Christ – Page 30 – Tawa Baptist

June 12, 2016June 12, 2016 Tawa Baptist

Comfort

Scripture: Psalm 23:4b – “Your rod and your staff they comfort me”

(With reference to Matthew 9:1-8)

Title: Comfort

Structure:

Introduction – comfort
The shepherd’s rod & staff
Jesus comforts the paralysed man – Matthew 9:1-8
Conclusion – The Comforter

Introduction:

On the wall here are some pictures

Some chocolate
A teddy bear
A sofa piled high with pillows
And a couple giving each other a hug
Looking at these pictures what seven letter word comes to mind?
Let people respond
That’s right: Comfort

These are the sorts of images we might ordinarily associate with comfort

Chocolate is comfort food
Pillows provide for comfortable rest
A hug communicates emotional comfort and security as does a teddy bear

Although we (today) might equate comfort with physical ease, luxury or even self-indulgence it didn’t always mean this

To comfort someone generally implies that the person receiving the comfort is in a state of pain or affliction [1]

Comfort causes us to feel less worried or upset [2]
Comfort eases our grief or trouble
And it gives strength and hope – it cheers up in other words

The word ‘comfort’ derives from two Latin words

Com – meaning with
And fortis meaning strong
So to comfort someone is to be with them in a way that fortifies them with courage – making them stronger & safer

Chocolate and pillows have their place but they don’t provide real comfort – because in the long run they don’t actually give strength or security

Other images which are closer to the original meaning of comfort might include

A life jacket – because this is a vestment of security; it makes you safer on the water
A walking frame – because this fortifies people, giving them strength & confidence to stand
A speed camera – because they actually make the roads safer
We can still keep the hug because physical closeness helps us to feel less alone and more secure
In the right context each of these things comforts us in the sense that they provide strength, courage and relief from anxiety

Okay, one more illustration to help us grasp the meaning of comfort

On the wall here is a picture of some cake batter being poured into a tin
Without the cake tin the batter would run out everywhere and the cake would have no strength to hold its shape
The tin comforts the cake in the sense that it gives strength to the cake – at least while the cake is baking in the oven
Once the cake is cooked you can take it out of the tin and it will hold together by itself
But until then the tin provides the comforting framework or the healthy boundaries needed for the cake’s strength

Today we continue our series on Psalm 23

The message of Psalm 23 as a whole is: the Lord is my security.
God looks after me like a shepherd looks after a sheep.

So far we have covered the first three & half verses…

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside still waters

He restores my soul

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil

Today we finish verse 4, the centre of the psalm…

For you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me

This is primarily about the Lord’s comfort in the valley of darkness

Not comfort in the sense of ease & luxury – not chocolate & pillows
But comfort in the sense of strength, courage & security
Real comfort which makes us safer, relieving our anxiety & fear

The shepherd’s rod & staff:

So what does David mean by your rod and your staff?

How are these a comfort (or a strength) to him?
How do they provide security and relieve his anxiety?

Well, the rod and staff are two quite different tools of the shepherd’s trade

Kenneth Bailey observes that sheep have a special problem – they have no defences [3]

Cats have claws, dogs can bite, horses can kick, bears can crush, deer can run, but sheep have no ability to protect themselves
Without the shepherd, the sheep are completely vulnerable

The shepherd is their only security

The shepherd’s rod is one of his tools for protecting the sheep

It looks something like this…
[Show the rod]
I collected a couple of examples while walking on the beach up the Kapiti Coast
These are the closest I could find resembling a rod
As you can see a rod is relatively short and has a lumpy bit on the end – like a mace or a club
The rod is essentially a weapon
The shepherd uses his rod to protect his flock from predators – wolves and wild dogs and so forth
If a wolf threatens the flock the shepherd hits the wolf across the head
Good night wolf

The rod is a comfort to the sheep because it makes them more secure – it saves them from the wolf

David is less anxious knowing that the Lord (his Shepherd) is present with a rod to protect him

The shepherd also uses the rod for counting the sheep

When the flock return to the village in the evening the shepherd holds the rod over the sheep to account for each one
If a sheep or lamb is missing then the shepherd goes out to look for it
Knowing that the Lord counts his sheep with the rod also gives David comfort – he is less afraid of being forgotten or abandoned
So that’s the rod – it is never used against the sheep

Here we have a couple of examples of a shepherd’s staff

As you can see the staff is longer & thinner than the rod
Some are straight, like this one
And others have a curved bit (or a crook) on the end, like this one
If the sheep is about to fall down a bank or into a stream the staff with crook gives the shepherd extra reach to grab hold of the sheep and pull it back to safety
The shepherd uses the staff to gently guide the sheep back onto the path

In the wild Middle East where there are no fences and flocks roam in open country, the shepherd’s staff is like the proverbial fence at the top of the cliff preventing the sheep from going over the edge

So while the rod protects the sheep from predators, the staff protects the sheep from itself

David is comforted by the Lord’s staff because it keeps him on track – it stops him from going over the edge
In this sense the staff is a bit like the cake tin I showed you earlier
Like a cake tin the staff provides a framework (a healthy boundary) for holding us together while we are still growing into maturity

In some ways, children are like cake batter

They are comforted and strengthened and less anxious when they grow up with fair rules and consistent boundaries
We don’t need to be hard on our children
They don’t need us to hit them with the rod
But they do need us to guide them with the staff – to be firm and fair

The Lord’s staff, his tool for keeping us on track, is the moral law – the 10 commandments for example

There is something quite comforting about the staff of rules and tradition
Without the staff of rules and healthy boundaries (like uncooked cake batter) we won’t have the strength to hold together and keep our shape

In the Bible the staff is also a symbol of power, authority and journey

Moses, for example, used his staff to part the Red Sea and perform other miracles as he guided the people of Israel on a 40 year journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land

I mentioned last week that pagan gods are fixed in one location – in so called sacred places like temples or shrines

But Yahweh (the living God) is not fixed
Yahweh (the Lord) is free to move wherever he wants
That the Lord carries a staff (in David’s imagination) is a sign that God is with David wherever he goes
Knowing that God is with you (in close proximity to you) is a comfort – it gives strength and confidence and security in the darkest valley

For you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me

The Lord has the tools and the skills to take care of us
His presence gives strength & courage in dark and difficult places

Jesus comforts a paralysed man (Matthew 9:1-8)

The film Dolphin Tale was inspired by the true story of a dolphin called ‘Winter’ who lost his tale and had to learn to swim again with the help of a prosthetic tale

The doctor who made the prosthetic tale was working in a veteran’s hospital making prosthetic limbs and braces for returned soldiers
One soldier in particular, Kyle, was having a hard time adjusting to his disability
Kyle used to be a champion swimmer – but after his injury he had to give up that dream
When the doctor (played by Morgan Freeman) comforted Kyle, he didn’t do it with words of sympathy (with chocolates & pillows)

Instead the doctor comforts Kyle with words of strength

When Kyle says he is broken the doctor takes a glass and drops it on the ground so that it breaks and says, ‘the glass is broken – you’re not broken

Kyle still has options

There are a million other things he can still do, even with a gammy leg

Kyle is focusing on what he has lost so the doctor reminds him of what he still has – telling Kyle to go home to his family

In the long run, Morgan Freeman’s words have the effect of strengthening Kyle, so in that sense they provide more real comfort than sympathy

How then did Jesus, the good shepherd, comfort people?

How did Jesus inspire strength & courage?
Well, in Matthew chapter 9 we are given an example…

Jesus got into the boat and went back across the lake to his own town ²where some people brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a bed. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the paralyzed man, “Courage, my son! [Take heart] Your sins are forgiven.”

³Then some teachers of the Law said to themselves, “This man is speaking blasphemy!”

⁴Jesus perceived what they were thinking, and so he said, “Why are you thinking such evil things? ⁵Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your bed, and go home!”

⁷The man got up and went home. ⁸When the people saw it, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such authority to people.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us

Being paralysed the man in this story was basically defenceless, like a sheep

Not being able to move he was vulnerable, powerless

Fortunately this guy had friends to help him

The friends comforted the paralysed man by carrying him to Jesus
Their comfort wasn’t in the form of sympathetic words
Their comfort was in the form of practical action
Another version of this story in the gospels tells how the friends made a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was and lowered the man down
The friends’ faith in Jesus (collectively) gave emotional strength and spiritual courage to the paralysed man

When Jesus sees their faith he speaks words of comfort to the man

“Courage my son. [Take heart]. Your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus’ words fortify the man’s inner being
We don’t know why the man was paralysed
It probably wasn’t because of any sin he had committed – otherwise we would all be in wheelchairs
But the social reality was such that most people listening to Jesus at that time would have assumed the paralysis was a punishment for sin
And it appears the man himself had bought into this lie
It appears the man believed he deserved to be paralysed

By saying, “Your sins are forgiven”, Jesus removes the man’s fear

Think about that for a moment
Forgiveness is a form of comfort – one of the most powerful forms of comfort in fact, because forgiveness takes away the fear of punishment
We can equate forgiveness to the shepherd’s rod because sin, guilt & shame are the enemies of the human soul
And forgiveness is the weapon by which Jesus, the good shepherd, protects us from sin, guilt & shame
Jesus’ rod of forgiveness comforts the paralysed man
The rod of forgiveness gives the man courage & permission to stand and walk without fear of punishment

Many people of Jesus’ day would have thought the Lord’s rod was some kind of weapon or military force to smash the Roman oppressors

But that’s not what Jesus came to do
Christ didn’t come to smash people
He came to smash sin and its consequences
And to guide people in the right path – the path of abundant life

By saying to the man, “Your sins are forgiven”, Jesus is making a startling claim – that he has divine authority to forgive sins

The scribes (the teachers of the law) are discomforted by Jesus’ claim
They begin to get off track thinking Jesus has committed blasphemy
So Jesus neutralises their fears and brings back onto the right path by healing the man
The miracle Jesus performs is like the shepherd’s staff – it is a symbol of Jesus’ God given authority – his right to forgive and to guide

Jesus wields the rod of forgiveness & the staff of healing with his tongue

It was by words spoken with power that Jesus, the good shepherd, brought real tangible comfort to people

Conclusion:

There is another way that Jesus comforts people and that is with the Holy Spirit

On the night before he died Jesus spoke words of comfort to his disciples…

The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you… Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The Comforter, the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, comes alongside us with strength and courage and truth to guide us, even through the darkest valley

Let us pray…

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

[2] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comfort

[3] Kenneth Bailey, ‘The Good Shepherd’, page 49

May 8, 2016 Tawa Baptist

Baptism

Scripture: Mark 16:16a “Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved”

Title: Baptism

Key Idea: Baptism is where God’s grace meets our faith

Structure:

Introduction

Baptism is where God’s grace meets our faith

Conclusion

Introduction:

This morning Duan is being baptised

The word ‘baptise’ means to dip or immerse
There is a pool of water here at the front – we call this the ‘baptistery’
Duan will go into the water, make a profession of his faith in Jesus, then be immersed under the water before coming out again
That is the act of baptism

Baptism comes up in the New Testament quite a bit

John the Baptist immersed people in the Jordan river to get them ready for the coming Messiah
Jesus himself was baptised by John, as a sign that he had come to take away the sins of the world

Later Jesus went through another sort of baptism – not in water – but on the cross, when he was immersed in suffering

After his resurrection from the dead Jesus commanded his disciples to…

Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. [1]

Throughout the Book of Acts, the apostles did as Jesus instructed…

They preached the gospel and when people believed in Jesus the apostles baptised them

Baptism is where God’s grace meets our faith:

We could go on listing other New Testament references to baptism but the key idea I want to communicate this morning is…

Baptism is where God’s grace meets our faith

Or as Beasley-Murray puts it…

“Baptism is… the divinely appointed rendezvous of grace for faith.” [2]

In the New Testament the same gifts of grace are associated with faith as with baptism – so grace, faith and baptism go together

Baptism is a nexus point for God’s grace & our faith

Just so we are on the same page…

By grace we mean a multifaceted gift from God
A gift, by definition, is freely given – we don’t pay for it
So grace is unearned – it costs God but it doesn’t cost us

And faith is believing (or trusting) to the point we are prepared to act on that belief

Baptism is where God’s grace meets our faith

Let me illustrate by way of analogy

Imagine someone tells you that Mexted Motors are giving away cars – brand new cars at no cost
All you have to do is turn up at their car yard, collect the key, get in the car and drive away

Grace is being given the new car for free

And baptism is the rendezvous point for collecting the new car – that is: the yard at Mexted’s

Faith is believing that what you have been told is true and then acting on that belief by walking down to Mexted’s, collecting a key, getting in a vehicle and driving away

Faith is not saying, ‘I agree that Mexted’s are giving away cars’ and then sitting at home on the couch
Faith is acting on your belief – trusting that what you have heard is true

Baptism is where God’s grace meets our faith

Now, in many ways this is an inadequate analogy for baptism

We don’t just turn up to collect the goodies from God and then drive away – see you later. No
In baptism we become forever friends with Jesus
So when we get in the car (when we are baptised) the Spirit of God is already there waiting for us – ready to show us the way to go through life

Translating the analogy for you…

Duan has heard the gospel preached
He has heard the good news that God has grace – a wonderful multi-faceted gift to give away
And he has come to the waters of baptism in faith to receive God’s grace
After receiving the grace God wants to give, Duan will continue his journey through life with God

So what is this grace of God?

