Worship: Only the Best (Malachi 1.6-14 and John 12.1-8)

Introduction

There’s a bumper sticker you can buy in the USA which says “Honk if you love Jesus! Text while driving if you want to meet him!”

Honk if you love Jesus. Do you love Jesus? So how do you show it? We know loving Jesus is a really important; worship is the first line of our mission statement – this church exists to worship God.

And we know worship is more than just singing.

One of the greatest Archbishops of Canterbury of the 20th Century, William Temple, said this: “Worship is the quickening of conscience by God’s holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of the imagination by His beauty, opening of the heart to His love, and submission of will to His purpose. It is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable.”

Malachi’s Challenge

That’s all well and good. But in the real world, does our love for God stay constant? No. If we’re honest, the tide of our affections for God rises and recedes. Spiritual commitment in our busy lives has seasons of growth (when we love God a lot) and seasons of decline (when we love him less).

What does decline in worship look like in the 21st Century church? The American humorist and columnist Erma Bombeck put it this way, “We sing ‘Make a joyful noise to the Lord’ while our faces reflect the sadness of one who has just buried a rich aunt who left everything to her hamster!”

There was a time in Israel’s history, About 400 years before Christ, when all the warning lights of spiritual health and vitality were starting to flash. Everything seemed to be in decline at the same time. Standards in leadership were dropping. Faithfulness in marriage was waning. Financial generosity was falling. Morals were decaying. Spiritual commitment was weakening. Quality in worship was in freefall.

There’s a reason why it was all going wrong at the same time. It’s all connected. When my worship is tired and joyless and detached it’s a sure sign that there other things in my life that aren’t right with God.

If you were to grade the state of your heart, the quality of your worship this morning where would you put yourself on this scale? What mark would you give yourself out of 10?

When Israel was slumping about the 2-3 mark God raised up a straight-talking preacher called Malachi to challenge mediocrity and question the standards that people had accepted in worship.

Many years before Malachi’s time, in the Law of Moses, God had told his people that whenever it was time to worship, they should walk among their herds of livestock and select the very best specimen they could find and bring it to the temple to present as an offering to God.

It had to be one year old; that is to say in its prime. They had to find the choicest lamb, the one that would attract the most interest and command the highest price at market. It had to be the best they had. That’s the benchmark. And for many years, God’s chosen people did that. They presented prized, unblemished lambs as their worship offering.

By the way, we don’t ever need to do that now because Jesus, a man in his prime, God’s very best and with no sin offered his perfect life for us. That old way of worship has been abolished by Jesus forever.

But listen to what God had to say at that time through the prophet Malachi:

When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your boss! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty…

Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets.

You see what’s going on here? Instead of selecting the very best lamb from their herds, they would look high and low for the worst bit of mutton they could find in the whole field.

A blind one, a lame one or diseased one that was all scrawny and thin. And they’d bend down, pick it up and walk up to the temple, place it on the altar and say “This is for God! I hope he likes it.”

And so God raised up Malachi to tell them, “No! God… doesn’t… like it. It offends him. It upsets him. In fact, it would be better if you didn’t offer God anything at all than just give him the worst you’ve got and whenever it’s convenient for you.”

What do you think about that? Are you thinking, “Well, hang on a minute. Surely a little is better than nothing! OK, it wasn’t great but at least they gave something!

But, to God, nothing is better than just anything. Jesus said the same thing in Revelation 3.15-16. “How I wish that you were either hot or cold. But you are neither. You are tepid!” We like a cold salad or a hot roast dinner but no one enjoys lukewarm soup do they?

I don’t believe we ever really consciously say, “Oh, I’ve thought this through and I’ve decided I’ll just give God the scraps; it’s only God, he won’t mind.” No.

The problem is we drift, we drift, towards giving God leftovers –

• leftover time - I’m really busy this week
• leftover money - It’s really tight this month
• leftover gifts
• leftover love
• leftover energy

And every now and again God speaks to us about all this and we wake up and notice how far we’ve let ourselves drift and we refocus our priorities. So how far the right on that scale is worshiping God in your life at the moment?

God’s Excellence

Have you ever wondered to yourself why God sets such high standards of excellence in worship?

Is God a critical father, a perfectionist, who feels that whatever his children do is not up to the grade? No. He just doesn’t like worship that has no heart, no passion.

Is God somehow needy and insecure, calling for affirmation in praise worship to make him feel better about himself? No. God doesn’t need us to supply anything lacking in him.

He delights forever in the wonder of:

• his infinite perfections
• his unparalleled glory
• his unprecedented greatness

No. The reason God calls for nothing but the best in worship is because he himself never gives anything but the very best.

Everything God is, does and gives is absolutely top of the range.

For example, how many marks out of 10 would you give God for the job he did in creation? From the complexity of subatomic physics to the incredible variety and beauty of the earth’s flora and fauna, to the delightful symmetry of the sombrero galaxy it is all stunningly good.

What about the story of the Old Testament? How well did God do there?

• His magnificent deliverance from Egypt
• His extraordinary provision in the desert
• His outstanding patience during centuries of unfaithfulness from Israel
• His excellent protection from numerous enemies...

Then on into the New Testament, where God gave his very, very best; his only Son... Think about:

• his wonderful nativity
• his unprecedented wisdom
• his astonishing healings
• his flawless innocence
• his precious death (even in the throes of agony he opened the gates of heaven to one last scoundrel)
• and then his textbook resurrection.

I mean, Jesus didn’t just defeat death and triumph over the grave. As if that wasn’t enough, Jesus did it with class… He even

• folded up the grave clothes and left the tomb nice and tidy
• rolled away a two ton stone without anybody noticing
• did an impression of the gardener that would have fooled his mum

Everything God has ever done for you, and especially in Christ, has only ever been of the highest quality and of the utmost excellence. Nothing but the best.

Think about all this and find the answer to this question: “So, what kind of lamb am I going to present to God, this God who has only ever given the very best for me?”

Ending

Maybe our reading from John 12 will help you answer that question. I just love v3.

Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

What do you know about nard? It comes from a very rare plant that grows in the foothills of the Himalayas. In Jesus’ day, nard had to be transported from northern India, via Persia to Roman occupied Judea. Nard was rare, exotic, luxurious and expensive.

Has anyone here ever smelt the fragrance of pure nard?

I met a man called Mark Marx last year at a training day for healing on the streets. Mark had, a year earlier, accidentally let drip one drop of pure nard onto his Bible. Just one drop!

A full year later, his Bible still had this incredibly strong and indescribably sweet fragrance on it. It’s a difficult aroma to put into words but, if you twisted my arm, I’d say it reminded me of something like a cross between Chanel n° 5 (which is a very fine scent as you ladies will appreciate and a very expensive one too as you gentlemen will be only too aware) - a cross between Chanel n° 5 and the smell of fresh laundry. I just love that smell. It means clean socks!

Nard has an incredibly clean, pure, fragrant, intense and aromatic bouquet… Just one drop and you can still smell it a year later.

This woman poured out a whole pint of it all over Jesus’ feet.

No wonder v3 says “the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” It must have been.

Oh, that that would be a picture of fervent and fulsome worship in All Saints’! An undignified passion and an uninhibited love for Jesus that just fills the church. Do you want that?

Verse 3 says “she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.” There was an unashamed intimacy about that act. Mary’s offering was profoundly personal. It was from her heart, not just with the mind.

Oh, that that would be a picture of heartfelt and personal worship in All Saints’! Worship that is real, worship that’s got depth and soul. Do you want that?

And finally, v5 that one jar of perfume was worth a year’s wages. According to the Office of National Statistics, the average income in Britain today is £26,000. Fancy spending 26 grand on a bottle of scent!

The point is not that only the wealthy can offer the best worship. The point is this: worship that is nothing but the best costs me something.

And I say this within a framework of grace but:

• It costs me my free time to establish weekly worship as a top priority
• It costs me my sanity to arrive on time if I possibly can (and sometimes that is not possible and that’s O.K. I’ve had four kids and several unreliable cars. So I know!)
• It costs me physically to worship with all my strength even when I don’t even feel like standing up
• It costs me a little dignity to raise my hands and shout to the Lord

But oh, that this story would be a picture of the gloriously lavish and abundantly sacrificial worship in All Saints’!


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 19th June 2011

Acknowledgment: some material on the Malachi passage taken from Bill Hybels 2000 GLS talk  "Leadership Excellence."

Be Converted, Be Courageous (Acts 9.1-19)

Introduction

I got a phone call this week from a guy called Laurent. I know Laurent from my last church in Paris, but he’s been living in Essex working as an engineer for a car manufacturer for the last few years and we kind of lost contact.

