The Risk of Giving

John 3:16-21
The Risks in Giving
Christmas!

Every year we faced the problem – what do I get people for Christmas? You’d think it would be easy – all you have to do is get the right presents for the right people – every year. That’s the rub of course – regardless of what you spend – getting the right thing for the right person – that’s the difficult part. When my son was little it was easy – there are all sorts of really cool toys for boys – all sorts of things that I can happily play with on Christmas D… sorry… I mean that he can play with of course! Girls on the other hand – well you can only have so many Barbie’s and dolls houses. These days the presents are smaller and more expensive.
And then there’s the family – the brother’s in law – what can you buy under $15 that will not simply go in the bin. So you pore over the junk mail and catalogues in the letterbox. You watch the ads on TV trying to find the perfect gift for those hard-to-buy-for family members. It’s not easy – and it’s risky. Cause if you make a mistake…!
We all know the feeling of opening the present at the Christmas family lunch… the paper’s off, the gift’s in full view and you’re thinking “what is this?” But it’s not what you say. “Oh! This is wonderful – I’ve always wanted one of these – I have the perfect spot for it” or “wow! What an unusual gift.”
Which is not what you want to hear them say about the gift you’ve just given! Or worse maybe – you don’t want to offend people by the gift you give – if you give your wife a cookbook will she think you’re trying to say something about her cooking. Will your husband be offended by the jumbo sized antiperspirant novelty gift pack with pillow protectors? What are you trying to say about his personal hygiene? If you buy clothing that’s too big are you trying to say they look big… or too small that they need to lose some weight!
Christmas is a time for peace, love, friendship, giving… and total abject paranoia. Present buying is rife with potential for disaster.
God’s gift
Today in most homes we will be focussed on gifts – and if you have enough people around then paper and mess – and maybe it will be fun. But in the midst of all that how do we focus also on that very first Christmas – when God gave us a gift.
When God chose this gift for us there was no question about him making a mistake. He knew exactly what we needed.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Interesting gift – a son! God’s son! At first it should strike us as odd – why give us a person – why not faith or salvation or riches and glory? Wouldn’t it have been easier just to make all people believers and get rid of sin, give everyone faith and then not have Jesus die?

God knew that Jesus was exactly what each of us needed. The perfect gift.

God knew we had a problem – he knew what we lacked and what we had too much of. We were in trouble – in serious trouble. God knew that sending his son Jesus would be the only thing to get us out of that trouble.
That’s what the angel announces to Joseph. Mary’s going to have a baby – nothing like surprising the husband to be…
Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Our problem was and is sin – not just moral failure, but we ignore God and we shut God out – sin is not simply doing bad things – it’s us telling the God who created us and who keeps us alive, telling him to buzz off – telling him that we don’t need him or want him around and really we’d be much happier sorting out our own life. Imagine your children telling you that? Imagine something you’ve created – a car you’ve rebuilt, a picture you’ve painted, a house you’ve built, the cows you care for and milk, the dog or cat you care for, the things you create and look after – imagine them telling you to go away. It makes it easier to understand that our most pressing need is to be forgiven by God.
Maybe we’re not convinced that’s the gift we need. People often find it hard to see themselves as sinful. And out there in the big wide world most people think the opposite is true – if there is anything wrong with this world it’s other people – not me. In fact these days lots of the world believes that the real problem with the world is the religious people!!!! In any case the problem is other people – and “I don’t need forgiveness – sure – I could improve in a few areas but the whole forgiveness deal – that’s unnecessary!”
God says we need forgiveness not simply to deal with sin or to make us better people, but we need forgiveness if we want to be friends with him. Not just mates on speaking terms at the pub – “how ya going God, yeh not bad mate – what about those Dragons/Wallabies/Blues – I think it’s your shout God…!” Not mates, not buddies, not work pals. God offers us friendship. Even though we tell God to get lost he still wants us to be his friends.
And he openly offers us the forgiveness we need to become his friends–that’s why He sent his Son into the world. That’s what Christmas is about – God‘s gift of his Son. Jesus came into the world to live among us and to die on the cross so that we could be forgiven and become God’s friends.
Accepting the gift
Some people on Christmas morning have two questions as they open their presents… like a rating system.
1. How expensive is it?
2. How much do I need it/want it?
It’s an interesting response to a gift … what happens if you apply those questions to the gift God has given us in Jesus? Based on that rating system – on need and expense, Jesus is the best gift you’ll ever receive.
You want expensive…? God gave us his one and only Son. You can’t get a more expensive gift than that. He sacrificed his son so that we might live. Imagine the cost of giving up a child to save other people – and maybe then we can get an inkling of the enormous cost that God was prepared to bear so that we humans might be safe…
And the second question – how much do I need it? This is THE gift you need more than you can imagine.
If you want to know God as his friend…
If you want to be forgiven by God…
If you want to share eternity with God in heaven…
…then this is a gift you need.
Do you know the biggest danger churches face? Never asking the right questions. I have friends who go to a church and the minister preaches a great sermon with great application and then proceeds to let everyone off the hook. He never asks the right question! So this Christmas – you’re ready for the presents, and the food, and maybe the heat, and you’re ready for the family – but are you ready for God? Are you ready to face God and for him to ask why he should let you into heaven?
Have you accepted the gift for yourself? Our tree has been up for a month, the house is clean, the food and drinks are ready – the presents have all been wrapped and are sitting under the tree – there are name tags on all the presents showing who they’re for. In our family presents happen after church. Right now those presents don’t belong to whoever’s name is on them. They are sitting under the tree – the gifts are ready to be given – but one thing remains. The giving and the receiving!
God has given the gift of Jesus – but for it to mean anything we have to accept the gift for ourselves.
The right question to ask at Christmas is… have you accepted the gift God offers of forgiveness? Have you prepared for meeting God by entrusting your life into Jesus hands? If you haven’t – then can I say this is the Christmas to do so. This is the time – the perfect time to celebrate Christmas by trusting in the one born this day to save the world.
This Christmas can you honestly say thankyou to God for the gift he has given us.

Why do we exist?

The Stupid Things People Do!

Two men tried to steal some cash by pulling the front off an ATM machine in Adelaide. They ran a chain from the ATM to the bumper of their 4WD – but instead of pulling the front panel off, they pulled their bumper off. Frightened and with people looking on, they drove off – the chain attached to the ATM, bumper attached to the chain – license plate attached to the bumper. And no – they didn’t use a stolen car.

Another guy in need of a beer decided to throw a brick through a liquor store window. He heaved the brick at the window with all his might – it bounced back and hit him in the head, knocking him unconscious. The windows were made of Plexi-Glass. Even better – the whole thing was caught on videotape, and the storeowner sold it to the TV stations.

Why tell these stories?

Simply to ask the question – why do such people exist?

There are so many people who seem to lack purpose – or pick the wrong purpose to run with. It’s said that we all have a purpose… but when you look around in our world you would have to ask – really? Everyone in this world has a purpose – really? Is that what we see in the world? In your community? People living out their purpose? What about the church – do we see people living out a purpose?

I reckon one of the most common purposes people lay claim to is “to simply make a difference”. We’re here to serve, help others, make the world a better place – not hurt anyone. And maybe for many people purpose has something to do with money and houses – they might claim something else but surely their purpose is linked to how they spend all their time and energy in the pursuit of?

Why do we exist?

Psalm 63 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God’s name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.”

God’s Love

David’s got it? You’d have to say David had a profound understanding of God – a very deep relationship with his Heavenly Father. From everything we can understand about David we know that he wasn’t afraid of venting his feelings and saying what he thought. He was a king who really did love his people and love God’s people. His words are not just words – they reflect what’s going on inside.

Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

David was probably writing as he hid in the desert from his son – Absalom wanted to kill him and take the throne. That’s gotta hurt!

“The kingdom’s mine dad”.

“Over my dead body son.”

“Ok dad!”

This is written in the cut and thrust of a painful life. As he reeled at the thought that Absalom wanted him dead… he also clearly saw the inner workings of the world.

Psalm 63:2 “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.”

David had seen God’s power and might over his lifetime. He had seen it in the life and history of Israel – as had Israel. He had seen it in the building of Israel, in the riches and might of the kingdom and the prosperity of the nation. He had seen it in the promises of God coming true – land, freedom and peace, nationhood and a vast population. He’d seen it in his own personal life as well – a dead infant son, rejection and pain, a family war. This is not ‘out there’ stuff that David is talking about – when he says, “I have seen…” he means “he” has seen. And – taken notice! Through personal, often painful experience he’d found God’s love was worth everything!

Psalm 93:3-5 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

Why does David glorify God?

David says that his soul will be so satisfied that it’ll be like 3 o’clock Christmas Day after the family feast.

Why does he declare himself satisfied?

Psalm 63:6-7 “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Why?

Because God’s love is better than life!

Tease that out – God’s love (friendship, protection, riches, faithfulness, kindness, support, care – and more) is better than holding onto riches, family, health, food, prosperity, friendship – even love. He says it again…

Psalm 63:8 “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Better Than Life

Back in 1984 – Boxing Day – we watched the TV in horror as the Tsunami swept everything before it. But for me one of the saddest things in the aftermath was seeing Christian ministers and priests unsure of what to say or do. I recall one guy standing in the midst of devastation as he was interviewed for TV saying “how do I tell people God loves them in the face of this.”

Whilst I can see why he was frustrated and distressed – he missed the point.

As King David writes Psalm 63, telling us about his anger and pain, about his foolishness and sin, his highs and lows – always in the midst of that reality is the truth about how the world works – the truth about God and God’s character, might, God’s gentleness, mercy, kindness, strength, wonder, beauty, power, presence – love! The truth is – hard to see though it can be and often is in this world – God’s love is better than life.

David learnt that giving glory to God is the purpose of life. He dedicated himself to God – and lived most of the time in God’s service. He had some major lapses – hopefully far bigger, from our point of view at least, than we will ever have – yet he comes at the last to the truth – he will give God glory by his lips, his actions, by his praise and willingness to be obedient, by his trust – he will cling to God and bring God the glory because that is the central truth of life.

Psalm 86:9-10 “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvellous deeds; you alone are God.”

