Tawa Baptist

True Worship

Scripture: Micah 6:6-8

 

Title: True Worship

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Content & packaging
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

On the wall behind me is the Tawa College crest on which are written the words

–         Do justly

 

‘Do justly’ is a quote from the prophet Micah

–         Let me read to you the context of these words

–         From Micah chapter 6, verses 6-8 we read…

 

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

 

May the Lord bless the reading of his word

 

Content & packaging:

[Hold up a packet of M&M’s]

–         Who likes M&M’s?

–         Okay – leave your hand up if you would like to come to the front to receive these M&M’s (you can bring an adult with you if you want)

–         [Choose someone (close to the front) to come to the front]

 

Now, before I give you this bag of M&M’s I want to ask you a question – it’s not a trick question:

–         Which of these two bags would you prefer?

–         This one here which is empty?

–         Or this one which is full?

–         [Let them respond]

 

The full one – good choice – here is your bag of M&M’s

 

But before you go I want to ask you one more question

–         Which of these two bags of M&M’s would you prefer?

–         This big empty bag?

–         Or this small full bag?

 

Okay – so even though the empty bag is much bigger, you would still prefer to have the smaller bag which is full

–         That would be my preference too – here’s the smaller bag for you to give to someone you like or don’t like (up to you)

–         Thanks for helping me – you can sit down now

 

The point here is that the contents of the bag are more important than the packaging

–         It doesn’t matter how big and glossy and fancy the packaging is, without any M&M’s inside it is worthless

–         Now it’s not that the packaging is necessarily bad in itself

–         We need the packaging – the packet is good for holding the M&M’s together so they don’t roll all over the floor

–         And it’s also good for letting you know what’s inside the bag

–         The packaging only becomes rubbish when the bag is empty

 

In Micah 6 the prophet asks the question…

–         Shall I come before [the Lord] with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression…?

The first four examples of ritual offerings listed here: burnt offerings, calves a year old, rams and oil, are like the packaging – they are only good if they are accompanied by the contents of the bag: justice, mercy and humility

–         The last example of sacrificing a first born child is not packaging – it is poison – never good under any circumstances.

 

Micah is saying here: God is not pleased when we offer Him an empty bag

–         God is more interested in the contents of our life than the packaging

–         There’s no point in following a whole lot of religious rituals if we don’t live our lives with justice, mercy and humility

 

These days we don’t sacrifice animals to God – Jesus put an end to that by his death on the cross

–         Generally speaking, these days our ritual offerings are things like giving money to the church and singing songs of praise

–         But all that kind of stuff is packaging – it only becomes meaningful when it holds a life of justice, mercy and humility

–         It’s not that we should stop giving financially and singing songs – those things are still important (we need the packet to hold everything together)

–         But if singing or giving money or some other religious ritual becomes a substitute for justice, mercy & humility then we’ve got a problem

 

You see, it’s not either/or – it’s both/and

–         It’s not either the packet or the M&M’s – it’s both the packet and the MM’s

–         It’s not either attending Sunday services or practicing justice & mercy the rest of the week – it’s both those things together

–         Like Jesus said in Matthew 23, when he was telling the Pharisees off:

–         You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. (It’s both/and – not either/or)

 

Worship of God needs to encompass all of life

–         Offering ourselves (as living sacrifices) by doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God is true worship – this is faith in action

–         And if we want to know what justice, mercy and humility are, we look to Jesus Christ, the author and perfector of our faith

 

Conclusion:

On the wall here is an invitation and response based on Micah 6, verse 8

What does the Lord require of you?

–         To do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God

 

Tawa Baptist

Unity

Scripture: Psalm 133

Title: Unity

Structure:

  • Introduction – unity is diversity with order
  • The Trinity and us
  • Unity comes down from God above
  • Unity is for sharing
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

On the wall here we have a picture of a tapestry of the Lord’s Supper

–         A tapestry is a unity

–         It is not sameness which makes for unity – rather, unity is diversity with order

–         Although there are many different coloured strands they are all woven together in an ordered way to pleasing effect

–         Together the strands form a bigger picture which makes sense

 

In our house there are three women and one shower

–         One of the things that happens with this arrangement is that long strands of hair gather in the drain, causing a blockage, so that the water in the bottom of the shower rises to your ankles

–         Whenever this happens it is my job to unblock the drain, pulling all the hair out by hand – I don’t mind though, it makes me feel useful

 

The hair in the drain is the opposite of unity

–         Unlike the tapestry which has a variety of different strands woven together in an ordered way, the hair in the drain is pretty much all the same and it is clumped together in a tangled mess of soap scum

–         There is no order, no bigger picture, no meaning, no pleasantness with hair in the drain

–         Unity is diversity with order – unity is pleasing

 

This morning we return to our series on the Songs of Ascents

–         These songs were probably sung by Jewish pilgrims as they made their way to the temple in Jerusalem for various religious festivals

–         They are songs for the faithful as they gather together for worship

 

Our focus today is psalm 133

–         This song celebrates God’s gift of unity

–         From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

 

1 How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.

3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

The Trinity and us:

One of the prominent features at the front here is the organ

–         The organ is a unity – it has a diverse range of parts & pipes put together in an ordered way to make music which is pleasing

 

The organ is a metaphor for creation – creation is a unity, a diversity of different matter put together in an ordered and pleasing way

 

Today is Trinity Sunday, when we reflect on the mystery of the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

–         God is a unity – a diversity of three persons who are one

 

In a limited way the organ serves as a metaphor to help us understand the Trinity’s interaction with creation

–         I say ‘in a limited way’ because I’m very cautious about using any sort of analogy for God or the Trinity

–         God is holy – which (among other things) means he is different from us and indeed different from any created thing

–         God is beyond compare so no metaphor is adequate for describing God

 

Having said that, metaphors can be helpful to help our finite human minds form some concept of our infinite God and how we might relate with Him

 

Anyway, as I was saying, if the organ represents creation then the Trinity (Father, Son & Spirit together) designed and built the organ

–         The organ is not God – creation is not God – it was just made by Him

 

God the Father is like the organist and composer of the music

–         The Father writes the music and plays it on the organ (or through creation)

 

The gospel of John tells us that God the Son (who we know as Jesus) is God’s Word – so the Son is like the music God has composed

–         Just as music is an expression or embodiment of the composer’s soul, in a similar way, Jesus is an expression or embodiment of God Himself

–         Just as the music unites the choir, so everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet, so too Jesus unites the church and indeed all of creation – Jesus shows us which notes to follow

 

If we imagine that God the Father is the organist and Jesus is the music and we (in all our diversity) are the organ pipes, then the Holy Spirit is the wind passing through the pipes, making the sound God wills through us

–         We can’t make the music on our own – in fact we only find our meaning and purpose when we let God’s will be done in our life

–         Nor do we get to hear the whole song in our lifetime – we have to wait for eternity for that

 

Now in some ways this analogy is inadequate

–         Firstly, Jesus is more than just the music (as important as that is)

–         Jesus is a real person – the one who came to redeem & repair creation

–         It’s like the organ of creation was damaged by sin and Jesus (the organ builder’s Son) came to fix it

 

Likewise the Holy Spirit is more than just the wind blowing through the pipes (as important as that is)

–         The Spirit of God is also a real person

–         If we are the organ pipes, each one of us sounding a different note, then the Spirit is like the tuner who comes to adjust us when we get out of tune

 

Of course – an organ is not a living thing with free will

–         Some parts of God’s creation always do what they are supposed to at the right time – not so us humans, we are far more difficult to work with

 

In John 15 Jesus uses the image of the vine – the vine being a living organic unity

–         The Lord says to his disciples: I am the vine, you are the branches and God the Father is the gardener

–         Following this logic we might cautiously suggest the Holy Spirit is the sap or the life flowing from within the vine to the branches

–         As branches we come in different shapes and sizes but we are united by Christ, the main trunk of the vine

–         What’s more we are sustained and made fruitful by the life giving Spirit of Jesus in us

 

Unity comes down from God above:

Returning to psalm 133

–         This song is attributed to King David and it is essentially about unity

 

Although it is short (only 3 verses) psalm 133 uses two quite different images to convey the one idea that unity is a good and pleasing gift from God

 

Verse 1 begins with David describing the experience of unity from a human perspective

–         How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity.

 

On the sixth day of creation (in Genesis 1) the Lord God saw all that he had made and it was very good

–         Creation before the fall was a perfect unity – it was diverse but at the same time ordered in such a way that was good and pleasing

 

Unity from God is not unpleasant, like tangled hair and soap scum clogging up the shower drain

–         No – unity from God is good & pleasant, like a well ordered tapestry conveying a meaningful bigger picture

–         Or like an organ playing the right notes at the right pitch at the right time

 

The implication of verse 1 is: if it’s not pleasant then it’s probably not unity as God intended it

 

In verse 2 we are given the first image of unity

–         It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.

 

Now to us this image doesn’t seem all that pleasant

–         It actually sounds messy and inconvenient

–         If someone poured so much oil on your head that it ran down your face and onto your clothes you would probably want to jump in the shower and put your clothes in the wash

 

But in ancient Middle Eastern culture it was customary for the host to greet a guest by pouring oil on their head

–         It was a way of saying welcome, you have a special place of honour among us, we are pleased you are here

–         Oil on the head was a picture of generous hospitality – it was an expression of unity

 

We read of Jesus being anointed in this way on more than one occasion in the gospels, by women (because the men were preoccupied)

 

But the picture in verse 2 isn’t just one of hospitality – for the verse goes on to describe the anointing of Aaron, the high priest of Israel during the time of Moses

–         Aaron was anointed with a special kind of oil – one mixed with perfume

–         So the oil of unity is sacred and it has a pervasive aroma

–         Unity is a pleasant fragrance which cannot be contained and which everyone can enjoy [1]

 

Jesus is our high priest – he is the Christ or the Messiah

–         Christ and Messiah mean the same thing: anointed one

–         Jesus (the anointed one) is the head of the church and we are the members of Christ’s body

–         Although we are quite diverse in many ways we are united by Christ

–         Jesus brings order to our diversity and the oil of his Spirit is a pleasant fragrance which cannot be contained

 

The main thing to note in verses 2 & 3 of psalm 133 is that the oil of unity runs down – it descends from above, meaning that unity comes from God above

–         Unity is not manufactured by us from the ground up – it is a gift (or a blessing) bestowed by God from on high

 

We heard last week about the builders of the Tower of Babel

–         In the end their unity was revealed to be false for they were trying to manufacture it themselves from the ground up

–         That kind of forced unity never lasts

–         True unity is a blessing from God above – not a human achievement

 

Verse 3 offers a second simile for unity

–         It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion.

 

Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel, found in the north near Galilee

–         Hermon is proverbial for its heavy dew

–         The mountains of Zion refer to the much smaller mountains in the south of Israel on which the city of Jerusalem was built

–         Hermon and Zion were diverse geographically speaking (they were spaced well apart) and they were quite different in height

–         Yet little Mount Zion enjoyed the same gift as grand old Hermon – they both share the same dew from heaven above

–         High and low drink the same sweet refreshment. [2]

–         Like the labourers in Jesus’ parable, at the end of the day, we are all paid the same, regardless of how many hours we worked  

Perhaps also, as King of Israel, David is reflecting on what God has done in uniting the different tribes of Israel – bringing the north and the south together

–         David sees a diverse range of people all coming together to worship God at his footstool in Jerusalem and he appreciates the harmony of it all

 

In any case, unity is a life giving blessing from God

–         Just as oil flows down from the head and just as dew comes down from above, so too unity comes down to us from God above

 

The thing is though that God often blesses us with unity in unexpected ways

–         Just last Friday night there was a power cut in Tawa – it was a complete black out

–         But it was also a blessing to our family – it was something a bit different, something fun and unexpected that brought us together

–         We lit candles, gathered close, laughed and talked because there wasn’t anything else we could do

–         It was quite a lovely time of family unity and felt like a gift from God

 

Unity is for sharing:

As well as showing us that unity comes from God above, the two images in psalm 133 also show us that unity is not designed to be contained

–         Rather, unity is for sharing

–         The pleasant fragrance of the perfumed oil on Aaron’s head and shoulders cannot be contained – the aroma is for everyone

–         Likewise the dew of Hermon falls liberally on Zion as well – it is not funnelled off somewhere exclusive – it is for high and low alike

 

Given that unity is a gift from God and given that it may come to us in unexpected ways, when it does come we need to be careful to recognise it and share it, without getting in the way – without creating a blockage

–         We need to ask ourselves how can we be a conduit for God’s gift of unity

 

In Luke 12 Jesus tells a rather sobering parable about a man whose land yielded a bumper crop

–         This blessing from God above created a problem for the farmer

–         Instead of consulting with his neighbours though he ignored his community and tried to figure out the problem on his own

–         He said to himself: ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

–         Still talking to himself he said, ‘I know, I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones to store all my grain – then I’ll be able to retire early, put my feet up and take life easy.’

 

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

 

The tragedy is this man didn’t realise he was actually quite disconnected and God was trying to bless him with the gift of unity in the form of a bumper crop

–         If only he had talked with his neighbours he might have realised how his actions would only isolate him further

–         By holding onto the grain the farmer was driving the price up

–         If he had been less greedy and sold the grain at a lower price then the rest of the community would have benefited, especially the poor

–         Everyone would have enjoyed the pleasant fragrance of God’s special anointing on his land

–         High and low alike would have been refreshed by the dew of Hermon poured out on him

–         What’s more he would have enjoyed something far better than money – he would have experienced how good and pleasant it is to dwell in unity

 

By keeping it all for himself the man (ironically) rejected God’s gift of unity

–         He became a blockage to unity and God had little choice but to remove the blockage by taking back his life

 

Jesus told some really sad stories aye. That one was real tragic. I’m more of a happy ending kind of guy so let’s imagine this parable differently

 

Once there was a farmer who worked on his land from dawn till dusk six days a week

–         God had been good to him and blessed his hard work so that he was able to pay off his mortgage about 10 years sooner than he expected

–         But these kinds of gains come at a cost

–         As a consequence of working such long hours he didn’t have time for a wife and family – his was a relatively solitary life

 

He did reserve Sundays as a day off though when he would go into town to attend church in the morning before picking up some groceries from the supermarket on the way home

–         It wasn’t that he was particularly religious – he went to church mostly for the social contact (the cuppa and chat afterwards was his favourite part)

 

As the years went by the city expanded into the countryside and it was just a matter of time before property developers started eyeing up his farmland to build new homes for a hungry suburban market

–         One such developer offered the farmer 5x what he had paid for his land

–         It was a tempting offer – with no mortgage and this sort of cash in the bank he could retire before he was 50

 

That Sunday the preacher at church spoke about the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12

–         The farmer didn’t normally care for the sermon that much but this particular week he hung on every word

–         After reflecting on Jesus’ parable he decided not to get back to the developer just yet

 

The next Sunday, over coffee after the service, the farmer mentioned to one of the bankers in the congregation that he had been approached by a developer who was wanting to buy his land and turn it into a sub-division

–         The banker asked what the developer was offering and, on hearing a figure, explained how the land would be worth a lot more than that after it had been sliced up – The farmer had guessed as much

–         The banker asked if the farmer would consider subdividing the land himself

 

The following Sunday the farmer got into a conversation with a young guy in his 20’s who was saving to buy a house – it was tough to get a deposit together these days, especially with a large student loan

–         The farmer didn’t say anything about the developer’s offer this time

–         He was all of sudden conscious of a great divide between the two of them

–         So he offered the young guy some extra work on his farm

–         The young man was grateful and proved to be pretty good at fencing

–         To his surprise the farmer found he quite enjoyed the company

–         It had been a long time since he had worked with someone, it made the job seem more pleasant somehow

 

A few more weeks went by and the developer returned with an even bigger offer – but this time the farmer said ‘no’

–         Instead he made an offer of his own – not to the developer but to the young guy and his wife

–         He sold them a parcel of his land for half what the developer was offering him – which was about a quarter of the retail rate

–         To make the deal even sweeter he had a lawyer draw up a contract saying as long as they lived in the house they could pay him back interest free over a 20 year period

 

The couple still needed to borrow from the bank to build the house but the reduced cost of the land and the less onerous repayments made getting into their own home more affordable

–         The great divide he had sensed at first, between himself and the young man, was gone – the farmer felt closer to his neighbours

 

He did the same thing for others who were struggling, gradually selling pieces of his farm at below market rates

–         It meant reducing stock numbers a bit and being a bit smarter with his pasture management but it was workable because he was freehold

 

As the farmer shared his land a tight but diverse community developed so he became less isolated and more connected

–         He no longer needed to work 12 hours a day six days a week on his own – there were always willing neighbours ready to lend him hand

–         No one defaulted on their loans – partly because he was discerning about who he helped but also because a bit of grace usually motivates people to do the right thing

 

The farmer worked till he was 65 before taking his super and he lived comfortably in his retirement till his death at age 84

 

When asked by the pastor one day why he had helped so many people the farmer replied…

–         “When I look back on it I realise it wasn’t me who did it. I was isolated and alone before God blessed me with unity. All I had to do was get out of the way so God could do His thing.”

