Prayer Ministry Training (Matthew 3-9)

Part 1 - Basics

1.1 What is prayer ministry?

Prayer ministry is praying with somebody in the power of the Spirit. Our pastoral wisdom, experience, knowhow or maturity of character are not key factors in prayer ministry. John Wimber used to say after years of emphasising those things that one day he felt God say to him, “I’ve seen your ministry, John; now I want to show you mine.” Reflecting on his extraordinary spiritual gift of praying for healing and equipping others to do the same, he went on to define prayer ministry as “meeting the needs of others with God's resources.”

1.2 Why do we do prayer ministry?

We want to help people meet with God and know they’re loved; loved by him and loved in the family of the church.

1.3 What is the biblical basis for prayer ministry?

In the New Testament, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is one of the main purposes for the church gathering together (alongside worship and teaching). 1 Corinthians 12-14 describes a congregation meeting together, bringing spiritual gifts for mutual edification, in an atmosphere of love.

The New Testament contains 94 verses of exhortation containing the words ‘one another’ including pray for one another (James 5.16), encourage and build one another up (1 Thessalonians 5.11), speak truth to one another (Ephesians 4.25), bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6.2), wash one another’s feet (John 13.14), serve one another (Galatians 5.13), comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4.18) and love one another (John 13:34). 

1.4 How does it work?

It is important to remember that we cannot manufacture a meeting with God, but we can facilitate it. Provided we ask with good motives and with faith, the Bible teaches that God always does something, and it's always good.

 

Part 2 - How Did Jesus Minister? (Matthew 3-9)

2.1 Why Jesus?

If we want to learn to do prayer ministry well, the best place to start – the only place to start – is by looking at Jesus. Best practice in prayer ministry is doing what Jesus did, saying what he said, thinking what he thought. This is following Jesus. This is why he said, “Learn from me” (Matthew 11.29).

2.2 Commissioning (Matthew 3.13-17)

It is important to start where Jesus started. In Matthew 3.13-17 the Holy Spirit falls and rests on him. Jesus waits for the Father's anointing before he does anything. He did no public ministry at all as until after he was commissioned. We can likewise only minister effectively if we are ourselves are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Note also that Jesus soaked in his Father’s approval and affection at the start of his public ministry. Likewise, we minister most effectively and safely from a place of knowing we are loved children of God, secure in our spiritual identity, and having no anxiety or need to prove anything to anyone.

2.3 Preparation (Matthew 4.1-11)

Jesus spent time alone with his Father in prayer and fasting. The Reformer Martin Luther once said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of his willingness.” Research in the UK revealed that there is an almost exact correlation between the amount of prayer mobilised for Alpha and the number of guests who attend. We will see more in prayer ministry over time if we ourselves come prayerfully prepared.

2.4 Modelling (Matthew 4.23-25)

Then, after calling the 12, Jesus models it. Jesus very rarely ministered alone; he could have done, but instead he deliberately invited others into his world to watch and learn; proclaiming good news, teaching and healing.

Notice that Matthew specifically says that Jesus had authority in His teaching (7.29), and authority in His healing (9.7). He then gave this same authority to the 12 and 72 to minister in his name (Luke 9.1 and Luke 10.19) and he gives the same authority today to his church.

Let’s travel with Jesus now in Matthew 8 and 9 to watch how the Master does it.

2.5 The man with leprosy (Matthew 8.1-4)

What do we learn from this story? We learn that Jesus is always willing to heal. 

We cannot promise that everyone will be healed when we pray. We mustn’t over-promise, but we mustn’t under-promise either. What we can say from Matthew 8.3 is that Jesus is willing.

When I worked in Paris, we had had the privilege of welcoming onto our Alpha course two women with fertility problems. One had been trying unsuccessfully for a baby for 14 years. Even hormone treatment and artificial insemination were useless. When she got to 40 the doctors told her it was hopeless and that she should forget it. The following year, another woman couldn’t have children because of an abortion earlier in life and something had gone wrong – and now she couldn’t conceive. Both had gone through painful break-ups in relationships. Both came to new faith in Christ at Alpha. Both had an overwhelming experience on the Holy Spirit ‘away day’ halfway through the course. Both became pregnant within days of giving their lives to Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit. And both gave birth to healthy babies (one boy and one girl) the following August. Jesus wills to bring healing.

