After He Has Suffered (Isaiah 53.10-12)

One hot day 1947, a young Bedouin shepherd boy was throwing stones into the caves on the shores of the Dead Sea when he heard a very startling noise. Instead of the usual thud and echo of his stone striking a rock, this time it sounded like he had smashed a vase or something. He ran away as fast as he could and hid behind a rock thinking he was going to get into trouble for breaking someone’s china. But no one came out of the cave. He waited a bit longer – nothing moved. So he slowly approached the cave and went in. In the cave he saw dozens of clay jars holding nine hundred very ancient parchments; the Dead Sea scrolls. It was one of the most significant discoveries of antiquity of all time.

2700 years before that Isaiah wrote down some words about a mysterious servant figure. He wrote in graphic detail about his appalling suffering and traumatic death. It is an almost photographic record of Jesus’ passion and crucifixion, 750 years before it happened.

The description of suffering and death that is born on behalf of others, of burial and of resurrection is so thorough that some people have said it must have been fabricated by deceitful Christians after the crucifixion and made to look like it was written before. And, that’s what it looks like, after all the whole passage is written in the past tense.

But the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls has settled the matter. They discovered, a complete copy of Isaiah (including chapter 53) dating back to several hundred years before Jesus was even born.

‘My servant’, says God in 52.13, ‘will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted’. How is this going to happen? Some sort of coronation ceremony perhaps? A great splash of pomp? No. God says that he would be raised up only after he had suffered.

Just picking through the verses we have been looking at over the last few weeks, you can see twelve indisputable things about this suffering servant, all of which were perfectly fulfilled by Jesus’ death and resurrection.

1) In v3, it describes a man who will be turned upon and rejected.

He was despised and rejected by others,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

2) Verse 8 says his trial will be a miscarriage of justice.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

It will be a joke trial because he will be innocent in word and deed as v9 makes clear.

He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

3) 52.14 indicates that the gruesomeness of his beatings will be so savage that people won’t recognise him anymore.

His appearance was so disfigured 
beyond that of any human being 
and his form marred beyond human likeness.

4) Verse 5 predicts that his death will result not from poisoning or hanging or from drowning or burning or suffocation - but from wounds pierced in his flesh.

He was pierced…

5) He will not try and argue his way out of it and he, who died at the same time that Passover lambs were being offered in the temple, will himself be like an uncomplaining lamb going to slaughter. You can read that in v7.

He did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

6) Nobody will complain or come to his aid – he will be deserted and denied.

We considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. (v4)

Who of his generation protested? (v8)

7) Yet v12 says that he will pray for his executioners while he is dying.

He made intercession for the transgressors.

8) Then no less than ten times between v4 and v12, it says that in dying, he will somehow take the blame for all our sickness, sadness and sinfulness upon himself. For example

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering… (v4)


He was crushed for our iniquities… (v5)

The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (v6)

9) He really will die. He will breathe his last and his body will become a lifeless corpse. Verse 8.

For he was cut off from the land of the living.

10) Not only that, he will die among thieves and he will then be buried in the tomb of a wealthy man. Verse 9.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death

11) All this will be no accident, says v10, but fully in God’s plan.

Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer.

12) After suffering, death and burial, he will live again and be exalted as v10-11 make clear.

Though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days…


After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied…
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great…

What an amazing vision.

So Jesus suffered terribly, died, was buried and was raised to life. The Scriptures had said it would happen but who could have guessed that it would describe the life of a carpenter’s son turned preacher 750 years after the prophecy was written?

Crucially, it says that he bore, in his body, your sin and your sickness – and mine. He took the blame on himself. The wages of sin is death – his death, not mine. He paid my penalty. When Isaiah wrote all this down he cannot have had any idea what he was writing about, nor would any of his contemporaries.

“What’s that about Isaiah? Someone gets stabbed because of our sins?” “I don’t know, I just heard it from God and had to write it down.”

Now, with hindsight, you can see that Isaiah was painting the finest word portrait of Jesus that has ever been painted. It’s perfect. All the shades and tones are in the right place.

It describes a man who was led to a courtyard where they pressed a crown of Judean thorns (as hard as barbed wire) onto his head. He was molested and pushed around by a battalion of men, who called him names, thumped him, spat in his face and pulled out his beard in lumps. Then, he was ordered to carry the crossbeam of his cross until he couldn't lift it any further. At the crucifixion site, he was stripped a second time, stretched out on his cross and 12 inch nails were driven into his forearms. His knees were twisted round and another long nail was driven between his tibia and Achilles tendon. Then they lifted high his cross with ropes and let it drop into a hole.

Hanging there, sunburnt, thirsty, exposed, stared at, laughed at; he was left for six hours in indescribable suffering as his life ebbed away.

Still feeling the stinging sores from his beating, getting weaker as his blood pumped out of his gaping wounds, facing the pain of having been deserted by his friends, rejected by the world. It was an emotional anguish; stripped and left to die slowly in front of his mother. It was a spiritual anguish; severed from the affection of his Father, as he carried the full weight of the guilt of our sin.

For as he hung there, he took the blame and suffered the terrible retribution for every unjust hanging, every ugly riot, every spiteful attack, all the mean things you and I ever said and did, all the shameful things, the darkest evil, he bore the weight of wars and massacres, he plumbed the horrors of Auschwitz and Rwanda and Srebrenica. He felt the lonely pain of every raped girl, every shunned parent, every abandoned spouse, every bullied child, the full range of human selfishness, pain and hatred and guilt and fallenness and he took it all upon himself.

No one took his life from him. He laid it down. Such is his love for you, for you, for you.

I’m going to pass round a replica crown of thorns and some household nails. The Judean thorns that made his crown are much harder and the spikes are much longer. The roman nails that fixed him to the cross were longer and thicker. Hold them in your hands and pass them around - and thank him that he took this for you.

And then watch some images of his passion and praise him that he did this for you. Amen.

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 21st March 2010

Spiritual Fitness: Joy (Philippians 4.1-13)

Introduction

Getting into good spiritual shape is quite a demanding. We’ve already talked about prayer, fasting and tithing. And we’re going to look at sacrifice next week. That’s a tough programme. Makes an army assault course look like a walk in the park! Praying, fasting, giving and living sacrificially are things that people do. They are faith exercises, if you like. They are actions that people take. They’re to do with behaviour. But today’s theme (joy) is different isn’t it? I may feel joyful – or I perhaps I may not – but in any case not many would say that joy is something you do. The Oxford English Dictionary defines joy as “A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” So either I experience pleasurable emotions or I do not. Either I happen to feel full of joy or I just don’t. But I can’t force myself to overflow with heavenly happiness; that would be completely artificial and contrived wouldn’t it?

Nehemiah 8.10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And that joy does not depend on how the weather looks, or what’s on the lunch menu or the ups and downs of life. My joy is in the Lord.

What I mean to say is this: joy is a choice. It’s a life preference. That’s why God says in Psalm 37.4 “Delight yourself in the Lord.” It’s not a suggestion. It’s not advice. It’s an order to be glad in him that God gives to the whole of creation. “Delight yourself in the Lord.”

How can you choose to be joyful without being false? I want you to imagine that you are a small child, just 6 weeks old. You fall ill and your sight weakens. The doctors treating you make terrible elementary mistakes and their lack of care and attention actually make the situation worse. Their making a pig’s ear of some fairly routine treatment, results in you losing your sight irreversibly. This is what happened to a young American girl called Fanny Crosby. She began to understand that other children could see and people broke the news to her that, as she grew up, she would never see the colours of creation or the beauty of the natural world. But she decided to keep a treasure of contentment in her heart. When she was 8 years old she wrote these lines:

Oh what a happy soul I am, although I cannot see;
I am resolved that in this world contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy, that other people don't;
To weep and sigh because I'm blind, I cannot, and I won't.

She died in 1915 having written over 8,000 hymns of praise and worship many of which are still sung today. She never allowed herself to grow bitter or resentful. She said one day, “In heaven, where I shall be healed, oh what joy, the first face I shall see will be my Saviour’s.” You see, for the world joy comes and goes with the ups and downs of life. But for anyone who is in Christ joy is something you do - joy is a choice.

This is the theme of our first reading from Philippians. Several times in this short letter Paul erupts with joy as he says, for example, “In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy... Because of this I rejoice… Yes, and I will continue to rejoice… I will continue for your progress and joy in the faith… You are my joy and my crown… I rejoice greatly in the Lord…”

No one reading that would be surprised if they were told that the man who wrote these words did so having just won the lottery, reclining by an empty pool, in a luxury hotel, with a glass of champagne, dictating them to a gorgeous secretary.

But no. Having been arrested for a crime he never committed, he finds himself far from home, attached by a chain to a duty officer, remanded in custody, locked up behind bars and awaiting a court hearing.

He says this; “Even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.” In other words, even though I’m banged up here inside in a total miscarriage of justice – oh my, I am just overflowing with joy and this happiness, this contentment, is in God. Joy is a choice.

Why is it that we have to fight for joy? Why do we find that sometimes our soul is downcast and heavy? It’s because the Christian life is a fight. There are pressures all around that sap dry our joy in Christ - I call them joy smashers - and there are 6 examples of them in this passage of Scripture, Philippians 4.

1) Drifting from God (v1)

Here’s the first; drifting away from God. Look at v1. “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”

A few years ago I read a book about the behaviour of a pride of lions. They are ruthlessly efficient hunting machines. Lionesses (because not surprisingly it’s the females who do all the work while the males lie around doing nothing!) they spend hours on end patiently tracking a herd of antelopes or wildebeest in the hope of singling out a young one, a sick one or a distracted one that gets separated from the others.

The Bible picks this up and tells us that the enemy of our souls, Satan, operates in exactly the same way. 1 Peter 5.8: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Now, if you’re young in faith, or if you’re faith is weakened because you have neglected to feed and nourish yourself on the spiritual food that is the word of God, or if you have allowed yourself to become isolated from fellowship and biblical teaching, it won’t take long before Satan has you in his sights. He hates you, he wants to drain your joy in the Lord and destroy you. It says he’s prowling around looking for someone to devour.

Why does drifting away from God lead to less joy? Because fullness of joy is found - where? In the presence of the Lord. Psalm 16.11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” So the more time you spend resting and renewing in the presence of God, before him in the intimacy of heartfelt praise – the more your joy will renew its strength. That’s a spiritual law. Drawing close to God in worship is part of our essential survival kit as disciples of Christ.

2) Resentment (v2-3)

Second joy smasher: resentment. Verse 2: “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord…” Here are two women in the church at Philippi who, by all appearances, have crossed each other off their Christmas card lists. I wonder what they were upset about? What might have been the nature of their little dispute? Was it the colour of the flowers or the choice of worship songs or something more substantial? Nobody knows, it doesn’t say. But let me ask you this; do you honestly think these two women were in top form, smiling broadly and generally full of joy all the time that their conflict was simmering away unresolved? Of course not. I picture these two with their arms folded defensively, frowning unhappily and touchy about the smallest thing. Tensions and misunderstandings between brothers and sisters are such a drain on joy.

If it so happens today that you have an unresolved conflict with someone I bet my last penny that you aren’t dancing with abandoned delight before the Lord in your heart this morning. I’ve learned this lesson over the years; when God says “Delight yourself in the Lord” we sometimes need to sort out a soured relationship before we can do that with all our heart.

3) Anxieties (v4-7)

On to joy smasher number 3. The worries, anxieties, troubles and concerns of life that fatigue us.

Some of us might be wrestling at this very minute with fears about debt or family worries, or nagging thoughts about health… there could be any number of anxieties in our fellowship this morning connected with work or with matters of the heart… or whatever. Read v4-7 with me.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything…” And then God says how he wants us to live with apprehension: “In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Here is a simple three-point strategy for battling anxiety. Firstly, expose your needs - Paul says, “present your requests” - to God. That sounds like this: “Lord, I’m fearful about my children’s future, I’m apprehensive about my appointment with the doctor and I am just dreading when the heating bill comes.” You just pour it all out before God item by item.

Secondly, prayer and petition. Sometimes people say that prayer shouldn’t just be a list but if you’ve got a long list of worries, what better thing can you do than list it all before God? And it says in v6 “petitions.” What is a petition if it isn’t a long list of names and addresses? So in prayer and petition you say, “Lord, please increase my faith, will you break through and change these particular situations, by your power and grace may difficulties become opportunities; Father please glorify Jesus in my life.”

Thirdly, don’t forget to say thank you. Verse 6 mentions “thanksgiving” because it’s important. “Thank you Lord because I know you are faithful, you won’t let me down, I can trust you to deliver and thank you in advance for the blessing of answered prayer.”

4) Unwholesome Thinking (v8)

The fourth joy smasher is kind of implicit in what Paul writes here; it’s unwholesome or negative thinking. Verse 8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.”

Just think about what the opposite of that verse would sound like. “Whatever is false, whatever is gross, whatever is just wrong, whatever is dirty, whatever is ugly, whatever is despicable - if anything is dire or misguided - spend your day thinking about that.”

That will sap your joy big time. Such unwholesome thoughts stain the mind, that’s obvious, but if they aren’t dealt with it gets worse; they pollute and infect the heart.

And I want to say that it’s not exposure to violent or obscene images or nurturing hatred and revenge that this verse has in mind. You can see easily how those things would poison the soul. But I think it’s much more subtle. It’s things like jealousy and comparisons; “She looks like a car crash in that dress.” “How come that loser has a bigger house than me?”

Unwholesome thinking takes away our joy in the Lord. And that’s why God wants to renew our minds.

5) Abstract Religion

Joy smasher number 5: this may surprise some but abstract religion that is just cerebral and academic turns the soul miserable. Look at v9 with me. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Question: how can I ensure that the God who gives peace will be with me? The answer, according to v9 is: By putting my faith into practice. Loving people, reaching out to the lonely, supporting the people no one else notices, welcoming strangers, opening my home, visiting the sick, forgiving people who have hurt me…

There is a version of the Christian life that is purely intellectual and dry. I don’t mean to say that we should hold theology or Bible study in contempt, on the contrary. No, I am talking about unattractive, dreary and boring churchliness that bears no resemblance to anything Jesus ever said or did, and is completely absent from the Gospels except in the sanctimonious snootiness of the Pharisees. God save us from it! Oh God, give my generation a chance to see a church that talks like Jesus and loves like Jesus!

6) Worldliness (v11-13)

Finally, we arrive at joy smasher number 6 and it’s worldliness. If you really want to look miserable it’s simple; just cling for dear life to everything you own. It’s lethal for your joy in the Lord.

I used to have a grumpy neighbour when I was growing up who would go absolutely mad if any of his kids touched his gleaming car in the driveway. They almost needed his permission to breathe within 20 yards of it! He was the most cheerless man I have ever met.

What does Paul say in v11-13? Why is this man so elated? How is it that he can be jumping for joy as he rots away in jail, accused of a crime for which he is completely blameless? What does he say?

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

I am not sure if I will ever get to having the attitude that John Wesley had about material things. There’s a story about Wesley’s house catching on fire and burning down. So someone went up to tell him about it and Wesley responded by shrugging his shoulders and saying, “God’s house burned down… one less thing to worry about.”

How many millionaires do you know or see on TV who never seem to be worried about anything? I can’t think of many… One of the secrets of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, is to delight in the Lord.

Ending

Hebrews 1.9 says about Jesus, “God has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” Jesus was anointed with joy. He was heavy armed against all the joy smashers that we have listed this morning. Because he never drifted from his heavenly Father. Because he was never resentful or bitter. Because he was never racked by anxieties and worries. Because he never got into cycles of unwholesome thinking. Because his spirituality was always practical and down to earth, never sterile or sanctimonious. And because he was never attached to any of material thing.

That is how to live in the joy of the Lord – which is our strength and our song.

So let’s pray...

Preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 14th March 2010

Spiritual Fitness: Generosity (Malachi 3.6-12 and Matthew 23.23-24)

Introduction

Spiritual fitness chapter 3; generosity. I’m going to talk about money this morning – aren’t you glad you came? Well, let me start by saying two positive things.

1) Money isn't everything, but at least it keeps you in touch with your children when they leave home. 2) If you think nobody cares you are alive, just miss a couple monthly payments – and you’ll soon find they do!

Sometimes people complain that the church is always banging on about money. “Christians should stick to preaching the gospel” they say. And who can argue with that? Of course we should prioritize proclaiming the good news about Jesus. The only thing is it costs money to do that and, as most of us know, it doesn’t grow on trees. Incidentally, how ironic is it that those people I know who think that money does grow on trees are the ones who have a hard time getting out of the woods?

But anyway, Christians are followers of Jesus - and Jesus had more to say about money than almost any other subject. In all his many references to money, 9 were to do with resourcing ministry, 15 were illustrations of a spiritual principle and 35 were direct challenges to discipleship.

In other words, when Jesus confronted someone about how serious they really were about following him he usually did so by bringing up the subject of money. You’ll be familiar with some of these.

“Go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Or this one: “No one can serve two masters; either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (By the way, that’s why Billy Graham once said, “A cheque book is a theological document; it will tell you who and what you worship.”)

And another challenge from Jesus: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle that for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Different Ways to Give

I can guess what some of you are probably thinking. Today’s theme is generosity and generosity is not just about money. And of course that is correct. In the dictionary, “Generosity” is defined as “readiness or liberality in giving and freedom from meanness or smallness of mind or character.”