 

Conclusion:

Unity is diversity with order

–         Unity is pleasant

–         Unity comes down to us from God above, often in unexpected ways

–         Ultimately though unity is for sharing

 

Let us pray…

–         Father God, we thank you for your gift of unity through Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit

–         Help us to recognise your blessings when they come and to be a conduit for unity by sharing your good gifts

–         We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/11-jun-2017-unity

[1] Refer Derek Kidner’s commentary on ‘Psalms 73-150’, page 489

[2] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, page 489.

Tawa Baptist

The Tower of Babel

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9 (also Acts 2:1-12)

 

Title: The Tower of Babel

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • A stairway to heaven
  • God’s judgment is salvation
  • Conclusion – Pentecost

 

Introduction:

The New Zealand short story writer, Owen Marshall, has a poem called The Divided World

–         It’s quite long so I won’t read you the whole thing but here’s a few lines,

 

The world is divided between those who blame Lucifer, and those who blame a lack of dietary fibre – between the superstitious, and the unimaginative

 

The world is divided between those who say they adore the country and never go there, and those who say they hate the city and never leave it 

 

The world is divided between those who try themselves, and those who seek a less corrupt judge.

 

The world is divided between those who are tolerant and wise, and their husbands. Between the people we always suspected, and the butlers who did it.

 

The world is divided between those who have shifted to the North Island, and those passed over for promotion;

 

Between those who face the world with a religion, and those who wish to but have only irony in its place. 

 

The world is divided between those who boast of their climate, and those who rejoice in secret that a cold wind isolates a landscape; between the few now, and the great majority on the other side.

 

The world is divided between those who are proud, and those who have lost their self-respect and so become the most dangerous of men;

 

When we look around the world today we see a great deal of division

–         The U.K. is divided over the Brixit issue

–         The U.S. is divided over Donald Trump’s nationalism

–         Syria is divided by Assad’s regime

–         The Middle East is divided by the Israeli / Palestinian conflict

–         While East Africa is divided by war and famine

–         Closer to home, families are divided by divorce

 

Today our message focuses on the story of the Tower of Babel – this is one of the traditional readings for Pentecost

–         It speaks to a divided world

–         From Genesis 11, verses 1-9 we read…

 

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

A stairway to heaven:

In 1971 Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote a song called Stairway to Heaven

–         It became a rock classic & was later criticised (in the 80’s) by people who said that when you play it backwards one of the lines talks about Satan

–         If that’s true then I suggest you don’t play it backwards

–         It sounds better if you play it forwards anyway

 

The first verse goes something like this…

There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold And she’s buying a stairway to heaven. When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed With a word she can get what she came for. Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.

 

When asked what the song was about Robert Plant said it was “about a woman getting everything she wanted all the time without giving back any thought or consideration…”  [1]

 

In other words, it’s about someone who is a bit spoilt in that they always get their own way, while taking others for granted

–         The song criticizes those who think they are entitled to special treatment because they have lots of money or because of who they know

–         This verse in particular is saying you can’t buy happiness – you can’t expect money to make life perfect, you can’t buy a stairway to heaven

–         You are not entitled to special treatment – life doesn’t owe you anything

 

Now, I’m not here to defend Led Zeppelin – I have no interest in condoning them or condemning them (and I can’t speak for the rest of the song either)

–         It’s simply an illustration to help us better understand Genesis 11

–         The people who built the Tower of Babel were a little bit like the woman in the song who thought she could buy a stairway to heaven

 

Genesis 11 is set sometime between Noah and Abraham when everyone still spoke the same language

–         Language is a great unifier – being able to reach a common understanding connects us and helps us to work together cooperatively

–         As the descendants of Noah repopulated the earth a group of them migrated east and settled on the plains of Mesopotamia where they decided to build a city with a tower reaching to the heavens

–         They were essentially trying to build a stairway to heaven

 

According to archaeologists and historians the tower of Babel was most probably an ancient ziggurat. It would have looked a bit like a pyramid with a staircase to the top. Unlike a pyramid though it wasn’t hollow inside and it wasn’t used as a tomb.

In those times people didn’t actually live in the city like we do today – the city was more of a temple complex

–         The purpose of the tower was to provide a gateway and a staircase for the gods to come down from their heavenly realm and bless the people

–         People didn’t walk up and down the staircase themselves – it was sacred space for the gods to use

–         Therefore, the ziggurat or the Tower of Babel was very much a symbol of pagan religion

 

Now when we hear the word ‘pagan’ we tend to think of someone who has no religion, when in actual fact a pagan is very religious

–         Pagans seek to placate and manipulate the gods for their own benefit

–         Pagans view the gods as having needs

–         They think, “If I take care of the gods, by making sacrifices and offerings, then they will take care of me”

–         It is a quid pro quo arrangement: you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours

–         Pagans basically think they can pay the gods off and buy their way into heaven

 

In contrast to paganism, Christians believe there is only one God and He doesn’t have needs – He is Holy – meaning (among other things) that He is morally good and He doesn’t need us to take care of Him

–         God is not short of cash or any other resource

–         He doesn’t need anyone to build him a staircase to come down from heaven and He doesn’t need anyone to feed him with offerings of food

–         In fact it is the other way around – we need God to provide for us

 

Now, because God has no needs he cannot be manipulated – He is free – and the idea of a free God who won’t be manipulated is quite scary for some

–         What might the most powerful being in the universe to do us?

 

Given that we need God to provide for our needs and given that we can’t control God then it logically follows the only way we can relate with God is by faith – by trusting in His goodness & grace to provide for us

 

Faith in God’s grace, as opposed to buying a stairway to heaven – this is what makes Christian religion different from pagan religions

 

Verse 4 of Genesis 11 reveals the pagan nature of the building project

–         The people were building a city and a staircase for the gods so they could make a name for themselves and not be scattered over the whole earth

–         They were seeking to harness the power of the gods to leave a legacy – to make themselves famous and secure

–         We need to be careful what we wish for – the people of Babel did become infamous for all the wrong reasons

 

The builders of Babel’s stairway to heaven stand in stark contrast to Abram – the wandering Aramean who doesn’t settle in one place for too long, but walks by faith, trusting in God’s promises

 

You know, sometimes paganism can creep into Christianity

–         In its most obvious form paganism is known as ‘cargo cult’ or ‘prosperity doctrine’

–         The idea that if I give a lot of money to God he will bless me with health and prosperity and my life will go well – this is false

–         God does not promise us health and prosperity – these things are not entitlements. Nor are they for sale. They are gifts, pure and simple

–         We give back to God out of gratitude for what he has already given us

–         We give without strings

–         We practice generosity because God is generous

 

Sometimes though our paganism can be more subtle

–         Maybe we live a good clean life,

–         We meet our obligations and pay our taxes,

–         We take care of our family,

–         We serve in the life of the church (perhaps sacrificially),

–         We do everything right and yet we still have this abiding feeling of resentment, simmering away just beneath the surface

–         If that’s the case for us then perhaps on some sub conscious level our paganism is at work so that we think we are being short changed and that God owes us for all we’ve done for him

–         Like the lady in the song (deep down) we think we are entitled

 

One way to counter the dormant paganism which resides in each of us is to stay in touch with our vices – be honest with ourselves about our sin

–         If we turn a blind eye to the darkness in us and if try too hard to be good all the time, it usually comes back to bite us on the bum

–         We end up thinking that our good behaviour entitles us to special treatment, so that we shouldn’t suffer injustice or misfortune

–         We are not entitled to any special treatment in this life

–         God doesn’t promise that we won’t suffer.

–         To be sustainable our good behaviour needs to be born out of gratitude for God’s grace, not out of fear of calamity

 

The elder brother, in the parable of the prodigal son, shows us the ugly face of paganism when he refuses to come in and celebrate his younger brother’s return

–         The elder son thinks his long service and good behaviour entitles him to certain benefits which his reckless undeserving brother is now enjoying

–         He resents the Father’s grace toward the younger son

 

In the parable of the labourers we see an attitude of entitlement (and paganism) by those who worked all day and were paid the same as those who worked less time

 

These are negative examples – let me give you a more positive one…

–         You may remember Steve Askin, the helicopter pilot who died while fighting fires in Canterbury earlier this year

–         Well Steve’s dad is a Baptist pastor – Paul Askin

–         I shared a ride from the airport to a pastors’ conference with Paul Askin a few years ago – he’s a genuine soul

 

Anyway, after his son Steve had died fighting the fire, Paul was interviewed by the news media and he said…

–         ‘I got to spend 38 years with Steve’

–         What struck me here is that Paul said this with gratitude

–         Although he had suffered a terrible loss Paul was thankful for the time he had been given with his son

–         He didn’t deny his loss but nor did he deny the gift of Steve’s life

 

Paul is an outstanding pastor – he has served God faithfully for many years

–         If anyone might deserve a break its him

–         But Paul didn’t think his service to the Lord entitled him to special benefits – despite the pain he was in there was no resentment

 

Now I’m not saying it’s bad to feel angry when we suffer loss

–         Resentment is not always a sign of paganism

–         Grief is an unpredictable critter and we all handle our grief in different ways the best we can

–         All I’m saying is: in that moment, when Paul was at his most vulnerable, I saw Christ who didn’t think he was entitled to special favours because he was God’s Son but rather accepted the cross he was given

 

God’s judgment is salvation:

In verse 5 the Lord comes down to see the not yet completed city and tower

–         Clearly the Lord didn’t need the people to build him a stairway – he was quite capable of managing the journey to earth without their help

 

The fact that God came down to investigate shows us that God is fair & just

–         He doesn’t react rashly or flippantly – the Lord’s response is measured and considered – taking into account the facts

 

When God sees what they are doing he says to the heavenly council (which is presumably the other members of the Trinity and the angels in heaven)…

 

“If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

 

God can see the people have embarked on a bad path – one which would ultimately be destructive to the builders’ themselves and to others

–         So God intervenes to prevent a disaster

 

Now we might ask ourselves, ‘What is the offense here? Why does God deem it necessary to intervene?’

–         Well, it’s not that cities or towers or other forms of technology are bad and it’s not that working together is bad either

–         Nor is it bad to want to leave a legacy

–         As we heard last week God chose a city (Jerusalem) as a dwelling for his footstool – the Ark

–         Not only that but he promised to make David’s name great and give David an everlasting legacy

 

Most likely the problem is with the people’s perception of God – their pagan theology sucks [2]

–         They have seriously misunderstood God by thinking he has needs and can be manipulated like a man

–         Paganism is fundamentally bad because it is based on a lie and eventually leads to all sorts of evil including human sacrifice

–         As a consequence God prevents them from doing further harm by taking away the key to their success – he confuses their language

 

Imagine for a moment that you’ve had some friends over to watch the rugby

–         Although you have been a responsible host one of your mates has had a bit too much to drink

–         You invite him to stay for the night but he refuses. So you offer to drive him home yourself but he won’t let you do that either

–         In the end you have no choice but to take his keys off him and wait for him to pass out on your living room floor

–         He isn’t too happy with you but that’s better than letting him drive drunk at the risk of causing an accident

 

By deeming your mate unfit to drive and taking his keys away you have passed judgment on him – but it’s a merciful judgment – a judgment which saves him

 

By confusing the languages God was taking the keys away from the builders and passing judgment on them – but it was a merciful judgment

–         In fact God’s judgment (in this context) is also His salvation

 

By scattering the people over all the earth the Lord was actually giving them a second chance – He wasn’t destroying them

–         But nor was he enabling their fantasy – he wasn’t colluding with their lie

–         He was putting them in a position of vulnerability where they would have a better chance of learning to trust Him

 

Verse 9 explains why the abandoned building site was called “Babel”

–         Babel is a parody on the Akkadian word Babilu from which we get the name Babylon – meaning ‘gate of god’ [3]

–         I say that Babel is a parody of Babilu because Babel is the Hebrew word for confusion and as providence would have it Babel also sounds very close to the English word babble

 

Babylon (or Babel as the Jews called it) was of course a city of exile for the Hebrew people – so you could imagine the delight the Jewish exiles had in reading this story of Babel – the city of their enemies

–         The narrator of Genesis is essentially criticising Babylonian theology

–         He’s basically saying, you think that Babylon is the ‘gate of the gods’ but you are confused – completely deluded in fact.

–         You can’t build or buy a stairway to heaven.

–         Right relationship with God is by faith, not manipulation.

 

Conclusion:

Today we celebrate Pentecost and the gift of God’s Spirit

–         At Pentecost we catch a glimpse of God’s plan of salvation for the world

–         The Holy Spirit translates the truth about Jesus for us

–         Not only that but the Holy Spirit resides in our hearts

–         And when the Spirit of Jesus is in our heart we don’t need to build a stairway to heaven because God is right there inside us already

–         Like an antidote to our hidden paganism the Spirit gently shows us our vices (He convicts us of our sin) and reassures us of God’s grace & forgiveness

 

When we look at what happened next (after Acts 2) we find that Jesus’ followers didn’t gather in Jerusalem for long

–         Rather God scattered the believers outward from Jerusalem to Samaria and to the ends of the earth,

–         And as they went the believers spread the good news of salvation by faith in Jesus

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/4-jun-2017-the-tower-of-babylon

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_Heaven

[2] Refer John Walton’s (NIVAC) on Genesis, pages 371-377 and 379-382.

[3] Refer Bruce Waltke’s commentary on Genesis, page 181.

Tawa Baptist

Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch

Scripture: Acts 8:26-40

 

Title: The Gospel as Treasure

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Recently Robyn & I were fortunate enough to spend a week in Taupo

–         While we were there we came across a pamphlet detailing the top 10 walking tracks around the Taupo area

–         One of these walks was up Mount Tauhara, which is the mountain you can see tucked behind the Taupo township

–         I was quite keen to climb this mountain so Robyn and I came to a mutual agreement that she would go shopping for a mothers’ day present for my mum while I went climbing (climbing is less exhausting than shopping)

 

Anyway, Mt Tauhara isn’t that tall – the summit is only 1,088 meters and the track begins half way up anyway – but it is pretty steep all the way

–         I smashed it – got the top in 1 hour – which isn’t bad for an old guy

 

At the top a woman, with her three kids, laid down a painted rock

–         She explained to the rest of us there what she was doing

–         The idea is to paint a rock and then write on the back # the name of your town Rocks

–         For example, we might write #TawaRocks or if you come from Dunedin you would write #DunedinRocks

 

You hide the rock somewhere that people are likely to find it and then the finder snaps a photo holding it, uploads the photo onto social media, and re-hides it for someone else to find

  • – It’s sort of like a treasure hunt – except you don’t keep the treasure for yourself, you pass it on for others
  • – Apparently one rock which started in NZ has ended up in Italy

 

Today is the first of three Sundays when we promote Tranzsend’s prayer and self-denial campaign

–         Tranzsend supports and resources NZ Baptist missionaries serving overseas

–         The theme for this year’s self-denial campaign is treasures handed down

–         Jesus is the greatest treasure God gave the world and one of the main ways that Jesus is handed down to us is through the gospel

 

The word gospel simply means ‘good news’

–         In particular it refers to the good news that, through faith in Jesus, God accepts us

 

The gospel also refers to the four accounts of Jesus’ life and work, which we read about in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

–         In many ways though the whole Bible points to Jesus – both the Old Testament and the New Testament – it’s all about Christ

–         In fact, Jesus is the key to understanding the Bible

 

Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch:

Please turn with me to Acts chapter 8, verse 26

–         You can find Acts 8 on page 161 toward the back of your pew Bibles

–         The Scripture reading I’ve chosen to go with this theme, that the gospel of Christ is treasure, is the account of Philip’s conversation with the Ethiopian eunuch

–         This is sort of a painted rocks story in that the treasure of the gospel is passed on to a distant land

–         From Acts chapter 8, verses 26-40 we read…

 

26 An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get ready and go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This road is not used nowadays.) 27-28 So Philip got ready and went. Now an Ethiopian eunuch, who was an important official in charge of the treasury of the queen of Ethiopia, was on his way home. He had been to Jerusalem to worship God and was going back home in his carriage. As he rode along, he was reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that carriage and stay close to it.” 30 Philip ran over and heard him reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. He asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31 The official replied, “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” And he invited Philip to climb up and sit in the carriage with him. 32 The passage of scripture which he was reading was this:

“He was like a sheep that is taken to be slaughtered,     like a lamb that makes no sound when its wool is cut off.     He did not say a word. 33 He was humiliated, and justice was denied him.     No one will be able to tell about his descendants,     because his life on earth has come to an end.”

34 The official asked Philip, “Tell me, of whom is the prophet saying this? Of himself or of someone else?” 35 Then Philip began to speak; starting from this passage of scripture, he told him the Good News about Jesus. 36 As they travelled down the road, they came to a place where there was some water, and the official said, “Here is some water. What is to keep me from being baptized?” 37

38 The official ordered the carriage to stop, and both Philip and the official went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The official did not see him again, but continued on his way, full of joy. 40 Philip found himself in Azotus; he went on to Caesarea, and on the way he preached the Good News in every town.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

In my 20’s I got a job working for a Non-Government Organisation which supports people with disabilities to live in the community

–         Part of my role was to accompany people, who experienced disability, as they led awareness training

–         This involved visiting schools and workplaces so people could talk about their lives and their disability as a way of breaking down barriers and helping mainstream society to accept individual difference

 

One guy I worked with lived with cerebral palsy

–         Cerebral palsy can affect people in different ways but in his case his movement and speech was disrupted, which meant he used a wheelchair to get around and other people found his speech difficult to understand

–         Every other part of his anatomy was in good working order

 

Although he was quite intelligent and capable the sound of his voice created a barrier in other people’s minds so that he was often prejudged as inferior or people simply lost patience with him and wrote him off

–         Part of my job was acting as his interpreter

–         He would say something and I would repeat it so that those in the room who weren’t used to his voice could get his meaning

–         My job then wasn’t so much to help him – he didn’t need my help

–         My job was to help others to understand him

 

One thing I learned quite quickly was that disability is a social construct

–         By which I mean it wasn’t cerebral palsy that disabled this guy so much as the society in which he lived

–         Other people’s prejudice was more disabling to him than cerebral palsy

–         It was not being given a fair go that disabled him

 

Our passage from Acts today begins with an angel of the Lord telling Philip to go out into the wilderness to a lonely road

 

An angel of the Lord is basically a messenger sent by God

–         That’s what angel means, ‘messenger’

–         Receiving a visitation from an angel made it abundantly clear that God was in this

 

Philip was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples

–         When Jesus called Philip to follow him, the first thing Philip did was to introduce one of his friends (Nathanael) to Jesus [1]

–         Nathanael also became a disciple of Jesus

–         Some people are like Philip – they are the glue connecting people

 

Philip was known as an evangelist

–         Evangelism has almost become a swear word these days, which is quite sad because evangelism is actually a good thing

–         It is a word closely related to ‘gospel’ or good news

–         An evangelist is essentially someone who spreads good news

–         Or to put it another way: evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread

–         Philip is called an ‘evangelist’ because he was one man telling others in need they could find acceptance with God through faith in Jesus

 

Prior to being visited by an angel of the Lord, Philip had a very successful time telling the Samaritans the good news about Jesus

–         Crowds of people believed Philip’s message and became Christians by being baptised

 

It seems quite strange then that, after such a successful ministry in Samaria’s principal city, God would then send his star evangelist into the middle of nowhere

–         But Philip didn’t question God’s strategy – he simply trusted that God knows best and went where the Lord directed him

 

Travelling down this deserted road (at the same time as Philip) was an Ethiopian eunuch. What are the chances?

–         It’s a bit like finding a painted rock from Africa on the top of Mt Tauhara

 

Now when we hear the word Ethiopia we tend to think of famine and poverty and starving children

–         But in the ancient world Ethiopia was different to that – more wealthy

–         On today’s map it is located in North Sudan

–         So the Ethiopian eunuch was most likely a black African man

 

A eunuch is a man who has had his equipment (his tackle, his junk) removed or damaged so he can’t have children or even relate with a woman sexually

–         To a certain extent he has been disabled by the society he lives in

–         On the one hand a eunuch (if he was skilled enough) could rise to great power in government

–         This particular Ethiopian eunuch was something like the minister of finance in a very wealthy nation – so he was no slouch

–         But on the other hand eunuchs were also the subject of much derision and scorn – people made fun of them or despised them

 

I imagine it was a very isolated and lonely life being a eunuch

–         You could fall in love but you couldn’t marry or have children

–         You could rise to great power but only in the service of others

–         You could be very good at what you do but still have to endure sniggers and smirks behind your back from people far less capable than you

–         You could serve a very important purpose but never actually belong or be remembered. There was a certain injustice that came with being a eunuch

 

The Ethiopian eunuch had travelled a long way to Jerusalem to worship God

–         Somehow he had heard about the God of Israel and liked what he heard

–         Assuming he had been castrated though, under the Law of Moses, he could never belong to the congregation of God’s people [2]

–         He couldn’t even be circumcised and yet he did what he could to draw near to the Lord

–         He travelled to Jerusalem to worship God, he obtained a copy of the scroll of Isaiah the prophet (no doubt at great expense) and he read these holy Scriptures to know God better

 

It appears the eunuch’s visit to Jerusalem was somewhat disappointing

–         As Jesus had demonstrated, when he cleared the temple, the whole Jewish religious system was set up to exclude foreigners like this eunuch

–         No doubt his experience in Jerusalem had made it more difficult for the eunuch to understand the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament)

–         How might he relate with this wonderful, powerful, creative, redeeming, faithful God?

 

The Bible is difficult to understand

–         What is meant as good news often comes across as bad news or, even worse, as nonsense

–         Because the Bible is hard to understand many people these days lose patience with it and write it off as a myth or untrue

–         In this way they seek to disable the Scriptures

–         This is quite unfair to God (a denial of justice)

 

Part of our role as Christians is to interpret the meaning of Scripture for those (like the eunuch) who do genuinely want to understand what the Bible is saying

–         That’s one reason why we have Bible study groups – not just to improve our own knowledge but also to help others interpret the Scriptures

 

The guy I worked with, who had cerebral palsy, struggled with understanding the Bible and the Old Testament in particular

–         There are verses in the Old Testament which seem to us today to be quite unfair to those who live with disability.

–         For example, Leviticus 21 where it says…

 

No man with any physical defect may make the offering: no one who is blind, lame, disfigured or deformed; no one with a crippled hand or foot; no one who is a hunchback or a dwarf; no one with an eye or skin disease; and no eunuch. 

 

If you live with a disability and you don’t understand the broader context of the Bible then words like these can very unhelpful – they sound like rejection

 

What we need to understand is that the Law of Moses is not the ideal and it was not meant to be permanent

–         God gave the Law to Israel as a provisional step towards restoring His ideal for creation [3]

–         There are a number of things the Law of Moses appears to condone which are far from ideal – like slavery for instance

–         Is slavery God’s ideal? No – of course not. But God couldn’t change everything all at once, it would be too much for people.

–         So God, in His grace and wisdom, meets people where they were at and regulates certain contemptible practices (like slavery) to protect the vulnerable

–         The Law of Moses was actually a huge moral advance for people living at that time in history but it was never the end goal – it was merely a stepping stone to the ideal

 

The prophets who came after Moses (like Isaiah & Jeremiah and all those guys) also provided a stepping stone, but ultimately we find God’s ideal in Christ

–         Jesus didn’t come to do away with the Law & prophets – he came to fulfil the Law – that is to restore God’s ideal for humanity

–         If the Law and the prophets were given to help transition us to God’s ideal then Jesus came to complete that transition

 

Jesus is the one who shows us what God’s ideal looks like

–         And when we look at Jesus’ attitude towards people who lived with disability we find it was one of acceptance and respect and empowerment

 

Returning to our friend the Ethiopian eunuch

–         God, who sees everything, is aware of the eunuch’s struggle with the Old Testament and acts to help him understand the full picture

–         The Holy Spirit says to Philip, Go over to that carriage and stay close it

–         Philip runs over beside the carriage – it would have been moving quite slowly so would not be hard to keep up with

–         And Philip hears the eunuch reading from the book of Isaiah (it was customary to read aloud in those times) so he asks the eunuch…

–         “Do you understand what you are reading?”

 

Socially speaking Philip and the eunuch were poles apart

–         The eunuch was high ranking and Philip was low ranking

–         They were also likely from a different cultural background

–         But that is often the way of Christ – he comes to us in weakness, when we least expect it and in the presence of someone quite different from us

–         Despite the social distance between them the eunuch is humble enough to admit he doesn’t understand and invites Philip to sit with him

–         By inviting Philip to sit beside him the eunuch closes the gap between them

 

The passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading was this…

 

“Like a sheep that is taken to be slaughtered, like a lamb that makes no sound when its wool is cut off, he did not say a word. He was humiliated and justice was denied him. No one will be able to tell about his descendants because his life on earth has come to an end.”   

 

Interestingly the eunuch doesn’t ask Philip, what does this mean?

–         He already knows what it means from his own personal experience

–         The eunuch knows what it is to have parts of himself cut off

–         He understands humiliation and injustice

–         He is well aware that he can’t have descendants and that his life is coming to an end

–         He knows well enough what it is to be near the top and still feel like you don’t belong, still wonder what the meaning of your life is

–         He can identify with the one being written about in a very real way

–         So he asks Philip,

–         “…of whom is the prophet saying this? Of himself or of someone else?”

–         Because whoever it is, the eunuch can relate to that person profoundly

 

Philip starts where the eunuch is at by explaining that the passage he is reading is talking about Jesus – Jesus is the key to understanding the Scriptures

–         Philip then goes on to explain the good news about Jesus – that through faith in Christ we can find acceptance with God

 

We can’t be sure of all that Philip talked about but given that the eunuch had a copy of Isaiah’s scroll on his lap it’s tempting to think that Philip pointed him to chapter 56 where Isaiah says…

 

A man who has been castrated [a eunuch] should never think that because he cannot have children, he can never be part of God’s people. The Lord says to such a man, “If you honour me… and if you do what pleases me and faithfully keep my covenant, then your name will be remembered… among my people longer than if you had sons and daughters. You will never be forgotten.”

 

Do you see here how Isaiah moves beyond the Law of Moses?

–         The Law said a eunuch could not be part of God’s people but by the time of Isaiah God is saying the eunuch is able to belong

 

I can imagine Philip saying to the eunuch: the way we honour God, the way we please him, the way we keep his covenant is through faith in Christ. Put your trust in Jesus, believe in him, and you will find acceptance with God

–         You see, Jesus has fulfilled the law on our behalf and so being a foreigner and a eunuch is no longer a barrier

–         This was incredibly good news to the eunuch

 

As they travelled down the road, they came to a place where there was some water and the official said, “…What is to keep me from being baptised?”

–         In other words, I believe in Jesus and I’m willing to demonstrate my faith in Christ through baptism

–         God had clearly set this encounter up – he had clearly woven Philip’s and the eunuch’s lives together at just the right moment

–         So Philip baptised him

 

After the eunuch’s baptism the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away to preach the good news about Jesus in other places while the eunuch went on his way rejoicing because he had found acceptance with God through Jesus

 

We don’t hear any more about the Ethiopian eunuch (in the New Testament at least) but early Christian tradition, dating from Irenaeus in the second century, says that he went on to proclaim the good news about Jesus in Africa

–         The eunuch shared the treasure of the gospel he had been given

 

Conclusion:

Part of the work of our Tranzsend missionaries involves being a Philip to those around them – helping others to understand the good news about Jesus found in the Bible

[1] John 1:43-45

[2] Deuteronomy 23:1

[3] Refer to Paul Copan’s book, ‘Is God a Moral Monster’, pages 57-62.