Well, firstly Duan, there’s no free car
And that goes for the rest of you as well
I don’t want anyone turning up at Mexted’s this afternoon, saying…
“I’ve been baptised. Where’s my free car.”

Seriously though, Jesus embodies the fullness of God’s grace

All the different facets of God’s grace we find in Christ
Jesus is God’s gift to the world for the salvation of creation

When we are baptised into Christ we receive forgiveness from sin [3]

And union with Christ [4]

With forgiveness God wipes our slate clean – He doesn’t hold our wrong doing against us

That means our guilt is removed – we’re justified & accepted before God
Not only are our sins forgiven – but sin also loses its power over us
The power of sin is death – because we are forgiven, death can’t hold us
And because we are justified, the accusations of the evil one won’t stick

In believers’ baptism we also receive from God union with Christ

Baptism is sort of like a wedding ceremony in that it unites us to Christ
Just as marriage is for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, so too union with Christ is for better or worse, through thick & thin
Baptism doesn’t mean the end of suffering or difficulty in this life
But it does mean the end of trying to cope with difficulties on your own

It also means a change to our lifestyle

I remember when I married Robyn, I had to change my mind set
No longer could I think like a single man
Now I had to consider Robyn in everything I did
I needed to learn to listen to her and tell her what I was thinking & feeling
It’s the same with our union to Christ – we have to consider him in all our decisions – how will this affect Jesus?
We need to listen to him and be honest with him – we call that prayer

Union with Christ is a biggy – it comes with a number of benefits

For starters union with Christ gives you the Spirit of Jesus
The Holy Spirit is the key to everything really
The Spirit precedes baptism in that He leads us to Christ and makes faith & repentance possible
Faith is a gift from God
The Holy Spirit is also given in baptism [5]
One of the Biblical metaphors for the Holy Spirit is water
We are baptised in water as a sign that through our union with Christ we are being immersed in God’s Spirit
The Holy Spirit then follows baptism – we go on being filled with the Spirit who empowers us to live the Christian life

Union with Christ gives you the promise of resurrection

In Romans 6 Paul writes: Don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death?
…If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. [6]

Because Jesus is God’s Son, union with Christ makes us sons & daughters of God

As co-heirs with Christ we will inherit God’s kingdom

And last but not least, union with Christ means we become members of the church universal

Duan’s baptism is not something which is done in isolation
It’s not just between him and God
Duan’s baptism is between him and God and us
Duan is being incorporated into Christ’s body, the church
So we who have been baptised are affected by this
We are encourageed and strengthened by it

There is much more I could say about baptism but that’s enough for today

The main point is: Baptism is where God’s grace meets our faith

We will now hear a testimony from Duan…

[1] Mark 16:15-16

[2] G.R. Beasley-Murray, ‘Baptism in the New Testament, page 273.

[3] Acts 2:38

[4] Galatians 3:27

[5] 1 Corinthians 12:13

[6] Romans 6:3 & 5

May 1, 2016May 1, 2016 Tawa Baptist

Strengthening Fellowship

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-3

Title: Strengthening Fellowship

Members Pledge 5: To do all I can to strengthen the fellowship of the church by developing the spirit of love in the family of Christ’s people.

Structure:

Introduction
United by Christ, not by likes
Strengthening fellowship (Eph. 4:2)
The bond of peace (Eph. 4:3)
Conclusion

Introduction:

Over the past couple of months we have been journeying through the 23^rd Psalm – making reference as we go to the various ways in which this psalm points us to Jesus

During May we take a break from Psalm 23 to focus on other things
We have a baptismal service next Sunday
And for the following three Sundays after that we will give our attention to the annual Tranzsend Prayer & Self Denial campaign
We intend to return to Psalm 23 in June.

With Ben & Becca Allen being welcomed into membership our message today focuses on one of the members’ pledges…

To do all I can to strengthen the fellowship of the Church by developing the spirit of love in the family of Christ’s people.

Sometimes people ask me, ‘why do we have membership?’

‘If I become a member of the church universal when I’m baptised then why do I need to become a member of a local church also?’
After all salvation is not by local church membership – it’s by faith in Christ
Well, joining yourself in membership to a local church is not something you do primarily for yourself
It’s something you do for the well-being of the people in the local church

From a legal and financial point of view the church needs to differentiate between members and non-members in order to protect itself

In our situation the members are the ones charged with the responsibility for decision making
If we didn’t have members with voting rights then, in a worse-case scenario, some other larger group could come along to a church meeting and pass a resolution to take over our buildings & programmes for their own nefarious purposes
So the people we allow into membership really need to have the best interests of the local church at heart

Therefore, when someone becomes a member of Tawa Baptist they pledge…

To do all I can to strengthen the fellowship of the Church by developing the spirit of love in the family of Christ’s people.

United by Christ, not by likes:

Membership isn’t just about providing a measure of legal and financial protection for the local church

More importantly it’s about taking care of Christ’s reputation as well as our relationships with each other

Strengthening the fellowship of the church and developing the spirit of love, is essentially about the quality of our relationships together, as a community of faith

The church is not a building

The church is a network of relationships – like a family
In a general sense, a family shares the same heritage, the same blood, the same DNA
As a church family we share Christ’s heritage, His blood and His Spirit
It is Jesus who unites us and so the primary criteria for church membership is our relationship with Christ as formalised in baptism

The church is not a club either

A club is a group of people who are united by a shared liking for something
So for example, people who like collecting stamps might form a stamp collecting club
And people who like shooting guns might get together to form a gun club
And people who like drinking wine might form a wine tasting club

But a church is not a group of people united by a shared liking

The church is united by Christ
Therefore the church brings people of different likings, different cultures, different socio-economic backgrounds, different ages and different personalities together

Think about the implications of that for a moment

Being united by Christ means we don’t necessarily like the same things
For example, we don’t all like the same kind of songs
Some prefer hymns while others prefer Hill Song music – some enjoy all styles of music and still others can’t wait till the singing is over
Some people like interactive worship services – where you get up and move around – others like to sit still and listen to sermons
And others aren’t as interested in the sermon as they are in catching up with people over a cup of tea afterwards

The point is we all like different things and that’s okay – that’s as it should be

Because we are not a club – we are not united by our likes
We are united by Christ

The main metaphor for the church in the New Testament is family

You can choose your friends based on common interests or shared likes
But you can’t choose your family
You don’t get to choose who else comes to church here
You may like different things from the person sitting next to you
But you are still committed to their well-being

If you like Hill Song music then you still sing hymns for the sake of the person in the pew opposite you who is helped by singing hymns (& vice versa)

Or if you prefer the more interactive stuff to the sermon then you still listen patiently to the sermon for the sake of the person here who is fed by preaching
In these sorts of ways we strengthen the fellowship of the Church by developing the spirit of love in the family of Christ’s people

C.S. Lewis wrote a book called The Screwtape Letters

It’s an enjoyable and thoughtful piece of fiction
Screwtape is the name of a demon who writes letters to his nephew, Wormwood – Wormwood is an apprentice tempter
Screwtape’s letters are full of advice on how the young demon, Wormwood, might turn a human being away from the Christian faith

In one of his letters Screwtape writes to Wormwood…

“Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that ‘suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.” [1]

If you ever manage to find a church which caters for all your likes and avoids your dislikes then you probably aren’t in church – you’re in a club or a bar

The opposite is also true
When you find yourself not liking something in church then you can probably take it as confirmation that you’re in the right place

We are united by Christ, not by our likes

And Christ’s Spirit (His DNA) is love
Love seeks the well-being of others

Strengthening fellowship:

What then does the Bible have to say about strengthening the fellowship of the church?

Well, one key passage which sums it up well is found at the beginning of Ephesians 4
While in prison for preaching the gospel of Christ, the apostle Paul wrote to the first Century church in Ephesus saying…

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Paul gives us 4 or 5 qualities which are essential to strengthening the fellowship of the church – this is how Christians are to treat each other…

With humility
Gentleness
Patience
Forbearance
And love

Humility in this context means ‘lowliness of mind’ or thinking low (not being proud or haughty) [2]

Being humble is really an attitude
It’s about having an accurate awareness of yourself in relation to others – not thinking too much of yourself
Being conscious of the fact that without God our life has no meaning and that without Christ we can do nothing
Humility is recognising that we need other people and more importantly the wider community of which we are just a small part needs other people
We are not the centre – it’s not all about us

A humble person does not think, ‘My team needs me to a score try’

A truly humble person thinks, ‘How can I best support my team mates to score tries?’

The church at Ephesus was a mix of different cultures – some Gentile, some Jewish

While humility was a virtue in Jewish culture, it was not valued in Gentile culture at that time

But valued or not, humility is primary to strengthening any fellowship or community

Humility keeps our ego in check and prevents us from worshipping ourselves
Humility also makes gentleness possible

If humility was despised in the ancient gentile world then gentleness is surely despised in our contemporary culture

Violence, brute force, power – these are the things which are glorified in our day and age
Gentleness is misunderstood as weakness when the truth is: gentleness requires a greater strength than brute force or violence
Gentleness requires self-control and skill

If violence is the hammer, then gentleness is the screw driver

If force is the butcher’s cleaver, then gentleness is the surgeon’s scalpel
If power is a drone strike, then gentleness is the kind word which turns away wrath
You might be tempted to smack your children into submission but you are more likely to take a gentle approach – to remain calm, wait for the tantrum to pass and lead them to better choices
You can coerce a person into grudging obedience to God by threatening them with the fires of hell,
Or you can gently remind them of God’s goodness and grace so they want to do His will

Humility and gentleness – these are two qualities that Jesus embodies in himself

In Matthew 11, verse 29, Jesus says…
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Patience is also needed for strengthening the fellowship of the church

An ancient Christian preacher by the name of John Chrysostom said,
To have patience is to have “…a wide or big soul” [3]

Having a ‘wide or big soul’ means having room for other people in our lives

Not being so fixated on our own agenda that we don’t have room for interruptions
Now it is not appropriate for us to accommodate every interruption
It is important to maintain some healthy boundaries
But we don’t want to be so tightly scheduled, so tightly managed and focused that we can’t attend to what’s important

The parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates largeness (and smallness) of soul

The priest and the Levite were so fixed on their own little agenda
(Must get to church on time – must be seen to do the right thing)
That they didn’t have room to care for the wounded stranger on the side of the road
By contrast the despised Samaritan had a largeness of soul which made it possible for him to put aside what he had planned to achieve that day, dress the stranger’s wounds and carry him to safety

Patience is making room for other people when it matters

Strengthening the fellowship of the church requires the patience (or the largeness of soul) to make room for each other

To sing each other’s songs,
To prefer each other’s needs,
To listen to each other’s concerns,
To help in practical ways where we can
Or perhaps simply to be together without any agenda

So then, the fellowship of the church (our relationships together) are strengthened by humility, by gentleness, by patience and by bearing with

one another in love

Bearing with one another means putting up with people

And love, in this context, means seeking the other person’s well-being

The reality is that other people can be annoying sometimes – they can get on your wick (often it’s the little things)

It’s not that they mean to aggravate you – they are just being themselves and it gets under your skin

Paul is saying, don’t sweat the small stuff

Don’t walk away from the church over some trifle
Put up with the little things for the sake of love – that is for the well-being of the whole community

I remember the pastor who married us said, “Don’t worry about a bit of poop in the stable – poop is a sign of life”

Yea – people will annoy you sometimes but don’t lose sight of the fact they also have qualities which are good and which the rest of the church needs

Besides, we all have things about us which annoy others
You might think you are being very gracious in putting up with someone
But they probably think the same thing about you
What we realise as we get older is that we are all difficult in our own way
So we all need to show each other grace
And we need to learn to laugh at ourselves too

Now this exhortation to ‘bear with one another in love’ needs to be held in balance with verse 15 of Ephesians 4, where Paul talks about…