So I can be generous in many different ways.

I can be generous with my thoughts. If someone passes a bit of gossip on to you about Auntie Mabel, you will be generous in thought if you choose to believe the best about her instead of fearing the worst. Has anyone let you down lately or disappointed you? You will be generous in thought if you let it drop instead of harbouring a grudge. Abraham Lincoln was good at this. He once said, “I destroy my enemies by making them my friends.”

I can be generous with my words. Every time you encourage someone (when you say to them “that was really good, you have really blessed me today”) or every time you thank them (“I just want to say thank you for what you do or for what you said”) or every time you pray for them you are being generous with your words.

I can be generous with my time. Possibly the biggest challenge we face as a church, with many who lead busy professional lives, is being generous with our time.

I think it was Stephen Cherry, who heads up training in the diocese, who once talked about an experiment someone did during a training day on the Good Samaritan. When it came to about midday the students were sent out in two separate groups in two different directions for lunch and both groups were told to come back at 1:30pm. Now, for each group there was a staged “accident” with fake blood in which an actor pretended to faint and hit their head. The first “accident” happened in front of the first group shortly after they broke for lunch. And, of course, everyone gathered round to see what was wrong, speak to the young man who had fallen and call for help. The other “accident” for the second group was staged 5 minutes before they were due back. And no one stopped - not primarily because they were hard hearted or uncaring - but because they didn’t want to be late; they didn’t have time.

I suspect that being generous with our time is the biggest challenge we face. A tithe of my waking hours; that is to say 10% of the all the time available to me when I am not asleep, works out at 11 hours a week. I suppose that most of us would find it more challenging to give 10% of our time than 10% of our income.

So I want to stress that staying spiritually fit by practicing generosity is not just about writing a cheque every month. In fact just writing a cheque every month might actually be the problem.

That is what Jesus was saying in Matthew 23.23. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, such hypocrites! You give one tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness.” In other words, you have been generous with your money but you have been mean with your thoughts, your words and your time.

There is no doubt about this; these religious leaders were scrupulously open-handed with their money. They made painstakingly sure that they gave away one tenth of all their earnings. They would have been absolutely mortified by the very idea of giving any less (even down to 10% of their herb garden – you can just picture them with a ruler and scissors on the parsley bush).

But the gospels tell us that they made a parade of their generosity. They announced with trumpets the act of putting their envelope in the offering so as to be noticed by others. Jesus says, “when you give… do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

I have a friend in Canada who said once that that’s his church treasurer’s favourite Scripture. He says it’s the fastest Bible verse in the West. Your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing. So the right hand puts a whole wad of bank notes into the offering before the left hand has a chance to say, “Oh no, not that much!” I’d just like to make it clear that I don’t think that that interpretation is the right one!

Tithing

Where did the Pharisees get the 10% figure from? They got it from the Law of Moses which mentions it a lot. Leviticus 27, for example, says: “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord: it is holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27.30). Deuteronomy 14 explains that the tithe existed for three reasons; firstly to acknowledge the abundance of God’s provision; secondly, to give an income to the Levites in the temple who had no other way of earning a living; and thirdly, to assist the poor who had fallen on hard times.

And Pharisees also knew about our first reading from the Prophecy of Malachi which says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” Malachi was written about 450 years before Christ, a time when God’s people were rebuilding Jerusalem which had been in ruins for decades. By the time Malachi prophesied there was a city wall with its gates crucial for security; there were new houses and there was a completed temple. The nation was back on its feet again after years of exile in Babylon.

But there was a problem; low rainfall and failing harvests – not just once but two years running, then three, then four... The crop yield was becoming predictably disappointing. Cattle and sheep were becoming thinner and thinner. Why? Why were things not going right?

It was all due to spiritual neglect. Here’s a principle that runs right through the Bible; when God’s people honour him and put him first in all things, he restores, he provides and he blesses at all times. And the reverse is true. When God is silent, when his presence disappears from worship and when he withholds his blessing it is because God’s people have put themselves first and honoured themselves above him.

In Malachi’s day, across the land, worship had become tired and stale. The people were half-hearted and the priests, with no real vision, were just going through the motions. God’s people were drifting into relationships with godless spouses from pagan nations. Men were being unfaithful to their wives. Marriages were falling apart. The most vulnerable people (widows, orphans, immigrants and the poor) were being overlooked and forgotten. The nation was in a sorry state because it was becoming disconnected from God and failed harvests were a direct consequence.

Notice in Malachi 3 that the people are completely unaware that there is any kind of problem.

Verse 7; “Return to me” says God.

So they look at themselves, shrug their shoulders and say, “Return? What do you mean ‘return’? How? It’s news to us that we have actually gone anywhere.”

Verse 8: “You are robbing me.” Says God.

So they look at the dry fields and empty barns and say, “Robbing? Wh…? How does that work that we are stealing from you?

Verse 9: “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse - your whole nation - because you are robbing me.”

And what single solution does God prescribe to lift the curse on the nation? It comes in v10. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”

Don’t you feel a bit sorry for these people? At first sight, it looks as if God is being a bit harsh on them. If yours is an agricultural economy and your harvests fail disastrously year after year, your country falls into recession and your reserves dwindle to perilously low levels. I guess the people of Malachi’s day were saying, “Now let’s be sensible, watch the pennies and cut back on non essentials.”

If that were all, then yes, someone might well say that God is being a bit severe. But God promises big things here to those who faithfully give back to him their first fruits, not their last fruits. 1 Corinthians 16.2 in the New Testament says the same thing: “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income...” Not “See what’s left for the Lord after you’ve covered all your outgoings.”

God likes to turn upside down our accepted wisdom about generosity. Many people tend to think that everything we have is ours and we can decide how much of our stuff we give away – if anything. But the Bible teaches that, if Jesus is Lord, everything we have is his. And under Christ as we give without counting, the more he seems to bless without counting.

So God speaks about opening up the floodgates of the sky and tipping down rain on the land to bring about a harvest so abundant that the people wouldn’t have anywhere to put all the grain. This is the promise of God for a generous people.

But I want to say also that there is no compulsion from God over this. The New Testament angle on this is, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9.7) Under Christ you are free to tithe. The difference is that under Moses you were not free not to tithe.

Does it work? I resolved a long time ago never to preach on something that wasn’t a reality in my own life. In my years as a Christian, there have been times when I have tithed, times when I have given less and times when I have given more. The only time our bank account has ever been overdrawn is during the time when we gave less. The rest of the time God has blessed us abundantly; we have never lacked for anything we needed and our four children are walking with God. Blessings all mine and ten thousand beside.

How does this work? I don’t know. But it does. As the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel Sanders once said, “There's no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery.” So let me quote from three wealthy businessmen each of which were multi-millionaires and each of which had a gift of generosity and who gave away most of what they accumulated before they died.

Sir John Templeton, the stock investor and chairman of the Templeton Fund: “I have observed 100,000 families over my years of investment counselling. I always saw greater prosperity and happiness among those families who tithed than among those who didn’t.”

John D. Rockefeller, the oil tycoon: “I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.”

Robert Gilmore Letourneau, the engineer and inventor: “I shovel money out, and God shovels it back ... but God has a bigger shovel!”

Test Me

And then God says something truly shocking in v10. “Test me…” Time and time again God says in the Bible, “Don’t test me.” But here God makes an exception. Why here? Because putting God to the test in the area of our money stretches and exercises our faith. Putting him to the test in any other way is saying, in effect, that God has to justify himself to us while we sit around with our arms folded.

Do you want to do an experiment to see if God can be trusted or not? Here it is. Step out in faith. Give him back the first tenth. See if he disappoints you in return.

For any of you who have never done this, let’s be honest - it’s quite daunting. What if it doesn’t work for me? What if this is just for the Old Covenant and now we are free from the Law? Is this irresponsible given my situation? What if God is calling me to give only in other ways? I have asked the same questions.

So our treasurer John Belmont would like to help us put God to the test. Here’s the deal. He will arrange, for anyone who wants to, a three month tithing trial. You tithe and pray during that time that God will bless you in your life and provide for all your needs financially. If, at the end of that time you can conclude that he has blessed you and provided for you (and I think he will) then you’ll have grown in faith and released resources for the kingdom.

And if for any reason you feel he has not blessed you and allowed you to get into trouble financially then John will refund you. There’ll be no questions asked, no judging, no pressure, no assumption of failure, no guilt… you’ll get your money back and that will be the end of it. His details are on the notice sheet.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.


Preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 7th March 2010

Spiritual Fitness: Fasting (Matthew 6.16-18 and Isaiah 58.1-9)

Introduction

Back in the 80’s I noticed a book in a Christian bookstore on aerobics. Judging by the cover, which featured a very attractive blonde sylph in a leotard, the book was targeting Christian women who wanted to keep in good shape and it was called... wait for it, ‘Slim for Him.’ The book deserved to flop massively on the basis of the cheesy title alone, but in actual fact keeping our bodies fit is (if you’ll forgive the pun) a theme that runs through the New Testament. Here’s the thing: just as my body needs a balanced diet, adequate rest, sufficient sleep and regular exercise, my soul needs to feed healthily, to be renewed and to work out as well. What are the kind of fitness exercises that get you in good shape spiritually? It’s what we’ve been looking at over the next few weeks in this run up to Easter we call Lent.

Today, the theme is fasting so let me share with you one of my favourite limericks on that very subject. It goes like this.

There was a young nun from Siberia
Who, of fasting, grew wearier and wearier.
Till one day with a yell, she burst from her cell,
And devoured the Mother Superior.

The Physical Effects of Fasting

In keeping with the experience of my poor, famished nun, I want to say straight away that fasting, in itself, is not particularly popular because it is not all that enjoyable. When I fast, I am not in the habit of shouting out as I wake up; “Oh praise the Lord, I’m not going to eat anything today. Therefore my stomach will rumble uncomfortably and before lunchtime my breath will smell like a dog’s. Halleluiah!” I’ve never been led to fast more than two days at a time, but I’m reliably told that the first 48 hours are usually the most difficult.

Speaking personally, it’s not all that bad in my experience. When I do fast it’s usually to seek specific guidance, or to pray for a situation that requires a miracle and also at times of spiritual frustration and desert when I need to break through to a fresh experience of God. I don’t find the physical aspect of it especially uncomfortable. It’s different for others. Apart from getting hungry; your body starts to rid itself of toxins which is why you get bad breath and you feel physically weak, even slightly dizzy. On top of that you can get mild headaches - especially if you usually drink a lot of caffeine. I’m told, however, that once you get to day 6 or 7, your mind is alert, your concentration is sharp, you have hardly any hunger pangs, you feel strong spiritually and good physically.

Different Types of Fasting

Some people observe a complete fast by refusing all food and all drink for a certain time – perhaps a day or often much longer. Jesus’ 40 day fast in the desert was of this nature. Others fast by forgoing just one meal. Still others do a partial fast, either by allowing themselves liquids, or by dramatically simplifying their diet to something as basic as a slice of bread and a cup of water. Another kind of fasting would be to forgo watching TV or to abstain from the internet or, for married couples, to pray together instead of having sex; Paul talks about that in 1 Corinthians 7 and he basically says, make sure you both agree about it and don’t let it go on too long. Still others talk about a green fast – where you, for a period of time, go without some conveniences in order to be carbon neutral during that time. There are all sorts of ways you can fast and I want to say that green fasts and TV fasts are valid, but I see fasting primarily as a voluntary abstention, from food and drink, for the express purpose of seeking God and to bring focus and intensity in prayer.

But Why Are We Even Talking About Fasting?

But someone here might ask, “Why are we even talking about fasting? Isn’t this legalistic? Or the stuff of fanatics? What about grace? Isn’t this salvation by works? Doesn’t the Bible warn against this kind of thing?”

And there are indeed some passages which seem to strongly question the value of fasting. Listen to this, for example from Matthew 9.14-17. “Then John’s disciples came and asked Jesus, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?’”

This shows that the people who followed Jesus around evidently never fasted at all. Apart from his 40 day fast, at the beginning of his ministry, there is no evidence that Jesus ever repeated it afterwards. That was unusual in those days. In fact it was unique. So John the Baptist’s followers ask him one day, “How come we have to go hungry twice a week? How come your lot have it easy?” And Jesus replies in effect, “Well it wouldn’t be right would it? Would you go round looking miserable at a wedding? This is a time to celebrate not to mourn.” And then he says this: “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away; then you will fast.”

What is he saying? Some people think he’s talking about the short period of grief between his death and resurrection. Jesus will be taken away and all those who believed in him will be devastated by their affliction. They will mourn and wail - and fasting in that society was a normal expression of funereal sorrow. But when Jesus rises from the dead the fasting will end and it will be back to situation normal.

But I don’t think Jesus was talking about a brief fast after his death and there are two reasons for that. Firstly, every other time the New Testament portrays Jesus as a bridegroom it is in the context of his return in glory. Jesus is talking about his absence from us now in 2010; while he is seated in glory until he comes again, and he is saying that this is a time when fasting is appropriate. The second reason I don’t think Jesus was talking about his death here is that fasting was clearly the normal experience of the Christians in the earliest churches. Acts 13.2-3, for example, says that while the Christians at Antioch “were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

Therefore, for these two reasons, Jesus must have meant that fasting would be a normal experience for those who follow him - until he comes again and we sit down together at the heavenly wedding feast.

All right, but doesn’t the New Testament also warn against being excessively religious? Yes, it does. For example, 1 Timothy 4.1-5 says, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons... 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.” It’s because of Scriptures like that that we need some straight talk about what fasting is not.

What Fasting Is Not

I remember a pastor from Saint-Louis, Missouri called John Lanferman talking once about a fast he decided to do. He was gripped by holy frustration. He wanted to see more commitment, more power, more conversions and more growth. So he decided that God really ought to send a revival in his church. That would sort things out nicely. So he began to pray and nothing much happened. So he said to himself, “We’ve got to get serious about this” so he started fasting.

And one day in a moment of reckless zeal he said to God, “Right Lord, this is it! I’m going to go on a fast and not a crumb will pass my lips until you send an awesome revival.” A few days passed - and do you know what? No matter how hard he looked, there was no sign of revival anywhere to be seen. But no matter, he kept going, fervently praying and fasting for a new move of God to break out. A week passed, and then two weeks. Three. Nothing happened. After about three and a half weeks of serious self-denial and passionate crying out to God, absolutely zilch had changed in his church. Then John Lanferman said, “Lord, I’m starting to get a little hungry now. Are you really gonna let me die?” And in the deafening silence from heaven Lanferman felt God was saying, “Uh huh.” Then he realised the first thing that fasting isn’t; fasting isn’t a hunger strike. You can’t twist God’s arm by fasting. You can’t cajole him into getting what you want by throwing your toys out of the pram and refusing to eat. A starvation protest is not a fast.

The second thing fasting isn’t is a diet in disguise. When you need to shed a few kilos it can be tempting to spiritualise it a bit by stirring a prayer or two in with the Weight Watchers celery soup. That’s not fasting either. A diet is a diet and the object of a diet is weight loss. Fasting is fasting and the goal of fasting is to seek God’s face. In Matthew 6.16 Jesus’ problem with the Pharisees is that they were being two faced. Going down a size, looking great in a bikini again or shedding that beer gut is a legitimate reason to diet, but it is not an adequate motivation for a fast!

Thirdly, fasting is not a shortcut to spiritual greatness either. You cannot grow in maturity or the knowledge of God simply by living in austerity and abstinence. Paul talks about this in Colossians 2.23 when he writes about fussy ascetics who go round making up churchy rules to live by; don’t handle, don’t touch, don’t taste. And he says, “Such regulations have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”

Fasting is not, in itself, spiritually effective at all. It impresses people! Jesus says as much in v16: “When you fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” Here’s what Jesus is saying; if your goal is to show others what you are doing and win their admiration and enjoy their praise, people will possibly think highly of you. But that’s all. And human applause is as worthless as fool’s gold. God does not look down on those who forgo their lunch and say, “Ooh, he’s fasting now, I see. Pretty impressive…!”

That’s the point of the Isaiah reading. Churchy religion and pious devotion, whilst overlooking basic fairness and making money on powerless people, stinks. Isaiah says that God takes no notice of that sort of fasting whatsoever.

“Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

What Fasting Is

That’s what fasting isn’t. Now look at v18. “But when you fast… your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

In other words, Jesus says, “Do it to be seen by God. Not to be noticed by men or women. Do I really have a passion for God himself, or – deep down – do I crave human admiration more? Some people feel good about giving, praying, going to church, reading the Bible and doing acts of kindness if they know people are watching! It indulges our ego if we know that others will see our good works or find out about them and think well of us. But no! Fast to be seen by God, “and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

What’s the reward? Quicker answers to prayer? Not necessarily. So what is the reward Jesus talks about here that is gained through fasting and prayer? Well, think back to those times in your life when you’ve been in love. Think of that special one who made your heart beat faster, and with whom you could spend hours talking about nothing without getting bored. The one you daydream about, the one whose name you doodle on the edge of the page when you’re supposed to be taking notes in class. And imagine this special person lives far away and you have to communicate by letter. And let us say that one day a letter arrives in that familiar envelope with your name written in that unique handwriting. It arrives at lunch time and instead of sitting down to eat with your mates in the canteen, you go and sit alone under a tree to open and read the love letter you just received. The sweet yearning for your loved one, the joy that bubbles up, the love you feel, when you read and reread, and reread that letter – is it any sacrifice to have missed lunch? No. That is your reward. It’s the cherishing of a loved one who is better than any worldly comfort.

