The Temple Within – Ross Thomas

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. (Ps 19:14). Amen.

Good morning. As I said in today’s Winepress, today’s message is ‘The Temple Within’ and I am going to attempt to describe a relationship between us as Christians and Solomon’s Temple and how that relationship influences the way we live our lives.

A lot to be sure, so with no time to waste (I’m on a clock this morning), let’s go for a quick trip back in time.

When the Israelites wandered the wilderness and campaigned to claim the Promised Land, their worship was conducted at the Tabernacle. It was a temporary structure, a tent for all intents and purposes, and had an entire tribe devoted to packing and unpacking and maintaining it.

Once David had claimed Jerusalem and brought the Ark there, he sat in his magnificent palace and felt a little guilty:

1 Ch 17:1 “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent.”

So he decided he wanted to build a temple, a permanent place on Earth for Gods Spirit to reside. But God would not allow him to, as not only did he have the blood of battle on his hands, but it was not his assigned task to perform. God had reserved that task for David’s son, Solomon. But He did allow David to make preparations so that Solomon could complete the Temple. God even provided David with the exact blueprints for it and laid out what it would be built of and provided the resources for it to be constructed.

Essentially the Temple layout it is based on the plan of the Tabernacle, but increased in all dimensions. He also added some things, a porch and a couple of bronze pillars and some storerooms around the outside of the Temple itself. We'll come back to these shortly.

Now looking at it architecturally all of this is rather glorious, everything has its purpose, to worship God in compliance with the Laws. It’s the spiritual heart of Israel and a symbol for all Jews that they are Gods chosen people and that He dwells among them. To history it is famous for being torn down twice, the second time torn stone from stone, just as Christ prophesised. To Christians it’s also suggested that its rebuilding will be a sign of the coming return of Christ. And that’s where most people leave it.

But some ask us to look a little deeper, people like Chuck and Nancy Missler, Watchman Nee and Charles Scofield. They ask us to read the Old Testament through the New and reveal a deeper meaning to this.

So let’s walk through a plan of the Temple and examine its structure, starting from the inner most parts and working out.

First we have, at the inner most location, the Holy of Holies. It is the place where the Ark of the Covenant rested along with the Mercy Seat, the seat of God. It is where the Spirit of God resided on earth, and sat behind a veil that is only entered by the High Priest once a year to perform the required offerings.

Going out through that veil we come to the Holy Place where the main sacrifices and worship were conducted on a daily basis. This is where the table of shewbread resides and the lamp stands, and the alter. It is a magnificent display of gold and silver.

Moving out we come across the Porch. This is a transition in the Temple from the holy inner area which is encased in gold, through the doors, to the area which deals with sin and contains objects of bronze. Two giant bronze pillars stand at the entrance to the Porch like two guards supporting and controlling the entrance.

This whole structure, the sanctuary, was rested on a raised platform and around it were a series of chambers meant to be used by the Priests to store their worship items and historical records.

Around the outer of the sanctuary is an area known as the Inner Court which housed the molten sea, sacrificial alter and fires, all used by the Priests to prepare and cleanse themselves and the offerings before entering the Temple.

Finally, surrounding the Inner Court, and at a lower level, was the outer court which was the only part of the temple accessible by non-priests.

So this all wonderful you say, but what has this got to do with us? If it were around today we would only look from the outside, it would just be another religious building to attract tourists. So why bother?

We bother because the Bible tells us to bother.

We know a large amount of detail because it is extensively documented in scripture; in fact the description for the tabernacle is the lengthiest description of any structure in the Bible.

And we bother because Paul repeatable tells us to.

Let us start with one of today’s readings.

1 Cor 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

What is Paul saying here?

How about Eph 2:22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Or even 2 Cor 5:16 For we are the temple of the living God.

Repeatedly Paul creates an allusion between us and the Temple. We know the comparison being made is to Solomon’s Temple as it is the only place referred to as Gods residence on Earth.

So let’s revisit the temple architecture and look at its purpose in worship.

Again, starting from the inner most and working out.

The Holy of Holies was the holiest place on earth the place where the Spirit of God resided. He filled the Holy of Holies and shone forth a light. So what does Paul have to say about us and the Spirit of God

1 Cor 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

Eph 6:18 but be filled with the Spirit,

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.

And just for good measure, how about some Old Testament confirmation:

Eze 36:27 I will put my Spirit within you

When we give our lives to Christ we receive the new spirit of the believer, Gods Spirit within us as we are reborn. Just as the most inner part of the Temple housed the Spirit of God, so too does the most inner part of us house the Spirit of God.

Coming out through the veil we have the Holy Place. If the Holy of Holies is the Spirit, then the Holy Place is the heart of the Temple where the continual procession of offering is performed. Ezekiel describes this same action being performed on us, this process of cleansing our heart:

Eze 36:25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you.

In Hebrews we are reminded of this:

Heb 10:22 with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience

And David even recognised this whole process himself in

Ps 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me

When we are born again to Christ we are given a new heart, so the Holy Place represents our new Heart.

Outside the Holy Place, through the great doors, is the Porch. This is representative of us living in Gods Will and not our own will, and it is the transition from the spiritual to the flesh. It is where we make the conscious decision of letting God enter and guide our lives.

The entry to the porch is guarded by two giant bronze pillars named Jachin and Boaz, I told you they had names. As some of you will know, names in Hebrew have deeper meaning. According to Dr Missler, in this case Jachin means "in his counsel" and Boaz is "in his strength".

This porch is the most important part of our lives as a Christian. It is where we make that conscious decision to follow Gods counsel and work in His strength. As we are told in

Prov 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

If we replace Gods will with our will and start making decisions in the conscious mind based on emotion and desire instead of on faith, we close the door on the inner heart and spirit, and the power of sin starts to take hold of our lives.

So when we listen to the guards at the door, when we work in God’s strength and listen to God’s counsel, we let the light of the new Spirit and new Heart flow out the doors into the world through our flesh and we need that light to shine for the draw of sin in the flesh surrounds the Temple, as it surrounds us.

The Inner Court is the place of dealing with sin. It is where the sacrifices were made and the priests cleansed themselves before entering the Holy Place. It is representing our conscious Soul. The Greeks use the word 'psyche' which has a twofold root. It can mean either "it shall have life" or "it shall wax cold". This could be looked at as a Spirit filled life with Gods light shining forth or an empty cold space devoid of light and the love of God. The Soul is designed to reflect the inner beauty, to be filled with the light of God emanating from the inner spirit.

The Chambers which are in the outer court are our subconscious; they are the hidden parts of our Soul. Originally they were designed to be used by the Priests to store their tools of the trade but in reality they were used to hide their secret idols and private possessions. In the same way, it is the place where we hide our secrets and fears. If we do not choose to open the doors to our inner self but focus on fears we become inwards focused and cold. But the light of the Spirit can cleanse those fears and show them for what they really are. In 2 Chronicles 29, Hezekiah shone light into those dark places as he cleansed the temple and showed them for what they were, things to be carried out and thrown in the Kidron.

Which brings us to the Outer Court, which is our body. This is the part of us exposed to the world, the part that is fully exposed to sin. It is also the part of us that demonstrates the inner spirit to the world around us, it should show the light of Gods love shining forth.

Luke 11:36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.

But again if we are focused inwards on our fears, or too busy working in our own strength to gain salvation through continual worship at the alter, how can that light shine? How can we bring the Lords message to those around us?

Now when David got it into his head to build a home for Gods Spirit to dwell on earth, God stepped in to once again clarify things. The analogy of the tabernacle was not enough so he made it larger and spelt out the symbolism in massive bronze pillars.

God didn’t need a place to dwell, he had already built a place to dwell. God doesn’t need a temple, WE are his temple and more effective than any building will ever be. His light is not to be locked away from the world to be seen only by a few.

Every week we end our service with the words “we are called to be Christ’s light in the world, let us GO in peace”. We are supposed to be his Temple going forth with the inner light of the Spirit shining forth from us.

But it is up to us to ensure that we let that light shine forth, that we walk in His counsel and in His strength and don’t close the doors of our porch. For when we do that those fears start to build up, the doubts grow and the faith grows weaker.

So let us not worry about buildings and structures.

Let us not worry about dark closets and secrets and fears.

Let us open our Temple and let the light of Gods Spirit shine through our lives, through our Church, through our community.

Prayer

So let us pray

Father, you commanded us in the beginning to love you with all our heart, all our soul and all our might.

Lord Jesus, you reminded us to love you with all our mind as well, and to love those around us as much.

To love with all our mind, with your Spirit that fills us

To love you with all our heart, that great new heart that You gave us

And as we choose to live in your strength and will, we love you with all our soul

So Lord, fill us with all the strength of our body as we carry those parts into this world and demonstrate the inner light of Your love to the rest of the world in the way we live.

Let us be your Temples, let us carry your light and let it shine forth across our lives, across our Church and across our community.

Amen.

