Tawa Baptist

The Ten Minas

Scripture: Luke 19:11-27

Video Link: https://youtu.be/IzbzrX5dtkY

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

There is usually more than one way to look at something. For example, take the sentence: A woman without her man is nothing.

Many people will read that and immediately take offense because, depending on your attitude to women, it could sound like you are saying, women are nothing without men, which is not true of course.

But there is another way to read this. If you change the emphasis and say:

A woman, without her man is nothing, then it sounds like you mean men are nothing without women, which is equally untrue.

Personally, I don’t like this sentence. Whichever way you punctuate this phrase, it creates a false dichotomy. Our value as human beings does not depend on gender politics. Our value comes from God. 

The point is, there is more than one way to interpret things. In fact, the way we interpret something often reveals our underlying attitudes and prejudice.

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. The parables of Jesus can be interpreted in more than way. And the way we interpret them reveals our underlying attitudes about God and others. Put simply, Jesus’ parables interpret us. They hold a mirror to our soul, showing what we really believe.

Jesus’ parables are not just saying, ‘This is what God and his kingdom are like.’ They are also uncovering and challenging our underlying assumptions and prejudices about God.

The Ten Minas:

This week’s parable, in Luke 19, is sometimes called the parable of the ten minas. Just to be clear, Jesus is not talking about ten men digging for coal underground, nor is he talking about ten children. A ‘mina’ here is a sum of money roughly equivalent to 100 days wages.

Whether you have heard this parable before or not, it will hold a mirror to your soul. How you choose to interpret it reveals something of what you really believe about God and yourself. From Luke 19, verse 11, we read…   

11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ 14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ 15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ 17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’  18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ 19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ 20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ 24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ 25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ 26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

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

The first world war began in July 1914. The allied soldiers could often be heard saying, “We’ll be home by Christmas”. Expectations of victory were running high. People imagined a quick war. Why? Because their underlying assumption was, the enemy is weak and we are strong. Perhaps they also thought, God is on our side.

Tragically, they were not home by Christmas. Millions never came home at all. The enemy was stronger than they had assumed and the war lasted over four years. Many became disillusioned and lost their faith in God because of the false expectations they started with.

Expectations live in the human imagination and that makes them dangerous, because the human imagination knows no limits. The greater the expectation, the greater the risk of disillusionment when those expectations are not met.

At the time Jesus told the parable of the ten minas, the expectations of the people were running high, too high. The people thought Jesus was about to quickly overthrow the Romans and restore Israel’s political power. We’ll be home by Hannukah. Israel assumed God was on their side, politically. They thought they knew what God wanted and, like many of us at times, they overestimated their own strength, their own importance.

That’s why Jesus told this parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

No. Things were not going to unfold as quickly as people thought.

Jesus needed to put the brakes on people’s expectations. He needed to challenge people’s assumptions about themselves and about God. Jesus was not going to Jerusalem to start a revolution or overthrow the Romans. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world.    

Jesus begins his parable by saying, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return…” Who is Jesus talking about here? Who is the man of noble birth? Well, Jesus does not say.

However, we do notice some striking parallels between the man of noble birth and Jesus himself. After his death and resurrection, Jesus would ascend to heaven where God would appoint him as King. Then one day, at some unspecified time, Jesus will return in glory. This reading fits with the larger gospel narrative.

The point not to be missed here is that the man of noble birth goes to a distant country, which indicates the nobleman would be gone for some time, thus reinforcing the idea that God’s kingdom was not going to appear at once.    

Before he goes away, though, the nobleman calls ten of his servants together and gives each one a mina. As already mentioned, a mina is a measure of money roughly equivalent to 100 days wages. He tells his servants to put the money to work. Trade with it. See what you can do.

If Jesus is the nobleman, then the servants are those who know Jesus and confess him as Lord. Those who are part of Jesus’ household and are obliged to obey him. Jesus’ disciples in other words.   

Jesus does not define what the minas represent, we are left to interpret that for ourselves. Logically, we could say a mina is whatever resource Jesus has entrusted to us.

Some people think of the minas in literal material terms, like actual money or possessions. Others think one’s mina could be a special ability or God given talent, like being good with children or good with words or music or whatever.

We do well to include a spiritual meaning for the minas. For example, the minas may represent the faith, hope and love we have in Christ, or perhaps the word of God, the gospel we received, or maybe the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. At its heart, I think of the mina as symbolic of God’s grace for us personally. Grace always comes first. Without God’s grace we can do nothing.  

How do you understand Jesus’ gift to you? And, what are you doing with that gift? How are you using your gift for Jesus’ benefit?

The plot of the parable thickens in verse 14 where we read: “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

This twist in the story finds another parallel with Jesus’ own experience. At the time Jesus told this parable, he was popular with the people. But in little over a week the crowds (egged on by the religious leaders) would reject Jesus, calling on Pilate to have him crucified. They did not want Jesus to be their king.