2.6 The centurion and his servant (Matthew 8.5-13)

What do we learn from this story? We learn that Jesus has what it takes to bring transformation. 

He is not only willing but also able because he has authority over all things.

One of the church fathers Origen (3rd Century), reflecting on the life of the New Testament church said this: “Ordinary Christians in the early church cast out demons merely by prayer and by simple commands which the plainest person can use because, for the most part, it is uneducated people who perform this work… It does not require the power and wisdom of those who are good at arguing or who are most educated in matters of faith.” (Origen, from ‘Against Celsius’).

I suppose the most amazing healing miracle I’ve personally witnessed is in the life of a cockney friend of mine called Arthur, who went to be with the Lord about 10 years ago. But about 30 years before that he was healed of spondylosis. This is a painful osteoarthritis of the spine resulting from the fusing together of the vertebral discs. Arthur used to be bent over in constant discomfort and was only able to move slowly and laboriously. He was prayed for one day in the name of Jesus and he was instantly healed. Kathie and I are witnesses of the before and after. When I went to see him, he looked at me with a big grin and said “Watch this.” Then he ran up and down the stairs of his house shouting “Look, I’ve been ‘ealed; Jesus ‘as ‘ealed me!” It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Mike Pilavachi of Soul Survivor encourages us by saying, “Don't tell God how big the problem is; tell the problem how big God is.”

2.7 Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8.14-17)

What do we learn from this story? We learn that touch can be important. 

Jesus took her by the hand. He didn’t have to, but he did.

Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology, says this: “A survey of the New Testament may surprise many modern Christians (as it did to me) when they see how frequently the laying on of hands and other kinds of physical touch are seen to function as a “means of grace” in the ministry of Jesus and the early church. It seems that the laying on of hands was by far the most common method that Jesus used to pray for people. When crowds came bringing people “with various diseases” to him “he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them” (Luke 4.40). Other passages specifically describe Jesus is placing his hands on people to heal them (Matthew 8.3, Mark 1.41, Mark 6.5, Mark 8.23, Luke 5.13, Luke 13.13).”

So the laying on of hands is very biblical. We’ll discuss the practicalities later but for now, we’ll just say be gentle, respectful and sensitive. If you don’t know the person you are praying for well, ask permission. Sometimes, it's at the moment of laying on hands that a prophetic word comes. Sometimes the power of God flows at that moment.

I remember once praying with a woman for a young woman who had recently come to faith. She was wanting to be filled with the Holy Spirit and we asked God for her but saw nothing. We waited… but again nothing seemed to be occurring and she seemed slightly disappointed. Then my prayer partner gently laid a hand on her shoulder and suddenly there was a release; she was visibly moved with shaking, heavier breathing, a flushed complexion and tears of joy. The laying on of hands seemed to remove some kind of blockage.

2.8 Stilling the storm (Matthew 8.23-27)

What do we learn from this story? This is not a story about prayer or healing but we do learn that important lesson that with Jesus we have nothing to fear. 

Stepping out in faith can be a bit scary, especially when we are new to it. We can certainly feel out of our comfort zone. We can even doubt if Jesus is really there with us and worry that everything will go badly wrong. “Why are you afraid?” asks Jesus. Remember, it’s not about us and our ability. It’s about Him and his ability. 

2.9 The Gadarene demoniac (Matthew 8.28-34)

All that bacon! Seriously, what do we learn from this story? We learn that not everyone likes the ministry of the Holy Spirit! 

Not everyone welcomes it, even people in the church. “This is uncomfortable, please go away” say the local people.