That’s what biblical fasting is. It is the savouring and enjoyment of God’s holy presence as being more satisfying, more delightful, and more rewarding than any earthly thing. It is to say, “Lord, you are my portion.” It is an expression of hunger and longing and yearning for God and for God’s glory. Nothing else will do! In the Song of Solomon, it’s when the beloved says to the lover, “Your love is better than wine.” In the psalms it’s when David says “Just one day in your house, even just to hold the door open for others, is better than a thousand anywhere else.”

Lord, the pursuit of your righteousness and the splendour of your presence and the supremacy of your glory are better, much better, than any luxury. As Paul says in Philippians 3.8, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Fasting eloquently adorns that truth. And if we don’t ever feel that way, if we never really hunger and thirst for God, maybe our love for the world is spoiling our appetite.

American pastor John Piper, in his book on fasting, puts it this way: “If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great. God did not create you for this. There is an appetite for God. And it can be awakened. I invite you to turn from the dulling effects of food and the dangers of idolatry and to say with some simple fast: This much, O God, I want you.”

Here’s another thing that fasting is; it is an assault on sin in our lives. In my own experience, when I am seeking God’s face through prayer and fasting, I find that the pull of temptation and the appeal of sin are noticeably weaker. I don’t know if that is a common experience but I suspect that it is. Monks who take vows of celibacy sometimes say that fasting is a powerful weapon against lust. Jesus’ 40 day fast in the desert was a deliberate strategy to emerge victorious from the onslaught of testing he would face from Satan at the end of that time. That’s why the Spirit sent him into the wilderness; he was training for battle. Fasting makes you physically weaker but spiritually more robust.

Ending

So, as I close, let me ask some questions.

Does the world, and all its glitz, deeply satisfy your soul? Do you consider everything rubbish compared to the great prize of gaining Christ? Is the incomparable love of Christ for your soul better than wine? Do you hunger and long and yearn for God more than food? Is one day in God’s courts better by far than a thousand anywhere else?


Preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 28th February 2010

Encounters With God: Peter (Luke 5.1-11)

Introduction

I have a friend called Marc. About ten years ago Marc was Deputy Director of Acquisitions and Mergers at the huge American International bank JP Morgan in London. And it’s while he was in London that he signed up for an Alpha Course at Holy Trinity Brompton. It changed his life.

After a few years Marc left his smart executive job to become the Director of the Alpha Course in France. Now, was that a sign of folly or a proof of faith? His colleagues thought he had lost his mind. To leave behind a brilliant career in high finance to go and build up a Christian ministry in the land of Voltaire, Diderot and Jean-Paul Sartre, where the Catholic Church is in frightening decline – it’s lunacy! It’s bordering on irresponsible. It’s career suicide!

But God blessed that step of faith. Under Marc's leadership, in the first 6 years, the number of Alpha courses in that country went from 30 to 380, in all denominations and in every area of the country.

Humanly speaking, to achieve such a rate of growth, under God, Marc had to work really hard and make himself sacrificially available, taking no salary or even expenses, travelling the length and breadth of the land. That’s not easy or painless when you have a young family with three young children and a mortgage to pay.

How did that come about? Marc, like many people before him, heard the voice of the Lord say to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up to follow Jesus without looking around him or behind him. Jesus calls you too to be audacious, to stand up, to push the boundaries, and meet the challenge of making Christ known to our generation.

I want to share with you tonight a few thoughts from Luke 5.1-11…

What would happen if Jesus fed the 5,000 in Preston Park? Probably someone from Stockton Borough Council's Parks and Public Spaces Department would fine him for preparing food on unauthorised premises and distributing it to the general public without a licence! What would happen if Jesus performed this miraculous catch of fish in the Tees estuary? Probably some official from the Department of Farming and Fisheries would arrive from nowhere and arrest him for exceeding EU fishing quotas!

But there is much more going on in this passage than the miraculous catch of fish. We were looking at this on the Growing Leaders Course on Thursday. The best leaders nurture and develop other leaders. It’s here that Jesus chooses and calls the first of his 12 disciples. More than that, it’s here that he meets his inner circle of three; Simon Peter, James and John. And I think it‘s here that he decides who he’s going to invest the most time with of all the twelve; Simon Peter.

Here’s a question for you: do you think Jesus chose his disciples carelessly..? Was Jesus hasty or impulsive when he chose these men..? I don’t think so. I think he was intentional about what he did and he only took those who corresponded perfectly with the criteria he had in mind. He didn’t just round up three blokes in the street who looked like they needed a bit of physical exercise. Nor did he hire the three top students from Capernaum Bible College.

Jesus doesn’t ask for volunteers and just hope for the best. He is a head-hunter.

And here he takes on three guys (and one in particular) who meet his standards. None of these three has any pastoral experience at all. They are untrained, unqualified and inexperienced. In short, they are total novices. But Peter (especially) has five qualities that set him apart from the rest – and each characteristic comes from an encounter with Christ.

What then are the key qualities that God is looking for in those he will decide to invest in? I’ll say that again; listen carefully, please. What are the key qualities that God is looking for in those he will decide to invest in? And do you have those qualities? Jesus is recruiting. He is building his Church. He is training a team. And now, as then, he is watching for people that possess the qualities he wants – those he found in abundance in Simon Peter.

1) Be Wired for Action

First of all, Jesus was looking for three blokes who were wired for action rather than passivity. Consider the situation carefully. Jesus is speaking to a gathered crown on a shore by the lake. He is interesting, funny, he is profound and he speaks like no one else ever spoke before. He is speaking with authority. The more he speaks, the more people there are pressing in to listen. The little crowd becomes a big crowd and then, because Jesus is by the lakeside and people are pushing him closer and closer to the edge Jesus ends up in the water with waves lapping around his ankles, then his calves, then his knees…

So Jesus gets into a boat and says to Simon Peter (v3) “Could you just push me out a bit away from the shore?” Why did he do that? It was probably much easier for him to push it out himself and jump in because Simon was occupied washing his nets on the shore; getting all the seaweed off and scrubbing them clean. He was obviously busy just then. He was working. I would have left him alone, but not Jesus! Jesus didn’t hesitate to disturb him because he wanted to see if Simon was active or passive. Was he inclined to action or to idleness? Seeing the problem, Simon puts his net down, jumps to his feet and sorts the problem out.

He could have said, “Listen, can’t you see I’m busy?” He could have said, “Your crowd control thing is not my problem!” He could have said, “Why don’t you just cut your sermon short, then they’ll go away.” No. Simon is a man of action, of initiative. He’s a practical guy. He sees a problem and sets about sorting it out.

I honestly think that if Simon had just carried on scrubbing seaweed off his nets that day and said to Jesus, “I’m busy, find someone else!” we’d never have heard about him again.

Are you wired for action? Do you get up on your feet and say “Let me help, what can I do to get this job done?” Or are you content to be a spectator?

2) Be Inclined to Simple Obedience

The second quality Jesus is looking for comes in v4-5.

“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’

Simple obedience. After Jesus has finished speaking to the crowds of people he asks Simon and his companions to jump into the boat, row out into slightly deeper water and then put down their nets that they had just finished washing.

In v5 it specifically says that they had just spent a completely unproductive night on the lake. “Simon answered, ‘Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything…”

As experienced fishermen they knew that the best time to fish was at night time because it was quieter then and the fish were unable to see the nets in the dark. They knew that. And now this young preacher, who probably knew nothing about the fishing industry, has the audacity to suggest that they put the nets down again in broad daylight. They’d been up all night; they would have been tired, irritable and discouraged. I would have said, “Why don’t you just stick to your job, and I’ll stick to mine?” I would have found Jesus’ suggestion annoying, frankly.

But look what happens. “But because YOU say so, oh alright, I will let down the nets,” says Simon in v5. That is an amazing reply. Because I am sure that Simon doesn’t want to do it. What do you imagine is going on in his mind as he rows out into deeper water? “Why did I agree to do this? Who does this preacher take me for? I should be going home to bed not going out fishing again. People are watching me, hoping I will make an ass of myself again and I am not going to disappoint them. This is insane. What am I doing? What was I thinking?”

Now here’s the thing: there are many, many people who are inclined for action. They may be very spontaneous, really gifted; they may be high energy people who get things done. But as soon as it comes to following instructions they are impossible.

Jesus knew what he was doing and he kept mavericks and free spirits out of his inner circle. He is looking for people who are obedient, who follow orders, who are teachable and accept his authority. Not people with their own hidden agendas who just do their own thing. And Peter passes the test here. “Because you say so, I will let do it,” Listen! You will never reach your full potential in God if you cannot follow a leader. Everyone here needs to learn to say, “This doesn’t look right to me, but as it’s you who says so, OK I’ll do it.”