About 6 years ago Laurent got to know a girl from England. He wanted to go out with her. She wanted to go out with him - but there was a problem. She was a Christian. He wasn’t. So she kept putting him off. He kept pushing. And she started praying for him. She started fasting for him. She cried out to God for him.

One day, Laurent was driving along in his car and, out of nowhere, the Spirit of God came upon him in such power, such force, such intensity - with a revelation of the love of Jesus - that he had to pull over onto the hard shoulder and give his life to Christ. Laurent became part of my leadership team there and is such a man of God. Plays a mean bass guitar as well… Laurent called me to tell me he is getting married in October and he’s asked me to do the wedding for them.

It was great to hear from him and, as I reflected on his story, and wondered about what I should say tonight, I thought I’d talk about the wonder of conversion.

If you really want the mother of all extraordinary conversions, listen to this extract from the diary of Rev. William Haslam, an 18th century Church of England vicar in Cornwall. These are his words;

“I went into the pulpit and gave my text... I do not remember all I said, but I felt a wonderful light and joy coming into my soul... Whether it was something in my words or my manner, or my look, I know not; but all of a sudden a local preacher, who happened to be in the congregation, stood up, and putting up his arms, shouted out in Cornish manner, "The parson is converted! The parson is converted! Halleluiah!" and in another accent his voice was lost in the shouts and praises of three or four hundred of the congregation. Instead of rebuking this extraordinary 'brawling', as I should have done in a former time, I joined the outburst of praises and the people sang 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow' with heart and voice, over and over again.”

Most of us love to hear about radical experiences like those. But they are unusual even by biblical standards. We may not all have been visited by a manifestation of heavenly power but everyone here needs to be able to say, “I am converted to Christ.” Maybe you can't put a date on it but it's important that you know that some time in your life you turned from sin and placed your faith in Jesus.

Well now, if you have a Bible, we're going to read Acts 9.1-19.

Saul's conversion. Saul; this dangerous fanatic from the Middle-East, determined to stamp out Christianity, is struck down in the middle of the road, where he meets the risen Jesus.

And in that moment, which tips his world upside down, he turns from his murderous ways and becomes a disciple of the Christ he had persecuted. He himself put it this way; "I was on my way to arrest Christians when Christ arrested me."

And now, almost twenty centuries later, the phrase, "Damascus Road experience" is still used in the English language, when people talk of a radical discovery and change of heart. It was a dramatic turnaround.

It was such a turning point in his life that he changed his name soon after to Paul. We’d think something was up if people changed their name by deed poll. Terry might become Merry. Julia might become Peculiar. Saul means “asked for”. Paul means “the least”.

Saul's is one of the most unusual conversion experiences in the history of Christianity, certainly one of the most spectacular and unexpected.

1) Never Limit God

We might describe William Haslam's encounter with Christ - in his own pulpit - as unbelievable.

And "unbelievable" is a good word to describe Saul's conversion too. It seems, for example, that Ananias didn't quite believe it. You kind of get that impression from v13-14.

God instructs this man to go and visit Saul, lay hands on him and minister healing to him. But Ananias says to almighty, all knowing, all powerful God, the ever living Lord of heaven and earth (for whom nothing is impossible), "How can I be sure you're telling the truth?"

Ananias was stunned by unbelief. God has blown his doors off. It's as if Ananias has made up his mind too early. He thinks the Lord can do this much but that much is just a bit too much of a challenge.

Now, we know we shouldn't put limits on what God can do and can’t do, don’t we?

I once met a Ugandan pastor called John Mulinde, to whom God revealed fax numbers, by a word of knowledge, of people he wanted him to contact and meet.

I have a friend in Liberia called Dave Waines. Dave is a Canadian Christian who is red hot radical. Dave picks up thrown away and cursed children, adopts some of them, but loves all of them and watches them became a source of blessing to the very people who had rejected them.

We tend to put limits on God, often subconsciously.

Ananias says, in effect, "No, Lord." He is saying, "Look God, you cannot be serious, you must have got this wrong."

How much are you missing out on, due to limiting God to what your mind can cope with? Don’t limit God. The Bible says “Nothing is impossible with God”. And I’ve looked up that word “nothing”, it means nothing. Never limit God.

2) Follow God's leading

Another thing we see here is that God expects you to follow his leading. Ananias limited God with his thinking. But once he’d risen above his doubts, he had no hesitation in following the leading of the Holy Spirit. God says in v15, "Go!" and in v17 we're told that Ananias went.

I want you to imagine the scene. He walks down the main east-west route called Straight Street which still exists today in the middle of Damascus; this oasis city in the middle of the Syrian desert. He's wondering what he's going to say. His heart is in his mouth. He's petrified. He just knows he's going to stutter and have sweaty hands.

Think about this: What if Ananias didn’t quite hear God right? Or what if this was a trap? Or maybe he wasn’t not fazed at all. Perhaps he was perfectly relaxed and totally at rest in God's peace. We're not told.

The only thing that’s important is this: the fact is he went. And at the end of the day, that's all we need to know. Jesus said, "Heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, make disciples!" It doesn't matter what I feel about that, it doesn't matter if I make a complete clown of myself every time I have a go. One thing matters; I say “yes” out of obedience or I say “no” out of fear. That's the issue.

When I was a young Christian, I received a word from God about a man who had been a father to me in the faith, but had subsequently gone off the rails and separated from his wife. It was a really, really hard word, with a revelation from God about an adulterous affair, about which I had no knowledge at all. I shared with his wife what I believed God was saying and asked her permission to confront him with it. To my absolute horror she said "yes."

So I went to see this man - who had given me so much and to whom I was so indebted – and I explained to him that I believed God was saying, in a nutshell, that he should repent of rebellion and adultery. It is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. He looked at me straight in the eye, denied everything, and with an angry tone in his voice he showed me to the door. I felt terrible. When I phoned his wife, she told me that she felt strongly whilst praying that something had broken in him that night. I just thought I'd blown it. Six months later, the truth came out, the word had been spot on, he turned from his sin, they got back together and have enjoyed over 20 years of happy marriage and fruitful ministry since then.

Praise God! When he says "Go for it!", you've got to go for it. Following God's leading. He promises to be with us (as, in v15-16, he promised he was going to be with Paul in his ministry) through suffering and hardship. Notice he didn't offer to spare him from pain and problems. He doesn’t now, but he does promise he will be the solution.

"In this world you will have big trouble," says Jesus, "but take heart, I have overcome the world."

3) Take a Risk to Love the Outsider

I love the way Ananias looks after Saul. One commentator said, "It is not always easy to show love and acceptance to others, especially when we are afraid of them or doubt their motives." That’s true isn’t it? If anyone had a good reason to be afraid or doubt the motives of someone else, it was Ananias with Saul.

Ananias places his hands on the man, imparting the healing power of Jesus.

John Stott wonders if it was also "a gesture of love to a blind man who could not see the smile on Ananias' face, but could feel the pressure of his hands."

Then his words are full of affection too. "Brother Saul" he says. All the fear has vanished. All the barriers are down. All the debt is forgiven. All the past is forgotten with just two words. Brother Saul.

Saul had spent three days completely blinded, taking no food or water stuck in a foreign city. In v18-19 we can surmise that Ananias baptised him, found him a towel, cooked him up a good meal, made sure he was o.k. and put him in touch with other Christians in Damascus. The second half of v19 tells us that he spent three days with them, enjoying their hospitality.

Nothing on earth in the field of human relationships comes close to the love in Christ we share as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Tony Campolo tells of the time he was walking down Chesterton Street, in Ashburn, Virginia. There was a tramp (he called him a bum) looking on from a bench. Dirty old overcoat, long matted beard with bits of food stuck in it, he was covered in soot from head to toe, and drinking from a McDonald's paper cup... The guy called out, "Hey mister, you want some of my coffee?" "That's all right, but thank you, err, that's kind of you but..."

Then he thought that's wrong. So he said, "I'll take a sip." So he drank some of the coffee. Then he said to the tramp, "You're getting pretty generous giving away your coffee. What's gotten in to you?" The man said, "Well, the coffee was especially delicious today. And I figure that when God gives you something good, you ought to share it with people."

So Campolo said, "Well, is there anything I can, give you?" He thought the guy was going to ask for $5. The man said, "Yeah. You can give me a hug." When he said that, Tony Campolo was thinking, "Oh great, why didn't he just ask me for $5..."

They put their arms around each other, then he realised that this tramp was not going to let him go. He just held on to him. And people were passing in the street, staring at this sight.

