to listen online simply click on the link. If you want to download the files, simply right click and save the target to your computer.

Sermon 1: Mark 1:1-21. “Jesus: The kingdom of God is near”
Sermon 2: Mark 1:21-45 “Jesus: Amazing Authority”
Sermon 3: Mark 2:1-3:6 “Jesus: In conflict with religion” [Coming soon]
Sermon 4: Mark 3:7-35 “Jesus: Liar Lunatic or Lord?” [Coming soon]
Sermon 5: Mark 4:1-34 “Jesus: Teacher of parables”
Sermon 6: Mark 4:35 – 5:43 “Jesus: Above all earthly powers”
Sermon 7: Mark 6:1-29 “Jesus: Rejected prophet” [Preached by Mat Wingrave]
Sermon 8: Mark 6:30-56 “Jesus: Miracle worker”
Sermon 9: Mark 7:1-23 “Jesus: Challenger of tradition”
Sermon 10: Mark 7:24-8:26 “Jesus: Miracles misunderstood.”
Sermon 11: Mark 8:27-38 “Jesus: Christ the Son of God”

Mark 1:21-45 Sermon Notes

2006-09-11T04:21:00.000-07:00

Once again, here are my sermon notes for those who are interested...

Jesus: Man of Authority.

Mark 1:21-45

Introduction

1. Last week we looked at the opening verses of Mark’s gospel. The question that is at the heart of the first half of Mark is Who is Jesus?

2. This week we are going to see that Jesus is a man of authority.

a. Do you ever get bothered about confusing advice? Go into any bookshop these days and you will find a huge selection of books that tell you how to live a better life. Even on the shelves of the Christina bookshop you will find conflicting advice so how do you cope?

b. Spiritual problems?

c. Then there is the problem of sickness that seems to strike so often just when life was going so well. Even at times frustrates what we thought were God’s plans.

d. Sometimes do you ever get bothered by the sheer scale of problems. Just so many – too many

e. Then there are the serious problems. The ones that you can do nothing about where there are no human answers.

3. This morning we are going to follow a day in the life of Jesus

Sabbath morning 10am

It’s the Sabath day in Capernaum and the community gathers for worship. This morning will be an unusual service:

1. First, today they have a visiting Rabbi. And the congregation is surprised, its not what they normally get.

a. Look at verse 22. Such an important verse for the passage. The people are amazed, at his teaching because “he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teaches of the law.”

b. The whole of the passage we have read this morning has something to say about the authority of Jesus.

c. Jesus has unusual authority to teach. What was it that was so remarkable about the teaching that they heard from Jesus? Had that congregation become used to teaching that lacked spiritual authority. Teaching that was based on the opinions of men. That day there was a preacher in the pulpit whose message was not a collection of thoughts from other rabbi’s but was what God had to say to the world.

d. Actually it’s Jesus whose answers to life’s questions are authoritative. The shops may be full of books which are full of ideas, but it’s Jesus who has authority.

2. Secondly at some point in the service, there is a disturbance, and someone starts to cry out: “What do you want with us Jesus of Nazereth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the holy one of God.”

a. This man is afflicted by an evil spirit. We are told by the passage that he is possessed by an evil spirit. Propably should read “had an evil spirit” [The NT never actually describes someone as possessed by an evil spirit]

b. What the man shouts: This is a remarkable statement- No human being accurately understands who Jesus is until chapter 8, but the demons know who Jesus is.

c. Knowing the truth doesn’t make you Christian. There is a huge difference between knowing Jesus is the saviour and knowing that Jesus is your saviour.

3. Jesus has authority over evil spirits. Notice no technique, no ritual, no holy water, no cross, just a simple word of command and the man is released.

4. Jesus authority is remarkable. v27 This crowd is perhaps used to seeing people afflicted by demons. But not used to seeing people delivered.

Soon After 12pm on….

They leave the synagogue and go to the home of Simon and Andrew. There we find that the mother of Simon’s [Peter] mother in law is sick with a fever.

1. And they told Jesus about her.

2. Jesus authority over sickness. Jesus goes to her and takes her hand and helps her up. The implication is that she is returned to complete complaint.

3. Again notice the marked absence of technique. No complicated ritual, no show, in private, and not even any words. Jesus simply takes her hand and she is healed.

4. Isn’t there a tendency to look for the things that work. And isn’t there a temptation to begin trusting in the techniques. It’s Jesus who has the authority.

After Sunset 7pm….

And then the evening comes and the sun sets. And the crowds come and bring the sick and the demonised to Jesus. Why now. Because the Sabbath is over.

1. Ever felt overwhelmed? Ever felt that there was just too much to do? Too many needs to meet. Here is the good news Jesus authority extends even to this crowd and many are healed.

2. Jesus has authority over sickness and demons for many.

3. Eventually the ministry comes to an end for the day, and one suspects that very late they retire.

Very early 4am.

We read that very early in the morning Jesus goes to a solitary place to pray. Here is a Jesus who spends time alone with his Father. Is this where Jesus authority comes from?

1. Simon and friends come looking for Jesus fully expecting that the ministry of the previous evening would be resumed. “Everyone is looking for you”

2. But Jesus has authority over himself. Jesus knows that this is not why he has come. And so he tells the disciples. V38 [cf 1:14-15]

And so that’s what they do.

Sometime later…

We don’t know when, we just know that a man with leprosy comes to him. And begs with him. “If you are willing you can make me clean.”

The man’s confidence in Jesus authority, but lacks belief in his mercy.

The man has a terrible skin condition. It could have been the real thing Leprosy or Hansen’s disease or some other skin complaint that looked like it, but the effect was terrible.

The law required : LEV 13:45 "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, `Unclean! Unclean!' 46 As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp” For the protection of the community.

Jesus has authority over uncleanness.. Jesus reaches out his hand and touches the untouchable. This is an unnecessary act, of mercy. He did not need to touch the man to heal him. [remember Simon’s mother in law.]
Jesus has merciful authority.

Conclusion

Why does Jesus command the man not to tell anyone.? [Irony that he tells everyone] For that matter why tell the demon to be silent? V25

Jesus popularity is linked with his miracles rather than his message.

Jesus miracles were wonderful demonstrations of his authority. But made no eternal lasting difference

Perhaps there are some today who are only interested In a Jesus who meets their earthly needs.

For the demonised man, for Simon’s mother in law, for the many for the leper. Miracles made things better, but it was Jesus message that changes things.

Jesus’ Miracles make a difference, his message makes all the difference.

Mark 1:1-21 Sermon Notes

2006-09-11T04:15:00.000-07:00

Some have requested my notes for the series on Mark, so I'll post them here. I hav'nt prepared them for publication. You have been warned!

Introducing Jesus

Comments on Mark 1-8
Big Question: 'Who is Jesus'
This morning:

What Marks says
What the Prophets said
What John Said
What the voice from heaven said
What Jesus said

We are at a slight disadvantage because we didn't get a Jewish education. This passages is full of references which people well versed in the OT would have recognized.

** nice to see you to see you....

What Mark says v1

The gospel, the good news begins – The gospel is an announcement about what God has done in History in Jesus Christ the son of God.
The news about Jesus is the gospel because of who Jesus is.
A very specific statement. He is Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

What the prophets said. vs2-3

A quote from Isaiah set up by a quote from Malachi.

Mal 3:1
Isaiah 40:3

Why are these verses quoted here? Because they talk about one preparing the way and the passage s about to go on to talk about John the Baptist? I don't think so.
They are here to draw attention to the one for whom the way is prepared. Who is that?

The LORD. This is YWHW
Both texts refer to The LORD

John was the preparer of the way but the one whose way he prepared was God himself. This is what the verses are saying. God is coming.
The announcement builds: He is Jesus, the messiah, the son of God, God himself who has come into our world.

What John said 4-8

Who is this John anyway? V6 who is that? Now to a reasonably well read Jew, the penny would drop with that description. That's Elijah. He was one of Israel's greatest prophets and called people back to God.
John has a remarkable ministry preaching a baptism for repentance of sin. God is at work get ready, clean yourselves up for God. Remarkably successful.
Work of preparation helping people understand that they are sinners.
John also has something remarkable to say about Jesus. His baptism is greater than my baptism. John baptized for repentance with water. Jesus is the Spirit baptizer.
The next part of the announcement. The gospel is not say you are sorry and try harder. Anyone who has ever broken a new-years resolution knows how hopeless that would be.
Jesus would do more than make people wet on the outside, he would baptize with the the Spirit and God would transform hearts from the inside.
The announcement builds: He is Jesus, the messiah, the son of God, God himself who has come into our world, the Spirit baptizer who will ensure that God is with and in his people.

What the voice from heaven says. 9-13

Jesus goes to John to be baptized. As this happens, the heaven's are torn [Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down] And the Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove and then there comes a voice from heaven.
You are my son whom I love; with you I am well pleased.
To the Jewish hearer, this is reminiscent of two OT passages describing two characters, two distinct identities:

The messiah Psalm 2:7

i. To whom does God say 'You are my son' To his anointed one, to the king, to the messiah. You are the promised messiah king

ii. The servant Is 42:1 To whom does God say “with you I am well pleased”? To the suffering servant the one who will suffer. It was the Lord's will to crush him. Bearer of sin Wounded for our transgressions.

The announcement builds again: He is Jesus, the messiah, the son of God, God himself who has come into our world, the Spirit baptizer who will ensure that God is with and in his people. He is tested and approved as Messiah King and he is the suffering servant who will lay down his life to satisfy the righteous wrath of God against sin.

What Jesus says 14-15

Jesus says about himself “The time has come, the kingdom of heaven is near – or at hand.”
Jesus tells people what they should do about it. “Repent and believe the good news.” God’s kingdom has broken into the world and indifference is foolishness.

And Jesus calls
Repent “Metanoia” to think again, to change your mind and believe the good news.
And believe the announcement.

i. Believe that Jesus is God come into the world

ii. Believe that you need a spirit baptizer because your own efforts to please God are simply hopeless.

iii. Believe that you need to repent. You need to start over and in Jesus you have the opportunity to do that

Conclusion What this looks like 16-20

Jesus’ invitation:
V18 At oncel they left their nets – a complete change of life.

A new master. Jesus is now their master.
A new task. I will make you fishers of men. Good news must be shared.
A new urgency “at once” There is an urgency in the message, and importance the demands attention and action.
A new priority they left their nets and followed Jesus. The commercial value of what they left. Now Jesus came first.

The book of Esther

2006-06-12T00:55:00.000-07:00

The book of Esther
A long way from home
Introduction

This week we are going to turn to the book of Esther. We were looking together at the book of Daniel under the title of “A long way from home.” And I want to just take two more weeks on that title, but on different scriptures.

Next week I want to talk about one of the areas of application that comes out of this idea of living along way from home, and that is the area of parenting.

This week I want to look at the book of Esther. (The dedication of Esther, is it just chance? The book might have something to say about that!)

This book explains for us the origin of the Jewish feast of “Purim” celebrated in late February.

What I propose to do is tell you the story, and then make a few comments on it.

I need to use quite a bit of time to tell the story because the book of Esther is like a jigsaw. If you miss out some of the pieces you don’t see the picture.

Esther 1

Queen Vashti refuses to come to the Kings party and is banned from the king’s presence.

Esther 2

A search is made for a new Queen. We discover that in Susa there is a Jew called Mordecai, who in his kindness has adopted his orphan nice who is called Esther and she is very beautiful. Esther enters the king’s palace, but does not reveal her nationality because Mordecai tells her not to. In the end Esther is chosen as the new queen.

At the same time Mordecai uncovers an assassination plot against Xerxes, and through Esther reports it to the king thus saving the kings life.

Esther 3

Xerxes promotes a new prime minister “Haman” who is infuriated by Mordecai because uniquely he will not bow and show him honour. Haman decides to get revenge not only on Mordecai, but on all of the Jews throughout the whole kingdom. This will include Palestine – to India. We are talking about extinction here.

Read 3:7-15

Esther 4

Mordecai hearing the news dresses in sackcloth and ashes, and Esther hearing this sends the eunuch who looks after her to find out what the matter is. Mordecai tells the eunuch what has happened and asks Esther to go to the king and ask for mercy for her people.

Read 4:11-17

Esther 5

Esther goes to the king and is welcomed. She invites the king and Haman to a banquet, and when they come, the king offers to meet her petition up to half the kingdom. She invites them the next night and says that she will ask then.

Haman once again enraged by Mordecai’s refusal to bow goes home and boasts of his great influence and wealth and his wife suggests building a giant gallows and then asking for the king’s permission to hang Mordecai.

Esther 6

That night Xerxes is sleepless. He has the records of his reign brought and read to him. As they read, they discover the record of Mordecai’s uncovering of the assassination plot, and the king asks if anything has been done to reward Mordecai, only to find that nothing has been done.

Read 6:4-11 And then Haman goes home in despair.

Esther 7

Read

Esther 8-10

Xerxes gives the Jews the right to defend themselves, and then the Jews destroy their enemies throughout the Persian Empire on the allotted day. They establish a thanksgiving feast called Purim, and Mordecai becomes prime minister.

There are four significant persons in the unfolding plot of the story of Esther, and perhaps we can learn something by thinking briefly about each of them.

Haman
Who in his pride sets himself up as the opponent of God’s people and therefore of God also.
It is Haman’s acting on his hatred and opposition to God’s people that leads to his downfall, and the blessing of God’s people.
The “Haman” principle:
The hope that the anti God tyrants of our world might prosper for a time, but ultimately they will fall, and God’s people and cause will prosper.
In the history of the world, which individuals actions are responsible for the greatest number of people coming to Christ? The answer might be Chairman Mao. In 1949 when the communists came to power and attempted to suppress Christianity there were probably 700 000 protestant Christians in China. Now there may be as many as 70 Million.
Voltaire died in 1778 and said that one hundred years from his time Christianity would be swept from existence and passed into history. Within 50 years of his death, the Geneva Bible society used his priniting press and his house to print and store bibles (Evidence that demands a verdict p20)
Mordecai
What I want to draw our attention to in Mordecai’s part of the story is his conviction that God will do something.
Listen to what he says in 4:14. Mordecai has a conviction that God will work out his purposes anyway. Even if Esther does nothing, God will save his people and you won’t be part of it. Is Mordecai right in his theology?
Isn’t that an attitude to have. Mordecai presents us with a challenge. Will you be part of God’s purposes, or will you be left out of God’s purposes?
The “Mordecai” principle: God doesn’t need me to fulfill his purposes but he invites us to be part of fulfilling his purposes..

He doesn’t need you to fulfill his purposes. The idea that God needs me to run the universe or even a bit of it is blasphemy. Instead, we need to see that God invites us to be part of his purposes.

Act 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
Act 17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

God doesn’t need me, he want’s me. Let me give you an illustration. I’ve done this just because of how things fall. You ring someone up just to see how they are doing. But while you are on the phone you also ask them to do something. You run the risk of them thinking not “He just wanted to know how I’m doing” but rather “He is only interested because of what I can do for him.”

God doesn’t want relationship with you because of what you can do for him. He want’s relationship with you, and he invites you to share with him in fulfilling his purposes which he could fulfill without you. That is precious.

I’ve been making a bird table with Joel. This week one of things we did was countersink all of the holes for screwing. Why do you think I got him to countersink the holes. It wasn’t because I couldn’t do it myself. About our relationship and friendship and companionship.

Yes you should serve him. Serve in his power. You won’t grow if you won’t serve. And our next character speaks to us about our service.

Esther.
That said we need to turn to Esther. Esther who hears Mordecai’s challenge, the well known words of the book (v14)
The “Esther” principle: God can use us, even if we have nothing more than a willingness to be obedient in the place where God has put you.
Esther’s willingness to take a risk and go to the king is the hinge on which the book turns. It’s the hinge that turns disaster for God’s people, as we said total extinction into security and significance.
God can use you whoever you are, and whatever you are. Could it be that God has raised you up where he has put you for such a time as this?
There are some things we can learn about being raised up for such a time as this from the story:

I’m not saying it will be easy. You may need to be bold, Esther was. You may need to be wise, Esther was. (5:1-2 cf 4:11)

I’m not saying you don’t need to pray. You will need to pray and have other’s around you pray, Esther did. That anyway is the implication to the call for fasting. (4:15-17)

I’m not saying it’s now. You may need to wait for that moment, Esther did.

I’m not saying you don’t need anything. You may need to listen to wise counsel on the way to the place that God has called you to. Esther did (2:15)

But I am saying that God could give any one of us a “such a time as this”
And then there is the final personality in the drama:
God!
He is never mentioned! But he is nevertheless the hero of the book. The book of Esther before it is about Haman’s pride and evil intent, before it is about Mordecai’s conviction that God’s purposes will be worked out, before it is about Esther’s seizing the for such a time as this moment, it is about God’s hand on the messy details of history.
You see the jigsaw pieces fit together. Some might look at it and call it chance, but others look with eyes of faith and see God’s hand on the circumstances and choices of life.
You know at one level the story isn’t even very edifying. Don’t look at Mordecai as an example of how to behave. He is difficult! Why all this refusing to bow, I mean showing respect to a government official didn’t fall into the same category as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refusing to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image.
And there have to be some questions about the appropriateness of his passing his niece into the harem of Xerxes. The process for becoming queen is certainly not one that would teach us anything about God’s values for sexual purity. If you think as you read the story “Does that mean what it sounds like it means” the answer is probably yes. The scripture doesn’t hold Mordecai or Esther up a moral examples. So what’s the point?
But there in the mess of life. In the confusing choices. Perhaps even in the bad choices. There in the reality of confusion and the reign of evil, and ordinary people trying to make sense of it, God is at work.
Here is the good news. Isn’t that the day to day world that we live in. The world we sometimes feel trapped by? The world we try to makes sense of. The world we experience trouble in. Where the choices sometimes aren’t right and wrong, black or white, but just messy.
Esther reminds us that life is not shaped by chance, chaos or Godless fate.
What was the feast called? It was called “Purim” Now where does that title come from? Notice 3:7 (cf 9:26) The “pur” was the lot. The instrument of chance. The very name of the feast is a reminder that there is a greater hand behind the hand that draws the lot.
Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
That’s what God’s people were to remember when they celebrated purim.
The God principle: We can trust that God is working out his purposes in every circumstance.

Sermon on Daniel 4

2006-06-08T02:06:00.000-07:00

Sermon on Daniel 4

Introduction

This Sunday we are going to see that God is at work a long way from home in the conversion of a Pagan king.

As we have been going through the book of Daniel, and I have said a couple of times that Nebuchadnezzar has not become a believer in God.

In each chapter so far, we have seen Nebuchadnezzar have an experience of God’s people and the living God.

In chapter 1: We find the most tentative. When he interviews the young men who are being trained and prepared for service in his regime, He is impressed by the people of God.

In chapter 2,:He has a legitimate, God given spiritual experience, when Daniel and his friends are able to tell him prophetically what he dreamt and what it meant, and it becomes apparent that Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream that foretold the coming of Christ 600 years before it happened.

In chapter 3: Nebuchadnezzar erects a gigantic golden image and commands the whole nation to worship, and when Shadrach Meshach and Abednego refuse, he has them thrown into the fiery furnace and is astonished to see them survive this. He also sees a fourth figure in the furnace and he commands that nothing is to be spoken against the God of S, M and A and anyone who does will be torn limb from limb. He has had another Spiritual experience, but it is still incomplete.

But something has happened between the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4. Chapter 4 is actually a letter from Nebuchadnezzar himself, and he is a changed man. Here he writes to tell what has happened to bring about this change.

You know it is so important or us to distinguish between having a spiritual experience and conversion. Nebuchadnezzar has two significant spiritual experiences but he has not yet changed direction.

It’s important because there could be some here who have experienced something of God but have not yet experienced his life transforming grace.

This morning we are going to see two things really clearly. We are going to see human pride, and the danger that it keeps us from God, and we will also see God’s amazing grace in confronting human pride and bringing Nebuchadnezzar to repentance

Now at the beginning of chapter 4 we read:

Daniel 4:1-3

Nebuchadnezzar is content but God is sovereign.

Verse 4

As far as Nebuchadnezzar was concerned and despite everything that he has seen of the living God he was at home in his palace “contented and prosperous”.

What a tragic text! How tragic it is that there are millions of Nebuchadnezzars For them life is just fine and they look at themselves and they are contented and prosperous and they have no sense that they need anything, and there is something about the way in which it is just written here that almost takes your breath away, and makes you think how foolish!

What Daniel has already shown us is that God reigns. It doesn’t matter how far you are from home he still reigns.

He reigns over the diet you eat, he reigns over the dreams of kings and he gives the interpretation and he reigns over seven times hotter fiery furnaces.

He reigns over nations and kings and over every life, whether he is acknowledged or unacknowledged.

And Nebuchadnezzar’s godless contentment is proud and arrogant and foolish.

