Part of Bigger Story 22 Nov 09

Part of Bigger Story

Last weekend I went for my pre-ordination retreat and was involved in a communion service at Rangiatea church in Otaki. This is the area where the gospel first came to the lower North Island through a CMS missionary called Octavius Hadfield who became the Bishop of Wellington from 1870 to 1893 and then Primate of NZ from 1890 to 1893.

Being there, connected me with our story of the gospel in our part of New Zealand. Indeed our church is a Holy patch in the Wellington Diocese along with 60+ others! It is immensely encouraging to know we are part of something so much bigger.

Yesterday for me I was ordained into the church. Others have gone before me and others will go after me until the trumpet sounds! I am part of something a lot larger and so of course is CPAC. During these times of change, there can be fear and doubt about what God is doing and that is healthy, but when we fix our gaze on Jesus, we see his wider plan for our lives and for our church. I want to say thank you to CPAC for all the support for me in my ordination and also to encourage us to trust God and believe he is all who he says he is. I invite you to meditate on these words from a song called ‘Give Us Your Courage:

“I'm not backing down

I will stand my ground

Lifting high the name of Jesus

Holding out Your light

To a world in need

Living out the love of Jesus” (Tim Hughes, 2009)

Jesus is with us, as aremany who have gone before, those who sit next to us this morning and those who are yet to walk this path! Know that we are part of God’s story at CPAC, making Jesus visible!

From Rev Pete!

As I sat in St Pauls Cathedral yesterday for Pete’s ordination I was impacted by the sense of awe in, and about, the place. Such buildings were constructed to intentionally reflect the glory and majesty and grandeur of God!

I clearly sensed God reminding me of His grandeur and mightiness, and that we (Christians) needed to right size God – he is far, far bigger, and much more powerful than we could ever imagine!

I also sensed God saying that it didn’t really matter where, or in what way/style, we worshipped Him, whether it be in a Cathedral or in a school hall or in a paddock, or as Pentecostals or Anglicans or Methodists or Baptists or Sallys or Catholics etc.

He was much, much, much bigger than all of those denominations and places.

Our inter-denominational and our in-denominational bickering is a nonsense!

What really matters to God is one’s heart response to Him, and that when our heart is right before Him then He will begin to transform us in a way that will bring real strength and authority to His church, a united church, a growing and impactful Kingdom

I believe it’s about being “sold out for Jesus”.

Being “sold out for Jesus” requires us to have our hearts aligned to God’s heart.

Such a heart condition helps us become totally dependent on God, trusting, obeying and following God even though we may not know exactly where we are going!

Pete has been on an amazing journey since coming to NZ only 3 or so years ago, and now he’s ordained!

He’s “sold out for Jesus”! out

Wayne too, is “sold out for Jesus”.

Wayne was ordained recently (2 years ago).

Five years ago he gave up his very successful building construction business.

This meant a dramatically reduced income – well, no income really – except for a part time job along the way but that was for only a limited time.

He felt God’s call on his life and he wanted to pursue that call whole heartedly.

Being “sold out for Jesus” means taking what we believe in, very seriously.

A top 100m athlete… he/she spends years training and preparing for something that will take only about 10 seconds to do – that’s crazy, that’s being sold out for running!

If an athlete is that serious about running 10 seconds then how much more do we need to be serious about preparing ourselves for a life of eternity!!!

As people who are “sold out for Jesus”. we must be prepared to do the best we can in this life.

This means we cannot be casual Christians….

Read Colossians 3:1-17

Is there any such thing as a Casual Christian? by Darren Smith.

Below is a comment by Darren Smith who is the founder of Streetscape Ministries, a ministry to the homeless seeing miracles on the streets in Galveston, Texas. Be prepared to be challenged

Darren writes:

“Is there any such thing as a casual Christian? 

I have heard this term a lot in recent times and to tell you the truth it makes me sick.

But, as I have thought about this subject and spent time looking around at the body as a whole, I venture to say for the most part it is true of most of the church today. 

Before you get angry and stop reading, please hear me out.

How many believers do you know that are really sold out for Christ? 

When I say this I mean that Christ is the central focus of their life. 

I mean a person that has died to self and relies on Christ for his or her substance, willing to sacrifice even to the point of their well being, to serve the Lord.  

I want to ask some very hard questions.  

How much of your time do you give to the Lord? 

Do you spend more time on you than you do on the Lord? 

More on entertainment or hobbies than service to the Lord? 

Many times people say to us,

“We would love to come and help you guys in the street but we are just so

busy we simply cannot find the time.”

I wonder if they ever stop to think that WE have to sacrifice and make time ourselves. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, the Lord blesses us and I wouldn't be anywhere else, but it requires sacrifice for us to be here as well.

I want you to see that if you are willing to serve God, without expecting anything in return, God will bless you anyway. 

We have people all the time say,

"I have never seen God's power and grace in my life."

Many of these people have been in church all their life, yet have never ministered to anyone.  

Another response we get is,

"I'm not called to do that type of ministry."

I believe we are all called to take the Gospel to the world, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and to take care of the widows and orphans. “ (unquote)

[ I, Danny, would want to add –

• What world, or what circles, do you move in where God can use you to pro-actively demonstrate in your lifestyle, the principles and the values of the gospel?
• Who are the ‘hungry people’ you know in whom you can impart God’s healing, hope, and life, so that by your example, they will come to know that they cannot live on bread alone but must live, daily, on every Word that comes from the mouth of God? (Matthew 4:4)
• Who are the people that you can clothe with an attitude of warmth and generosity, and care?
• Who are the people that you can support who live lonely, sad lives? Who are the ones to whom you can offer a hand of friendship and a word of encouragement? ]

Darren writes:

“To be able to put off these things places you in the casual realm.

Many will go to church once a week and then go right out and serve themselves all week without doing anything for the Lord. 

Saying, "I didn't have time", will not help them when they stand before the Lord. 

What makes this so sad is that many of them will never hear a message on repentance and total commitment to the Lord because this type message is not popular in the modern church. 

It doesn't fill the offering plate or the seats. 

Instead we hear funny stories and jokes from the pulpit as well as humanistic teaching on self-help and prosperity. 

This system has created the casual Christian which is no Christian at all. 

So many have been converted to a false religion of self and greed and what is worse, they think they are fine because everyone they know is a casual Christian as well. 

When they come in contact with a sold out believer, it makes them uncomfortable. 

When they hear a repentance message they label it extreme and harsh.

These same casual Christians see the world going to hell around them and are not affected at all.

The thought of sacrifice is foreign to them. 

Material wealth is equated with blessings from the Lord - after all, many pulpits teach this for self enrichment - so in their mind it's OK.

The reason I write this is for an awakening. 

We all must look into our heart and see if we are sold out to the Lord. 

We all have areas we can improve and should! 

We must get this type of word out and the body must mobilize for the battle. 

We all will have to sacrifice.

But we were not put here to live our best life now - our best life is yet to come when the Lord returns. 

I know what I have said is very convicting and challenging, but it must be said. 

We must repent and give our whole life to the Lord and that means everything,

all of us, everything we are, and all we could ever become - we must give it all to the Lord.  

So I ask you again, is there any such thing as a casual Christian, or maybe more important, are you a casual Christian?” (unquote)

1st Nov 2009 Our Divine Brief and Strategy

CPAC sermon, 1st Nov 2009 Our Divine Brief and Strategy

Last week I talked about the life of Elijah and the way he was able to access the continuous power of God through simple and radical obedience to God.

2 Kings 2:11 describes how Elijah did not die as we would expect but was taken up to heaven in his natural bodily state:

¹¹ As Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.

Elijah lived a naturally supernatural life yet he was supernaturally natural!

Jacob’s dream at Bethel is another example of the natural realm being connected to the supernatural realm through Jacob’s ladder.

Genesis 28:10-15 says,

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and travelled toward Haran. ¹¹ At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. ¹² As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

¹³ At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. ¹⁵ What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

This supernatural connection to heaven means that the two realms are not two separate entities.

With that understanding, this week I want to emphasise our divine brief from God and the strategy that God is using to help us fulfil that divine brief.

It is very simple:

Our divine brief is to ensure God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

Our strategy for making this happen is, the church.

Jacob’s image of the stairway (ladder) highlights the church’s supernatural connection to heaven.

There is unceasing and continuous activity going on between heaven and earth in a supernatural sense.

So let me take some specific verses now from Genesis 28 to highlight the important role of the church as it is connected to its supernatural source, and what that means for us as believers.