Speaking the truth in love so that we will grow up into Christ

There is a time to bear with difficult behaviour and a time to speak the truth

If we always graciously tolerate things we don’t like then the other person never really learns or improves and resentment grows
The trick is speaking the truth with humility and gentleness
Not being too quick in speaking the truth – but checking ourselves first to make sure we have removed the plank from our own eye before pointing out the speck in theirs
Making sure that we are motivated by what’s best for others and not just our own comfort or convenience

The bond of peace:

It’s been a dry summer and autumn here in Wellington – the weather’s been lovely

We’ve had to water our gardens more than we’re used to lately
Sometimes when you water the garden you get a kink in the hose and the water flow slows down to a trickle
If that happens, what do you do?
Do you throw the hose away or do you fix the problem by taking the kink out of the hose? [Wait for response]
Yes, that’s right you straighten the hose to take the kink out – then the water flows properly again

Paul continues his exhortation to the Ephesians in verse 3 saying…

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

I’m not sure I fully understand this verse but I’ll share with you what I know

Firstly, the Spirit of Christ creates unity in the church

We don’t create unity, the Holy Spirit does
However, we are responsible for maintaining the unity
And we maintain unity through the bond of peace

Peace (in the Bible) isn’t just the absence of conflict

It’s shalom, it’s abundant life, joy and right relationship in community with others

The bond of peace, therefore, is not a bond which stops us from doing things

It’s not like hand cuffs or shackles or a leash or a tie
The bond of peace is something which connects us to each other in positive ways
It is like a hose with water flowing through it – it is life-giving

Sometimes the bond of peace gets a kink in it

Sometimes our relationships get a bit twisted
People misunderstand each other or have expectations which are disappointed, then one thing leads to another and before you know it they’re not talking – the life-giving flow of water slows to a dribble
When our relationships get a kink in them we don’t throw the relationship out – we don’t say, ‘Well stuff you – I’m out of here’
No – we find a suitable time when we are calm and unhurried to talk it through – we straighten the kink out – we forgive each other

We don’t create the unity but we do need to maintain it by taking care of our relationships, by taking the kink out of the hose

Jesus encouraged his disciples to maintain the bond of peace with each other by teaching them to pray…

“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

You see Jesus establishes a bond of peace between us and God

He gives us a brand new hose with water running through it
Because of Jesus, God forgives us up front and in advance
We get given that forgiveness, that bond of peace, for free
But we still have to maintain it
And we maintain the bond of peace by paying it forward – by forgiving others, just as God forgave us in Christ

Conclusion:

This morning we have explored what it means to strengthen the fellowship of the Church by developing the spirit of love in the family of Christ’s people

In short we are to relate with one another in an attitude of humility,

With gentleness and with patience (or largeness of soul)
We are to bear with one another in love – not sweating the small stuff but at the same time not ignoring those things that need to be addressed

In a few minutes we will share communion together

Communion is a time when we remember (and celebrate) the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace established by Jesus

Now though let’s stand and sing…

♫ Brother, Sister, let me serve you…

[1] C.S. Lewis, ‘The Screwtape Letters’, page 81

[2] Klyne Snodgrass, The NIVAC on Ephesians, page 196.

[3] From Chrysostom’s homily on 1 Corinthians 13:4 – referenced in Klyne Snodgrass, The NIVAC on Ephesians, page 197.

April 17, 2016April 17, 2016 Tawa Baptist

He Guides Me

Scripture: Psalm 23:3b – with reference to Matthew 15:1-20

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake

Title: He Guides Me

Structure:

Introduction
Psalm 23:3b
- The Lord guides me
- Righteousness is a path
- For his name’s sake
Matthew 15:1-20 – Jesus guides the people
Conclusion

Introduction:

Over the past couple of months we have been journeying through the 23^rd Psalm making reference, as we go, to the various ways in which this psalm points to Jesus, the good shepherd.

The message of Psalm 23 as a whole is: the Lord is my security.

God looks after me (personally) like a shepherd looks after a sheep.

So far we have covered the first two and half verses…

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside still waters

He restores my soul…

‘Lying down’ is about God providing rest

‘Green pastures’ is about nourishment
‘Still waters’ is the peace God gives

And ‘he restores my soul’ has to do with rescue

When I am lost the Lord brings me back or rescues me
Rest, nourishment, peace and rescue – these are the ways in which God takes care of his people

Today we complete verse 3…

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake

This is primarily about the guidance or wisdom that the Lord offers

After bringing me back (or rescuing me) when I’m lost, the Lord then sets me on the right path, so I can carry on to find more green pastures

Psalm 23:3b

When we were young we used to play a game called Snakes & Ladders

With Snakes & Ladders you roll the dice and move your counter the number indicated on the dice
If you land at the foot of a ladder then you move up the ladder
But if you land on the head of a snake then you slide all the way down the snake and have to make your way back up the board again
Whoever gets to the end first, wins

Snakes & Ladders is entirely a game of chance – there is no skill involved and no choice – the dice determines your fate

Life is not exactly like Snakes & Ladders though

In life we can (to some extent) choose the path we will take
However we don’t always know where that path will lead us (at least not at first)
Sometimes what we think is a ladder turns out to be a snake & vice versa

The journey through life is more like travelling in a foreign country where you don’t know the language or the customs

You can try to do it on your own but that can be a bit hit & miss – you never really know if you’re landing on a snake or a ladder
If you’re smart you will find someone with local knowledge to guide you
With a trustworthy guide you can avoid the snakes and find the ladders

Returning to our key verse for this morning’s message – there are three main points to note in this phrase…

The Lord guides me:

Firstly, the Lord ‘guides’ me.

We are not guided by fate or the throw of the dice
We are guided by the Lord
The Lord is like the person with the local knowledge who shows us the way by walking with us through life

The Lord doesn’t force us or manipulate us or drive us – he guides us.

Guidance indicates a relationship of listening and trust
A relationship of freedom and respect

So we are not following a set of rigid instructions or a list of rules

We are following a person
The shepherd doesn’t give the sheep a map and a compass and then leave them to it – saying, “you’re on your own now mate”
The shepherd remains present with the sheep
He walks ahead of the sheep and the sheep follow the shepherd’s lead – his example

Righteousness is a path:

There is a new concrete pathway between Tawa and Porirua – running parallel to Kenepuru Drive

If you are starting from the Porirua end, heading south, then you come out at Findlay Street – by the Cricket Club
It is lovely to walk on and you have no doubt about where the path is
The way ahead is very clear

In the wild Middle East pathways are not so clear

There may be a number of faint trails in the wilderness but not all of them lead to a good destination
The shepherd knows which is the right path and consequently which other paths to avoid

I remember when I was 18, at the end of the 7^th Form (Year 13), I wasn’t sure what to do next

In the end I decided to study business management at Waikato University
Most people in my family had a business background and so I followed the tradition of my ancestors
Unfortunately, at 18, I didn’t know myself very well
Truth be told I wasn’t really like anyone else in my family
I would have been better studying something like philosophy or sociology or something else in the field of humanities
The problem with those sorts of subjects is that they don’t have a clear career path – what would I do for a job at the end of the degree?

I thought that by doing business management I was landing on a ladder

Little did I realise that for me business management was a snake
Ironically the right path seemed wrong and the wrong path seemed right

Now I’m not saying that business management studies is bad – for some people it is the right path, it just wasn’t right for me

One man’s ladder is another man’s snake I suppose

In hindsight I didn’t really listen to God

In fact I don’t remember even asking for his guidance
For some reason I compartmentalised the different parts of my life
It didn’t occur to me as a young man and a new-ish Christian that I could ask God about career options
But even if I had asked for God’s input and he had answered, I’m not sure I would have had the faith at that age to step into a path which no one in my family had ever walked before

I battled my way through the degree with a B average but my heart wasn’t in it

Despite being on the wrong path God eventually brought me onto the right path
When I returned to Varsity some years later to study the Bible and theology I found my fit

Not that the business management stuff was wasted

As it turns out pastors these days spend a lot of time doing management type tasks
Perhaps there was some method in God letting me wander off on the wrong track

The second thing we note about our key phrase today is that David describes righteousness as a ‘path’

Think about that for a moment – righteousness is a pathway
For many of us righteousness is a destination – it equates to achieving some kind of moral or ethical standard
But in the Bible the destination is abundant life and righteousness is the path which leads to life
Furthermore the Bible teaches us that righteousness is by faith
So we walk the path of righteousness by faith – by trusting God

The right path is not always clear to us, is it

(Not like the pathway between Porirua and Tawa)
And so, because the right path is not always clear, it takes a certain degree of faith to walk in it

A path indicates movement, process, change and journey

The Lord’s guidance is not rigid or static – it is flexible and dynamic, appropriate to the terrain.
We don’t always know what’s around the corner and we may sometimes stumble or grow weary as we walk along the path
But we don’t trust in our own skill or strength – we trust the good shepherd who guides us

God is particularly interested in the inner pathways of our heart & mind

Where are our desires, our thinking and our feeling taking us

For his name’s sake:

The third point to note in this verse is that the Lord rescues us and guides us for his name’s sake

On a fairly superficial level “for his name’s sake” means for the sake of his reputation
But at a deeper level “for his name’s sake” means for the sake of his integrity

In other words, the Lord isn’t worried about what other people might think of him

The Lord rescues the lost and guides his sheep in the right path because he is a good shepherd and that is what a good shepherd does
The Lord could not live with himself if he did not take proper care of his sheep
By keeping his sheep safe & sound the Lord is being true to himself

For his name’s sake takes a lot of pressure off us

It means that God’s care of us does not depend on whether or not we are good enough
God’s care depends on his own integrity which is without question

Okay then – that’s the three main things David is saying in this phrase

The Lord guides me by his example
Righteousness is a path, and
God’s motivation for all of this is his own character – his own integrity

Matthew 15:1-20 – Jesus guides the people:

How then does this point to Jesus, the good shepherd?

Please turn with me to Matthew chapter 15 – page 22 near the back of your pew Bibles
There are many examples of Jesus guiding the people in the right path
I’ve chosen this one largely because it draws attention to the fact that the path of righteousness is not always as it appears to be
From Matthew 15, verse 1, we read…

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him, ²“Why is it that your disciples disobey the teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don’t wash their hands in the proper way before they eat!”

³Jesus answered, “And why do you disobey God’s command and follow your own teaching? ⁴For God said, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and ‘If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death.’ ⁵But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, ‘This belongs to God,’ ⁶they do not need to honour their father. In this way you disregard God’s command, in order to follow your own teaching.

We are going to pause there – so don’t close your Bibles, leave them open, we will return to this reading shortly

Here we have two pathways

The path of righteousness according to human tradition, and
The path of righteousness according to the Lord

According to the Jewish tradition of that time righteousness was maintained by washing your hands frequently in a prescribed way

The thinking was that the world out there is contaminated
There are certain foods you can’t eat and certain people you can’t associate with and certain things you can’t touch
Because if you do you will become unclean and then God won’t accept your worship

To avoid the risk of contamination one must wash their hands in a particular way before eating – that was the tradition passed down by the ancestors

God did not require that – but tradition did

The original intention may have been good but over time what resulted was a very superficial form of righteousness

This pathway of righteousness, according to human tradition, didn’t lead to abundant life – it led in ever decreasing circles to a dead end

When the Pharisees (the guardians of human tradition) notice that Jesus’ disciples don’t wash their hands in the prescribed way they ask Jesus, why?

Presumably the disciples are following Jesus’ example
And Jesus doesn’t follow the path of human tradition

The Pharisees are on the wrong path and because Jesus is a good shepherd he wants to guide them onto the right path

But before he can do that Jesus has to show the Pharisees they are on the wrong track – so he asks them a question…
And why do you disobey God’s command and follow your own teaching?
Then Jesus gives the example of how the Pharisees say it’s okay not to provide for your elderly parents if you give the money to God

In those days there was no fortnightly superannuation payment from the government for those over 65

Your children were your superannuation scheme in the sense that you hoped your adult children would take care of you in your old age

The Pharisees were basically saying, give your money to God (or to the temple treasury, which we control) and you don’t have to take care of your parents

In order to make themselves rich the Pharisees made up a rule which effectively undermined God’s command to honour your father & mother
That was not the right path – that was not cool – and Jesus told them so

From verse 10 of Matthew 15 we continue…

¹⁰Then Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand! ¹¹It is not what goes into a person’s mouth that makes him ritually unclean; rather, what comes out of it makes him unclean.”

¹²Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees had their feelings hurt by what you said?”

¹³“Every plant which my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up,” answered Jesus. ¹⁴“Don’t worry about them! They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch.”

¹⁵Peter spoke up, “Explain this saying to us.”