Tawa Baptist

Resurrection means transformation

Scripture: John 20:10-18

 

Title: Resurrection means transformation

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jesus’ resurrection transforms Mary’s life
  • Jesus’ resurrection transforms our relationship with God
  • Jesus’ resurrection transforms death
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Three of four weeks ago I went to see the latest version of Beauty and the Beast at the movies with one of my daughters

–         The theatre was packed – in fact there were signs up when we arrived saying the movie had been sold out for the day

–         Fortunately we had booked online so we got a seat

 

In a number of ways Beauty and the Beast is a parable of the Gospel story

–         It’s not an exact match with the gospel but it does speak to some of the deepest needs of the human soul – in particular our need for redemption and transformation. I think that’s why it’s so popular

 

For those who aren’t familiar with the story a selfish prince is turned from a man into a hideous beast and love is the only thing that will break the spell

–         Not superficial romantic love, but real love

–         Deep unselfish love which sees beneath the surface and is committed to the other at great personal cost

 

The hero of the story is a young woman called Belle

–         And the villain is a man called Gaston

–         All the villagers love Gaston but (like the Pharisees in the gospel) he is not as good as he appears – Belle sees through him

 

Long story short, Belle is the Christ figure in the story – she shows the beast what unselfish love looks like

–         The beast learns to love unselfishly too and becomes the recipient of Belle’s love, thus setting him free so he is transformed into a man again

 

The prince turned beast represents humanity under the spell of sin

–         Through the fall we have become beast like

–         Christ is the one who shows us what it is to be fully human

–         Jesus redeems us and transforms us

–         He sets us free from the spell we are under and restores our full humanity

 

Of course we can’t press the analogy too far

–         Beauty and the Beast is a fairy tale – it is a made up story

–         While the gospel is a true story – the death and resurrection of Jesus actually happened in history

 

Today is Easter Sunday

–         Easter Sunday is about the resurrection of Jesus

–         The resurrection is the most important event in all of human history

–         The resurrection changes everything

–         It changes our lives now, it changes our relationship with God forever and it even changes death

 

Earlier in the service we heard a reading from John chapter 20, verses 1-9

–         This morning’s message is based on the verses which follow

–         From John 20:10-18 we read…

 

10 Then the disciples returned to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.

13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

Jesus’ resurrection transforms Mary’s life:

When I was about 4 or 5 years old I got lost in Chartwell Square

–         Chartwell Square was the latest shopping mall complex near where we used to live in Hamilton

–         Somehow I got separated from my Mum and no one could tell me where she was

–         I wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer but for the first time in my life I had a good idea

–         It occurred to me that if I went back to our car then eventually I would find mum because at some point she would return to the car also

–         This was back in the days when people didn’t lock their vehicles so I could get inside without a key

–         There I was waiting inside our burnt orange Mark 1 Ford Escort

–         Time seemed to go incredibly slowly and I became upset wondering if I would ever see my family again

 

Looking back, sitting in that empty car feeling lost, was a bit like being in a tomb – it was like facing the end of something

–         My mum did eventually turn up again though and we were reunited

 

Our Bible reading this morning focuses on Mary Magdalene and her reunion with Jesus

–         So who is Mary Magdalene?

–         Well, she was a different Mary to Jesus’ mother

 

‘Magdalene’ is probably not Mary’s surname

–         Rather it is a reference to the village she comes from called ‘Magdala’

 

Luke 8 tells us Mary Magdalene was the woman whom Jesus delivered from seven demons

–         We don’t feel comfortable talking about demons these days do we

–         It sounds superstitious or unscientific – backward even

–         They say the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world he doesn’t exist

–         But evil is still present in the world, even if it goes by a different name

 

Having a demon in you is like being ruled by a fascist dictator

–         You are not in control, you are not free – it is torment

–         Life is reduced to a hellish existence and one feels less than human

–         One longs for oblivion – to simply not exist, to go to sleep without dreaming and never wake up

–         In fact the idea of eternal life becomes a nightmare

–         You start to think – if this is what life is then who wants to live forever?

God can keep His heaven

 

Other people don’t necessarily understand what you are suffering because it’s going on inside you – it’s invisible, they can’t see it

–         If you have a physical illness then people usually have sympathy for you

–         They send you cards and flowers – they might make you meals or put you on the prayer chain or maybe even start a ‘give a little’ page for you

–         But if you have a demon, people generally avoid you

–         You become isolated and feel lonely in a crowd

 

Mary didn’t just have one demon – she had seven – so there was no reprieve for her, no rest, no Sabbath

–         Then one day Jesus sees her suffering and has compassion on her

–         He gets it – he understands her torment and he sees her (the real her)

–         More than just understanding her though he actually has the power to send the demons packing – and that’s what he does

 

Jesus’ redeems her soul – he sets Mary free

–         Now, instead of 7 evil dictators bossing her around and making her life a misery, she has one Lord – his name is Jesus and he is good

–         Jesus isn’t taking anything from her – he isn’t demanding any sort of repayment – she is free and chooses to use her freedom to serve him

 

Luke 8 tells us that Mary Magdalene was one of the women who helped to support Jesus and his disciples out of her own means

–         Mary followed Jesus, partly out of gratitude for what he had done for her, but also because Jesus gave her life meaning and purpose again

–         Not only that, but with Jesus came a community to belong to – other people who had been through similar experiences of suffering and redemption

 

John 19 tells us that Mary had been at the cross when Jesus died

–         This shows she had courage and was devoted to Jesus in a spirit of unselfish loyal love

–         Now, in John 20, we find Mary again, on Sunday morning at the tomb, ready to finish the job of caring for Jesus’ body in death

 

Peter and the other disciple return home but Mary stands weeping outside the tomb – This is bit like returning to the car when you are lost – it was Mary’s best chance of finding Jesus

–         Mary sits with her grief – she doesn’t rush away

–         She gives her soul time to catch up with what’s happening

–         You see, in losing Jesus Mary hasn’t just lost a good friend (as difficult as that is) – she has also lost the meaning and purpose of her life

–         For the last 2 or 3 years Mary’s whole life had revolved around Jesus

–         With Jesus she had a valued role, an important job to do

–         Now with Jesus gone there was this huge hole in her life

–         What was she supposed to do, where did she fit, what was her role now?

 

We can understand Mary’s loss in some ways

–         Maybe you’ve had the experience of losing a job or going into retirement and at the same time feeling like you’ve lost your identity a little bit too

–         Or when the kids leave home and you are no longer needed to take care of them – you find yourself asking, ‘what’s my role now?’

–         Or shifting towns and losing your networks of support and belonging – where do I fit?

 

Perhaps Mary was also afraid of the demons coming back now that Jesus had gone

 

When Mary looks into the tomb she sees two angels in white sitting where Jesus had been lying

–         The angels say to Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

–         Their question suggests that sorrow is out of place

–         Mary explains: They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him

–         Mary’s concern appears to be that Jesus’ enemies have stolen his body to show further disrespect to him in death

–         However, the presence of angels is a clue that it is not robbers who have removed the body, rather what has happened stems from God’s power [1]

 

Mary turns around to see Jesus standing behind her (in the garden – outside the tomb) but Mary doesn’t recognise him – she thinks he is the gardener

–         Mary is still focused on the tomb

–         The photocopier of her mind is jammed with grief – she can’t get past Jesus’ death

 

Jesus repeats the angel’s question, “Woman, why are you weeping?” and then adds his own question, “Who are you looking for?”

–         But Mary doesn’t quite get it yet – her soul needs more time to catch up

–         So Jesus says her name, ‘Mary’

–         Understanding spiritual reality is a gift from God – we need God’s help

–         In saying her name Jesus is opening Mary’s mind to understand the reality of his resurrection

–         All at once Mary gets it and responds in Hebrew, their special language

–         (Speaking Hebrew like this shows the tenderness and closeness between them both)

 

Resurrection means transformation

–         It isn’t just that Jesus has been transformed though

–         Mary too has been transformed

 

You see, what we don’t pick up from reading the English translation is that Jesus spoke Mary’s name in Hebrew – everywhere else it is written in Greek

–         ‘Mary’, in Hebrew, is Miriam

–         Miriam was of course Moses’ older sister

–         Mary Magdalene, who everyone avoided and feared because of her 7 demons, becomes the new Miriam to the new Moses

–         Mary isn’t just redeemed – she is also transformed

 

Just as Miriam took care of her brother Moses’ needs, so too Mary had taken care of Jesus’ needs

–         Just as Miriam oversaw the baby Moses as he journeyed down the Nile, so too Mary had overseen Jesus’ journey from the cross to the tomb [2]

 

In Jewish society 2000 years ago women were not trusted as legal witnesses

–         And yet Jesus sows the seeds of social transformation by giving Mary the honour of being the first to bear witness to his resurrection

 

The Old Testament Miriam became a prophet bearing a message to Israel

–         Now the New Testament Miriam (Mary Magdalene) carries the most important prophetic message ever: Jesus is risen

 

It’s quite true what Jesus said: the first shall be last and the last shall be first

–         Mary had been last and now she was first

–         First to discover the empty tomb

–         First to see the risen Jesus

–         And first to tell the good news of Jesus’ resurrection

 

Resurrection means transformation

–         Jesus’ resurrection transformed Mary’s life

–         And Jesus’ resurrection transforms our relationship with God too

 

Jesus’ resurrection transforms our relationship with God:  

Upon recognising Jesus, Mary must have instinctively embraced him, for Jesus says: “Do not hold onto me because I have not ascended to the Father…”

 

These words of Jesus are easy to misunderstand

–         It’s not that Jesus doesn’t want to be touched by Mary

–         He’s not afraid of being contaminated before going back up to heaven

–         Rather it’s like Jesus is saying: ‘It’s okay Mary, you can let go of me now. There’s no need to keep hanging on – I’m not about to disappear up to heaven just yet. I plan to stick around a bit longer before I ascend to my Father – so you will get to see me again before I depart.’ [3]

–         Jesus’ words are a reassurance to Mary, a comfort (not a rebuke)

 

At the same time Jesus is also indicating that the relationship will need to change, for while Jesus isn’t ascending to the Father immediately he was still planning to return to heaven

–         Mary and the other disciples should not assume that Jesus’ resurrection means everything will go back to the way it was before

–         Jesus’ presence with his followers was about change

 

“Mary cannot ‘hold on’ to the way Jesus has lived and worked among them but must instead rethink the nature of intimacy with Jesus. It will be a new intimacy, a spiritual intimacy, realised in the coming of the Holy Spirit”  [4]

–         In other words, once Jesus does make his final ascension his presence on earth will be mediated through the Holy Spirit rather than a physical body

 

In verse 17 Jesus says to Mary:

–         Go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’

 

Jesus’ brothers in this context refers to his disciples

–         The implication seems to be that Jesus’ resurrection transforms the very nature of our relationship with him and with God

–         Jesus says, God is ‘my Father and your Father’ – we have the same Father so now we are family

–         Jesus is the natural born Son of God and we (the followers of Jesus) are God’s adopted sons and daughters

 

Resurrection means transformation

–         Jesus’ resurrection transformed Mary’s life

–         Jesus’ resurrection transforms our relationship with God

–         And Jesus’ resurrection even transforms death

 

Jesus’ resurrection transforms death:

Let me tell you a story…

 

Once there was a rich young man

–         His father was a millionaire and the young man was in line to inherit his father’s fortune

–         Most people think that children who grow up rich don’t know the value of money because they’ve never had to work a day in their life

–         That’s not true – those who grow up with a trust fund know the value of money better than most and it generally causes them to despise it, if not themselves

 

This young man lost his mother when he was 8 years old

–         She died of a rare illness and despite many costly treatments there was nothing his father or the doctors could do for her

–         It was a painful loss at the time but it was also the making of him

–         When you have lost something money can’t replace it has a way of teaching you what really matters in life

 

Later, when he was in his 20’s, he met a girl and fell in love with her

–         They were married and for a short while he thought their lives were bliss

–         But it turned out she was more in love with his bank account than she was with him and she left for another man

–         The betrayal broke his heart but then ‘a heart that is broken is a heart that is open’ [5]

 

The young man continued working in one of his father’s companies but it didn’t matter how many hours he put in or how many good decisions he made or how good his golfing handicap was he still felt both lost and trapped at the same time

–         In other people’s eyes he would always be the boss’ son who had everything handed to him on a plate

–         His wealth & privilege was a cruel dictator – it isolated him

–         He felt alone in a crowd

–         People don’t have too much sympathy for you when you are rich

 

One day he received a letter from a child he had been sponsoring through World Vision

–         The child lived in an orphanage and was inviting him to come and visit

–         Sick of his job the young man got his vaccinations and boarded the plane for Uganda

 

He knew Africa would be different to what he was used to but nothing could have prepared him for the contrast

–         It was the smell more than anything that hit him

 

In a strange way though the young man felt more at home in the orphanage with his sponsor child than he did in his father’s board room or on the golf course

–         Over there no one really knew him so he was free to be himself without all the prejudice that went with being a millionaire’s son

–         He didn’t know poverty and hunger like they did

–         Nor did he know what it was like to be a child soldier

–         But he did understand what it was like to lose that which money can’t replace – he knew betrayal and loneliness well enough too

–         In a beautifully ironic way the things he had suffered in life became a nursery for compassion

 

The visit was meant to be for just a few days but the young man stayed on and helped out around the place

–         Turns out there were things his money was useful for

–         For the first time in a long time his life made sense

–         He felt like he had meaning and purpose and he felt like he belonged

–         By letting him in the young man’s sponsor child had also set him free

–         This was his redemption

 

The young man continued working in the orphanage as a volunteer for nearly two years and was happy until one day one of the children, whom he felt particularly close to, became ill and died

–         Unlike his mother though it wasn’t a rare disease – it was something that could have been easily prevented with a better health service

 

The young man was deeply distraught – he didn’t know if he could continue working at the orphanage

–         In fact he couldn’t understand why the others seemed to bounce back so easily – didn’t they know that death was the end?

–         They must have known – these kids had seen more death than most people and yet, somehow, they managed to keep their hope

–         But the photocopier of his mind was jammed with grief – he couldn’t get past the child’s death

 

After several weeks one of the nuns, who worked with him, noticed his thousand yard stare wasn’t going away and she sat with him for a while

–         She didn’t say anything at first – just sat there and listened in silence

–         Then she told him about the story of Jesus’ resurrection

–         The young man had heard the Easter story before but when she spoke, it was like he was actually hearing it properly for the first time

–         The lights went on and he finally understood – finally believed

–         Jesus’ resurrection transformed him

–         The resurrection changes everything

–         Because of the resurrection death is not the end – it is a new beginning

–         Jesus’ resurrection is the only currency that can restore those things money can’t replace

 

Conclusion:

Let us pray…

–         Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, your resurrection changes everything

–         Your resurrection has the power to transform our lives in the here & now, to make life worth living

–         Your resurrection also has the power to transform our relationship with God – making us His sons and daughters

–         And it has the power to transform death, from an end to a new beginning

–         Fill us with your Spirit we pray Jesus, so that we may live in the light and energy of your resurrection life. Amen.

[1] Gary Burge, NIVAC John, Page 555

[2] Ibid, page 574

[3] This is my paraphrase of Leon Morris’ thought in the NICNT on John, page 742

[4] Gary Burge, NIVAC on John, page 567

[5] A line from a U2 song, by Bono

Tawa Baptist

Jesus Prays

Scripture: Mark 14:32-46

 

Title: Jesus Prays

 

Our first reading today comes from Mark 14, verses 32-46…

 

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

 

35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.”