3) Have a Right Evaluation of Yourself

The third quality that Jesus looked for - and found - in Simon Peter is a right, a true, evaluation of self. Verse 6: “When they had done (let down the nets), they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.”

Assuming there would still be a number of people milling about on the shore (and given the fact that the crowd was very large, I’m sure there must have been some who were still there) it would have been easy for Simon Peter to milk the situation a bit. “Look at this everybody! Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at a record catch from the most prolific fishermen Galilee has ever seen!”

But Simon does not talk like that because he has a right evaluation of himself. He gives the glory where the glory is due. In v8 he throws himself at Jesus’ feet and says, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Verse 9 says they were astonished. In other versions it says they were “awestruck,” or “overwhelmed.” Or the “amazement seized them.” This is the encounter with God that changes Simon’s life.

It is significant that it’s only at this point in the story, the moment of encounter with Christ’s power that he’s called Simon Peter and not just Simon.

Simon means “reed.” It’s like his mum and dad called him “Weedy.” But Jesus renamed him Peter which means “rock.” In the entire New Testament not one of the fishermen Jesus chose is ever recorded as having caught a single fish without Jesus doing some kind of miracle. Have you ever noticed that? I think it’s fair to say that Peter didn’t really know what he was doing. But Jesus took a loser named “Weedy” and he turned him into a leader called “Rocky” because he saw that he was inclined to action, ready to obey, and he had a right evaluation of himself; a sinner needing a Saviour and only by anything at all - by grace.

But there’s a fourth quality too.

4) See God's Greater Purpose

And here it is: Jesus saw that Peter was able to see something bigger, something greater. He saw God's greater purpose. Yes, it is fantastic to catch fish, and it’s even better if the catch is big. There were so many fish that (v7 says) not one but two boats were in danger of sinking. For these men, this catch was not just a trophy to boast about to their mates – it was the mother of all pay days!

What was Jesus really saying when he talked about fishing for people in v10? There’s Peter, James and John with two boats overflowing with slippery, shiny, wriggling fish flapping about madly.

I think Jesus is saying here, “Look Peter! There’s more than this if you really want it. There are bigger fish to fry than these. I’m thinking about people Peter! Do you want to spend your life catching these slimy little sardines? Or do you see, by faith, hundreds of human destinies, transformed by God? Peter! If you think this is good, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Look up from what you see around you and catch the vision of bigger things. Some of you know what I’m talking about now. Do you want to be involved in something grand scale for God or are you content to see small and stay in your comfort zone? Do you hear what I’m saying?

Peter saw further. As soon as he caught the higher vision of a great harvest of human lives changed forever by the power of Christ, fish held no more interest for him. Verse 10; “‘Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’”

Is the harvest of thousands of souls in our land a passion Jesus sees in you? You’ll know if it is – because if it is you’ll say an unreserved “Yes” to the final test in v11.

5) Leave Everything Behind

Here it is: Peter was ready and willing to leave it all behind. Verse 11 is one of the most radical, extreme and revolutionary in all the New Testament.

“So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”

They left their boats, their nets, their fish (or did they tip them all back into the sea? It doesn’t say). But they impulsively abandoned everything and followed Jesus straight away. Whoa! That’s… excessive. It’s outrageous. They left everything.

They left their work, their livelihood, their homes, and their security. Of course if every Christian was called to leave their employment there’d be no Christians left in the world, but for these three (and for my friend Marc who I mentioned earlier) that’s what it cost.

Is there anything that’s stopping you following Jesus where he’s leading you? If so, you’ve got to leave it behind.

Ending

I think the Lord is saying to some of us here tonight, “Are you ready to let go? When are you going to give me the best?” For some the problem might be a sedentary inclination. Jesus is looking for men and women who are inclined to action, who say without hesitation, “Since it’s you who is asking Lord, OK, I’ll do it.”

Some here might be seeing less blessing in their lives than they should because they have not yet fully learned to give God all the glory. Jesus is looking for men and women who see themselves as sinners, who humble themselves, and who understand that they are chosen and loved by grace alone.

Some here might find themselves stuck in a rut because their vision is too small. Jesus is looking for men and women who dare to cast their vision wider, who are not content with going through the motions, because they know by faith that there’s a harvest that God is preparing.

Finally, some here know that the time has come to leave it all behind: Doubts, hesitations, excuses, compromise – whatever the obstacle is that stops you from following Jesus wholeheartedly and completely. Leave it all behind tonight. Follow Jesus.


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 7th February 2010

Following Jesus: The Highs (Luke 9.28-36)

Introduction

An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman are sitting in a bar watching the evening news when a report comes on about a man threatening to jump from the 20th floor of a building. The Englishman turns round and says, “I'll bet you £50 he doesn't jump.” The Scotsman feels his wallet and says, “Och, no I don’t think so.” The Irishman says, “£50 is a lot of Guinness - you’re on.” A few minutes later, the man on the ledge jumps, so the Irishman hands the Englishman £50. The Englishman looks a bit embarrassed and says, “Actually, I can't take this money, I’ll be quite honest with you. I actually saw him do it earlier on the mid-day news.” “Me, too,” said the Irishman. “But I never thought he'd be mad enough to do it again!”

Or alternatively, an Israelite, an Israelite and an Israelite (Peter, James and John) go up a great height with Jesus. Not a 20 storey building but what Mark 9.2 describes as a “high mountain.”

Jesus quite deliberately took these particular men along, and he singled them out on at least two other occasions. Jesus chose 12, but he mentored 3 and invested more in them than in the others. Only these three were allowed into the room with Jesus when Jairus’ daughter was incredibly raised from the dead. Only these three were taken to the heart of the garden of Gethsemane, at the culmination of Christ’s passion, the night before he died. And only these three were present with Him here to witness this glorious and breathtaking event we call the transfiguration.

If you think you’re not all you could be as a follower of Jesus take heart from these men. Because on two out of these three special and unique occasions, that they were given such a rare privilege of sharing, they fell asleep! Can you believe that? So if you should doze off during this sermon I shall assume that you are having a momentous encounter with the Lord and that these are but the first signs of revival! But doesn’t it encourage you that Jesus chose three lethargic slackers to be his inner circle? The Lord only chooses the unworthy, the unfit and the unlikely - otherwise none of us would be here, your preacher included.

But even if Peter did fall asleep with his mates, what happened when he woke up was so remarkable that it never left him. Consider this: of all the extraordinary things that happened during the three and a half years he walked around with Jesus, (walking on water, feeding the 5,000, the raising of Lazarus, water into wine and many more) this event, the transfiguration, is the only one Peter specifically recalled in his letters 30 or 40 years later. If you’ll excuse the pun, for Peter, this was the high light of Jesus’ ministry.

This is how he described what he remembered: “We saw it with our own eyes: Jesus resplendent with light from God the Father as the voice of Majestic Glory spoke: ‘This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of all my delight.’ We were there on the holy mountain with him. We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.” We saw it. We were there. We heard it.

Mountain-Top Experiences

In our evening services recently we’ve been thinking about encounters with God. Some of us would be able to talk about unique moments of grace and spiritual revelation that have left their mark on us. There have been times in my life when God has been so close it has almost been too much. Remarkable and sudden healing miracles that have left me marvelling. Or prophecies from sources who couldn’t possibly have known the significance of what they were saying, so accurate that my heart started racing and my palms began to sweat. Or times of joy and delight in praise and worship, where my whole being has been flooded with a sense of exhilaration. The day I was converted, tears welled up in my eyes and I sobbed uncontrollably for hours. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow for the wasted years, tears of relief.

Perhaps you too have had one of these top-of-the-world experiences; when you received healing from God, or when a child you have prayed hard for was born to you, when you were converted; maybe you went to New Wine or somewhere special like that. Many people have encounters with the Lord during an Alpha course or in prayer ministry. You may have had a fantastic spiritual experience here at All Saints’. Some of you have, I know. Maybe as you just sat quietly in prayer with the Lord, or perhaps you can point to a single event in your life when God brought you to the mountaintop and you felt he was so close that you could just reach out and touch him. I want to say three things about experiences like these.

1) Spiritual Highs Are Good

The first thing is this: spiritual highs are good and valuable. You can see how stirred Peter was by the experience he had on this mountaintop in v33. “Master, it is good for us to be here!” He’s saying, “Wow! This is brilliant. This is what it is all about!”

It must have been spectacular to behold. Jesus’ whole appearance changes before their eyes. He looks as if he is ablaze; his clothes are like lightning. He is gloriously and dazzlingly transfigured before them. They catch a vision of his supremacy and incomparable greatness. Then Moses and Elijah, two “signs and wonders” prophets, appear. They all enter a cloud of the glory of God. There is an audible voice from heaven. And then it all comes to an end and they find Jesus alone, his appearance just as it had been before. Whoa…!