Tony Campolo said this; "My embarrassment, little by little, turned to reverence and awe. Because I realised that this was not a whino I was holding in my arms. I heard a voice saying 'I was hungry, did you feed me? I was naked, did you clothe me? I was sick, did you care for me? I was the bum you met on Chesterton Street, did you hug me?' I had Jesus in my arms," he said.

Ending

So, drawing the threads together, what is God saying to us tonight through this word?

Is he saying to you that you are limiting him? Meaning, do we have too small a vision of what he wants to do in our lives? Do we need to be rebuked, and change our thinking, like Ananias did, so that we get a bigger vision – a true vision – of what God is able to do?

Is he speaking to you about following his leading? Some of us here this evening may be facing a choice where we can follow step out in faith. We know that that is going to make demands of us and stretch our faith. Or we can go the other way, which is familiar and which is easier. This man Ananias shows us what's possible when we exercise faith, take a risk and go God's way. Because Ananias did what he did, Saul became Paul; one of the greatest church planting missionaries that ever lived.

Is he speaking to you about showing love to the loveless? Like Tony Campolo with the tramp on Chesterton Street, Philadelphia, or like Ananias with the dangerous fanatic in Straight Street, Damascus. Is he speaking to you about showing hospitality to someone you would rather avoid?


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 12th June 2011

Ascension Day (Ephesians 4.1-16)

Introduction

There were three church leaders who got together one day to compare notes after an evangelistic mission in their town.

So they meet together over a pint in the local pub and the first one (a Methodist minister) says, “For us, it’s been great! Four new people have joined our church, praise the Lord!”

The second one (who is a Baptist pastor) says, “Well, that’s terrific, but we’ve done even better. Six new people have joined our church, blessed be the name of the Lord and hallelujah!”

So they look at the third one (who is a Church of England vicar) and they say, “What about you then? How did the mission impact your church?” And the third one goes, “Well guys, for us it was better still! Glory be to God in the highest, the ten most exasperating people in our parish have left at last!”

I want you to notice a little word that appears twice in our reading, once near the beginning and once near the end. The word is “unity.” Unity in the church must prevail - it must prevail.

Jesus said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” He didn’t say, “a divided house is a bit iffy” or “a divided house is not ideal.” Jesus tells it like it is. He says disunity, disharmony, disarray in the church cannot give birth to success.

Have you ever secretly thought to yourself, “I am glad so and so is a Christian, but quite honestly, I do wish he wasn’t a member of my church”? I’ll be honest with you; I have, definitely. Not in this church... not yet. But I have absolutely wished some people would suddenly feel called to take their ministry of gossip and their spiritual gift of moaning somewhere else.

Maturity

Basically, it’s all about maturity. Newborn babies require close attention 24/7. It’s all hands on deck round the clock. We don’t expect a one-year old to prepare lunch, fix the lawn mower and do the ironing do we? But as human beings grow from infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood they learn to take on more and more responsibility. (It’s true that in teenage years there’s a bit of a blip) but basically, we become less and less centred on having our own needs met and more and more aware of our responsibility towards others the older we get. We call that maturity.

And there is such thing as spiritual maturity as well. Spiritual maturity, like personal maturity is when someone really gets what Jesus said that “it is more blessed to give than receive.”

How does spiritual maturity come about? Does it just happen on its own? No. I lost my hair training and educating my kids to get off the computer and lay the table for dinner! In just the same way that you and I had to train and educate our children and grandchildren, those who are more mature in the faith have to train and educate those who are younger in the faith to become more like Jesus.

Our reading from Ephesians 4 talks about the ascended Christ giving gifts to his church to grow leaders and develop ministries that establish people in faith and character. It talks about equipping people and training them and building them up so that the church becomes grown-up.

Here’s a couple of extracts from tonight’s reading.

“When he ascended on high, he… gave gifts to his people… to equip [them] for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature…”

Calling

Verse 1 says, “Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

That is why we had a weekend away in Saltburn recently to reconsider what God is calling us to be and to do; to discern God’s direction for us here. There’s only one vision I’m interested in for Saint Mary’s and that’s God’s vision.

We came back with five priorities which the MDT and PCC will develop over the next few months. The priorities are as follows:

- Build up our corporate prayer life
- Grow our work with children and families
- Communicate who we are and what we do to the village, reaching out to all ages
- Build up our people by training and development (including leaders)
- Continue to develop quality worship

1. We’re going to build up our corporate prayer life.

Don’t we pray already? Of course! But prayer must continue to be at the heart of all we do The American pastor Bill Johnson once said this: “Anyone can pray in crisis. Show me someone who will earnestly pray without a crisis and I will show you someone who is ready if one comes.” And we want to get better at praying together as a community.

The risen and ascended Christ is giving gifts to his people to equip them for prayer so that the body of Christ in Long Newton may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and become mature.

2. We’re going to grow our work with children and families. Don’t we do GodZone and assemblies and baptism services already? Of course! But we want to grow that work because Jesus said we are to be fishers of men. And kids teach us so much about the kingdom as well.

There’s a story about a little girl who was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah about that.” The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?" The little girl replied, "Then you ask him.”

The risen and ascended Christ is giving gifts to his people to equip them for growing our work with children and families so that the body of Christ in Long Newton may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and become mature.

3. We’re going to communicate who we are and what we do to the village, reaching out to all ages. But don’t we do Long Newton News, prayer visiting, the Community Lunch and pastoral care already? Of course! But we want to do more because the Bible says “Tell out, my soul, the wonders of the Lord.”

The Chinese church leader Francis Chan once wrote “Christians are like manure; spread them around all over the place and they help everything grow better but keep them all together in one big pile indoors and they stink horribly.”

The risen and ascended Christ is giving gifts to his people to equip them for communicating who we are and what we do to this village, reaching out to all ages so that the body of Christ in Long Newton may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and become mature.

4. We’re going to build up our people by training and development (including leaders). But don’t we offer Growing Leaders, pastoral care training and attend diocesan courses already? Of course! But we want to do more because the risen and ascended Christ is giving gifts to us, his people to equip us for it.

5. We’re going to continue to develop quality worship. But don’t we do that already? Of course! The leaders and preachers here are excellent. But we don’t want to sit on our laurels because the very best worship is fresh and creative and imaginative. Even when you are on the right track, if you just sit there and do nothing, you get run over. It only takes two days for tomorrow to become yesterday. Church is a living organism; not a fossil museum.

Let me quote to you from an article in an American newspaper objecting to new trends in church music.

“There are several reasons for opposing it. 1) It’s too new. Secondly it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. 3) The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style. 4. Because there are so many new songs you can’t learn them all. 5. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than godly lyrics. 6. The new music creates disturbances making people act indecently and disorderly. 7. The preceding generation got along perfectly well without it. 8. It’s a moneymaking scam and 9) some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.”

This was an article from 1723 attacking Isaac Watts, the composer of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

The risen and ascended Christ is giving gifts to his people to equip them for developing quality worship so that the body of Christ in Long Newton may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and become mature.

Serving

What will be your part in all this? How are you going to serve? Some people I have met only want to serve the Lord in an advisory capacity. They like to give Almighty God their helpful ideas and advise him on what he can and cannot do. That’s not the sort of service this passage of scripture has in mind.

Verse 7 says; “To each one grace has been given.” Everybody here has been given a special and unique gift from God in order (v12) “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”

That word translated “equip” here has the sense of ‘prepare’, ‘to bring to completion,’ ‘to train’, ‘to perfect’, ‘to enable’, and ‘to bring to maturity.’ In each case it's someone else who benefits.

Let me ask you; are you further on in God than you were two or three years ago? Is your Christian service more fruitful? Are you of more godly character? Do you have the sense that you are learning and growing?

Growth

Some people say that the best way to grow as a Christian is to go away, cut yourself off from the hurly burly and commune with the Lord. That is a good thing to do. But according to the Bible, maturity comes through ministries, not monasteries.

Verse 16 says, “From Christ the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Church is God's maturity workshop. As apostolic, evangelistic, prophetic, pastoral and teaching ministries shape your life, you will (v14) leave spiritual infancy, you will no longer be tossed back and forth or blown here and there by any wind of teaching. You will be equipped to grow and withstand the worst.

Ending

So as I close, let me ask you, “What is the Lord saying to you tonight?” Is he stirring you to be passionate about building unity with other believers? Is he reminding you of his unique calling on your life? Is he challenging you to articulate what that specific calling is? Is he drawing you get serious about fanning into flame the gifts he has placed in you so that others around you can be better equipped to serve? Is he speaking to you about your essential role in his body, the church?