You know this morning God is in heaven and reigning whether you respect that or not. He reigns over the nations whether you want him to or not, he reigns over kingdoms whether you want him to or not, and he reigns over you whether you want him to or not.

Nebuchadnezzar was “contented” and yet the reality is that he is hanging by a thread over eternity.

I am so glad this morning that there are two other points!

The breath taking grace of God

Verses 4-9 19-33

Now we need to put the grace of God to Nebuchadnezzar here into context. He was not a good man. Indeed you might read the first three chapters and wonder if smiting might be in order. He is an evil and cruel tyrant with a particularly cruel and tyrannical way of getting what he wants,. He is the inventor of a bogus state sponsored religion. He is a persecutor of God’s people, and he has had an experience of God’s power but has not bowed before God.

And God is gracious to this man. He deserved no kindness from God, and yet as we shall see, God was kind to him. That is what we mean by grace! We are so fortunate that God does not treat us as we deserve to be treated.

God is indeed breathtakingly gracious to him. Let me just show you some of God’s grace to this man:

God’s grace in a disturbing dream v5

One night Nebuchadnezzar has another dream, and he is terrified. And this terror is not a momentary thing. He goes through all the astrologers and wise men of Babylon and none of them can or will tell him them meaning of the dream.

You know sometimes God will disturb us in order that he might ultimately comfort us. Perhaps to stir us out of complacency or apathy, he will allow something disturbing to come into our lives. Perhaps to undermine our pride, he will allow inadequacy to come into our lives.

God’s grace in the provision of Daniel v8

Eventually Daniel comes to Nebuchadnezzar and he is able to tell him what the dream means, and we will come to that in a minute, but here is my point.

Nebuchadnezzar would probably have told you that Daniel was in Babylon and in a position to help, because his armies had brought him to Babylon. But we know that Daniel was there because God’s hand was on him, and he is part of God’s grace to Nebuchadnezzar.

That is a precious thought folks. If you think about the people you know who are just like Nebuchadnezzar and they are contented and they don’t know God, and God’s grace could already be at work in their lives, and you don’t know it yet, but you could be part of God’s grace to that person.

Do you wonder if Daniel ever thought: “what am I doing here?”

It could be that there are some of you who have thought “Why am I in this office?” You could be there to point someone to Jesus, because you are part of God’s grace to someone who doesn’t yet know Jesus.

(You only have to be faithful – Daniel was unsuccessful)

Or maybe someone is Daniel to you. Listen to the Daniel

God’s grace in a prophetic warning to repent 19-27

And then there is God’s astonishing grace to Nebuchadnezzar in the dream and its interpretation as a call to repent.

God speaks specifically and directly to this man and tells him: You are like a great tree that will be cut down, and you will become a stump of what you were until you acknowledge that heaven rules. (v26)

And Daniel warns him to repent. (v27)

God’s grace despite a prophetic warning to repent v28

This man effectively takes no lasting notice. For a whole year, life just carries on! Now I wouldn’t want anyone here to think that if Nebuchadnezzar got away with that then they might.

It is in the nature of grace that it is undeserved. Nebuchadnezzar didn’t deserve a disturbing dream that might lead to knowing God, he didn’t deserve a Godly interpreter like Daniel, he didn’t deserve a warning to repent and he didn’t deserve God’s forbearance with him when he didn’t

God’s grace in the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar 30-33

You know, here is a humbling part of the account of God’s dealing with Nebuchadnezzar and it serves as a warning too.

If this man had not been humbled, his pride would have kept him from ever knowing God. He really thought he was something, and he was completely blind to the reality. Listen to his pride:

"Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" (v30)

Nebuchadnezzar simply has no sense of the reality that he is where he is because God reigns, and he sees everything that he is as a product of his own hands for his own glory.

The sin of pride has astonishing power to keep us from God simply because when we think we are doing well we have no sense of any need of God and are totally blind to the reality that God is our greatest need.

1 Peter 5:5-7
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1PE 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

God doesn’t respond to offers for contracts, or offers to make deals. He responds to cries for help.

Isn’t that last line wonderful? If you are like Nebuchadnezzar was, you would never do it!

Would God break a man like Nebuchadnezzar to humble him? Notice what happens! (vs33) Could God visit him with such an affliction?

Yes and it’s grace, and Nebuchadnezzar knows it’s grace

Here is the astonishing thing about Nebuchadnezzar. One of the things that convinces me that this is real, and in case you were wondering underline that all these events are God’s hand. Look at V2 as he introduces his letter and tells about what God has done for him.

Dan 4:2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

Notice that incredible statement “for me.” Nebuchadnezzar does not accuse God of wrong doing, He is grateful for these wonderful signs of Grace

There is a kind of bitter sweet warning here for us. God will break our pride if we do not repent

The wonderful mercy of God

This proud and wicked man lifts his eyes to heaven, and he is restored. v34

My sanity – I was mad to think as I did

This man has a complete change of perspective. He goes from being the self appointed God of his own little world (see ch. 3) to being someone who sees and exalts in the goodness of the glory of the Sovereign God.

Conclusion - to the cross

God in his grace will confront human pride, and not just Nebuchadnezzar’s. You could see the story as a mini version of Israel’s situation.
There could be some here and you feel “I am doing just fine. I am contented and prosperous. A little spirituality helps (That’s what Nebuchadnezzar thought)

And yet the cross behind me reminds us that God is still in the business of challenging human pride.

To the idea “I’m doing just fine, I am contented and prosperous” Jesus Christ crucified says it’s not true, it is an illusion.

The cross insists that there is a need for:

Us to change our minds about ourselves and God. There is a need for confession of pride and other sin that we might receive the forgiveness of God. There is a need for trusting Christ for a new heart that will be centred in glorifying God.

Nebuchadnezzar has come so far, and the grace of God is so rich to him. Listen as we finish to one who has responded to the grace of God:

Verses 34-37

More Sermons on this blog

2006-05-05T01:42:00.000-07:00

I’ve started to make some of my recent sermons available on this blog. I’m sorry about the way in which the fonts change in mid post. That seems to be something to do with the Blogger plug-in for MS Word that I am using. I’ll see if I can sort it out for future posts.

What is here is my basic script, and thy don’t tend to have been extensively proof read – you have been warned!

Daniel Chapter 3 "A long way from home" Sermon 3

2006-05-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

Daniel Chapter 3
“A long way from home”
Introduction
We have had a break for a few weeks from Daniel, but this morning we return to Daniel chapter 3, and to our theme “A long way from home.”
You remember that the book of Daniel describes the experience of some of God’s people living in exile in Babylon. They had to work out what it meant to live faithfully in a land a long way from home.
I suggested that increasingly as Christians, our situation is like theirs. We live a long way from home. They were surrounded by people who didn’t know their God, didn’t worship as they did didn’t understand their values and beliefs, and didn’t hold the same things as being of value , and so do we.
This morning as we turn to Daniel 3, we will see for the third time God’s people coming under pressure. Will they remain faithful?
In chapter 1 we saw them take a stand on a fairly minor issue. It was about sharing in the luxury of the kings table and eating food, but Daniel felt that this would defile them. (Dan 1:8) SO they respectfully ask to be excused and God honours them
In chapter 2 the pressure is turned up quite a bit. Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and demands that the wise men of Babylon not only interpret it, but tell him what it was. When they can’t N demands that all the wise men, including Daniel and his friends are to be dismembered. So D and his friends S,M & A plead for mercy from the God of heaven. And God reveals the dream to Daniel and he goes and tells N, and D and S,M & A are promoted and placed in positions of responsibility.
Now in Chapter 3, we are going to see God’s people living a long way from home have to confront the spiritual idolatry insisted on by N. As we see this we will ask ourselves how we can honour God in a society where there are different spiritual values and idolatrous belief systems.
When you are a long way from home:
1) You will find huge pressure to conform to the spiritual values and world views of society.
Read Dan 3:1-7
N erects a giant golden statue, as high as a swimming pool is long, he gets a full worship band, and commands everyone to bow down and worship. The consequence of disobedience is death by furnace.
You know before we go on, I want to just make an observation about N. He underlines for us the important reality that there is a difference between a spiritual experience of the true God and conversion.
Did N have a Spiritual experience in Chapter 2? Yes. He has a prophetic dream, that is prophetically interpreted by Daniel and spoke of the coming of the king of kings.
Was N’s spiritual experience legitimate? Again the answer was yes. Daniel says that it was God who had shown N what will take place in the future. (2:45b)
So was God behind N’s experience? Yes!
But was he converted? Absolutely not. There was no lasting change in his attitude to God, No worship of the true God, no mark of God’s work in his life, and now we find him indulging in idolatry and you have to wonder if the dream had anything to do with it. Has he warped and distorted what God showed him? He saw an enormous dazzling statue with a head of pure gold, now he builds an enormous statue and it’s all gold.
And so God’s people face the pressure to conform with N’s state sponsored idolatry.
What was wrong? They were only being asked to bow to a statue. I can imagine someone saying “It doesn’t mean anything, it’s not real after all and it’s what’s in my heart that counts.”
We have a God who hates idolatry, because in it his people sell themselves short and deface his glory. They settle too easily for a short term hit and miss out on a lasting weight of glory.
You know I wonder again if actually God’s grace is shown to Gods people in the clear cut nature of the dilemma. The reality was that every Jew would have known that N could not be obeyed, and radical disobedience was the only option.
I fear that for us, very often it is not so clear cut and the devil’s persecutions are more subtle, and we can buy in without realising sometimes that we have done so.
That said what are the spiritual pressures for us? To what idols are we pressured to bow down? Well I’m going to talk about four that bother me, and that I believe are out there and subtly pressure us to bow to them.

The militant pressure of secularism. On Good Friday, the Guardian published an editorial entitled “Fight the good fight” A good title for Good Friday you might think, but the article was a strongly worded argument for secularism. The good fight was the fight to free society from the influence of religion. That’s what secularism is. Religion is OK in private, but must be kept out of schools and legislation and government and public life and morals. The irony is that those who believe this are far more evangelical in spreading their dogma than many Christians, and that’s why I called it “militant.”

So how are we pressured to bow the knee to secularism? Here I would suggest the great temptation is to bow by going silent.
When we will not open our mouths and speak publicly gospel truth we have bowed to their idol. There is a pressure to serve and not speak, and yet the gospel is public truth and God is over our nation and the nations whatever the Guardian editorial team think.
Here is a challenge for us in this. In Mat 10:32-33 encouraging his disciples in that they will be put under pressure to disown him says Jesus says “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

The endemic pressure of universalism. What do I mean by universalism? I mean the idea that all religions are equally valid and true. All religions lead to God. That is not what Christians believe, and indeed if you have struggled with that, you need to think on why we uniquely preach a crucified God if it is possible to earn God’s approval by religious works.

Now I mention this because it is very prevalent, and for example, there is a very real possibility that your children will be taught this in school, and we as parents need to help our children see the foolishness of such claims.
The pressure is to bow the knee and cease to insist on the uniqueness of Jesus and let go of convictions of truth, and friends we must not do so.
Now we have to get this right. I should have respect for my Muslim friend, and I should show him love and defend his religious freedom, but I don’t agree with him and should seek to show him Jesus. (Christians should stand up for religious freedom. It was weird to see the EA and Secular society standing up against the religious hatred bill.)
We may be pilloried for refusing to bow. We may be called arrogant, intolerant and worse.

The cultural pressure of materialism. Friends, this one and the next one are huge pressures for us, and they are related. What do I mean by materialism? Let me have a stab at a definition and see if it rings any bells. Materialism is a world view, that says that the purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness through the acquisition of stuff. And it is the state religion of most western democracies. The problem with that view is that it is wrong. You were not created by God so that you could acquire stuff, and it will not make you happy, and it foolishly ignores the pressing question of eternity, and one day you will stand before God, and he will not be impressed that you got an Xbox 360 a BMW, a flat screen TV or a holiday home.

And against that way of thinking, 1 Timothy 6:6 says “But godliness with contentment is great gain” but you have got to believe it, and you have to have discovered that there is another treasure of infinitely greater value.
You will find that there are daily pressures to bow and worship at the altar of stuff, and the tragedy is that doing so deadens and dulls the desire of our hearts for God himself.
You need stuff, but if you dull your sense of longing with stuff you will spoil your appetite for God. The pursuit of meaning and joy with a credit card rather than with a Bible and in prayer and worship and God honoring service is a fruitless pursuit that tragically will keep us from finding joy where it really may be found.

The subtle pressure of narcissism. If materialism is a world view that says that the purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness through the acquisition of stuff, Narcissism is a world view that says the purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness by the pursuit of happiness It’s all about me! This is so prevalent in our society and so tragic because it doesn’t work ultimately. May explain partly why our society is so unhappy.

And this one is so dangerous. This one infects and infests evangelical Christian faith and perverts it and distorts it and so easily worships a God who is most interested in me and my happiness. And it’s so subtle because you can come to think “I’m worshipping God” and yet you are only worshiping him because you believe him to be centred on you.
The treatment is a radically God centred faith founded on a worshipful vision of the glorious God centeredness of God.
We need to search our own hearts and ask ourselves: “Am I in this for me or for God? “
So when the pressure to bow the knee comes how will you remain faithful.
2) You will need to remain faithful to God.
Read 8-18
In the first instance when placed under pressure to conform S M & A it seems decide on a quiet path of non conformity with society. They become and odd group that don’t join in with everyone else.
But that strategy doesn’t last for long, as the astrologers (Demonically originated?) decide to tell on them. (v8) and S, M & A are brought before a furious N, and the crunch moment comes. And we want to know how to remain faithful in such situations.

They recognise a higher authority than N. v16

For them God comes first. “We don’t need to defend ourselves before you in this.” They recognise and believe that there is a higher authority than Nebuchadnezzar. We need to own Christ as our king. Even though N doesn’t v15 The powers that be will not recognise God’s authority, but that is evidence only of their foolishness and doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it.

They have confidence in the power of God. v17

What a vision of the power of God! Their God is as we sing with the children “a great big God.” He is able to save us from it. Where do you think this confidence comes from? These young men have been though other trials, and they have discovered that God is able. In fact if you think about it the tree trials in the first three chapters of Daniel escalate in their severity. It’s in the trials that you learn that God is to be trusted. We must discover confidence in the greatness of God.

They are submissive to the will of God. v18

These men say even if he doesn’t rescue us, we will not serve your God or worship your image. You know God doesn’t always rescue his people from fiery furnaces. Sometime he has higher purposes.
Trusting in the will of God and treasuring Jesus over life itself.
Illustration: In oxford there is a memorial to Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley. These men stood for truth together; were imprisoned together; were martyred together bound to the same stake. While bound to the chain with Ridley, Latimer cried out, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day, by God’s grace, light such a candle in England as I trust shall never be put out.”
N is furious and demands that they be thrown into the furnace and that the furnace be made extra hot.
Read 19-30
Conclusion: In faithfulness you will discover that you are not alone.
As these young men are thrown into the fire so in the mercy of God they are protected, and N is shocked to see four figures walking about in the fire.
You kind of think wow that must have been an experience! Walking around in the furnace – with whom? One looks like “a son of the gods” I don’t believe that it is fanciful for us to suppose that the fourth man was the pre incarnate Lord Jesus. (One as a son of the God’s)
The consequence of faithfulness and loyalty is that in the fire they know fellowship with the Lord. Why is it do you suppose that some of the most vibrant churches in the world are some of the most severely persecuted?
Do you remember Jesus’ words to Saul / Paul, the persecutor of the Church on the read to Damascus. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4) It almost seems that Jesus identifies in a special way with those who pay the price for identifying with him.
So what happens next? S, M & A are promoted and preserved for another day. N is not converted despite another spiritual experience and God’s people are free to worship him.
Will we bow and worship at the images that our culture celebrates and pressures us to celebrate? Or will we refuse to bow and worship anyone or anything other than the one true God? Are we prepared to pay the price for fidelity and faithfulness? If we are then we may discover the preciousness of his presence with us

Daniel 2 "A long way from Home" Sermon 2

2006-05-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

A long way from Home.
Daniel 2
Introduction
How can God’s people change the mind of governments and rulers, and perhaps more importantly how do you show the world the greatness of your God?
When you live a long way from home in a land that doesn’t share or respect your beliefs, where you are a people in exile, where you are an insignificant people, and those around you have strange religion beliefs, they don’t share your values or morals, how can you influence society for the glory of God?
It seems to me that those are questions that we face, but we are not the first of God’s people to face them. As we look at Daniel Chapter 2 today we are going to see how Daniel and his friends managed to do just that and influence a king and glorify God in a strange land a long way from home.
Here is what we are going to see this morning. Even when you are a long way from home God reigns, and works through his people.
The king has a dream (and a problem). 1-13
Here we have a disturbed King with a nightmarish dream and a whole bunch of spiritual advisors whom he cannot trust. So he summons them and proposes a solution. “I have had a dream” he says “and it troubles me and I want you to tell me what it means.”
“Fair enough” say the spiritual advisors, “Tell us the dream and we will give you the interpretation.”
Here is the King’s solution. “No” he says, “if you are as wise and spiritual as you say you are, you tell me what the dream was.” And what’s more he says “if you can’t tell me what the dream was … I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into pile of rubble.”
And so the spiritual advisors ask again. “Tell us the dream and we will interpret it for you.” And again the king insists that they must tell him the dream.
And the spiritual advisors are bewildered and confounded. “No one can do this… it’s too difficult.” “No-one can reveal it to the king except the gods and they do not live among men.”
The tragedy is that that these spiritual people believe in god’s who are powerful but not interested. Praise God that we know that that is not true. That there is a God in heaven and he will live among men and he will act.
And so the spiritual advisors are under a death sentence. Here is the problem. While it seems that they were not involved in the showdown in the courtroom, Daniel and his friends are under the death sentence too.
But what is the relevance of this situation for us? An ancient king with a spiritual problem and a distrust of his advisors. A tricky situation for the people of God…..
Well there are rulers in our world too, and they make laws and edicts that increasingly impinge on our freedom to worship and express our faith. And where there are not laws there are cultural expectations. Don’t talk about your faith. There is the rise of secularism. The great religion of our age. Public life must carried on without reference to God, and spiritual dogmas mast be kept away from the public realm and we must insist that that is a spiritual dogma too. And what do God’s people do?
They Pray! 14-23
So the King’s guard come to take Daniel and his friends to the place of execution.
What do God’s people do in these crunch times? Organize a march? Have a protest? Write letters to the Babylon Times?
They do two things. First they act graciously. Daniel spoke to Arioch with wisdom and tact. V14 and an interview is arranged with the king. You know I think there must have been something very special about Daniel’s words because the spiritual advisors got accused of playing for time and when Daniel asks for time (v16) he gets it.
You know we should ask God for wisdom and tact in our dealings with the world.
But notice with me the second thing that they do: They pray.
I wonder if you have ever thought or said in a kind of shrugging the shoulders way almost as an excuse “We can only pray.” You know we ought to repent of that attitude that almost says “There is nothing of real value that I can do so I’ll pray.”
What do these friends do? Daniel explains the situation and “urges them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven.”
Have you ever pleaded with God for anything? There are two things that bring Daniel and friends to that place. The first is an utterly helpless situation and the second is a faith that there is a God in heaven.
Now don’t we need, living as we are in our world where every day there are approaching challenges to our freedom to worship God to learn to pray like that? Don’t we need to learn what it means to plead for mercy? Notice that they do it together. This is God’s people together pleading for mercy.
You know I wonder if it was the grace of God to Daniel and his friends that there was little else that they could do other than pray. I find myself wandering if we don’t learn to plead for mercy from the God of heaven when there is something we can do. These guys prayed like that because there was nothing else to do.
If God didn’t answer prayer they were done for. But you know that is just as true for us. We might not see the urgency but it is still true that if God doesn’t answer prayer we are done for. Without mercy from heaven there will be no supernatural component to anything we do, and we will descend into good intentions empty of divine power.
Application: Maybe, one of the things that we need to learn a long way from home is to pray like Daniel and his friends prayed pleading for mercy from the God of heaven. Hard work, faith filled desperate and God dependant prayer..
And then Daniel praises God. 20-23. This is Daniel’s God! He is a god of wisdom and power, who sets up kings and deposes them, A God who gives wisdom and knowledge and reveals mysteries. You know Daniel’s God is our God. Our God is a God who sets up kings and deposes them, A God who gives wisdom and knowledge and reveals mysteries.
Daniel Speaks to the King 31-45
And so Daniel is brought before the King. “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?” asks the king.
And what does Daniel reply? “No!” Wouldn’t you have liked to see the look on Belteshazar’s face when Daniel began his reply.
Here is the point. Daniel, wise man, spiritual advisor to the king publicly confesses the private reality. So many would have been tempted to just tell the king his dream, but not Daniel.
27 Daniel replied, "No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
Here is a Jerusalem boy made good, with amazing opportunities advising the king. I wonder how many would remain quiet about God and think that it wouldn’t be right to risk my position. Daniel refuses to hide his divine dependence.
Comment on work environments – and it doesn’t apply in the staff room or in
Application Don’t we need to publicly own our private dependence. If it’s an answer to prayer say that’s a real answer to prayer to your Christian and non Christian friends alike. Offer to pray for you non Christian friends as you would for your Christian friends.
Here is the sobering observation. If there had been no public owning of the private reality it would have achieved absolutely nothing. Do you see what is at stake here. Because of what Daniel says God gets the glory!
The outcome 46-48
So what happens? Nebuchadnezzar falls prostrate before Daniel v46 But the honoring of Daniel is incidental in a way. Look at verse 47. The King glorifies God.
But… Here is something that I feel I need to say. You know this chapter doesn’t have a and they all lived happily ever after ending. I mean it’s not as though Nebuchadnezzar gets born again and learns to play the guitar. Theologically he has a lot to learn. God is not adored as the true God, just a superior God, and in the next chapter he is up to his old tricks again.
When you are a long way from home you may see the world getting glimpses of glory, but it not really changing very much.
We will need to remember that Daniel gets another day and God will be glorified again, but it’s not all going to get better straight away. From time to time someone will come along and say “this is the thing that will make a difference” If you believe them and it doesn’t get better, you may be disheartened. Remember what happened on Mount Carmel? Shouldn’t that have turned the nation back to God?
Daniel and his friends are not disheartened and they are still faithful as you read on and so must we be!
Application: What does happen is that Daniel and his friends get promoted. Here is one last question. Why would God raise someone to prominence? It’s an important question because it could happen to some here and you will need to remember why God has put you where he has put you. As we go on through Daniel we will see that God does this for the good of his people, for the working out of his purposes and for the sake of his glory.
Conclusion
We missed out the dream. What I’ve wanted to stir your faith to believe is that God reigns over kings and kingdoms. Even though he is not recognized as such Jesus is king of Kings and Lord of Lords. If you need that underlined again, notice that God used an unbelieving pagan king to bring a prophecy that spoke of the kingdom of the King of Kings! 44-45
Secondly I want to stir you to think about prayer and to wonder if God might call us find our what it means to plead for mercy.
Thirdly I’ve urged you to own the private spiritual reality in the public sphere. Be a public witness of the private reality.
Finally I’ve reminded you of the reason why God raises to prominence. Daniel could have had a good career, and a good life and a nice income, but he knew why God had put him where he had put him and we will see that he is willing to put it all on the line.