The Mission – Our Purpose

The very purpose of our lives fits hand in glove with God’s plan – that is to glorify himself – for the world to glorify him – for every living creature to declare the wonders of God’s majesty might and power – to have the very earth and universe itself declare the wonders of God. The reason Jesus came to die and rise again was to bring God glory. He says to his disciples – as he faces his impending death…

John 12:27-28 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

People says Jesus came for a huge variety of reasons – but Jesus says his purpose – was to come to the point of his own death on the cross – the pain, physical and spiritual agony that the cross would bring – that is the reason for his existence – obedience even unto death – and to bring God the glory of a Son who obeys, a son who by his obedience declares his Father’s Lordship and power. “Father, glorify your name!”

John 12:28 “Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

God the Father speaks and declares that what Jesus is doing is precisely what God has planned – God is bringing glory to himself and we are part of that plan – not that we can thwart God’s plans – he will be glorified no matter what. But we are called and commanded by God to be like his Son – even if it means obedience to the point of death – that will bring God glory. In the face of the Tsunami being able to declare God’s love and mercy may be hard – that’s why we keep going back to the cross. In David’s words…

Psalm 93:3-5 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”

David knew nothing of the cross – but his words certainly fit. In the face of a disaster and destruction we are to bring God glory. We are to declare his love and goodness by pointing people to Jesus on the cross. Instead of doubting God’s goodness we are called to look to the cross and be reminded that God is good and loving and powerful. That doesn’t mean the world will listen – or agree. Most will think we’ve slipped a cog – that our faith is the worst kind of foolish escapism.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24 “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

This is one of the great things about the mission we have from Jesus – we are commanded by God as his creation to live in obedience to Jesus and declare the wonders of God’s love as demonstrated in the cross – and in doing so to glorify God. Even if no one listens we can be obedient and bring God glory.

Psalm 93:3-5 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

Dummies Guide to Maturity

Just Not Funny

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To get to the other side!

Q: What did the cat say to the elephant? A: Meow

Q: What kind of keys do kids like to carry? A: Cookies

Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? A: Frostbite

Q: Why do bees hum? A: Because they’ve forgotten the words!

Q: Why did the cat cross the road? A: It was the chicken’s day off!

When you were a kid most of those would have been the funniest things you’d ever heard. My son has a joke book and he loves it – can’t get enough and the kids will hit one or two that simply crack them up. Watching him is much funnier that the jokes themselves.

How come we don’t find them funny as adults?

Because we’ve matured! We might have started out on jokes like them but tastes change as we grow and develop. That’s what happens with childhood – we grow out of it. How fast do kids go from kindergarten to hitting high school and suddenly needing to sort out university placements? Can you remember the events of your kids’ lives as they have grown – riding a bike, eating some weird food, learning to write or read, performing their first song or dance or concert or whatever – developing strengths, abilities, growing, maturing – do you remember?

Watching Christians Grow

Childhood is one of the main analogies the Bible uses to talk about maturating as Christians.

Mark 10:13-16 “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”

The only way we can receive the kingdom of God is to come as children – with childlike faith – putting our trust and our lives in Jesus hands – we have to receive the kingdom without any pretense that somehow we are the ones earning it or making our own way to salvation. But childhood is not where we should stay – though many Christians do!

Hebrews 5:11-14 “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

There should be an expectation, just as we do in every area of life, that young Christians will grow and mature. If you have teenagers at home – what are your hopes and expectations and plans for them – whatever plans they have? How do you feel about them staying at home till they are 25 or 35 or 45 – not making a career, not getting their own lives, not marrying, playing video games or partying for the next 20+ years…? We’re seeing some of these phenomena in our society and it grates on us – we see it as a lack of maturing. We have expectations a progress of maturity from childhood to adulthood.  A child who never learns to cross the road by themselves is in grave danger. Your boss is unlikely to be happy if you never grow to maturity in you job. You can’t drive on L plates for the rest of your life – you’re expected to move on and grow. You can’t expect mum and dad are going to pay for your life forever – at some point you have to grow to maturity and take responsibility for yourself.

Why don’t we assume the same thing in faith and Christian life? An expectation of growth to maturity and then growth in maturity.

The Danger of Immaturity

Many churches suffer from immaturity – from a lack of growth. Paul tells Timothy that there are dangers for the immature Christian.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”

The debate on Stem Cell Research continues – it’s a hard, complex topic with many interest groups on both sides. But one of the most common points made in its defence is that the scientists and researchers are all only interested in helping mankind, bettering mankind, easing suffering and curing diseases. I’m sorry to point this out but that’s like saying North Korea and Iran only want nuclear capabilities for peaceful purposes. When did we become so gullible? There is a huge amount of money to be made in stem cell research – most of which is being funded by multi-national pharmaceutical companies. There is a huge amount of control and power to be gained, and a massive amount of kudos to be gained – imagine being the scientist who cures Alzheimer’s. There may or may not be merit to stem cell research – but being gullible in the debate leaves us open to foolish decisions.

Being gullible in faith does the same. Maturity leads to the ability to discern between right and wrong, between good and evil, between deceiving spirits and the Holy Spirit. Paul says to Timothy the danger is very real – don’t be a fool when it comes to Christian things – there will be people who want to take advantage of Christians. How do we deal with it?

1 Timothy 4:6-8 “If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

How do we deal with the danger? We be open about it – we confront wrong teaching, we stick to the truth of the Bible, we leave old wives tales to the old wives and we train ourselves to be Godly. These words are written to Timothy as a leader – but he’s told to pass them on to reliable Christians who will also pass them on – this is Christian maturity at work.

Training To Be Godly

Training ourselves to be Godly is not hard – being Godly can be hard – but the training process is simple. I’m trying to loose weight and get fitter again after a couple of years of setbacks in those areas. It’s not something I find easy but I know that physical training is of some value so I get out there and walk. I know that self control with food is one of the keys so I’m watching my diet and eating well. Training takes hard work but the process is simple enough.

Godly training holds great value for this life and the next – and it’s relatively obvious what we have to do. Timothy had some basic instructions to follow.

1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Do you think it would be fair to say that if Timothy and all who follow in his footsteps are to devote themselves to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching – then we should be devoted to those things as hearers and readers?

The Dummies Guide to Maturity says some pretty simple things.

1. Devote yourself to the reading of Scripture! To know God’s will and purpose and teaching means god speaks and we listen? We should be reading the Bible for ourselves – that’s what mature Christians do. Listen to it in the car. Read it at lunchtime. Read it on the train. Stop watching 1 TV show a day and read it. Don’t have dinner in front of the TV – instead sit at the table and read it after dinner with the family. Read it to your children before bed. Read it instead of the newspaper. Read it on the toilet. Get up 15 minutes earlier and read it. These aren’t rules – just good basic plans – if you want to mature in understanding then you have to read the Bible. Do you have a good modern translation to read from? Does your family know you need some space each day to read the Bible? Do you have a list of what to read? Are you willing to ask questions about what you’re reading? To watch your life and doctrine closely you have to work out from God’s word what they should be and persevere at them over a lifetime.
2. Get yourself a good Bible Study group where they read the Bible, study the Bible and discuss the Bible so that they can apply the Bible. If we regularly spend all our time at growth group, praying and sharing prayer points and little time reading and thinking and discussing then we’ve gone of track. A Bible Study group is one of the best most intensive ways to grow – and it should be an environment where you are encouraged by a whole group to stick with the Scripture and not give up.
3. If you’re tempted not to go to church… fight the temptation. Timothy was told to devote himself to the public reading of Scriptures and to preaching and teaching. If that’s the right instruction for the teachers then it has to be the same for the listeners. We are told in Hebrews not to forsake gathering together but to do so more and more as the day of Christ approaches. So that’s what we should do. And when we get together our focus should be the same as Paul commands Timothy – the public reading of Scriptures, the teaching and preaching of God’s word. We might do other things together, but the basis has to be the word of God proclaimed.
4. Growth and maturity come with ministry. You want to know if you really know something – try and teach someone else what you know!? Each of us has been gifted by God for the work of ministry – probably we have more than one gift – and all of us have the gift of ministry. And the responsibility.

Why do we gather together…?

Colossians 3:16-17 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

With the word of God our task is to teach and admonish one another – to minister to each other’s needs and maturity. The Dummies Guide to Maturity says that ministry is not just formal or done from the front – but is informal – it’s about relationships – it happens over morning tea, it happens when you’re singing a tune, it happens when you pray with someone, matter of fact it’s happening right now.

Sorry – couldn’t resist!

When you speak to others after church will your aim be ministry or are you totally focused on coffee? If someone is hurting will you pray for them and listen to them – will you be obviously open to that – will you pay attention and offer assistance rather than wait for them to start? Will you share the truth of God’s word together or the reality of the weather?

Can I ask… Is it hard to ask the right questions or speak the truth?

“Hi George – how have you been?”

“What did you think of the sermon this morning? Do you know – I’m not sure I know how to encourage people with my singing – what do you reckon?”

“Hi there – I don’t think I’ve met you – I’m Alfred. Great passage this morning – that young fella Paul’s a gun preacher – but I’m not really sure I got his last point. What did you think?”

“You know… Paul really laid it on the line for Timothy. He was only 19 – big responsibility. I must admit I find it hard some days to read the Bible…”

One Track Mind

The Dummies Guide to Maturity has a bit of a single track – reading the Bible. It hasn’t said much about the Holy Spirit or prayer, or about helping other, acts of kindness and mercy, singing, worship, praising, meditation, fasting… all good stuff. But when it comes to maturing the big element is the Bible.

• The Holy Spirit works through the Scriptures to turn us to Christ.
• Prayer should happen in response to what we are reading and bringing before God the things on our heart – including our growth and maturity.
• Singing, worship, praising, acts of kindness – all worthwhile as we grow – all necessary responses to faith and the scriptures – but that’s what they are – responses.

Jesus says that growth comes from receiving, hearing, retaining and persevering in the word of God.

Luke 8:11-15 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

Which one are you? When the seed comes do you…

• Hear but not believe and so are not saved?
• Have you responded with joy but lost hope and faith?
• Have you heard and responded but been choked by the world and are not mature?
• Have you heard, changed, retained the word and are persevering to produce the crop?