Kenneth Bailey points out what would have been obvious to Jesus’ Middle Eastern audience but is less obvious to us. The parable imagines a time of political transition and instability. It is by no means certain at this point whether the nobleman will be made king. People don’t like him.    

This puts the nobleman’s servants in a difficult position. Given their master has many enemies, who will support their business ventures which are funded by the nobleman? Some of those enemies may even sabotage their efforts. Trading in an uncertain environment like that is risky.

Worse than that, what if their master is not made king? They will probably suffer repercussions from their master’s enemies. The smart thing would be to keep your head down and hide your association with the master.

Now it becomes clear why the nobleman gave his servants money and told them to trade with it. He wants to know if his servants are willing to take the risk and openly declare themselves as loyal to him, during his absence, in a world where many oppose his rule.

In Latvia, the Lutheran church asks those who want to become pastors an important question: When were you baptised? If the candidate for ministry was baptised during the period of Soviet rule, when the church was persecuted, then they had risked their lives. They had openly declared themselves to be loyal to Jesus in a world that opposes Jesus’ rule. They had put the mina of their faith to work in the marketplace.

But if the candidate for ministry says they were baptised after the period of Soviet rule, well the seminary asks a lot more questions.

As Kenneth Bailey notes, “In the parable the master challenges his servants to live boldly and publicly as his servants using his resources, unafraid of his enemies, confident in the future as his future.” [1]

The church is not persecuted in New Zealand, but we are often misrepresented and misunderstood. Do we have the courage to risk publicly owning our faith in Jesus? Ultimately, and perhaps inconveniently, that is what it means to put our mina to work in the world.   

Verse 15 confirms the nobleman was in fact made king. Again, this parallels what happened to Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven bears witness to his legitimacy as God’s appointed King.

The first thing the master does on returning home is call for his servants.

He wants to know what they did with the money he had given them, not because he is interested in making money, but because what they did with the money will show where their true loyalty lies.    

The first two servants report to their master how they have turned a profit. One servant earned ten minas (a 1000% return) and the other, five minas (a 500% return). Given the difficulty of trading in that politically unstable environment, those sorts of returns suggest the master was gone for a very long time. You don’t make a 1000% return in just 12 months.

But notice how the servants speak to their master. They say: ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’  ‘Your mina has earned five more.’ The servants are humble, giving credit for their success to the master. They understand that without the master’s gift they would have nothing to offer. It is all by God’s grace.

Notice too the master’s response. He commends these servants for their trustworthiness or their faithfulness. They were not afraid to hide their loyalty to the master. They traded openly in the marketplace in confidence their master would return as King.

A British journalist once asked Mother Teresa how she kept going, knowing that she could never meet the needs of all the dying in the streets of Calcutta.

She replied, “I am not called to be successful; I’m called to be faithful.”      

Although two of the servants in the parable were successful, the master commends them for being trustworthy or faithful. The master is clearly very wealthy. He doesn’t need more money. He needs to know who he can trust.

This offers us some encouragement. We may not be successful in a numbers sense. We may have little control over the outcome of our witness for Christ. Our part is to remain faithful and leave the outcome with God who is able to work all things for good.   

The reward for proving trustworthy is being given even greater trust.

The servant who earned ten minas is put in charge of ten cities and the servant who earned five minas is entrusted with five cities.

Sadly, not all the servants proved faithful. Another servant appears before his master with an excuse. He says: ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’  

Now, if you have failed your boss and are having to give account for your actions, you don’t start by insulting him. You pay him a compliment to try and soften him up. Why then does this servant basically accuse his master of being a hard man and a thief? Because that sounds like an insult.

Well, the servant probably thought he was complimenting his boss by calling him a hard man. Some people like to think of themselves as a bit gangster, a bit tough, not prone to suffering fools. Some people get off on thinking that other people are scared of them. Not this boss though. The third servant has completely misread his master’s character.

The master does not admit to being a hard man and a thief, but nor does he correct the servant’s prejudice. He judges the servant by his own words.

Jesus is just and fair. He judges us by our own standards. The measure we use for others is the measure the Lord will use for us.

The servant’s words provide a mirror to his soul, reflecting his deceit.

The master knows the servant is lying and points out the inconsistency in what he says. If the servant really was afraid of the master, he could have at least put the mina on term deposit with the bank. In other words, he could have gone with a low-risk investment and still had something to show for it.

The truth is the servant here was too afraid to publicly identify himself with his master when it was risky to do so. But the servant’s problem runs deeper than that. The wicked servant never properly accepted the master’s grace in the first place and so he did not know the master’s true character.  