Daniel Chapter 1 "A long way from home" sermon 1

2006-05-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

A long way from Home.
Daniel 1
Introduction
In 1953 When the Queen was crowned, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland handed a Bible to the new Monarch With these words “This book is the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is wisdom; this is the Royal law; these are the lively Oracles of God.”
I wonder if there were to be a coronation in 2006 if the same would happen. The world in which we live has changed. Within living memory, the church has had great influence in this nation, but now that influence is in decline, and more and more Bible believing Christians are regarded as anachronistic and irrelevant.
This morning we are going to begin a new series which I am going to call “A long way from home.” We are going to be looking at some of the OT passages that describe the experience of God’s people when they were “A long way from home” because I believe that those passages of Scripture have something significant to say to the church in our generation.
So what was the exile?
If you would like to take a Bible I’d like to just do a few minutes sketch of the History of Israel in the Old Testament.

Creation: Adam and Eve

Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Joseph

Exodus: Moses

Conquest: Joshua 1400BC

Judges: Deborah, Gideon, Samson, Eli, Samuel: 1375-1040BC

Kings: Saul, David and Solomon. Division of the kingdoms Israel and Judah.

Exile:

Return:

Key premise.
That the experience of the church in the West in our day is not dissimilar to the experience of God’s people in the period of exile in the OT, and that there are therefore important things that we can learn by looking at the passages of scripture that come from that period.
What will we look at?
Daniel, Esther and we may finish by looking at Jeremiah’s letter to those who have been taken into exile.
Read Daniel Chapter 1
The book of Daniel begins with some historical information. It tells us that In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. What we know is that this was the beginning of the end for Jerusalem and Judah. Over one hundred years before in 722BC Israel had fallen to Assyria.
Then in around 5 years before the beginning of Daniel Babylon had defeated Assyria, and later Egypt and had become the dominant world power.
At the beginning of Daniel Judah becomes a vassal state, an outpost of Babylonian power and over the next twenty five years it will rebel and fall, and then later be utterly destroyed.
And so Daniel begins with shocking history. That Jerusalem, God’s city, where the temple was, where God met with people, the centre of Jewish worship is defeated, and worse, some of the vessels of the house of God are taken for use in the temple of a Babylonian deity.
And anyone caught up in this might be expected to think “what has happened? Has God lost his edge? How can the holy city be under Babylonian rule? How can the holy things from the temple be stolen and used in idol worship Has God gone away?”
This brings us to the first thing that we need to notice in the passage:
God still reigns.
When you are a long way from home, the temptation will be to forget that God reigns.

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia [a] and put in the treasure house of his god.

You see verse 1 on it’s own is purely secular history. If you had just verse one on it’s own you could be forgiven for thinking that “stuff just happens” History swings from one moment to another, nations rise and nations fall and that’s the way of the world.
Verse 2 however tells us why it happened. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand. The book of Daniel begins with a conviction that God is in charge, things do not happen by accident. This is the beginning of God’s judgment on Judah, that Jeremiah and other’s had spoken about.
This is such an important idea for us to get our heads around. The idea that even in exile; even in Babylon, God is in heaven and he reigns. Nebuchadnezzar may think that as ruler of Babylon he determines what happens but he will find out that there is a God in heaven who reigns.
You see in the crisis moments of life, when the awful things happen when there is bereavement or broken hearts or sorrow there is a temptation to dethrone God.
I was speaking with a friend this week who has been through such a dark place the last couple of months in a way that was just such a shock when it came along. He was able to say that he feels that he has come out of that experience with “his belief in the sovereignty of God intact,”
Sometimes we don’t know why, sometimes we are left with great questions
What the world will do to you
When you are a long way from home the world will try and squeeze you into it’s mould.
Notice with me verses 3-7. There is a temptation here to see this as the benevolence of Nebuchadnezzar. He was a nice guy who liked to think of himself as a bit of a philanthropist so he gives some bright young guys from Judah a bit of a start in life….
Except that is not what is going on here. Nebuchadnezzar has just conquered Jerusalem. He now has the problem faced by any winning general. How do I maintain order, and how do I keep Jerusalem in it’s place as a part of the Babylonian Empire.
And in these verses we see that he has a cunning plan. It is a plan to brainwash the brightest and best from Jerusalem. It is a plan to change their world view, and turn them into Babylonians.
What do I mean by world view? I mean that set of attitudes that we have formed in us by the culture to which we belong. The values and priorities that we have that shape who we are and condition us and what we believe.
So what is Nebuchadnezzar’s plan? And what can we learn from it about the world’s attempt to form our world view. How can we avoid becoming Babylonians? How can we avoid being squeezed into the world’s mould.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. [b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. 6 Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
Notice what happens. First he isolates them from their piers and their families from the temple and the regular worship of God. (v3) He takes them out of the environment where a God centered world view is nurtured and instead isolates them so that they can be filled with a Babylonian world view.
We need to guard against becoming isolated as God’s people because we are in such peril on our own. When we drift from being together in fellowship we are so vulnerable to “becoming Babylonian.” Not just being together. Hebrews 10:24 says:
24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Secondly he has them indoctrinated. (v4) They are to be taught the language and literature of the Babylonians. Why teach Israelites Babylonian poems? Because we are what we are because of the stories that shape us and help us interpret the world around you. What stories did these young men learn as they grew up? They would have been taught about Adam and Eve and Abraham, and Moses and Joshua, and David and Bathsheba. God centered stories that formed the foundation for faith. What would Babylonian literature teach them? I don’t know, but not that there was a God in heaven who invited people to have faith in him, A God who redeemed people, A God who gave victory, A God who honored worshipful obedience, and hated sin.
What literature do you get most of? What stories shape you. Television and Film? “The triumph of humanity” Human centered thinking. Are you staying rooted in the literature of home? I just this week finished the OT again. And I’m so pleased that I can get into the stories again! Read Abraham, Moses, Caleb, Joshua etc. Let these stories shape your life. Read Jesus, Read Paul let that shape how you see the world.
Thirdly he gives them the best that Babylon has to offer. (v5) Just look at this! They get offered food right from the table of the king. And they don’t want to eat it! Some of you are thinking: “they are mad!”
Why? Maybe they knew that it had been consecrated to a Babylonian Deity, It’s clear that there is an issue, eating and drinking would have meant defilement, but here Daniel draws a line. He resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. And with graciousness and tact and diplomacy, Daniel asks for an alternative which he gets.
There are so many who go Babylonian over this issue. Give them the very best says Nebuchadnezzar shower them with luxury, see if they prefer Jerusalem then!
We need to be so careful don’t we. There is no doubt that wealth and luxury can be like a bucket of water on the fires of a passionate heart. What a tragedy it would be to have a big house and a nice car and a cold heart. One of the texts that bothers me, and should bother us is Luke 8:14 where Jesus explaining the parable of the sower says: The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. Maybe you have hankered for more. Have you ever thanked God that he has given all that you needed.
Fourth he messes with their sense of who they are. (v7) The chief official renames these young men. There are some commentators who will tell you that this was just because the Babylonians found it hard to pronounce words like Daniel. I am sure this wrong.
Listen to the meanings of the names that their parents gave them. Daniel means “God is my judge.” Hananiah means “Yahweh (or God) is gracious” Mishael means “Who is what God is” and Azariah means “Yahweh has helped!” Now do you notice a theme developing here? They have God centered names. And instead they are given names that relate to Babylonian God’s Abednego for example means servant of Nego.
The community of faith, flawed though it was, that these young men came from was a God centered community. When they had kids they named them in ways that honored God, and that acknowledged that life was lived out under his care, in response to him and with his help. And now they are given new names, new identities by those who care for them now that exalt the God’s of Babylon. Babylon says now you are Abednego, now you are a servant of Nego.
So how do we avoid becoming Babylonian? Who tells you who you are? God’s tells you who you are in his word, and the world will tell you all the time who you are. Whose voice will you listen to? Listen to the voice of truth!
Faithfulness despite what the world will do to you
When you are a long way from home you may need to take a stand on things that matter.
Let’s draw out attention to verse 8-16. As Nebuchadnezzar’s plan unfolds we have seen the resolve not defile themselves with the food and wine from the king’s table, and so Daniel speaks with diplomacy and offers an alternative.
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your [c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

I find myself wondering at verses 12-13. There is such faith in God implied. This was a bold suggestion to make. Do you get the sense here that Daniel feels that they are not in this alone? This is one of the reasons why the idea of God reigning is so important. It brings with it the conviction in these moments when an individual or a church has to resolve not to defile itself the utter conviction we are not in this alone!
If the day comes when We need to take such a stand so as not to defile ourselves I pray that we will do it with the grace, wisdom and conviction of Daniel.
God honors faithfulness
17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
There is a sense in which you could say at the end of the story “So what? They didn’t eat dodgy food whatever does that achieve in the purposes of God?” By the end of Daniel chapter 1 not much has happened, but there has been a preparation for the future. Look at verse 17 God gives Daniel an anointing for the future to understand dreams and visions. This is central to the way in which God will use him.
In the day of “no big deal” obedience, God equips for the more moments days to come. Your obedience today may not shake the heavens and the earth, but it may prepare you for an anointing and a day that will.
In their refusal to bow to the pressure of conform they become excellent. You know the world’s way is not better. The superiority of Daniel and his friends is recognized by a pagan king
19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
There is one in the eye for Babylon! They had refused the whole reprogramming package, they had held on to the values of home. They had refused to defile themselves and the king found them ten times better than anything Babylon produced. Praise God that he honors his servants!
Conclusion
Where are you from? Where is your home? We may be a long way from home, but God is in heaven and he reigns. We may daily face the pressure to conform to buy in to a world view that displaces God. Don’t give in resolve not to be defiled, and Be with God’s people, read the literature of home. Be faithful in all things, be obedient in the small things and there will be a greater anointing for tomorrow.
Oh that we would be found to be ten times better than all the gurus, spiritual advisors and so called wise people of our generation.!

Ummm..... are you sure that's a good text?

2006-02-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

Justin Taylor points out this church website has an interesting scriptural tagline. The site uses Luke 4:7 as a moto under the churches title. Now as Justin Taylor asks "anyone see a problem?"

If you're not sure - here is a hint - look up the passage here
and ask yourself who is speaking. I guess it all goes to show how important it is to read the Bible responsibly.

Highly recomended is "How to Read the Bible for all it's worth" by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart. I recently found a copy on sale in a Christian Bookshop for 50p! I was unable to bring myslef to leave such a fine book mouldering on the remainder shelf so I bought it and I now have a spare copy - so if you want one - and you know me, first come first served and all that!

Also....

2006-02-10T00:44:00.000-08:00

I recomended a web site for those interested in praying for unreached people groups. It's here

Why lost people matter more when lost people don't matter most.

2006-02-10T00:34:00.000-08:00

Here is the theological bit from Sunday morning. I was trying to show why lost people still matter to God when it's a;; about God and his glory. So here goes:

I want to show you that: “Lost people matter more when lost people don’t matter most.” And I want you to see that: “God’s desire is that all peoples would see and acknowledge and enjoy his glory”

Let me begin by asking you a question. What do you suppose Jesus meant when he taught his disciples to pray and taught them to begin “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Mat 6:9)

That expression “Hallowed be thy name.” What does it mean? Some of you may have been taught that a good pattern for prayer is A.C.T.S. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. I’ve never ben sure about that pattern, and have always thought that the Lord’s prayer was a better model. But here is my point. I think when Jesus taught his disciples to pray “Hallowed be thy name” he meant more than simply saying that their prayers should begin with praise for God. If Jesus had meant that wouldn’t it have been simpler to tell his disciples to pray. “I praise you name.” or “I hallow your name.”

Jesus is telling his disciples to pray something much bigger that personal praise as they begin their prayers. He is telling them to begin their prayers by expressing the desire that God’s name would be praised everywhere and by every one. It means something like: “Would your name be praised”

R. T. France in his commentary says this expresses a desire that “God would be truly honored in the world today, and an eschatological longing for the day when all men acknowledge God as the Lord.” [Tyndale, p134]

So Jesus told his disciples to pray that all peoples would see and acknowledge and enjoy God’s glory every time they prayed.

And you see this desire of God that people everywhere see his glory, acknowledge his glory, love his glory and enjoy his glory, is something that you see right through the Bible. I want to take a few moments just to take you through and help you to see just how big a theme this is.

Turn first with me to the book of 1 Chronicles 16. Here David returns the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and sets it up as the centerpiece of Israel’s worship. This is what he prays: verse 8, 23-36. Just look at that desire that God would be praised across all the families of the nations. When you think about what is going on here it’s the more remarkable. Here is a religious new start for God’s chosen people, but here is no inward looking holy huddle. The desire is that God would be worshipped across the globe.

Let’s me show you this desire in the Psalms. This is Israel’s hymn book and it is full of this desire that God’s glory be seen in the world. Here we see how worship becomes mission

Psalm 67

Psalm 72:18-19. This is David’s last Psalm (v20) His last words in a psalm are a prayer for the earth to be filled with God’s glory.

Psalm 96:1-10

Psalm 108:1-5

Psalm 117

And then in the prophets:

Isaiah 6:3

Lets take just one more passage. This time from the New Testament.

Phil 2:9-11

Here is what we see. True worship becomes enthralled with the God who is most glorious in such a way that it longs that all peoples would see and acknowledge and enjoy his glory. And therefore Lost people matter more when God matters most.

So that’s what I wanted us to see. Now I have one more thing to say before I go on to the call for a response.

I think people struggle with the idea of a God who says “Praise me.” And I’ve used a number of illustrations to try and explain why God’s seeking his own glory is the most loving thing he can do for me. I know this is hard, but I believe it’s worth persevering with.

So here is another way to think about this. I want you to imagine that we are all going on a church trip this morning after the service. And we go down into the old "Bath Stone" mine workings under the town. Now there is one word that comes to mind in terms of describing them, for those who haven’t been, and that is “dark.” The words “wet” and “cold” come to mind also but for the sake of argument let’s remember that it is dark down there!

Now I don’t know how we did it, but somehow we all got down there – away from the entrance but we only had the one torch between us. Would it be selfish or unloving of me to look after the torch? Would you want me to look after the torch? Would it be unloving for me to hold up the torch so that as much light as possible lit up the caves as far as possible? Would you be foolish to cover your eyes and turn away from the light?

In a world of darkness the it is good and right that the glory of God shine bright and it is his most loving action to desire that his light shine and that his light be seen and that his light be enjoyed by as many as possible.

It’s the passion for God’s glory to be seen, and acknowledged and enjoyed that will get us out of our seats and comfort zones and doing what it takes to make the glory of Jesus, God’s glory in the gospel seen

An after thought:

It seems to me that most mission we hear about today is anthropocentric. What I mean is that it is done for people's sake because lost people matter.

I'm not sure that's wrong, but I reckon that not much mission today has theocentric motives. That is mission that happens out of a desire to spread the glory of God's name. Last week I read about David Livingstone's motivation for going to the mission field. He went that those to whom he went would glorify God - only wish I could find where I read it!

Appoliogies for the links....

2006-01-30T03:19:00.000-08:00

Somehow I lost all the links from my template. I think I deleted them by accident when removing the Amazon Associate links, so sorry to those whose pages were linked to here. I'm slowly putting the list of links back.

Sunday's Sermon: We value Spiritual Surrender.

2006-01-30T03:05:00.000-08:00

As you read Luke’s gospel, you find yourself noticing that the problem with building a Jesus movement is … Jesus. I find myself wondering, did this ever frustrate the disciples?

You see Jesus could gather the crowds. In Luke chapter 8 we read that “ a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him…”

Anyone with a mind for the growth of the Jesus cause would thaink that now would be a good moment to give this crowd something pithy and useful that will encourage them.

Jesus, however, tells them the parable of the sower. Rather than entertaining the hearers, it only perplexed them and they had to ask Jesus what it meant. (v9) And when they did, Jesus said that he spoke in parables so that people wouldn’t understand.

Through the rest of chapter 8 Jesus does amazing things and still the crowds gather. Then in chapter 9 he feeds five thousand people with a miracle of multiplication, and the disciples are beginning to grasp something. “Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God." (Luke 9:20)

Things are going so well, and then Jesus has to go and make it so difficult!

(Luk 9:23) And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

(Luk 9:24) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

(Luk 9:25) For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

That’s one of the passages I want to come back to a little later.

And then later on in Chapter 14 still the crowds are gathering. “Now great crowds accompanied him…”(Luk 14:25) and it seems like Jesus has a real opportunity. He begins to speak, and this is what he says:

(Luk 14:26) "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

(Luk 14:27) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

(Luk 14:28) For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

(Luk 14:29) Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

(Luk 14:30) saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'

(Luk 14:31) Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

(Luk 14:32) And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

(Luk 14:33) So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

And Jesus refuses to be the popular unchallenging, figure of cut price spirituality. He refuses the easy gains of faithless pragmatism and in his love lays down a challenging call to “follow me.”

One of the questions often levelled at faith queries whether it is not a crutch for the weak and feeble. With Jesus, however, the question changes somewhat and becomes something more like “are you up to the challenge?”

When I think about what I mean by spiritual surrender then I suppose the two texts that come to mind are the ones we have read this morning. And especially the repeated call to “take up your cross and follow me.”

I want to look at these two passages this morning and understand a little of what Jesus meant, before I go on to ask the question: Why would I want to heed the call of Jesus to take up my cross?

What Jesus meant 1: Luke 9:23-25

The first question I want us to ask of this passage this morning is; to whom was Jesus speaking? It seems to be fairly clear that on this occasion he is with a fairly select group of disciples. Look at v18 with me.

(Luk 9:18) Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"

Here it is very clear that Jesus is in private with his disciples. If you read through with me, it seems clear that “The he said to them all” is referring to the disciples. In other words Jesus says these words to those who are already following him.

These men had already paid something of a price for following Jesus, but Jesus knows what will happen to him. Notice what he tells these disciples in v 22. Jerusalem, and what will happen there is already in mind.

So it’s to his disciples that he says Luke 9:23.

What did he mean by “take up your cross.” You sometimes hear people talk about “having a cross to bear.” And so often such talk minimises the scale of the meaning.

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem where in accordance with God’s foreordained plan he would carry his cross through the streets of Jerusalem before being crucified on it. Jesus would put God’s plan before his own life. Jesus would show us quite literally what it means to die to self and live for God.