It’s interesting I think – there is only one crop that makes sense – there’s only one sort of Christian – the maturing persevering sort. The rest of the soils produce nothing – they are not growing – they whither and die.

Dummies Guide to Materialism

The Husband Store

A friend sent me this great news article about a new store in New York – “The Husband Store!”

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, catering for women wishing to choose the perfect husband. As you enter the store you are greeted like royalty and escorted to the lift – and handed an instruction sheet, which explains how the store operates.

You may visit the store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and as the lift ascends each level so do the qualities and attributes of the men increase. There is of course a catch – you can choose a bloke from any floor but once you have passed on a floor you cannot revisit – you can only go back down to exit the store!

So, this woman goes in one day to the Husband Store to find a husband.

Into the lift she goes and to the 1^st floor. The doors open and she reads the sign over the doors; 1^st Floor – These men have jobs and love the Lord. (This is America after all.)

Sounds great but she wonders to herself what the next floor might contain. So up she goes. The lift opens and the second floor sign reads; 2^nd Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

Tempted as she is – and really who could want for more, she presses the button for the third floor. The doors open and she reads… 3^rd Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are extremely good looking and guaranteed to remain faithful.

“WOW”. This is just too good to be true – yet she feels compelled – what might she be missing out on… so she pushes the button, the lift ascends one more floor. The doors open again, this time on the fourth floor and she reads… 4^th Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are incredibly good looking, guaranteed to remain faithful and help with the housework.

Fact of the matter is she can hardly wait to close the door – again tempted as she is to rush out and grab one off the rack. She can hardly stand the suspense, pushes the button, and fidgets as the lift so slowly ascends once more. The doors open on the fifth floor and she reads… 5^th Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are unbelievably gorgeous, are guaranteed to remain faithful, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.

There is however one floor left – she almost pounces on the button, hardly able to contain herself wondering what on earth the 6^th floor might hold that could be better than all she has seen so far. The door opens and she steps out, eagerly scanning the sign, a large electronic display which reads… 6^th Floor – You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely to prove that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Wanting it All

I don’t know if the story has any element of truth – but I do know materialism comes from one place – being impossible to please.

Discontentment!

Western society is affluent – in Sydney plenty of people on unemployment benefits have mobile phones and Foxtel. We consume at a rate that beggar’s belief. Australia is clearly in the top ten wealthiest nations on earth yet in surveys more than 60% of us say we cannot afford the things we need to buy. We are in the top 5 countries for disposable income. Houses are getting bigger; families are getting smaller. The term coined in the last decade or so seems so appropriate – affluenza – the disease of greed and affluence. Materialism is a disease – it’s an enemy that plays on our lack of contentment. Instead of giving glory to God for his provision we turn to materialism… “I can make my life comfortable, happy, fulfilled, complete, by filling up with things”. “If I can just get ‘xyz’… then I will be happy, fulfilled and content!

It’s such a threat Jesus says…

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Now – if you have your Bible handy cross out Money and put back in the word that should be there – Mammon – you cannot serve both God and mammon. It means money, possessions, the values of the world… filling up.

Jesus says…

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Mammon is simply treasured possessions… as Jesus says… they are treasured so highly that they become the boss.

• It could be a general attitude to money and possessions – I need more and more and more to make myself feel powerful, feel in control, feel worthwhile and successful.
• It could be a specific thing – the way we treat our home, our car, the money we lavish on entertainment where enjoyment becomes the god… or some other possession.
• It could be our investments, making them the master in terms of our decision making – or superannuation – where we pour our resources into future life.
• It could be family – we lavish every good thing on our family to protect and care for them, to be in control of their future and their happiness.

Materialism or affluence – is not simply money – it’s really about ownership and the gathering in. Possessions, things, money, riches – in themselves they mean nothing – they are neither good nor bad. But when they become master – when the possessions possess us – then we have a problem. Jesus calls us to recognize that we cannot serve God and mammon – we cannot place ourselves at God’s disposal as his slaves and servants, and be dedicated not just in word or thought but in action to the requirements and activities of the kingdom – and at the same time be dedicated to the gathering of wealth and possessions and to the demands and activities of that lifestyle. We cannot at the same time be storing up wealth on earth and storing up wealth in heaven – the two simply don’t go together.

A Man’s Inheritance

Luke 12:13-15 “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

What does Jesus say to the bloke who asks the simple and fair question – my brother is ripping me off out of my inheritance – can you tell him to share what is rightfully mine. Seems fair enough doesn’t it? The Rabbis, of which Jesus was one, regularly settled these sorts of disputes – so there is no surprise that the man comes to Jesus. And let’s be honest – we hate it when life seems unfair – we’re automatically on the side of the questioner. We want Jesus to side with him, to say “of course it’s unfair, you are totally in the right and of course I will talk with him.” We can see ourselves in the same boat and wishing we could have Jesus side with us in our disputes.

Yet Jesus says “Watch Out!”

Watch out for what?

The desire to get his fair share of what is rightfully his is a form of greed – fair or otherwise life is not about possessions. Instead of answering Jesus tells a parable.

Luke 12:16-21 “…“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

God says… “You fool”. He has a bumper year; his barns can’t hold what he harvests so he builds. Perfectly logical! Then he says “I’m going to enjoy the fruits of my hard work.” Why not – he probably has worked very hard, made good decisions – God has obviously blessed his labors and it’s time to enjoy. His neighbors are all jealous of his success – “…wish it was me…” Surely Jesus’ words come as a shock. One of the foundations stones of Australian society is work hard so you can enjoy. Work for the weekend used to be one of our catch phrases. Almost every Australian worker is storing up the abundance of their crops in bigger and bigger barns for future enjoyment and relaxation – it’s called superannuation. Jesus says… “You fool.”

How is he a fool?

A Fool and His Possessions

Luke 12:19 “And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

He thinks life is about accumulating possessions – the one with the most toys, wins! That’s what kids think – they look in catalogues or watch the ads on TV and declare adamantly that they need to get the latest doll, game, sports equipment, MacDonald’s burger deal, holiday to New Caledonia… Target is having a toy sale – we should go! Big W has a DVD sale – we need some new ones dad!

It’s not just kids that think this way though – we should have learned that life is not about how much stuff you have – yet how often do we judge the worth or value of someone, how often do we assess their lifestyle based on what they earn, what they have, the house they live in, the car they drive, how much they earn, the clothes they wear. Our society agrees with the rich fool – life is about possessions.

A Fool and Life

Not only does the fool think life is about possessions – he also thinks life is about now. He’s planning what he can spend in the short period of life we call retirement. You work till 65, you might live another 20-30 years. They used to say superannuation was a way of helping your kids. Now the ads say superannuation is about revenge on your kids.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Saving for the future is sensible – trusting in it is not. We had Christian friends who had it all in retirement – their life savings were substantial to say the least – he worked massive hours and was paid handsomely. He was a hoarder of wealth – in any form he could manage it. He died 18 months after retirement. His widow lives in their massive waterfront unit in a beachside suburb and has lots of money. Their children are not Christians – but they are successful – they learned the lessons they were taught.

Like the rich fool what we need to be prepared for is not the 20-30 years of retirement but the eternity that follows. That doesn’t just mean becoming a Christian – it means living as one. It means giving up the world’s value of possessions and money and not trusting in them. It means seeing our wealth, small or great, as an opportunity to be generous.

The Dummies Guide to Materialism

Luke 12:15 Jesus said… “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:19 Jesus said “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

The Dummies Guide to Materialism says…

1. Being content with what God has given you will break materialism’s hold. No matter what you do you can never have enough to be content! The richest people in the world continually go for more of everything.

Luke 12:22-26 “Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”

2. Only a fool thinks that life is about having it all. Are you tempted by that? When is enough… enough?
3. God does not want us to be wealthy in material possessions. Wealth and possessions is not a sign of faith – and the lack of possessions and wealth is not an indicator of a lack of faith. The one who gathers possessions and wealth actually proves to be a fool.
4. There are churches that teach that God wants us to be wealthy – avoid them like the plague because they are teaching a different gospel from what Jesus spoke.

Galatians 1:8-9 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”

5. Whatever we have, we have received from God. The fool says “look at what I’ve done” – rather than giving thanks to God.
6. When you’re walking through the massive shopping mall remember Jesus’ words… “Watch Out – life does not consist of the abundance of possessions”. When you read the junk mail realize that they should come with a health warning – this junk mail could seriously damage your life.
7. What opportunities do you have to be generous to God? Church, missionaries, the poor and destitute, the spread of the gospel, feeding the third world, helping your neighbor…

Luke 12:21 “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

This still doesn’t mean we will be wealthy – but God will provide our basic needs and maybe even some of our desires – he is a generous God who wants us to be content – not in the things we do or don’t have but content with his power, control and sovereignty. To defeat the allure of materialism we have to trust in God’s sovereignty. Life is not about the abundance of our possessions – life is about being rich towards God.

Luke 12:32-34 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Waking the Sleeping Giant – Spiritual Gifts 2

Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

In a previous post I wrote about the need to use the gifts God has given us and given to the church – that we need to awaken the sleeping giant that is the church by valueing all people the way God made them, by understanding that God has given each Christian gifts for ministry – not just skills but gifts that are for the benefit of the church, for building the kingdom and proclaiming the gospel. Just as the human body is made up of many parts that do different jobs but are equally necessary and valuable so too the church is made up of many parts and we each have a ministry that we have been prepared by God to exercise – and God has prepared a place in church for us that we might exercise those gifts for the benefit of the church.

So… keeping on that same track…

What’s love got to do with it?!?!? Well… I’m going to say that love has everything to do with it!

What is Love?

One of the fun parts of wedding interviews is asking the prospective couple to explain why they want to get married… without using the word “love”.

You should try it… explain your love for someone without using the word.

I love you!

Think about it! What do we mean? What does every wedding couple say? We know what we mean but we don’t know how to say it? Which is strange because everyone wants it, pretty much no one can live without it – but we can’t explain it. Love is… all around us… hard to find, easy to loose – you can’t buy love… tell that to jewellers before Valentine’s Day.

The Bible tells us God defines love – God is love.