The wicked servant might represent anyone who is offered the mina of God’s grace but lays it aside, not accepting it personally. Without a deep experience of God’s grace, we won’t develop the loyalty to put our faith out there.

Have you accepted God’s grace for yourself personally?

The master in the parable takes away the wicked servant’s mina and gives it to the servant who has ten minas. The first thing we notice here is the master’s generosity. Even though the capital and the profits are rightfully his, the master let’s his faithful servants keep the money. This shows the wicked servant’s estimate of the master, as a hard man and a thief, was very wrong.

Not everyone can see the master’s generosity though. Some protest saying… ‘Sir he already has ten!’ To which the master replies: ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

I understand this to mean, ‘use it or lose it’. Faith is like a muscle. Just as our muscles become weak and waste away if we don’t use them, so too our faith becomes weak and wastes away if we don’t exercise it. Exercising your faith means more than just reading your Bible and praying, although that is a good place to start. True faith calls for obedience, actually doing what Jesus asks.  

Jesus does not say what happens to the wicked servant after that. I guess three scenarios are possible: Either he kept his job, or he was fired or he resigned.

After he publicly denied Jesus, Peter did not resign, nor did Jesus fire him. In fact, Jesus restored the repentant Peter, trusting him with more responsibility.

It was a different story with Judas though. After betraying Jesus, Judas quit. The Lord did not fire him. We must not lose faith in the grace of God. If you fail, do not condemn yourself and do not quit your faith. Repent. Jesus rewards faith.

After the master has dealt with his own household, he then turns his attention to his enemies, those who do not want him to be king, saying: bring them here and kill them in front of me.

This ending is problematic for some. If the king represents Jesus, then how do we reconcile the killing of enemies with the Jesus we read about in the gospels? Other earthly kings do this, but Jesus is not like other kings.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies. From the cross he said, ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.’ 

Some say the parallels between the nobleman and Jesus should not be pressed too far. So Jesus is like the nobleman in some respects but not in every way and not in this last respect.

Others say Jesus has every right to execute his enemies when he returns. Indeed, justice requires it. You could say a quick death is a relatively merciful outcome for those who oppose God’s rule. They are getting off lightly.

Whatever the case, the point seems to be that in the end (at the judgement) there is a negative consequence for those who continue opposing Jesus and a reward for those who are faithful to Christ.    

Conclusion:

Jesus leaves his parable with some loose ends. He does not quench the thirst of our unanswered questions. He lets the parable interpret us.

What we can say with confidence is that Jesus, the King, will return in glory one day. It may be a long wait, but he will return. In the meantime, we are to receive his grace and put our faith to work, remaining loyal to him in a world that is sometimes hostile.

Let us pray…       

Jesus, we thank you for your grace. Give us wisdom and courage to put our mina to work and remain faithful to you. And when we fail, restore us we pray, to the praise of your glory. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How did you initially interpret the sentence: ‘A woman without her man is nothing.’ (Be honest) Why do you think you interpreted it this way?
  3. Discuss / reflect on the parable of the ten minas. What was Jesus’ purpose in telling this parable? Why did Jesus give his servants minas to trade with, in his absence? What parallels do you observe between Jesus and the nobleman? Where do the parallels stop (or do they)?  
  4. How do you understand Jesus’ gift (of a mina) to you? What are you doing with that gift? How are you using your gift for Jesus’ benefit?
  5. How do you understand the phrase: ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’?
  6. What do you think happened to the wicked servant? Why do you think this?
  7. What does it mean to accept God’s grace for yourself personally? Have you done this?

Bibliography:

  • William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Luke’, 1965.
  • Leon Morris, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: Luke’, 1976.
  • Fred Craddock, ‘Interpretation Commentaries: Luke’, 1990.
  • Darrell Bock, ‘NIV Application Commentary: Luke’, 1996.
  • Joel Green, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke’, 1997.
  • Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, 2008.  

[1] Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, page 401.  

Tawa Baptist

The Friend at Midnight

Scripture: Luke 11:5-13

Video Link: https://youtu.be/IeEMc95XpDs

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Knowing God’s character
  • Encourages prayer
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

How would you describe the colour red to someone who was born blind? Those who can see don’t need the colour red described to them, they know from experience what red looks like.

But those who have never seen the colour red need a comparison they can relate with. You might, for example, take something hot, like a cup of coffee, and place it in their hands. The feeling of heat may enable them to imagine the colour red. And, as the cup cools, red lightens to pink.

Alternatively, you might describe the colour red as a loud angry noise or as a spicy curry. In order to describe the colour red, which is an unknown concept to a person born blind, you need to start with what the person knows.

Today we begin a new sermon series on some of the parables of Jesus.

The word parable literally means ‘laying alongside’. A parable is a story which compares one thing alongside another (in parallel) to teach a truth and bridge a gap in understanding.

Jesus often used parables to teach people about God. Jesus would take something that was familiar to his audience and use it to help people understand something unfamiliar to them, namely God and the kingdom of heaven.  

When it comes to understanding God and his kingdom, we are like people born blind. We can no more see the spiritual realm than a blind person can see colours. Jesus’ parables help to bridge the gap in our spiritual understanding.

This week’s parable, sometimes called ‘the friend at midnight’, comes from the gospel of Luke chapter 11. In the context the disciples have just asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus gives them the words of the Lord’s Prayer and then goes on to say…

5 …“Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even if he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet in order to avoid dishonour  he will surely get up and give you whatever you need. [1]9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks fora fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

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

Jesus’ purpose in these verses is to encourage people to pray. To this end Jesus is not so concerned with teaching his disciples the right technique for praying. Rather, Jesus wants us to understand who it is we are praying to.

Sometimes we may lack the motivation to pray. We might think, what difference will it make? But when we understand the character of God, his goodness and willingness to care for us, we find the energy to pray. Indeed, knowing God’s character encourages prayer.

God’s character:

Dr. Gary Inrig tells a story of the famous missionary David Livingston.

After Livingston had been in Africa about 12 years, he had a desire to travel from where he was, on the east of the continent, over to the west coast through a part of that continent that no other European had ever been before.

It was impossible for him to do this on his own, so he went to a local chief and asked for 27 men of the tribe to go with him. The trip was dangerous and the chief knew that white men were not entirely trustworthy.

Sensing this, Livingston made the chief a promise. “If you give me your sons, I promise to return with them, and to deliver them to their homes and their families. My life will be a pledge.” The chief agreed on that basis, and Livingston set out.

The journey was not easy. Difficult terrain, hostile tribes, dangerous animals and illness. But finally, they made it to the west coast. As they stumbled into the port of Luanda, they were amazed to find a British warship there.

The warship had been sent from England for the specific purpose of finding Livingston and bringing him back. The captain said to Livingston, “Sir, Queen Victoria has sent me to urge you to return. All England is waiting to honour you.”

The thought of going home to a hero’s welcome was very tempting, but Livingston had a problem. He had made a promise to return to the chief. “Well,” they assured him, “the promise of a white man to an African doesn’t matter. The Queen is more important than a chief.”

But David Livingston knew he carried the honour of the British Empire with him. If he did not make good on his promise, it would reflect very badly on Queen Victoria and his fellow countrymen.   

Despite all the urgings of the naval officers, Livingston turned around and headed back into the jungle. The trip finally ended 2½ years after he started, with the British explorer delivering the 27 Africans back to their homes and families.

David Livingston had the character to honour his promise. He did the right thing by the African people and this fostered trust. The people were willing to listen to him because his word was something they could rely on.

Honour is about doing the right thing by others, even if the right thing is inconvenient to us. In the parable of the friend at midnight, Jesus makes a case for God’s willingness to answer our prayers based on God’s honour, his good character.

Jesus’ original audience was far more sensitive to matters of shame and honour than many of us are. For them providing hospitality for travellers was a matter of honour, just like keeping his promise was a matter of honour to Livingston. 

So when Jesus asked his listeners to imagine a friend refusing to get out of bed to help his neighbour with the sacred duty of hospitality, they would have been shocked.

Now, if you are anything like me, your sympathy is probably with the bloke who got woken up in the middle of the night. But for Jesus’ eastern audience, the sympathy is with the host who came calling for bread.

If the host did not provide adequately for the traveller, then this brought shame on the whole village. The host who came calling at midnight was not being an annoying neighbour. He was doing the honourable thing both for the traveller and for his whole town.

Besides, he wasn’t asking for much. People in Jesus’ time did not eat with a knife and fork like we do. They broke off pieces of bread and dipped it in the main dish. (Like when we use a piece of Naan bread to mop up our curry). When the host comes asking for three loaves of bread he is simply asking for the cutlery. 

And as for the man’s excuse, that the door is locked and the kids are in bed, this is laughable. While it is true that getting up would probably disturb the family, this was nothing compared with the shame of refusing hospitality in that culture. [2]

The neighbour’s excuse is as ludicrous as not installing a smoke alarm for fear it will wake the whole house. In the same way that it’s better to be woken up than die in a fire, in Middle Eastern culture it’s better to be woken up than publicly shamed.

So the host, who is a friend and neighbour, is not asking for something big for himself. He is asking for something small for someone else, in order to uphold the honour of the village. Which means, even if the man in bed won’t get up and help for the sake of friendship, he will get up and help to avoid the shame of letting the whole village down.  

Verse 8 is a bit difficult to translate into English…

The Good News Bible says the host gets everything he needs because he is not ashamed to keep on asking.

The New Revised Standard Version says the host gets whatever he needs because of his persistence in asking.

While the New International Version says the host gets as much as he needs because of his boldness in asking.

The ideas expressed by these different translations are not wrong or bad. They find support in other parts of Scripture. The problem is they move away from the original meaning of this particular text.

They also put the focus on the host, who is asking for bread, when it should be on the friend who is being asked.

As a consequence, these translations lead us down the path of thinking that receiving an answer to our prayers is dependent on our own ability, which misses the point of the parable.

The parable is not primarily about us (the pray-ers). The parable is primarily about God. The point of this particular parable is not that we will get what we ask for if we are bold enough or persistent enough or shameless enough in our praying.

The point is that we will get all that we need because God’s character is honourable. God is good. He always does the right thing by people, no matter how inconvenient.  

Jesus is arguing from the lesser to the greater. The neighbour who is woken at midnight is poor, but God is rich. The neighbour is asleep, but God is always awake. The neighbour is reluctant, but God is willing.  

Jesus is saying, if your neighbour (who possibly doesn’t like you very much) will help you for the sake of his own honour, how much more will God (your heavenly Father) help you.  

Having faith in the character of God is more important than having the right prayer technique. When we pray to God, we are praying to someone who is honourable. Someone who knows all that we need and is willing and able to do the right thing by us.   

You will notice, in verse 8, that the friend who calls at midnight gets not just the bread he asked for but whatever he needs. In other words, more than just the bread to mop up the meal.

The other thing we note here is that Jesus is not saying God is like a genie who grants our every wish. God gives us the good things we need, not necessarily all the things we want. Some of the things we want may not be good for us or others.

Encourages prayer:

Jesus wants people to know God’s good character so they will be encouraged to pray. In verse 9 the Lord says…

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Given the character of God, we can expect to receive the right answer when we ask. We can expect to find something good when we seek the Lord. And we can expect the door of life to be opened when we knock.

Of course, what we receive may not be what we originally asked for or expected but we can rest assured it will be good for us because we are praying to a God who is honourable. God always does what is right and good because he is righteous and good.   

Another observation from verse 9 is that some effort is required on our part when praying. Asking, seeking and knocking are all verbs (doing words) in the present continuous tense. In other words, go on asking, seeking and knocking until you get an answer.   

The point is: what we bring to prayer is important. Although God knows what we need, we must still ask. To not put our requests before God in prayer is to take God for granted. More than that, asking and receiving grows our faith. The more we sense God responding to our prayers, the stronger our trust in him becomes.

Interestingly, Jesus does not limit prayer to mere asking. It seems that for Jesus, prayer also involved seeking and knocking. Asking engages our mind and our mouth, while seeking and knocking engages our whole self. Prayer is not just sitting in a room speaking to God. Prayer can also involve walking around trying things and looking for openings.    

For example, if you need work, you start by asking God for a job. But you don’t stop there. You put together a CV, you do a search on the internet, you knock on doors, you visit those people and businesses you might want to work for. Prayer means both depending on God as well as doing the leg work and using your initiative.  

In verse 10 Jesus says something truly shocking. The Lord says: For everyone who asks receives; Everyone. Prayer is not just for Christians. Nor is it just for relatively good people. Prayer is for everyone, whether you go to church or not. God responds to everyone’s prayers. It may or may not be the response we are hoping for, but God always listens and answers.

We are talking about the character of God. Knowing God’s character encourages prayer. Prayer is worth the effort because God is honourable. When we pray, we can be confident the Lord will respond with something good.   

Greg Norman was one of the most ice-cold golfers on the pro circuit. Apparently, he learned this from his father. He once said, “I used to see my father getting off a plane or something and I’d want to hug him, but he’d only shake my hand.”

Norman was at the 1996 Masters, the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. He let a six-shot lead go during the last round and lost to his great rival Nick Faldo. Faldo hit a 15 foot birdie for the winning shot. Norman tried to smile as he waited for the customary handshake, but instead he found himself in a bear hug embrace from Faldo. As they held each other Greg Norman began to weep.

Later Norman said, I wasn’t crying because I lost. I’ve lost a lot of golf tournaments and I’ll lose a lot more. I cried because I’d never felt that from another man before. I’ve never had a hug like that in my life.”

In verses 11-13, of Luke 11, Jesus continues to encourage people to pray based on God’s character. From verse 11 we read…

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks fora fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Again, Jesus is reasoning from the lesser to the greater. If earthly fathers (who are far from perfect) are willing to give good gifts to their children, how much more willing is God (who is perfect).  

It’s interesting that Luke’s version of this teaching of Jesus specifically mentions God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, while Matthew’s version uses the more general expression good things.  