This is the idea that Paul expresses in Gal 2:20 “ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

This is the idea behind the words of hymns we have sung and songs we now sing:

Take my will and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine

Take my heart it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne.

It’s what we mean when we sing “I’m giving you my heart” “I surrender all” “I will offer up my life”

It’s what Jim Elliot meant when he wrote in his journal “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot loose” just a couple years before he lost his life seeking to share the gospel with the Auca Indians in obedience to God’s call on his life.

I notice that Christians can spend a great deal of emotional energy asking the question “What does God have for me?” Sometimes we need to hear more clearly what Jesus has already called us to. Here Jesus says if you want to come after me this is what you must do. Take up your cross and follow me.

Just before we move on, I notice here in this verse the little word “daily” This spiritual surrender to God and his will is something that belongs to the routine of life. Daily we should pray “Lord let my will be surrender to yours today.”

What Jesus meant 2: Luke 14:26-33

If Luke 9:23 was spoken to those who were already following Jesus, the disciples, then to whom was Jesus speaking when he said very similar words in Luke 14:26-33?

Well here it’s very clear that Jesus is speaking to the large crowd that have gathered (v26). Whereas Jesus before said “if anyone would come after me” now he says “If anyone comes to me.”

Really he says three things.

(Luk 14:26) "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Now we need to insist here that Jesus is not denying the fifth commandment. Rather he is saying “no other relationship can be first for anyone who is my disciple.”

(Luk 14:27) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

You have to be a cross carrier. Do you notice what Jesus says. You cannot be my disciple if you are not prepared to walk as I walked. If you will not own a Jesus who carries his cross you cannot be his disciple.

(Luk 14:28) For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

(Luk 14:29) Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

(Luk 14:30) saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'

Jesus says to those who would be his disciples, count the cost first. Are you prepared to pay it? Don’t start if you can’t keep going. Can you sense Judas getting nervous? I mean he’s the treasurer. Imagine it “Shouldn’t we send the pledge forms round first Lord?”

Now you might think: “What kind of religious leader would say something like that?” You have to be pretty confident that what you offer is worth everything if you are going to make those kind of statements.

(Luk 14:32) And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

Here the image changes a little. I find myself wondering if it might mean a little more than count the cost, and be saying when you look at it rationally, surrender is a good idea. I mean it’s not like you are going to win.

(Luk 14:33) So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Here is the heart of spiritual surrender. To say Jesus is Lord is to let go of everything else.

Why would I want to heed the call of Jesus to take up my cross?

I will try to put this as simply as I know how. “You have nothing to loose and everything to gain.”

Look back at Luke 9:23-25 and see with me what Jesus says

(Luk 9:23) And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

(Luk 9:24) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

(Luk 9:25) For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

You see Jesus himself answers this question for the disciples. Those who think that what they have now is worth holding on to will loose it anyway, so they might as well spend it now.

If I say to my children. “We are going into town this morning and you can have £5 pocket money, but you have to spend it this morning, and if you bring it home I will take it away from you.” Will they spend it?

What you have without Jesus is worth nothing in eternity and what you have with Jesus is worth everything now and in eternity.

If you had everything that the world had to offer, the price would still be worth paying.

It’s not a bad deal. Don’t come away from this sermon with the idea that the cost is so high but it’s not worth having. The cost is high but does even begin to reflect the value of what is on offer.

I have been re-reading C.S.Lewis’ Narnia series recently. In the book “Prince Caspian” Lucy, one of the four children who find themselves in the land of Narnia, meets with Aslan, the Lion who is the Christ figure. Aslan asks Lucy to “tell the others to follow. If they will not, then you at least must follow me alone.”

Lucy says to her sister and brothers: “I do hope you will all come with me… because I’ll have to go with him whether anyone else does or not.”

It’s Lucy who has the surrendered heart, and who knows that following Aslan is simply the best thing to do and the right thing to do, even if others disapprove, declare you to be foolish or resist.

I want this morning to give the last words again to Jesus. I want us to stop and listen and hear again his call to spiritual surrender:

Luke 9:23-25

Luke 14:26-33

We value personal purity (Sunday morning's sermon.)

2006-01-23T01:26:00.000-08:00

2 Peter 1:3-15

Introduction

This morning we are going to look at the statement “We value personal purity. Now before I begin I want to just make three observations about this whole area so here is the first.

I suspect that it is the case that there are many Christians alive today who have looked at the lifestyles of those around them who don’t believe and have found themselves envying their lifestyles. I believe there are many Christians who try really hard to be good, but struggle to understand why they should be good, let alone know how they can find the power to be good. This is a problem with our motivation for purity. Now that is something that I will come to later.

Secondly I suspect that there is a danger that we face in the church today of understanding the gospel primarily in terms of forgiveness rather than in terms of forgiveness and transformation. The gospel is about forgiveness, but it is not only about forgiveness, it is about forgiveness and transformation. When we emphasize only the forgiveness component we create a gospel of sin management, where ongoing sin and shame result in repeated requests for the forgiveness of God. This is a problem with our foundation for purity.

Third, I suspect that we prefer to describe discipleship in terms of what we are not, rather than in terms of what we are. We find it easier to say “A disciple doesn’t ….” than to talk with words like purity, holiness and godliness which are all together more challenging. This is a problem with our definition of purity.

I want to read 2 Peter 1:3-15 to you and then we will look at it to see if it helps us with any of these problems.

(Read Passage)

The motivation and foundation of purity vs 3-4

So where does this purity come from, and why should we be pure anyway? The answer is the gospel! Look at this tremendous promise statement with me.

(2Pe 1:3) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, (ESV)

Do you see what I mean about the gospel being more than forgiveness? The gospel contains not only a call to transformation but provides the power of transformation. The divine power of Christ will give everything necessary for life and Godliness? No! The divine power of Christ has given everything necessary for life and Godliness. Isn’t this a tremendous promise? How do we get that power?

You know one of the things that bothers me is when something that rightly belongs on the edge of Christian faith is raised up in peoples thoughts to the point where it becomes to them essential and central. The tragedy is that this does two things. First it undermines our confidence in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ., and secondly it diminishes the glory of Jesus.

So some people suggest that what you need is Jesus and something else. You need Christ and inner healing, you need Christ and ministry, you need Christ and the latest experience. Don’t we need to have confidence in the sufficiency of Christ? Do you see how we get this power for life and godliness? Through the knowledge of Jesus who called us by his glory and excellence.

Here is the hint that we need to notice concerning how we discover power for purity. He called us by (NIV) his glory and excellence. When Christians get stuck in impurity, it is because the pleasures of the impurity seem more attractive to them then the glory and excellence of Christ. We sin because we love it. We walk in purity because we love Jesus more. If you want to know that power for godliness do everything you can to magnify your appreciation of the glory and excellence and majesty of the God we know in Jesus.

We looked at Psalm 63 last Sunday night which has something of the same idea in it.

(Psa 63:3) Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. (ESV)

Does that strike you as incredible? Your love is better than life itself! Isn’t that something to believe? Do you know something? It’s true!

(Psa 63:5) My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, (ESV)

And there again what an awesome thing to believe! Could you believe that? Again it is true that the satisfaction of knowing God is greater than any passing pleasure afforded by sin.

Now, so far, I have only talked about our “here and now” motivation for godliness. Look at verse 4 with me.

(2Pe 1:4) by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (ESV)

You see there is more! God’s promises to us. Not that we become part of God but that through his grace and mercy God invites and equips us to share in his glory. 1Peter 5:1 has a similar idea when it talks about being “a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.”

We are people with a promise! So keep going. Keep enlarging your vision of Jesus so that you escape the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

So how do we define purity?

Look at verses 5-8 with me.

(2Pe 1:5) For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, (goodness NIV) and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)

Aren’t these great qualities? Virtue or goodness. Knowledge of God and his will. Self control, steadfastness or perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection and love. Work at them! We are to make every effort. How do you do that? Work hard at holding on to a knowledge of the glory and excellence of Jesus. Pray for help. Read his word. Be with people whose love for Jesus is infectious. Praise him. Persevere when you get it wrong. Seek help in accountability. Make every effort!

James 1:27 says that the kind of religion that God accepts involves keeping oneself “unspotted” or “unstained” by the world.

Jesus calls you to purity and godliness in every area of life. Now for some of you right now Jesus calls you “be unspotted” in the area of your sexuality. God gave sex to us as a good gift to be used as he intended it by a man and woman within a loving marriage relationship. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. He calls you to virtue in this area

For others the “spot” is in you lack of self control. It could be in the whole area of speech, or maybe it’s to do with anger or may be it concerns alcohol or food.

For some the “spot” is in your minds. Thoughts flourish and grow and develop. And the call of God is to godliness in your mind.

For some the spot is in the area of your attitude to wealth and money, and the call of God is to self control and love in the way in which you handle your money.

Here is good news: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

What is the call of Christ for you this morning?

Tragically there are those who perhaps because they only think about the gospel in terms of forgiveness who fail to begin to show purity in their Christian life. Peter calls this myopic faith.

(2Pe 1:9) For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

That’s just blundering around in a fog of blindness. Don’t be like that! Rather have eager, diligent faith. That could be what some of us need to hear this morning.

(2Pe 1:10) Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent (Eager NIV) to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. (ESV)

Not that you will never sin, but that you will not fall away from faith and your reward, heaven, is assured.

(2Pe 1:11) For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (ESV)

With this glorious and excellent Jesus Christ as king for ever

It could be the case that there are people here this morning who have never come to the point of responding to or receiving Christ. It could be this morning that what you have heard as I have spoken, and talked of the glory and excellence of Christ is the call of Christ to you.

It said in verse 3 that “He called us by his own glory and goodness.” He calls you to follow him to discover for yourself his surpassing goodness and excellence. He invites you to own your own need of forgiveness and transformation and to follow him as Lord. He invites you to ask for the filling and equipping and empowering of the Holy Spirit of God to transform you from within.

Maybe you need to respond this morning and you could do that by coming to some of the prayer team after the service and asking them to pray with you to receive Christ.

Finally, We have made much this morning of a passion. Now I have one last thing to say, and then we are done.

If you want to know that power for godliness pray! Whatever you do, do not be satisfied with a cerebral faith that has no heart felt love for God. If that’s you, then be disturbed. Belief without affection is not Biblical Christianity.

Let that disturbance set you seeking after God. Keep asking God for a passion for the glory and excellence of Jesus. If you heart is unmoved ask God to forgive you for your hardness of heart and ask him to move your heart. With love for Jesus.

Introducing Revelation

2006-01-19T01:42:00.000-08:00

For those who missed it, here are my notes from Wednesday night. We are beginning new small group material on the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, so I did a sort of potted introduction to the book of Revelation:

Introduction

If you type “Who is the antichrist?” into Google, the first web page to suggest a candidate suggests…. George Bush! The second web page to suggest a candidate declares the “beast” to be David Hasselhof!

I wonder if sometimes we are put off reading the book of Revelation simply because we think it is too difficult! We are not sure we want to wrestle with questions like “When will the world end?” “Will it be in our day?” “How do recent events in the Middle East fit with what is described?”

I suspect that some of us are aware of those who have developed an obsession with end time prophecy and are rightly wary of getting sucked in to a similar way of thinking. Throughout history there have been those who are sure that they have cracked the code and rightly predicted end time events.

Sir Isaac Newton spent most of his life on this task and left a 500 page document outlining his now evidently wrong conclusions. Another commentator, William Miller, described as an honest church going farmer predicted “desolating earth quakes, sweeping fires, distressing poverty, political profligacy, private bankruptcy, widespread immorality which abound in these last days, which obviously indicate the Lord is returning immediately.” He was sure that the Lord would return with a year. Unfortunately he made this prediction in 1843 and subsequent events would seen to suggest that he was deceived! Tragically he disappointed thousands of Christians who believed his message.

More Recently in 1970 Hal Lindsey published the “Late Great Planet Earth” which predicted the return of Christ in 1988. Perhaps G.K. Chesterton was right when he declared that: “John saw no creature so strange as one of his own commentators.”

If we need to avoid the joint dangers of obsession and unwise prediction we need also to steer clear of the danger of avoidance. Some of us might find Revelation disturbing reading and would rather read that “the Lord is my Shepherd,” while others might find it impenetrable. Nevertheless we should read it for two reasons.

First, we should read the book of Revelation because it’s part of God’s word to us. A friend of mine jokes that one day we will meet the apostle John in heaven and he is going to ask “How did you like my book?” I’m not sure that is the best reason to read it! Perhaps a better reason is that we are convinced that it is part of God’s word to us, and so we must hear what it has to say.

Secondly, we should read the book because it contains a promise that those who so will receive a blessing.

(Rev 1:3) Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Indeed the book is tremendously encouraging to God’s people containing as it does a vision of the sovereign glory of God and the certain fulfilment of his ultimate purposes in history.

What is the book of Revelation?

The book of revelation describes itself in three ways.

1) The book of Revelation describes itself as a “revelation”. 1:1

(Rev 1:1) The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

The book first of all describes itself as a “revelation” or “apocalypse” The book does claim to be predictive of the future. Here again a note of warning. For those of us who are not satisfied to deal only with the big sweep of history and want to engage with the details.

There is a temptation to read this book, or especially chapters 6-21 as “reverse history.” In other words every event described by John corresponds to an event that has happened or will happen in world history. The problem with this is that readers get in to trouble when they jump too readily to identify apocalyptic descriptions with events in world history, and declare as they read the book “this is that.” Current events in world history may seem a good fit at times, but history has a habit of showing our conclusions to be erroneous.

For example I can remember the level of speculation when the European Economic Community became ten states, and many made links to the 10 kings in Rev 17:12. Unfortunately for those who said “this was that” then there are now 25 countries in the EU.

Perhaps a better way of reading Revelation is to stand back and get the big picture. As a mosaic rewards more from a distance and individual tiles reward little when studied in great detail, so perhaps the book of Revelation blesses more when we stand back and view the big pictures of God’s sovereign actions and assured ultimate victory.

2) The book of Revelation describes itself as a “prophecy.” 1:3

(Rev 1:3) Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Revelation is fundamentally Jesus’ message to the church through the prophet John. It’s in understanding this that we find tremendous encouragement in reading the book. Jesus’ desire is to bless his church with his words and bless those who are obedient to his word.

Like so much prophecy, the book is rich with promises and is rooted in conviction about the return of Christ right from the outset. This is a book that will help every Christian to live with the end in mind.

(Rev 1:7) Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

3) The book of Revelation describes itself as a “letter” 1:4

(Rev 1:4) John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,

John writes down what he sees and sends Revelation as a letter to the seven churches in Asia Minor. It’s important when we read this book that we remember that like all letters, it has a context.

John is imprisoned on Patmos because of his faithfulness to the word. The churches to whom he writes have begun to experience persecution which will become far more serious before too long. Christians will be imprisoned for their faith and some will die horribly and brutally under the rage of the Emperor Domitian. With troubles in the world there are also troubles in the church and as ever false teaching and prophecy must be opposed.

We must submit our conclusions on the meaning of the book of Revelation to what I would call “the letter test.” In other words I believe that every sentence in this book had a meaning to it’s first hearers. If we are to be responsible interpreters then we must insist that our conclusions were within the grasp of the first hearers.

To suggest, as some have, that most of the book is taken up with predicting events that happened after the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1948, is to ignore the very significant events that happened much earlier in history, to settle on an interpretation that could only mystify its first hearers and to insist that the book has had little meaning to the millions of Christians who have read it throughout church history.

Where did this vision come from?

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." Rev 1:9-11

Apart from the opening verses of the book, the whole describes a series of visions seen by the Apostle John while he worships on the Lord’s day.

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Rev 1:12-20

Perhaps one of the ways of thinking about the book of Revelation that can be helpful to us is to think about the way in which in his visions John sees beyond “what is real” to see “what is really real.”

The opening vision of the risen Christ sets this pattern. “What was real” for John was the fact that he was the imprisoned pastor of a group of small struggling, scattered and increasingly persecuted churches in Asia Minor.

In his vision however he sees the risen and exalted Christ in the midst of seven golden lamp stands. He sees seven stars in the right hand of this glorious Lord. This is what is “really real.” These churches are reminded that the risen Christ is in their midst, and in his hands are angels, one for each church. This is what is "really real," the heavenly reality which John glimpses.

It is this Christ who has looked on the seven churches and now through John writes to them with his evaluation and response. These are the seven letters, not from John, but from Jesus that we will look at this term.

So what do we need to look for and remember as we study these letters?

Firstly we need to remember that the emphasis of the book of Revelation is on endurance rather than escape. I need to say this because many Christians today get their sense of end times more from the “Left behind” series than they do from Scripture. The emphasis of those books and other teaching from a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial position is on escape. Not so the book of Revelation. Instead this book urges God people to hopefully endure.

(Rev 14:12) Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

(See also: 1:9, 2:2, 2:19, 3:10, 13:10 & 14:12)

Secondly, we need to remember that the church really matters. We will see that there are issues with some of the churches that are serious and Jesus invites repentance. We need to remember that that just because we call something “church”, that does not guarantee that God calls it “church.” Indeed the first letter to Ephesus would seem to suggest that better no lamp stand than a lamp stand without a light.

(Rev 2:5) Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Finally, we need to remember that we are going to be talking about our church as we undertake this study. The booklet suggests a “code of conduct” for discussing church life, and I’m going to suggest that if you want your discussions to be Christ honoring and useful that you agree to do that in your groups. We can all get negative at times, yes me too! But it‘s rarely useful or constructive.

There is a suggestion on p 49 which I’ve developed as follows:

We will seek to be honest
We will talk about “us” not “they.”
We will seek to be constructive so that we can make a difference
We will seek to honour Jesus in all our discussions

OK But what should I memorise?

2005-09-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

If you have decided that you need to memorise some Scripture then you might be thinking "But what?"

I thought I might share a few thoughts concerning what to memorise. I could give you a list, but perhaps it is better to make some suggestions as to the types of passage that can usefully be committed to memory. I would encourage you to look out for passages to memorise as you read the Bible. In no particular order, here are four ideas:

Look out for and memorise truths on which to rest. God’s word is full of wonderful promises. As you read the Bible look out for the promises that speak to you. Memorised passages can be both a wonderful comfort and nurture for our faith.I’m given to worry about things from time to time and recently I was reminded of Isaiah 26: 3-4 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.”Memorized, a passage like this is not only a comfort when tempted to worry, but a reminder of the right attitude of faith.
Look out for and memorise texts or passages that help you to battle against sin. Remember the gospel accounts of Jesus’ wilderness temptation? Matthew 4:1-11 tells how Jesus countered the very specific temptations that the Devil spoke to him. Three times the Devil speaks and each time Jesus replies with scripture quotations from Deuteronomy. Memorised Scriptures can be a great help to us in our daily battle against sin.
Look out for and memorise texts or passages that describe who you are in Christ. Christians are gospel people. By this I mean that we are who we are because of the gospel. I believe that there is great importance in understanding who I am in Christ. I’m also aware that one of the Devils chief strategies in undermining God’s people is to undermine our gospel confidence. Memorised scriptures can help us to remember who we are in Christ. When we know who we are in Christ then we know the joy that empowers our Christian walk.
Look out for and memorise texts or passages that describe Jesus honouring attributes and attitudes in which you need to grow. I have discovered that as I have memorised passages that describe an attitude or outlook in which I am lacking, and as I meditate on those passages, so I observe a change in my heart.I had always felt that I lacked a passion for mission, and one day committed Psalm 117 to memory. (I’m not boasting it is very short) I found that as I chewed over the Psalms passionate desire that all nations would “Praise the Lord” so I found that that desire was more present in me than it had previously been, and my heart began to resonate with the prayer of the Psalmist.

8 reasons why adults should memorise scripture as well...

2005-09-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

Too often Scripture memory has been seen as something grown ups left behind in Sunday School. As I promised last night here is a list of reasons for memorising Scripture. Watch this space as more may follow...

Scripture memory makes Scriptural meditation possible. Memorisation is not in itself mediation, but makes meditation or 'chewing over' the Scriptures in our minds a possibility at any time of the day or night.

Psa 1:2 ….but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Scripture memory puts us in the place where we can be transformed by the renewal of our minds.

Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The word of God is 'the sword of the Spirit', an essential part of our Christian equipment. When we memorise key passages of Scripture then we are sure that we carry the 'sword' at all times.

Eph 6:13,17 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ….. and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...

Scripture memory is obedience to the command to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" AND

Scripture memory will equip us to lovingly and usefully teach, encourage and when necessary admonish one another.

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Memorised scripture was Jesus' chief means of defence in his period of temptation.

Mat 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"

Storing up the word in our hearts is an effective strategy against sin.

Psa 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Scripture memory can help us to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us.

1Pe 3:15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;

Of course effective personal evangelism is not usually effective if it involves reciting as many texts as possible! Well used scripture is of huge value however, because it is the word of God itself that is able make people "wise for salvation."