Do we know what love isn’t?

• Love is not killing your kids when they’ve done the same stupid thing for the 50^th time.
• Love is not killing your parents when they’ve treated you unfairly yet again.
• Love is not getting revenge.
• Love is not lust.
• Love is not envious, proud or dangerous.

Remember the song in the 70’s – “love hurts”? Frankly, that’s rubbish. When you can’t have your own way and you feel love for someone who doesn’t return your feelings then yes that hurts you personally. But real love gives strength and courage, not damage. Real love defends, protects, cares and heals. Love provides, serves, guards, is selfless. Real love provides a foundation to build on – and love is the foundation of spiritual gifts.

It’s all about…

1 Corinthians 12-14 is often held up as THE most significant passages in the Bible about Spiritual gifts. All the gifts courses include this list of gifts, and you spend your time reading these passages and trying to work out what your specific gifts may be. The problem is – 1 Corinthians 12-14 is not about spiritual gifts. Listen!

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:3 “And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 14:1 “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts…”

1 Corinthians 14:12 “…since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”

The emphasis is not spiritual gifts. If we use our grammar skills – the subject of these verses is not ‘spiritual gifts’ but rather… love. The unity that comes from being loved by one God, love that should be the daily expression of God’s people, building up each other because of God’s love – if you’re going to excel in anything make sure it’s in gifts that build others up. That is the focus – not the gifts but the building each other up in love. This is vital in our understanding of spiritual gifts.

Imagine a child – beautiful, cute strong – infectious smile. Our aim for a child – is growth, is maturity. We want them to develop into a young person with skills, gifts, education, experiences and particularly faith in Jesus. But if they never know love, they can be the most gifted and educated person on the planet and they’ll be twisted and deformed.

Is it important to discover their gifts, teach them to speak in tongues or even preach the gospel – or is it important to give them love, to express God’s love to them, to teach by example what it means to love one another? Without discounting gifts for even a moment – I want the first to be true first…!

Without Love…?

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

As much as spiritual gifts are important, to focus on them is to miss the point. That may well be the situation Paul was writing to – the Corinthian Christians were people who’d come out of a spiritualist, pagan background, who were used to apparent spiritual activity in their pagan worship practices – and now seeing the Holy Spirit as a source of spiritual power and going ballistic in their efforts to gain spiritual powers, to be seen as “spiritual beings”.

We can be the most righteous, most selfless, poorest martyr able to explain the words of God with clarity and knowledge, able to speak in wild tongues – but without love it’s empty and meaningless. Same with preaching! I reckon one of the questions many preachers need to answer is not whether they can preach, or whether they know the scriptures. I don’t want to downplay those – they are vital – but maybe even more important is… “do they love their congregation(s)?” Because without love their preaching is meaningless.

Let’s see how it works in Jesus life. Jesus came to this earth because of love.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus was uniquely qualified and gifted. He alone could defeat sin. He alone could defeat death. He alone could pay for the sins of the whole human race and come out the other end unscathed. If anyone is powerful it’s Jesus.  But Jesus didn’t first set out to discover his gifts and then seek out those he could use his gift with. He didn’t do a gift inventory or a training program – seven steps to becoming the saviour of the universe.

He came to the world God loves, to express God’s love – to be God’s love to us.

We can’t begin to imagine what it would be like if God did not love his world – certainly he wouldn’t have sent Jesus just because he could fix the problems.  Imagine if John 3:16 said “For Jesus God’s Son was so gifted that God decided to sacrifice him for the planet he despised…” There is no way God would have sent Jesus – except that he loves us.

If I make spiritual gifts the central issue then I become the focus.  It comes down to my gifts, how God has made me, what ministry is there for me to do, what place do I have?

When love for God and for others is the issue then we start to reflect God’s priorities instead. What can I do to serve you? What can I do to serve God? How can I be God’s love towards others? How can I express Christ’s love to my brothers and sisters? Who is the focus – if love is the issue then loving God and loving my neighbour is the focus – obedient service. If the gift is the issue then the danger I am in is that I become the focus.

The Thing About Love?

Love is an incredible thing – if you know that someone loves you… you become one of the most powerful people on the planet. Love empowers and strengthens. Think about weddings – what passage do people want read at weddings? So often it’s this!

1 Corinthians 12:4-8a “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

Is it true? Look at the marriages where that was the passage used at the wedding – is it true of that marriage? What about 5 or 10 or 20 years down the track? How many divorces happened in marriages where this passage was held up as the standard that the marriage was going to attain to?

The reason love is so hard to describe is that its complex – but it’s also simple. Love is about others! Not self-seeking but looking for the good of others. It’s hard for me to get really angry at my wife – not because I’m good at keeping my cool but because we love each other and we know that getting angry will just make it harder – which is not to say we don’t get angry at each other. If you love someone then you will choose to go slowly on the road to anger – there are so many other ways to help the person you love. Real love forgets the wrongs of the past – because otherwise it will fail spectacularly.

Real love protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres – actually real love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres – if you love your husband or wife then you will do anything it takes to protect them, to help them trust you, to give them real hope, and strength and courage – and the same for your kids, and your friends, and your brothers and sisters.

The Corinthians had found that Spiritual Gifts could be a battlefield where the strong walked all over the weak. It was a competition; who had the most gifts, the higher gifts, who looked “spiritual”. There was no place for love – no place for others and their needs. And they were honouring certain gifts very highly and not others – giving importance to things that were spectacular for their own sake rather than to things that proclaimed Jesus’ name and God’s love. If you didn’t have certain gifts – the spectacular gifts of tongues and healing – then you weren’t much chop as a Christian – bit second rate. As soon as I say it that way we can see just how foolish and wrong it was and how right Paul is to call them back to what matters.

The Day is Approaching

What matters is what lasts. Jesus himself tells us to invest our time and energy, who we are as people into the things that will last – into eternal things rather than the things of this planet.

Matthew 6:20 “…store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Paul is saying the same thing – not to invest in gifts but in what lasts.

1 Corinthians 12:8-12 “But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.”

We live in an imperfect world – hard to believe I know. And God has given us a taste of life in the kingdom, life at peace with God. We have the word of God spoken and written – the prophecies, we have knowledge of God – imperfect and faint but real – we know in part, we can tell others in part, we can share with each other the glimpses we have from God. But the day is approaching when all the imperfect things will pass away. At the moment we are children…

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

The day is coming when our childhood will be over – the old world will pass in favour of God’s kingdom – and many things that we value highly now will go too. What we see poorly now – the face of God, what we hear poorly now – the voice of God – what we know now in a limited way – the person and character of God – we will see and hear and understand perfectly in heaven. We won’t need prophecies, or preaching, or healing or miracles, we won’t need tongues or gifts of knowledge – we will be perfect in a perfect place. But three things will remain in heaven.

1 Corinthians 13:13 “…faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

What should we spend our energies on – that which will last! As we seek to be God’s people and to be obedient, and as we seek to build his kingdom and our church let’s make sure that we focus on that which matters. If you don’t know what your gifts are that’s ok – in the end what matters is that we love and serve others based on that love. Whatever your gift or gifts we must focus on sharing God’s love and serving others – the foundation of the gifts of God’s Spirit is love.

1 Peter 1:22-25 “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

How do you wake a sleeping giant? Spiritual Gifts 1

We are God’s workmanship!

How do you feel about yourself – do you like who you are? Are you gifted? Are you an introvert or an extravert, an optimist or a pessimist – a little of both? Are you clever, cute, bright, smart, talented, special, beautiful, handsome – all of the above – or maybe the opposite? In our world if you’re one of the beautiful people then it’s all yours – if not?

So many children are growing up thinking that they have no value unless they can be certain things or do certain things or get to a certain level of life. Every day in shopping centres you can see at least one of the reasons… parents who abuse their kids emotionally and mentally, using every name they can think of, and a few we’d rather not. In western culture we worry so much about smacking or caning or other forms of physical punishment – but in my experience many more children suffer to a far greater degree from emotional and mental abuse (without for a moment excusing or condoning any form of physical abuse). So many people can’t get a handle on their life because parents never told them how much they were loved, how special they were, how wonderfully they were made.

Do you know – regardless of how we see ourselves, or how our parents or other important people see us – God sees us as his workmanship – wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

And as David goes on to say in the Psalm not just wonderfully made but created from the very start, known to God from before the very beginning of time and creation, and woven together in the womb with God watching over his creation. As we read in Ephesians…

Ephesians 2:10a “For we are God’s workmanship…”

Maybe that’s easy to see – if you’ve watched the program called “The Body” it’s hard to imagine how you can’t see. For many of us God creating and working his magic in this world is the only possible answer – the human body is just too amazing, as is the world and the universe. But there’s more to it than just our bodies, or the wonder of life.

Ephesians 2:10 “…created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Whatever the opinion of this world, whatever we have been lead to believe about ourselves, good or bad, God says that having become his children in Jesus, having trusted in Christ for salvation and moved from being God’s enemies to being God’s friends, he has remade us in Christ so that we can now start to fulfil his original design. We were created from scratch to do good works that God prepared for us before we were even a twinkle in our parent’s eyes. This is about how we fulfil the mission God has given us – how the church fulfils its mission in this world. I like to use Ephesians 4 as a guide for the life of the church – not the only one but I really like this.

Ephesians 4:12-13 “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

That’s God’s plan! And God has given us the means to carry it out – not one or two people able to fulfill his plans – but churches full. It is not the few who are wonderfully made and who are God’s workmanship – it is all – everyone – all creation. Every person is made to perfectly match God’s plans – in fact created in the image of God – made with purpose. So we read in 1 Corinthians…

1 Corinthians 12:1 “Now about spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant.”

Who is Paul writing to?

The whole church – the same as in Ephesians when he says we are God’s workmanship, the same in Romans when he says we have different gifts but one body. What does he says to the whole church about Spiritual Gifts?

1 Corinthians 12:2-3 “You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except in the Holy Spirit.”

What can we say about these Spiritual Gifts – without going further than the Scriptures do?