I received a text message from a friend in a church I used to be part of. I’ll change a few details to protect confidentialities but it says, “Hi John, I wanted to let you know about some really encouraging news about ‘Fred Smith’. He had been really ill, much worse than before, and not able to do much, having lots of treatment. [Before, he had been quite seriously ill, including a heart attack and cancer]. ‘Jane Brown’ and I prayed for him outside, (Covid restrictions dictated) about four weeks ago and the Holy Spirit came on him and he was shaking and he recognised something amazing was happening. I love the way God works, I looked at the big rubbish bin not far from us and smiled, God works in the most unexpected places! Since then, Fred has been really joyfully tearful all the time, asking about how to move forward with God now he has experienced this. He has had a check-up since and they were very encouraged at the fact he was so well.

I share this because ‘Fred Smith’ was, in all the time I knew him, never a man to welcome the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He would always steer well clear which is perhaps connected to his background in freemasonry. But never be put off by people who disparage or resist the ministry of the Spirit.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that a herd of pigs is not a picture of ship-shape immaculate church. Remember, things can get a bit messy. Again, John Wimber said it memorably: “Church isn't about being neat and tidy; that’s what the graveyard is for. Life is oftentimes found in mess. The nursery is messy and noisy but that’s where all the life is!"

2.10 The paralysed man (Matthew 9.1-8)

What do we learn from this story? We learn that forgiveness may have to come before healing. 

Sometimes you might have to lead an unbeliever to faith in Christ first if necessary. More people get healed when you pray for the sick than when you don’t. And more people give their lives to Christ when you invite them to than when you don’t.

Actually, bitterness and lack of forgiveness for whatever reason can be a real obstacle to receiving from God. If you find that a person you are praying for is unwilling to forgive someone deal with it gently and graciously but do try and encourage them to overcome their reluctance to do so.

I once prayed with a woman for another woman who was a visitor to church. As we were praying for her, I began to sense that there was an issue of forgiveness with her sister. So I said, “This may be a bit of a strange question, but do you have a sister who wronged you and whom you need to forgive?” Immediately, the woman tensed up and looked angry. “I’ll never forgive that woman” she said. We tried to be understanding and showed her from scripture how powerful forgiveness can be but, whatever the issue was, she was unwilling to let it go and our prayers for healing were apparently ineffective.

2.11 The woman with issue of blood and dead girl (Matthew 9.18-26)

What do we learn from this story? We learn two things. Firstly, from the story of the woman with the issue of blood, ministering can be draining. 

Power went out of Jesus and he often sought time alone with his Father to replenish his spiritual strength. We should likewise not try and save the world by ministering to others at an unsustainable rhythm. Build a team that enables everyone to have a Sunday off. Make time for rest and sleep.

Secondly, from the story of Jarus’ daughter, sometimes we need to shut out distractions. 

Jesus tells the noisy crowd and people playing pipes to go away. Prayer ministry requires a gentle and calm atmosphere in which we can give those who ask for it our full attention - and we should insist on it.

2.12 The blind and mute (Matthew 9.27-34)

What do we learn from this story? We learn that testimony builds a culture of faith and expectation. 

This is why we have included so many stories from our own lives this evening. We need to talk about what God is doing amongst us, not about what God is not doing amongst us! Hearing that Jesus has done wonders in someone’s life, others ask that He will do it for them.

Earlier this year, I heard an amazing testimony about Rachel Hickson (some of you may know her as Alan and Eileen Vincent’s daughter) who opened the post one day and found an extraordinary letter from someone she had only met once - and very briefly. Here is what the letter basically said, “Dear Rachel, you came and spoke at my church on Mothering Sunday last year. At the end of your talk, you invited people to the front for prayer, in particular women who were unable to conceive and carry children. I was in the ladies’ at the time but a friend of mine ran out and said to me ‘Come back in, there’s an appeal for women who long to conceive but have so far not been able to.’ So I left the ladies’ and walked to the front where the prayer ministry team was praying for those who had come forward. It was you came to me and as you did, you simply looked at me and said, ‘The Lord is giving you two zebras.’ Then you moved on to the next person. I have no idea whether you know what you were saying or if you have any memory of it. But what you need to know is this. I am a white woman, but my marriage is of mixed ethnicity. My husband and I have been trying for years but we have been unable to have children. Every day, we’ve been praying that God will give us ‘little zebras’.” That was their love name for the mixed-race children that they longed for. Then she said, “I enclose a photograph of the twins that were born nine months after you spoke that word. Rachel remembered that moment very well and had, at the time, no idea what that was about.