2Ti 3:15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

In case you were wondering....

2005-08-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

I'm on holiday / sabatical until the beginning of September so untill then...

What about MAKE SPIRITUAL POVERTY HISTORY?

2005-07-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

I’m glad that so many Christians have gone public on the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY agenda. I think as Christians we ought to be concerned to make a difference for the poorest in our world. It’s been good to see so may publicly displaying their commitment to the cause by wearing a white armband.

I guess the one sadness that I feel in my heart about such things is that while the churches in this country have been so willing to so publicly stand up and be counted for the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY cause, it seems to me that we are so often very reluctant to stand up and own the good news of Jesus Christ in the public sphere with anything like the same level of conviction.

Of course the gospel is a less fashionable cause than poverty. When we wear white wristbands (and I do) we align ourselves with the fashionable and the hip and the cool in our society. When we speak words of gospel conviction we seem to many, anachronistic and out of step in a tolerant society.

We should not be surprised at the unpalatable nature of the gospel. One of it’s greatest exponents wrote "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1Co 1:18 ESV But nor should we be ashamed.

Paul did not write “I am ashamed of the gospel, for it is not politically correct to speak of such things and it may offend and alienate.” His world was as intolerant as our own, and the stakes were higher, yet he wrote “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Rom 1:16 ESV

What about a commitment to MAKESPIRITUALPOVERTYHISTORY?

I do not understand, but I’m grateful ….

2005-07-08T01:09:00.000-07:00

How do we make sense of the evil that so often rears its head in our world? I along with others watch with shock and horror as the BBC website carried the first hints of the bombings in London yesterday. In the face of such indiscriminate malice what does one think?

I have to confess that when I listen to those who strip away mystery and make confident assertions about how such things could be, it often sounds to me like foolishness. The reality is that when we probe for answers to human suffering we are in grave danger of saying that which we ought not to say. The book of Job draws towards it’s conclusion with Job admitting that he “Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." Job 42:3

So I will seek to avoid such pitfalls and simply share a thought:

I’m grateful that Jesus did not come down from the cross. Do you remember how they taunted him? "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Mat 27:40

Do you recognize the taunt “If you are?” Do you hear the echo from an earlier time in the ministry of Jesus? When three times in the wilderness the devil speaks to tempt Jesus from his mission and on the first two occasions begins his taunt with the words; “if you are the son of God.”

The devils temptation is to hunger easily satisfied and to acclamation easily gained but it is not God’s way. And the taunts of those who mocked were a temptation to escape the Father’s redemptive plan, but Jesus did not come down from the cross.

I do not pretend to understand why evil flourishes in our world, but I know that God’s sovereignty is never compromised. I know that God has done something about it. I know that God’s redemptive commitment to our world is massive and costly and I know that God loves this broken and fallen world and the sinners who live in it. I do not pretend to understand but I’m grateful because Jesus did not come down from the cross.

What’s pot and what’s not pot.

2005-07-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy week, and I have had no time to post, so forgive me for putting up something which I have posted elsewhere before! Hopefully there will be some new posts over the next couple of days.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

This is one of those quotes that I have come back to time and again over the years. Paul sees himself as an unlovely pot containing a fabulous treasure.

I wonder if this doesn’t have something to say to ministers, ministries and life in general for those who love Jesus.

If you are a minister, or a leader in a ministry, there is a great temptation to forget what’s pot and what’s not pot. A lot of what we do in churches and ministries is “pot.”

Now don’t get me wrong here. Calling something “pot” is not to say that it is worthless. The jar of clay in 1 Corinthians 4:7 is a useful repository for treasure even if it is not itself treasure. Of course the value of an empty pot might be called into question, but if the "pot" is a repository for treasure then that’s a different matter.

There is a danger that in our ministry effort and energy we substitute “pot” for treasure. So much of what we rightly do is “pot.”

Church buildings are “pot”, necessary, but “pot” none-the-less. So to is finance, essential, but “pot.” Greater numbers and church growth? What about healthy churches? “Pot”too.

Some might be getting uncomfortable with this. Surely the treasure is the gospel isn’t it? I think we need to be careful here.

Notice what Paul says immediately before in v 6 “ For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

If Paul sees himself as the “pot” then he sees the treasure within himself as “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” The treasure is knowledge of the glory of God, or to put it more simply, the God we know in Jesus.

Now that is in a sense the gospel, but if we are not careful we will allow more measurable ministry achievements to supplant the living God as the goal and treasure of our hearts.

Sure such temptations are seductive, but to allow that to happen is to settle for “pot” when treasure is on offer.

DIY Atonement.

2005-07-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

I’ve been reading through 2 Kings recently and came this morning to the sorry story of Ahaz. You can read his story in 2 Kings 16.

Many of the accounts of the kings of Israel and Judah are salutary tales, and the book of 2 Kings is a tragic catalogue of compromise and outright rejection of God.

Ahaz is willing to stoop to human sacrifice, (16:3) but I’m not sure that that is his most shocking sin. Ahaz is willing to embark on a radical redesign of the temple, and that is an attempt to redefine Judah’s relationship with God.

Visiting Damascus, Ahaz sees an altar there, obviously in his mind more impressive than the altar in the temple, and he orders the construction of a replica to replace the altar in the temple and he redesigns the layout of the temple moving the old altar out of the way. (vs 12-14)

The old altar intended by God as a place of atonement becomes for Ahaz merely a place for seeking guidance. (v15)

2 Kings often seems reticent in expressing God’s concern about the sin and rejection of the kings of Israel and Judah, instead it’s tone is that of a sad reporter of things that should not be.

I find this passage quite revealing and may preach on it at some point. You see Ahaz's redesign of the temple reveals his disdain for the things of God. The Temple was not ordered by human design, but after the tabernacle which in turn was ordered after a divine plan to reveal something about the nature of atonement. To put this another way, mess with the temple and you mess with atonement.

Human beings ought not to attempt a redesign of God’s plan of redemption for any reason. We live in a day when sadly, the historic doctrines of atonement are under attack and those who call themselves evangelicals seek to redefine their meaning.

Interestingly enough part of Ahaz’s motive for his redesign seems to be the feelings of the king of Assyria v18. The tragedy is that if he had been more concerned for the glory of God than the feelings of a fellow king or the aesthetic qualities of the temple, then the verdict on his reign might have been quite different.

I guess this post is simple a way of reminding myself, and anyone who cares to read that I must relate to God in accordance with his design for relationship and not presume the right to redesign the basis of relationship in order to make it more attractive or palatable to those whom I serve.

A man who knew the secret of blessing but…

2005-06-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

Solomon had an idea why God had blessed his father David. When God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said "Ask what I shall give you." Part of Solomon’s reply is:

"You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day." 1 Kings 3:6 ESV

Part of the tragedy of Solomon is that although he knew that God’s favour had been on his Father because he had walked in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward God, Solomon himself did not do so.

Indeed in 1 Kings 3, the rot had already set in. 1Kings 3:3 says that “Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. “

The tragedy unfolds with the book of 1 Kings. It is Solomon who presides over the greatest period of prosperity in the history of Israel. It is Solomon who builds the temple, Israel’s great house of worship and it is Solomon whose sin against the Lord results in the division of Israel as one nation

Solomon is remembered for his wisdom, and yet as you read his story in 1 Kings, it seems as though we are to be reminded that it is one thing to know wisdom and another to live wisely.

What’s that parcel?

2005-06-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Or some thoughts on reading....

I got a delivery of books from Amazon this morning, and so I have another small pile of books to read through in the next couple of weeks. So what’s in the pile?

First there are a couple of books from John Piper. I find his passion for God infectious and read his books from time to time to refresh my own passion for the Lord. I am trying to read my way though most of what he has written. In this consignment were “The Supremacy of God in Preaching” and “When I don’t desire God: How to fight for joy”

If you have never read any Piper I recommend that you start with his excellent “Desiring God.” You can check it out on the net here, but it’s such a great book that I recommend you have a paper copy, and read it pencil in hand.

I also have a thin volume entitled “Praying the Psalms” by Thomas Merton. I picked up one of his books when staying at a retreat house recently and found it illuminating, and this was all I could get from Amazon so I thought I would give it a try. I guess the reason for this purchase is what you might call exploring new territory.

The final book in the pile is D.A.Carson’s “Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.” D.A. Carson is one of my trusted guides, and I find is gracious way of disagreeing with others quite refreshing. I read D. A. Carson to stimulate my mind. He is a master of the written word and writes with a clarity and power of logic.

So there is my latest pile of books. What are you reading right now? And more importantly why are you reading it? (My blog - I know! For the pedants out there I meant what book are your reading?)

I believe that for those in ministry taking time to read is essential and for Christians generally highly desirable. But I guess what we read is of great importance. Frankly I find visiting Christian bookshops increasingly depressing, and don’t get me started on the Christian best seller list…..

So where should you start? I need to think about this some more, but I thought I would start a recommended reading list and add to it from time to time. So here are a few thoughts to get us started on my list of books I wish every Christian should read.

First as I’ve already said John Piper’s ““Desiring God.” is truly excellent. It’s not a lightweight paperback, but it is readable and you can give it a try on line. Don’t be put off by the expression “Christian Hedonist” that he uses. I’m probably one of those that wished that he hadn’t used this expression, but it doesn’t really spoil a great book.

Second, though I’ve not read it from cover to cover Fee and Stuart’s “How to read the Bible for all its worth” has been a useful guide and is a great introduction to how we understand the Bible

I was going to recommend “The fight” by John White, but it’s getting difficult to get hold of. This is a fairly simple little book on discipleship and well worth a read if you ever find it anywhere.

If you have never read "The Screwtape letters” by C.S. Lewis then thy are worth a read as they are insightful and helpful.

That should do for now! As I said I will have a think about this subject and may return with a reading list. While I am tempted to begin a list of books that I don’t think any Christian should read - ever, I don’t think I will because while it might be fun, it might not be helpful, and what’s more I am going to upset some people if I do and the emails will keep coming and……

Finally I thought I would conclude this post by commenting on how I read. Some of you know that I operate a (fairly flexible) discipline of reading every week day. Sometimes time does not allow, and it goes by the way.

Recently I’ve developed a technique for reading that I have found helpful and so will recommend. I take a sheet of A5 paper and fold it lengthways into three and then use this as a book mark. I read with a pencil in hand and underline key passages. When I underline I note the page numbers on the A5 paper and leave the book mark in the book when I’ve finished. This means I can flick back though and find quotes very easily.

Anyway happy reading and I’ll be thinking about that recommended list.

Just praying for people....

2005-06-24T04:52:00.000-07:00

God is challenging me about just praying for people at the moment. Now why is it that I find it so hard just to pray with people? Please understand me, I’m not talking about Christians, that’s easy. I’m talking about the people who I meet from day to day. The people who rarely darken the door of a church, but who might well answer honestly when I ask them “how are you doing?”
I think I got it right the other day. Don’t think I am blowing my own trumpet, I get it wrong so often. The other day I asked someone I knew a bit how they were doing and they told me. They told me about the really big thing that was going on for them at the moment, and I made the appropriate noises and then I thought “I should offer to pray with him.” So I did, and he said yes and I asked Jesus to deal with the situation there and then. As I said, that dy I think I got it right.

It made me think though. Why am I so often reluctant to offer to pray? Here are a few thoughts as to why that might be.

1) I think it will frighten people off. You know we can be so careful of other people’s feelings about our faith that we are spiritually useless. I won’t offer to pray, I think because they might feel offended. I’ve offered to pray with people before and I’ve never been refused.

2) Cultural conditioning. It’s not done is it – offering spiritual help if you are British. I think such thoughts are about fifteen years out of date. The world around us is changing and many people have a sense of spirituality. They might even expect us to pray!

3) So called theological sophistication. Some of you will recognise the thoughts. “Well Jesus might not heal, I don’t want to set her up for disappointment” “what if what he wants isn’t God’s will?“ Obviously I need to be wise about what I pray, but at the same time not be paralysed by our questions.

Here are a few thoughts about how to pray and offer to pray for folks.

1) Simply offer and leave the ball in their court. I think if we just asked “would you like me to pray with you about that?” We might be surprised how many people say yes.

2) Simply pray and don’t go wacky. Wacky and non Christians don’t go together. That you ask and who you ask is more important than how you ask, so don’t do religious clichés, just simply ask Jesus into the situation.

3) Pray later. Why not continue to pray for God’s work in the situation?

4) Check back with the person later. They might need to be gently reminded “Well that’s what we prayed for!“

Death by Powerpoint...

2005-06-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

What could be worse than no Powerpoint? Bad Powerpoint! Working Smart by Michael Hyatt has a post entitled Five rules for better Powerpoint which is definitely worth a read if you are a Powerpoint user!

Even though he has jumped ship as it were and left the world of PC's for an Apple, Michael's blog has some very useful Powerpoint links. He writes as "President and Chief Operating Officer of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world." and his site has had some very useful information and tips.

It’s Good to revisit special places…

2005-06-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

I’ve been preparing to preach elsewhere on Sunday, and I’ve been reminded that it is good to revisit special places. When I preach elsewhere I normally rework something that I’ve used before that has particularly gripped me. I guess I am reminded that it is good for the soul when we remind ourselves of those things that God has said to us in the past.

I think that it’s so easy in the swirl of life to move on from what God has said. I’ve blogged before about Israel piling up stones as they crossed the Jordan into the promised land. They set up a permanent reminder, a monument to God’s miracle working power.

It could be a place, as it was for Israel, it could be a scripture, it could be a sermon or a teaching or a book or….. it could be so many things. I think part of the importance of these special places is that they help us to recover direction in life.

I guess that the lesson is that too often we are too busy to stop and remember and reflect. I guess it disturbs me when revisiting a sermon from before, how much has been left behind and forgotten, and it’s good to remember…

Why eikon?

2005-06-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well I suppose it’s about time that I got around to posting on why I chose the name “eikon.” Eikon is a Greek word found in a couple of significant places in the New Testament where it is normally translated “image”

As it says in the heading of this blog, two of the places where this word is used are Colossians 1:15 which says:

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” ESV

and Col 3:10 which says:

“and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” ESV

I guess for me these two verses sum up so much of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Colossians 1:15 says something utterly profound about the Jesus whom we follow. We follow no mere man. He is more than a prophet. He is more than a teacher, he is God, the eternal Word made flesh.

But the Christian call is more than a call to a set of theologically correct propositions about the nature and being of God. The Christian call is a call to response and worship and to consequential transformation.

Paul says to the Colossians “you have put off the old self with it’s practices” (Col 3:9) and have put on a new self that is being renewed… after the image of its creator.

As a follower of Jesus, I am to look more and more like Jesus. To use another scripture containing the word eikon:

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2Co 3:18 ESV

In a sweat for Jesus…

2005-06-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of year again! What do I mean? Well its getting hotter and especially so, it seems when I am leading worship.

For those of you who don’t know me I am a guitarist of sorts and tend to lead worship from that instrument and when the church is fairly full, and the sun is out then… well to put it politely I perspire!

I was thinking about it the other day and thinking that actually it is not bad thing to get in a sweat for Jesus!

Do we sometimes underestimate the perseverance and stamina needed in the service of Jesus. The reality is that sometimes the work of the gospel, work that honours Jesus is just plain hard work. Yes rewarding work but hard too.

So keep running the race, keep going!

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

How are you praying? (Part 4)

2005-06-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

It’s been a bit of a long day so a short post tonight! A few final thoughts on the Prayers of Paul. This one is a bit of a cheat as it’s not a prayer so much as a prayer request. In Romans 15:30-33 Paul writes:

I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. ESV

I find this a humbling prayer. You see I reckon one of the temptations that faces us as Christians is a temptation to be self reliant. To ask another to pray for me can almost feel like an admission of defeat or failure.

The great apostle Paul, writes to his friends in the church in Rome and says ‘Would you pray for me; I need you to pray for me. "

I takes humility to ask others to pray for you.

On final observation on the prayers of Paul. Do you notice the language used here when Paul asks for prayer? “Strive together with me” he says. Paul wants prayers who will stick at it, who will be persistent, who will wait on God for him and seek his power and blessing. Those who serve in this way are partners “together with” him.

So… how about asking someone to pray for you to fulfill the ministry to which God has called you? And by all means pray that for me!

What you could pray for me right now:

For God's guidance in my preparation for this Sunday
For God's anointing on my preaching especially.
Pray for power! I was struck by 1 Cor 4:20 recently. "For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power." I'm asking God for his power in my ministry and in the ministry of his church.
I'm preaching at Ladyfield Evangelical a week Sunday and would apreciate prayers for guidance and anointing as I prepare for that... (There is a theme developing here....)
That God would give me and the other leaders of PSBC wisdom as we try and understand the prioroties for the next season in the churches life.
That I would use the sabatical month coming up this summer well.

There that should keep you going!

How are you praying? (Part 3)

2005-06-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Or.... Praying for the impossible

It’s been a couple of days since I posted, I’m afraid its been a couple of busy days, but here goes!
I’ve posted twice so far on the prayers of Paul and I’m going to reflect on another in this post. (You can read the first part here and the second part here.)

Ephesians 3:14-21 is perhaps Paul’s best known account of his prayers, and like many well known passages of scripture I guess that it is easy to miss the power of the content in the familiarity of the words.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)

Have you noticed that in this passage, Paul tells the Ephesians that he is praying for the impossible? Have you noticed that he prays for these Christians to have power to “know” the love of Christ. He then goes on to say that this love of Christ “surpasses knowledge.” To put it another way. Paul says “I’m praying for you that you would know something that can’t be known, namely the love of Christ.”

So if the love of Christ “surpasses knowledge” how can it be known? That’s why Paul begins by praying for power to make them strong on the inside, and the prayer builds from that point with a series consequential requests.

This is a really important point for any Christian to note. The love of Christ cannot be known by reason alone. It “surpasses knowledge.” Indeed the love of Christ can only be known by revelation and this is the powerful work of the Holy Spirit of God for which Paul prays.

I guess that is why this is such an important prayer. In order to be a loving person, I need to have a revelation of the love of Christ in all its breadth, length, height and depth. Doesn’t the Bible say that we love because he first loved us? (1 John 4:19) A real appreciation of the vastness and scale of the love of Christ is beyond my human faculties except for the powerful work of the Spirit of God.

So get praying. Pray for one another, pray for me, pray for yourself. Pray for a deeper revelation of the love of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

For your use, here is my go at turning the text into a prayer:

Heavenly Father, rich in glory
I pray for….
That you might cause them to
be strengthened in power by your Holy Spirit in the innermost places of his/her
being
So that Christ might dwell in his/her heart through faith.
So that
rooted and grounded in love …. might have strength to comprehend with all the
saints; the breadth, the length, the height and the depth of the love of Christ.
So that he/she might know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge
So
that he/she might be filled with all the fullness of God.
Amen

What kind of churches?...

2005-06-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

I'll get back to the prayers of Paul when I have time. Came across this not so long ago and thought it was worth posting. WHat kind of churches should we be trying to build? Here is a descriptive quote from John Piper from his "Counted Righteous in Christ."

He calls for churches that are:

"God-centered, truth-treasuring, Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting, cross-focused, spirit-dependent, prayer-soaked, soul-winning, justice-pursuing congregations with a wartime mindset ready to lay down their lives for the salvation of the nations and the neighborhoods"

How are you praying? (Part 2)

2005-06-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

In my last post I began a short series of thoughts on the prayers of Paul. I guess I was in part confessing that I sometimes worry about our prayers. It’s not just that I worry that there ought to be more of it, but I worry about what we pray for as Christians. Sometimes, I suspect that our prayers reveal how worldly we really are.

At the beginning of his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes:

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 ESV

(It might be worth reading the whole of Colossians 1 here.)

Now the first thing I notice with this passage is that even though Paul has probably never met these Christians, he prays for them, and if you read the whole chapter you will see that he is grateful to God because they are renowned for their faith and love.

As I said in my previous post, these prayers tend to unmask the warped priorities that we sometimes carry through life. If our prayers reveal our priorities, then so too do our thanksgivings.

Notice with me again what Paul is praying for in these verses.

In the first case, Paul tells these Christians that he is asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (v9) I think there is a danger for Chrisitans that we spend so much energy worrying about what we call “God’s will for our lives” that we miss the fact that God has a will for me today. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be open to the calling of God on our lives, indeed we should! I am saying that God’s call on the rest of my life begins with today, and I can worry about the future and forget that today God calls me.

Today he calls me to show love. Today he calls me to forgive. Today he calls me to bear with my brothers and sisters. Today he calls me to submit to my brothers and sisters. Today he calls me to share my faith. Today he calls me to receive heavenly resources. Today he calls me to pray without ceasing. Today he calls me to immerse myself in the scriptures. Today he calls me to do away with sin and compromise in my life. Today… you get the idea.