¹⁶Jesus said to them, “You are still no more intelligent than the others. ¹⁷Don’t you understand? Anything that goes into a person’s mouth goes into his stomach and then on out of his body. ¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make a person ritually unclean. ¹⁹For from his heart come the evil ideas which lead him to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie, and slander others. ²⁰These are the things that make a person unclean. But to eat without washing your hands as they say you should—this doesn’t make a person unclean.”

May the Spirit of God illuminate this reading for us

There is a lot emphasis these days on keeping the environment clean

Now tell me, when it comes to a motor car – which is better for the environment?
Washing your car, so it’s nice and clean and sparkly on the outside
Or taking measures to improve the fuel efficiency – maybe getting a hybrid vehicle or an electric engine [Wait]
That’s right – taking measures to improve the fuel efficiency
Washing your car does nothing to help the environment – in fact the waste water may be bad for the environment
It’s what comes out of the car that really matters
It’s the engine (the inner workings) that is important

Returning to Matthew 15, Jesus could have dropped the subject after responding to the Pharisees, but he doesn’t

Jesus’ integrity won’t allow him to abandon the crowd to following the path of human tradition where that tradition is wrong
Jesus is the good shepherd so he gently (but clearly) guides the people in the right path saying…
“It is not what goes into your mouth that makes you ritually unclean; rather, what comes out of it makes you unclean.”

The disciples still don’t understand what Jesus means so he explains further…

“…from the heart come the evil ideas which lead you to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things… ²⁰These are the things that make a person unclean.” But to eat without washing your hands… this doesn’t make a person unclean.

To Jesus’ original audience this was a revolutionary idea

It was a radical reversal of what they had been led to believe was true

Jesus was effectively saying – the world out there is not bad, it is not contaminated

God’s creation is good – you can eat whatever you want

The problem isn’t out there with those who are different from you

The problem is in here – in the human heart – because that’s where evil comes from
You can wash your hands as much as you like but it’s not going to change what you think inside
You can polish your car till you can see your own reflection in it but that won’t change what comes out of the exhaust

Jesus is talking about inner pathways here

Where are your thoughts, feelings and desires leading you

Remember righteousness is a pathway – not a destination

When we look at the 10 commandments what we find is that they are talking about avoiding certain destinations
Do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not bear false witness, do not murder and so on
These are all destinations we should avoid
And the way to avoid those destinations is not to start on the path which leads to them

In Matthew 5, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about paths of righteousness and paths of destruction

For example, he says (and I paraphrase a bit here) – don’t look at a woman lustfully, because that will put you on a path to adultery
And don’t stay angry with your brother and don’t call your sister insulting names, because that will put you on a path to committing murder
And don’t make an oath (don’t swear by heaven or earth), because that puts you on a path to bearing false witness
And don’t worry about money or food or clothes, because that puts you on a path to stealing

Instead you should love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you because that puts you on a path to God and to life

The problem isn’t out there – the problem is in here

It’s not what we eat that makes us unclean – it’s what we say and do that makes us unclean
And because what we say & do comes from inside us we need to take care with our inner pathways – our neural pathways
We need to make sure we are on the right track with our thinking
We need to be careful not to allow the desires of our heart to lead us in the wrong direction
We need to acknowledge what we feel without being led by what we feel
We need to let Jesus, the good shepherd, guide us from the inside out

Conclusion:

Many people these days think that it doesn’t matter too much which path you take in life – because all paths eventually lead to God anyway

I don’t believe that
That is not how life works in my experience
Some pathways lead to joy and peace
While other pathways lead to frustration and regret
They don’t all lead to God
But the good news is: God has sent his Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Christ) to show us when we are on the wrong path and guide us into the right path
What’s more God has a canny way of redeeming the time we spend on the wrong path

Let us pray…

April 10, 2016April 10, 2016 Tawa Baptist

Rescue

Scripture: Psalm 23:3a (He restores my soul)

Title: Rescue

Structure:

Introduction
He brings me back
Conclusion

Introduction:

This morning we continue our series on Psalm 23

The key message of Psalm 23 (as a whole) is, the Lord is my security
God looks after me like a shepherd looks after his sheep

The plan is to look at one aspect of the psalm each week

So far we have covered the first two verses…

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside still waters

Today we start verse 3…

He restores my soul…

He brings me back:

On the wall here we have four pictures

Tell me, what do these four pictures have in common?
What is the one word tying them all together?
Wait for people to respond

That’s right – rescue

We often understand, He restores my soul, to mean something along the lines of

‘I was tired or depressed and the Lord lifted me out of my sadness and gave me back my strength & joy’
However, this is not the primary meaning of verse 3

A more accurate translation of He restores my soul is He brings me back [1]

With this translation the sheep is lost and so the good shepherd goes after the lost sheep and brings it back
So, He restores my soul or (more accurately) He brings me back is primarily about rescue

When a sheep is lost it will hide under a bush or in the cleft of a rock and begin to quiver with fear and bleat so that someone will come to its rescue

In the wild middle east (where David was a shepherd) a lost bleating sheep was at risk
The shepherd had to find the sheep quickly before some wild animal heard it and killed it
Then, once the shepherd found the sheep, he would pick it up and carry it back – because it would be too traumatised to walk

So, he restores my soul really means, ‘I was lost and alone and scared but the Lord found me and carried me back

Henry Baker captures this idea in his hymn, The King of Love My Shepherd Is, where he says…

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home rejoicing, brought me. [2]

Please turn with me to Luke chapter 15 – page 100 in your pew Bibles

This image of the good shepherd finding and bringing back the lost sheep reminds us of Jesus
From Luke chapter 15, verse 1 we read…

One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, “This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!”

So Jesus told them this parable…

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them – what does he do? He leaves the other 99 sheep in the pasture and goes looking for the one that got lost until he finds it. When he finds it, he is so happy that he puts it on his shoulders and carries it back home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate.’

In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 respectable people who do not need to repent.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

During the week, early Tuesday evening, I got a call from Robyn saying she had lost her keys at school

As a teacher Robyn has a lot of keys and losing them is quite stressful
It would be an expensive and time consuming exercise to try and replace them all
One of the keys has an electronic chip in it which means it costs about $120 to get a new one
We didn’t really want to buy new keys – we wanted to find the old ones

Without the keys Robyn was pretty much incapacitated

For starters she couldn’t get into her car to drive home
So she called me to ask if I’d come and help

By the time I arrived Robyn had been looking everywhere for these lost keys but had no joy in finding them

We decided to go home and start the search again tomorrow
You see there is a child in Robyn’s class who has been known to hide things in strange places
It could be this child had hidden the keys somewhere

So the next morning Robyn very gently approached this 5 year old and said…

“I’ve lost my keys. Do you think you could help me find them?”
And the 5 year old said, “Yea, I’m really good at finding keys”
Then they went straight to the place where they had hidden them and restored them to Robyn’s hand

I got a text from Robyn shortly after to say she had the keys

Needless to say I was overjoyed

I like the way Robyn approached the child

She didn’t go in with all guns blazing
She didn’t make any threats,
She invited the child to help her
She made it easy for the 5 year old to do the right thing

Earlier we heard a parable of Jesus, about a lost sheep and good shepherd who went searching for and rescued the lost sheep

This parable is the first of three which Jesus tells, not to his disciples, but to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law
Following this parable Jesus went on to tell two similar stories – one of a woman finding a lost coin and another of two lost sons
All three parables have the same message essentially – something is lost and then is found or restored
We are just going to look at the first parable of the lost sheep

As I was saying, Jesus tells this parable to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law

That is, the religious leaders – the shepherds of Israel at that time
These were the men who were in charge – the ones who were supposed to take care of the people, at least in a spiritual sense

Sadly the Pharisees and teachers of the Law weren’t behaving like shepherds

They were not looking after the people – in fact they made life more difficult for the people with their man-made rules and traditions
And when Jesus welcomed outcasts & sinners they grumbled against him

On this occasion Jesus responded with gentleness

He didn’t go in with all guns blazing
He didn’t make threats or accusations
Jesus told them a parable

The Pharisees and Scribes were experts in the Hebrew Bible – what we call the Old Testament

So they would have known the 23^rd Psalm back to front
They would be well aware that the Lord God is like a shepherd who brings me back (or rescues me) when I’m lost
Jesus was starting where they were at, with a metaphor they were familiar with, from a source they accepted

The parable Jesus told was both explanation and invitation

Jesus was explaining to the religious leaders why he was welcoming outcasts – because the outcasts were like lost sheep and that is what a good shepherd does – he rescues the lost
At the same time Jesus was inviting the religious leaders to join him in the work of finding and bringing back the lost
Can you help me find my keys?
Can you help me find the lost sheep of Israel?

Jesus begins the parable by saying…

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them

There are a number of things to note in this simple phrase…

Straight away Jesus is saying, ‘you Pharisees and teachers of the Law are the shepherds of Israel’
And by implication, as shepherds, you have a duty of care for the people

One thing which is lost in translation is that the shepherd owns the sheep in this parable

He has a hundred sheep – means the sheep belong to the shepherd [3]
It is a closer (more invested) relationship than merely being a hired hand looking after someone else’s sheep
Jesus is saying to the religious leaders, these outcasts that you are grumbling about, they are actually part of your flock
The loss of even one of them is a loss to you personally and it’s a significant loss, like losing a $120 electronic key
You don’t want to get a new one – you want to find the old one

Another thing worth noting: 100 sheep at that time and in that place was a large flock

By NZ standards it is a small-ish flock but to Jesus’ original audience it was big – you would need to be quite rich to own 100 sheep
But even though the flock is large and the shepherd is wealthy the value of the one lost sheep is not less
The rules of supply and demand don’t apply with God
Each sheep is valuable in its own unique way

If Robyn had 100 keys on her key ring (she doesn’t have that many but she does have quite a few) but if she had 100 and she lost one of those keys, she wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter, I’ve got 99 more’

She would say, ‘I need to find that key because without it I can’t access the door which it opens’
You see, none of the other 99 keys will be able to do the exact same job that the one lost key can

Everyone is important to Jesus – everyone is valued by God – everyone has a particular purpose (a unique gift) which no one else offers

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you”. And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you”. On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable… [4]

Jesus goes on…

…and suppose you lose one of them
Now this is quite a confronting thing to say
Normally in the Middle East, where there is a strong honour / shame culture, to preserve reputation, you would say something like…
‘The sheep went astray’ [5] or, ‘the sheep got lost’
So it would be the sheep’s fault
You would never admit to losing the sheep yourself
And you certainly wouldn’t say, ‘You lost the sheep’
But that is what Jesus says here…
Suppose you lose one of your sheep

In a very gentle way Jesus is pointing out that the Pharisees and teachers of the Law have lost some of their sheep – the outcastes and tax collectors

As shepherds it is their responsibility to bring the lost sheep back

I say that Jesus is being gentle in his approach with the religious leaders because compared to the prophets of the Old Testament he is

In reprimanding the shepherds (or kings) of ancient Israel in Old Testament times Ezekiel writes…

The weak you have not strengthened

The sick you have not healed

The injured you have not bound up

The strayed you have not brought back

The lost you have not sought

And with force and harshness you have ruled them [6]

Ezekiel goes on to say that the Lord is against the shepherds of Israel and will put a stop to their tending of the sheep

As I said before Jesus’ parable to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law is both explanation and invitation

Jesus is inviting the religious leaders to join him in searching for and bringing back the lost sheep of Israel
He is making it easy for the religious leaders to do the right thing

Kenneth Bailey who I find so helpful in this study decodes what Jesus was saying to the scribes and Pharisees…

Gentlemen, you are not trapped by the past. We all know that the bad shepherds in the writings of the prophets who lost their sheep and failed to even try to bring them back were harshly punished for their failures. But you are not trapped into following that path. You are free. I have pioneered a way forward. When a shepherd loses his sheep he naturally goes after it until he finds it. He then carries it home and has a party. It is as simple as that. The lost that I am “bringing home” are sheep that you yourselves have lost. I know that you don’t like them and that you despise me for going after them. But when they are lost – you lose because they are part of your flock! When they are found, it is your gain! …Can you join me in the great task of restoring the lost sheep of the house of Israel? … [7]

Returning to Jesus’ parable we note how the shepherd leaves the 99 where they are in the wilderness to go looking for the one lost sheep

In reality a responsible shepherd in the Middle East would never leave his flock unattended in the wilderness
The original audience understood that the shepherd would leave an apprentice or another shepherd to protect the 99 sheep
So the 99 are not abandoned – they are cared for too

When it comes to searching for and bringing back (or rescuing) the lost sheep, it is the shepherd who does most of the work

The shepherd has to walk all over the place looking for the sheep, calling out to the frightened animal
And when he finds it the shepherd then carries the sheep home on his shoulders because the sheep is too distressed walk by itself

But although the shepherd does most of the work the sheep must still want to be found

Because the lost sheep will likely be hiding behind a rock or under a bush it must bleat and call out so the shepherd can hear where it is
If the sheep doesn’t make a noise, well, the shepherd is unlikely to be able to find it
Or if the sheep hears the shepherd calling and runs in the other direction then the shepherd can’t rescue the sheep

Perhaps the sheep’s bleating is equivalent to a human being praying – calling out to God for help

If we are lost we have to want to be rescued
It is a fact that we won’t call out to God until we realise our need for Him – until we become aware that we are lost

One of the key elements of this parable (and the two which follow) is the joy and celebration when the lost are found and restored

In verse 7 Jesus interprets his own parable saying…

In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 respectable people who do not need to repent.