Doesn’t that encourage your faith? Of course it does! This is why Psalm 107.2 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story - those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.”

Part 3 – Putting Theory into Practice

The model we advocate here is designed to be as simple and flexible as possible, whilst at the same time keeping important safeguards in place.

3.1. As far as possible, let men pray for men and women with women.

3.2. A great question to open with is ‘What do you want Jesus to do for you today?’ (see Mark 10.51)

• It focuses attention on Jesus’ ministry, not ours (what do you want Jesus…).
• It emphasises our need to receive, not earn (to do for you).
• It narrows down what might be a long list of needs to a bite-sized request (today).

3.3. People almost always pray with their eyes closed, but you can miss so much if you don’t keep your eyes open!

3.4. Invite the Holy Spirit to come (see Ezekiel 37.9-10, Acts 8.14-17).

Why do we pray ‘come, Holy Spirit?’ Isn’t the Holy Spirit everywhere? Of course, he is God and is therefore always omnipresent. But at times in Scripture, he comes in power in a particularly tangible way. See 2 Chronicles 7.1-3 and Acts 2.1-4. Often, he comes as we call upon him. He loves us to call on Him. Remember that the Holy Spirit can be grieved, so asking him to manifest his presence and power demonstrates our willingness for him to do His work. We’re saying ‘You’re welcome.’

3.5. Don’t rush. Wait and watch. Jesus’ model - ‘I do only what I see the Father doing.’ (John 5.19). 

3.6. Don’t multiply words; listen. Jesus said, ‘I say just what the Father has told me to say.’ (John 12.50).

3.7. Bless what you see the Holy Spirit is doing and ask for more. ‘He is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us’ (Ephesians 3.20).

3.8. If you feel prompted, bring spiritual gifts; tongues, interpretation, words of knowledge and wisdom, prophecy, discernment of spirits… (1 Corinthians 12.7-11).

3.9. Affirm the person you have ministered to, and give them encouragement to come back at any time. 

Training Sessions at King's Church Darlington, 21 and 24 June 2021

 

Serve One Another (Mark 10.32-45)

Introduction

On 21 April 1947 our Queen, who was then Princess Elizabeth, delivered a speech during a tour of South Africa. It was her 21st birthday,

“My whole life,” she said, “whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.” It is said that her words moved Winston Churchill to tears.

She has absolutely kept her word. Now in her 96th year, 3 decades beyond retirement age, she is still absolutely dedicated to service. Even after the death of her beloved husband Prince Philip earlier this year, she was back at work just days later, without showing the faintest hint of self-interest, or self-pity. She is truly a servant queen.

 The concept of a servant king or queen was unheard of at the time of Jesus. The idea had never occurred to anyone anywhere in the world. Indeed, it would have seemed bizarre.

King Herod, for example, never called himself a servant. It is said that he was prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition. The Caesars in Rome would have considered it insulting to be called servants. The pharaohs of Egypt and the great kings of Babylon likewise.

Even the godliest kings in Israel’s history, once they ascend to the throne, never once use the word ‘servant’ to describe their relationship to their subjects. I’ve noticed this as I’ve been reading through 1 and 2 Samuel this month; David frequently speaks of himself in the third person as ‘your servant’ - until he becomes king - when that language stops abruptly.

But Jesus, the one we call the King of kings and Lord of lords, said, “The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves… I am among you as one who serves.”

And he said this; “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Servanthood in Jesus’ Day

In the strictly hierarchical society of the first century, everyone knew their place. Everyone had a rank. The second lowest servant had the unpleasant and demeaning task of unfastening people’s sandals. But that servant was considered above having to wash the feet afterwards. That most humiliating and least dignified of household tasks was for the servant one rung below at the very bottom of the food chain.

The idea of washing the feet of somebody below you in the pecking order was laughable. Even to wash the feet of someone on the same level as you simply wasn’t the done thing.

John the Baptist looked at Jesus and said, “I am not worthy of untying his sandals” but Jesus, equal in glory and majesty with God the Father, washed feet.

And when he got up, he looked at his startled and disorientated disciples, and said this; “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

We are looking at some of the one anothers in the New Testament. Some people experience church as if it were a football match. 22 people in desperate need of a rest watched by 22,000 people in desperate need of exercise.

But in the Bible, church is never a spectator sport. It is an interactive community where no one is a passive observer. In other words, everyone gets to play.

So, as we’ve seen, there are dozens of exhortations given to churches with the phrase one another. Love one another. Forgive one another. Pray for one another. Welcome one another. Speak the truth to one another. Encourage one another. Exhort one another. And this week I want to explore what Galatians 5.13 means when it says, “serve one another humbly in love.” 

The word ‘serve’, with its associated words servant, serving, service and so on appears over 200 times in the New Testament. (The word in Greek is diakonos for those of you who care). It literally means ‘to run errands’, ‘to attend to’ or ‘to wait at table, to supply food and drink’ or some other menial role.

It is never with status or prestige. It is always associated with humility, lowliness and practical assistance.

Jesus commands it to all who call themselves his followers but he particularly insists on it for those who are appointed as leaders. Alpha’s Nicky Gumbel sums it up unforgettably. “For Jesus,” he says, “if service is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you.”

Whatever kind of leadership role you might have; as a supervisor at work, at home as a parent, as an elder, a trustee, a youth or children’s leader, a small group leader, as having any kind of responsibility – you are called to think of yourself, not a superior, but as a servant.

We’re going to look together at Mark 10.32-45.

Background

Mark chapter 10 situates Jesus and his entourage travelling south in the Jordan valley, towards Jericho which is more or less the lowest point on the Earth’s surface. From there they will turn west and press on uphill to Jerusalem where Jesus will meet his fate.

Here's what it says.

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again, he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Let’s pray…

Jesus’ ministry is building to a climax. Though he has spoken plainly and without ambiguity on at least two occasions already about what he knows is going to happen to him; it does not appear to have registered with his disciples at all.

A Recurrent Misunderstanding

Some are amazed and some are frightened, because they can sense that things are building up to some sort of dramatic climax. Maybe an audacious uprising?

So, in v32-34 Jesus calls the twelve to him and again patiently explains in great detail that this is not the programme.

Instead, what’s going to happen is this; the religious elite are going to collude with the Roman authorities to arrest him, pass sentence and send him to a violent and shameful death, after which he will rise again.

This is a deeply personal and traumatic disclosure. Jesus says, in words of one syllable, “When we get to Jerusalem I’m going to be rejected. They’re going to mock me, publicly humiliate me, spit in my face, beat me up and then they’re going to kill me. This is not a metaphor. I really am going to die.”

What do you suppose would be a fitting response to these words? Would it not be to show some loyalty and support? Would it not be appropriate for the twelve to be aggrieved and upset, to show Jesus they care, to serve him in this moment of great distress? To ask him, “How can we help?”

But there is nothing in the text here, nor in the other Gospels that record the same incident, to suggest that any of them either feel or display the slightest compassion or empathy for their Lord and Master.

Could it be that all twelve of them simply fail to understand a perfectly simple statement, in plain language, that Jesus has articulated to them at least three times?

Or is rather it that they are so self-absorbed, so up themselves, so obsessed with their own status and rank, that they just don’t care?

It seems to be the latter, because in v35-40 Mark tells us about a frankly pathetic request from James and John.

Bear in mind that in the previous chapter, the twelve not only discuss, but in fact argue amongst themselves as they walk along the road about which of them stands where in the pecking order. This is therefore a recurring theme.

They raise their voices and bicker about who’s top of the food chain? Who’s the alpha male? Who’s the most distinguished and exalted of the apostles? Who’s going to Right Reverend, who’s going to be Most Reverend, who’s going to be Very Reverend?

It’s embarrassing and cringeworthy. This is like the seven dwarfs in a bitter dispute over which one is the tallest!

So, in Mark 9.35, Jesus sits down, calls the Twelve to him and says, Look. “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

But now, one chapter later, we learn that Jesus’ words have fallen on deaf ears. James and John, two fishermen who never succeed in catching a single fish in the entire Bible unless Jesus does a miracle for them, sneakily have a word with Jesus.