What a prayer to pray for myself and others. “Lord fill me/them with the knowledge of your will. Give me/them wisdom and understanding that my/their life might be pleasing to you.”

What outcome are you looking for in prayer? Notice Paul’s desire as he prays. He wants lives pleasing to the Lord. He wants fruit bearing lives. He wants these Christians to be increasing in the knowledge of God. He wants them to be strengthened in endurance and patience, and he wants them to be people of joy.

In short Paul is looking for high quality Christians, and that is what he prays for.

Here is a final comment for this post. Paul is so confident in the power of the gospel as he writes. This is something that some Christians would do well to notice. I have to be a bit careful here lest I get on a bit of a hobby horse but…

I get bothered by models of ministry that seem so lacking in confidence of the power of the gospel. For example, some prayer ministry models seem to have missed the sheer vastness of the scale of gospel and the decisiveness of it’s effect. Just notice the strength of v 13 "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son." What Paul is saying here is that if someone is a Christian then a radical and decisive transformation has taken place. It really makes a difference that someone is a believer, they have been translated into a different kingdom, and we need to have confidence that salvation makes a massive difference.

How are you praying? (Part 1)

2005-06-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

Over the next week or so, I’m going to post some reflections on the prayers of Paul.

From time to time I find myself looking for a method for evaluating and sharpening an area of my spiritual life.

What I am going to do over the next couple of days is revisit some of the prayers of Paul that are recorded for us in the New Testament, and ask myself to what extent the concerns expressed as prayers in his letters find themselves expressed in my prayers for others and myself.

Now I’m not going to suggest that our prayers should only be for those kinds of things that Paul mentions in his prayers, but I do think that if the concerns Paul expressed in prayer are largely absent from our prayers, then that might be a sign that we need to allow God to reorder our priorities.

Before reading on, it might be worthwhile just taking a moment to note the things that you have prayed for in the last week or so as a basis for comparison.

Here is the first prayer. In 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 Paul writes:

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. ESV

Without going into this passage in depth, just take a moment to notice what Paul prays for the church in Thessalonica in these verses.

Here are two requests and a reason for the requests. In the first request Paul asks that "our God may make you worthy of his calling."

Now how can any Christians become worthy of God’s calling?

Paul’s prayer here is for transformation, or more specifically the transforming work of the Spirit of God. How often when we pray for ourselves, or for others, do we pray for Christ-likeness?

Of course such a prayer poses the question about how such transformation takes place. It is certainly not the case that it happens without human effort, but neither does it happen without divine intervention, and so we should pray for it!

The second request is that God may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power.

I have to say that I really like this bit of the prayer. Eugene Peterson paraphrases it like this “pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something.”

I guess I get concerned about Christians who seem to sit around waiting for divine inspiration and never get around to doing anything. Was it Tony Campolo who said that it is a lot easier to steer a moving car?

As someone who loves God, and wants to build his kingdom, but who can’t always claim a prophetic vision about what I should do next I find it encouraging to hear Paul praying these words and to see that right intentioned faith founded ideas and initiatives can be filled with God’s power.

Finally, Paul tells us why he might pray such a prayer; “so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him.”

I find that too many of my prayers are, if I am honest, motivated primarily by my desire for comfort, rather than by a desire for the glory of Jesus.

Is it not the case that our reasons for praying will have implications on the prayers that we pray?

God can be glorified by answering my prayers for comfort, but I notice that Paul is motivated to pray because of he desires that Christ be glorified. Because that is his priority he prays for lives and actions that bring glory to the Lord Jesus.

We should never entertain the devil’s whispers that being concerned for the glory of God will rob us of joy and make us the poorer. I suspect that the “and you in him” is a prayer for the Thessalonians based on the conviction that God will honor those whose primary desire is glorify Jesus.

We will leave it there for today. I'll try and get the next post up on Monday if time allows.

Why not take a moment to use the questions below to evaluate your own prayers in the light of this prayer.

As I said, some time ago I preached through the Prayers of Paul, and at that time I found Don Carson's A call to spiritual reformation really helpful, and would highly recommend it to those who want to think about such things more deeply.

For reflection:

How often do we ask God for the transforming work of the Spirit in our lives in order that we might be found more and more in the image of Christ?
How often do I pray for myself and others that God’s power would be present in thoughts and actions?
What is my motivation for prayer? How concerned am I for the glory of God?

“Hearing God” Dallas Willard

2005-05-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm away on holiday for the week, and won't be able to post until I return. In the mean time, here are some notes from Hearing God by Dallas Willard.

Are you seeking guidance from God?

Willard quotes advice from James Dobson (p199) “ I get down on my knees and say, ‘Lord I need to know what you want me to do, and I’m listening, please speak to me through my friends, books magazines I pick up and read, and through circumstances.’”

Dallas Willard's recommendation having done this is then to go and do some kind of activity for the next hour that neither engrosses his attention nor forces him to be intensely focussed on the matter in question.

Dallas Willard's foundational steps in seeking God's guidance:

Plan to do what we know to be morally right and commanded by God.
We seek the fullness of the new life in Christ and venture in the proclamation of Christ and his kingdom.
We meditate on the word of God.
We are alert and attentive to what is happening in our lives
We pray and speak to God constantly and specifically about the matters that concern us.
Seek his guidance especially in those things you already understand.
Using a plan listen carefully and deliberately to God

What if God does not speak?

Ask God to inform you if there is a hindrance in you.
Take counsel from two people.

If you find a cause – correct it mercilessly. If not – do what seems best.

And a final quote:

We will be spiritually safe in all use of the Bible if we followed a simple rule. Read with a submissive attitude. Read with a readiness to surrender all you are – all your plans, opinions possessions positions. Study as intelligently as possible with all available means but never study merely to find the truth. especially not just to prove something. Subordinate your desire to find the truth to your desire to do it,! Page 161

Nothing new here today but....

2005-05-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Check my eikon ministry site for a new article publlished today and entitled; "What's pot and what's not pot."

The difference between silence and stillness.

2005-05-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 131 ESV

If you want to walk more closely with Jesus, and if you want to be found more in the image of Jesus, then sooner or later you will need to make time to be in silence and stillness.

For many of us the first forays into silence can be terrifying. The noise and clamor of the world normally drowns out the anxious voices that cry from within. The routine and demand of daily life assures us that we are needed and valued, and silence can bestow a kind of nakedness of vulnerability, where voices within us cry out unmuted by the noisy world.

When I am silent I hear the cries from within myself “I desire.” “I want.” “I need.” “I worry.” “What next?” “Where to?” “How can I?”

Uncomfortable it may be, but necessary none-the-less. In a sense I am coming to suspect that these insistent voices must be first heard before they can be silenced and I can be still before God.

We know that God commands us to “Be still and know that I am God.” But do we know how that process of stilling occurs so that we can be obedient to his call?

The Psalm above describes a child of God in a place of stillness and contentment before God. He has “calmed and quieted his soul.” Here is a process that we need from time in order that we might be still. It’s a process of seeking God’s help to silence the internal nagging voices.

Does something within me cry out “I worry” then I must confess this to God and seek his help that it’s nagging tone might be replaced with the gentler note of “I trust.”

Does something within me cry out “I want!” then I must seek divine help that it in turn is replaced with “I am content”

The danger is of course that these noisy internal voices will, if allowed to remain un-silenced dominate any time of silence and the "still small voice" will be drowned out and unheard.

As I said silence can be uncomfortable, forcing us to confront who we are and what we are, but the reward of stillness is precious indeed. “Like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” The reward of Christ focused stillness is nothing less than loving communion with God.

Some additions to eikon...

2005-05-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

If you look to the right...

I've added a Google search facility to the page. Someone was kind enough to say that they thought eikon would be worth having as their home page if there was a search facility. After scratching around for a while, I found out how to do it and there it is. If you do want to make eikon your home page and you are using Internet explorer, click on the "Tools" menu at the top of the screen, select "Internet Options" and click "Use Current" in the Home page section.

I also added an Amazon search box a week or so ago. For the sake of transparency, here is the deal. If you buy stuff at Amazon and you do it through my site, Amazon pays me 5%. Obviously I'm not going to get rich if people buy a few books, but I will spend any income on eikon. For example, it would be easier to promote the site if it had a proper URL rather than www.eikonhome.blogspot.com but that kind of thing costs cash so...

Obviously if I was out to make money I would be recommending items of higher value like the rather excellent Nikon D70 which is the finest digital camera... Whoops!

A quote for today...

2005-05-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

The following is quoted in Dallas Willard's "Renovation of the heart." A.W.Tozer was one of the greatest writers on practical spirituality of the previous century. I think it's a quote that deserves slow reading, reflection and application!

That our idea of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God.

A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God.

From "The knowledge of the Holy" Notes: "Systematic theology" is basically what we believe about God. Ignoble basically means worthless.

Overcome evil with good...

2005-05-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

It’s not fashionable to suggest that at least some of the problems of our world are down to the evil that comes from within us, but the Bible insists that there is a mucky well of evil inside each of us.

Yesterday morning we listened to the challenge of Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

There is a great tendency in the human heart to use the evil that is done to us to legitimise the evil that we do, but when I snap back at the rudeness of another, I am overcome by evil. When I angrily gossip the hurtful sin of another, I am overcome by evil. When I allow my woundedness to express itself in anger or resentment, I am overcome by evil. When I allow the wrong done to me by others to legitimise my character flaws, I am overcome by evil. When I allow the sin of others to cause me to distrust and hurt others by pushing them away, I am overcome by evil. To these behaviours, and to others, God says “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

In the later verses of Romans 12, there are, outlined for those who would be Jesus’ followers, a number of areas in which we will be particularly tempted to be overcome by evil rather than overcoming evil with good. Here are a few notes on them:

We are urged to “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” V14 We might be faced by a temptation to despise and to hate. For many of us it will be internal and not expressed in physical violence but we will be tempted to cherish resentment and hurt.
We are told "Repay no one evil for evil" v17 There is a great temptation to get your own back, and to seek revenge. For many of us the tools of revenge are quite sophisticated. We are tempted to use gossip, spite, or attempts to hurt emotionally.
Paul continues; "but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all." v17 When we confront evil, we should never be tempted to use evil to overcome. Instead we have to do what is right if we desire to honour Jesus. When we are wounded, we need to be especially careful because we can be tempted to justify actions that we would clearly recognise as morally dubious at other times.
"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." v18 One of the temptations we may face, is the temptation to schism. When we loose the sense of the importance to God of unity, we are entering spiritually perilous territory.
"Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" v19 When, on the receiving end of another’s sin, we are tempted to be overcome by evil, there is a parallel temptation to rely on our own capacity to seek justice and in so doing to implicitly distrust that God will ultimately see that justice is done. We need to trust that there is a day coming when all that is wrong will be made right.

So how do you overcome evil with good? Romans 12 quotes the Old Testament book of Proverbs and says: "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." v20 cf. Prov 25:21 I've always found this a bit of a paradoxical verse. Pouring burning coals on another's head is not a very loving act, however kind the means employed to do so! I think the point is that evil is overcome when it is responded to with unexpected love. Instead of indulging in vengeful and hateful acts God's people are to overcome evil by showing practical acts of love and kindness to their enemies.

Are there areas where we have been overcome by evil, and where we need to seek God’s forgiveness and help to be people who overcome evil with good?

(All scripture quotations from the ESV)

A quote from this morning...

2005-05-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'm currently reading Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ By Dallas Willard. Here he is quoting Tolstoy:

There is the God that people generally believe in - a God who has to serve them (sometimes in very refined ways, say by merely giving them peace of mind). This God does not exist. But the God whom people forget - the God whom we all have to serve - exists, and is the prime cause of our existence and of all that we perceive. (p44)

Prayer for filling of the Holy Spirit...

2005-05-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

I think every Christian should be reguarly praying for the fullness of the Spirit of God. Recently Geoff gave me a bookmark with this prayer on it: (I've altered it very slightly)

Lord Jesus Christ, I want to spend what remains of my life fulfilling your purposes and doing your will.

I want to be completely freed from any area of darkness where your light and life have not yet shone.
I turn away from all wrongdoing, and I will avoid everything that leads me into wrongdoing.

I ask you to forgive all my sins and I offer my life afresh to you.

I want to live my life afresh to you. I want to live my life as an obvious citizen of your kingdom and be an effective and relevant part of your body. I obey you as my Lord.

I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit, and release me in praise in a way that I have never known before.

If you want a pdf file that will print as three colour bookmarks click here. A great prayer to print out and keep in your Bible.

If you go down to the woods today…

2005-05-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

It’s wonderful how, as you walk with Jesus fragments of life that seem to lack meaning in themselves come together to form a meaningful whole.

I’ve been watching “The Monastery” (Tuesday evenings 9pm. BBC 2) The show tells the story of a group of men subject themselves to a 40 day period of following the monastic rule of life in the Benedictine Worth Abbey.

Let me make something clear, I’m not a monk, nor do I want to be a monk, but the program has stirred something inside deep me in a sense of the need for the contemplative way of life that can be lacking in our busy and hurried world. That was one fragment.

The other day, looking for some space and quiet to think and pray I walked into a local woodland. I didn’t at the time think it was a great time of prayer, but I think God taught me something, and the experience became another fragment that fitted with the first.

It wasn’t a great time of prayer, because I was distracted. As I stood in silence, the woodland came to life around me, and I became aware of a level of life and existence in the woods that I would never have experienced if I were with my (noisy) children, walking a dog, or just tramping along the pathways.

Standing still and silent in a woodland, I heard, and then saw, snakes and voles and squirrels, the normal life of the woods, normally hidden from the noisy.

I guess the two fragments together say something along these lines; In our noisy world we miss so much. Tramping through life at a pace, how many of the whispers of God pass us by unheard? How much more aware of him and his work would I be if from time to time I were to stand in stillness and quietness and just listen? Sometimes perhaps, I might hear nothing, but then at other times I might hear his whisper and know his presence and discern his voice. The question is will I seek him? Will I be still?

A final fragment…

Hebrews 11:6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” ESV.

I’ve been giving thought to this verse recently. The stillness that I have commended is not an end in itself. God is the reason for stillness. One repeated injunction of scripture is “Be still”

The very nature of seeking is that for a time at least the object of the search is not found. There will be times when the search seems unfruitful, but faith insists that He rewards those who seek him.

Book: A Hunger for God.

2005-05-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

What is the book?

The book is: "A Hunger for God" by John Piper published by IVP in the UK; Crossway in the US.

Where did I buy it?

At Pilgrim Discount Books in Portland Oregon. If that's too far to go you can get it from Amazon see above Or you can read it on line here.

Why did I buy it?

Having read "Desiring God" (Amazon/Online) surely one of the most significant Christian books of our age, I was eager to find out what the author had to say on the subject of fasting.

Who should read it?

Anyone who wants to understand the meaning of fasting better. Anyone who wants to grow in their delight of God. I highly recommend this one!

What did you underline?

Amongst other things:

Half of Christian fasting is that our physical appetite is lost because our homesickness for God is so intense. The other half is that our homesickness for God is threatened because our physical appetites are so intense. p14

Quoting Richard Foster... More than any other discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. This is a wonderful benefit to the true disciple who longs to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. We cover up what is inside us with food and other things. p 19

The danger of eating is that we fall in love with the gift; the danger of fasting is that we belittle the gift and glory in our willpower. p 21

...is the physical exclamation mark at the end of the sentence: This much, O God, I long for you and for the manifestation of your glory in the world. p 22

In other words in this age there is an ache inside every Christian that Jesus is not here as fully and intimately and as powerfully and as gloriously as we want him to be. We hunger for so much more. That is why we fast. p 38

We have tasted the powers of the age to come, and our fasting is not because we are hungry for something we have not experienced, but because the new wine of Christ's presence is so real and so satisfying. We must have all that it is possible to have. The newness of our fasting is this: its intensity comes not because we have never tasted the wine of Christ's presence, but because we have tasted it so wonderfully by his Spirit, and cannot now be satisfied until the consummation of joy arrives. p 42

The Son of God began his earthly ministry with a forty-day fast. This should give us pause. Especially we - who are not God - have moved into ministry heedless of the battle we may have to fight. Why did Jesus do this? Why did God lead him to it? And what about us? Can we really face the superhuman hazards of life and ministry without walking with Jesus through the wilderness of fasting. p 51

Fasting is a periodic - and sometimes decisive - declaration that we would rather feast at God's table in the kingdom of heaven than feed on the finest delicacies of the this world. p 61

...how can I maximize my enjoyment of him when every moment of my life I am tempted to make a god out of his good gifts? p 62

We fast out of longing for God's name to be known and cherished and honored, and out of longing for his kingly rule to be extended and the consummated in history, and out of longing for his will to be done everywhere with the same devotion and energy that the indefatigable angels do it sleeplessly in heaven forever and ever. p 78

Jesus connects Christian fasting with our longing for the return of the Bridegroom. Therefore, one of the most important meanings of Christian fasting is to express the hunger of our hearts for the coming of our king. p84

...we are less sensitive to spiritual appetites when we are in the bondage of physical ones. This means that fasting is a way of awakening us to latent spiritual appetites by pushing the domination of physical forces from the centre of our lives. p 90

...most of us run the risk of being overly 'sensualised' simply by having every craving satisfied and rarely pausing for a moment of self-denial to discover if there are alive within us spiritual appetites that could satisfy us at a much deeper level than food, and that are designed for he honor of God. Such is the appetite for the coming of King Jesus. p91

The absence of fasting is the measure of our contentment with the absence of Christ. p 93

But I see a danger. The danger is that we will subtlety slip from loving God in these moments into loving loving God........ ..... in other words we begin to savor not the glory of God but the atmosphere created by worship. p 132

Therefore He (God) rewards acts that confess human helplessness and express hope in God because these acts call attention to his glory. p 180

Sermon: Get along with each other. or... Go beyond nice.

2005-05-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief summary of Sunday morning’s sermon. It’s intended for those who want to review the material, rather than to be read as an article.

Romans 12:13-16 E.S.V.

“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited.”

We have been asking how our lives can be a praise song to God, and this Sunday morning we came to Romans 12:13-16. Here are the seven ways in which God calls us to “go beyond nice” and in so doing live praise song lives.

Go beyond nice in helping needy Christians. “Contribute to the needs of the saints” Love will be concerned to meet the real needs of the members of the fellowship of believers. We see this in the pattern of the early church. (Acts 2:45 and 4:34) We are right to share God’s concern for the poor in general, but must remember that we are especially called to show concern for God’s family. Gal 6:10 speaks for itself.
Go beyond nice in showing hospitality. While “nice” does dinner parties, love turns a home into a regional headquarters for the building of the kingdom. The early church had to be prepared to show hospitality to people who they had never even met. This hospitality did not choose its guests. Today there may be less of a neeed, but is there less of an opportunity to show love in this way?
Go beyond nice by blessing those who curse you. This does not mean saying ‘bless you’ through gritted teeth! The way to really less someone is to pray for God’s blessing on them. Here is a call to ask for God to pour down his blessing on those who hate and revile God’s children.
Go beyond nice by rejoicing with those who rejoice, and weeping with those who weep. There is a danger that envy or a competitive spirit leads us to reverse this!
Go beyond nice by living in harmony. The NASB has “Be of the same mind to one another.” Niceness tends to do is keep people arms length. Niceness tends to avoid issues rather than confront them. Niceness smiles while the heart rages, but that kind of niceness cannot build community.
Go beyond nice by refusing top be stuck up or proud. Pride is one of the great breakers of community. To be specific it’s wounded pride that makes it hard to apologize or to ask for forgiveness. It’s wounded pride that so often resists reconciliation.
Go beyond nice when you make friends. The Message paraphrases this “make friends with nobodies.” We need to ask ourselves who Jesus’ friends were, and hear the call to be people who make friends with misfits, nobodies, oddballs, sinners, the difficult to love - Because Jesus did.
Go beyond nice in refusing to be wise in your own estimation. Loving humility will be aware of it’s own limitations.

The truth is that when we come to verses like these, we are reminded of our need to be changed from the inside.

The Angel Stadium Declaration.

2005-05-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

On April 17 this year, 30 000 members of one of the largest churches in America came together to celebrate the 25th Aniversary of their church. The members of Saddleback Church read the following declaration together:

Today I am stepping across the line. I'm tired of waffling, and I'm finished with wavering. I've made my choice; the verdict is in; and my decision is irrevocable. I'm going God's way. There's no turning back now!

I will live the rest of my life serving God's purposes with God's people on God's planet for God's glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word.

Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.

Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, "we" over "me," character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most and I'll give it all I've got. I'll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.

I won't be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I'll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get tough and I get tired, I won't back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I'll just keep moving forward by God's grace. I'm Spirit-led, purpose-driven, and mission-focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race.

I'm a trophy of God's amazing grace so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for everyday, and generous with everything that God entrusts to me.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say: However, whenever, wherever, and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost, I'm ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway. Whatever it takes Lord; whatever it takes! I want to be used by you in such a way that on that final day I'll hear you say, "Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!"