1.      Spiritual Gifts Are Given To Glorify God

Paul sets the stage by declaring that the purpose of Spiritual Gifts is to glorify God – especially designed to help us declare Jesus is Lord over all other gods – the mute idols that Paul talks about. The Corinthians came from a pagan, idol worshipping background, where spiritual utterances and demonic activity were par for the course – the cultic priests claimed all sorts of spiritual powers. The way to know that the spiritual gifts of the church are real – is by what they declare! No one speaking by the Holy Spirit can curse Jesus – no one speaking without God’s Spirit can declare Jesus as Lord. When the chips are down and life is threatened – you will only declare Jesus as Lord by the power of God.

The real evidence of God’s presence is not the gifts and the power that we so often seem to associate with the Spirit. The real evidence is Jesus proclaimed as Lord. Whatever takes away from the glory of God, whatever tears down or destroys the unity of the church, or damages the name of Jesus, even if it appears to be legitimately from God’s Holy Spirit – if it does not glory God and proclaim Jesus’ name then it has no place in the church. This is how we will know the work of the Spirit amongst us. As we start to learn about the gifts themselves we see…

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but the same God empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

2.      Spiritual Gifts Are Given For The Good Of All

How will we know that the gifts we exercise are from God?

By their fruit!

1 Corinthians 12:7 “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Just as we know a good fruit tree when we see one – the product tells us everything we need to know.

It’s not that everyone has to have the same gifts, or start at the bottom and work your way up to the top of the gifts pile. In fact there is an array of gifts given to the church – everything we need to fulfill God’s plans of maturity and growth for us – that is His promise to us.

2 Peter 1:3 “God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

So many people believe that faith is a private thing and that you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian. Nothing could be further from the truth – not least that you don’t stick a light in a cupboard – how useless is that? Why become a Christian with gifts from God for the good of his people – the church – and then not use them? Faith is not private – it’s designed to be shared with all, as scary as that may be at times. Together Christians make up the body of Christ – arms, legs, back, head, shoulders, feet, heart, lungs, eyes, nostrils, hair follicles –

1 Corinthians 12:12 “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.”

Together the body of Christ serves to strengthen and build up the whole body so that together the body matures. If there is one thing a body is designed to do it’s to work together for the common good. If your spleen goes on holidays for 6 weeks where does that leave you?

3.      Spiritual Gifts are given as God determines

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 “To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit – gifts of healing by that one Spirit – miraculous powers – prophecy – distinguishing between spirits – speaking in different kinds of tongues – the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

In distributing the gifts of the Spirit God doesn’t listen to the world. Thank God!!!! (And yes – I really do mean that). The criterion is not wealth or cleverness, how beautiful or wonderful we are, how much people like us or how famous we are. God has given every Christian gifts of the Spirit according to his plan and designs – just as he determines, as he decides.

The danger the church faced for many centuries was that they taught that it was the professionals who were gifted by God to serve in the church – the priests, the monks and nuns and so on. They alone did God’s work and the job of the congregation was to be obedient, to fill the pews and provide the cash (I now the time to take up the offertory??!) J And back then if you did get involved in ministry it was helping the priest or doing the flowers or the food or raising money through fetes, or distributing food to the widows or the needy – all good stuff but from the churches point of view back then – not the main game. Sadly we still see the same thing in some churches – it’s hard to imagine how they justify it when the Bible is so blatantly clear that God gives gifts to all Christians for service and ministry. Every part is as important as any other; every ministry and servant is important and valuable.

The Sleeping Giant

So “How do we wake a sleeping giant” – not the fee-fie-foe-fum variety – rather the largest company in the world, with combined income and numbers Bill Gates would sell his soul for?

You!

The church!

The company of believers!

Every survey I’ve ever seen on ministry by people in the pews – not the paid staff of a church – suggests that most churches have less than 20% of people involved in the ministry of the church – it’s called the 20/80 rule and as far as I can tell it’s a pretty good indicator not only of ministry but of money, energy, time, support. And that is a sleeping giant!

Why do people in the church not get involved?

Too tired, worn out, busy in work and family?

Too scared, or afraid of mistakes, too young, too old?

Too immature, done too much already, not enough work to do in the church, don’t know what to do, can’t find a spot to serve, never had the opportunity, never took the opportunity, was cut down when I took the opportunity – badly burnt by past experiences?

All these may be true in your life – but let me say they don’t stack up too well as excuses.

If someone gives you a gift for your birthday or Christmas – what do you do with it? If you don’t open it what value does it have – and what does that say to the giver? You can admire the paper, read the card, and rattle the box to work out what it is – but while it’s wrapped it’s basically meaningless. The only way to deal with a present is to open it and use it.

It’s the same with God and his church – he has given gifts to every single person who belongs to him – if you tick the box “Christian” – “follower of Jesus” then you also tick the box “gifted by God for his church”. So what are you doing with it?

If you answer “nothing” what’s going on? Do you not believe God? He says he has given gifts to every person who is a Christian. So is he right or not? Have you tried and failed? Cause if you have I bet you have also said to a child to get back on a bike after falling off, or back on the horse, or suggested (or just thought) someone should face their fears?! Have you been cut down or unappreciated? Has your minister or another leader had a go at you for getting it wrong or not being very good or for failing? If so – give them a boot in the backside from me and tell them to support you as you try rather than having a go at you when you fail. And if you want to do something and are scared then ask for prayer and support – from minister, family, friends… get some training, do a course, get some practice in with someone you can trust, start small, volunteer to assist someone else who is doing it, give it a go. And if you have no idea what your particular gifts may be then ask for help and make sure your minister or leader gives it to you.

Around the world the evangelical church is growing – slowly, but faster than most churches. But imagine what would be happening if every single Christian used their gifts from God for the benefit of the church. Imagine your own church with the 80/20 rule reversed – if every person was using what God has given us to serve his people.

Churches should bloom not by the ministers’ energy or strength – such as they are – but by the enthusiastic use of the gifts God has given us – churches should be so committed to God’s plan that nothing could stop us using what God has given us.

The church should be able to tattoo this to our foreheads – that we are a church that is preparing…

Eph 4:12-13 “God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Myth Busters – Christianity is Simply a Crutch

Christian myths – or myths about Christianity – or myths propagated by Christians and those opposed – what is reality, what do we/should we believe, what is the truth about some of the claims made by or about Christians? Myth busters is a great fun TV series – but also a great idea. What is true? What’s not? What is plausible, proven or busted? Christians should ask these questions constantly. Test the Spirit – don’t just swallow everything you hear uncritically!

A Little Faith

Whenever you see scenes in mainstream movies about Christian faith (try… “The Day After Tomorrow” 1.20.40ff or “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” 21.55ff) there’s an underlying theme that Christianity is for fools and the weak – for people who are tricked into giving their time, money and allegiance to something pathetic. The scene from “The Day after Tomorrow” has an actor trying to preserve an original Guttenberg Bible – doesn’t believe in God but believes in man’s ability to reason and conquer. “I want to save something of Western civilisation.” Or Indiana Jones asks his boss… “Do you believe?” “At my age I’m willing to take a few things on faith”.

• Faith fills in the gaps when you have nothing else!?
• It’s my support when I can’t fight my own battles, or I face fears that I can’t deal with some other way.
• Only people who can’t stand on their own need to put their trust in a God you can’t see or hear – a god who can’t possibly be good.
• Evil in the world proves that god doesn’t exist so believing in a god is blindly putting aside all reason.
• We’re on our own and Christians need to join the 21^st century.
• Is Christianity an escape from reality – and insurance policy for losers?
• Is your faith simply a crutch?

As you think about this – ask yourself…

• What does the world think of Christians?
• What do your non-Christian peers, family and friends think of Christians?
• Is Christianity just a crutch?
• Do those around you think that you are showing your weakness by “trusting” in Jesus?

Is Christianity for the Weak

People who proclaim Christianity is for losers and the weak are making a pile of assumptions that we can deal with – assumptions that are based on power and confidence. They assume…

1. That all faith is blind
2. That they are powerful and require no support
3. That what they have confidence in is the right foundation for life

Christian Faith

Let’s start with faith – what is it? Christian faith is about personal trust. We entrust ourselves to the God of the Bible – we have a personal relationship with the God – not simply a friendship – we depend on God for our very existence and for our salvation.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Faith in Jesus starts with a right understanding of our world. This is not a matter of blindness but of seeing the truth clearly. We are not the people God created us to be – rather than following God we abandoned his ways and went gone our own way.

Ephesians 2:1-2a “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world…”

But through Jesus’ death and resurrection we have assurance that he has reconciled us to God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18a “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…”

Faith in Christ means we see truly. Without Jesus we are rebellious and broken people in need of healing. With Jesus we are given the assurance that he is sovereign over all things, that his kingdom is coming, and that he is returning us to the arms of the one holy and loving God.

Necessary Crutches

All of this says that in one sense Christian faith is a crutch! But a crutch is a necessary support. The problem isn’t with Christianity being a crutch – the question is why people think it’s a valid criticism. Crutches are what you use when you can’t stand on your own. Broken a leg or had to use crutches? I did for 6 weeks or so. I couldn’t get around on my own two feet. In a sense it’s a great description of Christianity. We start our walk with Christ by admitting that we are broken and can’t deal with sin and the consequences. Left to our own devices we will perish – and we have to come to the point where we can recognise and admit that. Accepting Jesus is accepting his strength and power to deal with our brokenness.

So even though the idea of Christianity being a crutch is meant as an insult – it really is simply the truth. The implication is that we should be tough and face life, cope with the realities of this world without any assistance. Fact is we wouldn’t hesitate to use crutches for a broken leg – those who see the truth of this world accept Jesus because he is the only way to survive.

We can understand why people don’t want to look weak and accept Christ. It’s because most people in our western world operate under the assumption that they are powerful and strong – or that they should be. That’s what our society promotes – never let weakness be shown. We take pity on weakness – we push students getting ahead by your own strength and power. We have this mistaken understanding of the world that we are in control. That’s the first thing we have to give up under Christ – the mistaken belief that we are in control.

Romans 5:6, 8 “…at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly … God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Bible shows us that all people are broken and incomplete – physically, mentally and spiritually. None of us can stand on our own – and most importantly in the one thing that matters, none of us can stand guiltless before God on our own. Jesus said that he came to save those who recognised their lack of power and control.