Jacob says in verse 17,

“What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

We, the church, are the portal between heaven to earth,

through which God works out His purposes so that His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

This kind of church behaves in naturally supernatural and supernaturally natural ways, 24/7.

In verses 13-15, God lays upon Jacob the same prophetic words that he laid upon Jacob’s grand father Abraham:

¹³ At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. ¹⁵ What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

Jacob and Abraham received the same prophetic word about their descendents.

Those prophetic words are for us as well.

We, the church, are called to be a prophetic people.

God says in verse 15

“What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

The church is not a place for arbitrary religious activity.

It is a place of dynamic Kingdom purpose.

Verse 16,

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the

Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” ¹⁷

The church is a place where God is dynamically present. We are here with a primary focus on pleasing God, not ourselves.

Verse 17, “What an awesome place this is!” says Jacob

The church is a place that is awesome.

Verse 18, 22:

¹⁸ The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. ¹⁹ He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”)

Verse 22 Jacob says,

“…this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God...”

The church is a place that must be a pillar of strength.

It must be an example of stability and confidence, a place of hope and purpose in a restless and confused world.

Note that I may be referring to the church as a “place” but always remember that the church is not a building, it is people.

The church is YOU!

This means that

YOU are a portal between heaven and earth!

YOU are a person who is called to be prophetic!

YOU are a person in whom God has placed a dynamic Kingdom purpose!

YOU are a person in whom God is dynamically present!

YOU are a person who is awesome!

YOU are called to be a pillar of strength and an example to the confused society you live in!

When we understand the significance of who God has created us to be and how He wants us to be an example to the world around us,

then there is no stopping what God can do in our lives!

Living a naturally supernatural life

and being supernaturally natural in everything we do

will become second nature to us!

And when God’s church is in tune this way,

with Him and with one another

it will be an incredibly dynamic force.

God is forming the church today into one nation that will be an example to all the other nations of the world.

Isaiah prophesies this in 2:2, 3 when he says:

² In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house (God’s church, US)
will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
³ People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
  and we will walk in his paths.”

That is why Jesus could say to His disciples,

“You will do even greater works than I”.

Jesus was referring to the scope of the work that would follow Him.

Remember that Jesus told the non-Jewish Syro-Phoencian woman who went to Jesus for healing for her daughter that He had come only for the house of Israel?

That was true.

After He left the earth, Jesus gave new revelation and instructions to the apostle Paul and extended the divine brief to now include Gentiles as well as the Jews.

Why?

Because it hadn’t worked for the nation of Israel in the very first instance.

They hadn’t recognised the Messiah when He came!....

That’s why you and I are so vital now in the part we must play in God’s divine brief and strategy!

YOU and I are a portal between heaven and earth!

We are called to be prophetic!

God has placed a dynamic Kingdom purpose in us!

God is dynamically present in us!

We are awesome in His sight!

And we are called to be pillars of strength and an example to the world we live in!

Our divine brief is to ensure God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

Our strategy for making this happen is, the church.

[Acknowledgement of source of material:

BSM Church Development notes “Principles for the House of God”]

The Engine of the Church 11 Oct 09 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

The Engine of the Church

Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

Intro re Synod…………… Synod has made me really think again. What is church really all about?

What does the church actually exist for? Some churches can feel just like a really nice club to belong to, nice and comfortable, and friendly. But there is of course much more to church than that.

What is the church?

A good place to start is always the Bible. What can we learn about the church in the Bible?

We often have a mindset that the church as a building - or somewhere we go on Sundays.

The apostle Paul doesn't agree. In Ephesians 1:22-23, he says the church is the body of Christ.

What does this mean? Paul says that it is Christ's believers who are the church. He doesn't say anything about a building. It is all of Christ's believers worldwide, who only by playing their individual parts - but doing that together - are able to carry out the mission of Christ. He said the church should make up the full expression of Christ - to be as Christ.

So that simply is what the church of Christ is.

It is each one of us - along with all Christ's disciples, together as one body, being as Christ.

What does the church exist for?

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 it is to prepare and build us up to maturity so that together we will do the work of Jesus, and share his gospel with others.

First of course Jesus taught his message to his disciples. He showed them how, and then he sent them out to put it all into practice. It is the same for us, and his message isn't at all difficult. It is all about love! (Jn.13:34-35). Jesus' love for us - our love for him - and our love for others. And then others will know we are his disciples!

So the gospel is very simple isn't it?! And the role of the church, and us as members of the body, is therefore very straight forward too.

Now Jesus actually commissioned us to undertake that role - so we are very privileged to be part of his plan. (Matt.28:18-20). He left that responsibility to us, as individuals, and as members of his body of believers, his church. He even told us how are we to carry out that commission (Acts 1:8). We are to start at home, and go wider and wider afield. But note that Jesus said we need the Holy Spirit to empower us to do this. No matter how gifted - no matter how motivated we are - unless we operate in the power of the Holy Spirit we won't be fully effective. So here at CPAC, we are part of the body of Christ and his work.

That should excite us!

Another consideration of what being the body of Christ means is covered by Paul in 1 Cor.12. Describe function of body …not fully effective if one part doesn't do its job.

God has gifted each one of us to contribute to the completeness of the body of Christ, the church. Each one of us is an essential part of the total body to enable it to function fully. We need to play our part - but work together in unity. It is only the total church body worldwide that can be as Christ - spreading the gospel right across the world. And then only by the empowering of the Holy Spirit is this even possible.

So that is what the church is for. It is not just to care for our own, although certainly that is part of its role. It is not just somewhere to go on Sunday, even if it is genuinely to join together to worship God. It is to be Christ's presence in the world 24/7. And if we are, then we will bring worship and glory to God all the time - not just on Sunday - and not only in a building.

Now we could debate whether you call this Evangelism or Mission. To me Evangelism is sharing the gospel in various ways, whereas perhaps Mission is being sent out to do that. But they go hand in hand. Whatever word you use, it is outward looking - and it is what must move the church in the way it should go. You could say it is the engine that drives the church.

The Engine of the church

Why do we need an engine? If we think of CPAC as a car …then we have a pretty nice model - when visitors come here they feel a warm welcome, and feel at ease. And that is great and absolutely the way it should be. But is it enough?

Certainly God is right into good relationships. He delights in each one of us having a personal relationship with Him. But it is His heart that EVERYONE should have the opportunity to know and enjoy such a relationship. So that is always the way God wants us to go - to give as many people as possible that opportunity to have a relationship with Him.

Now it is of no use if a nice looking car doesn't have an engine to make it useful ………and so it might as well be an old run down wreck that can no longer be used for what it was designed.

Therefore we must use what God has given us to be what He wants us to be. We do need an engine to get us moving.

In our reading from 2 Cor. we are told we have a treasure in jars of clay. We are the jars of clay - fallible human beings - but we contain a great treasure - the love of God and Jesus in our hearts. What a treasure we have! Ideally then all we think of or do should be motivated and driven by a burning desire - that the love of God in us will flow out to others. It should underlie all our plans and dreams. It is that which must drive us - it is that is what must be the engine that gets us going forward. It is the gospel of Christ - however we each are called to proclaim it. We each in our own unique ways are called to spread the gospel as members of Christ's church.

That is Evangelism - and that is our engine. Unfortunately evangelism usually hasn't cried out loud enough for attention - so it often has a low priority in the church. It needs to be in our DNA so that it naturally effects how we think and plan and move - so everything is done with that intent - not just for the sake it - but intentionally outward.

Don't go to Church, be the Church

It is not so much what we do, it is who we are. We must be the church - each one of us as a member of the body of Christ.

I really sense there is a widespread growing recognition of the need to really be Christ's mission to the world …to be what Jesus wanted his church to be. And that is exciting!!!!!

And evangelism is the engine that will drive us. God will even provide the fuel for the engine …the Holy Spirit. Jesus said we can do nothing effectively without him - that we need him to provide the power.

When this service ends, that does not also signal the end of church for the week. The last words spoken in the service are - "Go now to love and serve the Lord. Go in peace."

And our response is - "Amen. We go in the name of Christ." Do realise that in saying that you are actually committing yourself to go out from here continuing to represent Christ wherever you are? When we go out from here and hop into our cars we will all end up going in different directions ……Tawa, , Johnsonville, Newlands, Churton Park, the city, etc. ……radiating out to our particular place in the world.

That is church! Each one of us, as members of Christ's body going out being part of his body, the church, wherever we are. That is how Jesus planned for his church to spread the gospel.

How well we play our part in Christ's body depends on our willingness. How willing are we to use the particular engine of evangelism God has given us? We each have our own particular people who God wants us to connect with for Him. God has given us the Holy Spirit to help and empower us to connect in the appropriate way.

Let us go from here with that assurance and confidence.

And when we do, God will bless us ……and bless others through us ……by being His church.

“What is God doing around the world?” 4th October 2009

CPAC sermon 4^th October 2009

From this weeks Winepress comment:

One of the scariest things in life is not failure, it is regret! My personal mantra in recent times is this: "It's time to take a risk for and with Jesus!"

If I fail it's not a big deal, I'll simply try again, but at least I gave it a shot, with no regret.

At a water theme park in Dubai I was challenged by a wild, crazy ride called “Leap of Faith”! ….. show slides… and explain…

This leap of faith was equivalent to a bungy jump for me!....

I had to surrender myself to the ride.

I was not in control – I had to trust the designers of this ride that what they had constructed would be absolutely safe.

I literally put my life in the hands of the designers because if anything happened to me they would be liable.

The spiritual equivalent to this is dying to self.

It is putting our lives into the hands of God…. trusting Him who said,

“I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good

and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”.

(Jer 29:11)

The theme of our service today is

“What is God doing around the world?”

It shouldn’t surprise you that He’s actually doing the same thing he is doing at Churton Park, Wellington New Zealand!

“He is searching the hearts of all people examining their

motives” , as Jeremiah 17:10 reminds us.

CS Lewis said, “I didn’t become a Christian to get happy. I always knew a bottle of port would do that!”

Lewis knew that he could fully trust God.

He knew that when we surrender our lives to God we carry a power within us that can only be from God.

Romans 8:11 “The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you!”

It takes supernatural power to raise the dead.

That’s the kind of power in you, not to be overcome in your life but to be overcomers!

The trouble is that Christians can be people walking around with saved souls but lost lives.

So we must continually ask ourselves:

What is God’s heartbeat now?

What do I see Him doing that I might join Him in that work?

What was my original encounter with Jesus that made me say,

“Count me in Jesus. I’m on your team!” ?

Sometimes we get so side-tracked in life, we forget why we signed up, or we get disillusioned and give up.

That’s why Habbakuk reminded us that

¹⁷ Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,

      and there are no grapes on the vines;

   even though the olive crop fails,

      and the fields lie empty and barren;

   even though the flocks die in the fields,

      and the cattle barns are empty,

¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord!

      I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! (Hab 3:17-18)

We must always have vision or sight to see beyond our natural circumstances. We must die to self and look with eyes full of hope and trust in our God who says,

“I am your God and you are my people. Trust me, follow me, obey me.

Don’t be afraid for I am with you”.

The key is to get low, to get humble before God.

However, the sin of pride is humanity’s downfall and greatest stumbling block because the biggest sin we could ever commit, I believe, is the sin of self righteousness… which is an attitude of believing “I am right and you are wrong, end of story”!

The danger here is that the self-righteous doesn’t believe or even consider they may be in the wrong. They aren’t willing to negotiate or even consider other options or points of view. This self-serving, self righteous attitude is based on power and control. Hence nation will war against nation, group against group, individual against individual in the community, the workplace, in the home and yes, in the church.

Rev 3:19 says, “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.”

A self righteous person will never turn from their indifference.

Such a stance is the root cause of all conflict causing stubbornness, bitterness, and an ever-increasing hardened heart.

Such pride is an abomination in God’s eyes who will bring down the proud but He will exalt the humble.

Our best model for humility is of course Jesus who came to serve, not to be served, and who emptied Himself of His divinity (Phil 2:6-8).

Note that Jesus didn’t need to be baptise, in fact, John the Baptist was very reluctant to do it but Jesus said he had to do it “to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). And, Abraham was counted as “righteous before God” because of his faith, trust and obedience to God (Genesis 15:6). Humility, being righteous, was the key here.

Righteous is a big word in the bible.

To be righteous is to die to self and to totally surrender oneself to God.

It’s begins with one’s heart posture.

With God’s help such a posture is always possible, bringing change from the inside-out.

Clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:4) ensure we are like soft clay in the Potter’s hands being made more and more like His precious Son in nature and character.

Then, God delights in, and can help such a person take amazing leaps of faith! ….for…“He is searching the hearts of all people examining their

motives” … (Jeremiah 17:10)

Linda and I want to show you a few more slides from our trip now…..

SEEING GOD IN THE EVERYDAY 30 Aug 09

SEEING GOD IN THE EVERYDAY

Drama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7_pCZp9UHI

There once were two little brothers who were excessively mischievous. They were always getting into trouble. If any mischief occurred in their town, the two boys were probably involved.

The boys' mother heard that a preacher in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The preacher agreed, but he asked to see them individually. So the mother sent the younger boy first, planning to send the older boy to see the preacher in the afternoon.

The preacher, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Do you know where God is, son?" The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open.

So the preacher repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God?!" Again, the boy made no attempt to answer.

The preacher raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, "Where is God?!" The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him.

When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?"

The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time. GOD is missing, and they think we did it!"

But seriously, how often do you feel that you’ve lost God? Many of you will have been taught it is important to set aside some time to spend with God everyday – such as a quiet time. Obviously this is important, but if you are anything like me it often seems as if this time is connived and artificial, and that sometimes God seems to be missing.

We come to church on Sunday and then off we go and carry on the rest of the week with little 5 minute God times fitted around our busy schedules. We try all sorts of things to try and make this God time suit us – devotional readings, music, prayer focus, psalms and often nothing we do seems to actually bring us closer to God.

· Where is God anyway when we are trying to connect with him?

· Why does it have to be so hard?

· Why does it seem as if other people get Words of Wisdom all the time and we are still struggling to make any sort of connection or even just to focus for more than 30 seconds on praying?

I am sure many of you will find these complaints familiar. Yet we often feel as if we are the only ones who feel this way. It always seems so much better for other Christians.

Over the past few months I have been spending a lot of time focussing on directing my spiritual life. I have looked at various different ways of meeting with God and to be honest not many of them seem to work well, BUT some do, often in surprising ways and I have learnt to focus on the ones that do.

In order to meet with God we firstly have to recognise what we are looking for. What is our image of God like?

As the activity earlier showed, there is a large range of variations on this theme. As we look at others perceptions we might think ‘how does that work?’ Yet we are all made individual and we all have unique ways of thinking. God knows you better than you do yourself and he deliberately and consciously made you that way. If you need reminding of that read Psalm 139.

God knows who you are deep inside. He knows what makes you tick and how to get that ticking going.

As we looked at that drama, how many of you felt a connection? We seem to spend a lot of time trying very hard to make a connection with God.

We try to be ‘holy’, listen up for a ‘word’ or tune in to what God is saying to us and come up blank.

· So how do we connect with God?

· Can we all meet with him everyday? in real and practical ways?

I believe the key is in understanding ourselves and recognising who God is for us. If you are an extrovert like me then being quiet and reflective is hard work. That doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it just takes more effort. It is certainly not something I feel comfortable with doing every day. But I need to connect with God every day so I have to develop ways I can relate to him that are meaningful according to who I am. Recognising that God wants to be part of my life in every possible way is helpful in establishing that relationship. God really is interested in everything I enjoy. He is eager to be with me when I walk to work, when I drive the kids round to their various activities, when I sit down to dinner and when I am sewing. If this makes me feel uncomfortable then it is probably more my problem – is it because of what I am doing, thinking, watching on TV or ...?

It is important to recognise that God is there even if we don’t recognise him, or want him round. He is definitely there when life is tough and more often than not he is carrying us through these times – like it says in the Footprints poem which many of you will be familiar with.

I have found it helpful to acknowledge that no one else’s spiritual life will be quite like mine. My relationship to God is unique in every way. He has taken time to craft a special friendship with me that would suit no one else – he loves me that much! He has also done that for you. You are the only one preventing that relationship from blossoming. God is able to reveal himself to you in a way ideally suited to you and all you need to do is recognise his presence.

· Consider what you like best.

· What makes an impression on you?

· How do you best connect with others?

· Are you quiet and reflective or do you prefer action?

· If quiet is hard then consider background music as you try to tune into his presence.

· Take a walk with your iPod if sitting still is difficult.

· Write your thoughts down in a journal.

How you meet with God is between you and God. By all means try a variety of ways – it may well be through trial and error that you establish the most meaningful connection, but don’t be afraid to explore.

Your task is to meet with God in every moment in a way that is meaningful for you (not for your friends).

Take time to offer yourself up to God and seek his guidance as you develop a 2 way relationship with him. Think on Psalm 119:73 – ‘You made me; you created me.
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.’

It won’t necessarily come easily but God’s word is full of advice on relying on his wisdom and guidance. Come before him in humility and with a desire to meet him and I am sure you will not be disappointed. Our own attitude is a key to being perceptive to God’s presence. Ask God to train your attitudes, thoughts and desires towards his laws and be receptive to where he leads you.

If you desire a closer relationship with God and want to be more aware of his presence in your life, I have a list of foundational truths which you may find helpful.

God wants to share everything with you. And he created you so he knows you best and is willing to steer you on a path that will experience his presence in unique and special way.

FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS (‘Closer Than You Think’ by John Ortberg)

· God is always present and active in your life, whether or not you see Him.

· Coming to recognize and experience God's presence is learned behaviour which you can cultivate.

· Your task is to meet God in this moment.

· We are always tempted to live "outside" this moment. When we do that, we lose our sense of God's presence.

· Sometimes God seems far away for reasons we do not understand. Those moments, too, are opportunities to learn.

· Whenever we fail, we can always start again right away.

· No one knows the full extent to which a human being can experience God's presence.

· Our desire for God ebbs and flows, but His desire for each of us is constant.

· Every thought carries a "spiritual charge" that moves us a little closer to, or a little farther from God.

· Every aspect of your life--work, relationships, hobbies, errands--is of immense and genuine interest to God.

· Your path to experiencing God's presence will not look quite like anyone else's.

· Straining and trying too hard do not help.

Tania Roberts-Thomson

Learning for Life - Ephesians 4:1-16

Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16

It has been very special today for us as a church family, to share with Ange and Pete and their families in giving thanks to God for their beautiful little boy, Noah. He will bring them great joy I know. I know Ange & Pete will delight in teaching him new things and giving him new exciting experiences, and just seeing him develop and grow. And for the next few years Noah will just soak up all this learning and look to you with absolute admiration and adoration, really proud that you are his parents.

And then he will become a teenager! Like many teenagers Noah may seem to realize overnight just how much more he knows than his parents. He will find his friends and even their parents do too. He may seem to be on another planet when you try to tell him something, so whatever you say may still not seem to make any impression on him. And for most parents there comes a point when we feel we just have to let our children try things themselves, and learn that way. They will make mistakes so we have to always be there for them. However I encourage parents that there is a way. You have an awesome opportunity and privilege to influence your children's life for good - throughout their life, whatever the circumstances.

It came as a great surprise for Bronwyn & me to discover later on just how much our children had still learned from us through that period, and they had learned - perhaps unwittingly - or even unconsciously, from how we lived our lives. Now we only remember the good things they learned of course - no doubt there were things we could have done better. But it just emphasizes how important it is for our lives to be consistent in living out the values we believe in, so our lives convey the right values to others. A verse in Proverbs (20:7) says this is living with integrity.

Integrity - Rollo May, a psychologist, said "integrity is being the same on the outside as we are on the inside." That is quite a challenge isn't it? It is a challenge that can only have a positive outcome if it is love that is inside us - God's love - because love will then determine our values, and how they impact on others.

Of course there are various ways we learn - by being told, by reading, and so on. But for me how much knowledge I retain increases by being shown - in discussion with others - and ultimately by putting into practice what we have been taught - by doing it.

This is exactly the method Jesus used to teach his disciples.

He explained things;

He showed them how he did the things he was teaching them;

He had many discussions with them;

And he sent them out to do what he had taught and showed them.

Now I am sure I didn't listen to all of my father's advice either, but it is really interesting how much I do remember of my parent's values even many years later, and what I do remember is mainly HOW they lived their lives.

Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus was to remind individuals of how they should live their lives and to explain the purpose of the church in helping them do that. In the passage that Phil read, Paul urges us to a life worthy - being humble, gentle, patient, loving, and peaceful.

That isn't always natural or easy is it? Some people really do push us to the limit at times.

Well the church should be able to help us (just like a parent) - by teaching, showing, and encouraging us to try things. In that same passage Paul also explained how the church can help us. He said that God prepares certain people in the church for this purpose - to prepare us for works of service so that together we may be built up, become mature in our faith, and grow to be more like Christ.

At CPAC we have those people. We have a pastor; we have evangelists, apostles, prophets, and teachers to encourage us in our growth too. That's great. But they can't do it all.

At some point we have to take individual responsibility for our own growth and development - to stop needing to be spoon fed - to feed ourselves so we grow up to maturity.

As parents we enjoy seeing our children develop and mature.

In the same way God longs for us to grow up to maturity - to be more like Christ.

I heard this comment recently - "Impression without expression is repression"

To me that means being taught something but not doing anything with it can actually make knowledge a burden rather than being useful. We often say that if we don't move forward, we won't just stand still, we will move backwards. Use it, or lose it! As Paul wrote to Timothy - "………I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God that is within you……" We need to use the good that has been placed in us, however it has been placed, and use it for the good of others.

And James reminds us (ch.2:14-17) - Just having the knowledge, even a genuine faith in God, is not much use ……………….unless we act on it, and put our beliefs into practice.

Last Sunday Bronwyn & I went to Arohata Prison to take a Bible study with the women. The study was about the time Jesus taught his disciples about serving …….when he washed their feet. One of the women there made the comment that when you do make the effort to help someone else you are often also helped yourself. A verse in Proverbs (11:24) agrees. This is pretty much what Dr Karl Menninger, a psychiatrist, said about people continually seeking help. He said something like "Those people need to lock up their house, go across the road, find someone in need, and do something to help that person."

And the results of a survey conducted by the Willow Creek Church in the USA recently give a similar perspective. They have for years produced many programs and courses and they undertook a thorough professional survey of many churches over a period of 4 years. The results surprised them. They discovered that their programs were not nearly as effective as they thought. They found that…………………..

1. The key to an individual's growth was their personal relationship with Jesus - and how close that relationship was.

2. That rather than people wanting to be spoon fed to grow in this relationship, they wanted to know how to take personal responsibility for it.

3. That serving others is an important aspect of a close relationship with Jesus. This follows the example of Jesus who said "I came not to be served, but to serve."

4. The church's most influential role is often in the formative years of a Christian.

5. The church's role then is to provide support and opportunities for people to serve.

6. As Christians mature they need to be serving more and more (and particularly outside the church) in order for them to have life and vitality in their faith, rather than to plateau or even slip back.

I know there are people here today who can testify to the reality of that aspect of serving. Those who have been on short term missions to Fiji to help the people there in various ways, have come home feeling quite the reverse has happened ……that they are the ones who have been richly blessed.

Bronwyn & I experience it time and again when we go to the Prison to minister to the women, and come away absolutely uplifted and feeling that it is we who have been ministered to.

Many others have similar experiences, and I think of others here involved in community service.

But it doesn't need to be special events. I have seen a person from CPAC in her work situation displaying those qualities listed in our Bible reading. And I have seen her grow in her faith since being in that role. I know of someone else who quietly serves in behind the scenes roles at CPAC, and I have witnessed the growth in his faith.

It is their willing serving attitude that is the difference.

Many of us serve, for sure. But it is how we serve that is important.

The key to a willing serving attitude is love. Christ's love for us - our love for him shown in our love for others. Paul reminds us of this in our reading (Ephesians 4:15).

Another version puts it this way - "If we live with integrity and love we will grow to be like Christ." Remember that verse from Proverbs about parents living with integrity, and the on flow effect that has on their children? It is worth it. It has a positive affect on others, and on us.

And if love is the motivation, it takes away any feeling of compulsion.

Whatever we do then, let us do it with the right motivation.

Paul again writes in Col.3:17 - when we do anything, whether it is setting up for church services here ……………in our home ….going about our daily work ….on a mission ….in our community …………..whatever it is …………..let us do it with the attitude of doing it for Christ, in a way that will bring honor and glory to him.

In closing there is only one point I am trying to make. That is - putting into practice what we have been taught and modeled, especially by lovingly serving others, is an essential element of our growth to maturity.

No matter how you may try to remember this, whether it is:

Integrity;

Using it or losing it;

Fanning into flames;

Faith without works is dead;

However it is …………for us to learn for real life requires action …………our action!

When we do act we will find that not only will we grow to be more like Christ, but:

We will empower and bless others;

And we will bring worship and delight to God.

I encourage you to pray the Prayer for the Week as a personal prayer of commitment - to love and serve the Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ,

I acknowledge you as my Saviour and Lord who, when you came to earth, showed us you were our servant leader too. Please help me to follow your example - to love as you loved, and to serve as you served. In doing this may I be a blessing to others, and bring worship and glory to you. Amen

Holy 12 July 09

July 12^th 2009

Holy

This is not a SERMON. It is going to be more of a sharing about a journey over the last six months and some ideas about the way ahead. It originates from a conversation I had with Danny way back in February, when I suggested perhaps some of those who attended New Wine could have the opportunity to share a bit of their experience with the rest of the congregation. Then about a month ago Danny asked me if I was still ok to do a sermon on holiness, which was a bit of a shock and taught me a lesson! Don’t suggest anything unless you are prepared to be the one who puts it into place. Anyway, I feel very ill-equipped to give a sermon on holiness: first I am probably one of the least ‘holy’ people I know, and secondly, I would never profess to try to tell anyone else how to live in ‘holiness’!! However, I am blessed to take a little bit of a different approach to the concept of ‘holiness’ and talk a little about my experience at New Wine and where it has taken me since then. By the way, parts of this talk may seem like a promotional for New Wine: I would like to assure you that I am not getting a commission for every person that registers from CPAC, although that might be nice!, however you may hear me say more than once that it might be worth considering for 2010.

I was a reluctant participant in New Wine this year, I have to admit. We have attended approx every second year for the last 8 years, but I wasn’t really into it this time. I was feeling pretty stale in my relationship with God for a start, and as many of you will understand, that can be a real disincentive to getting involved and doing something about it. Secondly I had been involved as part of the music team the last two times we had attended, but when I offered my services was told, no thanks, so was a bit miffed having to attend as just an ordinary person (isn’t it amazing how much our egos can get in the way sometimes?). And finally, when it came down to it, we had just spent 2 weeks in a tent, which is about my limit of airbeds/sand/gas cookers etc, and the thought of 4-5 more days on top of that just didn’t appeal.

So I started a bit unwillingly, a bit ‘not into it’. And for the first couple of days that was how I felt: half-hearted in the worship, enjoying the teaching but not really getting a lot out of it, and kind of wondering why I was there. I was encouraged by a couple of people’s experiences, who clearly were feeling the presence of God, but for me it was, if you like, the usual: other people seemed to be the really spiritual ones, and I felt kind of like it was only for them! I’m sure none of you have ever experienced that!

I think it was on the second evening that I went up for prayer, thinking I may as well, at least no harm can come from this: some real deliverance occurred at that point: I guess some blockages were cleared and suddenly I found I was starting to get something out of being there: following this on the next evening service, the open day which many of you attended, I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Kenny Borthwick, who is a wonderful Scotsman and was one of the main speakers, was up front, and many times over those few days he and the other speakers were taking the attitude of, let’s see where God wants to take this, let’s see if we can find out what God wants to do, rather than following a set plan. As he led this particular session, and it was obvious he knew God wanted to do something special, a few people started laughing, and some crying (but mostly laughing!) which he encouraged, and it was very infectious, many more joined in. Normally in these situations I am the absolute cynic, and I’m sure many of you will identify with that: thoughts like, ‘yeah right, who was planted in the audience to start this?’ And ‘how embarrassing, what would everyone think’, and even, ‘come on, if its really You God, make me laugh!!’ This time I thought I would approach it differently, and to do this I had to put lots of thoughts out of my mind and just get down to me and, who knows, maybe God. I knelt down in the aisle (by the way I have never done anything like that before…..) and allowed myself to be open to whatever God was doing, if indeed it was God. And guess what: within a few minutes I also was laughing: deeply, from the depths of my being. I knew, at that moment, that I was in the presence of the Holy Spirit. And yes there have been other times when I have seen God at work and heard His voice (less often than I would like!!) but this was the first time I have really physically felt the presence of God. And it was special. And it was Holy. I felt like I was on Holy ground

Now we are getting to the point. If there was one major thrust or point of the teaching at New Wine, with the theme of ‘Holy’, was, being in God’s presence is Holy. There are of course many approaches one can take to the word holy or holiness: however the approach I would like to take today is, learning to seek out the presence of God, as where God is, that is Holy Ground

The first usage of a word in the Bible is significant: it sets the standard if you like for the rest of the usages. The first usage of the word holy refers, interestingly enough not to God, but to the ground. In Exodus 3: 3-5(which you heard in the reading today,). God says to Moses, take of your shoes, the ground you are standing on is holy ground. How many times had Moses passed or even stood in that spot in his 40 years as a shepherd? Was the ground always holy? What made it holy? Quite simply, the presence of God. When the Israelites built the temple, what was the innermost sanctum called? the holy of holies. Why? Quite simply, it was there that the High priest met with God once a year, Gods presence made it ‘holy of holies’.

Being in the presence of God is significant, lifechanging: You will all know what happened to Zachariah, John the Baptist’s father, when he went into the holy of holies and met with the angel of God; and how Moses looked after meeting God face to face. Holy is being in the presence of God. It can be terrifying. Zachariah was paralyzed with fear. As Rob Bell shares in his book, Velvet Elvis, which I will refer to later, he became aware of the presence of God in a terrifying way. But in a good way. As Rob says, the word that springs to mind is holy.

So, how do we seek out the presence of God, seek out this holiness: to paraphrase Kenny: “find out what God is doing and go and be part of it”. Now I am sure that many of us have experienced, or possibly even done, the opposite: deciding what to do and asking God to bless it, or starting a service/event etc then inviting the Holy Spirit to join us? Do you see the difference? How can we approach this, seeking out the presence of God, seeking out Holy ground.

This is a very individual walk. You are each journeying your own individual journey with God and I can not stand up here and say you need to do such and such and you will find holy ground. But I am happy to share with you some of the ways I have been approaching this and give you some food for thought. In fact, preparing for today has been a good exercise in that it has forced me to sit down and think, and ask, has this affected my walk with God? Since New Wine, has my journey developed/changed? It’s very easy to go to an event like New Wine and be all Rah Rah, Hallelujah, etc then the busyness of everyday life takes over and we go back and settle into our old daily routines: and there certainly has been some of that for me. Again to quote Rob Bell: “ Do you and I walk in holy ground all the time, but we are moving so fast and returning so many calls and writing so many emails and having such long lists to get done that we miss it?” How often are we too busy to miss it?? I would say for me its pretty often!

Anyway, back to the journey: First, and in fact this is something I’ve been working on for a while: I remind myself that I am a human being, not a human doing. That means that its ok to take time when I can just be, I don’t always have to do. Or put another way, take some Sabbath time. This may be daily, weekly, (sometimes for me it is termly….) But at the end of a day it is ok sometimes to look back and say, I did nothing. The first reference to the Sabbath day in Genesis in fact uses a Hebrew word which is closely related to the word for holy: Sabbath time is holy, time to be, time in God’s presence.

As well there are a couple of books that I have started to work through, that really have helped in the seeking the presence of God: one I shared about a few weeks ago: The Shack, by William Paul Young. The other which I have already referred to today is Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell: there is much in both of these books that is worth delving into, but one of the points that has really stuck for me is the difference between ‘expectation’ and ‘expectancy’. We often go to God with expectation: I know I have many times gone to Him with an expectation that He will answer a prayer, or do something, in a certain way. When I have done that I have often been disappointed: I have not had an answer, not seen God at work. Yet if we go to Him with an expectancy that we will meet with Him or experience Him in some way, we are allowing the Spirit of God to work rather than setting our own boundaries. A simple analogy is a pregnant woman: we say she is expectant: she does not have expectations that her baby will be beautiful, intelligent, a great netball or rugby player: but she does have an expectancy and excitement about the life to come. Rob Bell puts it similarly when he talks about ‘obligation’ or ‘anticipation.’ Do we come to church for example out of obligation, or with an anticipation that something amazing could happen?

This has also helped me in my approach to worship, and music in general. If I approach music with the expectation that it will be all perfect and amazing sounding, or with a feeling of obligation or duty, I am likely to be disappointed. But, if I go into music with an expectancy and anticipation that somehow through the music we might see/hear/feel/know the presence of God, then maybe that will be holy ground.

One of the things Rob Bell teaches in Velvet Elvis is that with the new covenant and the breaking down of the barriers to the Holy of holies, it opens the door for us to see and meet God everywhere: in creation, in nature, indeed in life itself, for without God there wouldn’t be life!! I would like to share a simply lovely passage in here about how the presence of God can be seen and felt even by those whom God loves, but do not yet believe:

(Velvet Elvis p76 and 92) “Last year some friends asked me to be their pastor for their wedding ceremony. They had been together for a while and decided to make it official and throw a huge weekend party……They said they didn’t want any Jesus or God or Bible or religion to be talked about. But they did want me to make it really ‘spiritual’. The bride said it in her own great way: “Rob, do that thing you do. Make it really profound and deep and spiritual”. So we decided to meet the morning of the wedding to actually plan the ceremony. It was a stunningly beautifully day……The wind was blowing the tops of the trees……the sun was coming through in yellow and white beams……an eagle flew overhead. I asked my friends why they wanted to be married in such a natural organic setting………They talked about the beauty of nature, its peacefulness, and the way they fell in love in this part of the state. The the groom said something I will never forget: “Something holds this all together”. So then I asked them if they thought it was a mistake that they had found each other. And they said no, they believed they were meant to be together and it was no accident they met and fell in love. I then asked them: “Do you think that whatever it is that holds all this together is the same thing that has brought you two together?” They said yes, same thing. So I said that maybe what makes their relationship so meaningful to them is that it’s a picture of something much bigger. The same force that brought them together holds the whole world together. I then asked “So today your wedding is about something far more significant then just the two of you becoming husband and wife isn’t it?” They then said they would call this glue, this force, “God”. ……. Jesus was up on that cliff with us that day. It is not that God is over here and real life is over there. If it is real, then it is showing us God. It is not that passion and love and exhilaration are in one place and Jesus is somewhere else. Wherever you find those you are finding God. In affirming and celebrating all that they did that day on the cliff, my friends are closer to Jesus than they could ever imagine.” (end of quote)

So one of the greatest ways to seek and to be in the presence of God is to live life knowing that He has made it all possible, that He is there, that He binds it all together. Whether it is in good music, good food, good company, beauty, love, simply life itself, God is present. Dare we ask, is all ground holy ground?

Of course this does not mean that we can live any way we choose and still expect to meet with the Spirit of God: when I was a young Christian I was taught that as the Spirit came to dwell in us, as it says in Ephesians 2:22, so we were always in the presence of God, and that is at one level absolutely true. However, because of that I was always a little wary of the idea of looking for or seeking the presence of God because, hey, He’s there already. But one of the teachings of New Wine put this in perspective for me: Kenny related a little story as told by RT Kendall, (some of you may be familiar with the name): A missionary and his wife were living in a small house on the mission field and a dove had made its home in the attic. They noticed however that at times the dove was not there. After observing this for a while, they realised that whenever they argued/raised their voices the dove would leave for a while. Then when peace had descended the dove came back to the attic. The couple rather liked having a dove living in their attic, being a symbol of the holy spirit, and realised that they had two choices: either they could train the dove to put up with their arguments and shouting, or they could modify their behaviour so that the dove was comfortable to stay. I will leave you to work out which was the only possible option.

For me this is a lesson: yes God is with us always and dwells in us, but there are times and places where He chooses to let his spirit descend like a dove in a certain situation or on a certain person or group of people. Some of those at Summer Wine experienced the dove, as I did in laughter, some by weeping, some by a wonderful perfume, some by prophetic words. But it is easy to grieve the Spirit of God, the dove, like the bird itself, is sensitive, we can scare it away (see Ephesians 4.30 and context: some great guidance in how to walk in holiness). How we approach God and life can determine whether we see/are aware of the spirit: do we approach God with cynicism or openness, with obligation or anticipation? Do we look for God in the creation around us or do we simply get blinkered and stuck in our everyday routine? Do we seek out what God is doing and long to be part of that or do we decide what to do and expect God to turn up and bless it? Do we desire to walk on Holy ground in the presence of God Almighty, or do we simply scare away the dove? I would like to leave you with these questions and hopefully something to think about. And yes, I would suggest that getting involved with something like New Wine is a good thing: I can honestly say that I met with my Heavenly Father there and that it has changed my approach to how I try to relate to Him. No the change is not dramatic but it is happening and I believe is making a difference to my life. Perhaps it would make a difference to yours.

I will leave you with a Parting thought: I Peter 1:18 says in the Message translation: Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. Let’s try to be conscious/be aware/be longing for the presence of God as we live in the world this week. After all, if it wasn’t for God there wouldn’t be life/awareness/ consciousness /even a world in any case! Thank you.

Tim Jenkin

12/7/09

Daniel – A Man on a Mission 28 June 2009 Daniel 6 (v1-16)

CPAC sermon  Daniel – A Man on a Mission 28 June 2009 Daniel 6 (v1-16)

(Recount some of Dileeni's testimony about "victimisation" etc....= Daniel in the lion's den!)

You’ve heard me say on a number of occasions that I believe God has called CPAC to a great task - that of sharing His love in this community and beyond, in fact, all over the world!

You’ve heard me say that we aren’t a church that exists to build our own little empire but we exist to build and extend the glorious Kingdom of God.

You’ve heard me say that I believe there is an apostolic calling upon our church.

We are here, not to keep people to ourselves, but to send people out as apostles, yes, and also as either prophets, pastors, teachers or evangelists.

That’s an Ephesians chapter 4:11-13 calling upon our church. … read that bible passage….

Now, not everyone will go, thank goodness, because we still need people here to keep the home fires burning, and to keep bringing people in, in order to send them out.

We all have a role to play, in one way or another.

No one role is any more important than another role; all are vital to the cause of building the Kingdom of God.

Now there are a number of ways of understanding the Kingdom of God.

For the purposes of what I am sharing this morning, this is what I mean by the Kingdom of God.

Jesus said the Kingdom is within us.

So the true Kingdom of God is the rule of God in the hearts of human beings.

The Kingdom of God is shaped by the hand of God.

God is the Potter shaping and moulding our hearts.

The Kingdom (you and I) is powered by God.

When you are building the Kingdom of God you are sowing “God seeds” into the lives of those you affect.

Remember what you do for the Kingdom is always powered by God because the Kingdom is the rule of God in the hearts of humans.

So it helps to have some power tools when doing Kingdom work.

You’ll know the television comedy series “Home Improvement” featuring Tim the Tool Man Taylor…..

To accomplish our mission as a church to build God’s Kingdom

you and I will need the proper power tools.

Let’s consider the tools we need in order to share God's love.

Yes we'll need our Bibles.

But what do you think is one of the most important power tools for us to have as we serve God and extend His Kingdom?

Daniel had it and he used it very effectively for God’s purposes.

Let me give you a little background information first.

As prophesied by Isaiah, Nebucadnezzar, king of Babylon invaded Judah around 606B.C.

He sacked the Jewish Temple of all valuables and took them back to Babylon.

He also took a number of young Judean princes.

Among them were Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

They were no more than pre-teens at this time, around 12-14 years old.

And they were indeed princes.

Josephus tells us that Daniel and his friends were of the family of Zedekiah.

This means their grandfather was good King Josiah...the king who attempted to return the people of Judah to obeying and worshiping and serving the one true God of Israel.

Daniel also heard the teaching of the prophets Jeremiah, Habbakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Reading the things that Daniel wrote in his book tell us that he had read the writings of Isaiah.

This suggests that, as he grew, Daniel was exposed to people who held a deep faith and trust in God.

He believed in God without compromise.

As a young man he was educated, honest, trustworthy and full of integrity.

He found favour with King Nebucadnezzar.

He served the King and within fifteen years of entering the king's service,

He had gained a reputation as a man of real wisdom.

Ezekiel refers to Daniel as being as wise as Noah and Job.

Daniel outlived Nebuchadneszzar and the next six kings of Babylon.

He lived on into the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia.

Now, the text we are looking at this morning refers to something that happened toward the end of Daniel's life, which, by the way, shows that we are never too old for God to use us in a powerful way.

Daniel was in his early 90's by this time.

He was given a great deal of responsibility in the Persian kingdom, working for King Darius, who most scholars believe ruled for King Cyrus.

So what is the power tool that Daniel used so effectively?

The power tool is the tool of personal integrity.

A dictionary definition of integrity is consistency and sincerity, with no deception or pretense.

The word integrity and the maths term “integer” come from the same root word which means, whole.

In other words, there is no discrepancy between what a person of integrity appears to be on the outside and what he or she is on the inside.

He is whole, the same through and through.

People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear.

Their lives are open books.

The opposite of integrity for example, is hypocrisy.

Charles Swindoll recounts the true story of a man who went into a Kentucky Fried Chicken store to get some chicken for himself and the young lady who was with him.

She waited in the car while he went in to pick up the chicken.

Inadvertently, the manager of the store handed the guy the box in which he had placed the financial proceeds of the day instead of a box of chicken.

The manager had camouflaged the money by putting the money in a chicken box.

The man took the box, which he thought was filled with chicken, went back to the car, and drove away.

When they eventually opened the box, they discovered they had a box full of money.

Realizing the mistake, he immediately returned to the place and gave the money back to the manager.

The manager was of course elated!

He was so pleased that he told the young man to stick around…

”I want to call the newspaper and have them take your picture.

You have to be the most honest guy in town!”

“Oh no, don't do that!” said the man.

“Why not?” asked the manager.

“Well, you see I'm married and the woman I'm with is not my wife”.

As this story illustrates, on the surface individuals may look like people of honesty and great integrity, people so thoroughly honest that if they’d been given the wrong change at a supermarket check out they'd give the 50 cents back.

But underneath, it isn't unusual to find some corruption or deception.

For the follower of Jesus Christ it means there must be a congruence,

or a consistency,

between our character and our creed,

between our beliefs and our behaviour,

between our walk and our talk.

It means loving God with the totality of who we are and allowing that love and our faith to extend to the whole of our life, including our families, our community relationships, and our careers.

INTEGRITY was Daniel’s middle name.

1. Daniel’s whole life illustrates the fact that integrity shows.

Is your integrity showing?

Daniel got a high powered job because people noticed his integrity.

His walk matched his talk.

His word was his bond.

He could be trusted to be completely fair and just.

In verse 3 it said that Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the high officers by his exceptional qualities that the king placed him over the entire empire.

If we are to be effective for God in representing Him in our daily lives,

we too must strive for personal integrity.

Proverbs 20:7 says, “The righteous person leads a blameless life.”

Evangelism is living your life as a person of integrity.

Evangelism is being Christ-like in every thing you do.

When it comes to evangelism, BEING precedes doing.

In that sense, you can ALL be evangelists, and impact people’s lives for good in one way or another, just by being yourself showing integrity in all you do.

So ask yourself, what message is your life conveying to those around you?

Is your integrity showing?

2. Daniel’s life shows us that living a life of integrity does not prevent you from the unfairness of life.

Being fair with others does not mean they will be FAIR with you!

Daniel wasn't thrown into the lions' den because he had done something wrong, but because he had done something right!

He was punished for the crime of praying in the privacy of his home – very unfair!

    (Recall Dileeni's testimony..... victimisation...)

The truth is that in our fallen world things are so warped and twisted

that at times people are rewarded for doing wrong and punished for doing right!

This is hard to swallow.

Psalm 73 says,

“² But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. ³ For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness…. ¹³ Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?  ¹⁴ I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” (Psalm 73:2-3, 13-14 )

YES, LIFE IS OFTEN UNFAIR!

No one, not even those with integrity, are exempt from tragedy and disappointment.

In fact, as the events of the first Easter remind us, even God Himself was not exempt.

Philip Yancey writes,

“Jesus offered no immunity, no way out of the unfairness of life but

rather a way through it to the other side.

Just as Good Friday demolished the instinctive belief that this life is

supposed to be fair, Easter Sunday followed with its startling clue to the

riddle of the universe. Out of the darkness, a bright light shone!” (unquote)

If you are facing unfairness, remember that Easter Sunday follows Good Friday.

Hang in there!

God will bring you through your own lions' den just as He did Daniel.

This is a very important Psalm so I am going to read a good chunk of it.

Grab hold of this…. King David in Psalm 37 said,

“ ¹ Don’t worry about the wicked
      or envy those who do wrong.
² For like grass, they soon fade away.
      Like spring flowers, they soon wither.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good.
      Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
      and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵ Commit everything you do to the Lord.
      Trust him, and he will help you.
⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
      and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord,
      and wait patiently for him to act.
   Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
      or fret about their wicked schemes.

⁸ Stop being angry!
      Turn from your rage!
   Do not lose your temper—
      it only leads to harm.
⁹ For the wicked will be destroyed,
      but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

¹⁰ Soon the wicked will disappear.
      Though you look for them, they will be gone.
¹¹ The lowly will possess the land
      and will live in peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the godly;
      they snarl at them in defiance.
¹³ But the Lord just laughs,
      for he sees their day of judgment coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords
      and string their bows
   to kill the poor and the oppressed,
      to slaughter those who do right.
¹⁵ But their swords will stab their own hearts,
      and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ It is better to be godly and have little
      than to be evil and rich.
¹⁷ For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
      but the Lord takes care of the godly.

¹⁸ Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
      and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
¹⁹ They will not be disgraced in hard times;
      even in famine they will have more than enough.

Life may be unfair.

God is always fair.

3. People of integrity know the importance of PRAYER.

Prayer was Daniel's daily habit every day, three times a day!

Perhaps he was following the example of David who wrote in Psalm 55:17,

^“17 Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress and the Lord

hears my voice.”

When we spend time with God we become more and more like Him.

In his book on the spiritual disciplines, Richard Foster writes,

“In real prayer we begin to think God's thoughts after Him: to desire the

things He desires, to love the things He loves. Progressively we are

taught to see things from His point of view.”

Daniel wasn't on his knees because of some tragedy or emergency.

It was his REGULAR habit.

This constant communication with God was the source of his great integrity.

How is your prayer time?

What does it take to get you on your knees?

We must learn to shut the world out and tune God in at least ONCE a day every day without fail, otherwise the things of the world will crowd God out.

Many of us claim we are too busy for daily prayer but remember that Daniel was the CEO of a huge empire.

The truth is, prayer must be a priority.

We must reorder our daily schedules around time with God.

The Devil is very good at sending emails like this:

“Dear Christian,

When you're faced with a busy day, save precious time by skipping

your devotions. Signed, Satan”

As people of integrity, we can't afford to miss regular time alone in conversation with God if we are to live lives of significance for Him.

4. ....by using the power tool of integrity you can have an amazing IMPACT on this world.

Daniel's reputation as a man of integrity gave him the opportunity to impact two great empires: the Babylonian and the Persian empires.

He also changed the course of the history of the people of God.

Remember the King's proclamation after finding Daniel unharmed the next morning? He said,

²⁵ Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world:

   “Peace and prosperity to you!
²⁶ “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.

   For he is the living God,
      and he will endure forever.
   His kingdom will never be destroyed,
      and his rule will never end.
²⁷ He rescues and saves his people;
      he performs miraculous signs and wonders
      in the heavens and on earth.
   He has rescued Daniel
     from the power of the lions.”

²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.^[a]

Most scholars doubt that King Darius ever became a worshiper of Yahweh but he did respect God's power so much that he later sent the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple.

This never would have happened if it were not for Daniel's integrity.

And note how God used even pagan kings to prosper His purposes.

Like Daniel, you too can change your world by using the power tool of integrity.

This morning is the Holy Spirit speaking to you,

urging you to be a follower of Jesus in your scope of influence?

If you haven't been living a life of integrity,

if you haven't been conducting yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ... (Philippians 1:27 ) ...then it is never too late to begin to do so.

As I John 1:9 says,

“If we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The tool of INTEGRITY is a POWER tool.

It won't work without the POWER of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

It is the Kingdom of God within us, Jesus within us,

who gives us the day to day ability to live lives of integrity.

Some of us may need to rededicate ourselves to God this morning, committing to keep our relationship with Jesus strong.

And, if you don't have access to that power,

if you have never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ,

then today is a good day to do that.

Decide today to accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

God is speaking to you today and now is the time to respond….

“Jailhouse Rock and Roll” 17 May 2009 Acts 16:16-40

CPAC sermon “Jailhouse Rock and Roll”

17 May 2009 Acts 16:16-40

Movie called Paradise Road based on a true story from WW2 where a diverse group of women were held in a Japanese POW camp in Sumatra.

It shows the horror of war where the prisoners were treated with unbelievable brutality - beaten, starved, and forced to endure back-breaking manual labour from daylight until dusk in the hot tropical climate.

The food they were given was little more than garbage.

Their captors provided them with almost no medical supplies

and under this harsh treatment nearly half the camp eventually died.

Morale was understandably very low.

The women were sick, weak, and hungry, and had lost hope of ever being rescued.

A few months into their ordeal one of the prisoners, a Christian missionary to China, felt led to start a "vocal orchestra."

Instead of instruments, the women used their voices to "sing" the orchestral scores.

Another prisoner who had a deep love of music used any scrap of paper she could find to write the musical score.

Relying totally on memory they put the great classical works they had heard years earlier, into written form.

Then they put together a choir and arranged secret section rehearsals, since their guards forbade them to meet together for any purpose, even for religious services.

But sing they did. And very soon their singing had a powerful effect.

First, it stopped the cruel guards in their steps and from this point on most of them treated the women with greater respect.

Their singing also affected the women.

It gave them courage and purpose.

It gave them a reason to hang on.

Their music even helped those lying in the hospital - sick with dysentery or malaria.