The main point here seems to be: the Scribes & Pharisees shouldn’t grumble about Jesus welcoming sinners and outcasts – rather they should be happy that Jesus is restoring their flock

But it is curious, don’t you think, that Jesus talks about the respectable majority who don’t need to repent?
We know that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
So we all need to repent – right?

Yes – precisely

Jesus’ parable finishes with the lost sheep safely home and the 99 respectable sheep still out there in the wilderness

The Scribes & Pharisees were themselves lost, only they didn’t realise it
They didn’t think they needed to repent but clearly Jesus’ parable indicated they did

Heaven, aka the heart of God, does not rejoice in self-righteousness or blindness

God rejoices in the truth
He rejoices in those who know they are lost and accept being found
Jesus was telling the Pharisees and teachers of the Law in a gentle way that the very people they despised brought more joy to God than they did

Whether we are part of the respectable majority or whether we are outcasts – at some point we all need to be found and brought back to God

But before we can accept being found we must first realise we are lost and believe God wants to find us

Conclusion:

Jesus is the good shepherd who searches for and brings back the lost sheep

This speaks to me of a God who pursues us with His love

[1] Kenneth Bailey, The Good Shepherd, page 44

[2] Quoted in Kenneth Bailey’s book, The Good Shepherd, page 45.

[3] Refer, Kenneth Bailey, ‘The Good Shepherd’, page 121.

[4] 1 Corinthians 12:21-22

[5] Refer Kenneth Bailey, The Good Shepherd, page 123.

[6] Ezekiel 34:4

[7] Refer Kenneth Bailey, The Good Shepherd, page 125.

March 20, 2016March 20, 2016 Tawa Baptist

Green Pastures

Scripture: Psalm 23:2a (in green pastures) – with reference to Mark 6:30-44

Key Idea: Jesus nourishes the whole person – body & spirit

Structure:

Introduction
In green pastures
Jesus is the good shepherd who feeds us
Conclusion

Introduction:

This morning we continue our series on Psalm 23

The key message of Psalm 23 (as a whole) is, the Lord is my security
God looks after me like a shepherd looks after his sheep
A couple of weeks ago we considered how the Lord makes me lie down
In other words He makes it possible for me to rest
Rest is the very first need the Lord takes care of for us
We work best from a foundation of rest

Today we unpack the green pastures of verse 2…

‘Green pastures’ speaks of feeding and nourishment
Before we explore this metaphor of ‘green pastures’ though let’s stand and sing the whole psalm together now…

♫ The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Crimond)

May the Lord illuminate His word for us

Please be seated

Green Pastures:

Food is essential to life

We need to eat in order to gain energy to move, repair & grow our bodies
In our society there is quite a bit of emphasis placed on nutrition and the quality of the food we eat
We are encouraged to have 5 plus (fruit & vege) a day and to buy food with the Heart foundation tick or with 3 or more health stars
Some fats are good for you and some are bad
What’s more we are warned against too much salt and too much sugar

With this in mind I thought we might have a wee food & nutrition quiz – here’s our first question…

Which is better for you?

A cup of rice
A cup of pasta
About the same

The answer is: about the same – okay next question

Which has fewer calories?

Baked potato
Brown rice
About the same

The answer is: baked potato – one potato has about half the calories of a serving of brown rice. A potato (with the skin on) also has more vitamin C than rice

Which has less sugar?

Apple juice
Orange juice
About the same

The answer is: orange juice. In fact apple juice has about the same amount of sugar as coke and there’s over 9 teaspoons of sugar in a can of coke [1]

Okay – one more

How long would you need to walk to burn off the calories in a Big Mac? [2]
20 minutes
One hour and 20 minutes, or
Two hours and 20 minutes

The answer: about two hours and 20 minutes – slightly more in fact

As I said before our focus today is the green pastures of verse 2

Sheep eat grass and so the green pastures of Psalm 23 is a metaphor for food & nutrition – both physical sustenance and spiritual sustenance
As Jesus said, ‘Human beings cannot live by bread alone – but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God’ [3]
So ‘green pastures’ refers both to the food we eat with our mouths and the Word of God which sustains the human soul and spirit

Most farms in NZ have green grass almost all year around, except perhaps some of the large sheep stations in the South Island

But in the Middle East (where David, the author of this psalm, comes from) green pastures are only plentiful for about 2-3 months of the year
Most of the time green pastures are a delicacy and a delight

A skilled shepherd will know exactly where to lead his or her flock to find the best pasture, even during the dry season

So when David says, the Lord makes me lie down in green pastures, he is implying that God is an expert shepherd
The Lord knows exactly where to take his sheep for the best quality nourishment – the food God provides has a 5 health star rating

In our modern culture we have a saying…

‘The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence’
Which refers to the way we tend to look at other people’s lives through rose tinted glasses
We imagine our neighbour has it better than us, when in fact s/he doesn’t
Bob Dylan captured this thought in the song lyric, ‘What looks large from a distance up close ain’t never that big’

I think we all have those ‘grass is greener’ moments don’t we

Times when we’ve had a few hard weeks (or months) and start to think,
‘Wouldn’t it be great if we lived somewhere else or we had a different job’, or whatever it is we imagine the problem to be
The Big Mac over the fence looks more appealing than the rice salad right in front of us

Sometimes the grass might be greener and we can improve our lot by making a change – but in reality most of the time it isn’t

Generally speaking, ‘the grass is greener’ is a warning against thinking we’re hard done by

By saying the Lord makes it possible for me to lie down in green pastures David is implying: with the Lord the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence

God doesn’t provide second rate nourishment
The Lord knows where the best pasture is and how to lead us there
This speaks to His wisdom and skill as our shepherd

Of course, sheep in a Middle Eastern context don’t usually wake up to find themselves in green pastures

The sheep must often travel through relatively barren wilderness before arriving in green pastures
So we can’t expect green pastures every moment of every day
But we can expect them often enough to sustain us

The other thing to point out is that while the Lord provides the green pastures we still need to eat for the nourishment to have any effect

Let me demonstrate what I mean…

On the wall here is a delicious selection of food
Hmmm – look at that pork-chop and salad – yum
Or maybe you prefer the healthy burger
Imagine finishing with the freshness of that fruit salad
Or perhaps the smoothness of the marbled chocolate cheesecake

Are you feeling full looking at those images?

No – why not?
Because just looking at the food, just smelling it and being near it doesn’t nourish you
For the food to do any good you have to eat it – you have to actually take it in to yourself – right?

God will bring us to green pastures but we still have to feed ourselves

The Lord has provided His word for us but unless we take it to heart it won’t do any good

God’s word is available to us in a whole variety of ways

Sometimes God’s word comes to us in conversation with others or by listening to a sermon or through a sequence of events
One of the main ways we feed on God’s word is by reading the Bible
Not just reading it once over lightly but taking time to allow the message to sink in – meditating on it, digesting it

Sometimes reading the Bible can become just another chore that we tick off our list, like brushing our teeth or washing the dishes

We do it without thinking and are pleased when it’s over because then we can get back to what we really want to do
I don’t think that’s what God intends for His word
Reading the Bible in that way won’t nourish you much

When you read the Scriptures – read slowly – chew on the words

And when you come to a verse which resonates with your spirit – pause and linger over that verse – read it and re-read it
Savour it like a piece of chocolate melting in your mouth
Or crunch the words like an apple – enjoy the taste

The experience of reading the Bible and coming across a gem of a verse that just speaks to your heart can happen in the most unexpected of passages

Psalm 94 is a bit like that
It starts off, ‘O Lord, God of vengeance shine forth… give to the proud what they deserve…’
Then it carries on with the psalmist spitting tacks over evil doers
Not very uplifting or positive stuff
Just as you’ve had enough and are about to put it down you come to verse 19 – a ray of light…

“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul”

I love that – it speaks to my experience and nourishes my soul

After walking through a wilderness of spleen venting we break out into a vista of green pastures
Not that all that talk of vengeance doesn’t have its place
If you’ve been badly treated or oppressed with injustice, like the psalmist, then ranting against evil doers might be exactly what you need to hear
It may be food for your soul to know you are not alone in your grievances

The point is, God knows what we need to sustain us and He is faithful in providing what we need

But we need to do our part too and take in what He is saying to us
Allow God’s word to register in your inner being & strengthen your hope

Jesus is the good shepherd who feeds us:

Please turn with me to Mark chapter 6 – page 53 in your pew Bibles

Jesus is our shepherd – he knows what sustains us and is an expert at providing it
On many occasions Jesus demonstrated his shepherding skills in his care of the disciples and the crowds that followed him
Mark 6, verses 30-44 describes one such occasion
As we read these verses I want you to listen for echoes of the 23^rd Psalm
From Mark chapter 6, verse 30 we read…

³⁰The apostles returned and met with Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught. ³¹There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn’t even have time to eat. So he said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest a while.” ³²So they started out in a boat by themselves to a lonely place.

³³Many people, however, saw them leave and knew at once who they were; so they went from all the towns and ran ahead by land and arrived at the place ahead of Jesus and his disciples. ³⁴When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw this large crowd, and his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things. ³⁵When it was getting late, his disciples came to him and said, “It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. ³⁶Send the people away, and let them go to the nearby farms and villages in order to buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷“You yourselves give them something to eat,” Jesus answered.

They asked, “Do you want us to go and spend two hundred silver coins^[a] on bread in order to feed them?”

³⁸So Jesus asked them, “How much bread do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out, they told him, “Five loaves and also two fish.”

³⁹Jesus then told his disciples to make all the people divide into groups and sit down on the green grass. ⁴⁰So the people sat down in rows, in groups of a hundred and groups of fifty. ⁴¹Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²Everyone ate and had enough. ⁴³Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left of the bread and the fish. ⁴⁴The number of men who were fed was five thousand.

May the Lord feed us with His word

Before you can swallow your food you have to chew it

Before you can ingest a passage of Scripture you have to understand the context

Previously Jesus had sent the 12 apostles out in pairs to preach to the people, drive out demons and heal the sick

The apostles had now returned to Jesus having experienced some success in their work
But while they were gone King Herod had killed John the Baptist – cutting his head off [4]

John the Baptist was regarded as a prophet by the people – the first prophet Israel had heard in about 400 years

So the common people were upset, confused and angry at what Herod had done
The atmosphere was tense – a powder keg ready to blow at any moment

John was also a blood relative of Jesus – so with John’s death Jesus lost a family member and a friend

Not only did Jesus have his own personal grief to deal with he also had to cope with the cultural & political pressure to avenge John’s murder

Verse 31 of Mark 6 says…

There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn’t even have time to eat

Kenneth Bailey observes that this is the only instance in the Gospels that speaks of people both ‘coming and going’

Why this sudden back-and-forth flow of people?
Because all across Galilee people wanted to know how Jesus planned to respond to this horrifying murder of John, his relative
They came to hear what Jesus intended to do and then went back to report his initial response [5]

To avoid the constant flow of interruptions, Jesus the good shepherd says to his disciples…

“Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest for a while.”
There we have an echo of Psalm 23 – He makes me lie down
Jesus makes it possible for me to rest, in other words

They get into a boat and cross the lake for a lonely place where they won’t be disturbed

But the people saw them and followed around the lake on land
When Jesus got out of the boat he saw this large crowd and his heart was filled with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd
Sheep and shepherd – another echo of Psalm 23

The people followed Jesus because they were hungry

I imagine many were hungry for justice or revenge – ‘O Lord, God of vengeance shine forth… give to the proud what they deserve…’

Herod was supposed to be the shepherd of the Jewish people – at least in his province – but he was a bad shepherd
He abused & scattered the sheep
Herod shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this

I imagine also in the crowd those gentler souls who were too broken in spirit to pursue revenge – those hungry for joy – those craving some lightness and relief from the daily grind of poverty