Sermon preached at Saint Mary's Long Newton, 2nd June 2011

Why the Cross Says It All

Introduction

At a time when Korea was occupied by a foreign power, severe persecution came to Christians. Many churches were closed. Missionaries were ordered to leave. Christians were routinely imprisoned and some gave their lives for their faith. One Sunday, during this period of opposition, a small Methodist church was opened up, without explanation. So some Christians who had been in hiding came back to joyfully resume worship there. Once about 30 people were inside, the doors were slammed shut, petrol was poured on the ground around the church and it was set on fire. A squad of police surrounded the building, ready to shoot anyone who tried to escape through a window. All 29 people perished inside the burning building. They died singing the hymn that I’m told Korean believers still love to sing: Nearer my God to you, nearer to you, even though it be the cross, nearer to you.

After the Second World War, a group of Christians built a monument and engraved the names of those 29 people who were murdered in that church because of their love for Christ that day. Some years later a group of pastors from the former occupying nation visited the site. They returned to their home land and raised enough money to build a new church where the old one had been burned down. On September 27th 1970 at 3 o’clock, the new and beautiful church was dedicated. The place was packed out. The group of pastors who had raised the finance was there too.

And, as the final hymn was sung: Nearer my God to you, nearer to you, even though it be the cross, nearer to you, people spontaneously got up out of their seats and embraced one another. How much is that worth?

Jesus prepared his disciples for the worst saying, "Everybody will hate you because of me." Why? Because the Bible says that the message of the cross is offensive.

But when the Apostle Paul arrived in the city of Corinth he was on his own in what was renowned as the most corrupt and depraved metropolis in the ancient world. No Christian had ever set foot in that city. It was a notorious place. It was legendary as a place of decadence and moral filth. No wonder he entered the city, the Bible tells us, “in weakness with great fear and trembling.”It was an intimidating arena. It was a lion’s den of a city.

So what did he do when he got there? What kind of speech would he make? What approach would he take? How might you go about setting up a church in sin city?

This is how he puts it in his own words: “When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2.1-2 – The Message)

He could have seriously impressed them with some sophisticated learning and some polished speeches on all the latest philosophical ideas. He was a man of culture with a solid education. He was learned and distinguished. But he chose to talk about - of all things - the cross of Christ. And that is what I want to talk about tonight.

What Was the Crucifixion Like?

Imagine you are an eye-witness of the passion of Jesus Christ. What do you see?

You see an innocent man stripped of his clothes and chained to a whipping post. You see him flogged again and again with leather whips. Each time it opens up the flesh of his body on impact. You see Jesus’ arms, legs and back tear badly.

You see him led out, hardly able to stand, to a yard where men jeer at him and press a crown of sharp thistles down on his head. They put a royal fancy dress costume on him and do the “we are not worthy” thing in front of him. And then they stand in a circle pushing him back and forth to each other. They smack him in the mouth, they punch him in the ribs, they pull his beard, they draw phlegm and spit at him.

Then you watch as they load the horizontal section of the cross on his already butchered shoulders and back. His strength is failing and he cannot walk straight. But he carries it as far as he can until he drops to the ground, the heavy crossbeam falling on top of him. His hands, holding the crossbeam, are unable to break his fall, so His face hits the dust and cuts up badly. People help him up and push him on.

The gathering crowd are laughing, spitting, cheering, clapping, swearing at him and deriding him.

Finally, he arrives exhausted at the execution site. You can smell the blood. They strip him a second time. They stretch him out on his wooden cross. They hold his arms still and straight and then drive ten inch nails into his forearms – the place where you feel a pulse. Blood pours out of the gaping wound and drips in a pool to the ground.

According to medical professor Dr. Frederick Zugibe, the piercing of the median nerve of the hands with a nail can cause suffering so incredible that even morphine is of little use, "severe, excruciating, burning pain, like electric shocks traversing the arm into the spinal cord." Rupturing the foot's plantar nerve with a nail causes a similarly severe pain.

You look on. After his arms they twist his knees and drive one spike through his two ankles between the tibia and the Achilles tendon. It is unspeakably bloody and almost unwatchable. The violence and intensity of the pain is like nothing else known in human experience.

This is unspeakable, unimaginable, unbearable, intolerable agony.

You watch the cross get lifted up by ropes and the vertical beam drops into a three-foot hole dug in the ground and they wedge the cross into place.

The positioning of the body on a cross makes it difficult to breathe. Frederick Farrar described this graphically: saying this: "A death by crucifixion seems to include dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus, shame, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds, all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the suffer the relief of unconsciousness."

As you watch the events described in the Gospels, you are appalled and traumatised by what you see. It will probably haunt you for the rest of your life. Three men pathetically trying to lift their hideously lacerated bodies up on their crosses as they battle against suffocation, taking sharp and noisy gasps of breath as they do so. You watch them get weaker and weaker, through exhaustion, caused by sunstroke, massive blood loss and all to the sound of cruel taunting from the crowd.

Hanging there in the stifling midday heat, thirsty, in shock, betrayed, denied and left for dead by his friends, exposed to the watching crowd, tormented by his gloating enemies Jesus is the embodiment of utter rejection.

You look round and see Jesus’ poor mother sobbing uncontrollably before her son. And of the three men crucified, her son will have been the most unsightly. And the scene, for her, amongst all the observers, is particularly traumatising. His whole body is horribly gashed. His head is bruised and disfigured with blood from his crown of thorns. What mother wouldn’t think back to that same head of soft brown hair she had once cushioned on her arm whilst breast feeding him as a baby?

When the executioner drives the third nail through his victim's ankles, what mother wouldn’t think back to the happy and proud day when her son first walked on his little feet as a one year old boy?

And as his weakening arms hang from the horizontal beam of his cross, increasingly unable to support his body weight, making it harder and harder to breathe, does Mary remember the first time those same arms had so proudly carried a plank for his dad in the carpenter's workshop in Nazareth?

Jesus' pain is magnified by having to watch his distressed mother be led away as it sinks in for her that God is not going to send his angels this time, like he had in Bethlehem. Her boy really is going to die.

We sometimes get romantic about all this, singing about the old rugged cross, or thinking upon his sacrifice to pretty tunes - and there's nothing wrong with worship that is centred on the cross. In fact, there’s everything right with it. But let's not lose sight of the fact that Jesus' death was sickening to witness. It was ugly and disturbing.

Dr. Zugibe concluded his study by saying that Jesus probably died from loss of blood and fluid, plus traumatic shock from his injuries, plus cardiogenic shock, causing his heart to pump weakly, then fail altogether.

Whatever the final cause of death, this was one of the most macabre and degrading executions ever staged.

What It Means

What is good about that? Why did Paul write in Galatians 6.14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”?

Now what about you? Do you boast in it? (That is to say do you go on about it and how good it is?) Have you grasped it? I Corinthians 1:18 says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

It’s the power of God. Only at the cross is there power to change the way we think, to change the way we conduct ourselves, to change our lives. Only at the cross is there power to overcome the addictive pull of sin. Only at the cross is there power to mend broken marriages and families, power to bind up broken hearts and heal the sick. Only at the cross is there power to fill chasms of loneliness. Only at the cross can we see and receive God’s power to change us, to transform us, to make us new.

There are so many reasons, on so many levels, why the cross is the heart of what being a Christian is all about. Here are 10 for a start:

Jesus, in laying down his life,

• made you right with God, because his righteousness was transferred to you
• secured and sealed your eternal salvation
• abolished rituals and ceremonials as a way to God
• broke down walls of every human division
• made all healing possible
• cancelled out forever all your sins, however bad and however many
• opened up for you direct access to God as a son or daughter
• turned away the wrath of God from you onto himself
• gave purpose and perspective to all suffering
• bound and defeated the principalities and powers of evil

and much, much more. The cross says it all.

I could talk for a week about all this; the cross is like an enormous diamond with hundreds and hundreds of facets; each one glorious in itself and each one uniquely contributing to the unsurpassed beauty of the whole. But, because time is limited, I’m just going to spend a few minutes on the first four.

The first facet I want to mention is what the Bible calls justification. In laying down his life on the cross, Jesus made you completely right with God, because his absolute righteousness was transferred to you – if you can believe it to receive it, because we are justified by faith.

So whenever God looks at you, as a believer living by faith, he does not see at all your brokenness or unworthiness or sinful failures; he sees Christ’s perfect holiness and moral blamelessness. He declares you innocent and looks at you through the filter of Christ’s infinite perfections.

In Pidgin English the word for “Justification” is “God ‘e say ‘im all right.” You were justified at the cross. When Jesus died, he paid a debt you could never pay and he acquitted you from every charge against you. God 'e say him all right. And, though I don't speak Pidgin English, I would imagine you can say God 'e say 'er all right too.

The second facet I want to mention is that at the cross Jesus secured and sealed your eternal salvation.