HOPE

HOPE SERMON... God's Goodness triumphing over despair  16.10.2011
Scriptures: Hosea 2: 14 – 23; Romans 5:1 – 5 and 15:13; Mathew 12: 9 – 21
Intro: At PK this year we were privileged to hear Pastor David Peters share his wonderful testimony and teaching on HOPE as it relates to his journey in ministry and marriage with Jane his smiling wife who after giving birth to 3 sons was confined to a wheelchair with MS and died after 30 yrs of marriage. God took David through some dark times and brought him through with hope for the fulfillment of an early vision of international ministry.  This is now being fulfilled together with Greta who was brought by the Lord to marry David. She had lost her husband after 28 yrs. At PK I bought David's outstanding book on hope.
WHY HOPE?
Hope is a very timely subject for us to consider because we live in a world awash with the disease  of  hopelessness, cynicism, hedonism, depression and negativity: media thrives on bad news. The Bible has much to say about hope and it is a key grace which we can ask God to fill us with.
If we are overflowing with hope we can be bringers of Good News to many.
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN HOPE?

• It's not “I hope so!” as if it will probably never happen or mere wishful thinking.
• Christian Hope is 'a sure and certain confidence in God to fulfill the promises He has given through his Word to you primrally through the Bible and through the dreams and visions he has put in your heart.
• Heb 11.1 ties faith and hope together.. faith in the now and hope in future fulfillment of  faith. 'Now faith', it says, 'is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.'
• St Paul wrote there were 3 abiding realities... aspects of God's character that He wants us to enjoy: faith; hope and love.
• Our CPAC vision statement inspires us to be 'Connecting people and Christ to bring Healing, Hope and Life.'
• The Bible gives 3 great pictures of hope; The door of hope to escape the valley of trouble in Hosea 2; the anchor of hope whose rope passes through this temporary world and is firmly fixed in God's presence and the helmet of hope and salvation which keeps our mind in perfect peace.

HOW DO WE RECEIVE HOPE?
God's hope comes into our hearts when we turn to Christ and are born anew by the Holy Spirit. 1Peterr 1:3 says, 'Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' In fact St Peter's whole 1st letter is full of hope for Christians going through trials that many Christians were facing then and many face around the world today. Before I became a spirit-filled christian I was a depressed person and Jesus has given me hope in many trials. One of my favourite verses is Col 1:27 Christ in you the hope of glory. Before we turn from our sins christian hope  is far away as Rom 3:23 says 'All have sinned and fall short of the hope of the glory of God.'
THE HOPE KILLERS.
David Peters lists the following things as killers of hope: He describes the disease of hopelessness as:
( pg 39)

• Loss of joy and growing depression
• emotional numbness
• low self-worth
• unbelief
• spiritual passivity
• addictions

The hope-killers he describes as:

• disappointment  Prov 13:12  'Hope deferred makes the heart sick'
• disillusionment
• despair
• idealism
• demons

BUT HOPE CAN BE RESTORED

• Jesus restored the  man's withered hand, many crowds followed him and he cured all of them. He's the same today and many are cured directly by prayer and/or with medical and nursing skills which he has allowed mankind to discover and improve. Our reading in Mathew 12 gives the gracious picture of 'a bruised reed he will not break and a dimly burning burning wick he will not quench. Our Jesus is the one who comes alongside us when we are most vulnerable and gently lifts us up  He doesn't blow out our fire when we are burning low but blows on us again so we can flame up brightly again.
• When Daphne and I were at one of our lowest points with our little daughter very slow to develop and told by medical people she would always have to be in special classes. It seemed hopeless  but we called all our friends to pray; we took her for special prayer whenever possible and through the prayers and love of many and wonderful medical and teacher support sour daughter made a miraculous recovery and now has a degree, is a trained teacher and works as a tutor and is happily married. God is good and will do good to all who call on him.
• Soon after Jane Peters died one of her friends was under general anaesthetic for an operation and she had an experience of going to heaven. She saw Jane standing up, happy and smiling. This helped David with his grief. 5 months later he had a vision of a lovely woman and when Greta emailed him  he soon realised she was the lady he had seen. Now they're married and ministering together to the nations. Our gospel today finished with the words, 'and in His name the nations will hope' Jesus is the hope of the nations and today Christians like you and me are sharing that hope. Our positive

lifestyles and good works and testimonies must be always be available as  a witness to the positive hope as 1 Peter 3:13 encourages us

SO WE CAN GROW IN HOPE

1. by The word of God...Eph 1:18
2. by Prophecy: words of revelation or encouragement, dreams and visions
3. by Doing good work and good works whether paid or unpaid
4. by always giving thanks I Thes 5:16
5. by perseverance even under suffering Rom 5 2-5
6. by the power of he Holy Spirit  Rom 15.13

THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING THAT YOU MAY ABOUND IN HOPE BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Will you be part of the marriage feast?

Matthew 22: 1-14

On the face of it the gospel story is about a king who was giving a wedding banquet for his son. Well, not that long ago, we were all caught up with the elaborate pomp and ceremony for William and Kate’s royal wedding, the entire service of which was beamed across the world. However, the reception itself was private and only very important guests and close family members could attend.

Jesus spoke to the chief priests and the Pharisees in a parable. He said, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who was giving a wedding banquet for his son so of course, elaborate invitations were sent to members of the royal families and all the important guests. But here’s the thing! All those who were sent these invitations turned them down. The excuse was they were far too busy to attend! I wonder does that ring any bells with us? Again the king sends out invitations imploring his invited guests to attend. This time they respond by killing the king’s messengers. No wonder he is enraged! Imagine the king’s fury and disappointment at being snubbed in this way. I wonder how many of you here this morning have experienced disappointment when, having reached out to your neighbours and friends, inviting them to come to church, discover how few respond. Perhaps that’s why we find this morning’s story so familiar.

We are told the king then invites everyone out on the streets and in the market places. The dinning hall is filled with guests but there is a problem. It just so happens that as the king is `mixing and mingling with the guests, he sees a man who is not wearing the appropriate wedding attire. He is wearing an old, perhaps tattered robe, obviously the gear he wore every day in everyday life, his street clothes. It would be a bit like you or I going to friend’s place for dinner in our old gardening clothes. “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” the king asks.

Perhaps we’d better back up here a little. Commentators have suggested that special wedding clothes may have been provided at the door by the host. This could possibly reflect a tradition in Jesus’ time. Providing the guests with a wedding garment would have been particularly important in Jesus’ parable because many of the guests were drawn from common walks of life and their clothing may possibly have been dirty or ragged. So, in order to maintain the dignity of the occasion these special garments would have been available at no cost. This could also symbolise putting on the robe of Christ. To reject them would be to reject and insult the host’s generosity. We are told the man was speechless. In other words he offered no form of apology or explanation for his rudeness, so the king had him bound and tossed into a place called outer darkness. Jesus concludes the parable with these solemn words: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” On the face of it the story sounds rather harsh, and it is. However, a parable is a story that invites us to dig a little deeper in order to discover its underlying truth.

Firstly, at the king’s reception everyone is invited. Sure, at first, it is an exclusive party. Only the King’s friends and associates are invited. The bluebloods of society and they turn down the invitation. They snubbed the king. Oddly enough, not only do they snub the king but they kill the king’s servants who were sent to deliver the invitation. Obviously, you cannot miss the point that Jesus is speaking about the Jews here, God’s chosen people. Israel had a chequered history of rejecting God’s messengers and stoning its prophets and this wouldn’t have been lost on his listeners.

So the king now opens up the guest list. Go out to the highways and the byways and tell everyone to come. This is where Jesus so often infuriated the Jewish leadership. He openly invited everyone who would come. Jesus was, in effect saying, the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, and therefore the Jewish leadership, no longer has exclusive rights to the kingdom of God. I other words, the sign above the door no longer reads, “Members Only.”

So what does this all mean for us today? Firstly, I believe, that Jesus still invites people to the marriage feast. That marriage feast is the life of following Christ, the experience of committing your life to God, of being saved from the power of sin, the experience of grace, and the experience of being born anew. The invitation is still being asked and the power of God to change people is still just as operative and available today as it was when Jesus told this parable. God is still in the business of converting, changing and calling people to leave what they are doing and to follow him and I believe the invitation to the marriage feast needs to be heard today as much as it did 2,000 years ago.

Secondly, I believe there are still those who will not come, who have not accepted the invitation, and who are as dismissive of the invitation just as our reading suggests. There may be some in our midst today who are too busy with other interests and distractions. They don’t take it seriously. They put off accepting the invitation. There are all sorts of reasons, but the fact is, some have not come to the marriage feast, or they may come but without wearing a wedding garment. In other words, they may come to church. They may even pray, or even be part of the rosters but they are not part of the marriage feast. Why? Because they have not accepted the invitation to come and follow Jesus! They have not experienced what it means to be saved by grace, to believe in Jesus, to be born again. They may know things in their heads but there has been no commitment of their heart.

Thirdly, and very importantly, the message is very clear. If you reject the invitation long enough, there will come a time when it is too late. In this parable, the king sent out his servants to call those who were invited. Some would not come. He sent others to plead with them to come. Amazingly, the king didn’t give up after the initial rejection. He gave them another chance just like he does for us today. Perhaps a new voice, a different approach would convince them. However, when they continually rejected the invitation, the king became angry and destroyed the whole city and turned to others with the invitation. To continually reject God’s invitation to follow Jesus, I believe, is very risky and even dangerous, because there will come a time when it is too late. And let’s face it, none of us know when that time will be.