But some people are very wary of anything experiential. They say, “Let’s not get carried away with all these feelings and emotions; it’s your mind that matters. All we need is the word of God,” they say. Are they right? Our minds do matter but, looking through the Bible, it seems to me that sometimes God just wants to blow our minds. If you and I were to do an exercise where we took all the mind-blowing bits out of the Bible, we’d be left with little more than the cover, the index and the maps at the back.

Don’t spend all your life going after unusual experiences with God. You will be disappointed. Don’t live for the sensational. You’ll just become a spiritual junkie. Don’t think God doesn’t love you if you haven’t had an encounter with the Lord for a long time. He definitely does love you (and if you need any proof that he does, look at the cross). But I want to say don’t despise or close your heart to encountering God’s awesome presence and power.

2) Spiritual Highs Never Last

Here’s the second thing, and I say it to those of you who might be up on cloud nine with the Lord at the moment. Perhaps you’re a new Christian or you’re in the middle of enjoying the highest and most spiritual of all spiritual highs. Well, thus saith the Lord, “it’s not gonna last forever.”

Visions of God’s glory are wonderful. Spiritual highs are great. Who wouldn’t want to hold on to the elation at all costs? You would want this amazing transfiguration to go on wouldn’t you? Peter did (v33). “Let us put up three shelters” he says, “one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

He’s saying, “How do you fancy a nice cabin on the mountain and a room with a view Lord?” It’s saying that Peter didn’t want to come back down to earth. He didn’t want this breathtaking event to end. He wanted to stay up there in his winter chalet and soak it all in week after week. Stay up there in his mountain retreat with his famous neighbours, Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

But the reality, my dear friends, is that no one builds a house on a mountain top. Life just isn’t lived out up high on the peaks. It’s lived in the valleys below. When Peter, James and John come down with Jesus from the mountain in v37, they find people in pain and in need. They come back down with a bump to the painful reality of everyday life.

It’s MMS: Monday Morning Syndrome. Just like before, people are possessed by demons (v39). Just like before, the disciples are out of their depths about what to do about it (v40). Just like before, not one among the twelve has the faintest idea about what Jesus is saying (v45). What a let-down! But what would have happened if Peter, James and John had stayed up in their cabins with Jesus, Elijah and Moses? The boy would still have been possessed. His family would have still been beside themselves with anguish about him. And (v43) nobody would have been amazed by the greatness of God.

Spiritual highs don’t last – they can’t last and we have to move on when life moves on.

3) Spiritual Highs Prepare Us for Spiritual Lows

Which leads me to the third thing I want to say this morning: spiritual highs prepare you and train you for spiritual lows. The mountaintop experiences God gives you are all about equipping you for life in the pits.

In our Growing Leaders course last week we were thinking about the vision of Martin Luther King. On 3rd April 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, King preached one of his most famous sermons. In that powerful and history-making address, King said that he feared nothing. “We’ve got some difficult days ahead,” he said. “But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop... And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you... But I’m happy tonight; I’m not worried about anything; I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

The very next morning, Martin Luther King was shot dead. But on the night he said, “I see the Promised Land” King was ready to face his destiny. He was ready to stare darkness in the face with no fear at all. Why? Because he had been to the mountaintop with the Lord. He was ready for the worst because he had been to the mountaintop with the Lord. Mountain top experiences give us the grace we need to be ready to walk into the darkest of valleys. They equip us to face the future in certain hope and assurance that God is there with us, whatever happens.

Amongst my lowest lows I can recall how I once agonized with self-doubt for months when a girlfriend I once loved walked away from our relationship and never spoke to me again. I’ve cried bitter tears over four miscarriages, saying goodbye to the children we never knew and never had a chance to name. There is still an echo of that pain we felt when I talk about it now, over fifteen years later. I’ve teetered on the edge of a nervous breakdown for a year when I was betrayed by a trusted colleague…

Isaiah 45.15 says, “Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Saviour of Israel.” He does. Sometimes the Lord inexplicably withdraws, just like Jesus’ fading behind the cloud of glory, (v36) which suddenly appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration. Then, a bit later, they look round and Elijah and Moses have disappeared. Jesus is there on his own, looking just as he did before. It’s all over. Do you know what it is like when you just can’t get through to the Lord like you once could?

Those three things (the miscarriages, getting spectacularly dumped by a young woman I loved and being betrayed by a trusted colleague) are as low as my life has ever been. Where was God? At the time it felt like he was hiding, just like Isaiah said. How did I cope in those shadowy valleys, seemingly on my own? I got through because I had been to the mountaintop with God before. His grace, so evident in the times of blessing and fruitfulness, was (and is) sufficient to get me (and you) through the very worst that life can when it all goes wrong.

When you are in the foothills of joblessness, or in the plain of loneliness, or in the lowlands of illness, or in the vale of depression, look back at the mountaintop and hang on to the revelation of God’s love for you, of his faithfulness towards you, of his never-ending favour upon you. Cherish your recollections of God’s nearness.

4) Let’s Go!

So Peter’s longing to stay on the mountain is understandable enough but it is foolish and ill advised. If Jesus had stayed up there, he would never have gone to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise again.

One last point: Have you ever noticed that Jesus was always saying “Let’s go!”? In Mark 1:38 he says, “Let us go somewhere else-to the nearby villages so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Let’s go. In John 11:15, when he heard news that his friend Lazarus had died, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go to him.” In the same chapter, knowing that the authorities in Judea had attempted to stone him, Jesus said to his disciples’ absolute dismay: “Let us go back to Judea” (John 11:7-8). Let’s go. Even when he knew he was to be handed over to death, in Mark 14:42, he said, “Let us go,” as he rose to meet Judas his betrayer. Let’s go. The only time Jesus did not say, “Let us go,” as a collective exhortation to the twelve, he said, “Let us leave.” (John 14:31) which amounts to the same thing.

But Peter here has a different agenda. Matthew, Mark and Luke all state that Peter said, “Let’s stay! Let us put up three shelters. Let’s stay in this comfort zone. I like it here, Lord.”

Christians do the same thing. Sometimes they dress it up in spiritual language and say, “Let’s consolidate,” (a word you won’t find in your Bibles incidentally. I’ve checked). “Let’s consolidate,” we say, meaning “Let’s play safe.” If someone asks me, “Why do you go to church on a Sunday?” or “why do you go to Christian conferences?” I might reply: “It feeds my spirit, I need to be refreshed. It is time out to build up my faith and recharge my batteries.” That’s O.K. In fact it’s very important. But look! After one day Jesus is already on his way down the mountain again. Let’s go.

Ending

So I want to challenge you this morning with the message of this reading. Do you ever feel that you are effectively in retirement mode? Treading water? Going through the motions?

Well, God is on the move. So if you stay still, he’s already gone. You put up a shelter to try and capture the magic of the moment and you’ll find that Jesus has already headed down the mountain to get on with releasing people from the powers of darkness. “Come on,” says Jesus, “let’s go! Are you coming with me or are you going to stick around up here on your own?”

What is God calling you to? These are only suggestions. It might be something else entirely. The only thing that matters is this: Jesus is heading down to where the needs are and where the action is. That’s where I want to be. I hope that’s where you want to be too.


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 31st January 2010

Following Jesus: The Lows (Luke 7.18-35)

Introduction

I went into a car wash about two weeks ago opting for the most expensive programme including a jet clean under the car body to clear off all the road salt after the snow. Bad mistake! Immediately, on leaving the garage, the car started underperforming. Something must have got into the electrics. Dashboard lights started flickering intermittently. I experienced the occasional loss of power. Finally, a week later, last Saturday, our car slowed to a halt and I had to be towed back home from Darlington. If only I could turn the clock back, drive past that car wash and hose it down myself! I would have saved £5 on the car wash and significantly more for the breakdown service and car repair.

But worse things happen in life than this. Don’t they? Have you ever made a career change only to say after day one, “Oh dear! This is not at all what I expected.” You find yourself unhappier than in your last job and wish you’d never changed. People get married only to say later, “No one said anything to me about fights for the duvet cover or the angst over whether the toothpaste should be squeezed from the end of the tube or from the middle.” (By the way, it should really be squeezed from the end). Men agree to have children only to say later, “I had heard about crying babies at night and having to change nappies when I am trying to watch football – but no one warned me it would be every match!” Or has anyone chosen to buy a house in a certain area only to discover their new neighbour’s energetic passion for late night parties? “Oh dear, I wasn’t expecting this.”

If you have made a serious commitment to follow Christ, the likelihood is that you will experience times when you will say, “Lord, this has not turned out like I thought it would. When I first came to faith, there was a surge of joy and my life seemed full of meaning. You answered my prayers so amazingly and everything made so much sense. But now, nothing seems to be like it was. I’m not so sure any more.” You might be saying that to yourself today. “Where has my first love gone?”