One day someone wrote a letter to the veteran evangelist Billy Graham which was published in his newspaper column. This is what it said; “I turned my back on God over 60 years ago, while I was still in my teens. I can even remember when I did it. Now I'm old and dying, and I wish I'd taken a different road. Please tell young people not to do what I did. I was a fool, but now it's too late.”

And this is how Billy Graham replied; “Thank you for your letter. When we're young, we often don't realize how life-changing our decisions may be - for good or for evil. Only as we grow older do we begin to see it - and that's especially true for someone in your position.

The Bible speaks of the terrible consequences that await those who “did not choose to fear the Lord” (Proverbs 1.29). But listen: It is not too late for you to turn to God! Yes, your life would have been much different (and much happier) if you had given your life to Christ when you had the opportunity many years ago. But why enter eternity separated from God and his blessings if you don't have to?

God loves you, in spite of the way you've treated him. If you had been the only person on earth who needed to be saved, Jesus Christ would still have gone to the cross and died for you. God loves you that much! Right now, God is speaking to you and giving you a second chance to turn to Christ. Don't make the same mistake you did over 60 years ago. The Bible says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55.6). In a prayer of faith confess your sins to God and commit your life to Jesus Christ. You cannot change the past, but you can change the future.”

What a great reply!

In dying on the cross, Jesus did not just declare you righteous, he released you from the death sentence that was hanging over your head, took you off spiritual death row and he took the full punishment of the condemnation of the law on himself.

God the Father poured out on Jesus his judgment for the sins of the world. Jesus knows everything there is to know about you and he still chose to bear the penalty of it for you. If you had been the only person ever to have sinned, he would have still endured the darkness, the agony, the thirst, the heat and the loneliness of hell, so that you and I need never go there.

The third, briefly, is that Jesus, in laying down his life, abolished rituals and ceremonials as a way to God.

Why didn't you come to church tonight with a young goat or a pigeon so that Sylvia or I could cut its throat and burn it on that table? God requires that in the book of Leviticus. So why didn’t you? Because you don't need to!

Jesus made, once upon the cross, a full, perfect, atonement and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world and no more sacrifices are necessary. To even think of offering another sacrifice to atone for sin, to call that table an altar, would be an ungrateful insult to what Jesus endured for us all.

Jesus, our great high priest, has abolished the old sacrificing, mediating, go-between priesthood for good.

You don't need to watch a professional go in to the presence of God, because the way is open for you to freely enter the most holy place, wherever you are. You don't need a bearded man in a turban to tell you you're forgiven, because the Holy Spirit communicates that to your heart. You don't need present animals for a priest to offer up as a sacrifice, because Jesus' sacrifice is enough – and more than enough. You don't have to wait till it's convenient for the holy man to give you a blessing, because every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places is already your rich inheritance in Christ, if you're a believer. It’s because of the cross.

And finally, Jesus, in laying down his life, broke down walls of every human division.

Because of the cross, there is no relationship on earth that is beyond the scope of reconciliation and transformation (from the most serious to the most trivial) because Christ's empty cross has decisively demolished every dividing wall.

Ephesians 2 shows that the peace process between ourselves and others is a consequence of the peace treaty between us and God signed in Jesus' blood. In other words, the vertical reconciliation between God and us makes possible (and necessary) the horizontal friendship between human beings who were previously hostile.

Ephesians 2.13; "In Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Four times in Ephesians 2 Paul writes the little word "peace" and he means peace between parties who were previously completely incompatible. It's like a spiritual Berlin Wall, that separated people into two opposing camps, has been decisively smashed down. "Christ has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility," says v14.

Through Jesus, thanks to his empty cross, the wall of animosity between all peoples has been bulldozed down and ground to dust. Verse 15 says, "Christ's purpose was to create in himself one new humanity..., thus making peace, and... to reconcile both... to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility."

Are you holding onto resentment and unforgiveness? You’ve got to let it go. Jesus let go of your sin against him. “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” You’ve got to leave the past in the past and refuse to hold it in the present. Jesus nailed your past to the cross – and it’s still there and your sins he remembers no more.

Ending

The cross has said it all. There’s little else to say…

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 22nd May 2011

Easter People Pray and Bless (Numbers 6.22-27 and Luke 24.36-53)

Introduction

The Grim Reaper came for me last night, and I beat him off with a vacuum cleaner. Talk about Dyson with death… Yeah, I was thinking about a career change to become a stand-up comedian. I’ll probably stick with being a vicar...

In these next three or four weeks following on from Easter we’re going to be asking ourselves “What do Easter people look like? What is it that makes Easter people stand out from the crowd?”

One of the first things you’d probably say is “Joy.” The disciples were filled with… joy when they saw the Lord. God forbid that Christians should be miserable and Scrooge-like! So in two weeks’ time we’re going to be thinking about joyful giving. God loves a cheerful giver.

What are Easter people like? I suppose another thing you might say is “Energy.” Easter people have a buzz about them. Just think about how the doleful mood of the 11 disciples was swept away so suddenly and so enduringly by that newfound vigour that sprang from their encounters with the risen Christ. So we’re going to talk about enthusiastic serving three weeks from now. “I live” said the apostle Paul, “yet not I, but Christ lives in me.”

Praying as an Easter People

But today, we’re going to talk about praying, and a particular aspect of prayer that you might not be very familiar with. Praying takes many shapes and forms; contemplative prayer, silent prayer, intercessory prayer, meditative prayer, open prayer… But what is the positive, grace-empowered and affirming praying that you’d expect to hear on the lips of people who have gone from death to life? I want to talk about blessing others through prayer, which is the subtitle of this book “The Grace Outpouring.” I read this a few months ago and it had quite an impact on me – and several others in this church as well (and there’s a copy available on the bookstall)…

This book is about a house of prayer in the back of beyond in rural Wales. It’s called Ffald y Brenin which is Welsh for “Sheepfold of the King”. Things started to change there when one day they said to God, “Lord, teach us more about how to pray in the way you want us to pray.” So they started to explore ways of praying that reflect the heart of God rather than the methods of man. And they were led to bless their local communities; not just to pray for blessing, but to speak out blessing from their hearts (I’ll explain a little more about that later on).

It led to a revolution in the life of the centre. Whenever they had visitors, they began to ask if they could bless them before they left – and remarkable things started to happen when they did.

Here’s one example: A couple driving in the area arrived on the doorstep one afternoon and said to the director “Would you mind telling us what’s going on here?” They sat down together over a cup of tea and the visitors explained that they felt strangely compelled to make a diversion and come up the steep, winding drive that leads to Ffald y Brenin. So the director and his wife, Roy and Daphne, talked about what the centre was for and arranged a little tour of the place.

Finally, at the end of the visit, Roy said to the couple, “We like to bless our visitors before they leave. May we bless you?” They had no real problem with that so Roy said something like “I bless you in the name of Jesus to know God, his purpose for your life, and his blessings on you and your family and the situations of your life. Amen.”

It sounds like a fairly innocuous thing to say doesn’t it? But the visitors started to shed tears as the presence of God came upon them, so Roy just left them alone in the chapel with God. A little later they came and found him again, full of gratitude for the sense of God’s presence over them and still rather shaken still by this unexpected encounter. Roy told them a bit more about the good news of Jesus before they left.

Well, as it turned out, this was no one-off. Time and time again they found that blessing individuals in this kind of way opened up new outpourings of the glory and power of God in people’s lives. People were converted. Others were healed. Others were filled with the Holy Spirit.

A sceptic might say that maybe there was something psychologically manipulative going on. Maybe there is something in the words or the approach or the general atmosphere that has an emotional impact on people. Well, maybe they’re right...

But the people at Ffald y Brenin started to bless their sleepy little local community in prayer every Friday from their chapel. Inspired by Psalm 118 which says “From the house of the Lord we bless you” they spoke out words of blessing each week on the local farms, businesses, schools and so on.

Livestock and harvests began to break records. Instead of twins being born in the nearby flocks of sheep local farmers were absolutely stunned by the number of triplets and quads that were being born. The ewes were just about coping but the farmer’s wife was running around with bottles to feed all the lambs. And local businesses began to take off and prosper. The nearby Bed and Breakfast won a national award. God was doing a new thing in the valley as his people blessed homes, marriages, supportive friendships, schools, farms, businesses and churches in the name of Jesus. And God is still doing a wonderful work there.

Other houses of prayer have started up as a result and other communities are being impacted by this kind of blessing prayer. When I was there in December, Roy spoke to me about a neighbouring valley in South Wales experiencing similar things, about a fresh outpouring in Anglesey and about a revival in school in Cyprus. I shared these stories in an evening service talk in early January so you can listen to that on the website as soon as it’s back online again.