 

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

 

39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

 

41 Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

 

43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.

 

44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him.

 

May God bless the reading of His word

 

One of the things that strikes me about Mark’s account of Gethsemane is the importance of prayer to Jesus

–         But what is prayer?

 

Well, sometimes we understand what something is by its opposite

–         The opposite of light is darkness

–         The opposite of vision is blindness

–         The opposite of reality is fantasy

–         The opposite of facing something is avoiding it

–         The opposite of awareness is ignorance

–         And, in Mark 14, the opposite of prayer is sleep

–         While Jesus goes off to pray, the disciples fall asleep

 

When we sleep we are unconscious, unaware of reality

–         If the opposite of prayer is sleep then prayer is waking up to reality (to truth), becoming more conscious of God’s presence and will

–         (After all God is the ultimate reality)

 

Prayer also includes becoming more aware of what is going on inside us

–         When we pray we get our head and heart together

–         We get organized, we get mentally & emotionally ready

–         A good prayer time gives us both the God awareness and the self-awareness to better help others

 

Jesus’ prayer in the garden reveals his full awareness of the situation

 

In Mark 14 Jesus’ prayer time begins with profound emotional awareness

–         Jesus began to be deeply distressed and troubled, saying “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,”

–         This reminds us of the refrain from Psalms 42 & 43…

–         Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?

 

Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed with emotional distress and we are not sure why

–         It takes time & effort to pray – to become conscious of what God wants and to come to terms with how we feel about that

–         Jesus had known for some time that it was God’s will for him to go to the cross

–         Now he was having to deal with the intense pressure and tension this created within him

 

Jesus didn’t want to suffer this separation from God his Father and so he says…

–         “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.”

–         This prayer is the fruit of intimate agony – it is beautifully honest, revealing a love stronger than death

 

In contrast to Jesus who is fully awake, fully conscious, fully aware of what is happening, the disciples keep falling asleep

–         They are unconscious – unaware of what is about to happen

 

If you are a test batsman about to face a fast bowler

–         You don’t go to sleep or let your mind wander off in a daydream

–         You make sure you are ready

–         You look at the field placements to see what your options are

–         You make sure you know where your middle stump is

–         You keep your eye on the ball

–         A small lapse of concentration and you could get out

 

Jesus is about to be arrested and crucified – a terrible thing is about to happen and the disciples aren’t ready

–         Jesus asks them to stay awake – to keep watch and pray so that they will not fall into temptation

–         Jesus doesn’t ask his disciples to pray for him

–         He asks his disciples to pray for themselves – that is, to become aware of the reality before them and within them

–         Prayer is how Jesus’ followers keep their eye on the ball

 

Interestingly Jesus says to the disciples…

–         The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

–         I’m pretty sure Jesus isn’t talking about the human spirit here

–         I think he means the Holy Spirit is willing to give us strength to pray and resist temptation when our bodies are tired & weak

–         So prayer is not something we do in our own strength

–         Like Paul says in his letter to the Romans…

–         The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

 

Now in saying that the opposite of prayer is sleep, I’m not suggesting that sleep is bad

–         Sleep is good – in many ways sleep is like a foundation – we need our rest

–         It’s really more a case of timing – sometimes prayer is even more important than sleep and Gethsemane was one of those times

 

When Judas turns up with temple guards to arrest Jesus – the Lord is not surprised – he is fully aware of what is going on, he sees it coming

–         (Look, here comes my betrayer)

–         Jesus is mentally and emotionally ready to face his ordeal because he has worked through the tensions within himself

–         The disciples on the other hand are quite unprepared

 

As Christians we are to have an attitude of prayerful awareness

–         This might mean starting your day with the question: ‘What do you want to do today Lord?’

–         It could mean looking for God’s presence throughout your day – both in the ordinary routine and the unexpected interruptions

–         It means being in touch with what you are feeling and giving your soul the time it needs to catch up – not pressing your feelings down or putting them aside for too long

–         So if you are angry or hurt or happy or sad, take time to sit with that feeling – be still before God, give Him room to show you what He wants to reveal

–         Feelings are the messengers of the soul – deep calls to deep

 

We could go on but you get the point

–         Prayer is about facing reality – not avoiding it

 

What realities are you facing this Easter?

–         What weighs your soul down in sorrow?

–         What does God want in your situation?

–         And how does this make you feel?

 

Prayer

Let’s face reality by praying the Lord’s Prayer together now…

 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/14-apr-2017-gethsemane

Tawa Baptist

Work and Family

Scripture: Psalm 127

 

Title: Work & Family

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Work
  • Family
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

This morning we are starting with a short (2 question) quiz

–         The first question is for those under 40 and the second question is for those over 40

 

On the wall here are the lyrics to a song

–         I hear her voice in the morning hour she calls me Radio reminds me of my home far away Driving down the road I get a feeling That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

 

Since this is an easy question for those who are over 40 I thought we would ask those under 40 – what is the name of this song and who wrote it?  [Wait]

–         That’s right – ‘Country Roads’ by John Denver

–         ‘Country roads, take me home to the place where I belong…’

 

Ok – here’s the second question – this is for those who are over 40 (if you’re under 40 then it will offer little challenge)

–         I’m on my way Driving at ninety down those country lanes Singing to “Tiny Dancer” And I miss the way you make me feel, it’s real

 

What’s the name of this song and who wrote it?  [Wait]

–         That’s right – ‘Castle on the hill’ by Ed Sheeran

 

The song Country Roads was released in 1971

–         And Castle on the Hill was released in January this year

–         Despite being written roughly 46 years apart by two different artists from different countries, both songs share the same theme

–         They are about coming home

–         There is something in us as human beings (a drive or a pull or something) which draws us home when we’ve been away for a while

 

This morning we continue our series on the Songs of Ascents

–         These songs were probably sung by Jewish pilgrims as they made their way to the temple in Jerusalem – they are songs about coming home

–         In particular coming home to God

 

Last week we explored the meaning of psalm 125

–         Our focus today is psalm 127

–         We are missing out psalm 126 because we did that only 15 months ago and it feels too soon to repeat it

–         Anyway, psalm 127 is attributed to Solomon the philosopher king

–         From the New Revised Standard Version, we read…

 

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,     those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city,     the guard keeps watch in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early     and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil;     for he gives sleep to his beloved.

 

3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,     the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior     are the sons of one’s youth. 5 Happy is the man who has     his quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame     when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this song for us

 

Broadly speaking, psalm 127 deals with two of the biggies in this life:

–         Work and family

–         Verses 1-2 deal with work and verses 3-5 with family

–         Work & family are typically the two human endeavours that occupy most of our time & tend to be what most people look to for meaning in this life

–         Let’s start with work in verses 1 & 2

 

Work:

Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk (a Christian) was the one who came up with the now famous line…

 

“People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.”

 

Thomas Merton (an American) was born in 1915 and entered the monastery in 1941, just days before Pearl Harbour was bombed

–         Although Merton was looking forward to a life of obscurity, silence and contemplation his first book, ‘The seven story mountain’ (published in 1948) was (ironically) a huge success

–         At a time when the pursuit of materialism was on the rise in Western culture, Merton’s message was:

–         There’s more to life than a house in the suburbs and a new car

 

In a nutshell this is what king Solomon was getting at in the opening verses of psalm 127, when he wrote…

 

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,     those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city,     the guard keeps watch in vain.

 

The house in view here could be a physical building or it could be a household, as in an extended family

–         The city reminds us of the wider community (or society) of which each house (or household) is a part

–         Perhaps Solomon (the author of this psalm) had in mind the house of the Lord or the temple in Jerusalem, which God used him to build

 

‘Building’ is about creating and ‘guarding’ is about conserving [1]

–         If the Lord isn’t involved in these endeavours then what’s the point?

–         Without God anything we do is like building a house of cards or setting up a row of dominoes or leaning our ladder against the wrong wall

–         Unless our projects are embedded in the purpose of God they are doomed to failure and frustration

 

At a deeper level verses 1 & 2 bring into focus the two attitudes we can have toward God: dependence or independence

 

To depend on God is to remain connected to him

–         To abide in him, rely on him and allow him to be the boss

–         Take our lead from him, allow him to govern our lives

 

To seek independence from God is to separate ourselves from the Lord

–         To try and survive apart from God, rely on ourselves and be our own boss, to govern ourselves (that’s independence)

 

When we choose independence from God we cut ourselves off from the source of life and meaning

 

To choose independence from God is like a fish choosing to be independent of water – the fish will surely die

–         To choose independence from God is like a doctor trying to practice medicine without science

–         Or a preacher trying to write a sermon without the Bible

–         Or a bank trying to trade without money

–         Or a glacier trying to survive apart from a mountain

–         Or a pen trying to write a book without the author

–         Or a branch trying to be fruitful while cut off from the tree

–         Just as a doctor depends on science and a preacher depends on the Bible and a bank depends on money and a glacier depends on the mountain and a pen depends on the writer, and a branch depends on the tree, so too human beings depend on God

–         God is the ground of our being

–         God gives our lives meaning and purpose

 

Building a house without the Lord is like the hammer saying to the carpenter…

–         “I don’t need you. I can build this house myself”

–         That’s ridiculous – the hammer can’t do anything by itself

–         The hammer can only fulfil its purpose in the hand of the carpenter

–         The hammer gets its meaning from the carpenter

 

Likewise, keeping watch over the city without the Lord is like the binoculars saying to the eyes of the watchman…

–         “I don’t need you. I can see very well myself”

–         A pair of binoculars can’t do anything by itself

–         It is the eyes of the watchman which fulfil the purpose of the binoculars

–         The binoculars get their meaning from the eyes, not the other way around

 

The classic Biblical story of humanity leaning the ladder against the wrong wall (or building without God) is the story of the Tower of Babel, in Genesis 11 [2]

–         This happens after Noah and the flood when the peoples of the world said, “Let’s build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky, so that we can make a name for ourselves”

–         When God came down to see the city and the tower that they were building, independently of him, he mixed up their language so they couldn’t understand each other

–         Then the building stopped and the people were scattered

–         The city was called Babylon

–         They did make a name for themselves but it wasn’t a name anyone would want to be known by

 

The story of the tower of Babel highlights the futility of working independently from God

 

Independence from God is the very definition of Sin (with a capital ‘S’)

–         It is Sin at its most fundamental level

–         Independence from God is what leads us to do bad things like, lying and stealing and adultery and murder and so on

 

Jesus came to save us from Sin and death

–         That doesn’t just mean that Jesus came to absolve our guilt, as important as that is

–         It means that Jesus came to restore a right relationship between us & God

–         He came so that we might learn to depend on God once more and fulfil our purpose in life

 

If we are the pen then Jesus puts us back into the hand of God (the author) so that our lives have meaning and purpose again

–         If we are the glacier then Jesus restores us to the mountain of God

–         Or if we are the doctor trying practice medicine without science then Jesus reminds us of the principles of God who invented chemistry

 

In verse 2 Solomon gets personal and addresses his audience directly saying…

 

2 It is in vain that you rise up early     and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil;     for he gives sleep to his beloved.

 

“The bread of anxious toil” is about hard labour driven by fear

–         Verse 2 speaks of burning the candle at both ends just to keep the wolf from the door

–         This is not a criticism of working – work is good and we need to work

–         This is a criticism of working independently from God

 

Solomon is addressing those who exclude God from the equation

–         Those who work anxiously like this may have bread to show for it – they may have full stomachs – but they don’t have rest

 

I’m not sure how well received his message would have been – especially given that Solomon lived a life of privilege and luxury

–         What would a king know about hunger – all he had to do to feed himself was raise taxes

–         Nevertheless there is a certain wisdom in Solomon’s words

–         Jesus (who did not live a life of privilege or luxury) preached about the futility of worry and anxious toil in Matthew 6 where he says…

 

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…

27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?…

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

Jesus is not saying you don’t need to work to support yourself – we still need to do our part

–         He is simply preaching dependence on God in contrast to the futility of depending on ourselves

 

Perhaps the application for us with our busy, pressured, tech heavy lives is…

–         ‘Don’t forget the Lord. Don’t work too hard. Get some work / life balance. Make sure you get the rest you need and enjoy your family’

 

Returning to psalm 127 – the big picture is work and family

–         Verses 1-2 deal with work and verses 3-5 with family

 

Family:

3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,     the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior     are the sons of one’s youth.

 

In these 2 verses Solomon gives us three images of children

–         He says sons are a heritage

–         The fruit of the womb (or children generally) are a reward

–         And sons are like arrows

–         Heritage, reward and arrows – they are Solomon’s 3 images of children

 

We may have heard these verses so often that their meaning is lost on us

–         Actually Solomon’s 3 images of children turn our thinking upside down

 

A ‘heritage’ is something that has been handed down from the past

–         It might be a wise tradition or a piece of land or a family heirloom

–         Another word for heritage is inheritance [3]

–         Whatever form it might take ‘heritage’ is an asset which is gifted to us

–         It is something we don’t do anything to earn and yet it benefits us

 

Now we wouldn’t normally think of children as an inheritance – we wouldn’t think of them being handed down to us from the past

–         In fact we would be more inclined to think of children as the future with ourselves being a heritage to our children

–         We think of our kids as beneficiaries of the estate

–         Whereas Solomon is saying, ‘No, no. Children aren’t the beneficiaries of the estate – they are the estate’

–         Parents are the beneficiaries, God is the giver of the inheritance and children are the assets

–         That flips our thinking on its head

 

Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying

–         It’s not that children are the property of parents

–         Children are not to be treated like chattels

–         Rather it is that children are a valuable gift from God

 

If your parents leave you a watch or a ring in their will then you treasure that inheritance – you value it, you take care of it because of who gave it to you

–         It’s similar with children

–         When a child is born the parents are inheriting a gift from God – a gift far more valuable than a watch or a ring

–         Therefore parents have a responsibility to take care of God’s precious gift to the best of their ability

 

Given our track record for child abuse in the modern world we would do well to think of children as an inheritance from God

 

The second image Solomon uses is that of ‘reward’

–         Children (boys and girls) are a reward

–         Not a reward in the sense of a prize for good behaviour

–         But a reward in the sense of a payment, like income [4]

 

Again this flips our idea of children on its head

–         We tend to think of children as expensive – they cost money right?

–         But Solomon is saying – No, no. Children are a payment from God, like wages or dividends, except you don’t do anything to earn them

 

In ancient Israel children were your superannuation scheme

–         Children were expected (when they grew up) to provide for their elderly parents – so there was a sense in which it was literally true to say children are a reward or a payment

 

But we need to be careful not to apply a mercenary attitude to this image of reward

–         The point isn’t so much that children can provide parents with an income stream when they are old

–         The point is rather that children give us something far more valuable than money

–         With the presence of children we often have joy and a sense of hope

–         Children soften us – they remind us what it is to be human

–         In fact Jesus pointed to children as an example of how we enter the kingdom of God because children teach us how to depend on God

 

The third image Solomon uses to is that of an ‘arrow’

–         Sons are like arrows in the hand of a warrior

 

We need to be careful not to press this image too far

–         Sons are not like arrows in every sense

–         Sons are not to be literally used as ammunition for killing your enemies

–         Rather, ‘arrows’ are a symbol of strength

–         A quiver full of arrows keeps your enemies honest without you needing to shoot a single one

–         People won’t try to cross you if they see you are well armed

 

The city gate was the place where people gathered to settle disputes

–         If a man turned up to settle a dispute accompanied by 4 or 5 strapping boys, the adversary would think twice about taking advantage

 

Arrows are also something that require certain skill to guide.

–        Parenting (guiding children) requires skill.

 

The point is, children are not a liability – they are an inheritance

–         Children are not an expense – they are a reward

–         And children are not a weakness – they are a strength

 

Earlier in the sermon I made reference to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, saying it illustrated the debacle of building without God

–         Later in that same chapter we read how God quietly and unobtrusively builds a house with the birth of Abram to Terah [5]

–         Abraham didn’t start out perfect but, by God’s grace, he certainly became an inheritance, a reward and a blessing to the whole world

 

Now, at this point, I need to address two groups of people:

 

Firstly, to those of you who are parents

–         Often it can feel like children are hard work

–         When you are pacing the floor with a grizzly baby at 2 in the morning

–         Or waiting up till after midnight for a teenager to come home

–         Then children don’t feel like a reward or a strength

 

I like the reality check that Derek Kidner brings to these verses when he says…

 

“It is not untypical of God’s gifts that first they [appear as] liabilities, or at least responsibilities, before they become obvious assets. The greater their promise the more likely that these sons will be a handful before they are a quiverful.”    [6]

 

The message seems to be…

–         Parenting is hard – but ‘hang in there’

–         Children are a work in progress

–         Stay positive, keep loving them and be present for them

–         Their worth will be proved in the end

 

The other group I need to address this morning are those who don’t (or can’t) have children

–         It’s possible these verses touch a raw nerve for you, or perhaps they don’t

–         Either way let me say, there is more than one way of being a parent

–         Parenthood isn’t just a biological thing – it can be a spiritual thing too

–         The apostle Paul, so far as we know, didn’t have physical children of his own but in a different sense he was a father to many – including Timothy

–         As a community of faith we all have a responsibility to care for the children among us

 

Conclusion:

Psalm 127 deals with two of the main occupations of humankind – work and family

–         Solomon reminds us that for work and family to have meaning (or to be fruitful) we need to depend on God

 

As I finish now let me ask the question:

–         What wall is your ladder leaning against?

 

Let us pray…

[1] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, page 477.

[2] Credit to Derek Kidner for helping me see this connection, Psalms 73-150, page 477.

[3] Refer Josh Moody in his book, ‘Journey to Joy’, page 93.

[4] The Hebrew word used for ‘reward’ here “…is the same word that Jonah uses when he pays to hire a boat (Jonah 1:3)” – refer Josh Moody, ‘Journey to Joy’, page 93.

[5] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, page 477.

[6] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, page 478.

Tawa Baptist

Strength through trust

Scripture: Psalm 125

Title: Strength through trust

 Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Psalm 125
  • Daniel 6
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Trust is the foundation

–         In the same way that a good foundation gives strength to the building trust gives strength to relationships, to the community and to the individual

 

Today we continue our series on the Songs of Ascents – which we know as Psalms 120 to 134

 

The word ‘Ascent’ has to do with moving upward

–         The temple in Jerusalem was on a hill

–         On their way to religious festivals Jewish pilgrims might sing these songs as they ascended the hill to the temple

 

The 15 Songs of Ascents, then, are about being on a journey – not just a physical journey to Jerusalem but also a spiritual journey, drawing closer to God

–         We are exploring these Songs of Ascents as we journey toward Easter

–         This morning we take a closer look at psalm 125

–         This song is about the strength that comes from trusting God

–         It is the strength of righteousness or integrity

–         The strength to do the right thing under pressure

–         From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

 

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,     which cannot be moved, but abides forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,     so the Lord surrounds his people,     from this time on and forevermore.

3 For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest     on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous might not stretch out     their hands to do wrong.

4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,     and to those who are upright in their hearts. 5 But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways     the Lord will lead away with evildoers.     Peace be upon Israel!

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this song for us

 

At a glance, psalm 125 begins with trust and ends with peace

–         While the terrain in between is righteousness

–         But the road to peace is not smooth and the trust is tested for the righteous must stand strong against the wicked

 

Psalm 125:

In 2004 Viktor Yushchenko stood for the presidency of the Ukraine.

–         As an informal leader of the Ukrainian opposition coalition, he was one of the two main candidates

–         The ruling party at the time vehemently opposed Yushchenko

–         During the election campaign Yushchenko was mysteriously poisoned

–         He almost lost his life and his face was disfigured as a consequence

–         This did not deter him from standing for the presidency though

 

On the day of the election Yushchenko was comfortably in the lead

–         However, the ruling party tampered with the results.

–         The state-run television station reported…

–         “Ladies and gentlemen, we announce that the challenger, Victor Yushchenko, has been decisively defeated.”

 

In the lower right-hand corner of the screen a woman by the name of Natalia Dmitruk was providing a translation service for the deaf community.

–         As the news presenter regurgitated the lies of the regime, Natalia Dmitruk refused to translate them.

–         “I’m addressing all the deaf citizens of Ukraine” she signed.

–         “They are lying and I’m ashamed to translate those lies. Yushchenko is our president.”

 

The deaf community sprang into gear. They text messaged their friends about the fraudulent result

–         As news spread of Dmitruk’s act of defiance increasing numbers of journalists were inspired to tell the truth.

 

Over the coming weeks the “Orange Revolution” occurred as a million people wearing orange made their way to the capital city of Kiev demanding a new election.

–         The government was forced to meet their demands, and a new election was held with Victor Yushchenko becoming president.

 

This is a true story (from recent history) of people who had the strength, the courage and the integrity to stand for what was right, even under pressure

 

Psalm 125 begins with the words…

 

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,     which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

Mount Zion is the hill (or the foundation) on which Jerusalem is built

–         It is a symbol of enduring strength

–         Those who trust in the Lord, therefore, have an enduring strength

–         They are able to stand their ground and not be compromised

 

They abide forever

–         Abiding is a lovely word

–         Abiding is about living in peace – not merely existing, but actually living

 

Verse 2 goes on to say…

 

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,     so the Lord surrounds his people,     from this time on and forevermore.

 

Here the mountains are a symbol of strength and protection

–         The psalmist does not imagine himself surrounded by enemies, or problems or people he can’t trust

–         He doesn’t imagine himself trapped with nowhere to turn

–         He imagines himself surrounded by the Lord God, protected, embraced by grace, free from anxiety

 

What might not be obvious to us is that the mountains surrounding Jerusalem are actually taller than Mount Zion itself [1]

–         So the idea here is that God is bigger, stronger & more exalted than Zion

–         In other words, the foundation (or trust) of God’s people is supported (or guaranteed) by God himself – God is the ground of our being

 

Because God is stronger and greater than I the psalmist’s trust is well founded

–         It is trust in God’s goodness, his righteousness, his faithfulness, which gives us strength to abide

 

After that lovely affirming start, evil raises its ugly head in verse 3, with mention of the wicked…

 

3 For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest     on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous might not stretch out     their hands to do wrong.

 

A sceptre is a fancy stick with a little crown on the end, like this one on the wall

–         It resembles a mace or a bomby knocker

–         It is a symbol of a ruler’s power and authority to reign

–         A king or queen might carry a sceptre as a sign to show they are in charge

 

Apparently the wicked have been allowed to get into power but God will not allow them to continue to rule over the righteous

–         God doesn’t prevent tyrants from getting into places of authority but he does limit their term

–         Unlike those who trust in the Lord, the wicked do not abide forever

–         Unlike the righteous the wicked don’t have a firm foundation

 

And one reason God limits the reign of the wicked is so that the righteous are not tempted to compromise and do evil themselves

–         It appears the Lord did not allow the sceptre of wickedness to remain over the Ukraine, at least in 2004 and 2005

 

Verse 4 is a prayer to God…

 

4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,     and to those who are upright in their hearts.

The psalmist can pray this prayer with confidence because he knows it is what God wants to do anyway

–         He is not so much telling God what to do

–         Rather he is saying, ‘Your will be done Lord’

–         ‘Be yourself and do justly’

 

Two things we note here:

 

Firstly, goodness (in verse 4) is related to trust in the Lord (in verse 1)

–         So there is a relationship between trusting God and being good

–         Those who trust in the Lord are good

–         Or as the apostle Paul would say: ‘Righteousness is by faith’

 

Secondly, goodness is a state of being related to uprightness of heart

–         The heart is a symbol of a person’s inner life

–         God looks on the heart – he sees what we are like on the inside

–         In the Bible the heart is the seat of the will

–         In other words it is the inner sanctum of a person’s soul where decisions are made

–         A person’s words and actions flow down-stream from the heart

–         If our heart is pure then our words and actions will be also

 

So the kind of goodness that is in view here is not a false goodness where people do certain things to make themselves appear good in the eyes of others

–         It’s not painting over rotten timber

–         It’s not pouring concrete without using reinforcing steel

–         It’s not building on a false foundation

–         It is a genuine, authentic kind of goodness, from the inside out

 

When I think of uprightness of heart I am reminded of A.B. DeVilliers

–         In the recent one day series against South Africa Ross Taylor nicked a ball to the keeper (Quintin DeKock)

–         DeKock genuinely thought he had taken the catch cleanly and appealed convincingly

–         Ross Taylor must have felt the ball on the bottom of his bat because he began to walk off the field without contesting the umpire’s decision

 

But before Taylor had left the field the South African captain (DeVilliers) suggested the on-field umpire go upstairs to check with the third umpire

–         DeVilliers used to be a keeper and from where he was standing it looked like the ball might not have carried all the way to the keeper’s gloves

–         A.B. has pretty good eyes and it appears he is upright in heart too

–         The slow motion replay showed the ball had touched the ground just short of DeKock

–         The umpires reversed their decision and Taylor played on

 

I have no idea whether A.B. DeVilliers believes in Jesus or not but I admire his integrity – not claiming the wicket when the catch was doubtful

–         It’s not just skill which makes him one of the best cricketers in the world

 

Having prayed for God to do good to those who are good the psalmist then describes the consequences for those who turn aside to their own crooked ways

–         The Lord will lead them away with evil doers

 

In other words, it doesn’t pay to try and get by with cheating

–         God sees the whole truth and there is no escaping him

 

Fortunately the wicked don’t get the last word. As Derek Kidner notes…

–         “The final words of the psalm have arrived at peace, not by compromise but by the only road that leads to [peace]: the way of righteousness” [2]

 

Daniel 6:

Psalm 125 is about the strength (or integrity) of the righteous

–         It is a strength which comes from trusting God

–         It is a strength to do the right thing – to resist evil, remaining true to who we are & who God is

–         And, ultimately, it is a strength which leads to peace for God’s people

 

The classic Biblical story of the strength (or integrity) of one righteous man is the story of Daniel in the lions’ den

–         Daniel is a type of Christ figure – he points to Jesus

–         Daniel’s strength came from trusting God

–         It was a strength to resist evil and stay true to himself & to the Lord God

–         Through his trust and righteousness Daniel ultimately gained peace

 

Daniel, as many of you know, was a Jewish exile

–         He had been carried away from his homeland, in Israel, to Babylon by king Nebuchadnezzar

 

Daniel served in the Babylonian empire as a civil servant with administrative authority

–         Eventually Darius, the Mede, seized royal power

–         King Darius chose Daniel and two others to supervise the 120 governors of the empire and to look after the king’s interests

 

Daniel soon showed he could do better work than anyone else and Darius (the king) was thinking about putting him in charge of the whole empire

–         This made the other supervisors and governors jealous so they tried to find something wrong with Daniel in order to accuse him to the king and get rid of him

–         But they couldn’t fault Daniel, because he was reliable and did not do anything wrong or dishonest

–         Daniel was righteous and upright in heart, in other words

 

So Daniel’s adversaries tried to set Daniel up

–         They went to king Darius and said, ‘All of us who administer your empire have agreed that your majesty should issue an order and enforce it strictly

–         Give orders that for 30 days no one be permitted to pray to any god or any man except your majesty

–         Anyone who violates this order is to be thrown into a pit filled with lions’

 

In saying this the governors had tricked the king

–         By saying no one could pray to any god or man except the king, they were essentially putting king Darius in the place of God

–         Perhaps Darius hadn’t realised the implications at the time

–         In any case the king signed the order

–         This was a strict order of the Medes and Persians – an order that could not be changed even by the king himself

 

When Daniel learnt that the order had been signed he went home and in an upstairs room with a window open (where anyone could see) he knelt down to pray to the Lord God as he always did, three times a day

–         Trust in God was Daniel’s foundation and prayer was how Daniel remained on the foundation

 

Daniel prayed in direct violation of the king’s order

–         He knew the risk and yet he placed his trust in the Lord his God

–         Daniel was a thoughtful man

–         He knew that not praying to the Lord would be like agreeing that Darius was in the place of God

–         To not pray would be a denial of God – it would be colluding with a lie

–         Daniel couldn’t give into fear of man

–         He would rather face death than serve the purpose of the wicked

 

When Daniel’s enemies saw him praying to God all of them together went to the king to accuse Daniel

 

The king was very upset by this and did his best to find some way to rescue Daniel – not unlike Pontius Pilate who went out of his way to try and free Jesus

–         But there was nothing the king could do

–         Ironically his very power had rendered him powerless

 

Reluctantly king Darius gave the order for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the pit of lions

–         The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve so loyally, rescue you.”

 

A stone was put over the mouth of the pit and the king placed his royal seal on the stone so that no man could pull Daniel out of the pit

–         Imagine that for a moment

–         Daniel is in a hole in the ground surrounded by wild beasts

–         Once the stone is rolled over the top of the pit it would be completely dark inside – it would be terrifying

 

The stone sealing the pit shut reminds us of Jesus whose body was laid in a tomb with a stone rolled across the entrance and a seal placed on the stone so no one could take Jesus’ body away

 

After Daniel had been thrown into the pit the king returned to the palace and spent a sleepless night without food or entertainment

–         The king denied himself in solidarity with Daniel

 

At dawn the king got up and hurried to the pit

–         Kings in the East don’t normally hurry anywhere – it is undignified

–         And yet Darius was more concerned for Daniel’s well-being than he was his own reputation

 

Once again we are reminded of the women who got up early and rushed to Jesus’ tomb on the first Easter Sunday, only these women weren’t hoping for a miracle like king Darius was – they were simply hoping to care for Jesus’ corpse

 

The king called out anxiously…

–         “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was the God you serve so loyally able to save you from the lions?”

–         Apparently it wasn’t just Daniel who trusted God

–         It appears king Darius had his own faith in the Lord as well, such was the witness of Daniel’s goodness and uprightness of heart

 

Daniel answered…

–         “May your majesty live forever. God sent his angel to shut the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me. He did this because he knew that I was innocent and because I have not wronged you, your majesty.”

 

Daniel does not hold anything against Darius – he remains respectful of the king

–         At the same time Daniel gives credit to God – he points out that God has vindicated him by saving him

–         Now the king can set Daniel free without losing face

 

The king was overjoyed and gave orders for Daniel to be lifted out of the pit

–         So they pulled him up and saw that he had not been hurt at all, for he trusted God (verse 23 tells us)

 

At this point we notice a distinction between Daniel and Jesus

–         Unlike Daniel, Jesus had been severely hurt and killed

–         Daniel emerged from the pit of lions without a scratch

–         Jesus, on the other hand, rose from the pit of death still bearing his scars

 

Returning to Daniel’s story, by this stage it was obvious to everyone that the other governors and supervisors had tricked the king

–         Clearly Darius could not trust them and so he acted with swift justice, ordering the men who accused Daniel to be thrown into the very same pit they had prepared for Daniel

–         Before Daniel’s enemies had even reached the bottom, the lions pounced on them and broke all their bones

 

Then king Darius wrote to the people of all nations, races and languages…

 

Greetings! I command that throughout my empire everyone should fear and respect Daniel’s God. He is a living God and he will rule forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed and his power will never come to an end. He saves and rescues; he performs wonders and miracles in heaven and on earth. He saved Daniel from being killed by the lions.

 

In saying this king Darius put things right

–         Not only did Darius submit himself to God, he essentially admitted he was wrong to issue the decree against praying to God in the first place

–         Darius had been humbled by God’s grace

 

Daniel prospered (he enjoyed peace) during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian

–         Daniel was indeed as strong and steadfast as Mount Zion – surrounded by the Lord God

 

Conclusion:

What pressures and temptations do you face – in your work, at home, at school or university?

–         What does doing the right thing mean for you?

 

As I’ve already alluded to Daniel points to Jesus

–         Jesus was truly righteous and good from the inside out

–         He was upright in heart, trusting God (his Father) even to death on a cross

–         And God vindicated Jesus by raising Jesus from the dead to eternal life

 

We too can share in Jesus’ strength, righteousness & peace when we place our trust in him

 

Let us pray…

 

Lord God, help us to trust Jesus

That we will have strength to do what is right in all circumstances

Keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil

And grant us your peace.

In Jesus’ name we pray,

Amen

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/12-march-2017-strength-through-trust

 

 

 

[1] Michael Wilcock, Psalms 73-150, page 230

[2] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150, page 474.

Tawa Baptist

God on our side

Scripture: Psalm 124

 

Title: God on our side

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Psalm 124
  • 2 Samuel 5:17-25
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the Songs of Ascents – which we know as Psalms 120 to 134

 

The word ‘Ascent’ has to do with moving upward

–         The temple in Jerusalem was on a hill

–         On their way to religious festivals Jewish pilgrims might sing these songs as they ascended the hill to the temple

 

The 15 Songs of Ascents, then, are about being on a journey – not just a physical journey to Jerusalem but also a spiritual journey

–         As we make our way through these Songs of Ascents we notice the psalmist draws closer to God

 

We plan is to explore these Songs of Ascents as we journey toward Easter

–         This morning we take a closer look at psalm 124

–         This song is attributed to king David

–         Not all the psalms were written by David but it appears this one was

–         As a hymn of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance psalm 124 is not a solo performance – it looks like it was meant to be sung in a responsive way with the cantor (or the worship leader) singing a line and the choir repeating it

–         We are not going to try and sing psalm 124 this morning, but to help us enter into the feel of the song I’m going to read the lines in plain type and I invite you to respond by reading the words in bold italics

–         From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

 

1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side     —let Israel now say— 2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,     when our enemies attacked us,

 

3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,     when their anger was kindled against us;

4 then the flood would have swept us away,     the torrent would have gone over us; 5 then over us would have gone the raging waters.

 

6 Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. 7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

 

8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, 

who made heaven and earth.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this song for us

 

Psalm 124

On the wall here is a photo of British & French soldiers lined up on the beach at Dunkirk in May 1940, awaiting evacuation across the channel to England

  • – The German army had invaded France and were headed north, closing in fast on the Allied troops
  • – In one of the most widely debated decisions of the war, the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk.
  • – German Field Marshalls suggested that the German forces should cease their advance on Dunkirk and consolidate, to avoid an Allied breakout.
  • – The army was to halt for three days, which gave the Allies sufficient time to organise the Dunkirk evacuation and build a defensive line.
  • – Despite the Allies’ gloomy estimate of the situation, with Britain even discussing a conditional surrender to Germany, in the end more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued [1]

 

 

Although Dunkirk was a defeat (as far as the Allied forces were concerned) it was also a miracle of deliverance

–         The Allied forces could have easily been swallowed up, overwhelmed and trapped

 

In psalm 124 David gives us four images or metaphors to describe Israel’s deliverance from their enemies

–         Israel was nearly swallowed alive

–         They were almost overwhelmed & swept away, as if by a flood

–         They were hunted like prey

–         And trapped like a bird in a fowler’s snare

 

These are all images of terrifying power – where Israel is vulnerable and powerless to save themselves (not unlike the Allied forces at Dunkirk)

 

I remember as a kid watching Return of the Jedi

–         In those days it was number three in the Star Wars series but these days its number 6 (if you don’t include Rogue One)

–         Anyway there was this scene where Luke had come to rescue Han Solo and Princess Leah from Jabba the Hutt

 

Jabba the Hutt was a pretty nasty piece of work and he planned to throw Han Solo into the Sarlaac pit

–         The Sarlaac was a terrible monster which swallowed people alive and then digested them slowly for a 1000 years

–         It is nightmare stuff on the edge of human imagination

–         David wouldn’t have been thinking of the Sarlaac when he used the image of being swallowed alive

–         More likely he was thinking of the Philistine army

 

Israel’s enemies are angry

–         Their anger is described as being ‘kindled’ – like a fire

–         Fire of course destroys everything in its path and is difficult to control

–         Just as there is no reasoning with fire, there is also no reasoning with an angry enemy – there is no diplomatic solution in other words

 

The only thing an angry army will give way to is some power or force stronger and more terrifying than itself

–         David is saying: the Lord God is more powerful, more terrifying and more organised than any army

 

As for the second image – of being swept away in a flood – that reminds me of a tsunami (a tidal wave)

 

David probably wouldn’t have known about tsunamis where he was situated but, for the Jewish people generally, flood waters were a symbol of chaos – in contrast to a well ordered creation as God intended it

–         David was saying; our enemies represent chaos (anarchy) – they only want to make a mess

–         But where there is chaos the Lord God (our creator) is able to bring order

 

The image of a flood or torrent also suggests being outnumbered – as if David were saying, ‘there are too many of them for us to handle’

–         But despite the overwhelming odds against Israel God holds the balance of power

 

Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.

–         That’s David’s third image

 

As a shepherd David would have faced wild animals – predators, like this wolf here

–         A predator is known for being cunning or skilful in hunting its prey

–         Israel’s enemies were hunting them like a wolf hunts a sheep

–         From Israel’s perspective it’s a picture of vulnerability and powerlessness

–         What can a sheep do to defend itself against a wolf

–         What could Israel do to defend themselves against their enemies

–         The only thing they could do was look to God to protect them

–         God isn’t just more terrifying and more powerful than Israel’s enemies – he is also more clever, more skilful than any predator

 

The fourth image of Israel’s vulnerability is that of a bird caught in a fowler’s snare

–         A fowler is a professional bird catcher

–         One strategy of fowlers is to put nets out which the birds fly into and get tangled up in

–         Then the fowlers would sell the birds (live) for sacrifice or for eating

–         Fowlers sometimes used caged birds to attract wild birds

–         The wild birds would hear the bird in the cage calling and fly straight into the trap

 

Once a bird is tangled in a net or a snare it can’t do anything to save itself

–         The more it struggles to wriggle free, the more tangled it becomes

 

A bird is the image of freedom

–         Israel’s enemies want to take away their freedom and make them slaves

–         But the Lord God delights in setting people free

–         Jesus said of himself, “I’ve come to set the captives free”

–         Not only has God set Israel free he has also broken the snare so that it no longer poses a threat

 

Because, on this occasion, the Lord God was on their side, Israel was not consumed, not overwhelmed, not killed and not trapped

–         They lived to fight another day

 

2nd Samuel 5:17-25

Please turn with me 2nd Samuel chapter 5 – page 305 near the front of your pew Bibles

  • – Psalm 124 was probably written by David out of personal experience
  • – More than once God had helped David and saved Israel in battle
  • – From 2nd Samuel 5, verse 17 we read…

 

17 The Philistines were told that David had been made king of Israel, so their army set out to capture him. When David heard of it, he went down to a fortified place. 18 The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and occupied it. 19 David asked the Lord, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?”

“Yes, attack!” the Lord answered. “I will give you the victory!”

 

20 So David went to Baal Perazim and there he defeated the Philistines. He said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies like a flood.” And so that place is called Baal Perazim. 21 When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David and his men carried them away.

 

22 Then the Philistines went back to Rephaim Valley and occupied it again. 23 Once more David consulted the Lord, who answered, “Don’t attack them from here, but go around and get ready to attack them from the other side, near the balsam trees. 24 When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, then attack because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.”

 

25 David did what the Lord had commanded, and was able to drive the Philistines back from Geba all the way to Gezer.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

 

The Battle of Trafalgar was fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies on the 21st October 1805

 

Twenty-seven British ships, led by Admiral Lord Nelson, defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar

 

The French and Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without a single British vessel being lost. It was the most decisive naval battle of the war, conclusively ending French plans to invade England. [2]

 

Perhaps psalm 124 resonated with the English following their victory at the battle of Trafalgar

  • – England was under attack and despite being outnumbered they won a decisive victory
  • – Was it because God was on their side or was it Lord Nelson’s wise naval strategy or was it both? I don’t know?

 

As I mentioned before, David probably wrote psalm 124 out of personal experience

  • – The two accounts of battle in 2nd Samuel chapter 5 were perhaps something equivalent to David’s battle of Trafalgar
  • – Although, fortunately for David, he wasn’t killed in battle like Admiral Nelson was
  • – In any case David attributes his victories to God being on Israel’s side

 

If the Lord had not been on our side when our enemies attacked us, then we would have been swallowed alive…

 

Hmm? If the Lord had not been on our side?

  • – Most people think God is on their side in battle
  • – The crusaders of a thousand years ago thought God was on their side but from our perspective in history we doubt that
  • – I imagine the French & Spanish forces thought God was on their side when they decided to attack England in 1805 and yet they lost, decisively
  • – Both the Allied and Axis forces of World War One thought God was on their side to win – but they couldn’t both be right
  • – And more recently, Islamic State thinks God is on their side while the rest of world is pretty certain He isn’t
  • – History is littered with people who thought God was on their side
  • – It seems God’s name is hijacked and taken in vain to justify all sorts of crimes

 

For this reason I feel uneasy when people say: ‘God is on our side’ – as if God could be co-opted to serve our ends

  • – It would seem more accurate to talk about us being on God’s side
  • – What is God’s purpose in any given situation and how might we align ourselves with His purpose
  • – We can’t take it for granted that God will support us unconditionally
  • – God is faithful and kind but He is also free and He is Lord (not us)
  • – He doesn’t appreciate people misusing his name for their own purposes

 

David was very careful not to take God for granted and not to co-opt God to serve his own ends

  • – David did not make any assumptions where God was concerned
  • – Yes, Israel were God’s chosen people and yes, David had been anointed king of Israel – so he was God’s special man
  • – But he didn’t automatically think that entitled him to go to war against whomever he chose

 

David was well aware that God had not always been on Israel’s side

  • – Saul (the previous) king embarked on some major military disasters under the false assumption that God would support him
  • – But even before Saul (in 1st Samuel chapter 4, during the time of the priest, Eli) the Israelites took the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines without checking with God first and Israel suffered a terrible defeat including losing the Ark

 

In the context of 2nd Samuel chapter 5, David has just been made king of all Israel

  • – Previously Israel had been a divided nation
  • – Now with one king they were united
  • – This made Israel more of a threat to the Philistines and so the Philistines acted out of their fear and set out to try and capture David
  • – They took their idols with them
  • – Apparently the Philistines thought their gods were on their side

 

When David heard of it he didn’t go out straight away to face them

  • – Instead David went on a spiritual retreat in order to find out what God wanted him to do
  • – This reminds us of Jesus whose first action (after being baptised) was to get away from it all so he could spend time with God and find out what God wanted him to do

 

David asked the Lord: Shall I attack the Philistines? And, will you give me the victory?

  • – And the Lord said ‘yes’ to both
  • – After he had won David attributed his victory to the Lord God saying…
  • – “The Lord has broken through my enemies like a flood.”
  • – This flood language reminds us of psalm 124

 

Later, at another time, the Philistines attacked again

  • – It may have been tempting for David to think, ‘I don’t need to consult God. He was on my side last time he will give me victory again this time’
  • – But David doesn’t do this
  • – Once again his first response is to enquire of the Lord
  • – Like the Roman Centurion who showed faith in Jesus to heal his servant, David sees himself as a man under authority
  • – God is his commanding officer – David gets his orders from the Lord

 

It’s just as well David checked because this time God tells him not to attack from the same angle but to come around from the other side

  • – When you hear the sound of marching in the tree-tops, then attack because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army
  • – God was indeed helping David but not because David or Israel were entitled in anyway
  • – Had David charged ahead without listening to God first it could have ended in disaster

 

Conclusion:

The point is, when David talks about God being on his side, he doesn’t mean that God can be co-opted for Israel’s own parochial (them against us) concerns

  • – I think he means something along the lines of: But for the grace of God Israel would be no more.

 

Having said that God won’t be co-opted to serve human political agenda, God is still free to choose sides

 

When God became a man (in the form of Jesus) he was saying to humanity: “I am on your side”

 

When Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan, God was saying to all who repent of their sin: “I am on your side”

 

When Jesus healed people, God was saying to the sick: “I am on your side”

 

When Jesus cast out demons, God was saying to those who are oppressed by evil: “I am on your side”

 

When Jesus restored sight to the blind, God was saying to those sitting in darkness: “I am on your side”

 

When Jesus stood up for Zacchaeus and the woman caught in adultery and others like them, God was saying to the despised: “I am on your side”

 

When Jesus died on the cross, God was saying to all who suffer injustice: “I am on your side”

 

When Jesus was raised from the dead, God was saying to all who place their faith in Christ: “I am on your side”

 

And when Jesus pours out His Holy Spirit on us today, God is still saying: “I am on your side”

 

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dunkirk

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trafalgar

Tawa Baptist

Mercy

Scripture: Psalm 123 (also Luke 18:35-43)

 

Title: Mercy

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Human mercy
  • Honour & shame
  • Jesus’ mercy
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the Songs of Ascents – which we know as Psalms 120 to 134

 

The word ‘Ascent’ has to do with moving upward

–         The temple in Jerusalem was on a hill

–         On their way to religious festivals Jewish pilgrims might sing these songs as they ascended the hill to the temple

 

The 15 Songs of Ascents, then, are about being on a journey – not just a physical journey to Jerusalem but also a spiritual journey

–         As we make our way through these Songs of Ascents we notice the psalmist draws closer to God

 

The plan, over the next couple of months, is to explore the Songs of Ascents as we journey toward Easter

–         This morning we take a closer look at psalm 123

–         Last week, in psalm 122, the palmist sang about arriving in Jerusalem

–         Now that he has arrived his first word is a prayer to God for mercy

–         Not mercy in the sense of forgiveness for anything he might have done wrong – but rather, mercy in the sense of a reprieve from the wrong that has been done to him by others

–         From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

 

1 To you I lift up my eyes,     O you who are enthroned in the heavens! 2 As the eyes of servants     look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid     to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God,     until he has mercy upon us.  3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,     for we have had more than enough of contempt. 4 Our soul has had more than its fill     of the scorn of those who are at ease,     of the contempt of the proud.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this prayer for us

Human mercy:

In their book “A Higher Call” Adam Makos and Larry Alexander retell a true story of mercy from WW2…

 

The pilot glanced outside his cockpit and froze. He blinked hard and looked again, hoping it was just a mirage. But his co-pilot stared at the same horrible vision.

 

The men were looking at a gray German Messerschmitt fighter hovering just three feet off their wingtip. It was five days before Christmas 1943, and the fighter had closed in on their crippled B-17 bomber.

 

The B-17 pilot, Charles Brown, was a 21-year-old West Virginia farm boy on his first combat mission. His bomber had been shot to pieces by swarming fighters, and his plane was alone in the skies above Germany. Half his crew was wounded, and the tail gunner was dead, his blood frozen in icicles over the machine guns.

 

But when Brown and his co-pilot, Spencer Luke, looked at the fighter pilot again, something odd happened. The German didn’t pull the trigger. He nodded at Brown instead.

 

What happened next was one of the most remarkable acts of mercy recorded during World War II. Instead of finishing the American bomber off the German fighter pilot continued to fly in close formation with the bomber to protect it from German anti-aircraft guns on the ground

 

The German pilot’s name was Franz Stigler. Franz was a fighter ace. One more kill and he would have been awarded the Knight’s Cross.

 

But Stigler was driven by something deeper than glory. His older brother, August, was a fellow Luftwaffe pilot who had been killed earlier in the war. American pilots had killed Stigler’s comrades and were bombing his country’s cities. The temptation for revenge was intense.

 

Despite having strong reason to shoot, Stigler pressed his hand over the rosary he kept in his flight jacket. He eased his index finger off the trigger. He couldn’t open fire. It would be murder.

 

Stigler wasn’t just motivated by vengeance that day. He also lived by a code. He could trace his family’s ancestry to knights in 16th century Europe. He had once studied to be a priest.

 

A German pilot who spared the enemy, though, risked death in Nazi Germany. If someone reported him, he would be executed. Yet Stigler could also hear the voice of his commanding officer, who once told him:

–         “You follow the rules of war for you — not your enemy. You fight by rules (or principles) to keep your humanity.”  [1]

 

Many years later the two pilots, Charles Brown and Franz Stigler met in person

 

Whether in war or peace, mercy is part of humanity’s code

–         The capacity to show mercy, compassion and kindness is what sets us apart as creatures made in God’s image

 

One of the things we recognise from Franz’ story is that human mercy is circumstantial – by which I mean the circumstances need to be right for us to show mercy

–         Like Franz Stigler we need to be in the right place at the right time with the right resources to be able to demonstrate mercy to others

–         Sometimes we may wish to show mercy but it might not be in our power to do so because we aren’t in the right place at the right time or we don’t have the resources (or the power) that is needed to help

–         That’s okay – so long as we are always prepared to show mercy when the opportunity presents itself and it’s in our power to do so

 

Unlike us human beings, God is not limited by time or space or power

–         He is present everywhere and His resources are infinite

–         So God’s mercy is qualitatively different from human expressions of mercy

 

Honour & shame:

One of the big concepts found in psalm 123, which is perhaps not as obvious to us as the concept of mercy, is the idea of honour & shame

–         To understand where the psalmist is coming from we have to think in terms of honour & shame

 

An honour-shame mind-set is different from an innocence-guilt mind-set

–         Innocence & guilt are about the things we do

–         While honour & shame are about who we are

 

Innocence and guilt has to do with the personal moral decisions we make

–         For example, Franz Stigler made a personal moral decision not to shoot the struggling B-17 bomber out of the sky

–         He reasoned that would be murder

–         If Franz had shot the plane down he would have been guilty

–         But he didn’t – he saved the plane – and so he was innocent, in that situation at least

 

Honour and shame is different from innocence and guilt

–         Honour and shame is something that other people put on us

–         So if Franz had shot the plane down his superiors would have honoured him with the Knight’s Cross – a special medal

–         Ironically he wouldn’t be innocent but he would be honoured

–         By not shooting down the plane Franz took the risk of being shamed by his superiors – being branded a traitor or disloyal

 

Focusing just on shame for a moment…

–         I remember when I was about 15 or 16 riding along Ward Street in Hamilton on my bike and a couple guys rode past and spat on me

–         I had no idea who they were – it was completely unprovoked

–         They were simply looking for a fight

–         Now I didn’t feel guilty about that – I hadn’t done anything wrong

–         But I did feel shamed – they literally put shame on me by spitting on me

 

Now the temptation when someone puts shame on us is to retaliate and try to put shame on them as well (as if that could restore our honour)

–         I didn’t retaliate in this situation, mainly because they were bigger than me

 

Looking back on it now I think the reason they spat on me was because someone had tried to put shame on to them and they were simply trying get rid of that shame by passing it off onto me – it wasn’t personal

 

Shame, then, isn’t so much about making a mistake

–         Shame is a statement or action that says you are a mistake or you are nothing, you don’t matter

 

People can put shame on us in a whole variety of ways

–         Usually it’s by name calling – saying things like ‘you’re a looser’, or ‘you’re ugly’ or ‘you’re stupid’ or whatever

–         But they might also cause shame in other ways too – like physical or sexual abuse or by causing us social embarrassment

–         When someone tries to put shame on us, we have a choice

–         We can believe the lie that we are worthless

–         Or we can remember the truth that we are made and loved by God

–         That we are valuable to him

–         We are so valuable to God in fact that he was prepared to put His Son Jesus in harm’s way for us

 

In psalm 123 the author hasn’t done anything bad – he isn’t feeling guilty

–         But he has been made to feel shame

–         Other people are showing him scorn and contempt

 

To be shown scorn & contempt is to be rejected – treated like you are nothing, like you are a mistake

–         Scorn & contempt isn’t so much a criticism of what you’ve done

–         It’s more a criticism of who you are

 

But the psalmist chooses not to accept the shame that his enemies are trying to put on him

–         Instead the psalmist looks to God for honour

 

 1 To you I lift up my eyes,     O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

 

God is the one enthroned in the heavens

–         You can’t get any higher status or position than that

–         God has the most honour and he is the source of real honour

–         God has conferred on human beings the honour (and glory) of being made in his image

 

2 As the eyes of servants     look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid     to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God…

It’s interesting how in today’s world we are used to having eyes on us

–         We are used to security cameras watching our every move,

–         Speed cameras waiting to snap us if we go over the limit,

–         Security guards monitoring us to make sure we don’t get out of hand

–         Managers keeping an eye on us to ensure we do our job, and so on

 

But here in verse 2 all eyes are on the master

–         The servants and the maid are not the centre of attention – the Lord is

–         The servants and the maid are trusted

–         They give their attention to the hand of the master

–         Why the hand?

–         Well the hand is symbolic of power & authority

–         A simple hand gesture from the master tells the servant what to do

–         The hand also protects and provides

 

By describing themselves as servants and maids who diligently look to obey God their master, the Jewish pilgrims are essentially saying…

–         ‘Our honour comes from the Lord – not from what other people think of us. We are not defined by those people who show us scorn and contempt.

–         We are defined by God himself – we are his servants, he is our master’

–         The implication is: there is honour in being a servant of God Most High

 

If you have suffered shame by the way people have treated you or the lies they have spoken about you then, let me say, you are not defined by the proud or the abusive

–         You are not defined by the flippant or by those whose lives are easy

–         You are defined by God Himself

–         You are his precious child – his beloved

–         And He (the Lord) places immeasurable value and honour and respect on your life – you are loved by him

–         Jesus came to transform our temporary suffering into eternal glory

–         He came to clothe our shame with his honour

 

Returning to verse 2, another thing we notice is the wonderfully inclusive language used here

–         Women are honoured alongside men, on the same social level as men

–         This is not a boys only club

–         Women have the dignity (the honour) of serving God, as men do

–         This might not seem like such a big deal to us now but equality between the sexes was a big deal 3,000 years ago

 

The Jewish pilgrims look to the Lord for mercy because they are fed up with being shown scorn & contempt by those around them

 

Mercy has to do with power

–         To show mercy one must be in a position of power

–         Mercy is basically using your power to help someone

–         There is no one more powerful than God and also no one more merciful

 

What we see here is that the psalmist does not ask mercy from the proud who are showing him scorn and contempt

–         Instead he asks God for mercy – he goes right to the top

–         This is an admission that God is the one who is really in control

–         The proud can only show contempt because the Lord allows it

 

It’s a bit like when Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you know that I have power to release you and power to crucify you?”

–         Meaning, “Don’t you realise I have the power to show you mercy?”

–         And Jesus replied, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above”

–         In other words, ‘Pilate, you’re not really in control here. This is only happening because God is allowing it. God could take away your power at any moment’

 

The proud are on notice – they are not in control, even if they think they are

 

As it turned out God allowed Jesus to be crucified

–         Crucifixion isn’t just physically painful

–         It is also incredibly shameful

–         Jesus hung on the cross naked while people heaped their scorn and contempt and insults on him

–         But three days later God honoured Jesus by raising him from the dead

–         Resurrection is honour

 

Psalm 123 ends in a way that feels unfinished

–         We are left hanging as the psalmist is left hanging

–         The pilgrim has asked God for His mercy but we don’t know, at this point, how God will respond

–         God is silent

 

This is often how the spiritual life is – we make our petitions to God in prayer and are left waiting with no quick results

–         Perhaps you have had a similar experience

–         Maybe asking God for healing and not getting it straight away

–         Or asking God for a job and then having to wait for months just for an interview

–         Or asking God for some direction in your life only to hear a long silence

 

The Lord’s timing is not our timing – but it is right in the end

 

Mercy can take a variety of forms

–         In the example of Franz Stigler and Charles Brown, mercy took the form of a reprieve from death

–         In psalm 123 the mercy requested was an end to contempt and shame

–         Mercy can also be the restoration of something that was lost

 

Jesus’ mercy:

Many years ago there lived a man who was blind

–         The man had not always been blind – he had lost his sight part way through life

 

It wasn’t the man’s fault that he was blind – it wasn’t because of anything he had done wrong and yet he didn’t feel good about himself

–         He survived by begging on the side of the road

–         No one really likes a beggar – they tend to make people feel guilty

 

Although the man couldn’t see he could certainly hear well enough

–         It wasn’t just the rude things people would say about him, it was their tone of voice as well

–         Most people tried to avoid him, some were afraid of him, others were irritated at the inconvenience he presented and just a few were abusive

–         He felt like a dead weight – not contributing anything to society, just getting under people’s feet, making them feel uncomfortable

–         He was made to feel shame every day

 

The blind man could never voice his frustration to others though

–         Even if they did stop long enough to listen how could they possibly understand the daily grind that was his reality

–         Being made to feel shame for who he was – something he had no control over – It wasn’t fair

–         Not that he would give in to self-pity – not for a moment

–         He had enough pity from others without adding to it himself

 

One day the man heard a commotion further down the street

–         He recognised the sound – it was a large crowd on the move

–         Crowds made him nervous

–         A crowd is an unpredictable thing – a dangerous thing, especially if you’re blind

–         But curiosity got the better of him and he asked what was happening

–         “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by”, they told him

 

Jesus of Nazareth

–         The blind man had heard of Jesus

–         Jesus would have known about shame and contempt

–         There were rumours about his heritage – his mother got pregnant before she was married (or so they said)

–         Nearly as bad as that, Jesus came from Nazareth – and everyone knows nothing good comes from Nazareth

–         Of course the blind man knew that was just a prejudice

–         It wasn’t fair to right someone off because of where they lived

–         Not everyone can afford a nice house in a leafy suburb

 

The blind man had heard how Jesus could heal people – make them whole again

–         This might be his only chance – maybe Jesus would heal him

–         Maybe he could see again and get a job so he didn’t have to keep begging

–         Maybe he could be free of the shame people kept heaping on him day after day – God knows he had had his share of contempt

–         So he cried out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

 

This was a bold thing to say

–         ‘Son of David’ was another way of saying ‘Messiah’ or ‘King’

–         People were divided by Jesus

–         Many were uncomfortable with thinking he might be the Christ

–         The man had no qualms though

–         It was funny how he (a blind man) could see that Jesus was God’s promised Messiah, while others with 20/20 vision couldn’t see it

 

The people around told him, in no uncertain terms, to shut up

–         But he just shouted even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”

–         All those years of taking their shame – no way was he going to be quiet

–         It was worth the risk of getting punched in the face

–         They did not define him – God defined him and Jesus was from God

 

Jesus stood still and the crowd slowed to halt also

–         Then, without moving, Jesus ordered the blind man to be brought to him

–         The man had called Jesus a ‘king’ because a king he is

–         Standing still while one of his subjects was brought before him was a very kingly way of handling the matter

 

When the man was near, Jesus asked him…

–         “What do you want me to do for you?”

–         The man liked that Jesus didn’t make any assumptions

–         To be asked what it was he wanted made him feel respected – it empowered him, gave him a real choice and dignity

 

“Lord, let me see again.”

 

It was a simple sentence and yet it said so much

–         The blind man addressed Jesus as “Lord” – it was a way of giving Jesus honour, placing himself under Jesus’ authority

–         “Let me see again” – was an acknowledgment that Jesus had the power to restore sight and to end the contempt and shame he suffered

 

Jesus responded just as simply as the man had asked, saying…

–         “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.”

–         Not only did Jesus give the man his physical sight back, Jesus also restored the man’s honour by giving him credit for his faith

–         Jesus acknowledged the man’s spiritual vision

 

Those who had tried to the silence man were now the ones with nothing to say

 

But the man wasn’t worried about them – he could see again and was overjoyed, praising God as he followed Jesus down the road toward Jericho

–         The man’s joy was infectious – the people around him couldn’t help but join him in praising God too

 

Conclusion:

Mercy – it is one of God’s defining characteristics

–         Jesus shows us what divine mercy looks like

–         Jesus shows us what it is to be made in the image of God

 

 

Let us pray…

–         Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us

–         And help us to pay your mercy forward

–         Amen.

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/19-feb-2017-mercy

 

[1] http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/09/living/higher-call-military-chivalry/index.html?hpt=hp_c1