A Promising Start

It is normal to experience highs and lows in following Christ. Next week we’ll look at the good times but today I want us to think about those seasons when faith is not going well. And to do that we’re going to consider John the Baptist. As a young man he should have had a long and successful life before him. Even before he was born, his father was told, “he is going to be a great speaker and will lead many people back to the Lord.” After his miraculous birth, his mother was past childbearing age, he was tipped to be a star. People would look at him and say, “One day that boy is going to be somebody.

But… it just didn’t seem to turn out according to the script. He ended up living on his own in a solitary place. He dressed in a rough camel hair coat. He ate grasshoppers for lunch (probably fried but possibly raw). He was in his twenties now, a forgotten man, and when people saw him, they would whisper, “There’s that strange man. Whatever happened to him?” Probably that is what John was wondering. “Lord, whatever happened to me?”

But then one day, in about the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, the Bible tells us that the word of God came to John in the desert. God had heard John’s prayers over the months and years, but the time had not been right. Listen! He has heard your prayers too. He has seen your tears. He has felt the beat of your hoping heart all the way through this season of waiting.

When God gives us a promise, it may take years before we see it fulfilled. Someone had a prophecy for me about six years ago, most of which was for then - but one detail in particular was not. That detail has only just begun to be fulfilled in the last year or so. When God gives us a promise the time before its fulfilment is to prepare in faith, so that when it does come to pass, we’re ready, we’re prepared, we know it’s from God and we can step out confidently in faith.

So John had been away in the wilderness, waiting, waiting, waiting for his moment to come. When the time was right, he came out of the desert as a controversial, provocative figure. People came from all over the country just to catch a glimpse of him and hear him speak. His message was confrontational and direct: “You must put your life into reverse gear now. The fire of hell is just around the next bend, and if you don’t do a u-turn in your life, you are going to crash into it. Repent! God is about to judge. The chainsaw is already on the tree.”

People came from all around to hear this. Hundreds would fall on their knees in repentance before God. The size of the crowds kept getting bigger and bigger. He baptized so many people; they started calling him John the Baptiser. Nothing like this had happened for years. Some were thinking he might be the Messiah. But he said, “No, I’m not. There will be one after me more powerful than I am. I am not even fit to shine his shoes. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

The Turning Point

Then the day came which was the turning point of John’s life. John saw Jesus, and said, “That’s him! There he is! I told you one would come after me. He’s the one. I saw the Spirit come down from heaven and remain on Him. He’s the Christ, that’s the Messiah.” And the Bible says this: Some of John’s followers then began to join Jesus’ group.

With Jesus’ ministry taking off, John’s audience started to dwindle. One of John’s disciples got upset about this and he said so. “Teacher, everybody has started going to Jesus to be baptized. What are we going to do about this? This is not quite what we expected would happen.” And John said this; “Look, I only came to clear the obstacles off his running track. He must become more prominent, and I must fade out.”

John took it well, but I wonder if inside something inside him died that day. Following Jesus means counting all things as loss. It might mean the end of certain dreams. He must increase, I must decrease.

Downhill From Here

Not long afterwards, John preached a topical sermon about marriage, and he used the private life of King Herod as an illustration for one of his points. Herod was married, as it happened, but there was a scandal going round the palace and beyond. The king was having an affair with his brother’s wife, Herodias.

He forced his own wife out of his flashy palace, so he could shack up with his sister-in-law. Quite apart from ditching his first wife and breaking up his brother's marriage, sleeping with your brother’s wife was forbidden under their law as incest. But Herod had money and power and influence. So while the spiritual establishment disapproved, they said nothing, because they wanted to keep their privileged status.

But John? He feared no one. He knew the risks but he had counted all things as loss. He didn’t care about position and reputation. He publicly called sin “sin.” And once word got around that John had publicly denounced Herod’s marriage-of-convenience, the new bride was outraged and she determined to get even with him.

“Fundamentalist Preacher Slams Royal Wedding.” Things were coming to a head, so Herod had John arrested and put in prison.

After being there for a few months, how do you think John must have been thinking? The large crowds he had preached to were just a memory now. “This is not quite what I expected either.” We’ve all been through times like this. It’s not fair! It’s so unjust! It’s hard to believe God is really in control or really cares. You may want to cry out, “How long, o Lord, will you forget me.”

John must have been riddled with self-doubt. He was starting to get reports, through his last loyal followers, about Jesus. “I’m sure he’s the one God pointed out. Well, at least I was sure. Maybe I’ve been mistaken all along. I don’t know what I believe anymore.” So he got a couple of his friends together and said, “Go to Jesus and ask him, if he is the one or should we expect someone else?” So they did. Which is where our reading picks up the story in Luke 7.19.

Everybody here will have times when faith wobbles. Let’s not go into denial about this. Everyone says to themselves from time to time, “Well, how can that be right, Lord?” It comes at moments of illness or tragedy when God does not appear to us to be loving. It comes at moments of trial or temptation when God does not appear to us to be real. It comes at times of failure or unfulfilled dreams when God does not appear to us to be in control. These are the low ebbs of following Jesus.

Send Your Doubts to Jesus

I want you to notice this: John had two choices here. First, he could have kept it all inside and allowed it to eat away at his soul. “How come Jesus is enjoying blessing on his ministry while I’m stuck here literally at his majesty’s pleasure?" That’s the first option, but John rejected it. The second option was to send his doubts to Jesus – and that’s what he did. That’s what we’ve got to do; send our doubts to Jesus, saying “Why, Lord? What about this? How can this be right? Open my eyes to see your plan in this.”

So in v20 they arrive and ask John’s question on his behalf. “Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus knew that John could have used a bit of encouragement right then. Look how he responds. In reply, Jesus basically says in v22-23, “Look hard at the plus column and not just the minus. Look! There are changed lives. There is healing. There is something to shout about - at last - for the poor.” And then a personal note of encouragement for John; “And blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

God knows all about our times of self-doubt, nights of confusion, the sense of loneliness, being a single voice calling out in the wilderness. He understands our displeasure at having locusts for tea again, the frustration at the unfairness of it all… “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

It’s not because you’ve got it all together, or have perfectly behaved children, or enjoy wonderful health, or live a carefree and prosperous life that people will see Christ clearly in your life. God’s grace works best in and through all life’s unexpected twists and turns, and all our bad surprises.

The Bottom Line

Jesus could have done a great miracle to get John out of prison, but he didn’t. Why not? It doesn’t make sense. Here is a man who spoke for God, had the anointing of the Spirit, was arrested for telling the truth, and ended up losing his life because some sulky teenager did a sexy dance for her drunken step-father. Who would expect that for a man or woman devoted to God? Where was God when this happened? I don’t know.

But John’s role was to prepare the entire world for the coming of Jesus Christ. He did his work and he did it well. Jesus says in v28 “I tell you, among those born of women there is no-one greater that John the Baptist…” He had no idea that the ministry he would have would be a short one and that it would keep him from reaching his 35th birthday. By the time John was executed, much of the public acclaim he had enjoyed was already forgotten as Jesus’ ministry took off.

But I believe, if you could meet John and ask him if it was worth it, John would say, “Worth it? To know him? To be his cousin? To point others to him? To make his road level? To watch his fame increase? I would not have missed all that for the world. I always said I was not even fit to shine his shoes.” And here’s the bottom line: It doesn’t matter what the Christian life costs – because it’s so worth it!

The Cross

Finally, this. “I tell you,” says Jesus in v28, “among those born of women there is no-one greater that John… yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Why did Jesus say that? We can see why John was the greatest man ever born up to that time. He prepared the way for the Lord. He spoke the word of God with no fear. He baptized hundreds and turned many hearts to the Lord. But why was John the least in the kingdom of God?

He never saw the cross. He never heard those words, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they’re doing.” He never got to marvel at Jesus cleansing a dying thief of his guilt; “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” He never saw Jesus lifted up in his suffering, taking the sin of the whole world on himself. He never heard those words of decisive triumph over sin, over sickness, over evil, over death; “It is finished!” But we have.

It says in v33 that John came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine. But we do. We get to gather round the Lord’s Table and feast on the grace of God in Jesus. We get to marvel once again as we break bread and pour wine.

Whether we are in work or out of a job, foreign or at home, tired or fresh, optimistic or depressed, hungry or filled, at peace or distressed - we belong to one another, we are members of one another. We, who are many, are one body, because we all share in one bread. Meeting together at the same table, we express belonging, not just to Christ, but to one another as well. It is a communion table.

Ending

So whether the sun's shining down on you and the world's all as it should be, or whether you’re on the road marked with suffering, and there's pain in the offering, let’s come and say together, “Lord, we love you.”


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 24th January 2010