For some people receiving the Holy Spirit is accompanied by a warm feeling inside, like receiving a hug. The kind of hug Greg Norman longed for from his father and finally received from his friend Nick Faldo.

Shaking your child’s hand is not a bad thing. Parents could do worse. But a hug that conveys warmth and love is better. The Holy Spirit sometimes gives the sort of hug which reassures us (without words) that God loves us and accepts us as his son or daughter. It’s the kind of hug that gives us the strength and faith to love others.      

By giving us his Holy Spirit, God is giving us the gift of himself, he is pouring something of his love and truth into our heart. There is no greater gift.  

Each person’s experience of the Spirit is different. Not everyone gets a warm fuzzy feeling. But, whatever your experience of God’s Spirit, it will be what you need personally.

Do you need wisdom in making a difficult decision? Ask God the Father and he will give you his Spirit. Do you need grace to forgive or strength to endure? Ask God the Father and he will give you his Spirit.     

Conclusion:

Whether we are praying for ourselves or others, we are not wringing gifts from the hands of an unwilling God. We are going to one who knows what we need better than we do and whose heart toward us is the heart of generous love.

If we do not receive what we pray for it is not because God grudgingly refuses to give it but because he has something better for us. That something better will inevitably require us to change. You see, we don’t just pray in order to get stuff from God. Yes, prayer changes things but it also changes us.

I like what Richard Foster says: “The primary purpose of prayer is to bring us into such a life of communion with the Father that, by the power of the Spirit, we are increasingly conformed to the image of the Son.”

Foster goes on to explain what he means: “When we begin to walk with God, he is gracious and marvellously answers our feeble, egocentric prayers. We think, ‘This is wonderful. God is real after all!’ In time, however, when we try to push this button again, God says to us, “I would like to be more than your Provider. I also want to be your Teacher and your Friend. Let me lead you into a more excellent way. I want to free you of the greed and avarice, the fear and hostility that make your life one great sorrow.’ [3]   

Ultimately God wants to give us the gift of His Spirit so we may enjoy communion with him. Let us pray…

Father God, you are honourable, generous and near. Thank you for knowing our needs and providing for us. Prepare us to receive your Spirit. Set us free to love you and love others. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.   

Outtakes

One final observation from today’s Scripture reading and that is, God is near.

The neighbour who was called on in the middle of the night was near, just next door. And the father who knows how to give good gifts, is even closer, right in the same house as you in fact. God is as near to you as your skin.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How would you describe the colour red to someone born blind?
  3. What is a parable? What is the purpose of Jesus’ parables generally?
  4. Discuss / reflect on the parable of the friend at midnight in verses 5-8. What was Jesus’ purpose in telling this parable? What is the main point? 
  5. Why can we expect good things when we pray to God?
  6. Have you ever not received what you asked for in prayer? How was God’s response different from what you requested? Why do you think God said ‘no’ to you? How did you feel then? How do you feel about that now?
  7. What would you like to ask God for? Make some time this week to ask, seek and knock. You may like to keep a journal of what you asked for and how God responded.  

[1] The translation of verse 8 follows Joel Green and Kenneth Bailey’s reading of the original text.

[2] Refer to Kenneth Bailey’s book ‘Poet & Peasant, pages 119-141.  

[3] Refer Richard Foster’s book on ‘Prayer’, page 59

Tawa Baptist

Jonah, not just a fishy tale

Written by: Pat Hutchison

Scripture: Jonah

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Disobedience
  • Deliverance
  • Disappointment
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

If I say Jonah, most of you will think Whale/Fish.  I began with a children’s book “The Man Caught by a Fish”.  The fish tends to grab our attention, it’s a fascinating thought a fish swallowing a whole man.  It lights up imagination and is a gripping story.  Unfortunately these memories cloud our perception of Jonah and our memory tends to stop once he is dumped on the shore. 

The fish is a minor player in the story – it’s only mentioned three times in the book of Jonah.  I have just reinforced the connection of Jonah and memory, “He is the guy who got swallowed by the fish”. But the story continues – Jonah does get to Nineveh.

Today I want us to put aside the fish and focus on Jonah and God. This book teaches us a lot about God.  Salvation comes from God and Salvation is for all.  I want to focus on 3 themes:

  • Disobedience
  • Deliverance
  • Disappointment

But first let us look at Jonah – the Man.  Who is he? He was a real person. 

2nd Kings 14:15 names him as Jonah, son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.  Jonah 1:1 also names him as Jonah, son of Amittai. We also find he is mentioned in the New Testament by Jesus.  He lived around the 8th Century BC at the time of the Reign of Jeroboam II.

He was a Prophet – a person chosen by God to be God’s messenger to deliver God’s word to the people.  He would have been a man with status and importance.  The Book of Jonah is found in the Old Testament in the Minor Prophets – as distinct from the Major Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. 

It’s not our modern interpretation of Minor as inferior but Minor in length. It is unique in that Jonah is told to take a message to Nineveh (People who

did not worship God) – not to deliver a message to the Hebrew people, God’s Chosen People. 

It opens like the other Minor Prophets with a command from God “To Go!”  Jonah is told to go to Nineveh, and why, because of their wickedness.  Nineveh was the Capital of Assyria, they were not nice people – they were a warring nation and had a reputation for how badly they treated people they captured. 

Jonah is not told to take an Army or anyone else, he is on his own. There is a sense of urgency in the command ‘To Go’, Jonah is expected to go now – not to delay this task from God. So Jonah acts and it’s an act of rebellion \ disobedience.

Disobedience:

Jonah doesn’t reply but disobeys God and runs away.  He is not having anything to do with Nineveh, he is going as far away as possible and he is going by ship.  Why should he go to these people, they are not God’s Chosen, they are Pagans and worship many gods. They don’t believe in the True God. 

Jonah makes no effort to respond to God’s command – silence is also part of his disobedience alongside his action – to escape, to deliberately go the other way.  Psalm 139:7 makes it clear there is no escaping God, “Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?”  Wherever we go God will be there.  Jonah is not very smart – ignoring God’s command and running away. 

And then things began to happen when he is on board the ship! Nobody was expecting a storm, certainly not an enormous storm, the storm is God’s intervention.  The sailors would not have sailed if they knew they would be caught in a storm.  They knew the oceans and weather patterns.  The storm comes and it is violent – it has been sent by God because of Jonah’s disobedience. 

We see that God is in control, God is Sovereign.  The ship is breaking up, the sailors are terrified, throwing cargo overboard.  Some scholars suggest that the act of throwing cargo overboard is an act of sacrifice to their gods.  There is a lot of fear among the sailors. But God is the one in control.

Meanwhile our man Jonah is oblivious to all this – he has gone below the deck and he is fast asleep.  The Captain of the ship goes to him and wakes him up – “How can you sleep?” In desperation he tells Jonah to call on his God.  The Captain knows they are in a desperate situation.  He is using strong language – God told Jonah “To Go”, and now the Captain is telling Jonah, “To Call”.  

There is irony here, after all Jonah is fleeing from God –To Call on God is the last thing he wants to do.  However, the Captain can see he will lose everything – his boat, his cargo, his sailors, and Jonah was sleeping.

The thought of blaming God for the storm may seem like superstition to us but we have been told that the Lord has sent the storm. The sailors know that the severity of this storm was someone’s responsibility so they are drawing straws to find the person and it is no surprise that it is Jonah who has the short straw – the sailors bombard him with questions – they are fearful they will die. 

Jonah responds and his response does nothing to calm the situation.  He is a Hebrew (God’s Chosen Race) and his God is the God of Heaven who made the sea and dry land.  This does nothing to pacify the sailors and the Seas are getting worse.   Jonah’s disobedience has caused great fear and chaos, his disobedience is having an impact of other people – not just himself.

The sailors are even more terrified but now they have identified the source of their trouble – Jonah.  They need a solution to their plight.  Jonah admits it is his fault and his solution is to throw him into the sea.   They don’t do this because they don’t want to be seen as the people who caused God’s Prophet to die – they show compassion towards Jonah.  They make another attempt to ride out the storm and they start to row but the storm is increasing in its intensity.

This time in their fear they call out to the Lord, they have turned to God. Their fear has escalated, to great fear, to fear of the Lord.  Have they come to accept that this storm has been sent by God?

Finally they hurl Jonah into the sea and the seas calm for the sailors and they recognise that God is in control and they pray to God.  But things are happening to Jonah. 

Deliverance:

This brings us to Deliverance.  God’s work of deliverance has already begun, He has delivered the Sailors from death –“and the raging sea became calm.”  The storm was God’s doing because of Jonah’s disobedience. 

In the situation Jonah now finds himself he calls out to God and God provides a fish as the vessel for saving/delivering Jonah from death.  The function of the fish is to save Jonah from death by drowning.  God intervenes and Jonah acknowledges God as his Deliverer and knows he has been saved by God.  This is a very different Jonah to the Jonah who was fleeing God.

Jonah prays to God, he calls out to God after his silence and attempt to flee from God.  What follows is an amazing prayer. Let us just read and appreciate it for what we learn about the relationship between Jonah and God.  Jonah is crying out to God from the depths of his soul knowing full well the situation he is in is the result of his disobedience. He can go no deeper…

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.  From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help and you listened to my cry.  You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.  I said, “I have been banished from your sight:  yet I will look again toward your holy temple”.  The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.  To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, my God brought my life up from the pit.  When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.  But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you.  What I have vowed I will make good.  I will say Salvation comes from the LORD.” 