“Teacher,” they say to a man who has spoken to them twice recently about his imminent, harrowing death, “we want you to do for us… whatever we ask.”

Jesus has every right to explode with frustration and tell these men how much their insensitivity and selfish ambition hurt him.

But, instead, Jesus the servant of all, shows breathtaking patience and self-control. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asks.

How about, “Can we have the honour of helping you carry your cross when it comes to the crucifixion?”

But no. Instead, they say, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” In other words, “We want prestige. We want to be famous. We want to be admired.”

Jesus, speaking of his death, when he will drink the cup of God’s wrath against sin and be plunged into depths of sorrow and agony, asks James and John if they think they can go through what he will go through.

Maybe they think the cup is a cup of celebration. Maybe they think about Jesus’ baptism as the moment when heaven opens and a voice says “This is my beloved son!”

So they say, “Oh, no problem.” And Jesus, as ever, is absolutely straight with them. “Well, you will”, he says.

But James and John are focused on what’s important to them. What about the seats of honour at the top table? What about the honorary knighthoods? That’s what they want to hear.

Which is when the other ten disciples get wind of what James and John are up to and start kicking off. They begin to squabble. These bald men are still fighting over a comb! So Jesus focuses with amazing restraint and patience - yet again - on what they need to hear.

They need to hear that, in the kingdom of God, serving one another is a basic requirement. It is non-negotiable. It is (and always will be) an essential and indispensable feature of the church Jesus is building.

It’s not going to be like the Romans who throw their weight around and bark orders to their subordinates. Leaders in Jesus’ day got their way by intimidation and bullying. Everyone else existed to run around and massage the boss’s ego. But Jesus could not be more emphatic. “Read my lips. This is not the way we are going to do things.”

Phil Dooley, lead pastor of Hillsong in Cape Town, says this about in his church, “The best [leadership] teams are made up of a bunch of nobodies who love everybody and serve anybody and don’t care about becoming a somebody.”

Where did he get that from? He got that from Jesus who says here: “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you… [note, he doesn’t rebuke their desire for greatness; he simply tells them they’re going about it the wrong way]. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." 

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This why he came. He willingly laid aside all his heavenly majesty, he humbled himself, he gladly took the form of a servant, putting others first.

His laying down his life as a ransom cancelled out forever all your sins, however bad and however many, ended your alienation from God, set you right with him as a son or daughter, opened up for you a door to heaven that no one can shut, and etched your name in the book of life from which it will never be erased

And if you have never turned to Christ in grateful faith for what he did for you, and if right now, God is speaking to you and giving you a chance to take the greatest step in life you can ever take, take it. Do it today.

Don't make the mistake of putting it off forever. The Bible says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” So I’m inviting you today; ask God to take care of your past and lay down your life to Jesus Christ.

Serve One Another

I hope it is clear why we value serving one another humbly in love.

Jesus gave it all for us, delivering us from hell and seating us in the throne of the heavens. Therefore, in response, the least we can do to give 100% for him, and for one another. Jesus gave it all. 95% commitment from me in return is 5% short.

I know a man who, until recently, had one of the top jobs in the NHS here in the Tess Valley. It came with a lot of prestige and no doubt paid handsomely. It was also complex, demanding, non-stop stressful and carried a huge burden of responsibility.

But this self-effacing man found time - he made time - to serve coffee at church, host a midweek group in his home and was never above sweeping up after children’s outreach activities. Serve one another humbly in love.

Is your life (work, family, marriage if you’re married, church, leisure, finances)… is your life marked more by getting or giving?

Put another way, are you primarily motivated by what you hope to get out of church or by what you want to put into it?

Washington DC church leader Mark Batterson says, “If you do little things like they were big things, God will do big things like they were little things.” Serve one another humbly in love.

Tim Matthews, of Love Church in Bournemouth says to new people in his church, “Find a job that you want to do here before you’re asked to do one that you don’t!” Serve one another humbly in love.

What makes you happy? I know many people who are unhappy and unfulfilled because they are oriented for being served, passive and self-centred rather than living with a servant heart.  

Are you serving at King’s? Are you a player or a spectator? What are the passions God has put in your heart? Why don’t you ask one of the elders, “How can I serve here? What needs doing?”

Ending

As I end, I wanted to be able to invite people who feel that God is stirring them forward for prayer ministry. We can’t do that yet. It won’t be long now but we must be patient.

But I want to give you an opportunity to respond in a concrete way. Serving is not about being passive so in a moment I’m going to ask you to stand, where you are, if you feel God is speaking to you about serving. And I’ll ask the Holy Spirit to anoint you and empower you for service.

Don’t look around the hall and don’t worry about what others think; this is between you and God.

So if this morning you feel you want to get into gear - or go up a gear - in serving others, or if you feel stirred to renew your devotion to service, or if you simply want to be motivated not to be served but to serve will you stand please.

Prayer…

Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 20 June 2021

Is Anyone There?

 

In the last six months, we have seen the Chinese send a lander to the Moon, returning 1,731 grams of lunar samples to Earth a month or so later, and the Americans land a roving laboratory the size of a Mini Cooper, called Perseverance, on a precise location on Mars.

It is truly a wonder that people are able to calculate how to hit a precise spot on a moving and revolving target 300 million miles away, after a journey of 7 months, gently setting down a vehicle weighing over a ton and that was travelling at 12,500 mph just 8 minutes beforehand.

The human drive to explore beyond the confines of our modest but beautiful blue planet seems irresistible and I, for one, think it’s absolutely worth the money. If the Apollo programme was essentially, like Scott and Amundsen racing to the South Pole to plant a flag in a previously unexplored territory, these subsequent missions are more about never-ending discovery than rivalry and it is fitting that the previous large NASA rover to land on Mars was called Curiosity.

Curiosity and Perseverance’s missions are to attempts to discover whether there are, or ever have been, conditions on the Red Planet capable of supporting life. This is the Eldorado of interplanetary exploration. Some say the emergence of life is inevitable wherever the two basic conditions (liquid water and sunlight) are present. Life on Earth, they say, was always bound to happen given we tick both boxes.

Others disagree, saying it is hugely unlikely and only possible because of the highly exceptional conditions on Earth (our planet is just the right distance from just the right sort of star, is just the right size to support a life-sustaining atmosphere containing just the right mix of key elements in just the right quantities, especially an abundance of surface water, has just the right core; an iron centre giving us a magnetic field, without which our atmosphere would slowly erode away through solar wind, has just the right crust with plate tectonics to replenish the nutrition that primitive life depends on, recycling carbon around the planet, and has just the right sort of moon, stabilizing our axial tilt thus avoiding rapid and life-threatening climate changes). Looking at it this way, the emergence of Life on Earth is a result of the sort of luck you need to win a lottery jackpot several months running.

Agnostic author and biochemist Michael Denton adds another layer of complexity to this view saying: “Between a living cell and the most highly ordered non-biological systems, such as a crystal or a snowflake, there is a chasm as vast as it is possible to conceive. Even the tiniest of bacterial cells, weighing less than a trillionth of a gram, is a veritable microminiaturised factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of a hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machine built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world.” 

Wow! So, even when the properties of Earth favouring the development of life are all in place, the jump from non-organic matter to become even the simplest of life forms seems impossibly long. If Professor Denton is right, this relentless scientific pursuit of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe will probably last as long as the human race does. How apposite that NASA’s newest Martian rover is called Perseverance.

Either that, an inconceivably improbable accident, or it is all intended to be that way, planned and crafted by an unfathomably wise designer.

Ecclesiastes 3.11, in the Old Testament, speaks of a created spiritual instinct in which human beings yearn for eternity; we wonder about God and marvel over these mysterious and weighty matters. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

In this light, our never-ending scientific quest to discover if there is anyone out there is an expression of the spiritual pursuit built into every human heart. It tugs away inside us, prompting us to seek and to discover, wonderfully, that we are not alone, because when people really look for him with curiosity and perseverance - with an open mind and an open heart - they so often find to their surprise and delight that God is absolutely real.

For this is what the Lord says - he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited - he says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45.18.