Stirring stuff!

This article is printed from the website http://www.purposedriven.com/. Copyright 2005 by Rick Warren. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sermon: Don't burn out.

2005-05-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

This morning, I am going to talk to ministers. And no, that doesn’t mean that most of you can go home because that means all of us! Last Sunday we began a new series entitled “My life… …a praise song.” We looked at Romans12 1-2 and saw that Paul encourages his readers to offer themselves as an act of worship, and then we looked at verse 10 and saw that part of being an act of worship to God consists in the call to love from the centre of who we are.
This morning we are going to move on a bit and look at verses 11-12. Lets read them together from the NIV

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Let’s read those same two verses again, this time from The Message.

Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder.

I want to do two things this morning. First I want us to take some time together just to notice what these verses have to say about living a praise song life. When we have done that I want to share with you some thoughts based on my own experiences about how we go about obeying these verses.

So first of all then, I have a question for us all to think about. I am going to put the verse back up on the screen in the Message version and I want you to take a moment to ask yourself this question. According to the verse, who is responsible for my spiritual passion? Just look at the verse for a moment and see if you can work that out.

Did you notice anything? The verse says “keep yourselves fuelled and aflame” So who is responsible? I am! I am responsible for my spiritual passion. Can we say that together this morning “I am responsible for my spiritual passion.” Now I want to make something clear here. The spiritual life correctly understood is a relationship with God, and there are two partners in a relationship. I did not get you to say that I am solely responsible for my relationship with God, but the verse does make it clear that some of the responsibility rest with me.
Lets take a few moments just to go through the verses and notice six aspects of the spiritual life that need to be maintained.

Keep busy. I think it can be quite helpful when you are trying to understand a verse to look at a couple of different versions. I find that this can help me get the idea into my head. For this bit of the verse, The NIV has “never be lacking in Zeal,” The Message “Don’t burn out” The NASB has not lagging behind in diligence. The Good News has Work hard and do not be lazy. There is a sense here of the need to keep busy in the pursuit of the spiritual life.I think one of the things that can stop my life being a beautiful praise song and turn it into an off key dirge is what I would call spiritual apathy.
Keep burning. Keep your spiritual fervour, says one translation. Keep yourselves fuelled and aflame in another. Now there are flames and there are flames! How is your spiritual passion right now? Are you a damp squib or a forest fire, or somewhere in between. Now I am going to come back to this idea later because it seems to me there are a number of reasons for the flame of spiritual passion burning a little low, and we want to think about how we obey and keep ourselves fuelled and aflame.
Keep serving. We are told to keep your spiritual fervour serving the Lord. I said that I was going to talk to ministers this morning. It’s really important this morning that we recognise that our service for the Lord can become a real obstacle to our passion for the Lord. The Good news says “serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion.” There is a sense here that is not about how hard you work for God, but the heart that works for God. It’s really important for us to think about how we can serve God and keep our hearts passionate and right before him. If you have an unhealthy lifestyle you will run the risk of heart disease. If you have an unhealthy spiritual lifestyle, you will run the risk of spiritual heart disease.
Keep joyful. We are told Be joyful in hope, or cheerfully expectant as the Message has it. What a tragedy when the life that should be a song of praise becomes a sad song in a minor key. Joy is commanded of us as God’s people, it’s an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. These Christians that Paul was writing to, frankly I don’t thin they were having too great a time when Paul wrote, but he says to them be joyful. Now how do you do that? It was vital for these Christians and it is vital for us that they recognise the right basis of joy. One of my favourite verses in the Bible is Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. If you set your heart on any other happiness you will have settled for second best. The next bit is related:
Keep going. Do you ever wonder how Christian faith keeps going in the face of the most awful tragedy? “Patient in affliction” has the NIV, “Don’t quit in hard times has the Message,” but it probably needs to be a little stronger, “persevering in tribulation” has the NASB. This is not putting up with difficulty this is about keeping going. Steadfastness and endurance. This year we called the Men’s weekend “Man enough to follow Jesus” There is a sense here of real guts and determination in keeping going after God.
Keep praying. The NIV has “faithful in prayer”, the Message “pray all the harder” The NASB has “devoted to prayer” Here is a challenge that confronts me from time to time. The idea that good prayer can be hard work, tiring work, good work, satisfying work, but work that you might want to give up from shear weariness. The idea is keep up the hard work of prayer.

So there you have it six more notes that make up the praise song life. Keep busy, Keep burning Keep serving, Keep joyful, keep going and keep praying. Now let me share some reflections about what I have discovered so far.

I once heard of a pastor of a group of believers who would disappear for hours on end to walk in the hills. When the congregation faced a major Crisis, he went on holiday and he would cause immense frustration to his team by disappear just as it looked like revival might be breaking out, and his name was Jesus. So there is the first point Regularly ask yourself HDJL rather than just WWJD. Don’t reckon on being able to do what Jesus did if you don’t put in place some of the answers to the question “how did Jesus live?”
Don’t overestimate the value of passionless service. I think really I just wanted to say it matters when we are not burning as hotly as we could. This is not simple because frankly I think life has seasons, and different seasons of life feel different, and there could be anyone of a number of reasons why our passion has burned low.
Find your best rhythm and pace. This is just a basic life principle. You don’t run a Marathon like a sprint.
Find helpful spiritual disciplines that feed your spiritual life. For example; prayer and Bible reading and meditation. Recently I changed my Bible reading for a time because I felt that I just needed to soak in some particular words of scripture. I’m not as good at it as I should be but I think that scripture memorisation can be of great value here as well. Also consider fasting.
Recognise that you are a whole person and live a disciplined life. I am a physical, emotional and spiritual being and issues in one area can have a knock on effect in the other.
Regularly seek out people and places that stir up your spiritual fervour. We need regular opportunities to feed our souls. We need to be regular in worship. There is value in retreat, in books, and in sermons.
Make sure that you maintain unproductive spiritual space. We have a production orientated culture. Time doesn’t count unless it is spent productively. I think if you spend all your time doing something productive that can contribute to a hurried feeling that is like a fire extinguisher on spiritual passion.
Remember that spiritual self sufficiency neither glorifies God, edifies the church or sustains ministry. I’d hate for you to get the idea that you have within you what you need for a healthy spiritual life.
Remember that a passion for God and his glory is more fulfilling and enduring than a passion for anything else.

Reading through Ruth

2005-05-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

I read through the Old Testament book of Ruth not so long ago. What struck me this time through is the way in which Ruth differs so much from many of the heroes from that time in Israel’s history.

The book of Ruth is set in the Old Testament alongside the book of Judges, and that is full of heroes. There you can read of Ehud, the left handed deliverer, of Deborah, Gideon and Samson. They were all famous for great feats, but Ruth is different.

For one thing she wasn’t even a Jew, which is a big deal in terms of the story of the Old Testament. How many heroes of the Old Testament can you name who were not Jewish? (Yes there are a few, but not many.)

Ruth was from Moab and related to God’s people only through marriage, and by the time she is introduced in the Biblical narrative, she is a widow.

And yet Ruth is someone who plays a key role in the purposes of God. Ruth became the great grandmother of David, Israel’s greatest king, and himself the ancestor of Jesus.

How does a Moabite widow get to be so central in the purposes of God? It seems that one of things that the book of Ruth does is answer that question. The process that leads to her marriage to Boaz, the great grandfather of David, begins with a simple albeit costly act of kindness.

Her mother-in-law Naomi is herself widowed and alone in an alien land. Ruth’s act of kindness was to remain with Naomi as she travelled back to her own people despite being released by Naomi to stay with her own people. From the there the story unfolds and we read of her meeting with and eventual marriage to Boaz.

It’s really a simple act of kindness that propels Ruth into the arena where God’s purposes are being worked out. It’s that act that places a very ordinary lady in the hands of a very extraordinary God and ensures for her lasting significance and a place in salvation history.

Whom will God honor?

2005-05-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

I tend to keep a look out as I read through the Bible for verses that stress the importance of honouring and glorifying God.

Recently, I’ve begun reading through the book of 1 Samuel and am following the story of the life of Samuel the prophet.

Early on in the book, it becomes apparent that the sons of Eli, the incumbent priest were not going to provide Israel with any kind of Godly leadership. In fact their reputation for evil doing was spreading far and wide.

Its into this mess that God speaks. In the middle of a prophecy spoken to Eli, concerning his sons, come these words from God:

“For those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Sam 2:30

As I read these words, I was reminded again of the call to be someone who cares about the glory and reputation of God and seeks to honor him in the multitude of decisions that face me in life.

These words come with a remarkable promise. It’s quite something to be honored by people, but something much more to be honored by God, and yet this is the promise that God makes. He says that he will honor those who honor him.

The irony is that so often we are tempted to words and actions that do not honor God as way of seeking the approbation of those around us. The pressure to conform is a powerful thing!

Those who want to be found in Jesus image will need to remember that though he was popular for a time, his determination to live a life that honored the Father made him the object of scorn and derision.

I guess we need continually to remember to ask ourselves “which is of greater value?” Being respected by people or honored by God?

Sermon: Love from the centre of who you are

2005-05-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

We are beginning a new series this morning. Would you look at the screen and we are going to read Romans 12 and verse 1.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (NIV)

And again, lets read, this time from “The Message.”

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be looking at some verses in Romans 12.

Verses 9 to 21 contain a list of Christian behaviors or virtues, and it’s those that we shall look at, but first I want to show you how Paul introduces this section of his letter.

Paul has written a long theological argument all the way to the end of Romans 11 and now at the beginning of Romans 12 he turns to talking about how Christians should behave, and he has a big idea, and it’s the idea that we have read together.

Because of all that God has done, Christians are to offer themselves as living sacrifices.

Now I want to give you a moment to think about something. Let me ask you a question. How can you best worship God?

Now notice with me what Paul does. He takes an idea about worship, that was a common part of his culture, the idea of sacrifice, and he says to his readers, not bring a sacrifice, but rather now you be the sacrifice.

So here is the reason for the title for the series over the next week. Most of us are used to worshipping God with a praise song, so we are going to be asking how can my life be a song of praise?

And Paul goes on to tell us right through to Romans 16, but I want to draw your attention especially to verses 9-20 over the next couple of weeks, and this morning, we are going to look at verses 9 and 10, so lets read them together.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (NIV)

And again we will read in “The Message.”

Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. (MSG)

This morning I want to just break that verse down into three bits, and they are all about love. Here’s the first:

Love from the centre of who you are.

Now the first thing I want you to notice s what the passage goes on to say. Hate evil. This is not sentimentality, being lovely and nice.

But more importantly, remember that the NIV said Love must be sincere. The NASB has Let love be without hypocrisy, which is a great translation. Hypocrites were the actors of the age. The wearers of masks, and this is what makes this passage so challenging.

You see it’s one thing to love with the mask on, quite another to love with the mask off.

You see we get so used to putting on masks. Let me paint you a little picture and see if it rings any bells for you.

You are out with some friends trying out a new restaurant and you order you food, which is delivered in due time and you tuck into your meal. It’s not long before one of you friends remarks that their chips are soggy and another says that their steak is overcooked and so on. Before long your waiter comes over and asks if everything is OK with the food, and most of us in this room would do the same thing, out come the masks and on they go and we say oh yes everything is lovely thank you!

It’s so easy for us to put the masks on.

And Paul says love from the centre of who you are. Do you get this? Pretending to love doesn’t count, acting in a loving way doesn’t count, and some of us are struggling already because loving with masks is pretty much all we know how to do.

And Paul says it doesn’t count, you’ve got to love without the mask, you’ve got to love from the centre of who you are, and how do you do that?

Now I am going to leave time this morning to try and answer that question a little later this morning, but first lets go on and notice what else these verses say about love.

So secondly, we are told

Be good friends who love deeply.

The NIV has be devoted to one another in brotherly love, now what does that look like.

You know maybe it’s just me, but I know that I can read verses like this and think that they are a restriction rather than a prescription. So I read be good friends who love deeply and in my head I hear don’t be mean to others.

But what happens if instead of reading these words as a restriction I hear them as a prescription? I suddenly find them a whole lot more challenging.

To put it another way when I stood in church and pledged my love to my wife, I didn’t do it by listing the things that I wouldn’t do, I won’t leave my dirty clothes unfolded on the landing, I won’t criticize your driving or map reading… but I did something much bigger by listing the things I would do. I will love you, cherish you, honor you and obey you…

So what could I do, what could we do to be good friends who love one another deeply?

I want to give you a practical example and opportunity this morning. This came up during the week and I realized that it illustrated this point.

Over the next couple of weeks there are a number of things going on in church life where there could well be a need that could be met in a loving way. We have an Alpha weekend coming up and a mission trip to Romania, and there may be some other similar needs as well. And there are some frankly for whom being involved is a financial challenge, and we thought that one way we could practice being good friends who love deeply is by just providing an opportunity to give financially to support those projects (and others that might be coming along) So there is an opportunity this morning as you leave to make an offering or pledge towards that need, and we will entrust that money to the SOT to use to show love and help out those involved with those projects.

Finally, the verses say

Practice playing second fiddle.

The NIV has honor one another above yourselves, the ESV outdo one another in showing honor. Love, means honoring others and humbling yourself.

I’ve noticed that there is a stage that boys go through where they like to outdo one another. While that’s nothing I can hit 100 meters, I scored eight goals. It’s a stage that starts at about the age of seven and lasts till a boy is about seventy.

It cuts across the way in which we are conditioned to behave, and the way in which we are to push others to prominence while choosing a back seat for ourselves.

Again we are challenged to be the one who points the spotlight rather than being the one who stands in the spotlight. And yet that’s what love will do.

So there you are three was of being a song of praise to God. Love from the centre of who you are, Be good friends who love deeply and practice playing second fiddle.

Now I promised that I would try and answer the how question. Now it’s a big question, but here is one big answer.

Now as I try and give you an answer, I want us to be still for a moment and listen to something that the Bible says about the nature of love.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (NIV)

Now some of you are thinking, you just made it worse! In a moment, I’m going to read these verses again, but I’m going to alter them slightly as I read them. You see I think perhaps one of the most important things for us if we are going to be loving people is that we experience the love of God. The Bible says that we love because he first loved us.

Now it could be that as a result of this morning you need to confess that you have been unloving. It could be that you need to ask for God’s help to love from the centre of who you are. But for all of us, I am confident that a greater revelation of the love of God will realeas in us greater love for others.

So what I want to do is remind you of the most perfect example of love, the love of God, and so I want to read this passage not in a way that reminds us of what our love should be like and yet fails to be, but as a reminder of the love of God for us.

So I want to pray and then we will be still and I will read the passage to you as a prayer.

Prayer

Jesus, your Love is patient and your love is kind.
Your love is never envious or boastful. Your love is not proud.
Jesus at times your love is challenging, but it is never rude. Your love served me at tremendous personal cost.
Your love is slow to anger and you loving forgiveness keeps no record of wrongs.
Your love does not delight in my sin or my pain but rejoices with the truth.
Your love always protects me, yourlove can always be trusted. Your love always hopes,your love always perseveres.
Your love will never fail

The spiritual sin of schadenfreude

2005-04-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Ok I admit it, I like big words! Chambers defines schadenfreude as “malicious pleasure in the misfortune of others.” I guess I have to admit that this is a sin I can struggle with, but I fairly sure I’m not the only one!

I’ve been think a lot recently about the nature of love and the quality of love that God desires to form in us.

Perhaps the most profound of meditations on love that can be found in the pages of the New Testament comes from 1 Corinthians 13. They are words which many know so well. Verse six of that passage unmasks this often secret and malicious pleasure as unloving and sinful as it says of love “it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” E.S.V.

I’ve pondered on the reasons for this inward smugness at the misfortune of another for a while. I suspect that the temptation to feel like this comes because the fall or failure of another makes me feel somehow better about myself.

Of course I do not say that as a means of self justification, I fully acknowledge this attitude as sinful. Indeed I want to understand how to overcome it. I am increasingly convinced that formation of a loving character in us is directly linked to our appreciation for and experience of God’s love for us.

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 E.S.V.

I need a miracle...

2005-04-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

...and so do you!

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father... …that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you... …know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Taken from Ephesians 3:14-20 E.S.V.

It’s one of the best know and loved prayers in the New Testament, and yet its so easy to fail to notice that this is a prayer for the impossible! Paul tells his friends in the church in Ephesus that he is praying for them, and he tells them what he is praying for them. Here he tells them that he is praying for them to know something which is impossible to know! He is praying that they “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” Paul is praying for nothing less than a miracle.

Experience, understanding and knowledge of the love of Christ cannot come simply from reason or logic. The vastness and wonder of the love of Christ demands that we look for help outside of ourselves. The self contained and self sufficient spiritual life will never and can never know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Only the heart open to the whisperings and workings of God the Holy Spirit can know the love of Christ, for to know the love of Christ demands a miracle of revelation.

Sermon Summary: The sign on the door of the church.

2005-04-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

This is a message summary. The message was given to the Annual Church Meeting Sunday morning service. 24th April 2005

In preparation for this morning, I’ve been asking myself what sign will we hang on the church door? This morning I want to hang some signs on our door. Two of them don’t belong, but we need to make sure that the third is always there. As we do that, I want us to read three passages of scripture together. Here is the first, it’s 1 Peter 2:4-5 9-12

The first sign that doesn’t belong is a “For Sale” sign. When you sell something, you let go of what you have for a price.

This sign doesn’t belong for two reasons. Firstly, it does not belong because we must never sell out on what we believe, because what we believe defines who we are.

Notice how the passage I read says a lot about who we are. We are living stones being built into a spiritual house, we are holy priests, we are a chosen race, (spiritually) we are royal priests, we are a holy nation and we are God’s people. All that depends on certain convictions about who God is, and how he relates to us.

So who we are is defined by what we believe. What we have in common is what we believe. We are a family because of what we believe.

Secondly the “For Sale” sign does not belong because we are not going to sell out on the issue of Christian behaviour. I have a conviction that what we believe should make a difference to how we behave. Looking at this passage, let me give you four reasons why we can’t and won’t sell out on the issue of Christian behaviour.

Verse 9 says “You are a holy nation” We can’t sell out because God made us holy and calls us to be holy.
Verse 10 says that we have received mercy. We can’t sell out because to do so would be to trample of God’s mercy.
Selling out on behaviour is spiritually perilous and destructive. The passions of the flesh wage war against your soul. V11.
We can’t sell out because honourable lifestyle honours God. V 12

A couple of weeks ago I put up this list on a Sunday evening and preached on values for serving in Priory Street. I commend them because when we embrace them we honour God.

We will value:

Bold faith
Humble service
Christ like love
Joyful attitude
Honest communication
Personal purity
Spiritual Surrender

The second sign that doesn’t belong is the “Do not disturb sign” As a church we won’t be putting out the do not disturb sign. Let’s read from the Bible again, this time we are in the Old Testament and this is Numbers 9:15-18

Some months ago I was reading this passage and it really spoke to me about the nature of life with God. Some of you will remember that a number of years ago the theme of our church holiday had to do with God’s people leaving Egypt and travelling to the Promised Land, and we called it “Camping with God.”

One of the things we see in this passage is that for God’s people change could come at any minute, or it might not! That’s up to God. The people moved not when it was logical to do so, not when they wanted to, but when God moved.

One of the mistakes we could make would be to put out the “Do not disturb sign” I guess that after a few days, for God’s people camp could get pretty comfortable, but when God moved on you moved on.

And after a couple of months in the same place, I guess it could get pretty boring, but if God stayed, you stayed.

I think this coming year could be a year in which we experience some change. We have talked about going to two morning services. Will we do that this year? I honestly don’t know. I do know that we need to be ready to do that if that is what God is saying, and ready not to if that is not what he is saying.

We will be bringing to you certain proposals about the way in which the church is led, and some are already working through the uncomfortable aspects of that change.

Finally, and this brings us on to our last sign, I sense at the moment that God is saying something about the way in which we do Sunday morning services in particular. I feel really challenged to seek to make our morning services a place where people who are far from God and people who have know God and walked with him for years can have profound life changing experiences. And there are elements of change involved with that.

So here is the sign that we need to make sure is always on the door. The “Welcome” sign. You know it’s one thing to put the sign up, it’s another thing to do everything in your power to make sure that you mean it.

When you welcome someone into your home, it affects the way in which you behave. You go out of your way to make them feel at home.

I want us to read two things that Jesus had to say Lets read Luke 5:27-32 and then Luke 19:10.

Jesus sees his mission not in terms of being with and ministering to spiritual people but in terms of ministering to those who were far from God.

What Jesus seemed to be able to do is both attract people who were far from God and train disciples, and his whole ministry was strategically focussed around that task.