So Jesus himself shepherded the people in their time of need and hunger

Verse 34 says that Jesus taught the people many things
In other words, he fed them with calm words of wisdom fitting for the situation they found themselves in

We don’t know exactly what Christ told the crowds but I expect he satisfied their hunger for justice by talking about God’s judgment

The measure you use for others is the measure God will use for you
So love your enemies, turn the other cheek, repay evil with good
Treat others the way you want to be treated
Don’t take matters into your own hands – vengeance belongs to God
Remember this world is not all there is – God will make all things right

Jesus’ integrity is impeccable

Jesus practiced what he preached
Naturally there was a huge wave of sympathy for Jesus
He could have easily raised an army of willing soldiers to march against Herod – but he doesn’t
Jesus himself turns the other cheek despite being under immense pressure to avenge John’s murder

For those who were hungry for some comfort and joy I expect Jesus had words of understanding and grace

‘Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light [6]
Or perhaps, ‘A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory’ [7]
Or maybe, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ [8]
“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul”

Jesus cares about the whole person – both the spiritual and the physical

In fact he doesn’t separate the two – he holds the physical & spiritual together
After nourishing hearts, minds & spirits with the word of God, Jesus then nourished people’s bodies with food, by multiplying the loaves & fishes

In verse 39 we read how Jesus told his disciples to make the people sit down on the green grass…

The echo from Psalm 23 could not be clearer
Jesus is the good shepherd who …makes me lie down in green pastures
Jesus is the one who feeds me both with God’s word and with food

There are many other things we could say about this passage but that’s enough to digest for one day

Conclusion:

Jesus is the good shepherd who knows where to find the best pasture for his sheep

Jesus is not interested in leading a bloody crusade
He has compassion on people and feeds them with the wisdom which leads to peace
When we are hungry for vengeance Jesus satisfies our anger with a vision of God’s justice
And when we are hungry for joy, because the cares of our heart are many, the consolations of Jesus’ grace cheer our soul

Jesus nourishes the whole person – body & spirit

What is it you hunger for?

[1][1] http://www.livestrong.com/article/283136-how-many-teaspoons-of-sugar-are-there-in-a-can-of-coke/

[2] http://www.calorieking.com/foods/ (a Big Mac has 549 calories)

[3] Matthew 4:4

[4] I imagine that, on the one hand, the apostles were pumped (or excited) at all they had done. But on the other hand they were unsure if it was appropriate to express their excitement given that John had just been killed. It’s kind of like having a baby but not feeling like you can celebrate too much because someone else has recently died.

[5] Kenneth Bailey, ‘The Good Shepherd’, page 163.

[6] Matthew 11:28-30

[7] Matthew 12:20

[8] Matthew 5:3

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 Tawa Baptist

Rest

Scripture: Psalm 23:2a – He makes me lie down (also: Luke 13:10-17)

Key Idea: The Lord makes it possible for me to rest

Structure:
• Introduction
• The Lord (Jesus) makes it possible for me to rest
• Conclusion

Introduction:
This morning we continue our series on Psalm 23
– The plan is to look at one aspect of the psalm each week
– So far we have covered the first verse…
– The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
– Today we unpack the first part of verse 2…
– He makes me lie down
– To give us some context though let’s read the whole Psalm together now

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

May the Lord illuminate His word for us

The key message of Psalm 23 (as a whole) is, the Lord is my security
– God looks after me like a shepherd looks after his sheep
– A couple of weeks ago we considered how the Lord knows our needs and provides for them – therefore I shall not want
– Today’s focus is: He makes me lie down…
– Lying down in green pastures is the picture of rest
– So the very first need the Lord takes care of for David (and for us) is rest

He makes it possible for me to rest:
On the wall here are pictures of four creatures…
– A dog, a tiger, an elephant and a dolphin
– Who can tell me what these four animals have in common?
– [Wait]
– Yes, that’s right – they can all be trained to do things, like sitting, rolling over, fetching stuff and so on

Okay, what about these two animals – what do they have in common?
– A cat and a sheep
– [Wait]
– Yes, that’s right – they can’t be trained
– A cat and a sheep might follow you but if you ask a cat to sit they will probably walk off in the other direction
– Likewise there is no telling a sheep to lie down

Aesop was an ancient Greek story teller credited with a number of fables
– One of my favourites is the fable of the wind and the sun

The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger when they saw a man coming down the road
– The Sun said, “I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his cloak shall be regarded as the stronger. You begin.”
– So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveller.
– But the harder he blew the more closely the man wrapped his cloak around himself, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair.
– Then the Sun came out and shone in all its glory upon the traveller
– Soon the man found it too hot to walk and of his own volition freely peeled off his cloak

Verse 2 (of Psalm 23) begins with the words, ‘He makes me lie down…’
– The phrasing here, ‘He makes me…’, can give the impression that some kind of force or coercion is involved, as if God were making David do something against his will, like the wind in Aesop’s fable
– But there is no force involved here – God is more like the sun, creating an environment in which David can relax

A better way to convey the meaning is: God makes it possible for me to rest

As Kenneth Bailey observes…
– “A dog can be trained to sit and lie down. [but] Not a sheep”
– No one can force a sheep to lie down.
– Sheep will only lie down when they have had plenty to eat & drink and are feeling safe
– We are similar to sheep in this respect – if we are hungry or thirsty or feeling anxious or threatened by something we won’t be able to rest
– God not only provides time off to rest but also the environment to rest
– He takes care of our needs and concerns so we can let go enough to relax

Interestingly the very first need which David talks about God taking care of is the need for rest
– We might expect rest to come last but it comes first

About 10 years ago now a TV advertisement came out for Mallow puffs
– ‘Have you done enough for a mallow puff’
– In that ad there was a father and son mowing the lawns
– The back lawn was quite large and they only cut a small patch of it
– But it’s enough to spread out a couple of deck chairs, sit back for a break and enjoy a mallow puff

In many ways this ad goes against the grain for us kiwis
– We are not like this at all
– We find it hard to relax when the job isn’t finished
– We just want to get the job done and then we will feel like we can rest
– We see work as the star of the show and rest is just an optional extra
– In our mind rest might be the icing on the cake but it’s not the main thing

We may have this back to front
– In the Bible, rest is the foundation on which our work is built
– It’s not the icing on the cake – it’s the tin in which the cake of work is baked
– Rest supports work
– So the makers of the mallow puff ad may be on to something
– We don’t just rest from our work, we work from our rest

When rest is the foundation (or the container) supporting work, then work goes better

Neuro science would agree with this
– There are different parts to our brain
– The frontal cortex is where we do our best thinking
– While the brainstem is where our survival instinct comes from

The more stressed or anxious we feel (and therefore the less rested we are) the more our brain stem (or survival instinct) takes over
– And the more our brain stem takes over the less we are able to engage our frontal cortex
– When one is up the other is down

By the same token when our brain stem is calm & rested we have greater access to the higher reasoning powers of our frontal cortex
– The more we use our cortex, the better our decision making and so the better the quality of our work

In other words, starting with rest (as the foundation) actually helps us to work smarter

He makes me lie down means the Lord calms my brain stem, he settles me down
– The Lord God doesn’t want us to be stressed or pressured or over worked
– He wants to bring us to a place of rest, where we are not anxious about our survival
– He wants to bring us to a place of trust in Him
– From that place of trust and rest we are better able to function as God intended – better able to make choices which serve God’s purpose

The fact that rest is important to God is seen in the way God provides a Sabbath day of rest once a week

Pastor and writer, Peter Scazzero, gives a helpful definition of Biblical Sabbath
– Pete reckons there are essentially four main elements to Sabbath…
o Stop work – find your off button
o Enjoy rest – kick back and relax (feet up)
o Practice delight – do something that you really enjoy
o Contemplate God – don’t think about work, think about God’s goodness

The Sabbath is more than just a day off from paid work
– Taking a day off to catch up on chores around the house is not a Sabbath
– Sabbath is meant to be a day of enjoyment & delight – a little slice of heaven on earth, each week

For the sake of integrity I need to say that I don’t do Sabbath very well
– It’s a foreign concept to me
– I’ve been a Christian for a while now but I’m only just scratching the surface of what true Sabbath means
– Sadly I’ve majored on sacrifice at the expense of Sabbath – which is something Jesus warned against
– Yes, there is suffering involved when we follow Christ (pick up your cross and follow me) – but there is also meant to be joy & delight
– God has given us divine permission for freedom, joy and delight but we are sometimes slow to give ourselves that same permission

Interestingly, Jesus had a bit to say about rest
– In fact he seemed to intentionally perform many of his miracles on the Sabbath as a kind of sign of what God intended for humanity
– Please turn with me to Luke chapter 13 – page 98 toward the back of your pew Bibles
– Luke 13, beginning at verse 10 and continuing to verse 17…

One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. 11 A woman there had an evil spirit that had kept her sick for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, “Woman, you are free from your sickness!” 13 He placed his hands on her, and at once she straightened herself up and praised God.

14 The official of the synagogue was angry that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, so he spoke up and said to the people, “There are six days in which we should work; so come during those days and be healed, but not on the Sabbath!”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Any one of you would untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath. 16 Now here is this descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years; should she not be released on the Sabbath?”

17 His answer made his enemies ashamed of themselves, while the people rejoiced over all the wonderful things that he did.

May the Spirit of Jesus gives us ears to hear

This is a story of a woman who could not rest for 18 long years
– For 18 years she had been without joy or delight, without genuine Sabbath

The religious leaders of that time had a whole lot of rules about what you could and couldn’t do on the Sabbath and healing people was against their man-made rules (the synagogue ruler majored on sacrifice)
– It wasn’t against God’s law though and so Jesus reminded the people of God’s purpose for the Sabbath by healing the woman
– Jesus made it possible for her to rest by releasing her from the evil spirit
– Now the woman could delight in God – now she could enjoy life again

This miracle of Jesus didn’t just set the woman free – it set everyone in the room free
– Now the people were able to enjoy the Sabbath without guilt or fear of breaking the Pharisees’ rules

Conclusion:
He makes me lie down – he makes it possible for me to rest

There are many things that might prevent us from resting
– Sometimes we stay busy to avoid the emptiness we feel inside
– We are afraid to stop because then we will have to face that emptiness
– Perhaps we can’t rest because we don’t really believe we are loved
– We think we have to be constantly achieving things in order to be accepted
– Or maybe we don’t give ourselves permission to rest – maybe we’ve majored on sacrifice at the expense of enjoying God and His creation

As I said before I’m not really qualified to preach on this subject – not from my own experience anyway
– The most I can do is point to Jesus
– Jesus came to set us free from whatever it is that might prevent us from resting

Jesus is the good shepherd – He is the one who gives us rest
– The one who calms us and settles us down so we are better able to enjoy God and live for His glory

February 14, 2016February 14, 2016 Tawa Baptist

My Shepherd

Scripture: Psalm 23:1a

Key Idea: The Lord is my shepherd

Structure:

Introduction
The Lord is my shepherd
Conclusion

Introduction:

In a moment we are going to read a psalm together

A psalm is basically a song or a poem
The words of the psalm will appear on the wall
I invite the men to read the words in plain type and the women to respond by reading the words in italics
From Psalm 23 we read…

The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside still waters,

He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

May the Lord illuminate His word for us

Today we continue our new sermon series on Psalm 23

The plan (God willing) is to look at one aspect of the psalm each week
Last week we began with the opening phrase of the psalm – perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible: The Lord is my shepherd,
And so you might expect this week’s message to focus on the second part of that verse, I shall not want
But that will have to wait till next week because we still haven’t finished with the Lord is my shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd:

Last Sunday we considered the meaning of the word ‘shepherd’

What did King David (the author of the psalm) mean when he called the Lord God his shepherd?

Well, very briefly, he meant the Lord is my security
God looks after me like a shepherd looks after his sheep

This week the focus is on the Lord as my shepherd – with the emphasis on my

Don’t you find it interesting that thousands of people in the world suffer every day, in a whole variety of ways, and yet for the most part that suffering doesn’t really touch us or affects us?