Do you want to see an outpouring of grace in this parish, in your neighbourhood?

Easter people are people who pray and bless.

Blessing in the Bible and in Our Experience

I have been doing a little research into blessing in the Bible. In fact, this week, I looked up every reference to blessing in the whole of Scripture. Unsurprisingly the vast majority, about 80% of verses, refer to God blessing individuals, blessing his people, blessing the nation, blessing the earth.

Then about 10% are about what a blessed life looks like; “Blessed are you when…” kind of thing.

Then the word is used of people towards God. “Bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,” - which is equivalent to celebrating and praising him for his bountiful grace.

That leaves the remainder, about 30 references, which are about what happens when people bless others. Parents bless their children. Children bless their parents. Kings bless their subjects. Priests bless their congregations.

In our Gospel reading this morning the risen Jesus blessed his disciples.

“When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them” it says. “While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.”

So, in fact, speaking blessing on his followers was the last thing Jesus chose to do before ascending into heaven.

What does the word “blessing” mean? We use the word in several different ways.

We talk of small comforts in this way. “A cup of tea first thing in the morning, what a blessing.”

We talk of events that have fortuitous consequences as being ”a blessing in disguise.”

A blessing can be a request for permission. “Gaining your parents' blessing" means being granted their consent.

A blessing is, believe it or not, the collective noun for a group of Unicorns. As in, “I was walking down the road last Tuesday when I saw a blessing of unicorns.” Better than a murder of crows I suppose…

And, of course, as you all know, some street gangs have an initiation rite called “getting blessed” in which the new member is punched as hard as possible in the forehead.

When someone says “Bless you” it usually means “You have just sneezed” or “I hope things will generally turn out well with you.” None of these meanings are what the word means in the Bible, not even the unicorn one!

In the Bible the word “bless” means something quite different. To be blessed means to be favoured by God. Blessing someone in the name of Jesus confers resurrection power right at the heart of their being, imparting to them fullness of life and spiritual strength.

Take Authority and Bless!

A little earlier I said that we don’t just pray for blessing for others, but we speak out blessing to others from our hearts. Some people I’ve spoken to seem a little uneasy about this for two reasons.

Firstly, how can Christians bless? Isn’t it God alone who blesses?

To respond to this objection, we need to stress that blessings are directly associated with God and, even when people bless others, the blessing itself always comes from God, not from us. It is not magic, it is not mind over matter; it is ministering in supernatural power and authority. When Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph in Luke’s Gospel he wasn’t bestowing on them something that God was not willing to grant. He was entering into the flow of God’s generous, gracious will to bless and anoint and bring favour.

In the Numbers reading God says “They will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

The second objection is this: Why would we bless others who are not Christians, who are not doing the will of God and who have no intention of doing so? Won’t they just become more comfortable and less aware of their need for salvation?

Two examples of blessing others appear in Paul’s letters and they both talk about the kind of people we should be happy to bless from our hearts. What sort of person do you think that might be? Is it those who are open to God and who basically wish the church well? Is it upright, law-abiding people? Is it children? Is it what we might call men and women of peace?

You might have thought so. But in 1 Corinthians 4:12 it says, “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it.” And in Romans 12.24 it says, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”

That doesn’t mean “You should bless those who oppose you like hard-line atheists, anti-Christian occultists, lead-stealing vandals and difficult neighbours – but forget everyone else.” It means we are to bless even those who are unreasonable, hostile, awkward and aggressive towards us, how much more those who are pleasant, open and honourable.

That’s really hard to do. But it is key.

Some years ago there was a picture of a river of life flowing out from the chancel, down the nave, out the front doors and into the parish. About six months ago there was another picture from a visiting speaker of a dam full of water about to burst and flow into a dry valley below. One of our number here felt that word related specifically to obeying this call from God to bless the surrounding area in the name of the Lord.

We’ve stated to do this – just a little – but it is a start. We blessed the local business in Station Road. Within weeks the pub asked for some Gideon’s Bibles for their guest rooms and Sandra noticed a change in one of the shopkeepers she speaks to regularly. Why? Because we are an Easter people and we want everybody to know the grace and favour of God on their lives.

The Blessing of Numbers Six

Let’s finish by looking again at that blessing in Numbers 6 because it is so beautiful.

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, this is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

You can’t tell this when it is written in English but in the original Hebrew it is mathematically and symmetrically perfect. Each line has two blessings, the second one building on the other. The first line contains 3 words of 5 letters. The second line contains 4 words of 5 letters and the last line contains 5 words of 5 letters. The sense is that as each line is spoken the flow of blessing and the outpouring of grace increases, like a tap being opened slowly until water is gushing at full strength.

“The Lord bless you and keep you.” That is, may he show favour to you, watch over your life and defend you.

“The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.” That is, may he show you the glory of his love for you and pour out grace upon you.

And “the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” That is, may he direct his interest towards your life and bless it with shalom, a deep and enduring experience of wellbeing and wholeness.

Oh, that we would learn, as a resurrection people, to bless our neighbours and friends!

Oh, that a spiritual dam might break, releasing a torrent of grace into every household of the parish of Preston on Tees and beyond. Amen.


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 1st May 2011

Entering Holy Week (Philippians 2.5-11)

Introduction

The great Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, used to tell the story of a young prince who was longing for a future wife and queen. One day, on an errand for his father, he passed through a poor neighbourhood of a certain town and noticed there a young peasant girl whose beauty, fairness and purity were plain to see.

Several times the prince returned to that town in the hope of catching a glimpse of the young woman for, without ever having said a word to her, he felt himself falling irresistibly in love. Day and night his thoughts were consumed by this question; how could he propose to her? He could, of course, as the king's son simply order her to marry him. But with a forced marriage he would never be sure that her love for him was true. He wasn't interested in a trophy queen, he was seeking true love.

At last, he found the perfect solution to his dilemma. He threw off his royal robes, removed his jewelled ring and disguised himself as a village peasant. He moved into the poorest part of town and lived with the local people; adopting their common dialect, sharing their simple food and working hard for a modest wage. In truth, it was more than a disguise; it was a new identity. He lived that way for three years, hoping he would get a chance to meet the young woman of his dreams.

Finally they met, and to his great disappointment, though he loved her desperately, there was no love at first sight on her part. So, ever the chivalrous knight, he courted her, and charmed her and amused her and slowly won her trust. Eventually, she grew to like his company and after a time she began to love him deeply. Ah, but he loved her first.

Christ the Ultimate Servant

Our reading from Philippians this afternoon tells us that Jesus, whose awesome divine nature is, and always has been, equal to that of God the Father, didn't pull rank or cling to status. Jesus, Son of God, just like that young prince, left behind his power and privileges and embraced the role of a simple domestic servant, becoming flesh and blood.

Have you ever noticed, reading the Gospels, how Jesus - even when falsely accused, badly treated and unjustly murdered - never brings up the subject of his human rights? Actually he could have mentioned his divine rights but never did. It says in v6 that he completely let go of status. It says ‘though he was in very nature God, he did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped.’ Have you ever watched people in the January sales? Queuing all night, running through the store, grasping the bargains... But grasping is the opposite of Jesus’ attitude and model of life. No, he became downwardly mobile, it was a riches to rags story. He lived and died as a selfless, suffering servant. It’s not that he wasn’t ambitious; it’s that his ambition was for others and not for himself. And that is the trail he blazed for us to walk.

We know what life as a servant meant for Jesus; the cross is a powerful reminder of that. But what does servanthood mean for me and you? We like the language of service and servanthood but servants have to do menial and unpleasant tasks like cleaning toilets. People talk down to servants and servants don’t really have the right to talk back.

We know servanthood doesn't literally mean for us a path of private foot washing and public crucifixion. So when Jesus said to take up our cross what does that mean practically? Of course we cannot repeat what Jesus did for us on the cross. But we can give up on selfish ambitions, self-importance and self-centredness.

The Path of Servanthood

In what ways is God calling you and me to service and sacrifice this afternoon? Part of the answer lies in verses 2-5, the verses just before our reading. God says, "Be like-minded. Have the same love. Be one in spirit. Be of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. No; in humility value others above yourselves. Do not look to your own interests, but to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind that Jesus had."

That's the path that God has ordained for each one of us and it’s a path we walk down in Lent. It's a life totally turned away from self-satisfaction and the all-consuming pursuit of feeling great.

It's quite surprising walking round Christian bookshops these days how many popular titles, especially from America, are about finding true happiness here on earth, achieving personal success or fulfilling your potential. I don't find those values anywhere in the Bible. "What good is it for you to gain the whole world, and yet lose your very self?" Jesus asks. "Whoever wants to save their life will lose it," he says, "but whoever loses their life for me will save it."

This is the irony that so many people tragically miss. Here's the great secret of life. C.S. Lewis put it this way; "Aim at heaven and you'll get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."

In v5-8 the Scripture focuses on Christ's perfect obedience which led him to his gruesome death.

In our Matthew reading, Matthew shows us at this point in his gospel, a side to Jesus he hadn't mentioned before. Up to this point, Jesus avoided the public eye, gave people strict orders not to say who he was, slipped away to quiet places.

But as we begin Holy Week, let's remind ourselves that now it's different. Now is his time. The moment has come. He has resolved to set his face to Jerusalem, to allow his conflict with the religious authorities to come to a head, and to submit himself, for our sakes, as the willing victim of a judicial murder.

Five times before, they had tried to kill him. He had... slipped away. It wasn't his time. When they will finally seize him, four days from this, he will be tried, he will be flogged, he will be scourged, he will have a prickly crown pressed on his head, he will be mocked, he will be taken away and nailed to a cross to die.

And he will suffer indescribable pain. There wasn’t a word in the language capable of describing the agonies Jesus endured on the cross so they had to invent a new one; excruciating – ‘ex’ meaning ‘out from’ and ‘cruci’ meaning ‘cross’ – this is pain out from the cross and there has, in all human experience, been nothing like it before or since.

Jesus carried all our sorrows, all our iniquities, all our regrets, all our failures, all our sickness, all our disease, all our wrongs and the wrongs done to us – and he took it all on himself.

But v9 begins "Therefore God exalted him." It shows that Christ's magnificent exaltation, his brilliant triumph and awesome crowning in glory directly relates to his lowly emptying of himself.

His service and self-abasement correspond perfectly with his honour and reward. This is why "God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow..."

Jesus himself taught that true greatness comes from serving others, not being served as top dog. He said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”

He said, “Everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

No act of kindness you do, no loving word you speak, no extra mile you walk, no generous gift you offer, no unnoticed menial job you accept, no hour of prayer you set aside is ever lost in God's purposes.

Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever welcomes someone known to be righteous will receive a righteous person's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of... my disciples, truly I tell you, that person will certainly be rewarded.”

The German atheist philosopher Nietzsche found out what the reward for unbelief is. He raged against God, declared that God is dead and drove himself mad imagining a world after God's funeral.

The libertine Lord Byron found that out what the reward for living for sensual pleasure is. "Cirrhosis, syphilis and regret are mine alone" he said.

Jay Gould, the American multi-millionaire found out what the reward for loving money is. "I suppose," he said on his death bed, "that I am the unhappiest and least satisfied man on earth."

Alexander the Great conquered the then-known world by the age of 30. But he then found out what the reward for power and success is. He cried in his tent because there was no land left to conquer and he died of a fever three years later.

Our reward is Christ alone and there is no other route to that great prize than the way of the cross.

Ending

So as I close, be encouraged and be blessed as you choose again to serve Christ in others. None of it is wasted. All of it is noticed by our Lord and Master. Every act, every thought, every prayer, every kind word, every gift counts in eternal terms.

And, like that beautiful bride for that love struck young prince, the reward – knowing God and living in the power of his resurrection – is beyond compare.


Sermon preached at Saint Mary's Long Newton, 17th April 2011

How to Welcome Royalty (Matthew 21.1-11)

Introduction 

The king of a certain country came to town so a large banquet was organised in the king’s honour. Everything looked really impressive; it was a feast beyond compare. The king was expected to say a few words so he spoke to the master of ceremonies beforehand and asked whether, in response to the welcome speech, he should reciprocate with his short speech or his long speech. The master of ceremonies was a little embarrassed because he didn’t want to cause offence but he said "I think, your majesty, with it getting late etc. we should go for the short one."

So after dinner, and after all the usual tortuous and drawn-out words of protocol and greeting, the king stood up and said, “Thank you”… and then sat down again. Awkward silence. Nervous glances. Embarrassed giggles. Then, when everyone realised that was basically all they were going to get, everybody burst into rapturous applause!

The master of ceremonies went up to the king afterwards and asked him what he would have said if he had gone for the long speech. So the king said, "Thank you very much."

I have two possible sermons this morning, and I’m sure everyone’s hoping it's not going to be the long one.

On December 12th 1985 I became the happy and proud owner of my first car and this is what it looked like.

That is a Citroën 2CV. It’s a kind of cult car. The 2CV is the sort of vehicle you either love for its eccentric appearance or hate for its totally naff design. One day, I found the perfect window sticker for our old banger: It said; "Don’t laugh, Jesus went by donkey."

Which is a bit misleading actually. Yes it’s true; he rode into Jerusalem on one, on what we now call Palm Sunday, as we read earlier. But apart from the odd boat trip across the Sea of Galilee, this donkey ride is the only evidence we have in the entire New Testament, that Jesus ever travelled anywhere other than on foot. And even when he had to cross the Sea of Galilee, he sometimes preferred to take a stroll. But that's another story...

Why did Jesus deliberately choose to travel the 2 mile stretch between Bethphage and Jerusalem on a beast that looks like this?

Why? His entire travelling ministry up till this point had been carried out on foot. Was Jesus just exhausted do you think?

This was in fact the last leg of an 80 mile journey from Galilee to the capital city of Jerusalem, a journey which you can follow in chapters 19 and 20 of Matthew. We don’t always get this because we might not be familiar with the geography of the Middle East but it’s strange. It's a bit like walking from Sheffield to Middlesbrough, but taking a taxi ride for the last bit from Stockton onwards. It’s just a bit odd isn’t it?

1) God Keeps His Promises

Matthew tells us in v4 the background to all this. Eleven times in his gospel, Matthew says, "This took place to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet" and this is one of them. The messiah, when he comes, will enter Jerusalem as a king, humble, riding on a donkey, in fact on a young colt, the foal of a donkey.

And so as the crowds are looking up the road watching Jesus ride into down on this particular animal they're thinking, "This is it!" For centuries people had waited and longed for this day when the Messiah would finally turn up.

This is the path all Jews expected the Messiah to take as he entered the capital to take his crown and establish his reign. This was all predicted beforehand by the prophet Zechariah and here it is.

They’re thinking, “We’re watching history unfold before our eyes.” This is like the Berlin Wall coming down or the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The old regime is going and we’re going to be free at last!

That's what was in their minds as these events unfolded. So they throw their coats down before him. It's the red carpet treatment. This is how you welcome royalty – you make a bit of a fuss don’t you?

Here’s the thing. God keeps his promises. When God says he’s going to do something he delivers.

So much of Jesus' life was exactly predicted years before. His place of birth, his family line, his betrayal by a friend, the precise sum he was betrayed for ("for 30 pieces of silver, not 29.99"), the manner of his death (having his hands and feet pierced), the place of his burial (a borrowed tomb donated by a wealthy man) and much, much more. All of it was prophesied. All of it came true. Not figuratively or symbolically. Literally and exactly.

And because Jesus rode a real donkey as the Holy Spirit had said he would 550 years beforehand, God wants you to know that he does what he says and he keeps his promises. He sticks to his word. He did then, he does now and he will tomorrow.

He will keep his promises to you. He will always be faithful to you. He will not change his mind about you.

2) Christ Knows Your Future

At the beginning of chapter 21 (verses 1-3), Matthew tells us about the unusual arrangements Jesus made for borrowing the young donkey.

He sends two guys on ahead to the next village, and says four distinct and separate things;

1) that they will find two donkeys,
2) that one will be the mother of the second,
3) that they would be tied, and
4) what to do in the event of the owner getting upset about having his livestock nicked.

And the thing is it all comes to pass exactly as Jesus said it would. Jesus sees it all before it happens. He knows.

Some of you might be asking yourselves this morning “Where is my life going? Does God really care about what I’m facing at this time? Does he even notice?”

I read a book on holiday this week by Francis Chan called “Crazy Love.” In that book Chan tells the story of Jamie and I thought I’d share it with you this morning.

When Jamie was 23 years old she flew from the USA to Tanzania with $2000 from her savings account. She planned to stay until she ran out of money, at which point she would come home.

Jamie was overwhelmed by all the needs she encountered so she started praying that God would allow her to make a radical difference in just one person’s life. After about 6 months she met an 8 year old girl at church who was carrying a baby on her back. Jamie learned that the baby’s mother was dying from AIDS and that she was too weak to care for him.

Jamie began to buy formula for the little boy called Junio to provide him with the nutrition he needed. At the time he was half the size of a healthy baby. Jamie really loved baby Junio.

She wondered if she was being foolish - a 23 year old single, white American entertaining thoughts of adopting a baby. Besides, she didn't even know if the Tanzanian authorities allowed international adoptions. Eventually she discovered that the country didn’t allow international adoptions.

However, because she had lived there for over 6 months she could establish residency. Before Junio's mum died from AIDS she came to Jamie and said "I have heard how you are taking care of my son and I have never known such a love - I want to be saved." And she became a Christian. Just before she died she said "I know that my son is taken care of and I will see him in heaven someday."

Jamie spent 6 months going through the adoption process and then 5 more months working to get Junio a visa. When she finally got home to the USA she had been gone for a year and a half. Junio is now 5 years old, totally healthy and HIV negative.

When Junio's mum was pregnant with him she took a morning after pill late in her pregnancy in order to abort him but instead it induced premature labour and because Junio was so small no bleeding occurred during his birth, thus he did not contract HIV from his mother. What was intended to end his life, God used to save it.

Since adopting Junio, Jamie has got married, had a little girl and is moving back to Tanzania with her family to work with Wycliffe to translate the Bible for a group that has never heard it before.

What I love about that story is that it shows just how God watches over our lives and how he can transform any bad situation into a good one when faith is present.

So for those of you who are asking yourselves this morning “Does God really care about what I’m facing at this time? Does he even notice?” I want to say “Yes, God does notice and he does care and he knows in advance every twist and turn your life takes.

It’s because the Lord knows your future from all eternity that you can count on Proverbs 3.5-6.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

3) The Holy Spirit Is Looking for True Worshippers

God keeps his word and God knows your future. This is the last thing I wanted to say; the Holy Spirit is looking for true worshippers.

Let's try and get hold of what the atmosphere must have been like on Palm Sunday. There was shouting and yelling (verse 9). Verse 10 says, "the whole city was moved, was stirred." Verse 8 says that there was "a very large crowd."

How many do think might have been there? Seven or eight hundred? Maybe a couple of thousand? The first century Jewish historian Josephus wrote about Passover festivals in Jerusalem at this time and said that as many as two and a half million would have been in Jerusalem in the weeks surrounding the feast. So in all likelihood, this is a very big crowd of people making a very big noise around Jesus as he heads for the city.

They acclaim him. They shout "Hosanna", which means, "Save us, now." They expect him to enter the city, turn right towards Pilate's Antonia fortress, climb on a stallion and lead a victorious uprising against the Romans.

But he doesn't turn right at all. To everyone’s dismay he turns left into the temple precincts and drives Jews out of God's house. What a shock it must have been. What a letdown. No wonder they decided to do away with him. In five days he would be dead and buried.

In less than a week, a large crowd moves from shouting "Hosanna to the King," to screaming, "Crucify Him! We have no king but Caesar."

How fickle can the human heart be? How totally worthless is human applause! How fleeting is worldly acclaim!

God isn't taken in by hollow praise. Jesus, as he rode into town that day, wasn't thinking, "Wow it’s nice to be popular!"

Jesus sees right through lip service from lukewarm churchgoers. The Holy Spirit is looking for worshippers with souls on fire, who adore Christ in spirit and in truth, whether they feel great or feel terrible – because he is worthy of praise – always!

Are you one of them? Have you got a heart for God – the God who knows your future inside out and who will keep his promises to you as long as you live?

 

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 17th April 2011.

Heaven Invites You to a Party (Luke 15.1-7)

A Baptism Talk

If you are a guest or here for the first time today I want to extend a special welcome to you. It is great to have you here today and I hope you feel at home.

Well now, how many here this morning have seen the Pixar film Finding Nemo? It’s up there in my top ten all time animated pictures and it’s about a young clown fish called Nemo who lives in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. And Nemo’s father loves him very much – perhaps, if truth be told, a little too much actually. He expends huge energy keeping his precious son away from every possible danger as every good parent should, but he just becomes way too overprotective. Nemo begins to feel smothered, he comes to resent it and tries to assert his independence. One day Nemo, in a display of frustration and protest, disobeys his father and swims out beyond the reef...

…Where he is unexpectedly scooped up by a diver and taken away on a boat. He ends up in a dentist’s aquarium overlooking Sydney Harbour. But Nemo’s father loves little Nemo so much that he sets out on an incredible adventure braving underwater mines, whales, sharks, jellyfish and other dangers to seek and save his son.

To cut a long and exciting adventure short, Nemo eventually hears about his father’s search for him, jumps out of the aquarium and down a drainpipe that leads to the open sea – just where his father is, having all but lost any hope of finding his son. There is so much emotion and joy when Nemo is saved and reunited with his loving father.

Finding Nemo currently stands as the third highest-grossing animated film of all time. There are good reasons why so many people love Finding Nemo. It is the story of being lost, and then found. It is a powerful tale of the determination of a caring father so it’s a story that can help you get a handle on what God feels about you.

Jesus told a story a bit like Finding Nemo in Luke’s gospel.

"If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them wandered away, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it?”

Actually, that’s a good question. Does it make great deal of sense to leave 99 sheep to go and find just 1? What if you come back having found the one you lost only to find that the 99 you left behind are no longer where you left them? I wonder if the story Jesus told about the lost sheep is a bit like an Irish joke.

Paddy O’Riley is on top of the hill counting his £10 notes. “One, two, tree, four, foive…” At the end of the count he notices that one of his £10 notes has gone. “Where’s me last £10 note?” he says and runs down the hill looking for it. Finally he finds it and runs down to the local pub. “Oi’ve foned me last £10 note!” he says. I’ll boy y’all a point o’ Guinness.” “But Paddy,” they say. “What about the other 99? You had 100 £10 notes this morning.”  

*Look of complete confusion - then epiphany moment*

So Paddy says to himself, “Ah! Paddy O’Roiley, yer stoopid eegit, you’ve ornly gone and forgot all de odder sheep!” So Paddy runs up the hill again as fast as he can looking for all the other £10 notes he had left behind!

It’s a crazy story isn’t it? But that’s the point. That’s how over the top God’s love is for you. He loves you. His father heart is searching for you and he never gives up.

Jesus says, “When he finds his sheep he joyfully carries it home on his shoulders. Then he calls together his friends and neighbours and says “Celebrate with me because my lost sheep is found. In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

This is a story that tells us what God is like. He doesn’t stand at a distance, arms folded, and blame us when we wander away. He doesn’t wash his hands of us when we mess up, saying that we’re just too much trouble. When we are a long way from God, he goes out to us. When we are lost he seeks us out.

We stress over things we lose – or might lose. A wallet or keys or travellers cheques. But it can be worse. If we lose a job, we might lose the house. Someone said to me a few months ago, “The person most special to me has cancer and I am frightened I’ll lose them.” When I was about 5 I wandered off and lost my parents on a crowded beach. I thought my world had ended.

But the most precious thing we can lose is our own soul – to be far from God and not knowing how the way back. And that is what Jesus means here in this story.

People say “Well I don’t feel lost at all. I’m happy in life. I’ve got everything I need. I don’t need God.” I think that’s why Jesus used the example of a sheep in the story. Does this animal look anxious and stressed about being lost to you?

Sheep just don’t agonise very much over existential matters. The sheep probably didn’t realise it had a problem until the shepherd found it and brought it back to where it should have been. When it saw the shepherd it probably thought to itself, “What does he want?” But once it was back with the fold it probably thought, “Oh yeah, this feels better.”

But I want you to notice a small detail in the story because it’s vitally important. Jesus says at the end, “I tell you… there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

God loves people even when they mess up - and he goes out of his way to seek them out. But it’s not all one way. Jesus says there’s rejoicing in heaven over one sinner… who repents.

We don’t use the word “Repent” very much in modern English but it basically means to turn round. Jesus says here that the other side of the coin of being a found sheep is turning back to God. In other words, God does his part but we have to do ours as well. God is always calling you and me to stop thinking “I can do life all on my own” and start saying “I want Jesus; his love, his grace, his truth, his life at the centre of all I do.” The first time that happens there’s a party in heaven because heaven loves it when lost sheep get found, when sinners (and we’re all sinners) repent.

It’s too early for Hermione and Ben and Catherine to turn their life around like that. They’re too young to understand this now. But when they get a little older, and more aware of spiritual things, they will have to make a spiritual decision for themselves – like we do as adults. Because baptism doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car mechanic.

Your job as parents and godparents is to do all you can to help these children make that right choice. Pray for them, love them, tell them about Jesus, and bring them to church – there’s loads of great things for kids here.

Jesus said there are only two roads. There’s a wide lane highway with bright lights that leads to destruction and a narrow winding path that leads to eternal life. There aren’t any other alternatives. Two roads. This is a question for everybody here today: which are you on? Is it time to turn round and get on the only road that leads to eternal life?


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 13th March 2011