Now I think as a church I think we have a pretty good understanding of God’s heart for people who are far from him. What I am saying is that we need to work really hard to make sure that the welcome sign stays on the door.

That has implications for the way in which we do a whole load of things. It has implications for what I preach, and how I preach. It has implications for worship, it has implications for stewarding, for projecting, for where you park your car, for who you talk to after services.

In conclusion then we must ensure that the “For Sale” sign never goes up at Priory Street. We must not put up a “Do not disturb” sign, but we must ensure that the “Welcome” sign is always up.

How not to be a Pharisee Part 3 of 3

2005-04-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

.....continued from part 2.

Fifth, if you don’t want to be like the Pharisees, be prepared to respond to a rebuke. In Mat 15:12-14 Jesus is confronted by a concerned delegation of disciples, who are worried that Jesus has offended the Pharisees.

Jesus response is "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."

The tragedy is that the Pharisees had the opportunity to repent, but were unwilling to do so and had become hardened in their thinking.

Here again is a moment for self evaluation. How willing am I to take correction from others? How correctable am I? How do I respond to a right rebuke? Is my response characterized by self justification or contrition and repentance?

Finally, if you don’t want to be like the Pharisees, don’t major on the minor and neglect the major. In Mat 23:23 Jesus says "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”

It’s not that God doesn’t care about the small things, if you read on in the passage you will see that he does, it’s that God really is concerned about big things like justice and mercy and faithfulness.

Here is a final moment for self evaluation. How are you doing in the whole area of justice, mercy, faithfulness?

In conclusion, the Pharisees warn us of the spiritual perils that so easily ensnare those who would seek to glorify God. One of the great prayers of the Bible is found at the end of Psalm 139:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

What a great prayer to pray, seeking God’s help to keep walking in the everlasting way.

All scripture quotations in this series of articles are taken from the English Standard Version.

How not to be a Pharisee Part 2 of 3

2005-04-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

.......continued from part 1.

Thirdly, if you don’t want to be like the Pharisees, beware of becoming small hearted. One Sabbath day, Jesus was in the temple where there was a man with a withered hand. The small hearted Pharisees were more concerned about the theological legitimacy of healing on the Sabbath, than the man’s very real need. Jesus insisted that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath and healed the man. You can read the story in Mat 12:10-14. As a result of the healing, the Pharisees began to plot and plan to destroy Jesus.

That the Pharisees were more concerned about a point of law than on human need is for us a warning. Which has the louder voice in our hearts, the letter of the law or compassion for those in need?

Fourth, if you don’t want to be like the Pharisees, take the Bible far more seriously than you take tradition. In Mat 15:1-6 we read of how “ Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." Jesus responds by challenging their own warping of the Word of God in their tradition. Jesus accusation is that “for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.”

The danger is that tradition becomes for God’s people a distorting lens. We get used to reading scripture through the lens of our tradition, experience and expectations.

Here is the opportunity for a moment of self evaluation. These days, are you more, or less, inclined to accept the Bible as the Word of God than you have been in the past? Are inclined to accept the Word of God as the Word of God and be submissive to it, or are you inclined to rage and battle against it?

continues...

How not to be a Pharisee Part 1 of 3

2005-04-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Jesus said “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Mathew 16:11

Some time ago I looked through Mathews gospel and tried to note the aspects of the behavior of the Pharisees that I need to avoid. Here are some of them.

Firstly, If you don’t want to be like the Pharisees, make sure that you are walking in fruitful repentance. Jesus says to the pharisees in Mat 3:7-8 "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees because although they come and submit to John’s baptism there is no evidence of a change of heart in the way that they live. We need to be careful not to look to outward signs to justify the legitimacy of our discipleship, it is what is in our hearts, and comes from our hearts, that testifies to a real change having taken place. From time to time I need to ask myself How I am doing in cultivating a heart characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?

Secondly, if you don’t want to be like the Pharisees, make sure you avoid spiritual superiority. Mat 9:11-13 reads: "And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Now I have a responsibility to avoid spiritual superiority myself when I evaluate the Pharisees! How can I avoid the very pitfall I notice? I have a responsibility to evaluate myself before God, to invite God to know and test my heart, and I have to be very careful about judging others.
It does my soul good to remember that in the eyes of God I am unacceptable, unholy and unworthy except for grace, and in only in grace am I a saint.

Continues soon.....

The Lord is my shepherd...

2005-04-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

These words of David are perhaps one of the most comforting parts of the Bible. "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

With its confidence in the presence of God even in the darkest places of life, the 23rd Psalm is one turned to by many in times of difficulty. But do these well loved words have more to say?

I was leading worship on Sunday night, when for some reason I found myself thinking that the good shepherd does more than simply comfort the sheep.

We know that in Jewish culture the sheep were not herded, but responded to and followed the voice of the shepherd. The Psalm recognises that this shepherd leads beside still waters, and leads in paths of righteousness.

I like Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of verse 3; “True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction”

On Sunday night I asked the congregation “Do you want a shepherd?” Most of us want a shepherd who comforts, but do we want a shepherd who guides? If the answer is yes then we must be sensitive to the voice of the shepherd in all its tones. The good shepherd comforts, directs, guides and from time to time rebukes his sheep. Those who hear his voice and respond are able to share in David’s confidence as they say; “The Lord is my shepherd!”

Sermon Text: Lessons on leadership from the church at Ephesus.

2005-04-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

This morning, I’m going to tell the story of the church at Ephesus, and as we go through, we are going to be looking for lessons that we can learn about church leadership. The reason for doing this, is that as I have mentioned we are going to be suggesting a modification to our model of leadership and I want to share some of the Biblical basis for that change.

Four things you need to know about Ephesus

Ephesus was a Major city. We are told that it was the fourth largest city in the Roman world.
It was a centre for trade.
It was a cosmopolitan city. There were people from all over the world, including a large Jewish community
It was Religiously significant, dominated by the temple of Artemis (Diana KJV)

In about AD 50 Paul visits Ephesus for the first time with Aquilla and Priscilla. He is on his second missionary journey. You can read about this in Acts 18:18-21. Paul goes into the synagogue and reasons with them but will not stay for a protracted visit. He leaves but Aquilla and Priscilla remain in Ephesus. At this stage there is no mention of any converts.

Some time later Apollos arrives in Ephesus. (Acts 18:24-28) He knows some of the gospel but not all of it, and Aquilla and Priscilla correct him, but he goes off to Achaia.

Then comes one to the key moments in the life of the church at Ephesus When Paul arrives in about AD53 and begins a ministry in the church of Ephesus that lasted about two years. I’m going to read and account of that to you. Acts 19:1-10

Paul arrives in Ephesus and finds a small group of disciples (v1) but needs to correct a defective baptism (v 3)
The church in Ephesus is now properly established. There are a small group of 12 men (v7)
Paul’s three month ministry in the synagogue comes to an end (v9) in the face of opposition and Paul hires premises for the growing church. (v9)
Paul exercises a two year ministry with remarkable impact. (v10)
The ministry described (vs11-20) has the characteristics of revival with considerable power evident, and considerable growth.
The economic impact of the growth of the church, brings to an end the population’s tolerance of the work. (v23-29)
The controversy eventually leads to Paul’s departure (20:1) but he had already been intending to leave (v21).

Now we need to make an assumption in order to make sense of the next waypoint in the church at Ephesus. Paul now goes off on his third missionary journey, and he is leaving a two year old, large and vibrant church.

This is the assumption: During his ministry in Ephesus, Paul selected and trained a group of ‘elders’ to oversee the church in Ephesus in his absence. You might say it’s a big guess, but here are my reasons for thinking that it was so.

It was Paul’s normal practice to appoint elders in the churches that he founded before he came to Ephesus. Act 14:23 "And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed."
This was probably because there were Elders in the church at Jerusalem. Act 15:2 "And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question."
The elders in Jerusalem shared in decision making with the Apostles. Act 15:6 "The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter."
We know there were elders in the church at Ephesus about a year and a half later when Paul met with them on his way to Rome.

I’d like you to turn to Acts 20, and I’m going to read from verse 17 to the end of the chapter. I think this is quite a moving passage. Here Paul is saying goodbye to friends that he has made in the church at Ephesus, and they know that in this life they will not see one another again.

I want to draw your attention to Acts 20:28-35, where Paul charges the elders of the church at Ephesus with certain responsibilities. As we hear him speaking to the elders, so I think we can learn some principles about church leadership for ourselves. But here is my first point. Spiritual leadership matters. As you read these verses thay have an urgency of tone. The task that Paul is giving to these elders is an important task.

Those entrusted with leadership of Jesus’ church must pay careful attention to themselves. Don’t you think that it’s remarkable that Paul starts his address here? One of the things that we will see a number of times today is that for leaders, character matters.

The leaders are to pay careful attention to the flock of which you are “overseers” One of the things that I notice here is that shepherding the flock matters (GK episkopos) v27 You are to watch over the church. What for? Why? Well Paul goes on.Their role is to shepherd the flock (GK poimainō) the word having the sense of tend or feed. As a shepherd cares for the flock so these elders are to care for the flock of God. They are to ensure that God’s flock is fed, this being the literal meaning of the word. And as we see in a moment they are to see that the flock is protected from wild animals.

Paul warns that “fierce wolves” will come in and will not spare the flock. The implication being that damage will be done. Paul anticipates that some of those in the church, possibly even some of those who are being addressed will be “speaking twisted things” which will be attractive and will “draw away disciples after them.” With these words we are able to better understand the nature of the “fierce wolves” against which Paul warns. He anticipates that their ravages are principally doctrinal in nature. So elders are to protect the church from the ravages of false doctrine. This is so likely says Paul and so the elders are commanded to be alert. I see here that truth matters

Paul commends them to God and to his word which is able to build them up. We have said that character matters, now I want you to see that spirituality matters These leaders must be people of the word or they will not be able to resist the ravages of the wolves.

Having spoken to the Elders, Paul continues his journey to Jerusalem and then on to Rome.

The next point at which we know something about what is going on in the church at Ephesus is when Paul writes them a letter in about AD60. Now I don’t have time to read you the whole of the letter to the Ephesians, but what is interesting is that if you read the letter you will see that Paul’s fears for the church were not without foundation. In fact I would suggest that you can sense that there is trouble brewing in the Church at Ephesus.

I want to draw your attention to Ephesians 4:11-14. Now the emphasis in Ephesians is on the role of the leaders that God has given to the church. Here we see that the ministry of the church matters. Verse11 says that the role of the apostles prophets evangelists, pastors and teachers is to prepare the church, God’s people, for works of service.

In verse 13, we see that as theses leaders exercise their ministry, the church should be built up so that there is unity, because unity matters. The problems in the church that jeopardized their unity were probably partly down to disagreement on doctrinal issues, and as we read on we see that truth (still) matters. In verse 14 it is expected that the outcome of the ministry of these leaders will involve doctrinal maturity and stability.

The thing that concerns me as I think about the church in Ephesus, is how a church that has seen God’s blessing in remarkable ways can begin to have real issues. This is now perhaps five years since Paul had concluded his ministry in Ephesus and already there are signs of problems.

Now finally I want you to turn with me to 1 Timothy. Paul probably wrote to Timothy in about AD 64 from prison. Timothy has been left in Ephesus perhaps because Paul anticipated trouble in the church. Now there are real problems with the church in Ephesus. The main issues that the letter addresses are the teaching of false doctrine and strange practices. (See 1:3-7, 1:19, 4:1-5, 6:2-5)

In the light of these pressures Timothy is to appoint leaders of character and to set an example to the flock (4:11-16):

Turn with me to chapter 3, and we will read verses 1-7. Here, Paul eager to deal with the problems in the Ephesian church tells Timothy the kind of people that are suitable to serve as overseers. (I think this is the same as elders.) The majority of the list concerns the character of prospective candidates, because character (still) matters.

Paul is not only concerned with character, but he knows how important that is. He also insists that elders are able to teach. Alongside character, competence matters.

Finally I want to suggest to you from this passage that the testing of character matters. If leaders are to demonstrate certain character traits and competencies then it is vital that there be some process of testing where any candidate for this kind of leadership is evaluated in the light of those requirements.

So there you have it, nine things that matter when we think about leadership in the church.

Spiritual Leadership Matters
Character Matters
Shepherding the flock Matters
Truth Matters
Spirituality Matters
The ministry of the church matters
Unity Matters
Competence Matters
Testing Matters

Ever feel like giving up?

2005-04-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ever feel like giving up? Ever feel like it’s all a waste of time? Ever feel that your hard work makes no difference?

I suspect that for most who pour time and energy into the ministry of a local church there are times of discouragement when its hard to see fruit, and the temptation is to pack it all in. Here is a great verse to hold on to in times of discouragement:

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 E.S.V.

The verse is an impassioned call to faithful and determined continuation in the service of the master even in the face of discouragement and opposition. I suppose that from the place of despair someone might ask “How can I know that my labour is not in vain.”

This verse is one of those verses beginning with the word “therefore” and so its contents depend on the principles expressed in the previous verses.

In this case the reason for confidence is the complete victory of Jesus Christ. Your labour in the Lord can never be in vain because it is “in the Lord” who is victorious even over sin and death.

Recently, anticipating that such a time might come along, I committed this encouraging verse to memory. It’s a great one to lock away in your mind, sharpening your sword ready to do battle in the day of discouragement.

I’ll end with the verse again, this time from The Message: “With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.”

WWJD or HDJL?

2005-04-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

What would Jesus do? Or How did Jesus Live? Of course “What would Jesus do?” is a great question to ask in any situation. If we are going to spiritually in the place to ask the question, and more importantly answer it correctly, it’s important that we also ask “How Did Jesus Live?”

Some time ago I sat down a read through Mark’s gospel. I wanted to particularly notice what Mark had to say about the spiritual life of Jesus. I discovered that Jesus lived an intentional spiritual life, insisting on taking time out to be with the Father even in the context of busy and effective ministry, sometimes to the consternation of the disciples. I noticed that Jesus recognised the reality of weariness and was willing to take time out in order to rest. I noticed that Jesus too found that from time to time his space for retreat suffered intrusion. (Check out Mark 1:35-39, 6:31-34)

It’s the robustness of Jesus’ spiritual life that maintains the ongoing fruitfulness of his ministry. Jesus takes a time of retreat in Mark 1:35-39. Mark hints that the disciples were a little surprised to find him unavailable for ministry, but Jesus tells them that they must go on to preach elsewhere “for that is what I came for.”

Fruitfulness is not so much the result of strenuous activity as of rightly applied effort. Fruitfulness results not so much from hectic activity in the name of the Father as being about the Fathers business.

I find that I need to keep reminding myself that If Jesus needed to take time out to be with the Father then so do I. If Jesus needed to rest then so do I. If Jesus needed to be still and be clear on his sense of calling then so do I.

Do you want to be fruitful in the master’s service? Do you want to honour Jesus by asking WWJD? Then keep asking HDJL!

Why was there a towel on the cross this Easter?

2005-04-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

This Good Friday there was a towel hung over the cross.

Earlier in the week we had shared a meal together and shared in worship. At the front of the church worship space, the cross had been erected for the following weekend. As part of our worship that evening, I placed a towel on the cross and shared from John 13, reading the following words:

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:3-5 E.S.V.

What a proof of Jesus’ willingness to be a servant! Sometimes, I have encouraged people to serve because of the sense of self fulfillment that comes from discovering and using their spiritual gift, but here we find Jesus showing us another model that challenges our motives for Christian service. Jesus takes up the towel and serves. Jesus ministers to his disciples in a menial task that Peter knew was beneath him.

It’s not that I don’t think that Christian service should be rewarding, just that I suspect that the most rewarding service is that which is offered from a heart that desires to pick up the towel and serve in humility that is ultimately most rewarding.

Jesus presents those who would love him and be like him with a wonderful example. Will we pick up the towel and simply serve? That’s why there was a towel on the cross this Easter.

Church resources:Have you tried OpenOffice?

2005-04-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

I've moved this article to the sister site http://eikonresources.blogspot.com//

I'll keep this site for sermons and devotionals. Check out eikon resources for information about using computers in the church, photos and powerpoint backgrounds etc.

Sermon outline: Piling up Stones

2005-04-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

This sermon was preached on Sunday 10th April in the Morning Service. The following is a sermon outline. As such it's not intended to be read as an article!

Joshua Chapter 4:1-9

Introduction

Where we are going in the next couple of weeks.
Setting the scene: God's people have followed through the wilderness and now they stand at the edge of the promised land and on the brink of the Jordan river. In order to be obedient to God's call now they we need to cross over.
Joshua Chapter 3 tells us what God will do for his people. God promises that as the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant enter the Jordan so the river will be "cut off from flowing." (3v13)
The priests enter the river and the river bed becomes dry. As the priests stand in the bed of the river, God's people are able to cross over on dry ground.
Now read Joshua 4:1-9

Main point: The importance of spiritual waypoints. In Joshua Chapter 4 we find God's people setting up a spiritual waypoint.

What do I mean by a Spiritual waypoint? ** GPS Waypoints. Mark something, remember something, recover something, revisit something, find your direction. I will return to this later.
The people take twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan and set them up on the edge of river in the place where they have camped.
What is going on?

We are told the reason for this pile of stones in v 6, and v 21. These stones are to be a memorial. A permanent reminder that God had acted in miraculous power for them.
This was a place where God had acted for them.
These stones were from the bottom of the river (How do you do that?)
These stones are from the place where God was (Where the feet of the priests carrying the ark had stood (v3) God had been with them in the crossing of the river.
These stones are a reminder of their calling. Here God had made it possible for them to obey him and enter into their calling to inhabit and subdue the promised land.

As I read on through the book of Joshua I noticed that there are other piles of stones:

A pile of stones to mark a place of sin and rebellion against God. Joshua 7 tells of a pile of stones raised over the body of Achan, punished for his sin against God. A pile we are told that is "there to this day" (Compare with 4:9)
A pile of stones to mark victory in a place of previous failure. Joshua 8 tells of final victory over the city of Ai, and of the burial of the king of Ai under a pile of stones, that "stands there to this day"
A mound of stones to worship God and celebrate covenant. The later part of Joshua 8 tells of the building of an altar of unworked stones. It is a pile of stones, but in some ways does not fit the patter of the other mounds. (There is no ‘remains to this day’ or similar comment) Nevertheless it does serve as a Spiritual waypoint. Joshua writes the law on the altar.
A pile of stones to mark a place of victory over enemies and a time of threat. Joshua 10 tells the story of the defeat of the five Amorite kings. Their bodies are placed in a cave and a pile of stones erected that “remains to this day”
A pile of stones to remind Israel to be faithful to God. Again the account in Joshua 24 of Joshua erecting a stone as one of his final acts does not follow the pattern of the other accounts, but the purpose is that it should act as a spiritual waypoint. It is to remind Israel to be faithful to God and not to “deal falsely with your God”

Main point: The importance to us of spiritual waypoints as places for us to Mark something, remember something, recover something, revisit something, find your direction, and make decisions about direction.

What are these waypoints for?

Encouragement

Define us

Places of decision

Places of hope

Places of conviction

Reminders for behavior

Places of warning – sin and the consequences

Places that stir our faith.

Some comments about building waypoints, or what waypoints can we build.

Communion. We have been thinking about how God’s word commands us to remember as we take communion.
Baptism functions as a waypoint. It means so much more, but it is a way of marking a transition.
Writing it down. Encourage people wrestling with the calling of God, seeing God’s powerful intervention in their lives to write it down. So that it’s something to come back to. Did Israel ever think “Does God really want us here?” “Is God really with us?”
Taking time to remember. The value of thinking back and recognizing places where God has been at work as a way of finding courage and direction for now. The old hymn “Count your blessings” God has built the places where waypoints ought to bebilt, and all we need to do is visit.

Time of reflection

A time of being still before God to take notice of the spiritual waypoints in our lives. Pray to Invite God by his spirit to remind us of the places where he has been at work in our lives.

Remember when you became a believer
Remember when you were baptized
Remember a place of God’s calling. Remember how he opened the door for you to respond.
Remember a place of God’s power.
Remember a place of sin. A place of grace and forgiveness and restoration.
Remember a place of victory over enemies.
Remember a place where you met with God
Remember a place where God has spoken to you in his word. A place where he called you to fidelity.

Respond in prayer and song

Devotional: Overcoming fear

2005-03-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

"If you say in your heart, 'These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?' you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt...
Deuteronomy 7:17-18 E.S.V
How do we overcome fear? Fear is a challenge for Christians. Fear can keep us from entering into all God has for us. Forty years before fear had prevented God's people from confronting the giants of the Promised Land. Now these words are spoken as God's people get ready to face the inhabitants of the Promised Land and they will need to overcome their fear. Instead of being afraid, they are to remember God's mighty works. Next time fear comes lurking and threatening to remove us from the heart of God's plans, will we reflect on the God who has demonstrated his power in the past and can therefore be trusted for the future?