It’s only when we know someone personally, when we have an attachment to them, that their suffering moves us

We can watch children starving on the TV news and feel sad and maybe even send some money to help them

But if we knew those kids personally – if they were our own children – then we wouldn’t just send money
We would get on a plane with some Weetbix, find them, feed them and bring them home with us
That’s the difference a personal connection makes
Personal relationship has a powerful influence on our soul

It is quite striking really that David says, The Lord is my shepherd – singular

We would expect David to say, The Lord is our shepherd – plural

After all, sheep normally get taken care of as part of a flock, together with other sheep – it doesn’t make sense (economically) to have one shepherd for each individual sheep

Not only that but in Middle Eastern culture, where this psalm was written, people are far more community minded – they are more inclined to think in terms of we as opposed to me

Generally speaking in the west today we are the opposite – the focus for us tends to be more on the individual

It’s not that one way is right and the other is wrong, we need to value the importance of both the community and the individual at the same time

There might not be an ‘i’ in ‘team’ but there is an ‘i’ in ‘community’

Anyway, David, who was brought up in a culture where the sense of community was so strong that the importance of the individual could be neglected, [1] he says, The Lord is my shepherd

In other words, I have a personal relationship with the Lord
I know, from my own personal experience, that God can be trusted to take care of me
This was something David knew to be true, not just because he read it in a book or inherited the idea from his parents or the society he grew up in, but because he lived it and owned it for myself

So when Goliath challenged the army of Israel, David’s default setting was, “I’m not afraid of this Philistine. The Lord is my security”

And when Saul was trying to kill David, David did not get scared and take matters into his own hands – David trusted the Lord with his future
And when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem, David didn’t worry about what people thought of him
He danced before the Lord in worship because his security was in the Lord, not in public opinion
David wasn’t perfect as we know, but he did trust in the Lord

Sometimes in science fiction movies the characters learn new skills, new languages, new ideas simply by having the information downloaded into their mind with a computer

So in the film The Matrix, Neo learned Kung Fu in a matter of minutes by being plugged into a computer and having software fed into his brain
But in the real world, that we live in, learning is a process which takes time – often years
David learned to put his security in the Lord the hard way – through real life experiences – not just through a download of information
It’s the same for us – simply listening to a sermon isn’t enough to make God your personal security

Bloom's Learning Taxonomy

In the 1950’s an educational psychologist by the name of Benjamin Bloom did some research and found there are different categories of learning – some learning happens at a deeper level than others

For example: memorising something so you can remember it and repeat it by rote is a superficial form of learning
Understanding what you remember and being able to apply it, is a deeper level of learning again

A person might remember that the 23^rd Psalm starts with the words, The Lord is my shepherd, and still not understand what those words mean

If you listen carefully to the sermon you might gain some understanding and learn that The Lord is my shepherd means The Lord is my security
If you are really keen you might go home and analyse the psalm yourself and discover other nuggets of meaning
The ultimate form of learning though is doing something creative with the psalm
Perhaps finding a new and inventive way of teaching the psalm to a group of Flock Sunday school kids
Or becoming less anxious in life as you place more trust in the Lord

Benjamin Bloom’s classification of learning has undergone a number revisions and adaptions over the past 60 years

Here’s another way of looking at it…

[2]

This version shows the different stages of learning to integrate a new idea or a new belief into your life

The first stage is simply becoming aware of the new idea

‘Hmm, the Lord is my security, that’s interesting. I hadn’t thought of Psalm 23 in that way before’

The second stage is pondering the idea, finding out more about it, getting to grips with it in your head

This might involve going home after the service and meditating on the psalm in light of that word security
You might get your Bible out and look for the word shepherd in the index and consider other passages where the shepherding metaphor is used
Or you might do some other form of research into security and risk

The third stage is valuing the idea – agreeing with it, perhaps even telling others it’s a good idea.

Stage 3 normally begins with great enthusiasm for the new concept
‘Wow, the Lord is my security, that’s so cool. That means I don’t have to worry because God has got my back. I feel really good knowing that.’
What we notice here is there is often a gap between agreeing this is a good idea and acting on it
There’s a gap between talking about it and doing it

Although stage 3 (the valuing stage) often starts with great enthusiasm, it normally ends with a deep sense of conviction – a feeling of guilt & remorse

Eventually this new idea that we are so excited about bumps up against reality – it is tested
‘The Lord is my security’ is easy to say when things are going well
But when we experience some kind of loss, that’s when we really discover whether the Lord is my security or not
I might think the Lord is my security but then I might lose my job and start to worry about how I will pay the mortgage
I might also lose my confidence and not try applying for other jobs
At that point I realise, ‘actually my job was giving me a greater sense of security than the Lord was’
Not a nice feeling to be humbled like that but it’s the beginning of stage 4

Now, losing a job is just a random example

We could use other examples too – like losing health, or losing a loved one, or leaving home, or a marriage break-up, or anything else that might challenge our sense of security

The fourth stage is when we start to apply the idea

We reprioritise our life so the new idea actually becomes integrated with a new lifestyle and new behaviour

In the case of losing my job, reprioritising so the Lord is my security, and not my work, could mean…

Not allowing fear to rush me into things, but pausing long enough to commit my way to God in prayer
Reprioritising could also mean reviewing my expenditure and setting a new budget
Or not measuring my worth by how many job interviews I get
Reminding myself that I am valued by God and was loved by Him before I was born – that is, before I had achieved anything

The final stage (at the top of the pyramid there) is when we own the new idea or belief

Owning it means it is properly integrated into my daily life
So all my decisions & actions are based on this new idea – this new belief
The hard work of re-prioritising is over and I have a new default setting.
When I own the belief that the Lord is my security, I’m not concerned about being fully employed or unemployed
I’m not worried whether other people think I’m a success or a failure
I am content with little and with much

Why am I telling you all this – you may be wondering

Well, we can’t hide behind someone else’s faith – whether that’s the faith of our parents or our spouse or the faith of one of the pastors or whoever
We can’t assume that simply coming to church and listening to sermons will make the Lord my security
If we are going to follow Jesus (the good shepherd) then each of us must integrate the practice of trusting Christ into our lives
Each of us must be able to say honestly: ‘The Lord is my personal security’

This process of learning to own something isn’t just a modern idea

The process may have been articulated in the 1950’s but it’s been around a lot longer
We see it in the gospels over and over again
People don’t normally get what Jesus is saying straight away
It takes time for God’s word to sink in
And even more time for it to bear fruit in our lives

Take Nicodemus for example [3]

Nic, as he was known to his friends, was an important man
He was a member of the Sanhedrin – sort of like a Member of Parliament
He was one of the leaders of the people
He was also a Pharisee – a learned and morally upright man
Highly respected and not inclined to suffer fools gladly
Nic was in a very secure position in his society – or so he thought

One day Nic became aware of a young Rabbi in his 30’s teaching the people with real wisdom and performing all sorts of miraculous deeds – healing the sick, casting out demons and making people freer in themselves

Nic ponders this & eventually concludes that this Jesus fellow must be from God – how else could he perform all those miraculous signs?

The idea that Jesus is sent from God is thrilling to Nic – he gets a bit excited by it and in his enthusiasm goes to meet Jesus
The problem is Nic’s Pharisee mates don’t like Jesus much and so Nic decides the most prudent thing is to visit Jesus by night – in private
That way no one will find out about it – after all he does have his reputation to think about
At this point Nic is at stage 3 of the learning process – he values the idea (in his head) but isn’t ready to change his life for it

Nic opens the conversation with Jesus by sharing his belief that Jesus must be from God

Jesus then challenges Nic to act on this new belief saying…
No one can see the kingdom of God without being born again
This confuses Nic
He had been born and raised a Jew, one of God’s chosen people,
Wasn’t he automatically accepted into God’s kingdom because he was a descendant of Abraham?
What does Jesus mean by being ‘born again’?

Jesus goes on to say, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”

In other words, ‘Nic, your security is misplaced. You think being a Jew and being a Pharisee makes you secure (safe), but it doesn’t
You can’t rely on the faith of Abraham to save you
And you can’t rely on your good deeds to save you either
You must have your own personal faith in the Son of God to be saved.’

Nic had come to Jesus like a triumphant school boy, certain he had solved a difficult problem and Jesus just seemed to be giving him more homework

Apparently there was a gap between what Nic said he believed about Jesus and what he was prepared to do about it

As time passed the hostility toward Jesus increased

Most of Nic’s Pharisee mates didn’t think Jesus was from God, like Nic did – they saw Jesus as a threat & wanted to arrest him
But Nic tried to stand up for Jesus saying…
“Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing”
The other Pharisees shouted him down though

Nic wasn’t ready yet to re-prioritise his life around his new found belief that Jesus was from God

He wasn’t prepared to completely abandon his career as a Pharisee
But it was a first tentative step in that direction
Nic was attempting to bridge the gap from stage 3 (valuing) to stage 4 (re-prioritising)

Eventually the Jewish leaders had their way with Jesus

They manipulated the Roman governor and the crowd to have Jesus crucified
Nic didn’t go along with it – but there was nothing he could do to stop it
I imagine he felt a deep sense of conviction at this point
I imagine he felt guilty and ashamed at what his mates had done

Jesus was dead and so Nic went with Joseph of Arimathea to claim Jesus’ body for burial

Finally Nic ‘came out’ and identified himself with the crucified Jesus
This was a huge risk – to show support for Christ in his death
Not even Jesus’ closest friends were prepared to do that
Nicodemus finally owned his belief that Jesus was from God
He made Christ his security

Conclusion:

Today is the first Sunday in Lent

Lent is the 40 days (or so) leading up to Easter
It is a time when we re-prioritise our life in order to follow Jesus more closely
Lent is about bridging the gap between stage 3 (talking about it) and stage 4 (actually doing it).

What idea or belief do you personally need to integrate into your life?

What is it you need to re-prioritise in order to follow Jesus more closely?

Let us pray…

[1] Kenneth Bailey, The Good Shepherd, page 38.

[2] Peter Scazzero uses this adaption of Bloom’s taxonomy in his book ‘The Emotionally Healthy Leader’ page 44

[3] Refer to John 3:1-21; John 7:50-52 & John 19:38-42

February 1, 2016 Tawa Baptist

Light

Scripture: Matthew 5: 14-16

Title: Light

Structure:

Introduction
Goodness
Security
Hope
Community
Visible
Conclusion

Introduction:

This morning we are talking about light

In Matthew 5 Jesus said to his disciples…

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate our hearts with God’s word

What is light?

And what does it mean for Jesus to say, ‘You are the light of the world’?

Goodness:

If you Google a definition for light you will probably get a scientific answer

Something like, ‘Light is a kind of energy’
On one level this is true – light is a kind of energy
In fact, these days it is considered a very environmentally friendly energy
Unlike other forms of energy (like coal or gas or oil), solar energy is carbon zero and therefore not harmful to the planet
Light is a good kind of energy

The people of Jesus’ day didn’t have a scientific mind-set like we do but they would still have associated light with goodness (as opposed to evil) and so there is a connection here between the ancient world and the modern world

When Jesus says to his followers, ‘You are the light of the world’
We can take it to mean, ‘You are the goodness of the world’, in the sense that you are life-giving to the world
You are the good energy, the positive energy, the clean energy in this world

In verse 16 Jesus goes on to say, “…let your light shine before others so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

To my mind our good deeds are not the light

The light shines on the good deeds
Our good deeds are a product of the light
Just as sunlight (or photosynthesis) gives plants the good energy they need to grow and bear fruit
So too the light of God’s goodness causes good deeds to spring up everywhere

Letting your light shine doesn’t mean showing off your good deeds

When people put on an act or make a show of doing good works to make themselves look good – that’s not light, that’s darkness
But when God’s goodness shines out of us then people will see our actions in that light and praise God

You see, we don’t produce the light ourselves

God produces the light and we are His light bearers
In one of his letters to the Corinthians the apostle Paul writes…

For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. [1]

In other words, Jesus is the light showing us what God is like

To know Jesus is to know God and to know God is to know you are loved
God produces the light and we are His light bearers

So, we the followers of Christ are the bearers of light (or good energy) in this world

How exactly does this good energy manifest itself?

Well, one thing light does is to provide security

Security:

These days many people have security lights outside their homes

So when it is dark and someone walks up to their house a sensor is triggered and the security light goes on
This helps the home owner to feel safer, more secure

Although, Jesus’ original audience of 2000 years ago didn’t have security lights like we might, light was still a source of security to them

Where there is light evil cannot hide
Where there is light things can be seen as they are and fear cannot play on the imagination

And so, ‘You are the light of the world’, can mean ‘You are the security of the world.’

In others words, the followers of Jesus are like a warning light
When there is movement and change in the world we shed light on that change
Not all change is bad of course, some change is good
The point is, being the light of the world means we (the church) have a role when it comes to interpreting the events in our world
We have something to say about whether the change is friend or foe
Whether it should be welcomed or warned against

What we note here is that the security light is truth or wisdom

God’s government is different to the governments of this world
Most governments try to make their country secure by military might
The security Jesus offers is not found in armies or missiles
The security Jesus gives is found in the light of truth & wisdom

Hope:

Another function of light is to guide people

Traffic lights serve as a kind of guide when you drive your car
They tell you when to stop, when to slow down and when to go
They enable us to make safe passage – saving us from accidents

In the ancient world they didn’t have traffic lights, but they did use the light of the stars to guide them in their travels, whether on land or sea

The prophet Isaiah says of the servant of the Lord…

“I will make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” [2]

‘You are the light of the world’ therefore means Jesus’ followers are the hope of the world – because we possess the knowledge of salvation

In the 1950’s a scientist by the name of Curt Richter took some rats and put them into a high-sided bucket of water that they couldn’t escape from and timed how long it took for the rats to drown.