The singing was a source of beauty and pleasure in the midst of the ugliness and pain of their existence.

They put together about 30 musical scores in the years they were there.

And in fact, all of their hand-written scores have been preserved.

This film underscores the truth that singing can indeed be a very powerful thing.

God can use it to touch us, to move us,

and to speak to us in ways that mere words don't.

The last part of chapter 16 in Acts records a time when,

much like these women,

Paul and Silas were arrested unfairly,

brutally beaten, and imprisoned.

This beating was no little thing.

The Scripture infers that they received the same kind of flogging, that Jesus did.

Their response to the pain and humiliation they were forced to endure, was to sing songs of praise to God.

And God used their singing in a very powerful way,

just as he used the singing of those brave women in the POW camp.

Philippi was where Paul and Silas ended up - it had evolved into a very "Roman" city populated with retired Roman soldiers and their families who brought with them many of the customs of Rome.

Because of this Romans back then thought of Philippi as sort of a "Rome away from Rome!"

Paul and his companions walked into this very Roman city as the first followers of Jesus Christ ever seen by anyone in that part of the world.

Paul's usual church-starting tactic was to go to the synagogue.

So, when they arrived in Philippi they inquired and discovered this city had no synagogue.

This indicates there were not many Jews living there because to have a synagogue you had to have at least ten men.

Well, Paul knew that any Jews who did live there would customarily gather near a river for prayer on the Sabbath.

So he went down to the river banks and found several women gathered for this purpose.

Their leader was named Lydia and she earned her living by selling purple cloth.

The passage of scripture tells us they encountered a slave girl who was afflicted by a demon…

Her healing (by Paul) was of course a wonderful thing!

But that was just the beginning.

Not everyone was happy about this miracle.

Angered by their sudden economic downfall, the slave girl's greedy masters roused the crowd to riot.

They wrongfully accused Paul and Silas of throwing the city into an uproar.

Paul and Silas were immediately seized, viciously beaten with rods and thrown deep into a Roman dungeon with their feet fastened in stocks.

After this beating Paul and Silas were then thrown into prison cell deep in the jail. Their legs were secured in stocks so they couldn't move-further adding to their extreme pain & discomfort.

Paul and Silas' response to their imprisonment can teach us things we need to know as we face the inevitable heartaches and tribulations of life.

In particular, what can we learn from this example of singing in prison?

Let’s call it jailhouse rock and roll, because the effect of their singing was to literally get things rocking and rolling when a massive EQ struck the prison!

1. I want to offer you two points: first, this text tells us that in order to “sing” in difficult times we must be able to SEE things other "prisoners" don't, ie. see the unseen.

Paul and Silas were wrongfully accused.

They were beaten and imprisoned within an inch of their lives.

I imagine the blood was still flowing freely down their backs since their wounds had not been treated.

They would have been very weak and growing weaker.

Then as the cold began to seep into their bones they must have listened to the scurrying rats that always plague places like that.

But instead of cursing their guards and groaning about their treatment these two began to pray and to sing out loud.

The Greek here is not translated as "prayers of petition" - you know, the type of prayer that says, "Get me out of here God!"

No, the Greek words in this scripture are translated as prayers of praise to God, like,

"God you are so good to us!

Thank you God for your great faithfulness!" and so on.

Can you imagine praying like that in a situation like that?

Prayer is only complete and meaningful when it includes praise to God, no matter what situation or issue we are praying for.

Remember when Jesus gave His followers a prayer "template" to follow?

It began and ended with praise.

Jesus said, pray something like this,

"Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name!

And end with, "For yours is the kingdom and the power

and the glory forever and forever. Amen."

Paul and Silas understood what Jesus was saying about prayer.

In spite of their situation their prayers were filled with praise.

And as they praised God, God did the same thing He did for King David:

He "...put a new song" in their mouths... "a hymn of praise to God." (Psalm 40:3)

And as they began to sing joyful songs of praise,

they turned their cold, dark cell into a heavenly sanctuary!

How were they able to sing songs of praise under those circumstances?

They understood that when a follower of Christ is in the centre of God's will, he or she is never UNDER the circumstances.

Rather, they knew that they had a loving Heavenly Father who is sovereign OVER every circumstance of life whether it’s good or bad.

Paul and Silas had enough confidence in God to know that He was still in control,

and that He could and would use even this painful, dark situation for their good and for His glory.

Charles Spurgeon once said,

"It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight;

but the skilful singer is the one who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by.

Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men."

Paul expressed this same confidence in God later in his life when he was imprisoned in Rome.

He wrote to young Timothy and said that even in the midst of suffering, (2 Timothy 1:12)

"I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day."

Two things were driving Paul and Silas to trust God that night:

1 they believed that God's sovereign power and knowledge were absolute. God was in control.

2 they understood that God's love for them was infinite and unconditional. God would give them the strength and fortitude to bear whatever came their way.

They had what we might call "seeing hearts".

In other words, they looked at their situation not with “physical eyes” but with the "eyes of their hearts”, or with “eyes of faith”.

These two missionaries didn't allow their circumstances to choose their attitude.

They made a conscious decision to trust God,

to praise God,

to have faith in God no matter how bad things appeared to be.

And if we are to "sing" in those times when we feel imprisoned by hardship, we must make the same attitudinal choice.

Victor Frankl was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, and as such he was well-acquainted with suffering and deprivation.

He saw life at its worst.

Over the years, he observed that some of his fellow prisoners survived the horrors of prison camp while others did not and he became curious as to why this was so.

He shared his insights and conclusions in a book called

Man's Search for Meaning

He wrote,

"Everything can be taken from men except one thing: it is the last of human freedoms - the ability to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances."

Frankl was right.

Attitude is a choice.

It is a conscious decision.

We can choose to embrace an attitude of optimism or we can look at life from a pessimistic perspective.

…like the teenager who is preparing for a test.

He tells his dad, "I'm going to fail this test because I don't understand the material."

His father responds, "Son, you have to try harder. Be positive!"

"Okay," the boy replies, "I'm POSITIVE I'm going to fail this test!"

Attitude is a choice.

Like Paul and Silas always choose to look at any situation through the eyes of optimism.

This kind of optimism is not wishful thinking or naivete.

For maturing believers like Paul and Silas, this kind of optimism is based on faith, a faith that is sure and steadfast.

It's a commitment to put our trust, not in the ever-changing circumstances of life, but rather in God, who, as James 1:17 says,

"...does not change like shifting shadows."

And, one of the wonderful blessings of choosing this positive attitude is that it enables us to SEE things that other, more pessimistic people miss.

Paul referred to this in 2 Corinthians 10:7 when he said that people who don't put their confidence in Christ, "...are looking only on the surface of things."

In later years, Paul said, (Romans 8:28)

"In all things God works for the good of them who love Him,

who have been called according to His purpose."

If we are to sing in tough times and persist through those times, then we too must have that kind of confidence in God.

If you feel that you are being treated unfairly in your life right now; if your life seems like a prison, if you are going through heartache and pain, then, hear the Word of the Lord:

Trust God. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

He is truly LORD of all, even life and death itself.

So open the eyes of your heart and sing!

Secondly, when we sing in times like this the world will notice and will want to learn to SING along.

Verse 25 says that as Paul and Silas were singing, the other prisoners were listening.

They'd never heard this kind of response to their situation before.

The Greek here literally says, "They listened attentively."

Then when God miraculously responded by sending an earthquake that opened the doors and released the chains and locks from around every prisoner, well, they knew that they were part of an incredible experience.

More incredibly they didn't take advantage of the situation and run away.

The jailer thought they had all run away and was about to take his own life in desperation, but Paul was able to say, (v28)

"Don't harm yourself. We are all here."

That made the jailer ask life's most profitable question,

"What must I do to be saved?"

In other words, he said,

"Teach me to sing too!

Tell me what I need to do to sing like you?"

Ironically he was no longer the captor but captive to what his prisoners had to offer.

And he urged Paul and Silas to share the gospel with his family as well, because verse 34 says that his entire household was baptized.

Then he fed them.

Think of it as King David wrote in the 23^rd Psalm - God had truly prepared a table for Paul and Silas in the presence of their enemies!

The world needs to learn to sing our "song!"

They are listening to hear how we respond to the unfairness of life.

In the darkest times of our lives we need to be at our BEST as Christians.

There must be SINGING instead of SIGHING.

This morning let's all ask God to give us "seeing hearts."

Let us pray as the Psalmist prayed,

"God, open my eyes that I may SEE wonderful things in Your

ways." (Psalm 119:18)

"Open my eyes wide enough that I can see Your great faithfulness."

Amen….