Mark 2:17 “…Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

If we wish to survive this life then we have to recognise our lack of power and lean on Christ. When we go it alone we fall flat. It is only while we are on crutches that God’s healing hand restores us and finally brings us in transformed, resurrected glory to himself. Jesus says:

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

A Right Foundation

In the end it comes down to where your confidence lays – in something that works or something unproven. If you put your confidence in yourself then God says you will fail. Not one of us is good enough to stand before God, answer for our sins, pay for our sins and then survive – but that choice exists for people. We have to come to the realisation that we are not powerful or in control, and we certainly are not good enough and can’t be.

We may baulk at the idea that Christianity is crutch – and that’s fair – to us Christ is simply the truth. But the danger would be to replace it with some other word that makes us somehow a little powerful or a little responsible for our salvation. The truth is that without the gospel as our support and foundation we would sink. We talk about growing in Christ, of deepening our relationship with God, even of being swept up in praise of our Savior and Lord. We forget that we only walk and run with Jesus by his power.

Isaiah 40:30-31 “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Myth Busters – All Religions are The Same

Religion – All Roads Lead To Rome

A Jew, a Baptist and an Anglican were discussing how they worked out their tithe each week. The Anglican said that he drew a square on the ground, threw the money up in the air and anything that landed in the square he gave to God. The Baptist was much the same, but being freer in his thinking he would throw the money in the air and whatever landed outside the square he gave to God. The Jew said they were both mad. He would stand in the square and throw the money in the air… and whatever God caught God kept.

What Does a Christian Believe?

• We believe in one God – the Father the Almighty – creator and sustainer.
• We believe in one Lord – Jesus Christ – truly God, truly man who died for our sins and is alive and coming back to judge of all.
• We believe in the Holy Spirit who is one with the Father and the Son and has been sent by both Father and Son to call us to life and to speak through the prophets.

One God, three persons. Equal yet different – the Father did not die on the cross, the Son did create the universe, the Holy Spirit points to the Son and caused the Scriptures to be written.

What do people you know say about religion?

Plenty of people think that all religions are the same – if they think about it at all. All religions are simply different expressions of one truth. Especially in western thinking, no religion has an exclusive claim to the truth. So Christians and Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Baha’is, Shintoists and Atheists all believe the same thing – and we should just get on with peace and harmony.

Is that true? Are all religions the same?

Activity

Have a think – maybe talk to some people.

• Write down all the religions you can think of and just one thing you’re pretty sure those religions believe.
• What do people you know world think of organised religion?

Reality

The reality is most people have no idea what religions teach – only what the tv tells them. We can actually see that pretty clearly – western Buddhism looks almost nothing like Eastern Buddhism – and western Buddhism tends to be a caricature of what Buddhists seem to believe on TV. In many cases Western Buddhism looks like a spiritual capitalism.

Anyway – it’s true to the outside observer that religions can look remarkably similar to each other. Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship one God – Monotheism – one God. So people say… isn’t it the same God just with different names? We see the Muslims praying. We see Jews praying – what’s the difference? Obviously there are extreme Muslims who obviously aren’t following God’s plans. And the Jews aren’t exactly innocent, but then neither were the Christians in years gone by. Are they all just pointing to the same God?

What about the other religions? There are 5 main types of belief – including monotheism.

• Hinduism and Buddhism say that there is no God. You become one with the universe by self sacrifice.
• Tribal and folk religions are called Polytheism – many gods and spirits.
• Ying and Yang – Taoism – the dualistic religions – good and evil in balance.
• Atheism is the belief there is no god – so Marxism, Communism and secular humanism. If you go to the secular universities in Australia you will come under the influence of secular humanism.

Spiritual Hunger

Most religions are dropping in numbers, especially in the Western world. There are a couple of exceptions, though they probably aren’t the ones you think. But spirituality is on the rise. There is a hunger in many people to find ways to deal with life – religion and capitalism can’t help. Many people who turned to Eastern religions in the 60’s and 70’s are now turning to new age spiritualism – new in that it’s been around for about 6000 years. Spirituality in the modern western world is very much like jelly – it wobbles all over the place and can be any shape you like. People mean by ‘spirituality’ whatever they want. They include devil worship, tarot cards, crystals, meditation, yoga, vegetarianism, self actualisation – whatever that is. It’s all about following your “inner spiritual path”. In Sydney each year there is a “Body Mind and Spirit Festival” – more than ½ million visitors each year. There was a “blessed medallion” on ebay a few years back that was ‘guaranteed’ to bring the wearer good luck and spiritual peace. It sold for almost $2000. There is no lack of desire for the “spiritual” aspect of life.

In fact what is happening is that an old form of religion is reviving – multi-spirituality – people wanting to determine their own spiritual path to peace and happiness. Spirituality comes from whatever pursuit you choose – as long as you are faithful to that god/spiritual path then you are spiritual.

Do all these paths get to the same God? Are all religions the same?

The Problem

The thing is – as soon as you start investigating you can see that religions have statements of faith that are in direct opposition to each other. And oddly – for most religions that’s ok by them. Moderate Muslims – not the fundamentalists – they believe that Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the same god – but the Jews and the Christians just need to learn the true name of God. The Bahia religion expects you to worship how you want and to whom you want when you go to a Bahia temple. I visited one once – it felt evil to me – and I’m not that sort of person who gets those sensations. Hindus and Buddhists don’t really care who you worship as long as you are seeking a right path. [P] Are they all the same?

No! And we know because of the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ.

What’s Different About Christianity?

I could do the old one liner – Christianity’s not a religion. It’s a relationship. That’s true enough but it’s only a starting place. Jesus and responding to Jesus is what makes Christianity different.

1 John 4:9-10 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1. John reminds us that Jesus’ birth, life, teaching, death and resurrection are historical events, not mythical. We have good evidence for all of them, including the resurrection. Without Jesus there would be no Christianity – unlike all other religions which are about teaching and practice. It’s what you do and learn and how you act that will determine your future. We are focussed on Jesus’ death and resurrection and his act of salvation.

1 Cor 15:17 “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

This is unique to Christianity. Second…

John 1:14-15 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

• What’s different is we received the one and only Son of God. God became flesh and dwelt with us. Jesus was God incarnate – the word of the week – use it in conversation. It means that he wasn’t simply a representative, or even an image of God, like a statue come to life. Jesus was God in the flesh – dwelling in person on earth.

John 14:9 “Jesus answered: … Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

• All religions – even atheism – claim that mankind has a problem. All of them claim that the solution is human effort. Even Catholicism claims this. Jesus declares that our problem is far worse – we are spiritually dead – and unless we accept his life for ours and start living through him then we will remain dead.

Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

• All religions claim we become one with god/universe etc by our own effort. It’s the great Aussie lie! She’ll be right! God and I are mates. But that is patently untrue. God has a zero tolerance policy with sin. He declared the punishment for sin is death and separation from him for eternity.

Habakkuk 1:13 “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”

God is 100% Holy. His holiness and love are not demonstrated as the world wants them to be in leniency. He demonstrated his love for us by sending his Son to pay the price of our sin.

• The kicker is this. Salvation does not come by moral hard work – it is a free gift.

Romans 1:17a “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last…”

Do you know what you lose when you try to make salvation dependant on us rather than God?

Assurance!

The more my salvation depends on me the less I will be sure because I know myself. I know where I fail. That’s why Hinduism is so cruel. You are reincarnated into a body that reflects your previous life. Make even little mistakes and you come back as a slug, or a cat. That’s why cows are sacred – there goes Auntie Bessie. That’s cruel – no hope, no assurance.

God offers us hope based on His character not ours – on his holiness. Because God loves us he sent his son – it’s not that we loved God. As we come to understand that there is no way that we can live up to God’s standards – as we come to release that we only have hope by entrusting Jesus with our lives – then we will come to understand the assurance we have in Christ. Our salvation depends on Him who chose us rather than me being good.

Do All Roads Lead To Rome?

The Bible answers our question.

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

As the team would say on MythBusters – this myth is busted. We could do a lengthy comparative religions study – interesting but meaningless really except in understanding that Christianity is incredibly different. There is pretty much no similarity between the claims of Christianity and those of all other religions. There is no way to match up the claims of Christianity and the other religions.

It all comes down to this – the character of Jesus and the reality of his death and resurrection. That’s what we need to help people understand – the Bible makes clear claims based entirely on Jesus Christ.

Talking It Up

When we are talking to people who want to argue that all religions are the same we want to do two things.

1. We really want to pray. Obvious – Yes! The first thing that comes to mind? Maybe not! Whenever we are talking to people about Jesus we really want to be asking God to help us speak the truth in love, and for the Holy Spirit to make it clear to them. Without the Holy Spirit opening their eyes they will remain dead.
2. We want to focus entirely on Jesus and especially his death and resurrection. We want as best we can to answer their question, or complaints, but we also want to turn it as quickly as we can to Jesus – because the thing they have to deal with is that Jesus died and rose for them – if it’s true then they have to accept or reject knowing the claim Jesus is making on them and the consequences.

True safety – true faith – true life – true assurance rests in Jesus alone – he alone can save us from sin and death – he alone offers us hope that can never fade an inheritance that can never be destroyed. No other religion offers what Christ does.

Myth Busters – Faith Expectations – What Can Faith Really Do?

Christian myths – or myths about Christianity – or myths propagated by Christians and those opposed – what is reality, what do we/should we believe, what is the truth about some of the claims made by or about Christians – mythbusters is a great fun TV series – but also a great idea. What is true? What’s not? What is plausible, proven or busted? Christians should ask these questions constantly. Test the Spirit – don’t just swallow everything you hear uncritically!

So Little Faith

Matthew 17:14-21 “…a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

What can faith do?

Indiana Jones in “The Last Crusade” – faith is a blind trust to fate. He must (if you haven’t seen the movie then I’m about to spoil it for you)… he must step of a ledge into nothingness in an act of faith and trust – which is not so much faith in God, but rather trust that his father got it right. Is that what faith can do?

Faith can… move mountains, rebuke demons, heal sick kids – and raise the dead, stop the rain, start the rain, part the seas, change the course of rivers, bring food, change water to wine, knock down walls, defeat armies and avoid death. James writes…

James 5:13-15 “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”

Through faith in Christ we inherit what has been promised to Jesus – we receive his inheritance by sharing in his glory – we receive life and freedom, we grab hold of the teachings about Jesus and we share the good news – by faith in Christ. We are to take hold of faith, to be known for our faith, to pursue faithfulness, to help others in their faith, to pray for greater/stronger/more faithful… faith, and more.

What People Say About Faith

Whatever the Bible says about faith, and its power, Christians believe a whole host of things about faith – and across the board Christians don’t agree amongst ourselves about the boundaries and abilities of faith.

Consider: what views are there about faith that you have heard? Maybe ask around and see what people believe?

Some of the things I’ve heard…

• “If you have enough faith you will be healed!” Meaning healing here on earth right now – and in most cases immediately! If you are not being healed then you do not have enough faith!?
• “If you have faith you will be wealthy!” Materially wealthy on earth! If you are not wealthy as a Christian then you are not acting in faith!?
• “Faith means having no doubts!” Doubting/questioning is a sign of faithlessness!?
• “Faith fixes everything. Before I came to Christ my life was a mess – but now nothing goes wrong – my life is amazing!” I have heard this so often it’s amazing. “Now, whenever I am going shopping I pray in faith that I will find a parking spot, and I always find a parking spot. That’s faith in action.”!?

A Year of Trying Times

We had a very hard 18 months a few years ago. We moved house (which is apparently right up there with the whole stress thing)… my grandmother died, I had a family member in increasing pain eventually requiring a major hip operation, I spent the 3 months working in pain with a back injury, followed by a month completely incapacitated by pain (flat on my back and for the first few days wanting God to take me), followed by 2 months of recovery and physiotherapy (I don’t know why the medieval world complained about the rack – did wonders for my back). To top it off I caught every bug going around because my immune system had been mucked about by the drugs. And then we were robbed, including my computer with about a year of sermon and teaching materials not backed up (my fault I know). Now – as a story – it’s not really up there with the worst ones – no earthquake or Tsunami destroying my life or livelihood, didn’t lose an arm or a leg surfing, didn’t get diagnosed with cancer – so I understand entirely there are people in far worse situations.

But – thinking about faith and the power of faith… I’ve been a Christian for over 35 years. I try to be faithful – but I’m not perfect. I’m certainly not lacking in faith – I believe what the Bible says about Jesus to be true and to be applicable to me – and I try to live by it. I live a faithful life – I am a minister and work pretty hard at not just my ministry but my personal growth in Christ and faithfulness to his service. And over the years my faith has stood the test any number of times – I am not going to change my mind, I hold my beliefs and faith very strongly (in so far as it’s up to me – and thankfully for the most part, it’s not).

But – thinking about the power of faith… what was happening?

If faith fixes everything then surely I’ve got a problem.

If the prayer of the righteous man that James talks about means immediate healing then I have a problem. My back problem was dealt with, without surgery, but it hasn’t gone away. I could stand to lose a good amount of weight and I’m sure that would help my back no end – but my back will still be damaged. Does that mean that I don’t have enough faith? Does that mean I have a problem in my relationship with Christ?

Well – if the answer is yea – then it’s also yes for pretty much every Christian. It would also be true for Paul the apostle, for Job in the OT, for Stephen the first Christian martyr, for the apostles – all of whom endured suffering without relief – or at least without relief for a significant period of time, and quite often suffering that ended not in miraculous healing or release, but in death. Paul says about himself…

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul had a thorn in his side – we don’t know what it was. But it was long term, made him suffer and he had to endure. However – is there anyone who would be dumb enough to say that Paul is anything other than a prime example in the Bible of faith? Others – us – are to follow in his footsteps – and frankly we’d be hard pressed to keep up with Paul. Who would have the hubris to say Paul lacked faith – or that his suffering was due to a lack of faith?

However – let’s go further. It’s not just the thorn that we should consider – it’s also Paul’s delight in weakness – a delight that confirms to him Christ’s power and strength. The thorn was a given under God’s sovereignty and for God’s purposes, though it was of Satan. From Satan’s point of view it was a torment – from God’s point of view it was to strengthen Paul’s faith, to make him rely on Jesus and to see that in his weakness Christ’s power was at work. Jesus says…

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Paul is an example of that – rest doesn’t mean the burden is gone – simply that in Christ’s strength and power and might and mercy the burdens of this world can be dealt with and be understood to be part of God’s power working in us to make us like Christ.

The example of Job

When it comes to suffering and faith the name of Job always seems to make an appearance – so not to disappoint… reality is Job is an amazing example.

Job 3:23-26 “Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”

Read the story again – it has its moments and it’s a somewhat torturous path to get from beginning to end – when I read it I want to slap his 3 mates… but consider… he was in such mental, physical and spiritual agony that he wanted to die. Some of us have been there – even in small ways after a small amount of suffering – so I guess we might be able to understand, even a little, what brought him to that point of wishing for it to end. What do we know from the Scriptures about his suffering?

1. It was from Satan – Satan is not called the tormentor for nothing!
2. It was by God’s permission and under God’s control. Satan could do nothing unless permitted by God
3. It was a test of Job’s faith – a refining through suffering, like gold is purified of impurities!
4. God declares in the end that Job, above all men, was faithful and importantly – did not sin!

Job had to endure his suffering – and be freed from it in God’s own time. He cried out to God not only to be released but simply to understand and no answer came for a long time. He was faithful yet suffered – and lest we think otherwise God very clearly declares him to be his most faithful servant – yet he suffered. Job had faith – I guess from our perspective faith far greater than the size of a mustard seed – faith that could move mountains… yet he suffered terribly!

The Example of Jesus

What about Jesus? Jesus’ own suffering is surely our greatest example. We’d be pretty game and foolish to declare that Jesus lacked faith. Yet he suffered! He suffered and died an agonising death.

Matthew 17:20-22a “He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” I don’t really understand why, when we read that passage, that we don’t read what comes next?

I don’t really understand why, when we read that passage, that we don’t read what comes next?

Matthew 17:22b-23 “When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.”

If anyone had faith to move mountains – surely Jesus had enough – not that he did it – but enough to walk on water, enough to wither fig trees, enough to heal the sick, enough to cast out demons, enough to raise the dead.

But under God’s plan he suffered.

And he didn’t shrink from that suffering – he embraced it as God’s plan. He walked towards the suffering. He did not change the circumstances. He did not demand from God that the suffering be taken away – he asked “Father, if it is your will – take this cup from me”… but clearly it was God’s plan that Jesus suffer, not just death but humiliation, torture and agony, the betrayal of friends, followers and family, the jeering crowds, the gloating high priests, the murderer crucified next to him… at no point do we see Jesus saying that if only he’d had enough faith… then…!?

The Myth Busted

The myth is that faith will fix everything – that enough faith will lead to health, wealth and a lack of suffering.

The truth is that faith will most often lead to suffering – and that’s by God’s design, plan and under his control not Satan’s. It’s through suffering that we learn to rely on Jesus rather than ourselves. It is through suffering that we see God’s power at work in our lives as we come to greater faith.

Practically speaking – what can I say about my own suffering – death, sickness, theft?

• Was it Satan is attacking me and my family – meaning the that the suffering is a sign of faith?
• Was it God causing me and my family to repent?
• Was it a sign of a lack of faith?

You will hear each of these views in churches. And I would say, none of them is quite true.

What is true – from the Scriptures – is this.

• God is constantly bringing us to repentance through suffering, he is refining and testing our faith and causing us to rely on him. We know that this is part and parcel of faith in Christ.
• We also know that Satan is still at large, chained and defeated, but still lashing out, still active, still dangerous – and still a bully, a coward and a prat – Satan’s rule of this world means that we should understand that evil, sin and attacks on Christians should be seen as Satan at work – if the book of Revelation makes anything clear it should be that.
• But we also know that Satan is not outside God’s influence, power or control.

Faith is trusting in Christ no matter what this life brings – knowing that in the next we will receive life for eternity unfettered by the things that drag us down in this life. Suffering here on earth is not a sign of faithlessness – but rather part of the work of God to bring us closer to him. In the end – it’s not my quantity of faith that has any meaning whatsoever – but Christ’s faithfulness that means everything. What Christ inherits – I inherit. Where Christ spends eternity, I will spend eternity. What Christ receives he offers to share with me and you – if only we will give up the pretence of control over our lives and trust in him, in his death and resurrection – by faith and action Christ Jesus dealt with sin and the power of death and he offers that victory to us. I tell you what – in the end – I don’t want to put my trust in the quantity of faith I have – I want to put my trust in Christ’s proven faithfulness.

Why Believe In God?

The Existence of God

• Buddhists believe in no god – rather that we are all one with the universe and play our part in making it work.
• Hindus say there are many gods and you must be true to your god.
• Eastern religions – Shintoism for example – say each family’s ancestors are gods.
• Muslims says there is one God, Allah, and no other.
• Jews say there is one God, Yahweh, and no other.
• The Bahai’s – there are many gods and spirits – all represent the one god. Bahai is sort of a Western Hinduism.
• The atheist says there is no God. This is all there is – life is about how you live now.
• The agnostic says there may be a god but we cannot know.
• Some people worship Mother Nature as an actual spiritual force, the power behind all things that we need to coöperate with and even please or she will react. This isn’t new by the way – nature worship, and worship of the spirits of the earth is one of the oldest religions in the world.
• Some people worship the universe. Self help books like “The Secret” – claim that the universe will provide anything to those willing to ask for it. Ask, believe, receive – simple! Which is sort of a materialistic consumer driven Buddhism.
• People worship Satan as a god – they call him “the prince of darkness” as though that makes him great, and ask him to grant them all good things – which is impossible.

And they say we’re strange!
According to some statistics 19% of Australians attend a church at least once a month. 65% say there is a god. They have a multitude of ideas about that god – he’s distant, spiritual, inhabits the heavens, plays games, she’s female, doesn’t care, walks like a goat! But, for the majority of Australians, God simply isn’t part of each day. They may have some vague idea of something greater than them in the universe – but it doesn’t really mean anything. They might pray when in trouble or looking for a parking spot – but equally might use Jesus name as a swear word or God as an exclamation mark – “oh my …”!
Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked person does not seek God; in all their thoughts there is no room for God.”
Some Christians say people have a God shaped hole. Is that true? Really? The Bible says that without God’s direct intervention people don’t seek God – and left to our own devices we happily ignore God. I reckon if you ask around most people don’t think they have a God shaped hole – though that may be the point being made – the hole is there but we don’t know what it is. Most people have issues, mortgages, credit card bills and problems like everyone else – but God doesn’t get a look in. If they think they have a void, how do they try to fill it? A good job, a promotion, a new house or bigger car; earn more money, give the kids a better start, a plasma TV, a nice holiday, keep their kids off drugs. The void might be filled by alcohol, sex, food – anything that feels like it works. There are a million ways that don’t involve God – any god… “in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” I think Christians like to think people have a God shaped hole – maybe it gives us something to aim for? The reality is though, most people only think about God in relation to death! They make no connection between God and living.
What do Christians believe? What do you and I believe?

Apostles Creed

• We believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
• And in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended to the dead. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
• We believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy universal church; the fellowship of the saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen
• There is one God – who has been revealed to us by his creative work in the world, by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and by the ongoing work of Jesus in our lives and in the world in the person of the Holy Spirit. One God, three persons – God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!

Reasons to Believe

When the majority of the world disagrees with you… why do you believe?
Our reasons can often be a turn off for non-Christians. For many of us the answer to “why do you believe” is “I just do!”

• I feel that there is a God.
• I have experienced God’s love or kindness.
• I have felt the Holy Spirit at work in me.
• I know Jesus loves me.
• I can’t believe that there isn’t a God because of the complexity of the universe.

All of these are exactly the same excuses an atheist uses to disprove God’s existence – they are the centre of their world and it doesn’t make sense to them… therefore there is no god. They have never seen God at work and therefore God must not exist.
As a Christian my reasons for believing in God cannot be centred on me. Or in other words… I am not the reason you should believe in God.

Why do I believe in God?

• Jesus – I’ll come back to him in a minute…
• Creation – I find creation is too amazing, too beautiful, too complex to be anything other than the work of a Creator. This is my belief and my observation and the interpretation of the evidence, and whilst I think atheists are wrong, their beliefs about creation and my beliefs are equally valid. They start from a position – “a priori” there is no god – therefore the creation is the result of some other force – natural forces. For me – I start from the position of knowing Jesus – “a priori” there is a God and he has revealed himself to us. So when I read…

Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

…I agree – the hand of God in creation is obvious to me.

• I find water fascinating and amazing – it can be in the form of ice, steam, liquid – the freezing point and boiling point of water are exactly right for life on earth. The freezing properties of water, the universal solvent, that it is the basis of life – our bodies are 97% water – and waterfalls – I find waterfalls to be majestic and a thing of beauty – something that for me points to the creator. I could go on about water – waves, oceans, etc.
• I find the enormity of space – the majesty of the stars – the size of the universe – the complexity, the inter-connectivity of relationships between sun and moon and earth and planets and stars – the beauty of the galaxies – all point to a creator rather than chance
• The human body – where to start – the eye… a wonder of evolution or the creation work of an incredible God? The brain – the heart – the complexity of the nervous system. We humans are smart – but there is so little we really understand about the body – we can walk on the moon, we can excise cancer – but we can’t defeat the flu?
• I could go on – talk about complexity and apparent design – there’s the old story… I was walking along a street the other day when I looked down in the gutter and saw all these atoms and dust particles laying there – and as I watched they started changing and evolving before my eyes until finally there was this beautiful watch laying the gutter – and I picked it up and it was working and telling exactly the right time – and I thought to myself – isn’t it amazing how the universe just evolved out of nothing.
• The thing is though – I start from the position that there is a God and we can know him. The atheist starts from the position that there is no god. Science only helps – it’s not absolute unless you’re willing to accept the evidence. That’s what faith is – what you are willing to accept as evidence of the truth.

• Parents – my parents are part of the equation of belief and faith for me. I don’t mean that they forced me to believe – but I saw the evidence of their lives that matched with their words. My father was a minister – my parents were in ministry for many years – and despite failings and sinfulness and all the rest of the normal human equation – mum and dad lived by what they said. Their lives matched what they preached and taught. That had an enormous influence on me – because I could see the reality of the Scriptures lived out in front of me – imperfectly to be sure – but still true.
• Sin and death – these two great enemies of mankind have something in common. No matter what I do – I cannot defeat them. No matter how hard I try I still sin – I want to do what is right and I fail and I struggle with not doing things I don’t want to do – and I fail. And death – death is not natural – death is an aberration. Someone has to deal with sin and death – they cannot be allowed to continue unabated. Again though – this is just my opinion and belief.
• In the end – my reason to believe comes down to Jesus – Jesus is the answer to the question. I don’t think atheists and agnostics engage with the question of Jesus.

How do you know God exists?

Because God sent his son, Jesus, to died on the cross and pay the penalty for sin, and Jesus rose again from the dead to prove his power over death and to offer us life with him.
In fact – like in Sunday school – Jesus is the real answer to every question – not in a superficial way. You can use all the other evidence, but often they simply become side tracks, ways for people to get out of dealing with Jesus – and that’s the one thing they need to do. For example – people say…

• I couldn’t believe in a God that hates homosexuals!

• The answer is… “God sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and raised Jesus to life to offer us victory over death. He doesn’t hate homosexuals.”

People say…

• There is no God – otherwise there would be no pain or death or evil.

• The answer is… “Jesus died on the cross to deal with sin and the penalty for our sins and God raised Jesus to life to offer us victory over death. He has dealt with evil and death.”

People say…

• All religions are the same. Why should I believe in your god?

• “Because God sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and to rise from the dead to prove his power over both sin and death.”

Just as we might “just know” that Christ died for our sins, and we “believe” that there is no other way to be saved, and we are “certain” of what we believe – the reason is not that we just believe. I could ‘just believe’ that the earth is flat. I can say “I know the Holy Spirit is in me” and someone can deny that reality with equal conviction. I can say “I feel God loves me” – a new age proponent can say they “feel at one with the universe”. I can say “I know the power of the Holy Spirit” and a Satan worshipper can say that they “know” the power of the prince of darkness – with equal conviction.
Religion is about faith – but unless that faith is based in real things, it is simply blind wishful thinking. In my opinion the most religious and faithful people in the world… are the atheists.

• They refuse to believe in the existence of a God despite the evidence that seems so obvious to me.
• Or they simply refuse to think about it – they don’t want God in charge and they do want to be in charge so rather than thinking through the issues they just claim there is no god, and they latch onto any reason they can find that ‘disproves’ the existence of God.
• Richard Dawkins who wrote “The God Delusion” says that the human body, despite its complexity, does not display the purpose and plan of an “intelligent designer” because in many ways it is foolish. No intelligent creator would make the body so fragile. The need to excrete waste, the pointlessness of the appendices, the wasted potential of the brain – all this points to evolution as a much better explanation over millions of years rather than a god.
• Douglas Adams, the author of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy: “…I am convinced that there is not a god… I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one.” “…People will … say “surely it’s better to remain an Agnostic just in case?” … If it turns out that I’ve been wrong all along, and there is in fact a god, and if it further turned out that this kind of legalistic, cross-your-fingers-behind-your-back … impressed him, then … I would chose not to worship him anyway.”
• Just two of a million different reasons people have for not believing. The common denominator in every reason not to believe in the existence of God is… the person at the centre. The atheist and the agnostic are their own gods in their own little world.

Defend the Faith

As Christians we are told that we need to be prepared to defend our faith.
1 Peter 3:15 “…in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”
200 years ago we didn’t have to convince the majority of people that God existed. But increasingly preaching the gospel will have to start with helping people see that there is a God and that we humans must take notice of Him. They need to be introduced to Jesus – that’s where our answers need to start and finish – not with me and what I think or feel but with Christ and what he has done.
I think Paul’s conversion and ministry is a good example. Paul was converted when he was confronted by the living physical risen Lord Jesus who appeared to him in a blaze of heavenly glory as Paul was on the road to Damascus where he planned to kill Christians. It would be hard to think of a more dramatic life changing experience of Jesus. Yet when Paul preaches the gospel, and he starts almost immediately, he uses the history of Israel, the scriptures, the confusion of the gentiles, the logic and reality of the world and the creation.
Acts 13:26-33 “Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.”
He never uses his feelings or the strangeness of his experiences to proclaim the truth of the gospel. It would have been all too easy to put those weird experiences down to other things – rather than the reality and power of Jesus. This is something we need to understand in our world too. Jesus is the proof of God’s existence. Telling people we’re trying to witness to that we’re praying for them is one thing – and that’s a weird thing for most blokes. But talking about spiritual feelings and experiences will turn most people away. They will only believe when they have understood the truth about Jesus, by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus = the Proof

As we defend what we believe there are four things that are important in our understanding of God and in what we tell people.

1. He exists – he has shown himself in the person and work of Jesus the Christ. In Jesus we meet the Lord of the whole universe. This is no distant spiritual force – we can know God as his friends.
2. He creates – this is God who is intimately connected to his creation – one of the surprising things about Jesus is the power he displays over creation – the wind, waves, demons, sickness and disease, life and death – and over people. The world responds to the voice of the creator when it responds to Jesus.
3. He cares – he sent Jesus to deal with sin and death – the two enemies that would defeat us without God’s intervention. He sacrificed his Son to pay the price of our sins.
4. He commands – commands repentance and obedience. People in our world want to ignore God – but that’s a very dangerous thing to do. He commands that all people everywhere live according to Jesus.

Acts 17:30b-31 God “…commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
In the end it won’t be science or history or experience that changes people. Richard Dawkins needs to meet Jesus – it’s as simple as that. He needs to come face-to-face with the risen Christ, just as Paul the Apostle did. For us we need to help people meet Jesus – or at the very least we need to help people see that they need to deal with Jesus – he claims authority over sin, death and over our very lives – and offers life and perfect freedom to those who belong to him.