It wasn’t long – an average of 15 minutes for the rats to give up, stop swimming, and sink.
He then repeated the experiment with a new group of rats and a new twist
In the second instance, he “rescued” the rats just after they had given up swimming, again, at around the 15 minute mark.
He let them dry off, he fed them some food, allowed them to recuperate
And then he threw them back into the bucket of water.
The amazing result was that these rats were then able to swim for up to 60 hours before giving up.
That’s a big difference – 15 minutes compared to 60 hours.

Curt Richter attributed the rat’s new found stamina and survival skills to “hope”

The experience of being saved gave the rats energy to hang on longer
Because they had been saved once they expected to be saved again

Now this little illustration could be misunderstood

We are not rats and God is not a scientist doing experiments on us
We are human beings and God is a loving Father to us
The point is, the experience of salvation gives us human beings hope
It gives us the energy not to give up but to carry on

The thing I find most interesting about Curt Richter’s experiment is that the rats were saved at the point of giving up

It was when hope had died that they were pulled out of the bucket
The experience of being saved after they had given up had the effect of resurrecting hope
And resurrected hope is far stronger than ordinary hope

Have you ever noticed how God’s timing is very last minute, perhaps even after we think it’s too late

You remember how Jesus waited four days before raising his friend Lazarus from the dead
He could have prevented Lazarus from dying in the first place – but he didn’t – Jesus waited until people had given up hope
Why – perhaps he wanted to resurrect their hope at the same time as raising Lazarus. Resurrected hope is far stronger than ordinary hope

What was it Jesus said?

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Or as Eugene Peterson puts it…
You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule.

In John 8, verse 12, Jesus says of Himself…

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The light of life is hope

To walk in darkness is to have no hope

The followers of Jesus are the hope of the world, at least in the sense that we possess the light of the knowledge of salvation

Once we have experienced God’s salvation – once we have lost hope and had God resurrect it again – we become a beacon of hope to others, the light of life guiding people to God

If you follow Jesus then you are the light of the world

You are the good energy of the world
You are the security of the world – a security based on wisdom & truth
You are also the hope of the world – the light of life
More than all this though, you (plural) are the presence of Christ in the world

Community:

Earlier in the service we sang a classic church anthem…

“This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine”
There is much about this song which is good and true
But it can also mislead us into thinking that we shine our light in isolation, as individuals

Straight after saying, ‘You are the light of the world’, Jesus follows with two images of light bearing: a city on a hill and a lamp in a house

The image of a city gives the impression of a community of lights shining in the darkness
While the image of a lamp in a house gives the impression of a family sharing light together

Yes, the light of Christ does need to shine in our heart personally

But Jesus does not intend for us to shine our light by ourselves, in isolation from other Christians
As followers of Jesus we are not a solitary candle in the wind
We are the light of the world together

So we don’t just let ‘my little light shine’ – we let our light shine as a community of faith

We model goodness, security and hope in our relationships with each other
We love one another – for by this will all men know you are Christ’s disciples

Visible:

Jesus uses the images of a city of lights on a hill and a lamp in a house, to encourage us to let our light shine – not to hide it

After all, the purpose of light is to be seen – to stand out in the darkness

Most evangelical preachers will say at this point that, ‘as Christians we are to be in the world but not of it’

We are not to assimilate ourselves to the values of this world
Our values and therefore our behaviour should be distinctive
But nor are we to isolate ourselves from the world either
We should mix with people while staying true to who we are

While all of that’s true I think Jesus had more in mind than simply our function as light bearers to the world

By telling us to, ‘let our light shine’, I think Jesus wanted to give us a defence against shame

Last Wednesday Robyn went to the College with pretty much every other teacher in Tawa to participate in a restorative practice training day

During one of the workshops she attended, Mark Corrigan spoke about brain development and shame

Mark said that shame thrives on three things:

Secrecy, silence and stigma
The way to kill shame is to break the silence
When you reveal your secret with someone and they show you empathy, then shame loses its power – empathy kills shame

While Mark Corrigan didn’t relate this to the gospel – I saw a connection with the message I was preparing for this Sunday

Just before Jesus tells his disciples that they are the ‘salt of the earth’ and the ‘light of the world’, he says…

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Jesus seems to be saying here, ‘Look, people are going to try to shame you because of me. Don’t give in to that shame by hiding away’

Shame thrives on secrecy, silence and stigma
Shame can’t stand the light
So let your light shine
Don’t keep your relationship with Jesus a secret

Do you remember that story in the gospels of the woman who had a problem with bleeding for 12 years [3]

She was so ashamed she crept up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his cloak quietly, secretly, in the hope of being healed
And she was healed of her bleeding in that instant – but not of her feelings of shame

Do you remember what Jesus did next?

He invited her to let her light shine
Jesus stopped and said, ‘Who touched me? I felt power go out from me.’
At first the woman was silent but Jesus was patient and waited
Eventually she came forward & confessed to having touched Jesus’ cloak
And Jesus said, ‘Your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’

Jesus didn’t do that to embarrass her

Jesus gave her the opportunity to rid herself of the feeling of shame by breaking the silence and letting the light of her faith shine
And when she did speak up Jesus demonstrated empathy and honoured her publicly by commending her for her faith
Empathy kills shame

Conclusion:

If you follow Jesus then you are the light of the world

You are the good energy, the security and the hope of the world
You are not the light on your own but through the power of God and in community with other believers – like a city of lights on a hill
Although some in this world will misunderstand our light and try to make us feel ashamed of it, we must let our light shine, without shame

Let us pray…

[1] 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

[2] Isaiah 49:6 (see also Isaiah 42:6-7)

[3] Luke 8:40-48

December 13, 2015December 13, 2015 Tawa Baptist

Restoring Joy

Scripture: Psalm 126

Title: Restoring Joy

Structure:

Introduction
Joy remembered, joy hoped for
Sowing in tears, reaping joy
Conclusion

Introduction:

This morning we are talking about joy

To help us think about joy I’d like to give you a few moments now to ask those around you: what is joy?
When you’ve done that for a minute or two I’ll invite you to quickly share your thoughts with the rest of us

[Give people a chance to discuss what joy is and then invite their feedback]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on joy

Joy is one of those qualities that is hard to define in words
In many ways it has to be experienced
But even then the experience is complex and multi-faceted
Joy can be experienced differently depending on the circumstances and the person

Joy is both a gift (like a pleasant surprise) – and a choice or a decision we make

Joy can be both a positive energy (like a happy or exhilarating feeling)

But it can also be a settled, calm assurance (or a quiet confidence) that God is working all things out for good even though life might be difficult right now

Joy can be the product of hope – the anticipation of something pleasing

Or it can be the realisation of something good – like when a positive change is made or something lost is finally restored to us

Psalm 126 captures something of the complexity of joy

We will read this Psalm antiphonally which means I will read the lines in plain type and then you can respond by reading the lines in bold italics…

¹When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

²Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” ³The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.

⁴Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.

⁵May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.

⁶Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

Joy remembered becomes joy hoped for:

For many people Christmas is a difficult time of year

And one of the things that makes it so difficult is the expectation that we must be happy – Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy
But if you have experienced a significant loss in your life then Christmas will tend to remind you of that loss – sort of amplify it

It’s like C.S. Lewis said…

“The pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That’s the deal.”

Pain, grief, sadness is the price we pay for happy times we have lost

There is no escaping that fact

Although Psalm 126 is about joy, the context is one of loss and the sadness of longing for something that is no more

Psalm 126 is very much ‘the pain I feel now is the happiness I had before’

In the first three verses the psalmist looks back to a time in Israel’s past when the people had suffered loss and the Lord had restored them

What we notice is that the first 3 verses of Psalm 126 are all past tense…

¹When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

In other words: ‘When I look back to a time when I was happy I remember it was because God restored us’
It was God doing great things for us that made us laugh and rejoice

In this picture of joy (past tense) it is God who is the source of joy

God did something which made us happy
But now that joy of restoration has gone and it’s like waking up from a happy dream to a harsh reality

As the exiles made their way home to Jerusalem after their captivity in Babylon it was like floating along in a pleasant dream at first

But when they arrived in the holy city it was like waking up to reality
There were weeds to be pulled, crops to sow, walls to build and a temple to restore
The honeymoon was over too quickly and all the work was ahead of them

If all we had was the first three verses we might think the psalmist was wallowing in self-pity – looking back to the good old days in a way that makes him feel depressed in the present

But this looking back isn’t self-pity
These memories contain the seeds of hope
God has restored our fortunes in the past and so he could do it again
Joy remembered becomes joy hoped for

We see this hope expressed in verse 4 where the memory of past joy turns into prayer…

Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like watercourses in the Negeb
In other words, ‘Surprise us with the joy of restoration Lord’

The word Negeb means ‘dry’ or ‘parched’ – it is the name given to the southernmost part of Judah

For much of the year the Negeb is a desert but then suddenly, in winter, the rains come, turning dry gullies into rivers and streams
Literally overnight the desert is transformed into fields of grass & flowers

This is a vivid image from the geography of Israel

The message is clear – don’t lose hope
God has the power to transform dry places and he can do it quickly
Maybe your life is miserable now but anything could happen
Things can & do change for the better

Some things in life can be scheduled and other things can’t

You can schedule buses and trains
You can schedule a holiday and shifts at work
You can schedule meal times and exams
You can schedule TV programming and your dentist appointment
But you can’t schedule everything

You can’t schedule your mid-life crisis, for example

There is probably a 20 year window in which it might happen but you don’t get to decide the day or the hour
Just like you don’t decide when you will get sick or when someone might die
Some things simply can’t be switched on & off like a light

So what about joy then – can joy be scheduled?

Well, the impression we get from the psalm so far is that joy is not something we have much control over – like rains in the Negeb it all depends on God and so it can’t be planned for
This is dangerous thinking – it leads to a victim mentality

Sowing in tears, reaping joy:

To help restore the balance Psalm 126 finishes with a contrasting image to the streams in the desert

May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy

There is quite a bit in this one liner

For starters, we can’t expect to feel happy or joyful all the time
Tears, sadness, grief & pain are part of life
In fact the image of sowing in tears suggests that sadness is a necessary prerequisite to joy

Tears are something which cleanse our eyes and our soul

When you set the table for a meal you don’t put out yesterday’s dirty dishes to eat off – you put clean plates on the table
Tears cleanse the plate of our soul so a fresh meal of joy can be served up

What I’m saying is intuitively obvious to anyone who has suffered loss

We can’t really enjoy something good until we have first grieved our losses – accepted them

Sowing and reaping is slow and arduous

Unlike the streams in the Negeb it doesn’t happen overnight
Sowing & reaping happens over the course of a year as a combination of hard work & patience on the part of the farmer as well as God causing the seed to grow
We might say: joy is not entirely in God’s hands, it’s in our hands too – so (like farming) it’s a partnership

Or as Henri Nouwen put it…

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

Yes there are some things in life that we don’t get to decide – some things we have little or no control over – but with joy we do have a choice

We can’t expect to always feel happy – there will be times when life is hard graft
But if we sow seeds of hope in God during those tough times, we will eventually reap a harvest of joy

And what does it mean to sow seeds of hope?

What are the difficult choices we need to make to eventually reap joy?
Well, sowing in tears might mean praying for someone in hope that God will save them
It might mean forgiving someone in hope they will come right in the end
Or, it might mean asking forgiveness in hope that this will lead to peace
It might mean saying ‘no’ when the bong is being passed around in hope that our friends will say ‘no’ too
It might mean saying ‘yes’ to helping someone, without hope of reward
Or it could mean suffering shame, insult, misunderstanding and abuse in the hope that some might find Christ

Conclusion:

Sowing in tears can mean a lot of things

Ultimately, for Jesus, it meant suffering an agonising death on the cross in hope that humanity would be reconciled to God
Of course, after Jesus had sowed in tears, he reaped a harvest of resurrection joy

Christmas is a time of joy – not painless, tearless joy – but joy on the far side of pain and grief

Maybe you haven’t got to the far side yet
Maybe you are still sowing in tears
That’s okay – in fact it’s more in line with the gospel than you might think: Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted