It’s time to be foolish.
Or put another way, to be Servant leaders/disciples, in this testing year of 2009 enabling others to live the good life.
How do we do serve ‘foolishly’ – ie effectively, both as individuals and as church?
Two important characteristics that help determine the health and hope of a church are best described by the Natural Church Development:
1 Passionate Spirituality
2 Need-based evangelism
Both are very relevant to us as we think about discipleship and the world of today.
Some will see this year as a year of challenge, perhaps a big challenge.
As I have said elsewhere, I see 2009 as a time of opportunity – call it foolish but the opportunities are there aren’t they?
The year 2009 has many people worried about the economic recession, and how they will cope?
The doomsayers predict global collapse while more moderate voices see testing times but not the end of the world.
The news media while not to blame for the current situation have as they so often do, made a meal of the bad news.
I was somewhat bemused a couple of days out from Christmas to hear on the news that eftpos transactions were down on the previous year as if it was the worst thing that happened at Christmas. There was no concession that showing restraint in spending might be a virtue.
So where are we at: if it was the weather, the economy is currently overcast & a cold front is moving onto the country. The question as yet unanswered is how deep is the front and how long will it stay?
But if we were to focus almost solely on that then before we know it 2009 will have come and gone and if we aren’t careful we may miss what will be more important about the year.
IE
2009 is full of opportunities
• Opportunities to show God’s love to people particularly those who may be affected by the economic downturn.
• “they [society that is] will know we are Christians by our love” as the song goes.
And so to the heart of the matter – servant leadership/discipleship, includes sharing our love with others.
That is a Gospel imperative and one which can grow out of the way we live out Christian Community IE ~
Being a loving faith community & in so doing bringing the Love of Christ into people’s lives.
To be so, can be costly – it can be challenging to show God’s gracious care to others in what we say and do and pray.
Some may see us as foolish – but as Paul teaches in 1 Cor. Acting out as ‘wise’ isn’t going to make a difference if the actor has no faith in God. Human wisdom alone counts for little when compared to that which comes to us from God. Indeed,
25 Even when God is foolish, he is wiser than everyone else, and even when God is weak, he is stronger than everyone else.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (Contemporary English Version)
Christ Is God's Power and Wisdom
18 The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work. 19 As God says in the Scriptures,
"I will destroy the wisdom
of all who claim to be wise. I will confuse those who think they know so much."
20 What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish? 21 God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him.
Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach. 22 Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. 23 But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish. 24 Our message is God's power and wisdom for the Jews and the Greeks that he has chosen. 25 Even when God is foolish, he is wiser than everyone else, and even when God is weak, he is stronger than everyone else.
And the point and place of divine weakness and folly is of course the cross.
“Cross” as a word is so overworked it has to some extent lost its sharpness – but we should remind ourselves that in the time of Jesus it was a cruelly slow and painful way of putting someone to death.
But as we are told by Jesus He will triumph over death- the cross far from being a symbol for weakness and foolishness is a symbol of hope, and that is Good News for us, because should we follow Him as Servant Leaders and disciples then in taking up our cross, facing what the world may dish out to us, we will gain new life through Him.
John 2:13-22 (Contemporary English Version)
Jesus in the Temple
13 Not long before the Jewish festival of Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 There he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple. He also saw moneychangers sitting at their tables. 15 So he took some rope and made a whip. Then he chased everyone out of the temple, together with their sheep and cattle. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins.
16Jesus said to the people who had been selling doves, "Get those doves out of here! Don't make my Father's house a marketplace."
17The disciples then remembered that the Scriptures say, "My love for your house burns in me like a fire."
18 The Jewish leaders asked Jesus, "What miracle [a] will you work to show us why you have done this?" 19 "Destroy this temple," Jesus answered, "and in three days I will build it again!"
20 The leaders replied, "It took forty-six years to build this temple. What makes you think you can rebuild it in three days?"
21 But Jesus was talking about his body as a temple. 22 And when he was raised from death, his disciples remembered what he had told them. Then they believed the Scriptures and the words of Jesus.
Footnotes:
John 2:18 miracle: The Greek text has " sign." In the Gospel of John the word " sign" is used for the miracle itself and as a way of pointing to Jesus as the Son of God.
Following Jesus then is not a mind exercise, it involves all of us: our lives, our breath, our laughter, our tears.
Or to come back to those two words “Passionate Spirituality” we are involved heart, mind and soul - 7/24.
Passionate Spirituality is:
• Being open to God’s Spirit on the one hand and to others as our brothers and sisters on the other.
• Open enough to show how deeply we love and worship Jesus and want to follow in His footsteps.
• Being passionate about our faith is being a disciple.
• Being passionate about our faith is to share our love of God with others in all we do. Taking up the cross.
• Being passionate about our faith is the opposite to lukewarm, occasional, only if it’s sunny, only if I’m happy.
Passionate Spirituality is about experiencing God’s love for us and others – it’s that which catches in our throat, stirs us, moves us 2 walk the extra kilometre - to do and be disciples.
Passionate Spirituality is transformational
Passionate Spirituality is necessary –without it churches starve and wither away
The other point equally as important as passionate spirituality, is “needs-based evangelism”.
While the term might sound new, the practice isn’t.
You could say Jesus feeding the 5000 was needs-based evangelism.
In feeding the people Jesus fed their souls.
It is how I imagined the missionaries reached out when they came to this land.
It is the way we should be evangelising today.
Going to where the people are at: where they are encountering life’s issues and challenges.
It is taking Christ to the people and that is a far cry from the way the Anglican Church has operated in this land for years and years.
When I was first ordained the expectation was that people would come to us.
That they would seek our services and they would join up and be ministered to.
That is not the way to make disciples however. It simply makes parishioners who have often become dependent on the church for their continual nourishment when the church should have been preparing the ‘joiners’ to become disciples who would in turn go seek others, go help others.
Needs-based evangelism is summed up in the third of the 5 marks of Mission* of the Anglican world-wide communion - ‘To respond to human need by loving service’ and we can highlight that and ask the question ‘what needs to be done in our local situation where we can love others and show them that love is the love Jesus has for us and them’,
‘What then needs to be done?’
In being passionate about our faith and seeking out needs in which to serve and make known Christ, we also need to let people know we are here.
We Anglicans very often serve in the community quietly, some suggest so quietly we aren’t noticed.
It’s time to be seen & heard to be serving so that those seeking help know where and who to come to.
In business I’m told when the going gets tough it is important to turn up the volume, so businesses advertise more. Likewise we should be turning up the volume to:
• Show our compassion
• Show who we are
• Show where we can be found.
2009 is a year of opportunity to be the best disciples we can be, seeking to transform lives.
Passionate about our faith & sharing the Good News in ways that will bring relief, encouragement and hope.
Foolish? Yeah Right
*The Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican [world wide] Communion re-affirmed at the Lambeth Conference 2008:
1 To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
2 To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
3 To respond to human need by loving service
4 To seek to transform unjust structures of society
5 To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
8 March 2009 Judgement and Blessing
CPAC sermon 08 March 2009
Judgement and Blessing Zephaniah 1:17,18 & 2:1-3
Last week spoke about Micah.
Finishing now with the prophet Zephaniah … one of the more obscure prophets but no less important… reminds me of “Zephr” model of car… however, he and his contemporary, the prophet Jeremiah, preached to a troubled society.
Has anything changed?
Look at the front page of today’s Sunday Star Times for example (show newspaper article…), and we could, no doubt, find many more such articles which reflect the continuing downward decline of the values and morality of the world in which we live today.
There is still the need for prophetic voices alerting people to the fact that there is a right way to live, and a wrong way to live.
More than ever, God needs your voice, your hands, your feet, your minds, and your caring hearts to make a difference in this world.
As members of God’s church here at CPAC God is calling you to be different.
Not to be conformed to the ungodly ways of this world, which lead ultimately to destruction and death, but to live lives transformed by the grace and power of God to do God’s will, just as Jesus did. And what is God’s will?
Here it is here in John 6:38-40.…Jesus said,
38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life.”
As His prophets today, God wants you and I to point people to Jesus.
In today’s world, it is not a calling for the faint hearted - Jeremiah was a very reluctant prophet!
In Jer 20:8-9, he said,
"Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot".
You will definitely not be the flavour of the month when you endeavour to point people to Jesus! However, let us all consider Jeremiah’s attitude, and let us strive for it.
Through prayer and the study of God’s word, for Jeremiah, God’s word was like a fire in his heart, a fire so shut up in his bones that he got weary of holding it in!
Inevitably, he had to speak out for God’s cause!
When we are prepared to live our lives for God, and speak out for Him, God will always give us His heart of compassion for the lost. This is the will of God said Jesus, “that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me”.
May those words be written on our hearts too.
Yes, the prophets talked about God’s judgement, but understand that judgment isn't God's final word. Some people don't understand that!
We are told that God is Judge, but he isn't "judgment".
In the bible we read about "the wrath of God", but nowhere is it said that God is "wrath".
On the other hand, we are told, not only that God loves and is loving, but that "God is love" (1 Jn 4.8,16).
In other words, love is God's nature.
And because He is love by nature, then He cannot tolerate any kind of sin, perversion, injustice…
But His love works in our lives in such a way that brings redemption and restoration and reconciliation …
…He loved the world so much that he gave his only Son Jesus for us, that not one would be lost.
His great desire is to bring people to respond to his love, to repent of sin, to believe in His Son, and thus have eternal life.
Zephaniah had a powerful message for God-fearing people such as you and me.
In Zeph 2:3 he reminded those who were faithful to God that they would be protected in God’s coming judgement (Zeph. 2.3),
"Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger".
Zephaniah said that when things are not good and God’s judgment is inevitable, it is possible for those who humbly believe and trust in God to "be glad and rejoice with all your heart" (Zeph. 3.14).
For the people of Judah who cared about the state of their nation, things looked grim, with every reason to be afraid of what might happen next.
But Zephaniah says the Lord's word comes with assurance,
"The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you
fear any harm… Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (vv. 15b,16b,17).
Did you hear that message?
The Lord is with you! Don't be afraid!
In our changing world, we wonder what will happen next, the directions our society, nation and world are taking. Some sort of Armageddon looks more and more possible in the future - not just scare-mongering any more.
Into this world Jesus came.
He came "to save His people from their sins" (Mt. 1.21).
He called on all his hearers to "repent and believe the good news" (Mk 1.15).
Again and again, he told his followers, "Don't be afraid!" (as in Lk 5.10; 8.50; 12.4,7,32).
I am mighty to save! That's not pretending that things are better than they seem.
It is a confidence we have because the Lord, the God of love is on our side! So - let us be glad and rejoice!
(Now share prophetic word from Waves of Glory…)
The South Island based El Shaddai team from Waves of Glory International have been using CPAC House as a prayer base over the last few months as they have been praying for a seminar which was held in Jville yesterday and which I attended with Linda and a few others from CPAC.
After the seminar I received an envelope from them.
They had been intensively praying for me and for CPAC for the last month and they had a prophetic word from God for us.
They had placed it in the envelope.
They had felt God say to them that He had plans for CPAC which were far beyond anything we could imagine but we needed to stay close to Him.
Their prophetic word was (I quote as written down on the paper they gave me):
Thou Shalt honour the Lord your God
And be obedient to His Call
2 Chronicles 7:14
I Will Open the Doors to My Kingdom
If you will turn your eyes upon me.
I Will Give to thee Keys to My Kingdom
If thee will Seek to Abide in Me
I will Bless with Abundance and Favour
If you will Stand In Position for Me
My personal bible reading and prayer time for CPAC over these past weeks and months have included affirmation from God about the need to seek Him and to stay close to Him, to be humble, to be prayerful, to understand He is a powerful, all-consuming yet compassionate, loving, gentle God slow to anger and quick to forgive.
He is a God whose purposes for us as His church are all good but we need to stay close to Him.
The Cross of Christ is a “finished work” (He is God who saves) and we as a church are called to simply tell people about that finished work.
The prophetic word from the El Shaddai team was certainly encouraging.
This has been reinforced by the words of Zephaniah eg Zeph. 2:3
"Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger".
Be encouraged then CPAC! God is mighty to save!
Press into God, care for and support one another, and ask God for ways that you can point people to Jesus…
Amen.
Some other sermon notes FYI:
Zephaniah was the great-grandson of Hezekiah, king of Judah (Zeph. 1.1).
The religious state of Judah declined markedly following Hezekiah’s death and Hezekiah’s successor King Josiah launched sweeping reforms.
Zephaniah was distantly related to King Josiah.
Josiah became king when he was eight years old and ruled for thirty-one years (2 Kings 22.1).
He is mainly thought of as the good king during whose reign the book of the Law was discovered (v. 8), leading to a religious revival in 622 BC.
But they were hard times.
Josiah's grandfather, Manasseh, and his father, Amon, had introduced wicked practices into Judah.
· Manasseh had built altars to Baal and worshipped the sun, moon and stars at altars erected in the Temple courts (21.4-5).
· He had an image of the goddess Asherah placed in the Temple (v. 7).
· Child sacrifice and astrology prospered during his reign (21.6; 23.10-11).
Amon - probably named after an Egyptian god - continued his father's policies until his assassination (vv. 19-26).
Josiah was very different.
At the age of sixteen (632 BC) Josiah began to seek God with all his heart.
Six years later he started the reform movement in which worship of the God of Israel was re-established and some of the idolatry, not all, was purged from Judah and Jerusalem.
Many rejected the reforms, refusing repentance and change.
Things were not good.
So Zephaniah, and his contemporary the prophet Jeremiah, felt compelled to preach God’s judgment upon Judah.
The people of Judah had become complacent.
They had turned away from the God of Israel, living merely for themselves.
May we not fall into the same trap!
Judgement and Blessing Zephaniah 1:17,18 & 2:1-3
Last week spoke about Micah.
Finishing now with the prophet Zephaniah … one of the more obscure prophets but no less important… reminds me of “Zephr” model of car… however, he and his contemporary, the prophet Jeremiah, preached to a troubled society.
Has anything changed?
Look at the front page of today’s Sunday Star Times for example (show newspaper article…), and we could, no doubt, find many more such articles which reflect the continuing downward decline of the values and morality of the world in which we live today.
There is still the need for prophetic voices alerting people to the fact that there is a right way to live, and a wrong way to live.
More than ever, God needs your voice, your hands, your feet, your minds, and your caring hearts to make a difference in this world.
As members of God’s church here at CPAC God is calling you to be different.
Not to be conformed to the ungodly ways of this world, which lead ultimately to destruction and death, but to live lives transformed by the grace and power of God to do God’s will, just as Jesus did. And what is God’s will?
Here it is here in John 6:38-40.…Jesus said,
38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life.”
As His prophets today, God wants you and I to point people to Jesus.
In today’s world, it is not a calling for the faint hearted - Jeremiah was a very reluctant prophet!
In Jer 20:8-9, he said,
"Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot".
You will definitely not be the flavour of the month when you endeavour to point people to Jesus! However, let us all consider Jeremiah’s attitude, and let us strive for it.
Through prayer and the study of God’s word, for Jeremiah, God’s word was like a fire in his heart, a fire so shut up in his bones that he got weary of holding it in!
Inevitably, he had to speak out for God’s cause!
When we are prepared to live our lives for God, and speak out for Him, God will always give us His heart of compassion for the lost. This is the will of God said Jesus, “that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me”.
May those words be written on our hearts too.
Yes, the prophets talked about God’s judgement, but understand that judgment isn't God's final word. Some people don't understand that!
We are told that God is Judge, but he isn't "judgment".
In the bible we read about "the wrath of God", but nowhere is it said that God is "wrath".
On the other hand, we are told, not only that God loves and is loving, but that "God is love" (1 Jn 4.8,16).
In other words, love is God's nature.
And because He is love by nature, then He cannot tolerate any kind of sin, perversion, injustice…
But His love works in our lives in such a way that brings redemption and restoration and reconciliation …
…He loved the world so much that he gave his only Son Jesus for us, that not one would be lost.
His great desire is to bring people to respond to his love, to repent of sin, to believe in His Son, and thus have eternal life.
Zephaniah had a powerful message for God-fearing people such as you and me.
In Zeph 2:3 he reminded those who were faithful to God that they would be protected in God’s coming judgement (Zeph. 2.3),
"Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger".
Zephaniah said that when things are not good and God’s judgment is inevitable, it is possible for those who humbly believe and trust in God to "be glad and rejoice with all your heart" (Zeph. 3.14).
For the people of Judah who cared about the state of their nation, things looked grim, with every reason to be afraid of what might happen next.
But Zephaniah says the Lord's word comes with assurance,
"The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you
fear any harm… Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (vv. 15b,16b,17).
Did you hear that message?
The Lord is with you! Don't be afraid!
In our changing world, we wonder what will happen next, the directions our society, nation and world are taking. Some sort of Armageddon looks more and more possible in the future - not just scare-mongering any more.
Into this world Jesus came.
He came "to save His people from their sins" (Mt. 1.21).
He called on all his hearers to "repent and believe the good news" (Mk 1.15).
Again and again, he told his followers, "Don't be afraid!" (as in Lk 5.10; 8.50; 12.4,7,32).
I am mighty to save! That's not pretending that things are better than they seem.
It is a confidence we have because the Lord, the God of love is on our side! So - let us be glad and rejoice!
(Now share prophetic word from Waves of Glory…)
The South Island based El Shaddai team from Waves of Glory International have been using CPAC House as a prayer base over the last few months as they have been praying for a seminar which was held in Jville yesterday and which I attended with Linda and a few others from CPAC.
After the seminar I received an envelope from them.
They had been intensively praying for me and for CPAC for the last month and they had a prophetic word from God for us.
They had placed it in the envelope.
They had felt God say to them that He had plans for CPAC which were far beyond anything we could imagine but we needed to stay close to Him.
Their prophetic word was (I quote as written down on the paper they gave me):
Thou Shalt honour the Lord your God
And be obedient to His Call
2 Chronicles 7:14
I Will Open the Doors to My Kingdom
If you will turn your eyes upon me.
I Will Give to thee Keys to My Kingdom
If thee will Seek to Abide in Me
I will Bless with Abundance and Favour
If you will Stand In Position for Me
My personal bible reading and prayer time for CPAC over these past weeks and months have included affirmation from God about the need to seek Him and to stay close to Him, to be humble, to be prayerful, to understand He is a powerful, all-consuming yet compassionate, loving, gentle God slow to anger and quick to forgive.
He is a God whose purposes for us as His church are all good but we need to stay close to Him.
The Cross of Christ is a “finished work” (He is God who saves) and we as a church are called to simply tell people about that finished work.
The prophetic word from the El Shaddai team was certainly encouraging.
This has been reinforced by the words of Zephaniah eg Zeph. 2:3
"Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger".
Be encouraged then CPAC! God is mighty to save!
Press into God, care for and support one another, and ask God for ways that you can point people to Jesus…
Amen.
Some other sermon notes FYI:
Zephaniah was the great-grandson of Hezekiah, king of Judah (Zeph. 1.1).
The religious state of Judah declined markedly following Hezekiah’s death and Hezekiah’s successor King Josiah launched sweeping reforms.
Zephaniah was distantly related to King Josiah.
Josiah became king when he was eight years old and ruled for thirty-one years (2 Kings 22.1).
He is mainly thought of as the good king during whose reign the book of the Law was discovered (v. 8), leading to a religious revival in 622 BC.
But they were hard times.
Josiah's grandfather, Manasseh, and his father, Amon, had introduced wicked practices into Judah.
· Manasseh had built altars to Baal and worshipped the sun, moon and stars at altars erected in the Temple courts (21.4-5).
· He had an image of the goddess Asherah placed in the Temple (v. 7).
· Child sacrifice and astrology prospered during his reign (21.6; 23.10-11).
Amon - probably named after an Egyptian god - continued his father's policies until his assassination (vv. 19-26).
Josiah was very different.
At the age of sixteen (632 BC) Josiah began to seek God with all his heart.
Six years later he started the reform movement in which worship of the God of Israel was re-established and some of the idolatry, not all, was purged from Judah and Jerusalem.
Many rejected the reforms, refusing repentance and change.
Things were not good.
So Zephaniah, and his contemporary the prophet Jeremiah, felt compelled to preach God’s judgment upon Judah.
The people of Judah had become complacent.
They had turned away from the God of Israel, living merely for themselves.
May we not fall into the same trap!
1 March 2009 'A champion for God'
CPAC sermon “A Champion for God” Micah 6:1-8 01 March 2009
Continuing with the Minor prophets - Micah – a powerful and memorable passage of scripture…
It is full of conviction and justice.
Have you seen ispiring movie "Freedom Writers," based on a true story?
In the movie Hillary Swank plays a young teacher (Erin Gruwell) whose first teaching job is at Wilson High School in Los Angeles.
She is given the difficult task of teaching English to a class of very troubled teenagers.
They live in communities that are still boiling with anger from the effects of the Rodney King riots.
Drugs and gun battles, fueled by gang violence, are an every day occurrence.
Most of them have criminal records. And on the first day of class, Gruwell’s idealistic hopes of making a difference as a teacher are almost crushed. She learns that her students do not come to class on their own, but have to be forced to do so every day by campus security. And the minute they reluctantly come through the door they group themselves according to gang affiliation. They form groups of Asian teens, Hispanic teens, African American teens, etc.--each group glaring hatefully at the other groups. Tension is high, fights in class are common place, none of her students do their work, and Gruwell almost gives up. Gruwell discovers that the school administration has written these kids off as being hopeless and unteachable.
They are even unwilling to provide any books for fear the kids will destroy them.
However Gruwell’s compassion for these students compels her to find a way to reach them, and she does.
One day she tells them about a chapter of history in which there was a gang that did incredible evil.
She refers to the Nazi's and what that "gang" did to the Jews in WW2.
This particular "gang story" gets her student's attention.
They want to hear more so they agree to read books from that period of history including The Diary of Ann Frank, which Mrs. Gruwell pays for out of her own pocket.
They ALL read this book and are fascinated about the family that hid Ann Frank and her family from the Nazis.
Gruwell uses their interest to motivate them to learn more, and they do.
The class soon comes to realize how very much they have in common. Friendships develop and the class starts to bond as they all begin to experience the thrill of learning.
There are a number of key learnings we could draw from this real life story.
One of them is about conviction and justice. The school had all but given up on this group of teenagers.
However their teacher had this overwhelming conviction that things like this shouldn't happen to young people
Where does this CONVICTION come from?
Where do we get our opinion that this is unjust?
Well, according to texts like Isaiah 51:7, we know what is wrong and what is right because God has written His values (Law) on our hearts.
In other words, spotting injustice is part of the wiring and programming that our holy and JUST God has given us as human beings.
Theologian N. T. Wright puts it this way,
"A sense of justice comes with the kit of being human."
Pick up a copy of any newspaper and note the number of articles that relate to humanity's longing and aching for peace and justice.
You’ll find dozens of examples. This is why stories are written about murder, child abuse, theft, drug busts, epidemics and wars. This is why things like this are considered NEWS, because we all instinctively know their presence is a bad thing.
We think, "This is wrong. Someone should do something!" We can get incensed!
Robert Mugabe’s treatment of his own people in Zimbabwe is a classic example. - his 85th birthday celebration is costing $150,000, has bought a M$10 house in another country… while his people are dying in the streets!!!.
Our inner voice cries out that something has to be done to deal with all the injustice in the world.
This inner voice is the same voice we read about in the pages of the Bible, coming from God, through the lips of His prophets.
They spoke out again and again against actions and attitudes they saw as being just plain wrong.
Their message is full of angry emotion, more so than joy and calm.
The prophets of the Bible can appear to be kind of cranky!
For example…
The prophet Amos said,
"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who oppress the poor and crush the needy!" (Amos 4:1)
Isaiah says,
"Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to Me;
I cannot STAND your evil assemblies!" (Isaiah 1:13)
Micah 3:1-6 says,
"Should you not know justice, you who hate good and love evil, who tear the skin from My people and the flesh from their bones, who eat My people's flesh, strip off their skin, break their bones in pieces, chop them up like meat for the pan?" (Micah 3:1-3)
Do you feel the anger in those words?
Abraham Heschel writes,
"The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man's fierce greed. Prophecy is the voice God has lent to their silent agony.
God is raging in the prophet's words."
However, most importantly, understand this:
God used, and continues to use such “prophets”, to give us hope.
They are champions for God.
The prophet Micah’s harsh words are soon balanced by more soothing and hope-filled words such as, “…the Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes
between strong nations…they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity…”. (Micah 4:3,4)
Over the centuries God used His prophets to tell people that a Deliverer would come, a "wrong-righter", a "justice-bringer". So in the face of nations rising against them, Micah prophesies to the people of Israel, and says,
“But you O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you… and He will be the source of peace…” (Micah 5:1-5)
We know that ruler of Israel, that source of peace, as the Messiah, the Son of God Jesus Christ.
Micah wasn't alone in speaking for God. The prophet Isaiah was his contemporary, as were Hosea and Amos.
The Hebrew word for prophet literally means "to see."
These prophets saw things that the general public tended to become blind to.
The truth is, there is so much injustice in the world that, that if we're not careful, after a while we can become indifferent and insensitive to it, and dare I say, get used to it.
So God has preserved their messages in His written Word to remind us to open our eyes and ears and mouths to take action against the injustice we see around us.
Micah 6:8 is a perfect example of this kind of God-given REMINDER where it says,
"God has showed you what is good. And what does the LORD
require of you? To act justly (to do what is right), and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." So Micah reaches across the centuries and says to you and to me, "You guys have no excuse. Don't plead ignorance because God HAS shown you what is good and what He requires. He put it in His book and He has wired it into your programming so that you know better!" And we DO all know better, so we need to guard against turning a blind eye to injustice.
Nothing makes us notice injustice like those times when we think WE are treated unfairly.
When that happens we want justice! We want to get even!
When we feel we have been dealt with unjustly,
we get angry and we expect something to be done to make things right again.
Likewise, the things Micah saw in his day not only angered him,
but also connected him once again with the ancient promises of a Redeemer, a justice-bringer.
In the midst of his anger over all the wrongdoing he saw, God whispered into Micah's ear and said, "Remember, Micah, Someone is coming Who will make things right. The Messiah is coming, Micah, and He will bring My peace to this fallen, fearful world.
In the end, we can trust God’s promise that He will bring restoration and peace to our world that is presently, slowly, self-destructing.
In the meantime, you and I are God’s voice, especially in matters of injustice.
You too are champions for God!
In 1 Corinthians 1 (1:26ff), the apostle Paul writes,
"…Think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one
may boast before Him.
Other Biblical examples of this principle are:
God chose two weak and aged childless senior adults, named
Abraham and Sarah to be the source from whom an entire nation would spring.
He used a boy named Joseph sold into slavery by his jealous brothers to rule the nation of Egypt and eventually provide a food source for His people.
God used the tiny tear of a baby named Moses to move the heart of Pharaoh's daughter so that Israel could have a great leader to deliver them from bondage.
God made a shepherd boy, named David, into Israel's greatest King.
He used twelve uneducated men to turn the world upside down.
This means that there is no one too small, no one too untalented, for God to use to accomplish GREAT tasks in His kingdom.
Someone once said,
"If you feel weak, limited, or ordinary, then you are the best material through which God can work."
In the midst of uncertain, or difficult times -- times when we face injustice and hardship--we need to remember that God is in control, Because you and I are IN Christ Jesus, we are united with Christ.
Whatever is for His glory is also for our good.
And whatever is for our good is for His glory.
One of the more popular laws of physics goes like this, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
This law of physics applies not just to physical objects but also applies to the problems we find in our unjust, peace-less world.
Here's how it works.
One person, changed by a relationship with Jesus Christ, who acknowledges the Messiah as His or Her Shepherd, can change his or her world like Erin Gruwell did at Wilson High in Los Angeles. And when that happens, like dominoes beginning to fall,
the world gets better for other people. Of Mrs. Gruwell's students, many of them went on to college. They all banded together to start the Freedom Writers Foundation, dedicated to recreating the success of their class in classrooms across America.
Do you see the dominoes falling, the ripple effect that one teacher, Erin Gruwell, made?
So where do you see injustice?... in your family, workplace, community, city, nation, sports field, university, school, neighbourhood setting…??
As a follower of God, the God of justice, you too can be a champion for God…. in issues of justice.
Are you willing to take up that mantle? Amen....
Continuing with the Minor prophets - Micah – a powerful and memorable passage of scripture…
It is full of conviction and justice.
Have you seen ispiring movie "Freedom Writers," based on a true story?
In the movie Hillary Swank plays a young teacher (Erin Gruwell) whose first teaching job is at Wilson High School in Los Angeles.
She is given the difficult task of teaching English to a class of very troubled teenagers.
They live in communities that are still boiling with anger from the effects of the Rodney King riots.
Drugs and gun battles, fueled by gang violence, are an every day occurrence.
Most of them have criminal records. And on the first day of class, Gruwell’s idealistic hopes of making a difference as a teacher are almost crushed. She learns that her students do not come to class on their own, but have to be forced to do so every day by campus security. And the minute they reluctantly come through the door they group themselves according to gang affiliation. They form groups of Asian teens, Hispanic teens, African American teens, etc.--each group glaring hatefully at the other groups. Tension is high, fights in class are common place, none of her students do their work, and Gruwell almost gives up. Gruwell discovers that the school administration has written these kids off as being hopeless and unteachable.
They are even unwilling to provide any books for fear the kids will destroy them.
However Gruwell’s compassion for these students compels her to find a way to reach them, and she does.
One day she tells them about a chapter of history in which there was a gang that did incredible evil.
She refers to the Nazi's and what that "gang" did to the Jews in WW2.
This particular "gang story" gets her student's attention.
They want to hear more so they agree to read books from that period of history including The Diary of Ann Frank, which Mrs. Gruwell pays for out of her own pocket.
They ALL read this book and are fascinated about the family that hid Ann Frank and her family from the Nazis.
Gruwell uses their interest to motivate them to learn more, and they do.
The class soon comes to realize how very much they have in common. Friendships develop and the class starts to bond as they all begin to experience the thrill of learning.
There are a number of key learnings we could draw from this real life story.
One of them is about conviction and justice. The school had all but given up on this group of teenagers.
However their teacher had this overwhelming conviction that things like this shouldn't happen to young people
Where does this CONVICTION come from?
Where do we get our opinion that this is unjust?
Well, according to texts like Isaiah 51:7, we know what is wrong and what is right because God has written His values (Law) on our hearts.
In other words, spotting injustice is part of the wiring and programming that our holy and JUST God has given us as human beings.
Theologian N. T. Wright puts it this way,
"A sense of justice comes with the kit of being human."
Pick up a copy of any newspaper and note the number of articles that relate to humanity's longing and aching for peace and justice.
You’ll find dozens of examples. This is why stories are written about murder, child abuse, theft, drug busts, epidemics and wars. This is why things like this are considered NEWS, because we all instinctively know their presence is a bad thing.
We think, "This is wrong. Someone should do something!" We can get incensed!
Robert Mugabe’s treatment of his own people in Zimbabwe is a classic example. - his 85th birthday celebration is costing $150,000, has bought a M$10 house in another country… while his people are dying in the streets!!!.
Our inner voice cries out that something has to be done to deal with all the injustice in the world.
This inner voice is the same voice we read about in the pages of the Bible, coming from God, through the lips of His prophets.
They spoke out again and again against actions and attitudes they saw as being just plain wrong.
Their message is full of angry emotion, more so than joy and calm.
The prophets of the Bible can appear to be kind of cranky!
For example…
The prophet Amos said,
"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who oppress the poor and crush the needy!" (Amos 4:1)
Isaiah says,
"Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to Me;
I cannot STAND your evil assemblies!" (Isaiah 1:13)
Micah 3:1-6 says,
"Should you not know justice, you who hate good and love evil, who tear the skin from My people and the flesh from their bones, who eat My people's flesh, strip off their skin, break their bones in pieces, chop them up like meat for the pan?" (Micah 3:1-3)
Do you feel the anger in those words?
Abraham Heschel writes,
"The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man's fierce greed. Prophecy is the voice God has lent to their silent agony.
God is raging in the prophet's words."
However, most importantly, understand this:
God used, and continues to use such “prophets”, to give us hope.
They are champions for God.
The prophet Micah’s harsh words are soon balanced by more soothing and hope-filled words such as, “…the Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes
between strong nations…they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity…”. (Micah 4:3,4)
Over the centuries God used His prophets to tell people that a Deliverer would come, a "wrong-righter", a "justice-bringer". So in the face of nations rising against them, Micah prophesies to the people of Israel, and says,
“But you O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you… and He will be the source of peace…” (Micah 5:1-5)
We know that ruler of Israel, that source of peace, as the Messiah, the Son of God Jesus Christ.
Micah wasn't alone in speaking for God. The prophet Isaiah was his contemporary, as were Hosea and Amos.
The Hebrew word for prophet literally means "to see."
These prophets saw things that the general public tended to become blind to.
The truth is, there is so much injustice in the world that, that if we're not careful, after a while we can become indifferent and insensitive to it, and dare I say, get used to it.
So God has preserved their messages in His written Word to remind us to open our eyes and ears and mouths to take action against the injustice we see around us.
Micah 6:8 is a perfect example of this kind of God-given REMINDER where it says,
"God has showed you what is good. And what does the LORD
require of you? To act justly (to do what is right), and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." So Micah reaches across the centuries and says to you and to me, "You guys have no excuse. Don't plead ignorance because God HAS shown you what is good and what He requires. He put it in His book and He has wired it into your programming so that you know better!" And we DO all know better, so we need to guard against turning a blind eye to injustice.
Nothing makes us notice injustice like those times when we think WE are treated unfairly.
When that happens we want justice! We want to get even!
When we feel we have been dealt with unjustly,
we get angry and we expect something to be done to make things right again.
Likewise, the things Micah saw in his day not only angered him,
but also connected him once again with the ancient promises of a Redeemer, a justice-bringer.
In the midst of his anger over all the wrongdoing he saw, God whispered into Micah's ear and said, "Remember, Micah, Someone is coming Who will make things right. The Messiah is coming, Micah, and He will bring My peace to this fallen, fearful world.
In the end, we can trust God’s promise that He will bring restoration and peace to our world that is presently, slowly, self-destructing.
In the meantime, you and I are God’s voice, especially in matters of injustice.
You too are champions for God!
In 1 Corinthians 1 (1:26ff), the apostle Paul writes,
"…Think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one
may boast before Him.
Other Biblical examples of this principle are:
God chose two weak and aged childless senior adults, named
Abraham and Sarah to be the source from whom an entire nation would spring.
He used a boy named Joseph sold into slavery by his jealous brothers to rule the nation of Egypt and eventually provide a food source for His people.
God used the tiny tear of a baby named Moses to move the heart of Pharaoh's daughter so that Israel could have a great leader to deliver them from bondage.
God made a shepherd boy, named David, into Israel's greatest King.
He used twelve uneducated men to turn the world upside down.
This means that there is no one too small, no one too untalented, for God to use to accomplish GREAT tasks in His kingdom.
Someone once said,
"If you feel weak, limited, or ordinary, then you are the best material through which God can work."
In the midst of uncertain, or difficult times -- times when we face injustice and hardship--we need to remember that God is in control, Because you and I are IN Christ Jesus, we are united with Christ.
Whatever is for His glory is also for our good.
And whatever is for our good is for His glory.
One of the more popular laws of physics goes like this, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
This law of physics applies not just to physical objects but also applies to the problems we find in our unjust, peace-less world.
Here's how it works.
One person, changed by a relationship with Jesus Christ, who acknowledges the Messiah as His or Her Shepherd, can change his or her world like Erin Gruwell did at Wilson High in Los Angeles. And when that happens, like dominoes beginning to fall,
the world gets better for other people. Of Mrs. Gruwell's students, many of them went on to college. They all banded together to start the Freedom Writers Foundation, dedicated to recreating the success of their class in classrooms across America.
Do you see the dominoes falling, the ripple effect that one teacher, Erin Gruwell, made?
So where do you see injustice?... in your family, workplace, community, city, nation, sports field, university, school, neighbourhood setting…??
As a follower of God, the God of justice, you too can be a champion for God…. in issues of justice.
Are you willing to take up that mantle? Amen....
15 Feb 2009 "Hosea"
CPAC sermon 15 Febr 2009 Hosea 6:1-6
HOSEA - the story of Love
Continuing to look at the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament....
There’s the true story told of Nat Turner.
He was a slave who had visions from God that told him to lead a revolt against his masters and lead his people to freedom.
Unfortunately, Nat Turner’s revolt failed and he was hanged.
It gets you thinking - did Nat Turner really receive visions from God telling him to revolt?
If God gives a man a vision saying that he should revolt and win, and then he loses, could that vision truly be from God?
Well ultimately justice did prevail.
The plight of the slaves reached more and more people because of what Nat Turner had done, and though he didn’t get the freedom he longed for, he did pave the way for a future freedom for his people.
History records he was one of many who did.
You see, God didn’t promise Nat Turner victory right there and then.
What he promised him was a continued struggle for what is right.
This is the same thing that God promises each of us.
And God offers us something to help us in our struggles.
He offers us His love and he offers to be constantly with us as we fight for what is right.
He didn't say it (or anything in life) would be a "breeze" (when we become His followers) but He did promise to be on our side.
"If God is on our side, then who can be against us?", said the apostle Paul
It was Valentine’s Day yesterday..... I want to share a love story with you now.
It’s a love story about Hosea and Gomer.
Unfortunately, Hosea’s relationship with his wife, Gomer, was not the kind that you’d think of celebrating on Valentine’s Day!
The book of Hosea is a difficult one to read.
He isn’t asked to fight as Nat Turner did, rather Hosea is asked to love the unlovable.
Hosea also had to learn the lesson of not giving up but continuing to struggle for what is right.
And in doing so, Hosea was able to understand God’s desire and love for God’s people, in a very real and tangible way.
The first three chapters of Hosea tell us, in somewhat graphic detail, about his relationship with his wife, Gomer, and it’s not a pretty picture.
You see, Hosea’s wife cheated on him (sadly, such unfaithfulness still happens in relationships today....)
She cheated on him and she left him and that was it.
After they were married, Gomer had three children.
The first, Jezreel, was Hosea’s son.
But the following daughter and then a son were not even his children (again, still happens today...we have many blended marriages/relationships...)
And worst of all, it seems that Hosea was told to marry this woman by God.
Like Nat Turner, did Hosea hear God right?
Inspite of the pain and extreme hurt that his wife has caused to Hosea, God tells Hosea to love her even as she is unfaithful to him.
He must take back his wife.
He must love her again.
Is that not a picture of God and us, with the Cross of Christ bridging that chasm between us?
Hosea lived in the northern kingdom of Israel about 700 years before Christ. His ministry followed on the heels of that of Amos.
In Amos' day, King Jeroboam (II) ruled, and during his 44 year reign Israel enjoyed a time of prosperity, political stability, and security.
They were very content with their opulent lifestyle and as such were blind to their need for God.
The upper classes were oppressing the poor.
Then Jeroboam (II) died and soon the nation went downhill fast.
For the next thirty years near-anarchy reigned in Israel.
There were six kings in that time period, of whom four were assassinated by their successors.
Due to this political chaos, the structure of society began to come apart at the seams.
Violence in the streets became commonplace. And, to make matters worse, the threat of an invasion by Assyria increased.
It was during these years of anarchy, bloodshed, revolt, and the break-up of a nation that Hosea the prophet preached in Israel.
He was called by God to live through the chaos that the prophet Amos had seen coming.
In the first few years of his ministry he preached against the sinful ways the people were living and warned of the peril that was VERY close at hand unless the people repented and returned to the Lord.
Naturally, this was not something the Israelites wanted to hear so Hosea's audience dwindled to the point that continuing to preach seemed pointless to him. When this happened Hosea spoke to God and asked for His help in getting the people to listen.
So God told him to do a strange thing - to get married.
“In fact”, God said, “I have a girl all picked out for you.”
Hosea probably brightened up a bit at that, because he was a bachelor.
And then, when God mentioned her name, Hosea's heart must have fluttered, because the name of this girl was GOMER and GOMER was one of the most beautiful girls in all of Israel.
Now, don't get side-tracked by her name which sounds as though she looked like the back end of a truck!
Maybe in those days GOMER was a name that was associated with great beauty like, like Raquel or Sophia, or …... You get my point.
Anyway, when God told him to marry Gomer, Hosea was definitely interested.
But God warned him and said,
“Hosea, I want you to know the whole story about this girl.
I want you to marry her, but understand, she is going to be unfaithful to you. In fact she will eventually become nothing but a common street prostitute.
But I want you to marry her anyway.”
From our limited perspective sometimes it seems that God does strange things, things we don't understand until later when we can look back on them.
Popular author Philip Yancey has said that following God involves having a faith in Him such that you believe in advance what will only make sense in reverse.
Well, Hosea had enough faith that, in spite of these somewhat odd instructions, he obeyed and went courting with Gomer.
And, sure enough, GOMER was attracted to this shy young preacher and they were married.
At first it was heaven on earth.
Hosea genuinely, deeply loved this girl.
Then they had their first child. It was a boy!
Hosea's heart was filled to bursting and then God asked him to do ANOTHER strange thing.
He instructed him to name the boy, JEZREEL.
Now Jezreel means cast-away and at this time it was a name of shame in Israel.
It was linked to the tragic story of Queen Jezebel and King Ahab.
In 2 Kings 9 we read how Ahab cheated his neighbour out of his property and stole his neighbour's vineyard and Jezebel was the wicked queen who put him up to it as well as other crimes.
God's judgement eventually fell on this evil, demonic woman.
She was looking out her upper story window one day when General Jehu was down in the courtyard and he ordered the servants to CAST her AWAY,
to throw her out the window.
They did, and she fell to her death on the pavement below and the dogs ate her flesh.
The courtyard where she fell had been called JEZREEL-cast-away-ever since.
Anyway, Hosea obeyed God.
He gave his son the name God had picked for him.
He understood that his son was to be a living sermon illustration, a warning from God to the people of Israel, that they too would be cast away if they didn't recognize the folly of their sinful actions. Then later a daughter-was born to Hosea and Gomer. God instructed this one to be named Loruhamah which means, not pitied. Hosea realized that this was to communicate to the people that God would no longer have pity on His people if they continued to live as they were living.
God's patience was wearing thin, and a time was coming when He would hand them over to invading armies. When this little girl was weaned, Gomer conceived again and bore another son. God named this one, Lo-ammi which means “not My people”. God was saying, “You are not My people and I will not be your God.”
Now, if you think it is strange that Hosea would give his kids these odd names, understand that this was nothing new back then. You see in Hosea's culture it was customary to teach by using SYMBOLS. Hosea also knew that NAMES were very important.
Hosea understood that God was using him, a prophet, and his family, as a living object lesson for the people of Israel.
Perhaps Hosea was aware that something like this was happening with his fellow prophet, Isaiah, at about this time down in the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
Isaiah, had two children, both boys.
The younger boy's name was Shearjashub, which means, a remnant shall return.
This was to remind the people of God's promise that even though they would be taken into captivity, a remnant would one day come back and be restored.
Isaiah's older boy's name was Mahershalalhashbaz which means haste to the prey or haste to the spoil.
It was God's prophetic way of telling the nation that they were in deep trouble-that an enemy was coming against them to ravish their nation.
So, giving children names like this to communicate important spiritual truth was not that shocking back then.
After the 3rd child there were no more children to Hosea & Gomer.
But the little family began to have hard times because Gomer fell into unfaithful ways.
Things went from bad to worse and soon the children were left un-cared for while Gomer wasted all her time running around behind her husband's back.
One day Hosea came home and found a note from Gomer. She was leaving him with the children, to be with another man. Eventually she gave herself over to the life of a temple prostitute. Now understand, Hosea kept on loving her deeply, just as God kept on loving the people of Israel even after they had left Him to worship other gods.
And, about this time a new emphasis came into Hosea's preaching. He still warned people of the judgement that was to come and the fact that the Assyrians would attack them, but no longer did he preach this by angrily pounding the pulpit. Instead he spoke to them with tears in his eyes. In his sermons Hosea began to speak of a day when love at last would triumph.
He spoke of how Israel would understand the folly of ignoring God's law and they would return to the God who loved them. Through Hosea God was announcing His judgement, God was also showing His grace. Gomer broke Hosea’s heart but Hosea’s response to Gomer made it possible for Hosea to give the world a picture of the heart of God.
His fellow prophet in the south, Isaiah, began to talk like this as well.
It began to dawn on these two prophets that God may have turned His face from His people, but it was a face streaked with tears. Hosea realized that if HIS love for Gomer could exist in spite of her betrayal of their marriage vows, then God might still love His people no matter how sinful they had been.
Hosea saw something that he had missed before. And so he began to change the tune of his preaching. He started speaking about the love of God for sinners instead of the judgement of God upon sin. His sermons included loving words from God like this, “How can I give you up Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?
My heart is changed within Me; all my compassion is aroused.
I will not carry out my fierce anger for I am God, and not man, the Holy One among you. (Hosea 11:8-9)
Then, one day word came to Hosea that Gomer was to be sold in the slave market.
She had become too unattractive for use as a temple prostitute.
I imagine that this brokenhearted prophet didn't know what to do at this point.
So, he went weeping to God and asked for His guidance and God must have said something like this,
“Hosea, do you love this woman in spite of all that she has done to you? If so, go and show your love for her in the same way that I love the nation of Israel.”
So Hosea went to the marketplace and watched Gomer being brought up and placed on the dock where she was stripped of all her clothing and stood naked before the crowd. Then bidding began.
Someone bid three pieces of silver and Hosea raised it to five.
Someone else upped it to eight and Hosea bid ten.
Another bidder went to eleven.
Hosea went to twelve.
Then Hosea offered fifteen pieces of silver and 5 bushels of barley and a measure of wine. (Hosea 3:2)
Together all this was equal to more than a year's wages, an unbelievably high price to pay for a slave.
Well, no one could beat that price so the auctioneer's gavel fell as he shouted, “SOLD!”
And Hosea officially had his wife back.
He went to her, put her clothes back on and took her to his home. And then I think what follows is one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible.
Hosea said to Gomer, “You must dwell as mine for many days; you shall not play the harlot, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” Hosea 3:3 ESV
Did you catch the love in these words?
Hosea pledged himself to his wayward wife all over again.
He in essence renewed his marital vows to her, and that was more than this poor sinful woman could take.
The love of this man melted her cold heart, and from that time on tradition says that Gomer was faithful to Hosea.
She became an honest, industrious, selfless, faithful wife...a foreshadowing of the way Israel would one day return to God.
The final picture in Hosea's book is one of beauty and love, for it looks to the day when Israel would come back to God - her true Husband and would say in essence,
“What have I to do with idols? I have seen God and heard Him and He has won my heart.”
That’s a wonderful love story!
The life of Hosea shows us the need to have a mature understanding of God's love.
Hosea’s experience reveals several basic truths about God's love.
1. First of all, Hosea helps us to see that God's love is a PERSONAL love.
God may love the WHOLE world but that love begins with YOU, and you, and you….
God loves us individually with all His heart just as Hosea loved his unfaithful wife, Gomer with all his heart.
No matter what your life has been like, God loves you.
He doesn't love you as part of the crowd.
He loves you as an individual.
He knows YOUR name, and YOUR needs.
He understands YOUR hurts and fears.
He loves you as if you are the only person in the world.
God has a PERSONAL love for each of us.
This was the message Jesus was communicating when He told the parable of the shepherd who had one hundred sheep...he lost 1 and left the 99 to go after the one lost lamb until He found it.
2. And then secondly, Hosea's experience teaches us that God not only loves us individually....He also loves us UNCONDITIONALLY.
Hosea's experience with Gomer helped him to see that in spite of Israel's sin, God continued to love her.
We don't have to EARN or DESERVE God's love.
God loves us because as...I John 4:8 says, “GOD IS LOVE”.
LOVE is the essence of His being. Any parent knows that, even on their worst days, you don't stop loving your kids. No matter what they do, you love them. And even on OUR WORST DAYS, God keeps right on loving us with an UNCONDITIONAL love.
3. ...Thirdly we need to realize that God's love is also a HOLY love.
In order for us to experience God's personal, unconditional love we have to turn from our wrongdoing, just as Gomer did.
Sin will destroy our lives and break our relationship with God UNTIL...UNTIL we turn from sin and return to God.
God will ALWAYS love you and I, but to ultimately BENEFIT from His love we must turn from sin.
Remember the story Jesus told about the prodigal son?
The father didn’t track down his son while his son was squandering his inheritance on riotous living.
Yes, the father loved the son and never stopped doing so, but in order to experience that love the son had to turn from his wrong living (sin) and return home to his father.
God's love is a HOLY love, and to benefit from it we must turn from our sin, and return to God and pursue holiness.
4. And then, one other thing Hosea would tell us to note about God's love is this: It is a SACRIFICIAL love.
We see this illustrated in Hosea's action in chapter 3.
He went and paid an enormous amount to free his wife from the slave market...and this is what God has done that for you and me.
At Bethlehem God entered the slave market of this world, where all of us were enslaved to sin by our own choosing. And, in sending His Son into the world to die on Calvary's cross, God paid the ransom to set us free from our sins. As Jesus said in Matthew 20:28,
“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a RANSOM for many.”
We can rely on God even in the most disastrous of circumstances. His ways are greater and more wonderful than ours. How can you begin to start relying on God and trusting His love for you? How can you begin to love someone who is unlovable?
That’s the challenge that is before you and I, right now.
Find someone(s) who is unlovable, and love them… Amen.
HOSEA - the story of Love
Continuing to look at the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament....
There’s the true story told of Nat Turner.
He was a slave who had visions from God that told him to lead a revolt against his masters and lead his people to freedom.
Unfortunately, Nat Turner’s revolt failed and he was hanged.
It gets you thinking - did Nat Turner really receive visions from God telling him to revolt?
If God gives a man a vision saying that he should revolt and win, and then he loses, could that vision truly be from God?
Well ultimately justice did prevail.
The plight of the slaves reached more and more people because of what Nat Turner had done, and though he didn’t get the freedom he longed for, he did pave the way for a future freedom for his people.
History records he was one of many who did.
You see, God didn’t promise Nat Turner victory right there and then.
What he promised him was a continued struggle for what is right.
This is the same thing that God promises each of us.
And God offers us something to help us in our struggles.
He offers us His love and he offers to be constantly with us as we fight for what is right.
He didn't say it (or anything in life) would be a "breeze" (when we become His followers) but He did promise to be on our side.
"If God is on our side, then who can be against us?", said the apostle Paul
It was Valentine’s Day yesterday..... I want to share a love story with you now.
It’s a love story about Hosea and Gomer.
Unfortunately, Hosea’s relationship with his wife, Gomer, was not the kind that you’d think of celebrating on Valentine’s Day!
The book of Hosea is a difficult one to read.
He isn’t asked to fight as Nat Turner did, rather Hosea is asked to love the unlovable.
Hosea also had to learn the lesson of not giving up but continuing to struggle for what is right.
And in doing so, Hosea was able to understand God’s desire and love for God’s people, in a very real and tangible way.
The first three chapters of Hosea tell us, in somewhat graphic detail, about his relationship with his wife, Gomer, and it’s not a pretty picture.
You see, Hosea’s wife cheated on him (sadly, such unfaithfulness still happens in relationships today....)
She cheated on him and she left him and that was it.
After they were married, Gomer had three children.
The first, Jezreel, was Hosea’s son.
But the following daughter and then a son were not even his children (again, still happens today...we have many blended marriages/relationships...)
And worst of all, it seems that Hosea was told to marry this woman by God.
Like Nat Turner, did Hosea hear God right?
Inspite of the pain and extreme hurt that his wife has caused to Hosea, God tells Hosea to love her even as she is unfaithful to him.
He must take back his wife.
He must love her again.
Is that not a picture of God and us, with the Cross of Christ bridging that chasm between us?
Hosea lived in the northern kingdom of Israel about 700 years before Christ. His ministry followed on the heels of that of Amos.
In Amos' day, King Jeroboam (II) ruled, and during his 44 year reign Israel enjoyed a time of prosperity, political stability, and security.
They were very content with their opulent lifestyle and as such were blind to their need for God.
The upper classes were oppressing the poor.
Then Jeroboam (II) died and soon the nation went downhill fast.
For the next thirty years near-anarchy reigned in Israel.
There were six kings in that time period, of whom four were assassinated by their successors.
Due to this political chaos, the structure of society began to come apart at the seams.
Violence in the streets became commonplace. And, to make matters worse, the threat of an invasion by Assyria increased.
It was during these years of anarchy, bloodshed, revolt, and the break-up of a nation that Hosea the prophet preached in Israel.
He was called by God to live through the chaos that the prophet Amos had seen coming.
In the first few years of his ministry he preached against the sinful ways the people were living and warned of the peril that was VERY close at hand unless the people repented and returned to the Lord.
Naturally, this was not something the Israelites wanted to hear so Hosea's audience dwindled to the point that continuing to preach seemed pointless to him. When this happened Hosea spoke to God and asked for His help in getting the people to listen.
So God told him to do a strange thing - to get married.
“In fact”, God said, “I have a girl all picked out for you.”
Hosea probably brightened up a bit at that, because he was a bachelor.
And then, when God mentioned her name, Hosea's heart must have fluttered, because the name of this girl was GOMER and GOMER was one of the most beautiful girls in all of Israel.
Now, don't get side-tracked by her name which sounds as though she looked like the back end of a truck!
Maybe in those days GOMER was a name that was associated with great beauty like, like Raquel or Sophia, or …... You get my point.
Anyway, when God told him to marry Gomer, Hosea was definitely interested.
But God warned him and said,
“Hosea, I want you to know the whole story about this girl.
I want you to marry her, but understand, she is going to be unfaithful to you. In fact she will eventually become nothing but a common street prostitute.
But I want you to marry her anyway.”
From our limited perspective sometimes it seems that God does strange things, things we don't understand until later when we can look back on them.
Popular author Philip Yancey has said that following God involves having a faith in Him such that you believe in advance what will only make sense in reverse.
Well, Hosea had enough faith that, in spite of these somewhat odd instructions, he obeyed and went courting with Gomer.
And, sure enough, GOMER was attracted to this shy young preacher and they were married.
At first it was heaven on earth.
Hosea genuinely, deeply loved this girl.
Then they had their first child. It was a boy!
Hosea's heart was filled to bursting and then God asked him to do ANOTHER strange thing.
He instructed him to name the boy, JEZREEL.
Now Jezreel means cast-away and at this time it was a name of shame in Israel.
It was linked to the tragic story of Queen Jezebel and King Ahab.
In 2 Kings 9 we read how Ahab cheated his neighbour out of his property and stole his neighbour's vineyard and Jezebel was the wicked queen who put him up to it as well as other crimes.
God's judgement eventually fell on this evil, demonic woman.
She was looking out her upper story window one day when General Jehu was down in the courtyard and he ordered the servants to CAST her AWAY,
to throw her out the window.
They did, and she fell to her death on the pavement below and the dogs ate her flesh.
The courtyard where she fell had been called JEZREEL-cast-away-ever since.
Anyway, Hosea obeyed God.
He gave his son the name God had picked for him.
He understood that his son was to be a living sermon illustration, a warning from God to the people of Israel, that they too would be cast away if they didn't recognize the folly of their sinful actions. Then later a daughter-was born to Hosea and Gomer. God instructed this one to be named Loruhamah which means, not pitied. Hosea realized that this was to communicate to the people that God would no longer have pity on His people if they continued to live as they were living.
God's patience was wearing thin, and a time was coming when He would hand them over to invading armies. When this little girl was weaned, Gomer conceived again and bore another son. God named this one, Lo-ammi which means “not My people”. God was saying, “You are not My people and I will not be your God.”
Now, if you think it is strange that Hosea would give his kids these odd names, understand that this was nothing new back then. You see in Hosea's culture it was customary to teach by using SYMBOLS. Hosea also knew that NAMES were very important.
Hosea understood that God was using him, a prophet, and his family, as a living object lesson for the people of Israel.
Perhaps Hosea was aware that something like this was happening with his fellow prophet, Isaiah, at about this time down in the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
Isaiah, had two children, both boys.
The younger boy's name was Shearjashub, which means, a remnant shall return.
This was to remind the people of God's promise that even though they would be taken into captivity, a remnant would one day come back and be restored.
Isaiah's older boy's name was Mahershalalhashbaz which means haste to the prey or haste to the spoil.
It was God's prophetic way of telling the nation that they were in deep trouble-that an enemy was coming against them to ravish their nation.
So, giving children names like this to communicate important spiritual truth was not that shocking back then.
After the 3rd child there were no more children to Hosea & Gomer.
But the little family began to have hard times because Gomer fell into unfaithful ways.
Things went from bad to worse and soon the children were left un-cared for while Gomer wasted all her time running around behind her husband's back.
One day Hosea came home and found a note from Gomer. She was leaving him with the children, to be with another man. Eventually she gave herself over to the life of a temple prostitute. Now understand, Hosea kept on loving her deeply, just as God kept on loving the people of Israel even after they had left Him to worship other gods.
And, about this time a new emphasis came into Hosea's preaching. He still warned people of the judgement that was to come and the fact that the Assyrians would attack them, but no longer did he preach this by angrily pounding the pulpit. Instead he spoke to them with tears in his eyes. In his sermons Hosea began to speak of a day when love at last would triumph.
He spoke of how Israel would understand the folly of ignoring God's law and they would return to the God who loved them. Through Hosea God was announcing His judgement, God was also showing His grace. Gomer broke Hosea’s heart but Hosea’s response to Gomer made it possible for Hosea to give the world a picture of the heart of God.
His fellow prophet in the south, Isaiah, began to talk like this as well.
It began to dawn on these two prophets that God may have turned His face from His people, but it was a face streaked with tears. Hosea realized that if HIS love for Gomer could exist in spite of her betrayal of their marriage vows, then God might still love His people no matter how sinful they had been.
Hosea saw something that he had missed before. And so he began to change the tune of his preaching. He started speaking about the love of God for sinners instead of the judgement of God upon sin. His sermons included loving words from God like this, “How can I give you up Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?
My heart is changed within Me; all my compassion is aroused.
I will not carry out my fierce anger for I am God, and not man, the Holy One among you. (Hosea 11:8-9)
Then, one day word came to Hosea that Gomer was to be sold in the slave market.
She had become too unattractive for use as a temple prostitute.
I imagine that this brokenhearted prophet didn't know what to do at this point.
So, he went weeping to God and asked for His guidance and God must have said something like this,
“Hosea, do you love this woman in spite of all that she has done to you? If so, go and show your love for her in the same way that I love the nation of Israel.”
So Hosea went to the marketplace and watched Gomer being brought up and placed on the dock where she was stripped of all her clothing and stood naked before the crowd. Then bidding began.
Someone bid three pieces of silver and Hosea raised it to five.
Someone else upped it to eight and Hosea bid ten.
Another bidder went to eleven.
Hosea went to twelve.
Then Hosea offered fifteen pieces of silver and 5 bushels of barley and a measure of wine. (Hosea 3:2)
Together all this was equal to more than a year's wages, an unbelievably high price to pay for a slave.
Well, no one could beat that price so the auctioneer's gavel fell as he shouted, “SOLD!”
And Hosea officially had his wife back.
He went to her, put her clothes back on and took her to his home. And then I think what follows is one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible.
Hosea said to Gomer, “You must dwell as mine for many days; you shall not play the harlot, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” Hosea 3:3 ESV
Did you catch the love in these words?
Hosea pledged himself to his wayward wife all over again.
He in essence renewed his marital vows to her, and that was more than this poor sinful woman could take.
The love of this man melted her cold heart, and from that time on tradition says that Gomer was faithful to Hosea.
She became an honest, industrious, selfless, faithful wife...a foreshadowing of the way Israel would one day return to God.
The final picture in Hosea's book is one of beauty and love, for it looks to the day when Israel would come back to God - her true Husband and would say in essence,
“What have I to do with idols? I have seen God and heard Him and He has won my heart.”
That’s a wonderful love story!
The life of Hosea shows us the need to have a mature understanding of God's love.
Hosea’s experience reveals several basic truths about God's love.
1. First of all, Hosea helps us to see that God's love is a PERSONAL love.
God may love the WHOLE world but that love begins with YOU, and you, and you….
God loves us individually with all His heart just as Hosea loved his unfaithful wife, Gomer with all his heart.
No matter what your life has been like, God loves you.
He doesn't love you as part of the crowd.
He loves you as an individual.
He knows YOUR name, and YOUR needs.
He understands YOUR hurts and fears.
He loves you as if you are the only person in the world.
God has a PERSONAL love for each of us.
This was the message Jesus was communicating when He told the parable of the shepherd who had one hundred sheep...he lost 1 and left the 99 to go after the one lost lamb until He found it.
2. And then secondly, Hosea's experience teaches us that God not only loves us individually....He also loves us UNCONDITIONALLY.
Hosea's experience with Gomer helped him to see that in spite of Israel's sin, God continued to love her.
We don't have to EARN or DESERVE God's love.
God loves us because as...I John 4:8 says, “GOD IS LOVE”.
LOVE is the essence of His being. Any parent knows that, even on their worst days, you don't stop loving your kids. No matter what they do, you love them. And even on OUR WORST DAYS, God keeps right on loving us with an UNCONDITIONAL love.
3. ...Thirdly we need to realize that God's love is also a HOLY love.
In order for us to experience God's personal, unconditional love we have to turn from our wrongdoing, just as Gomer did.
Sin will destroy our lives and break our relationship with God UNTIL...UNTIL we turn from sin and return to God.
God will ALWAYS love you and I, but to ultimately BENEFIT from His love we must turn from sin.
Remember the story Jesus told about the prodigal son?
The father didn’t track down his son while his son was squandering his inheritance on riotous living.
Yes, the father loved the son and never stopped doing so, but in order to experience that love the son had to turn from his wrong living (sin) and return home to his father.
God's love is a HOLY love, and to benefit from it we must turn from our sin, and return to God and pursue holiness.
4. And then, one other thing Hosea would tell us to note about God's love is this: It is a SACRIFICIAL love.
We see this illustrated in Hosea's action in chapter 3.
He went and paid an enormous amount to free his wife from the slave market...and this is what God has done that for you and me.
At Bethlehem God entered the slave market of this world, where all of us were enslaved to sin by our own choosing. And, in sending His Son into the world to die on Calvary's cross, God paid the ransom to set us free from our sins. As Jesus said in Matthew 20:28,
“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a RANSOM for many.”
We can rely on God even in the most disastrous of circumstances. His ways are greater and more wonderful than ours. How can you begin to start relying on God and trusting His love for you? How can you begin to love someone who is unlovable?
That’s the challenge that is before you and I, right now.
Find someone(s) who is unlovable, and love them… Amen.
28 Dec 2008 LUKE 2: 22-40
CPAC sermon 28 Dec 2008
Luke 2:22-40
When a grandparent, or anyone for that matter, but especially a grandparent, tenderly holds a baby in their arms, it’s like we glimpse a bit of what God hopes and plans for the world.
Just for a moment, time is suspended when that baby is gently held
and lovingly looked upon. In that small child, we gaze upon all that is good and perfect and whole, and our hearts know nothing but joy and gladness,
just for that moment in time.
When Simeon held the baby Jesus it was truly a momentous moment.
He was now reassured that God was still planning good things for the world!
When Anna saw the baby Jesus, she too was extremely excited!
Both Simeon and Anna saw in this baby someone whom God would use to change the world for the better.
Remember, the Jewish nation had been waiting about 400 years for this to happen because the context of their thinking was based on the book of Malachi, written about 400 years earlier.
The Jewish people were living with indifference and a
spiritual lethargy.
They had forgotten how good God had been to them,
they were deserting their Jewish heritage,
and they were treating God with dishonour.
The Jewish nation needed a Saviour more than ever now.
Malachi reminded them that one from the Lord would come
who would help them.
In chapter 3 Malachi says,
“The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple”.
So this was God’s promise to them - a promise for which Simeon and Anna had waited all their lives.
After being prompted by the Spirit of God,
they now saw that promise being fulfilled in this newborn baby.
And so they began to praise God and to speak about the
child to all who would listen.
Each year in our household we receive a number of Christmas letters from friends with catch-up news about themselves.
Always, the letters are full of the wonderful things that have happened to, and been achieved by their children or grandchildren.
In the same way Linda and I share similar annual highlights about our own family life.
We share such things because we are proud and excited about what our families have been doing.
Sharing such things always renews our hope and assures us that things are generally going according to plan.
In sharing such things, we glimpse a bit of what God plans and hopes for us, through our own lives, and the lives of our children.
Just as Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna were prompted and guided by God, we recognise that we too have been prompted by the Spirit of God.
We have been prompted
to bring ourselves and our children here today,
to praise and thank God,
and to be blessed by God together with His gathered church
family.
We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are people of hope.
We believe in a God who, as Revelations chapter 21 says,
“is making all things new”.
This new creation is unfolding.
In spite of the many atrocities in the history of our world,
in God, there are more signs of hope than of despair.
Today, in our church family we see those signs of hope.
In our church family we see that God is still planning good things for the world.
Jesus as the Light of the world
now passes on His light to you and I.
To believe in a God of hope and to be a follower of Jesus
is not blind optimism.
It is a quiet assurance that what God has promised, will come to pass.
Its that same assurance that Simeon had
as he waited patiently for God to reveal to him
the One who would be the Saviour of the world.
In that helpless small baby, Simeon & Anna saw God’s glory.
As we look upon each other, and share our lives together,
let us also recognise God’s glory,
and the light of Christ that shines within, and from, each one of us….
Do meditation using “Stones” …. combine our prayers, offering, personal confession, surrendering ourselves to God etc) based on 1 Peter 2.
Stones are rich in symbolism, often mentioned in bible, and used to build a cairn or memorial to God ( landmark, monument).
Invite you to
Wash stone > personal confession, clean start, surrender self, etc
Build a cairn to make a symbolic statement on our journeying with God and where we are at now in our lives
Bring your Offering to God
Offer a prayer (written on paper provided)…
Luke 2:22-40
When a grandparent, or anyone for that matter, but especially a grandparent, tenderly holds a baby in their arms, it’s like we glimpse a bit of what God hopes and plans for the world.
Just for a moment, time is suspended when that baby is gently held
and lovingly looked upon. In that small child, we gaze upon all that is good and perfect and whole, and our hearts know nothing but joy and gladness,
just for that moment in time.
When Simeon held the baby Jesus it was truly a momentous moment.
He was now reassured that God was still planning good things for the world!
When Anna saw the baby Jesus, she too was extremely excited!
Both Simeon and Anna saw in this baby someone whom God would use to change the world for the better.
Remember, the Jewish nation had been waiting about 400 years for this to happen because the context of their thinking was based on the book of Malachi, written about 400 years earlier.
The Jewish people were living with indifference and a
spiritual lethargy.
They had forgotten how good God had been to them,
they were deserting their Jewish heritage,
and they were treating God with dishonour.
The Jewish nation needed a Saviour more than ever now.
Malachi reminded them that one from the Lord would come
who would help them.
In chapter 3 Malachi says,
“The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple”.
So this was God’s promise to them - a promise for which Simeon and Anna had waited all their lives.
After being prompted by the Spirit of God,
they now saw that promise being fulfilled in this newborn baby.
And so they began to praise God and to speak about the
child to all who would listen.
Each year in our household we receive a number of Christmas letters from friends with catch-up news about themselves.
Always, the letters are full of the wonderful things that have happened to, and been achieved by their children or grandchildren.
In the same way Linda and I share similar annual highlights about our own family life.
We share such things because we are proud and excited about what our families have been doing.
Sharing such things always renews our hope and assures us that things are generally going according to plan.
In sharing such things, we glimpse a bit of what God plans and hopes for us, through our own lives, and the lives of our children.
Just as Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna were prompted and guided by God, we recognise that we too have been prompted by the Spirit of God.
We have been prompted
to bring ourselves and our children here today,
to praise and thank God,
and to be blessed by God together with His gathered church
family.
We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are people of hope.
We believe in a God who, as Revelations chapter 21 says,
“is making all things new”.
This new creation is unfolding.
In spite of the many atrocities in the history of our world,
in God, there are more signs of hope than of despair.
Today, in our church family we see those signs of hope.
In our church family we see that God is still planning good things for the world.
Jesus as the Light of the world
now passes on His light to you and I.
To believe in a God of hope and to be a follower of Jesus
is not blind optimism.
It is a quiet assurance that what God has promised, will come to pass.
Its that same assurance that Simeon had
as he waited patiently for God to reveal to him
the One who would be the Saviour of the world.
In that helpless small baby, Simeon & Anna saw God’s glory.
As we look upon each other, and share our lives together,
let us also recognise God’s glory,
and the light of Christ that shines within, and from, each one of us….
Do meditation using “Stones” …. combine our prayers, offering, personal confession, surrendering ourselves to God etc) based on 1 Peter 2.
Stones are rich in symbolism, often mentioned in bible, and used to build a cairn or memorial to God ( landmark, monument).
Invite you to
Wash stone > personal confession, clean start, surrender self, etc
Build a cairn to make a symbolic statement on our journeying with God and where we are at now in our lives
Bring your Offering to God
Offer a prayer (written on paper provided)…
Christmas 2008 'Seeing the Real Christmas'
CPAC Christmas 2008 Luke 2: 22-40 “Seeing the Real Christmas”
Look at this beautiful flower….
How wonderful it is that we can see its beauty,
No specialized knowledge is necessary to appreciate the wonder of the flower.
Anyone could look at this flower and see it’s beauty,
but a scientist, is able to “see” much more of the flower than most of us.
A scientist could see
the beauty of the cells working together to support life;
the mystery of the flower’s colour, locked in its cells,
that attracted insects;
In short, a scientist would “see” much more in this flower in a few minutes that most of us would see in a lifetime of looking.
Christmas, is like that too.
We need to “see” Christmas in ways that move beyond the sentimental.
(Show Christmas card) - It can be too easy to see Christmas and the familiar Christmas story,
by looking at a Christmas card that has a neat and tidy picture of the Manger scene on it.
We look at it the way we might look at the flowers at the supermarket as we pass them by to get to the other groceries.
Our Winepress prayer talks about the shepherds, and us,
seeing something very different in the birth of Jesus.
The apostle John invites us to look at the coming of Jesus into our world (=incarnation) as a scientist would look at a flower.
As I was preparing this Christmas Day sermon it struck me that 2 of the 4 gospels, Mark and John have no nativity story, no animals in the stable, no angels, no shepherds, no Wise men, and so on,
BUT they do tell of the coming of Jesus into our world.
[[Mark highlights the deity of Christ.
He also stresses the facts and actions of Jesus’ life
rather than His words or sayings.
And he focuses, not on the beginning of Jesus’ life, but the end of His life. One third of the book is about the events of the last week of Christ’s life on earth, ending with His death and resurrection.]]
John wanted to stress that Jesus was God,
that He had come in the flesh,
and that He was the Messiah, or Chosen One from God.
Some of John’s most important words are in John 1:18
“No one has ever seen God. But the One and only Son Jesus is Himself God, and is near to the Father’s heart.
He has revealed God to us”.
That’s a very powerful statement.
That’s the message of Christmas, right there!
Jesus is God, and Jesus was born into our world to show us who God is.
I’m a Simon and Garfunkle fan.
They wrote one song called “Seven O’Clock News Silent Night”.
It begins with the beautiful tones of Silent Night as Simon and Garfunkle sing.
But very slowly and subtly, the voice of a News Reporter comes in.
At first the voice is in the background, but then, by the end,
you can’t hear the lovely song.
All you hear is the news about Vietnam, riots, arrests, murder and poverty.
Beyond… the silent, all is calm, all is bright night,
there is a hurting world that God came to help.
We can too easily miss the real meaning of Christmas by seeing only the decorations, the candles, the angels singing, the shepherds, and so on.
We can too easily forget the real world where all is not calm and all is not bright.
Jesus came into the real world, a world full of poverty, injustice and darkness;
a world full of sin, sickness and death.
Like this flower, there is so much more going on in our world and our lives, than we might first imagine.
There is a place beyond the lovely Carols where people are sick and in pain, and need healing,
and need hope,
and need to know the fullness of life that God offers.
Thankfully, by being here today, you and I have recognised that God.
We have recognised that something pretty amazing has happened in the history of our “real world”.
The bible says that people were “amazed” when the shepherds went and told everyone about all they had seen and heard.
Even Mary, the Mother of Jesus, pondered these things in her heart.
Of course, they were amazed!
It isn’t every day that you hear angels singing,
see a brilliant, piercing light from heaven ,
and find God lying in a manger crying!
This is something from another dimension, impacting our real world.
That is why it is so amazing!
Each one of YOU has heard reports of amazing things today!
Like the shepherds, you too must now tell everyone about all you have seen and heard.
When you tell people that, some will be astonished and amazed and believing.
If they persevere, they will find healing and hope for their life.
Others will laugh at you and be unbelieving.
But go and tell anyway, because that’s the way the “real world” is.
And that is why Jesus had to come into our world.
It was for the salvation of the real world that Jesus came on that silent night so long ago.
For “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal
life”.
God has given His Son Jesus, as a gift to you and I.
Gifts are meant to be unwrapped.
Unwrapping the gift of Jesus involves believing in Him.
Believing involves an act of faith and trust,
much like a man and a woman getting married and saying, “I will”, to each other.
This Christmas I want to encourage you to either renew that step of faith, or take the step for the first time, through a prayer I want to pray now.
So in the quietness of your heart,
I invite you to make this prayer your prayer.
Remember, it is a gift from God, not an imposition….
Following the prayer we will sing one of my fav Carols O Holy Night.
The words speak of a world that is “weary”, that is in need of a Saviour…
Claim the words as your prayer to God at this Christmas time and let the words gently massage your spirit to encourage and strengthen you and fill you with the joy and peace that Christ came to bring to our world….
Let us pray…
Look at this beautiful flower….
How wonderful it is that we can see its beauty,
No specialized knowledge is necessary to appreciate the wonder of the flower.
Anyone could look at this flower and see it’s beauty,
but a scientist, is able to “see” much more of the flower than most of us.
A scientist could see
the beauty of the cells working together to support life;
the mystery of the flower’s colour, locked in its cells,
that attracted insects;
In short, a scientist would “see” much more in this flower in a few minutes that most of us would see in a lifetime of looking.
Christmas, is like that too.
We need to “see” Christmas in ways that move beyond the sentimental.
(Show Christmas card) - It can be too easy to see Christmas and the familiar Christmas story,
by looking at a Christmas card that has a neat and tidy picture of the Manger scene on it.
We look at it the way we might look at the flowers at the supermarket as we pass them by to get to the other groceries.
Our Winepress prayer talks about the shepherds, and us,
seeing something very different in the birth of Jesus.
The apostle John invites us to look at the coming of Jesus into our world (=incarnation) as a scientist would look at a flower.
As I was preparing this Christmas Day sermon it struck me that 2 of the 4 gospels, Mark and John have no nativity story, no animals in the stable, no angels, no shepherds, no Wise men, and so on,
BUT they do tell of the coming of Jesus into our world.
[[Mark highlights the deity of Christ.
He also stresses the facts and actions of Jesus’ life
rather than His words or sayings.
And he focuses, not on the beginning of Jesus’ life, but the end of His life. One third of the book is about the events of the last week of Christ’s life on earth, ending with His death and resurrection.]]
John wanted to stress that Jesus was God,
that He had come in the flesh,
and that He was the Messiah, or Chosen One from God.
Some of John’s most important words are in John 1:18
“No one has ever seen God. But the One and only Son Jesus is Himself God, and is near to the Father’s heart.
He has revealed God to us”.
That’s a very powerful statement.
That’s the message of Christmas, right there!
Jesus is God, and Jesus was born into our world to show us who God is.
I’m a Simon and Garfunkle fan.
They wrote one song called “Seven O’Clock News Silent Night”.
It begins with the beautiful tones of Silent Night as Simon and Garfunkle sing.
But very slowly and subtly, the voice of a News Reporter comes in.
At first the voice is in the background, but then, by the end,
you can’t hear the lovely song.
All you hear is the news about Vietnam, riots, arrests, murder and poverty.
Beyond… the silent, all is calm, all is bright night,
there is a hurting world that God came to help.
We can too easily miss the real meaning of Christmas by seeing only the decorations, the candles, the angels singing, the shepherds, and so on.
We can too easily forget the real world where all is not calm and all is not bright.
Jesus came into the real world, a world full of poverty, injustice and darkness;
a world full of sin, sickness and death.
Like this flower, there is so much more going on in our world and our lives, than we might first imagine.
There is a place beyond the lovely Carols where people are sick and in pain, and need healing,
and need hope,
and need to know the fullness of life that God offers.
Thankfully, by being here today, you and I have recognised that God.
We have recognised that something pretty amazing has happened in the history of our “real world”.
The bible says that people were “amazed” when the shepherds went and told everyone about all they had seen and heard.
Even Mary, the Mother of Jesus, pondered these things in her heart.
Of course, they were amazed!
It isn’t every day that you hear angels singing,
see a brilliant, piercing light from heaven ,
and find God lying in a manger crying!
This is something from another dimension, impacting our real world.
That is why it is so amazing!
Each one of YOU has heard reports of amazing things today!
Like the shepherds, you too must now tell everyone about all you have seen and heard.
When you tell people that, some will be astonished and amazed and believing.
If they persevere, they will find healing and hope for their life.
Others will laugh at you and be unbelieving.
But go and tell anyway, because that’s the way the “real world” is.
And that is why Jesus had to come into our world.
It was for the salvation of the real world that Jesus came on that silent night so long ago.
For “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal
life”.
God has given His Son Jesus, as a gift to you and I.
Gifts are meant to be unwrapped.
Unwrapping the gift of Jesus involves believing in Him.
Believing involves an act of faith and trust,
much like a man and a woman getting married and saying, “I will”, to each other.
This Christmas I want to encourage you to either renew that step of faith, or take the step for the first time, through a prayer I want to pray now.
So in the quietness of your heart,
I invite you to make this prayer your prayer.
Remember, it is a gift from God, not an imposition….
Following the prayer we will sing one of my fav Carols O Holy Night.
The words speak of a world that is “weary”, that is in need of a Saviour…
Claim the words as your prayer to God at this Christmas time and let the words gently massage your spirit to encourage and strengthen you and fill you with the joy and peace that Christ came to bring to our world….
Let us pray…
7 Dec 2008 'Heart Checkup'
CPAC sermon 07-12-2008 “Heart Checkup”
Numbers 6:22-27; Eph 1:3-11
Last time : My parting words to you were to encourage you to meditate on 1 Peter 3:8-12….
· Pay back people with a blessing…
· The Curse principle versus the Blessing principle > I illustrated this by asking James what make of car he drives!...
· Curse people: insult leads to injury which stirs anger (consciously or unconsciously) resulting in a refusal to forgive which breeds resentment & bitterness or even hate which produces a curse on a person’s life where the curse does physical, emotional, social and/or spiritual harm.
Illustration: Angelina Jolie’s household help reported that she throws knives in the house, when she gets upset! … .. that’s a helpful metaphor for the nature and symbolism of a curse – it’s like throwing emotionally/spiritually damaging “daggers” into someone’s back – daggers of resentment, bitterness and hate cause serious wounds… the thrower of the daggers is not immune from the ill-effects either
Blessing pple: insult > injury > stirs anger > brings us to a decision – to forgive or not? Choosing to forgive, which an act of one’s will, releases a “supernatural love from God” that extends acceptance and love that result in blessings. The supernatural love acts as a healing balm or ointment for your wounded soul and also releases the blessing factor in the other person’s life.
The key is to forgive AND THEN to add your blessing > 1 Peter 3:9 says “pay them back with a blessing (not with injury)…”
Martin shared a testimony how he did that with a work colleague recently – anyone else like to share a little later…?
This morning I want to focus on
WHY we should bless others
HOW a blessing works
And then use just two words from 1 Peter 3:8 “be tenderhearted” to offer you a very practical application of getting yourself in the right space each and every day so that you can pay back people with a multitude of blessings.
My encouragement to you is to let your life be a life full of blessings for both you, and other people,
That life always begins with YOU doing the blessing – in so doing, God’s power is released/mobilised.
Firstly, WHY should you bless others?
Two reasons:
1 to convey God’s love to someone. Eg. a simple illustration of this is a parent’s blessing on their children.
2 to fulfil your calling – 1 Peter 3:9 “pay them back with a blessing. This is what God has called you to do, and He will bless YOU for it”.
Secondly, HOW does a blessing work?
Using Numbers 6:24-26 as a basis for our understanding – a blessing works like this:
A blessing does 4 things:
Firstly, a blessing imparts God’s protection – “May the Lord bless you and protect you”
Other versions may say “May the Lord keep you”.
“Keep you from all harm” the Psalmist says.
Secondly, a blessing releases God’s special favour upon a person’s life – “May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you”
Or, “make His face to shine upon you”, or, “lift up His countenance upon you”
You are not merely one of six and a half billion people in the world – God knows you and calls you by name (see Isaiah 45:3)
Thirdly, a blessing releases God’s power and peace upon a person’s life – “May the Lord show you His favour and give you His peace”
Luke 24 and John 20 give us a picture of the significance of God’s peace and power.
They go hand in hand.
In John 20:19–22 Jesus said, “Peace be with you”, and then in the next breath, literally, John tells us, “Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit”.
The significance and power of the Holy Spirit is restated in 1 Peter 3:18 which says “Christ suffered physical death but He was raised to life in the Spirit”.
The Holy Spirit has power over death itself.
So when you bless you release a supernatural peace and a power found only in the Holy Spirit.
Fourthly, a blessing embodies or manifests God’s presence.
Numbers 6 says that whenever Aaron & his sons bless the people of Israel IN MY NAME, then I MYSELF will bless the people.
Psalm 133 reinforces this picture of blessing where God says,
“Where my people are gathered in unity there I will command my blessing.”
Other translations say, “.I will command my presence”
When we bless someone we connect or unite ourselves to them in spirit.
So unity is a sign of God’s blessing which manifests God’s presence.
So in summary, HOW does a blessing work?
1 It imparts God’s protection
2 It releases God’s special favour
3 It releases God’s power and peace
4 It embodies or manifests God’s presence
Now using a scripture passage from Luke let’s link these concepts of blessing back to “being tenderhearted”.
So here’s a scriptural link between the heart and God’s blessing:
It’s Luke 2:78
“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide us to the path of peace.”
Tender mercy is a heart condition.
It refers to the condition of one’s heart.
David cried out to God to give him a right spirit and create in him a new heart.
God implores us to love Him with all our mind, soul, strength and HEART.
Our heart is extremely significant in the overall scheme of things.
For a start it gives us physical life!
Eg. Mabel’s testimony last Sunday about prayer for a new heart – God gave her a new heart, literally, clear of the cholesterol problems she was having.
Having a regular physical heart check up is vital especially as the years pass by.
Sometimes we may think “I feel fine. No worries”… then for whatever reason we get a check up and the doctors discover a major blockage that could have been fatal if we had left it any longer.
It happens!
Same thing for our spiritual heart.
What if there was a procedure that could evaluate the condition of your spiritual heart, our heart for God, our heart for ministry?
You could be so in tune with your spiritual heart that when friends ask “How you doing?” you could say,
“Well my heart isn’t working quite right”… and explain what you mean – your spiritual heart… = this may present an opportunity to witness
Consider your well being by the condition of your spiritual heart.
How? Here are some clues:
A healthy heart feels emotion deeply and for the right reasons.
An unhealthy heart is numb.
We bless people out of the condition of our heart.
I haven’t got time to elaborate on these now, but rate yourself in these 5 areas to test the condition of your spiritual heart:
1 Your Emotions – have you cried lately? Or laughed deeply? A healthy heart is fully aware of deep emotion and you can name those emotions.
2 Your Moments – are you present for people, or preoccupied? Ask your spouse, children, friends if you’re “all there” when you’re with them, or are you at times 100 miles away? Building relationships depends on you “being there” with, and for the person, at every opportune moment.
3 Fun – do have fun in your life? And do you set aside regular time for active sports, reading, arts, crafts, etc. When was the last time you really had fun? Do you have a sense of humour? Can you laugh at yourself? Can you laugh with, not at, other people?
4 People – do you resent phone calls and people seeking you out? Or do you see them as opportunities for building relationship and for ministry? If you’re running for cover to avoid or dodge people, the condition of your heart may be numb.
5 Whispers – How long has it been since you heard the still, quiet whisper or small voice of God? Recall - Pete & I worked through the book of Hebrews recently considering how we hear the voice of God. One of the first signs of a hardening heart is a deafened ear to the quiet promptings and stirrings of God.
So in brief, that’s the test for the spiritual condition of your heart….
Remember, we bless people out of the condition of our heart.
Be a person that is always seeking to bless others… such behaviour has a boomerang effect….
Most importantly though, always remember to bless the Blessor, the Giver of our blessings!
Being blessed to be a blessing is a life we all seek.
Perhaps it’s best summed up in some of the words of a great hymn written by H. G. Spafford..... "When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul."
Amen.
Numbers 6:22-27; Eph 1:3-11
Last time : My parting words to you were to encourage you to meditate on 1 Peter 3:8-12….
· Pay back people with a blessing…
· The Curse principle versus the Blessing principle > I illustrated this by asking James what make of car he drives!...
· Curse people: insult leads to injury which stirs anger (consciously or unconsciously) resulting in a refusal to forgive which breeds resentment & bitterness or even hate which produces a curse on a person’s life where the curse does physical, emotional, social and/or spiritual harm.
Illustration: Angelina Jolie’s household help reported that she throws knives in the house, when she gets upset! … .. that’s a helpful metaphor for the nature and symbolism of a curse – it’s like throwing emotionally/spiritually damaging “daggers” into someone’s back – daggers of resentment, bitterness and hate cause serious wounds… the thrower of the daggers is not immune from the ill-effects either
Blessing pple: insult > injury > stirs anger > brings us to a decision – to forgive or not? Choosing to forgive, which an act of one’s will, releases a “supernatural love from God” that extends acceptance and love that result in blessings. The supernatural love acts as a healing balm or ointment for your wounded soul and also releases the blessing factor in the other person’s life.
The key is to forgive AND THEN to add your blessing > 1 Peter 3:9 says “pay them back with a blessing (not with injury)…”
Martin shared a testimony how he did that with a work colleague recently – anyone else like to share a little later…?
This morning I want to focus on
WHY we should bless others
HOW a blessing works
And then use just two words from 1 Peter 3:8 “be tenderhearted” to offer you a very practical application of getting yourself in the right space each and every day so that you can pay back people with a multitude of blessings.
My encouragement to you is to let your life be a life full of blessings for both you, and other people,
That life always begins with YOU doing the blessing – in so doing, God’s power is released/mobilised.
Firstly, WHY should you bless others?
Two reasons:
1 to convey God’s love to someone. Eg. a simple illustration of this is a parent’s blessing on their children.
2 to fulfil your calling – 1 Peter 3:9 “pay them back with a blessing. This is what God has called you to do, and He will bless YOU for it”.
Secondly, HOW does a blessing work?
Using Numbers 6:24-26 as a basis for our understanding – a blessing works like this:
A blessing does 4 things:
Firstly, a blessing imparts God’s protection – “May the Lord bless you and protect you”
Other versions may say “May the Lord keep you”.
“Keep you from all harm” the Psalmist says.
Secondly, a blessing releases God’s special favour upon a person’s life – “May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you”
Or, “make His face to shine upon you”, or, “lift up His countenance upon you”
You are not merely one of six and a half billion people in the world – God knows you and calls you by name (see Isaiah 45:3)
Thirdly, a blessing releases God’s power and peace upon a person’s life – “May the Lord show you His favour and give you His peace”
Luke 24 and John 20 give us a picture of the significance of God’s peace and power.
They go hand in hand.
In John 20:19–22 Jesus said, “Peace be with you”, and then in the next breath, literally, John tells us, “Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit”.
The significance and power of the Holy Spirit is restated in 1 Peter 3:18 which says “Christ suffered physical death but He was raised to life in the Spirit”.
The Holy Spirit has power over death itself.
So when you bless you release a supernatural peace and a power found only in the Holy Spirit.
Fourthly, a blessing embodies or manifests God’s presence.
Numbers 6 says that whenever Aaron & his sons bless the people of Israel IN MY NAME, then I MYSELF will bless the people.
Psalm 133 reinforces this picture of blessing where God says,
“Where my people are gathered in unity there I will command my blessing.”
Other translations say, “.I will command my presence”
When we bless someone we connect or unite ourselves to them in spirit.
So unity is a sign of God’s blessing which manifests God’s presence.
So in summary, HOW does a blessing work?
1 It imparts God’s protection
2 It releases God’s special favour
3 It releases God’s power and peace
4 It embodies or manifests God’s presence
Now using a scripture passage from Luke let’s link these concepts of blessing back to “being tenderhearted”.
So here’s a scriptural link between the heart and God’s blessing:
It’s Luke 2:78
“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide us to the path of peace.”
Tender mercy is a heart condition.
It refers to the condition of one’s heart.
David cried out to God to give him a right spirit and create in him a new heart.
God implores us to love Him with all our mind, soul, strength and HEART.
Our heart is extremely significant in the overall scheme of things.
For a start it gives us physical life!
Eg. Mabel’s testimony last Sunday about prayer for a new heart – God gave her a new heart, literally, clear of the cholesterol problems she was having.
Having a regular physical heart check up is vital especially as the years pass by.
Sometimes we may think “I feel fine. No worries”… then for whatever reason we get a check up and the doctors discover a major blockage that could have been fatal if we had left it any longer.
It happens!
Same thing for our spiritual heart.
What if there was a procedure that could evaluate the condition of your spiritual heart, our heart for God, our heart for ministry?
You could be so in tune with your spiritual heart that when friends ask “How you doing?” you could say,
“Well my heart isn’t working quite right”… and explain what you mean – your spiritual heart… = this may present an opportunity to witness
Consider your well being by the condition of your spiritual heart.
How? Here are some clues:
A healthy heart feels emotion deeply and for the right reasons.
An unhealthy heart is numb.
We bless people out of the condition of our heart.
I haven’t got time to elaborate on these now, but rate yourself in these 5 areas to test the condition of your spiritual heart:
1 Your Emotions – have you cried lately? Or laughed deeply? A healthy heart is fully aware of deep emotion and you can name those emotions.
2 Your Moments – are you present for people, or preoccupied? Ask your spouse, children, friends if you’re “all there” when you’re with them, or are you at times 100 miles away? Building relationships depends on you “being there” with, and for the person, at every opportune moment.
3 Fun – do have fun in your life? And do you set aside regular time for active sports, reading, arts, crafts, etc. When was the last time you really had fun? Do you have a sense of humour? Can you laugh at yourself? Can you laugh with, not at, other people?
4 People – do you resent phone calls and people seeking you out? Or do you see them as opportunities for building relationship and for ministry? If you’re running for cover to avoid or dodge people, the condition of your heart may be numb.
5 Whispers – How long has it been since you heard the still, quiet whisper or small voice of God? Recall - Pete & I worked through the book of Hebrews recently considering how we hear the voice of God. One of the first signs of a hardening heart is a deafened ear to the quiet promptings and stirrings of God.
So in brief, that’s the test for the spiritual condition of your heart….
Remember, we bless people out of the condition of our heart.
Be a person that is always seeking to bless others… such behaviour has a boomerang effect….
Most importantly though, always remember to bless the Blessor, the Giver of our blessings!
Being blessed to be a blessing is a life we all seek.
Perhaps it’s best summed up in some of the words of a great hymn written by H. G. Spafford..... "When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul."
Amen.
16 Nov 2008 'Strengthened by Grace'
CPAC Sermon 16 Nov 2008 "Strengthened by Grace" by Pete Watson
What does Grace mean to you? (Underserved love, freedom & salvation.)
Two of the verses in the readings that jump out to me are:
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God “and...
“It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace.”
So, this morning we are going to look at three things:
· How we can go deeper in grace
· How we can be strengthened by grace
· How we can look to Jesus for grace
1 How we can go deeper in grace
Grace is a free gift but it’s how we respond to it that matters!
Abraham Lincoln story: (1860-1865)
Buying the rights to a slave and giving them to her after out bidding everybody else
When he told her she was free, she wanted to serve him anyway.
We do the same for Jesus.
Grace sets us free, but then because of the magnitude of it, we serve!
Once we enter into that grace, what’s the next step? How do we continue to grow in it?
· We can choose to re-position ourselves in grace to receive more
· God shows us the depths of his love – Ezekiel 47 – depths in the river
2 How we can be strengthened by grace
A lot of what we have read in Hebrews has been about hearing God’s voice and this chapter says we can be strengthened by grace and by hearing God...
In the O.T Daniel said: “When he spoke to me I was strengthened.”
And in Psalm 27:14 it says:
“Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
In Ephesians 3:16:
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being.”
That helps see what the writer means, when he says:
IT IS GOOD FOR OUR HEARTS TO BE STRENGTHEND BY GRACE
3 How we can look to Jesus for grace
What does it look like to have a heart strengthened by grace?
It could mean turning our eyes upon Jesus
13 V8 from the message bible tells us:
“For Jesus doesn't change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself”
We change, circumstances change, but he is the same.
We can take strength from this.
The reading says we are also running a race...
· There is a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us – although they can inspire us, they cannot strengthen us. We rely completely on Jesus, because he ran his race to the finish.
· Lance Armstrong story – recovering from a fall quickly. Spiritual parallel – we need to focus on Jesus to get back up and run the race and rely only on him.
· God’s grace cannot be pursued in our own energy!
So, we have seen...
· How we can go deeper in grace
· How we can be strengthened by grace and...
· How we can look to Jesus for grace
We have the opportunity to respond to that this morning...
A final verse from the book of Hebrews, which for me, sums up this series:
Chapter 4:16:
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Prayer... End.
What does Grace mean to you? (Underserved love, freedom & salvation.)
Two of the verses in the readings that jump out to me are:
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God “and...
“It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace.”
So, this morning we are going to look at three things:
· How we can go deeper in grace
· How we can be strengthened by grace
· How we can look to Jesus for grace
1 How we can go deeper in grace
Grace is a free gift but it’s how we respond to it that matters!
Abraham Lincoln story: (1860-1865)
Buying the rights to a slave and giving them to her after out bidding everybody else
When he told her she was free, she wanted to serve him anyway.
We do the same for Jesus.
Grace sets us free, but then because of the magnitude of it, we serve!
Once we enter into that grace, what’s the next step? How do we continue to grow in it?
· We can choose to re-position ourselves in grace to receive more
· God shows us the depths of his love – Ezekiel 47 – depths in the river
2 How we can be strengthened by grace
A lot of what we have read in Hebrews has been about hearing God’s voice and this chapter says we can be strengthened by grace and by hearing God...
In the O.T Daniel said: “When he spoke to me I was strengthened.”
And in Psalm 27:14 it says:
“Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
In Ephesians 3:16:
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being.”
That helps see what the writer means, when he says:
IT IS GOOD FOR OUR HEARTS TO BE STRENGTHEND BY GRACE
3 How we can look to Jesus for grace
What does it look like to have a heart strengthened by grace?
It could mean turning our eyes upon Jesus
13 V8 from the message bible tells us:
“For Jesus doesn't change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself”
We change, circumstances change, but he is the same.
We can take strength from this.
The reading says we are also running a race...
· There is a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us – although they can inspire us, they cannot strengthen us. We rely completely on Jesus, because he ran his race to the finish.
· Lance Armstrong story – recovering from a fall quickly. Spiritual parallel – we need to focus on Jesus to get back up and run the race and rely only on him.
· God’s grace cannot be pursued in our own energy!
So, we have seen...
· How we can go deeper in grace
· How we can be strengthened by grace and...
· How we can look to Jesus for grace
We have the opportunity to respond to that this morning...
A final verse from the book of Hebrews, which for me, sums up this series:
Chapter 4:16:
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Prayer... End.
11 Sep 2008 'Be Bold, Be Strong for the Lord is with You'!
CPAC sermon 09-11-08
“Be bold, be strong for the Lord is with you!” Hebrews 10:19-25
The elections,in both USA & NZ – an interesting few days….
• USA election campaign x 2 years = have that wow factor!
• Barack Obama > words like messiah, saviour are being used in the same breath when his name is discussed…!!!
• Significantly we have had a changing of the guard…in USA & NZ… however God is still very much in control…
The book of Hebrews reminds us of who is really in charge.
…let this scripture speak for itself - read chapter 10:19 to end…
Chapter 11 goes on to describe one of the secrets of the Christian life.
The writer of Hebrews uses the lives of certain men and women of God to explain that secret.
What is that secret?
- it is faith, yet not so much their faith but their reliance upon a faithful God.
One of the first things I came to understand in my early life as a Christian was that it was not so much MY faith that mattered but my faith IN THE FAITH of Jesus Christ.
I had to learn to rely on the faith of Christ.
There is nothing that I could, or can ever do to earn the right to enter the Most Holy Place, as Hebrews puts it.
BUT, I CAN enter the Most Holy Place when I “piggy back” Jesus.
On my behalf, through His death,
through the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary,
Jesus has earned the right to enter the Most Holy Place,
and you and I have every right to tag along.
The Most Holy Place is of course being in the presence of the Almighty God.
How do we get there? …. John 14:6 : “I am the Way, I am the Truth and I am the Life. No one comes to the Most Holy Place, no one can come to the Father except through me”, said Jesus.
Jesus is our passport into the presence of God.
This means that one of the other secrets of Christian living is allowing Christ to meet our every need.
To live like this demands that we live by faith.
Whether you are a Christian or a non Christian, faith is a pre-requisite for life.
Imagine if you tried to live without having faith.
You would find it extremely difficult.
For example, if you did not have faith you probably would be very reluctant to fly.
Most of us, if not all of us here, would have travelled on a plane.
You buy your ticket and get on the plane.
In the course of your journey a pilot will fly that plane.
Without seeing the pilot or knowing anything about his ability, you put your safety and your well being into his hands!
You literally put your life into his hands!
How? Through faith.
You trust that pilot implicitly, otherwise you would never have got on that plane.
In reality, I never give the pilot a second thought such is my faith in the pilot
We all live by faith in one way or another.
The trouble is, when it comes to faith and God, we too easily allow ourselves to have a brain explosion!
Faith is trusting the pilot and believing in his flying skills.
Faith is trusting God.
Faith is believing God - believing in God’s ability to sustain our lives.
There is nothing mysterious about such faith.
It is a simple act of the will.
Either we believe God, or we don’t.
There can be no ummms and arrrghhs.
There can be no sitting on the fence.
There can be no lukewarmness.
Jesus said to the church in Laodicea in Rev 3:14ff,
“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other!... since you are luke warm I will spit you out of my mouth!”
Your faith in God is a simple act of your will.
When you begin to trust God implicitly, it’s like turning on a light switch.
It’s not difficult to do and when you do power surges through the network and the light comes on.
When you switch on your faith in God, a faith that is founded on the faith of Jesus Christ, then supernatural life and power enters your life.
God’s light, the light of Christ, will flood your life.
And so one of the very practical results of faith is that it makes the weak and the anxious, strong and certain.
Hebrews 11:3, 4 “By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled
with justice and received what God had promised them…their weakness was turned to strength”.
To live by faith you and I need to believe wholeheartedly that Jesus is trustworthy.
Jesus is the key.
He is the One who can unlock our lives in a way that releases us to live as God intended > chapter 11 describes what that living looks like.
So that’s why the writer of Hebrews makes a big play for Jesus.
Jesus is the One!
It’s not what WE can do for God that really matters.
It’s what Jesus has done for us and continues to do for us, that really matters.
Jesus is our great High Priest who has saved us from the jaws of eternal damnation;
Jesus is the One who continues to intercede to His Father for us;
Jesus is the One who introduces us to His Father and takes us right into the Most Holy Presence of His Father.
Can we do anything then?
Yes, we must believe.
Every moment, we must live with an implicit, childlike faith in God.
And also, we must understand the importance of Hebr 10:26….
We must strive to lay aside every encumbrance, every hindrance,
stumbling block, every obstacle, every sin that would hinder or restrict
our access to the Father.
Now, here are four conditions given in just one verse, Hebrews 10:22, for drawing near to God.
Let the truth of these conditions sink into your mind and spirit:
1. A sincere heart (Hebrews 10:22). God sees the inner working of our hearts. He knows that life is difficult for us and that we will mess up at times. He understands. That is why He will always give us chance after chance, but we need to be genuine in the way we are trying to live our lives as best we can.
2. Full assurance of faith (v. 22) Faith that knows no hesitation in trusting and following Christ.
3. Hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience (v. 22). Understand that you are totally free from a sense of guilt, based on Christ’s sacrifice. You see, we too easily beat ourselves up and think ourselves constantly unworthy. We may think we are being humble with this kind of attitude but it is really a false humility and a cunning way that the enemy of our soul uses so that we are unwittingly deceiving ourselves. I can recall a personal mentor once pointing this (false humility) out in me, and he was right! There is no need for us to “grovel” before God. In the end we have every right to come boldly before the throne of God, through Jesus!
4. Bodies washed with pure water - not an external ceremony presumably, although one could suppose it refers to baptism. But this most likely is a figure for inner cleansing. Ezekiel prophesied of this washing with pure water when he, speaking of God, said: "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols" (Ezekiel 36:25).
So be strong and bold – be encouraged to go face to face with the Living God who loves you.
You have every right to enter into His Most Holy Presence because of what Christ has done for you on the cross.
Hold fast to that hope that is within you, for "He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23b).
It’s a new day.
There has been a changing of the guard in the physical sense (new Government).
In the spiritual sense the Son (sun) has come out. The darkness is gone.
We can move forward no matter what the circumstances.
That is our hope.
We will only truly & fully change when we get into the Most Holy Presence of the Lord and have an authentic, godly Christian walk (Hebrews 4).
This is possible right now. How?
We are called to be a consecrated people.
There is a difference to being a believer vs. being consecrated. Many Christians are saved but that is the extent of their Christian walk – they are saved, but not surrendered to the Lord.
To surrender oneself to the Lord is to consecrate your life to the Lord.
Prayer is the lifeblood of consecration. Why?
When you are consecrated (ie in the Most Holy Presence), you can, and are, communing with God.
What’s the best way to commune with God?
It is through prayer. Prayer is the lifeblood of consecration.
Eg. in book of Joshua… the priests were the intercessors who had been before God, in His Most Holy Presence – because of their prayerful attitude they were the ones who went first when Joshua crossed the water and entered the Promised Land.
Also, note that prayer is your secret weapon in any crisis.
Joshua prayed desperately at Ai when the enemies of Israel were defeating them because of the sin of one of their people, Achan.
Through his prayerful cry to God, God answered him with a commandment for consecration.
We are called to be a consecrated people.
Let’s now consecrate ourselves to God……
Here is a consecration prayer we will use (personalise it where appropriate):
Father, in Jesus’ name, we thank you for the revelation of who You are.
We thank you for how you have been, and are being, revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.
Please glorify your Son in and through our lives, as we consecrate ourselves now for your purposes.
Not our will, but Your will be done.
Father, we ask for Your help because we need it so badly, not only now, as we open up our hearts to you, but moment by moment through our lives.
Help us in our difficult moments and in our times of weakness. (pause for personal confession to bring before God the issues you/we struggle with in our attitude, behaviour, actions & speech which offend God/others/ourselves….)
Father, please forgive me/us…. create in me/us a clean heart and a
right spirit.. thank you Father…
Please now strengthen me/us in the tender years so we will be fully prepared when You launch us into certain areas of responsibility both inside and outside your church.
Thank you for the help, support, encouragement & preparation we have received from fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and from our loved ones.
Thank you for some whose quality of life has been, and is, gold to us.
Thank you for the preparation that You are giving us now.
May I/we be of the highest quality of substance for this generation, and the generation to come, but even more fully, Lord, for the world to come.
We are your church family.
Thank you so much for what you are building in us and through us at CPAC. Open our eyes that we might see.
Open our hearts that we might hear.
Deal with our hearts that we might become even more tender as You speak to us.
In Jesus’ name we come against all the works of evil that would try to overcome and destroy us in any way.
We are strong in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
As individuals and as your church family, with His stripes we are healed—in spirit, soul, and body.
Thank You so much Father.
May You receive all the glory now.
We consecrate ourselves/myself to you.
Thank you that we can enter into your Most Holy Presence.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
“Be bold, be strong for the Lord is with you!” Hebrews 10:19-25
The elections,in both USA & NZ – an interesting few days….
• USA election campaign x 2 years = have that wow factor!
• Barack Obama > words like messiah, saviour are being used in the same breath when his name is discussed…!!!
• Significantly we have had a changing of the guard…in USA & NZ… however God is still very much in control…
The book of Hebrews reminds us of who is really in charge.
…let this scripture speak for itself - read chapter 10:19 to end…
Chapter 11 goes on to describe one of the secrets of the Christian life.
The writer of Hebrews uses the lives of certain men and women of God to explain that secret.
What is that secret?
- it is faith, yet not so much their faith but their reliance upon a faithful God.
One of the first things I came to understand in my early life as a Christian was that it was not so much MY faith that mattered but my faith IN THE FAITH of Jesus Christ.
I had to learn to rely on the faith of Christ.
There is nothing that I could, or can ever do to earn the right to enter the Most Holy Place, as Hebrews puts it.
BUT, I CAN enter the Most Holy Place when I “piggy back” Jesus.
On my behalf, through His death,
through the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary,
Jesus has earned the right to enter the Most Holy Place,
and you and I have every right to tag along.
The Most Holy Place is of course being in the presence of the Almighty God.
How do we get there? …. John 14:6 : “I am the Way, I am the Truth and I am the Life. No one comes to the Most Holy Place, no one can come to the Father except through me”, said Jesus.
Jesus is our passport into the presence of God.
This means that one of the other secrets of Christian living is allowing Christ to meet our every need.
To live like this demands that we live by faith.
Whether you are a Christian or a non Christian, faith is a pre-requisite for life.
Imagine if you tried to live without having faith.
You would find it extremely difficult.
For example, if you did not have faith you probably would be very reluctant to fly.
Most of us, if not all of us here, would have travelled on a plane.
You buy your ticket and get on the plane.
In the course of your journey a pilot will fly that plane.
Without seeing the pilot or knowing anything about his ability, you put your safety and your well being into his hands!
You literally put your life into his hands!
How? Through faith.
You trust that pilot implicitly, otherwise you would never have got on that plane.
In reality, I never give the pilot a second thought such is my faith in the pilot
We all live by faith in one way or another.
The trouble is, when it comes to faith and God, we too easily allow ourselves to have a brain explosion!
Faith is trusting the pilot and believing in his flying skills.
Faith is trusting God.
Faith is believing God - believing in God’s ability to sustain our lives.
There is nothing mysterious about such faith.
It is a simple act of the will.
Either we believe God, or we don’t.
There can be no ummms and arrrghhs.
There can be no sitting on the fence.
There can be no lukewarmness.
Jesus said to the church in Laodicea in Rev 3:14ff,
“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other!... since you are luke warm I will spit you out of my mouth!”
Your faith in God is a simple act of your will.
When you begin to trust God implicitly, it’s like turning on a light switch.
It’s not difficult to do and when you do power surges through the network and the light comes on.
When you switch on your faith in God, a faith that is founded on the faith of Jesus Christ, then supernatural life and power enters your life.
God’s light, the light of Christ, will flood your life.
And so one of the very practical results of faith is that it makes the weak and the anxious, strong and certain.
Hebrews 11:3, 4 “By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled
with justice and received what God had promised them…their weakness was turned to strength”.
To live by faith you and I need to believe wholeheartedly that Jesus is trustworthy.
Jesus is the key.
He is the One who can unlock our lives in a way that releases us to live as God intended > chapter 11 describes what that living looks like.
So that’s why the writer of Hebrews makes a big play for Jesus.
Jesus is the One!
It’s not what WE can do for God that really matters.
It’s what Jesus has done for us and continues to do for us, that really matters.
Jesus is our great High Priest who has saved us from the jaws of eternal damnation;
Jesus is the One who continues to intercede to His Father for us;
Jesus is the One who introduces us to His Father and takes us right into the Most Holy Presence of His Father.
Can we do anything then?
Yes, we must believe.
Every moment, we must live with an implicit, childlike faith in God.
And also, we must understand the importance of Hebr 10:26….
We must strive to lay aside every encumbrance, every hindrance,
stumbling block, every obstacle, every sin that would hinder or restrict
our access to the Father.
Now, here are four conditions given in just one verse, Hebrews 10:22, for drawing near to God.
Let the truth of these conditions sink into your mind and spirit:
1. A sincere heart (Hebrews 10:22). God sees the inner working of our hearts. He knows that life is difficult for us and that we will mess up at times. He understands. That is why He will always give us chance after chance, but we need to be genuine in the way we are trying to live our lives as best we can.
2. Full assurance of faith (v. 22) Faith that knows no hesitation in trusting and following Christ.
3. Hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience (v. 22). Understand that you are totally free from a sense of guilt, based on Christ’s sacrifice. You see, we too easily beat ourselves up and think ourselves constantly unworthy. We may think we are being humble with this kind of attitude but it is really a false humility and a cunning way that the enemy of our soul uses so that we are unwittingly deceiving ourselves. I can recall a personal mentor once pointing this (false humility) out in me, and he was right! There is no need for us to “grovel” before God. In the end we have every right to come boldly before the throne of God, through Jesus!
4. Bodies washed with pure water - not an external ceremony presumably, although one could suppose it refers to baptism. But this most likely is a figure for inner cleansing. Ezekiel prophesied of this washing with pure water when he, speaking of God, said: "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols" (Ezekiel 36:25).
So be strong and bold – be encouraged to go face to face with the Living God who loves you.
You have every right to enter into His Most Holy Presence because of what Christ has done for you on the cross.
Hold fast to that hope that is within you, for "He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23b).
It’s a new day.
There has been a changing of the guard in the physical sense (new Government).
In the spiritual sense the Son (sun) has come out. The darkness is gone.
We can move forward no matter what the circumstances.
That is our hope.
We will only truly & fully change when we get into the Most Holy Presence of the Lord and have an authentic, godly Christian walk (Hebrews 4).
This is possible right now. How?
We are called to be a consecrated people.
There is a difference to being a believer vs. being consecrated. Many Christians are saved but that is the extent of their Christian walk – they are saved, but not surrendered to the Lord.
To surrender oneself to the Lord is to consecrate your life to the Lord.
Prayer is the lifeblood of consecration. Why?
When you are consecrated (ie in the Most Holy Presence), you can, and are, communing with God.
What’s the best way to commune with God?
It is through prayer. Prayer is the lifeblood of consecration.
Eg. in book of Joshua… the priests were the intercessors who had been before God, in His Most Holy Presence – because of their prayerful attitude they were the ones who went first when Joshua crossed the water and entered the Promised Land.
Also, note that prayer is your secret weapon in any crisis.
Joshua prayed desperately at Ai when the enemies of Israel were defeating them because of the sin of one of their people, Achan.
Through his prayerful cry to God, God answered him with a commandment for consecration.
We are called to be a consecrated people.
Let’s now consecrate ourselves to God……
Here is a consecration prayer we will use (personalise it where appropriate):
Father, in Jesus’ name, we thank you for the revelation of who You are.
We thank you for how you have been, and are being, revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.
Please glorify your Son in and through our lives, as we consecrate ourselves now for your purposes.
Not our will, but Your will be done.
Father, we ask for Your help because we need it so badly, not only now, as we open up our hearts to you, but moment by moment through our lives.
Help us in our difficult moments and in our times of weakness. (pause for personal confession to bring before God the issues you/we struggle with in our attitude, behaviour, actions & speech which offend God/others/ourselves….)
Father, please forgive me/us…. create in me/us a clean heart and a
right spirit.. thank you Father…
Please now strengthen me/us in the tender years so we will be fully prepared when You launch us into certain areas of responsibility both inside and outside your church.
Thank you for the help, support, encouragement & preparation we have received from fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and from our loved ones.
Thank you for some whose quality of life has been, and is, gold to us.
Thank you for the preparation that You are giving us now.
May I/we be of the highest quality of substance for this generation, and the generation to come, but even more fully, Lord, for the world to come.
We are your church family.
Thank you so much for what you are building in us and through us at CPAC. Open our eyes that we might see.
Open our hearts that we might hear.
Deal with our hearts that we might become even more tender as You speak to us.
In Jesus’ name we come against all the works of evil that would try to overcome and destroy us in any way.
We are strong in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
As individuals and as your church family, with His stripes we are healed—in spirit, soul, and body.
Thank You so much Father.
May You receive all the glory now.
We consecrate ourselves/myself to you.
Thank you that we can enter into your Most Holy Presence.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
19 Oct 2008 'Hit the Brakes, Pull over and Rest'!
CPAC Sermon "Hit the Brakes, Pull over and Rest!" Hebrews 4:1-13 19 October 2008 by Pete Watson
1. Rhythms of life - having a Sabbath day rest is important
2. Stop to hear God's voice - I heard God speak to me through scripture through Ephesians 5:25, that I needed to lay down my life and move to New Zealand, so here I am!
3. Ceasing our own efforts and depending on the work of another, 2 vereses that teach us this are:
Galations 2:20 and Matt 11:28.
4. Quiet times and important, we need to leave them feeling refreshed in order to gain strength for the journey.
5. Walking with Jesus is a pilrgimage, and that ties in with the Sesqui year for the diocese. We cant continue on own journey without rest. In a backpack we would have water, food, a map and warm clothing for a journey. Spiritually we need the same type of thing.
6. We need space and solitude so we can listen to God. Jesus said in John 15:5, Apart from me you can do nothing, so we need to rest in him!
Also I read a quote from Messy Spirituaility thats says we need to admit that we are unnecessary in order to rest, to relaise that the world can go on without us and thats a hard thing to do! BUT it is do - able with God's help as that is his will for us!
1. Rhythms of life - having a Sabbath day rest is important
2. Stop to hear God's voice - I heard God speak to me through scripture through Ephesians 5:25, that I needed to lay down my life and move to New Zealand, so here I am!
3. Ceasing our own efforts and depending on the work of another, 2 vereses that teach us this are:
Galations 2:20 and Matt 11:28.
4. Quiet times and important, we need to leave them feeling refreshed in order to gain strength for the journey.
5. Walking with Jesus is a pilrgimage, and that ties in with the Sesqui year for the diocese. We cant continue on own journey without rest. In a backpack we would have water, food, a map and warm clothing for a journey. Spiritually we need the same type of thing.
6. We need space and solitude so we can listen to God. Jesus said in John 15:5, Apart from me you can do nothing, so we need to rest in him!
Also I read a quote from Messy Spirituaility thats says we need to admit that we are unnecessary in order to rest, to relaise that the world can go on without us and thats a hard thing to do! BUT it is do - able with God's help as that is his will for us!
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