Jesus makes it clear that those without a wedding garment will be thrown out. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He ends by saying this: “Many are called but few are chosen.” Only those who accept the invitation are chosen. What I’m saying is this; it’s urgent business! It’s not something to be put off, for be very certain if you reject the invitation, you run the risk of bringing upon yourself the judgement of God. I don’t know what form that judgement will take, but it will come. If you believe in the promise of God for your salvation, you can also believe that he will keep his promise about judgement.

The invitation to the marriage feast is God’s invitation to follow Jesus. It is God saying I want to show you my love, my plan for all people and all creation to live in harmony. I want to show you a different way to wholeness, to health, to meaning and purpose.

In conclusion, I want to finish with a story. There was a doctor who one night received a call late at night to say he was urgently needed at the small country hospital. Someone was seriously ill and without a doctor’s attention death was certain. The doctor quickly dressed and took off in his car. At the traffic lights a man jumped into his car, pulled out a gun and ordered the doctor out of the car. “I need your car. Get out,” was all he said. Knowing they were relying on him at the hospital, the doctor managed to hail a taxi. When he finally arrived the nurse met him and told him the woman in question had just died. “You are too late doctor, but would you please have a word with the husband. He is weeping uncontrollably in the family lounge.” When the doctor entered the lounge he found the husband in the corner. To his great surprise he discovered that the husband was the very man who earlier that evening had pulled the gun on him because he needed the car.

Just like that man in the story we sometimes we push out of our lives the very person who can help us. Think carefully about what invitation you accept. Yes, the world’s invitation may appear very glamorous and enticing but its promises are fleeting, and false and will eventually lead to misery and disillusionment. God’s invitation, on the other hand, is entirely trustworthy and will last for all eternity.

Baptism

Matthew 3:1-17

A story is told of a Baptist pastor who, at his very first baptism, became completely stage struck. Standing in the baptismal pool with the candidate for this sacred rite, the pastor became so overcome with nervousness that he forgot which sacrament he was ministering. Instead of using the words for the baptismal service, he instead uttered the words from the communion service and, in a loud voice gave the command, “Drink ye all of this!” Now there’s a challenge I saved you all from this morning!

For those who are perhaps visiting church for the first time, I can imagine you are asking yourselves the very valid question, why baptism in today’s world?

Firstly, as Christians, we believe baptism tells us who we are! That is why in many Christian traditions, including our own, babies are baptized. It is an indication that every child born into the household of faith is a child of God. Baptism tells us who we are. Whether we are baptized as infants, as was the case this morning with Gerrard, or teenagers or as adults, it is an announcement to the world that we are part of the family of God. Jesus, himself, began his ministry by being baptized. Baptism is central to our lives. It establishes our identity with Christ, and our heavenly Father, rather like our surname establishes our identity with our earthly family.

Baptism also tells us we have God’s seal of approval. Notice what happened at Jesus’ baptism. When he came up out of the water, he saw the skies open up and he saw God’s Spirit which looked like a dove, descending and landing on him. And, a voice said, “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.” Something like that happens, I believe, at every baptism. When we are baptized, God puts His seal of approval on us. We can no longer count ourselves as creatures of no importance. Christ died on our behalf. We are the redeemed by his grace.

An American woman, Louanne Johnson began her teaching career at a very tough inner city school. In fact, on her very first day, a student threw a hard cover dictionary at her head. However, to a former marine like Louanne, this was a challenge she was ready to face. She knew these kids were programmed for failure and so she took the massive risk to try re-programming them. The first thing she did was to inform her students she expected the very best from them. In her class, she said, they all started out with A’s; Whether or not they kept that A was up to them. Louanne inspired her students to achieve more than anyone had thought possible. So successful was her programme that the movie, “Dangerous Minds,” was made about her.

I believe Louanne’s method is a bit like what happens at our baptism. On the day of our baptism we receive an automatic A. We have done nothing to deserve it but it is granted just the same. That is what a sacrament is. It is a means of grace. It doesn’t mean we are perfect, just as the A’s given out to those students didn’t make them perfect, far from it. Baptism is when God puts His seal of approval on us and says we are forgiven. We receive an A without deserving it because of what Christ has done on our behalf.

So what’s with the water? One of the reasons water is used in the sacrament of baptism is to symbolize the taking away of our sins. In other words it makes us right with God. This wasn’t necessary for Jesus, but it certainly is for us.

Baptism also signifies our new birth into the family of God. Just as there is water present at our physical birth, so the baptismal water represents a new life, a new birth. Hence you often hear the terminology “reborn” or “born again” signifying a spiritual birth into the family of God. At baptism, God’s Spirit comes upon us and we begin living as citizens of God’s kingdom.

What does this mean? Think for a moment what it takes for an immigrant from another country to become a New Zealand citizen. Certainly, Kerry, both you and your family will know all about that coming from South Africa. There are so many hoops to go through and it also requires that person to live here continuously for a period of at least five years I think. However, these are only requirements for immigrants. If you are born in NZ you are automatically a NZ citizen. Think what a privilege that bestows on you, and you did nothing to deserve it. BUT, listen to even better news! Baptism is the symbol that you and I have been born into the Kingdom of God, having done nothing to merit that status. Baptism, is our citizen paper! In other words, our documents are in order, for we are now joined with Christ.

Being part of the family of God, that’s us as church, means we also have an obligation to Gerrard and his parents because we made that commitment in the baptism service to love him and share our faith with him. In fact it was more than just a commitment. It was a very serious promise before everyone gathered here today and most importantly it was a promise before God. I pray we will take this promise very seriously as will both his God parents, Nicki and Jackie

So, Gerrard, by this act of baptism, we welcome you into a journey that will take your whole life. In order to become a naturalized citizen of that country, once you’ve gone through the hoops, so to speak that’s it. Baptism, however is not the end of the journey, it is just the beginning. It’s the beginning of God’s relationship with you. What God will make of you, we know not. Where God will take you, we cannot say. But this we can say from experience and with confidence, God is with you, just as God is with us, as we too, continue to live out our baptism in the world.

Baptism tells us who we are, it tells us we have God’s seal of approval on us and it tells us we are the citizens of the Kingdom of God. What a miracle! All that from a little bit of water! But behind that water stands the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless you richly, Kerry, Matt and Gerrard in the years ahead

Joy -Even in Adversity

When I began preparing this sermon last Sunday, I had a number of questions about the topic chosen. Yes I believed the Lord was leading me to speak about this idea of Joy. But what was there to say….. in a couple of minutes and it would be over!
So, I kept praying and reading the passage through a several times.The more I did this God began to speak to my heart….I believe He has given me a message to share with you and me today. Shall we begin?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines JOY as a vivid emotion of pleasure, gladness to the mind. A thing or event that causes delight.
The Old Testament compares two types of joy in Psalm 4:7
“You fill my heart with greater joy – than when the grain and new wine abound.”

This verse strongly suggests that inward joy comes from knowing and trusting God- whereas happiness comes as result of pleasant circumstances.
Inward joy is steady- provided we trust God. Happiness however is unpredictable.
Inward joy defeats discouragement. Happiness covers it up.

In Exodus 16 we find this important teaching. In this passage you will remember that the Israelites were being lead on journey through the deserts between Elim and Sinai. Even in that adverse situation the Lord continued to provide for them- bread and meat each day [except on the Sabbath]. The people were given this food because, basically, they had grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Verse 8 when Moses says to the Israelites “ You know that it was the Lord (when) he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in morning, because He heard you grumbling against Him. You are not grumbling against us but the Lord.”

Here in this difficult situation we find the people of Israel, despite God’s excellent care and provision- are grumbling against Him. They were not in a place of joy but a place of discontentment!!

-2-

There is no doubt that the Israelites did not really want to go back to Egypt; they just wanted an easier life. In the pressure of the moment they could not focus on the cause of their stress and discontentment. In this case- it was a lack in trust in God.
When the pressure comes on us, do we resist the temptation to look for a quick escape and even question and perhaps even grumble about our circumstances.

No matter what our situation is - do not fall into the place of discontentment –even taking offence against God. This is not the life of Joy that God desires for us.

In James 1:2 we find this challenge: “Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Note that James does not say if you face trials but whenever you face them.
He is saying that when trials come it is possible to profit from them. Let us not pretend to be happy when we face pain and hardships but have a positive outlook in Christ. James tells us to turn our hardships into times of learning.

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Before I turn to the thoughts and encouragements of today’s Philippians passage, I would like to say some important points about this letter in general.
Philippians is Paul’s letter of joy.
In my Bible- the list of the chapter titles are set out like this: [ Yes, I realise they are not written like this in the original Greek]
Chapter 1: Joy in suffering
Chapter 2: Joy in serving
Chapter 3 : Joy in believing and
Chapter4 : Joy in giving.

As you can see the theme of joy and rejoicing is sprinkled right through the Book of Philippians.
The church in that Macedonian city was a great encouragement to Paul. The
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believers of Philippi had enjoyed a special relationship with Paul, so he wrote to them a letter of personal love and affection. They had brought him great joy (mentioned in 4:1).
Philippians is also a joyful book because it emphasises the real joy of the Christian life. The idea of rejoicing or joy appears 16 times in the four chapters. The pages cry out this tremendous message all the way through:

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again- Rejoice! (4:4)

In Philippians chapter 1 verses 15-18 – the Apostle Paul demonstrates an amazing attitude. Some were preaching with false reasons – they were attempting to build their own reputations, taking advantage of Paul’s time in prison to make a name for themselves. Regardless of their intentions – Paul rejoiced! Why? Because the gospel was being preached!

Some Christians may serve for the wrong reasons. Paul would not condone this and neither does God. But we should be glad if Christ uses their message to bring others into the Kingdom.

We are not surprised when Paul writes: The important thing is……. that
whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes I continue to rejoice.

Further on Paul speaks of remaining on earth to continue the spread of the gospel and that Christians at Philippi would continue to work with him and experience joy in their faith.

Why is Joy Important to Christians?

1.It is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
2. It is a question of attitude- should we let circumstances get us down we will not be available for God to use us. It comes back to that classic question: “Is the glass half full, or half empty.”
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3. When we are joyful we can be effective in encouraging others in their faith and walk with the Lord. We are more sensitive to God’s leading and available to His service. [ Hebrews 10:24]
4.The Christian writer and minister, Selwyn Hughes tells this story of how not to provide counsel Two woman on a train journey were in conversation. One said to the other: “ I’m sorry I’m not good company at the moment. The reason is that I’m experiencing terrible grief. My husband died recently.”
“Oh, my dear,” said the other woman, ”I can feel for you. I recently lost my dog.”
Yes losing a cherished pet can cause us sorry….. but sharing that with another after the death of a family member is not very sensitive.
In Philippians 2:3,4 Paul reminds us of having a sensitive attitudes towards others:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but the interests of others.
This a source of real joy- when look to the interests of others- & not merely our own.

How can we maintain our Joy?

In some ways we cannot just maintain it ourselves because it comes from our relationship with God. It is not a commodity that we simply bottle up and sprinkle over ourselves.
1. I mentioned before the fruits of the Holy Spirit . The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ’s control- we cannot obtain them by trying to get them without His help. If we desire the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to Him, we should meditate on them and ask God to build these into our lives.
2.Matthew 6: 33 reminds us to seek first God’s Kingdom and all these things will be given to you. What things ? Things for life- food and drink and clothes?
This means to turn to God first for help; to fill our thoughts with His desires, to serve Him and to obey him daily.
In verse 34, it goes on to say that we are not worry about tomorrow. Planning for tomorrow is time well spent; worrying about tomorrow is time wasted and will invariably rob us of our joy .
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3. Back in Philippians (4:4 and 6) we find Paul encouraging us:
Rejoice in the Lord always!
And in V6: “ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition , with thanks, present your requests to God.”

Image never being’ anxious about anything’. It seems like an impossibility- we all have worries in our jobs, in our families, at school and university. But Paul’s advice is to turn our worries into prayers.
Do you want to worry less (and to experience more joy)? Then pray more! Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray!

4. Remember the challenge found in James 1:2
Consider it all joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that
the testing of your faith develops perseverance. This perseverance goes on to make us mature and complete.
We may not be ready to welcome trials into our lives for they will come. Ask God to help us to face them as we should - knowing what they will produce in us is for our good.
In Summary , what do we know about JOY:
● Let us not confuse Joy with happiness. One comes from knowing and
trusting God; the other from pleasant circumstances.

• When we are in trying and difficult circumstances be careful not to complain
  either to another or just in our thoughts. We could be grumbling to the LORD and in a place of discontentment thus losing our joy.
• We don’t need to pretend we are happy when facing pain and hardships. But we should strive to have a positive attitude- asking the Lord to turn our difficulties into times of growth and learning.
  * Remember to pray, both for the fruit of the Spirit and when we are anxious. It is God’s desire that our relationships with Him and with others are expressed with Joy!
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  Ilustration:
  Last week at Promise Keepers we were shown a short film clip of an American doctor who was on duty when he was called to give medical care to a man who had just arrived complaining of a sore chest. If fact he didn’t really have a chance to complain – he collapse on the floor of the Emergency Centre.
  The man was given immediate attention including CPR and even defibrillation. But unfortunately, he died.
  The doctor verified this and even filled in a some forms and just as he was leaving the Emergency Theatre – a good 15 minutes after the man had died, he distinctly heard God telling him to return to the patient and that he was to pray for him.
  The doctor’s response to God was to say “But this man is definitely dead !”
  But in obedience to God’s instruction he went back and began to pray for the man.
  The nurse , still in the theatre, was utterly amazed and screamed :”What an earth are you doing?!”
  “I am praying for the man”. There was no reaction.
  The Christian doctor asked another doctor to defibrillate the dead patient again.
  He too was amazed but did as the doctor told him.
  Yes, you have probably guessed it – the dead man came back to life !!

I am sure you can imagine the scene of joy on the faces of the doctor, his family and even the man himself when it was explained what had happened. That man was not a Christian but he soon became one! He cannot explain why God should have spared him at that time. But God is using the doctor and the saved man as living witnesses to the grace and mercy of God as they give their testimonies to thousands of people throughout the US and other countries. They are spreading Joy in the lives of others.
Let us ask the Lord, for us to do the same.
What aspect of Joy do you require from God-talk with Him today!?

-Roger Peel

Forgiveness

“Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, and the Lord of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.” Isaiah 54:4-5

How liberating those words are for those in need of forgiveness! Indeed, how liberating they are for us all, for lets face it, we are all in need of forgiveness aren’t we? We all need God’s grace. Obviously forgiveness was big on Jesus’ agenda because, in fact, he spoke more about forgiveness than any other topic. Just as we listened to the story this morning where Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, I want to tell you another story about a woman in today’s world who also was in dire need of God’s forgiveness.

As a young girl, this woman grew up in a family of five: a mum and dad and two brothers. They lived in a small country town in New Zealand. As both the mum and dad worked, after school both the boys had paper rounds and the young girl had the job of preparing the family meal. That all worked pretty well until one afternoon, alone on her own, the young girl opened the door to find a young man, known to the family, standing on the doorstep. He made some pretence about needing to meet with her older brother and explained that he would wait. However, once inside, and realising the young girl would be on her own for some considerable time, he seized his chance.

Rape is a terrible thing and leaves the victim believing that she has done something to encourage this to happen. Not only did she suffer unthinkable sexual abuse but was then threatened with very her life and that of her family if she dared breath a word to anyone! Why did she not ignore the threat and tell someone? Well at age twelve, a threat of this kind is extremely real! Eventually, sitting on such a terrible secret became too much and the young girl determined to steel herself and divulge what had happened. However, after dinner that evening, her father, reading the newspaper, made the statement that a woman had been raped walking through the museum grounds in Auckland. “Well” he declared, “a woman putting herself in that position is asking for it and is nothing but a whore and a slut.” Such was peoples’ understanding of such crimes in those days.

Well you can imagine that young girl’s horror. All the determination to divulge her situation went right out of the window! And so began the years of hiding this terrible secret. Rape, I am told, affects women in two ways, especially if they haven’t received counselling and support. They either become very wary of men, or they become promiscuous, searching for love in the wrong places. Sadly, in this situation, the latter was the case. Fathers, as I mentioned last week, you are so very important not only in the lives of your sons but especially in the lives of your daughters. The input you make into their lives and how you demonstrate your love, will help your daughters make wise decisions when it comes to choosing a life partner, because as women, we often choose partners who emulate our fathers, whether good, or bad.

Sadly, as this young girl became a woman, the terrible secret, though buried deep inside her, began to affect her life, and finally after two marriages hitting the wall, God intervened. Through discernment, God revealed this woman’s deepest darkest secret to her Christian doctor, who, took her a course of the healing of memories. Through this journey she was finally able to release the secret that had crippled her development as a woman. Through time with a psychiatrist who specialised in this kind of thing, she learnt for the first time how, for any child who experiences serious trauma in their lives, unless they receive specialist counselling, their emotional development ceases. In fact, it became apparent that it had been nothing short of a miracle that this woman had managed to raise a family, while all that time, she was operating at the emotional level of a twelve year old!

I wonder have you, like this woman, been hiding a terrible secret all through your life? A secret that paralyzes who God wants you to be? Hear God’s word as he speaks into your life this morning. “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace:” You see God is the great healer for those of you who have suffered at the hands of others, and to those who done things of which you are ashamed, he offers forgiveness.

And let me assure you, God’s forgiveness is a fact. It is the central truth about who God is. The Bible says that when we come to God, admitting our sin, repenting of it, we are forgiven. For, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9) There is no need to be like this woman in my story, who unwittingly, carried not only the burden of that secret but also the weight of her sins for far too many years.

So often, it seems to me, our problem is not feeling forgiven. We may understand with our minds that God has forgiven us, but somewhere inside we feel we don’t deserve it and when we continue to carry around the guilt and shame, we open ourselves up to condemnation. Condemnation tells us that we have really blown it and there is no way back. Condemnation tells us our sin has stained us forever. We are worthless and we might as well resign ourselves to it. There is no hope for the future. These, however, are condemning words and they run contrary to the Word of God. For Romans 8:1 tells us quite clearly, “There is therefore now, no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Please understand this; Condemnation is not the same thing as conviction, because condemnation is from Satan who wants to keep us in that place of shame and captivity whereas conviction is from the Holy Spirit. Condemnation reminds us of where we have been and it keeps us chained to the sin. Conviction reminds us where we should go, to God, for his free gift of forgiveness. If we will let it, conviction through the power of the Holy Spirit nudging us, can move us forward. Conviction signals where we’ve gone wrong so that we can do something about it, instead of burying it deep within our lives.

In the our reading of the woman at the well, and the woman whose story you have heard this morning, here were two women who saw themselves as unworthy and inadequate. But you know something? Jesus didn’t see either of them that way. He knew it all. He knew their wounded, longing hearts, just as he sees yours. He saw the way they could be. He accepted them where they were, just as he accepts us just where we are right now. He accepted them where they were and addressed their deepest needs without reproach. Jesus didn’t make excuses for either of these two women. He didn’t say, “Never mind, you’ve had such a hard childhood. It’s perfectly understandable you went looking for love in the wrong places.” No, he didn’t say that. But he also didn’t condemn. He met them where they were, loved them in that place, and then released them from their shame, with His grace, so they could move forward to be what God intended them to be. For the woman at the well, she changed her life and by her testimony, brought many others to Christ.

The other woman in our story, was healed, and truly understands what it is to be forgiven. You see, God had a job for her to do and when she repented of her sins and surrendered her life completely to him, God led her on to minister into the lives of others. How do I know this for certain? I know because that woman is me.

Why have I shared this with you? I have shared in order that you might understand how God sees you and loves you, right where you are. Most of all I have exposed myself in order to bring glory to God and to testify to the fact that he does heal brokenness, that he does take away the pain of loneliness and he does totally forgive sin without reproach, when we are truly repentant.

In the words of the song, I know, with absolute surety and conviction, that “I am redeemed. By His blood I am made clean and now I can know Him face to face.”

I wonder, do you have that certainty, or are you in need of his gift of forgiveness? I invite you to hand over whatever it is to Jesus, this morning, in order to receive his gift of forgiveness, so you like myself and that woman at the well, can be set free to live life with all the freedom and joy that God desires for you. Will you do it for yourself this morning?

Serving Others in the Community.

Ephesians 4:1-16

I hope you all understand by now that Christianity is not a spectator sport; that you are not invited to watch a game on Sunday and call in your opinions on Monday. You are actually invited to come out of the pews and join in the game; in other words, to become actively involved! I am convinced, if this church realizes it’s God given potential, it will be the direct result of you all becoming ministers, and I don’t necessarily mean the ordained kind, men and women, you and I becoming committed to building God’s kingdom and the whole congregation becoming an army for the Lord. Just thinking about it makes my spine tingle with excitement! Are you willing to join the team?

Paul said in Ephesians, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Let there be no confusion about this. There are certain qualities necessary for those who would be ministers in our congregation. “Be humble and gentle,” says Paul. When God calls you to minister, He is calling you to be a servant, not a big star

Humility, I believe, is the ability to know ourselves as God knows us. The word humble comes from the root word humus. Be down to earth versus putting on airs. Humble people neither exaggerate their goodness or their guilt. Just be who God has called you to be and always set your standard of life against the example of Christ who calls you into partnership of ministry with Him. Be gentle because gentleness is the ability to place each thought and each motive under the control of God.

“Be patient and loving,” says Paul. Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping the gears, something I have to remind myself of frequently! It is the ability to step back. Did you know that that love was such a unique Christian concept that they coined a new word for it in the first century? They called it Agape; the single minded determination to seek another’s highest good no matter what! Patiently, loving people are long suffering people. They persevere to the end.

Paul said, “To each of one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” And the Psalmist said, “I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” What God made you to be determines what He intends for you to do. You are something special. You are the only one of a kind. No one else is exactly like you. God has made you unique. You are uniquely shaped for ministry.

I believe there are sufficient spiritual gifts as well as practical giftings in every community of believers to do what God is calling that community to do in that particular moment of time. Most of us know what we are good at and where our passions lie. What do you feel passionate about? Where is your heart this morning?

God uses those who are willing to give their all to Him. Those who have a passion to serve others in order to grow His kingdom.

This morning I want to affirm those of you whom I am aware of, who have seen a need or followed a passion God has laid on your hearts and who have developed ministries out there in our community. Some of you may not even be aware it is actually a “ministry” because you are just doing something you love.

Karen, thank you for all you do at Churtonleigh Rest Home. Along with Rachel and other volunteers from our church, you have done the groundwork that has opened the door for my ministry in that place both to the residents as well as the staff.

Kas, your passion for bringing the Gospel to the Indian community has had a wide reaching effect, and you have not only experienced your father coming to the Lord but you have encouraged and inspired Raj to take up this ministry as well.

Sonia and Rodney, you saw the need and took up the opportunity to minister to those preparing for marriage. Not every couple who comes is Christian, so the way you minister will truly be a blessing to others.

Louise and Anne Allan, by following their passion, started a painting group in Churton Park which provides a ministry to Christians and non Christians alike.

Anne Jay, loves to read and saw an opportunity to form a book club for others in the community allowing all sorts of conversations to take place, including discussions about Christianity.

Wayne and Bronwyn over the years have developed a special prison ministry up at Arohata Women’s Prison, and we heard last week, how God is blessing them and opening more doors of opportunity that will possibly allow members of our church to become involved in the future.

Jim and his dog Jess do volunteer visiting to the children’s wards each week at Wellington Hospital and Jim tells me that … presence has a real calming effect, not only on the children but on their stressed parents. Jim also was concerned about people living on their own in the community and saw the idea of a travel club as a way of getting these people to come together to talk about and to organise trips together.

Phil and Kas heard of the organisation Drug Arm which ministers to those who work on the streets of Wellington at night such as the prostitutes etc. and became involved in that ministry.

Linda has a pastoral heart and works as a volunteer visitor at Keneperu Hospital through the Order of St. Luke.

Theresa, Louise, Karen, Anne, Daphne, and Vickie, have a heart for children coming to know the Lord and have committed themselves each week to teaching CRE.

Rachel has a passion for sign language and runs weekly classes for Christians and non Christians alike to pass on her skills under the guidance of Nicky.

Many of you, of course, have ministries here at church and I want to affirm all those of you who are involved in the children’s ministry: Anne Jay, roger Peel, Louise, Claire, Chi Wei, Peter, Karen, Rachel, Rodney, and Sonia.

Those who have a passion for our older youth and who are involved in that ministry are Roger Ellis, Ross, Rodney, Alex and Robyn.

Of course we couldn’t do without our music teams and Chris, Steve, Ross, Sharon, Anita, Marcus, Pepa, Jill, Robyn and Heather , Matthew, Anne, Dinesh and Caleb give very ably of their time and talents.

John Daysh’s passion to see others come to Christ sees him leading Alpha year after year. Thank you also to Dave Oldershaw whose passion for men in ministry has led him taking over the leadership of Promise Keepers in the church and the men’s four by four ministry that comes out of that.

Thanks to the commitment of those of you who lead Life Groups week after week, which are so vitally important.

Thanks also to the incredible engineering and practical skills of DaveMiddleton and because of their dedication we have a very workable sound desk. Our sound technicians are Dave Oldershaw, Dave Middleton, Matthew Peel, Anne Stainer, Andrew and Elmar who do a fantastic job in helping the service to run smoothly.

Of course we have those of you who are intercessors, greeters, servers at communion and those who serve and provide morning tea. Gosh, have I left anyone out?

What I have hoped to achieve this morning is to affirm all of you who are involved in ministry. You are truly helping to build God’s kingdom and He will bless you for it.

And lastly, but very importantly, I wish to affirm and acknowledge all the fathers in our church. Guys you do such an awesome job. Not only do you grow and nurture your own children but many of you are fabulous role models for other children in our community. May God bless you richly as we all celebrate Father’s Day today.

As members of the family of God we are all different. We have different strengths and talents and different passions. However, I don’t see our differences as a weakness but rather as our strength. I believe we need we need to see and affirm each other’s strengths, accept each other’s differences and celebrate our unity in Jesus Christ. May we as Church dare to be different as long as we are bringing glory to God.

What is your passion? Where does your strength lie? How are you using the talents God has given you for His service? God wants you to be fully involved in His game of life and you can do this by using both the talents and the passion you have for something to bring glory to His name.

Most importantly, remember, you cannot afford to stand on the sidelines and just be a spectator. God wants you in the game.

What it means to take up your cross.

Matthew 16:21-28

I have to admit that my heart really goes out to Peter in today’s gospel reading. He is my favourite disciple because he very rarely sits on the sideline, and rightly or wrongly, always appears eager to jump in head first. However, on this occasion, he has bumbled big time! He just doesn’t get what the Messiah is saying. Yet only last week that he really knew what was going on, for in answer to Jesus’ question about who the disciples thought he was, Peter, as their spokesperson, said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus commended him for that and told him that he was “blessed’ because God had revealed that to him. And, I can imagine than from then on Peter was on a roll.

But now, when Jesus immediately starts talking about being rejected by the leaders of the nation, and says he is going to suffer and die, it just doesn’t fit with the confession of faith that Peter had just made. Jesus’ words seem to contradict what Peter thought it means to be the Messiah and it doesn’t make any sense. So, when Jesus starts talking that way, Peter figures that he’s mistaken and rushes in head first to correct him. He wants desperately for Jesus to fit into the mould he has made of what a Messiah should do. I wonder how often you and I, perhaps subconsciously, put Jesus into the mould we have made for him? How often do you and I prevent Christ’s work in the world because of our own agendas of what we think He should or shouldn’t do?

What I love about the Bible most of all is the fact that the people in it are so real and we can really identify with them! For people haven’t really changed that much in 2000 years! Aren’t we, as people, also much like Peter, for aren’t we guilty of wanting God to fit into a certain mould too? We are often guilty of treating him like Santa Clause, only communicating with him when we want something. We berate God when things go wrong, things that are often the result of either our own actions or of poor decisions we have made in the past. Or we point the finger at God when our world falls apart. We pick out all the parts of the Bible that suit us but often disregard the parts that call us to account as followers of Christ.

“Jesus began to show” his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem. He will tell the disciples over and over again, because they are simply unable to grasp what he is saying, just like he does with each of us today. As a new Christian, our understanding is fairly basic, but over years of walking with the Lord, He reveals more and more of himself and our level of understanding increases. Jesus must go to Jerusalem to complete his God-given mission Not to go, would be to compromise everything that he has come to do.

When Jesus reveals to his disciples that he will suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes, it is hard for them to comprehend, for it is not the worst of men who will kill Jesus, but the best. Why would the guardians of the nation’s religious heritage kill the one who has come to fulfil that heritage? I believe that there is a message in that for us today. It is imperative that we are in relationship with Christ in order to discern that church leaders, myself included, are truly preaching the gospel and in fact walking the talk, and not falling into the trap of legalism and religion. Being unable to discern the difference, people, is not an excuse! That is why I encourage you all to dig deep into God’s word because being led astray should not be an option!

Having so recently been confirmed in his belief that Jesus is the Messiah, poor Peter cannot understand Jesus’ dramatic news of his death. He has heard Jesus say “killed, but obviously didn’t understand the significance of “on the third day be raised.” I wonder if Peter rebukes Jesus because he takes seriously his new responsibility to be the rock on which the church is built. It is almost as if he seems to think it is his task, and his alone, to insure a successful outcome for Jesus’ ministry. Whatever his reason however, he oversteps his appropriate bounds as a disciple. How often, I wonder, are we guilty of this as church? How often do we assume to know what is best, and plough on without waiting on the Lord to guide us? How often, like Peter, is our vision of Christ’s mission skewed, and how often do we try to superimpose our vision over God’s vision?

Jesus then calls the disciples to a disciplined life. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The meaning of discipleship is slowly unfolding and, here, the disciples know full well what Jesus means. Crucifixion was a common method of execution, and condemned criminals had to carry their crosses through the streets to the execution site. Following Jesus, therefore, meant a true commitment, the risk of death and no turning back. I wonder if we were faced with the risk of death for our faith today how many of you would be in church this morning?

Make no mistake, 2000 years on, that kind of commitment is as valid today as it was back then. Taking up our cross and following Jesus requires different values, morals, goals and purposes than what the world aspires to and will set us apart from others and, for many around the world it will indeed mean death. For whether you are aware of it or not, there have been more Christians martyrs this century than for the entire history of Christianity. Picking up our cross demands that we accept Jesus not only as Saviour but that we make him Lord of our lives, so that everything we do, we do in the light, to bring glory to his name.

Taking up our cross involves denial to our own selfish desires and instead involves giving God’s will priority in our lives. In every case, Christian self-denial will involve some sort of personal sacrifice. In every case, it will involve some sort of service in Christ’s name. Taking up the cross and following Jesus isn’t easy and comes at a cost but the rewards are great! Instead of death, comes life; life as we have never experienced it before.

It means that the person who is willing to lose his/her life in Christ’s service is freed from fear of death. The person for whom Christ is more important than possessions is freed from slavery to materialism. The person who resists temptation finds him/herself stronger when the next temptation rolls along. The employee who maintains integrity in the face of temptation can face a mirror without feeling shame. The person who sacrifices an afternoon of golf to help a person in need gains a sense of self-worth. It means life, but life more abundantly.

If we, like the apostle Peter, want to be significant in the outworking of God’s plan, we must yield ourselves consistently to his leading in our lives. You know, Peter’s greatness in his role in the early church did not come from his personal abilities or giftedness. What led to Peter’s great role in church history ultimately comes down to his willingness to pick up his cross and to the development of consistency in his commitment to Jesus in all areas of his life. He was able to give himself consistently to God’s ways, God’s work, God’s will, not his own, whatever the circumstances. For that, Peter becomes an important example of the way in which our lives can count for God in his calling in our lives, at our work, in our families, in our church, and in our neighbourhood, when we pick up the cross and commit fully to Jesus as Lord and Master.

Where do you stand with God today? Are you willing to make him Lord of your life? Are you ready to fully commit your life to him?

Who do you say that I am?

Matthew 16: 13-20

In today’s gospel reading we are in Caesarea Philippi where Jesus is asking his disciples one of the most familiar questions in all the Bible, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” I doubt however, that Jesus was really all that interested in what the crowd thought about him. He knew that masses of people are quite fickle and easily led astray. We only have to look around us today. There are lots of people who will follow just about anybody, or anything for that matter, who does something wildly different. Jesus wasn’t really concerned about what the masses were thinking about him for he knew that some in the crowds cheering him now, would later shout the loudest for his crucifixion. However, he was concerned when he turned to his disciples and asked them, “And who do you say that I am?” Jesus’ plan for the salvation of the world lay with this small group of men. He was building a team that would carry on after he was gone. The only thing that mattered to Jesus was their opinion. Who did they think he was?

And that, I believe, is Jesus’ main concern for those of us who call ourselves his disciples today. Who do you think he is? I won’t embarrass you by going around the church and asking you one by one, but you know something, it is actually that important. Who do you think he is? It doesn’t matter what people outside these walls think. They are not the ones called to be the light of the world, But it matters immensely what you and I think, for He is counting on us to offer up our lives in service to his kingdom. He is counting on us to be about the Father’s business in our homes, at school and at work and in all our important relationships. What we think of him is of vital importance. It will determine the level of our loyalty and the intensity of our commitment. Who do you say Christ is?

The best place to find out about Jesus Christ is in the Bible. In the very first book in the Bible, the book of Genesis, the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, turn away from God to Satan and sin. Then they know fear and shame and hide themselves. But God acts. In the cool of the evening God walks in their garden. “Where are you?” He queries. Finding them, he begins to unfold His divine redeeming strategy. At God’s initiative an animal is slain, the first blood sacrifice, and the promise of a saviour is prophesied, one who would crush Satan. In other religions we have Confucius, Mohammed and Buddha who are only the initiative of man, but the distinct uniqueness of Christ, is that he is the initiative of God himself.

Another distinctive of Jesus Christ is that his life and ministry were predicted long before he was born. The Old Testament was written over a 1,500 year period, yet in its 39 books a saviour is predicted 300 times and these just weren’t vague prophesies like people read today in the stars, but were very specific. 300 prophesies and yet guess what! Jesus Christ fulfilled everyone of them!

In Christ’s teachings, a further distinctive is found. Other religious leaders said, “I have taught you the truth,” but Jesus said, “I am the truth.” There are many, many people today who would like to say that Jesus Christ was a great teacher, but he was not God. But here’s the thing that we need to take heed of: Christ has not left that option open to us. Either he is right or he is wrong. You must decide, because sitting on the fence is not an option. The New Testament writers all tell us, that Jesus taught with such authority, and that his lifestyle never contradicted his words. Merciful love, faultless character and extraordinary miracles accompanied his every utterance.

I guess like countless millions around the world, many of you will be glued to the TV when we have the World Rugby, following many of the games. Well, in 1896, when Athens renewed the Olympic Games, you can imagine how proud the Greeks were to host the first modern Olympics, but imagine their disappointment when their own athletes experienced a lack of success in event after event. It wasn’t until the last competition, the marathon, that word reached the stadium, that a lone runner approaching the stadium was their own entrant named Louis, a virtually unknown shepherd. As the excitement grew, Prince George of Greece hurried to the stadium entrance where he met Louis and ran with him to the finish line. I wonder how many of you knew this story?
The point of telling it to you, is this. In this story we have something of the history of the human race. Most historical figures make their impact, achieve a measure of fame, books may even be written about them, but as years go by, they begin to fade; less and less is written or spoken of their lives until they eventually rest in relative obscurity, as happened to Louis. With Jesus Christ, however, we find quite an opposite phenomena! While all others decrease, he increases until, as the Bible predicts, “To him, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

Almost 2000 years ago a man was born contrary to the laws of nature. Born of a virgin, he lived in poverty, and was reared in obscurity. Never did he travel extensively, no big OEs for him! Only once or twice did he cross the boundary of Israel. He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His family had little education. In infancy he startled a ruling monarch. In childhood, he puzzled learned scholars. In adulthood, he ruled nature walking upon the sea and hushing a storm.
He healed the multitudes of blind, lame, mute, possessed and he did it without medicine and made no charge for his services. He never wrote anything down, and yet the libraries of the world bulge with the volumes written about him.
He never practiced medicine and yet he has healed more broken spirits and hearts than modern medicine near and far. He never started a university, yet all the universities of the world cannot boast of having as many disciples.
He never commanded an army, fired a gun, drafted as a soldier, or ran for political office, yet no officer or king ever had more volunteers who have, under his orders, marched into every valley of human need, to begin orphanages, schools and hospitals, to right wrongs and institute justice And every Sunday, multitudes assemble in churches worldwide to worship him as Saviour and Lord.
The names of athletes, movie stars, artists, presidents, kings and queens, have come and gone; but the name of this person grows in time. Though over 2000 years from his birth, yet he lives today! Herod could not kill him. Satan could not seduce him. Death could not obliterate him and the grave could not hold him.
He stands forth upon the earth as God Incarnate, the King of glory, Jesus Christ, Saviour and Lord; our Messiah.
Proclaimed by prophets, heralded by angels, worshipped by saints, feared by devils, he asks each of us today,
“Who do you say that I am?”
And my question this morning is, “what is your response?”

Resentment, an Inner Attitude.

Luke 10:38-42

Years ago, I was invited to hear an American woman, Florence Littauer, who was speaking at a function in Auckland. She is a Christian woman who has done a lot of study on understanding different personalities. Not only was she very funny but I found her to also be very informative. According to her, broadly speaking, there are four different personality types.

First there is the choleric personality. This is the action –oriented doer, who likes to take charge. They are happiest when they are in control.

Secondly there is the melancholy personality. This is the detailed planner. They have the ability to organize and are happiest when everything is done correctly.

Thirdly there is the sanguine personality. This is enthusiastic optimist with the bubbly personality. They are happiest when they are having fun.

And finally there is the phlegmatic personality. This is the thinker. They are happiest when everything is peaceful.

I have to confess, just in case you hadn’t already worked it out, I am a mixture of choleric and sanguine, which basically means I love to be in charge as long as I am having fun!!

The point of Littauer’s personality profile is fairly obvious. We are all different and when we recognize, understand, respect and celebrate our differences we get along better. It might surprise you that this idea is rooted deeply in the Bible, so it’s actually nothing new! It is also one of the key themes of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. Some are prophets and some are teachers. Some are action-orientated, while others are pensive and thoughtful. Some are enthusiastic motivators while others are controlled organizers. Some are loud and some are quiet. We are different people with different personalities, different styles, different temperaments and that’s OK! Indeed it is actually necessary as long as we are loving and tolerant about it.

You are probably wondering where I am going with this, and perhaps why I have chosen this particular reading for this morning. Not only is it a perfect backdrop that shows up different personality styles, but it also speaks to me of an attitude that I have had to repent of recently.

All morning long there has been a bustle of excitement in the home in Bethany. Jesus is coming for dinner. Martha is so excited and, being the perfect organizer, since day break, she has been frantically sweeping, scrubbing, dusting and darting in and out of the kitchen preparing the food and checking that everything is in order. Probably, if truth be known she’s been bossy and giving orders right left and centre! I get the feeling that she’s probably the choleric personality type! Needs to take charge!

Then Jesus arrives and what does Mary do? She whisks in to take over as hostess, as if she’s been doing all the work! She welcomes Jesus and the disciples warmly and ushers them into the living room. It sure looks like it’s going to be a great evening. Jesus is there with all his closest friends and he has so much to share. Mary, sensing a certain urgency in his voice, positions herself at his feet, peacefully drinking in his every word, totally oblivious to the fact that Martha isn’t there with her. Certainly the phlegmatic personality, wouldn’t you say?

Meanwhile, Martha is out in the kitchen, slaving away preparing the meal, checking the last minute details, and doing the one hundred and one things which, in her super-efficient mind, needed to be done. However, there is a problem. All the while Martha is working, she is seething inside. Her frustration mounts. “Where is Mary? Why isn’t she here helping me? Who does she think she is?” Ever felt that sort of resentment? Ever been faced with a situation where you feel you have been left to do the donkey work? We all experience this from time to time don’t we?

Finally, unable to contain herself any longer, her resentment erupts and she bursts into the living room and creates a scene. “Look here Jesus. Don’t you care that my sister Mary has left me to do all the work on my own? Tell her to get out and help me!” But Jesus says to her, “Martha, Martha, get off your high horse! Relax. Lighten up. There is only one thing worth being concerned over. Mary has discovered it and it will not be taken away from her.” End of story!

You see Jesus was not concerned about what Martha was doing outwardly, but rather about what she was feeling inwardly! His concern was for Martha herself. Here’s the thing! We might appear, on all intents and purposes, to have it all together on the outside but Jesus looks at our heart! He sees what we are really thinking and where our heart really is!

That day Jesus was concerned about Martha’s attitudes, for when Jesus looked at Martha he saw some red flags, some warning signals, some destructive attitudes within her which were more harmful to Martha herself than to anyone else. This really worried Jesus because he loved Martha. They were good friends but that day he saw in her some hurtful attitudes that were working in her like spiritual poisons, petty attitudes that, if left, can devastate and destroy the soul.

Firstly, he saw the attitude of resentment. Notice the three words used to describe Martha: distracted, anxious and troubled. That’s what resentment does to you! But even more, her resentment cut her off not only from her sister, Mary, but also from her Lord. The same thing happened to the elder brother in the Prodigal Son parable. He resented his brother and it cut him off from the Father. That’s how resentment affects us and why it is so dangerous. It separates us from people and it separates us from God.

I have to confess that recently, to my shame, God has had to deal to me because I allowed resentment to rear its ugly head in my life. And you know what, it robbed me of the blessings God had for me. I was reminded these past few weeks that Satan knows all our weak points and whenever we let our guard down, he’s in boots and all. I’m certainly not making excuses but I realised that I was still holding onto negative attitudes, formed way back in my up bringing. I have had to confess it to my elders and to repent of it before my Lord. Why? Not because it is a major sin but because simply this: That holding onto negative attitudes is extremely dangerous because it not only separates us from God, it robs us of the spirit of joy and any blessings God wants to give us and God needs me, as your vicar, to be accountable to Him.

Secondly, in this story, there is the attitude of narrowness. Martha’s view has become so narrow that she can’t see any other way to receive Jesus but her way and she wants to force her way on Mary. And people with the choleric personality type do need to be careful of this tendency! She is blind to the miracle of uniqueness. She forgets that we are all different; that we are individuals and that each of us has a unique relationship with our Lord.

Thirdly there is the attitude of unkindness. Martha tried to make herself look good by making Mary look bad. Unfortunately, it boomeranged back on her and she came out the unattractive one. Ultimately, it happens every time. Our harsh condemning judgements come back to haunt us when we are unkind to others.

In the Mary and Martha story, Jesus is teaching us a great lesson about our inner attitudes and I believe He is saying beware of resentment. Beware of narrowness and beware of unkindness. Choose instead the way of grace and love and compassion and be prepared to look at and work on the weaknesses in our own personalities in order that we can be the best we can be for Him.

Breaking Down the Walls 31 July

Let me ask you, what have you learnt from this exercise this morning?

Now I wonder if any of you would be so brave as to share, in about three words, what God has been speaking into your life as a result of this exercise.

Now I want you to ask yourselves, how available, today, are you for God? What are the bricks that you have put up in your life that might hold you back? What is the wall you have built between yourself and God?

Last week I had the privilege of attending the Church Mission Conference in Waikanae. The keynote speaker, the Bishop of the diocese of Josh in Nigeria, Bishop Ben Kwoshi, told the story of having his home as well as his church burnt down by fundamentalist Muslims when he was a vicar. They lost absolutely everything. He was eventually offered another parish to pastor and he said as he set out, between himself and his wife Gloria and their two small babies, the only possessions they owned were the car he was driving and one small suitcase! The most amazing thing was, he said, that instead of feeling bereft, they experienced a wonderful sense of liberation: liberation from all the material stuff that gets in the way of our walk with Jesus. They were free to serve God! And, believe me, serve God they do! They are the most exciting and inspiring Christians I have been in the company for a very long time. I believe what they had experienced first hand, was that removal of one of the bricks in their life. Material possessions!

Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting we go home after this service and give away all our possessions, though the prospect does excite me, however, I believe we do need to really look at all the bricks we use to build a wall between ourselves and God. All those things that get in the way of an in depth, daily walk with Jesus; all those things that rob us of our intimacy with the very One who laid down his life for us.

· Bricks in our lives build up very subtly. Over time, I believe, they have built up in our lives to the point that we are unaware of them and, of course, Satan wants us to accept them as the norm of daily living. This morning I am just going to cover some that are more obvious and those that perhaps you might never have considered as bricks in your lives.

· The brick of busyness is the most common and perhaps also the easiest to justify, but when you really think about it we are often busy with non essentials. I have to confess that I struggle with this one and have to be very deliberate in putting time aside to spend in the company of my Lord. Jesus reminds us about the danger of busyness in the story of Mary and Martha, where Martha places her own busyness as a barrier to learning from the feet of Jesus.(Luke 10:38-41 )

· Working long hours in order to maintain empty lifestyles is also a very real factor for many people today. Empty lifestyles, because without Jesus having priority in our lives we have no sense of purpose or real fulfilment. The danger is that emptiness leaves the door wide open to the temptation of trying to find fulfilment through other things like sex, drugs and alcohol that eventually lead to an untimely and tragic death as seen recently with Amy Winehouse.(Proverbs 7:6-23 )

· Following close on it’s heels is the brick of tiredness. We so wear ourselves out on the non essentials that we if we have to choose between bed and God, bed wins out every time and another day goes by without reading God’s word or having any time with him. I wonder how many of you can identify with that? How often when you tired and worn out do you think to go God for refreshment I wonder? Too often I counsel couples whose relationship has fallen apart because over time they have become too exhausted for physical intimacy which leads to one or the other being tempted to look elsewhere. Isaiah very clearly tells us “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” “He gives power to the tired and worn out” Isaiah 40:29-31 So my question is, why aren’t we doing this?

· Just like the rich man in today’s gospel reading, money can be an enormous brick in our lives. Money in itself is ok as long as money, or the requirement of it, is not our chief focus. For when our focus is on making more money then our focus is not on God and the enemy very quickly steps in to tempt us with the idea of self-sufficiency. Because when we are busy working in our own strength, we’ll never experience God’s power

· The brick of unforgiveness can often be a very heavy brick we not only carry but use to build up a wall between ourselves and God. I know, I’ve been in that position myself where I have harboured unforgiveness towards someone. Oh yes, I could justify it in my mind, but all it did was harden my heart and put up another brick in my relationship with God. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit went to work on me and reminded me that Jesus not only taught about forgiveness, he also demonstrated his own willingness to forgive.

Matthew 9:2-8

John 8:3-11

Luke 7:47-50

John 18:15-18; 25-27; 21:15-19

Luke 23:39-40

After much repentence on my part, I can honestly say I experienced the “weight” of that brick being lifted from my life.

· Another brick that has crept into our lives today is the brick of over-stimulation of our minds. We are so bombarded with information coming to us from so many different quarters that we fail to hear God speaking to us because we have clogged up our minds with useless information. We end up with so many ideas choking up our minds, that too often there is no room for God

· I am also aware of a brick called “desensitization.” As well as the bombardment of information, our minds also become saturated with the violence we see and read about on a daily basis. Because of this I believe, we run the risk of becoming desensitized to the world around us and fail to display the compassion Christ calls us to show others.

· And finally, I am becoming more and more aware of many people at my stage of life, including in my own family, who are retiring early and going off around the world for a few years involving themselves in good causes. That, in itself, is very noble but, I believe, they often immerse themselves in good causes so they won’t have time for eternal ones. And that is one of the biggest bricks people of my generation put up between themselves and God. They see good works as being above a relationship with God!

So, I will ask the question again. What are the bricks in your life? Are you willing to lay them down at the feet of Jesus this morning so that you relationship with him is no longer hindered by the wall you have built?

What’s This About Giving?

2 Corinthians 8:1-12

This morning you will have received a letter informing you about the state of our finances at CPAC. Probably, like me, you got a bit of a shock at just where we are, however, it is the responsibility of council to keep everyone informed about our financial status in order that we can decide just how we will proceed.

In the past, I have been loath to give a sermon about giving as I have always felt a bit uncomfortable about doing so. If I’m truthful, I suspect it might have had something to do with the fact that I was afraid God would nudge me about my own giving and the fact that there have been times in the past when I have given grudgingly. Why? Because there were bills to pay, school uniforms to buy and mouths to feed. However, as I dug into God’s word, something really struck me. God expects us to give before we receive! Let me say that again. God expects us to give before we receive! In every instance God blessed his people after they had given what first belonged to him. When I realised this truth, and went about doing this, that is, giving to God first, He blessed me out of my socks!!

The first Christmas I was on my own with my three girls, I wondered how on earth we were going to manage. It would have been so easy to claw back my giving, and I felt I could really justify doing so. However, I had made a promise so I decided I had to keep it. Do you know, a week before Christmas, I got a knock on the door and a friend arrived unexpectedly with an enormous hamper. Inside was everything and more, we could possibly need for Christmas!! And that same week an envelope containing $200 in cash was put in our letterbox with a note that said, a love gift from God!! I truly learnt about God’s blessings. In fact what I learnt through all of this is that I can’t afford not to give!

So, despite the uncertain times many of us are presently going through, and despite the fact it may not be the best time to talk about giving, I am certainly not going to apologise for talking about it because, whether you realise it or not, giving is at the very heart of the Gospel.

Paul certainly didn’t apologise for talking about giving and he was appealing to people who had far less in the way of material possessions than we have today. Listen to his words from 2nd Corinthians. “Now, as you excel in everything; in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you; so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of

our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”

Paul certainly didn’t apologise for talking about giving to Christ’s work. Instead he told the Corinthian church that they needed to excel in giving! Talk about upping the ante! Let’s see what he is really saying and what this means for us today.

I think what he is really saying is that many of us are a bit slap happy in our giving. In other words we don’t give it enough, or at times, any thought at all. What we have left in our wallets at the end of the week, if we indeed have anything at all, is what many of us give to God. A few stray left over coins if we’re lucky. Sadly, we often give God only what’s left over.

I’m reminded of a story I once heard about a twelve year old boy on the island of Guadalcanal, an island in the South Pacific who understood all about excellence in giving. One day he came to his minister with an extremely large fish he had caught, big enough to feed his whole family. He explained to the minister that it was his tithe for the week and asked for instructions as to how to give it to God.

The minister explained that he could sell it at the market and then bring the proceeds and give them to God. He then remarked that it obviously had been an excellent day for fishing since the boy must have caught ten fish and was now giving this one to God.

“Oh, no,” said the boy. “this is the first one. The rest are still in the ocean waiting for me to catch.” Now there’s a young man who knows how to excel in giving! He gave his tithe first. That, I believe, is what real faith is about!

Some people are slap happy in their giving because they only give God what is left over. Sadly, I believe many of us are in that category today. We are loathe to pledge or tithe to the church because we wait to see if we are going to have any money left over after we pay for our new car, and petrol for our boat or a new high-definition television or a trip overseas and so on and so on.

However, Paul would have none of that. Instead he encourages us to excel in giving.

Paul goes on to say, I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with what we give compared with what others have given us. It’s true we haven’t got a church building but the fact we have church here in Churton Park is entirely due to the sacrifices others made before us. We wouldn’t be a church here if many of you had just given the left-overs of your time and money. We are blessed as a church because many of you sacrificed, did without, and gave of your very best to make this happen. In fact throughout history, there have been many people who have given their all, including their very lives, so that the Gospel might be preached in this land. Paul calls us to excel in our giving and he reminds us what others have given on our behalf.

Then finally, Paul adds the ultimate comparison. He reminds us of what Christ gave on our behalf. He writes, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich…”

Christ has made us rich. I wonder, do you truly realize that? He’s given us the greatest gift that we can ever receive, the gift of eternal life. But he paid an awful price in order for us to have that gift. That is what the cross is all about and when it comes right down to it, I believe this is the most important motivation for giving. It isn’t what we might feel about the vicar, or the church council or the economy, or even about how life is treating us right now. We give because he has first given to us.

Some of you who studied history may remember a Frenchman called the Marquis de Lafayette. He was an extremely rich French General and politician who assisted George Washington in the American Revolution. Afterwards, he returned to France and resumed his life as the master of several large estates.

In 1783, the harvest in France was a poor one, but the workers on Lafayette’s farms still somehow managed to fill his barns with wheat. “the bad harvest has raised the price of wheat,” said one of his foremen, ‘and this is the time to sell.”

Lafayette thought about all the hungry peasants in the surrounding villages. Then he said, “No. This is the time to give.” And that is what he did. He shared his wheat with those who had none. You see, Lafayette understood excellence in giving. He was undoubtedly conscious of all that had been given to him and he opened his hands and his heart to others.

I pray that each one of you will take your situation to God and prayerfully consider your own response. I can only speak from my own experience and what is biblical truth. Ever since I have given with a grateful heart, God has blessed me and I can testify I have learnt that I can’t afford not to, if I want the blessings!