Jonah 2: 2-9.

Jonah cries for help and God answers him.  We find other examples of God answering cries for help in Psalms.  In fact Jonah uses the words of Psalm 120:1, “I call on the LORD in my distress, and He answers me”.  Jonah realises it is only God who can intervene and save him from the situation he is in or he will face certain death.

We get graphic details of his experience. He acknowledges that he is headed for death and destined for isolation from God.  Despite all this Jonah is optimistic that he will again worship God at His Temple in Jerusalem (a long way from where he is right now!).  The situation is grim, he can descend no deeper.  He remembers God and calls on Him.  He knows it is only God who can deliver him. Initially Jonah is focused on himself and then there is a dramatic turn around and Jonah’s attention turns to God.

We still see his dislike for Nineveh “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them”.  He shows no compassion for the very people God commands him to go to, but he has vowed to make good and God’s response to Jonah is Deliverance– The LORD commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 

Deliverance can mean escape, redemption, rescue and salvation.  All of these are apt for Jonah.  God has not given up on Jonah – far from it. God again commands Jonah to go to Nineveh and to proclaim the message God gave him.  This time Jonah is obedient, there is no attempt to escape, we see willing compliance.  After all he has done and experienced Jonah has a change of heart towards God but not towards Nineveh. 

Nineveh was a great city, it was Assyrian and considered to be difficult to overthrow, their reputation of brutality would have been well known to Jonah and God is sending him there with a strong message that they will probably not like.

Jonah’s task is to deliver God’s message, it is a long journey and one would expect him to be suffering some effects of his recent experiences.  Jonah knows he is not alone – God is with him even though he still is not accepting of the Ninevites.

He arrives and proclaims the end of Nineveh in 40 days and 40 nights because of their wickedness.  The city was not overthrown, the Ninevites believed in God and they repented from the King down.  Putting on sackcloth was a common way of expressing grief, humility and penitence – the hallmarks of true repentance. 

The whole of Nineveh repented.  “When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, took of his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.  This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.  But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth.  Let everyone call urgently on God.  Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  Who knows?  God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

God saw their repentance and He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened.  He delivered Nineveh and all its people from destruction. 

Disappointment:

Meanwhile Jonah is angry and disappointed with God. He prays and reveals the real reason he tried to flee from going to Nineveh – He didn’t want God to save the Ninevites, he wanted them to perish.   Jonah acknowledges that “God is a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”  God has saved Nineveh.  Jonah’s response to what God has done is to want to die.

Disappointed Jonah has gone away from the city to wait for God to destroy the city.  Nothing happens, he builds a shelter, he sulks, he still wants to die. His disappointment increases when the plant God had provided dies and he has no shade.

Disappointment is a very much a human condition.  We need to look at why people become disappointed with God.  Philip Yancey wrote a book on Disappointment with God and it seems to me that people become disappointed with God when God does not do what they want Him to do.

It’s a spiritual disappointment.  For Jonah God did not let him flee from going to Nineveh.  God let the plant wither and die, God spared him his life.  That is a whole lot of disappointment.  Jonah responds in a very human way, he wants to die.  What happened to his declaration that “Salvation comes from the Lord?”

But God shows his love and mercy to Jonah and the people of Nineveh.  He saved Jonah from the storm, He delivered Jonah from drowning by providing the fish at the right time.  He saved the city of Nineveh when they repented.

God is free to do as He wants, to save those outside of His Chosen People.  God is sovereign and Lord over all.

Despite all of Jonah’s faults, God never gave up on Jonah – his attempt to flee from God and his disobedience.  God had his hand on him.  God had a task for Jonah to do and even though Jonah was not keen to fulfil the task, God never left him.  Jonah was saved from death in a miraculous way.  Jonah was given a second chance.  God used Jonah to save a city.

Conclusion:

God never gives up on us.  In Hebrews we read God “will never leave us or forsake us.” God requires “us to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). In Proverbs (3) we are told to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Let us pray:  Our God we thank you for what we can learn from your word.  Thank you that you are a God of mercy and love. Thank you that you never give up on us.  Your hand is on our lives to deliver us from situations we get ourselves into.  Thank you we are not alone.  Help us to keep our faith and to walk in your chosen path for each of us.    Amen

Tawa Baptist

All creation gives you praise

Written by: Geraldine Canham-Harvey

Scripture: Psalm 150, Psalm 148, Genesis 1 & 2

Kia ora koutou

I’m going to begin today by reading verses 1, 2 and 6 of Psalm 150.[1]

Psalm 150 concludes the Book of Psalms with a real hiss and a roar. It’s a joyful rallying call to join together to praise God.

Imagine yourself in the picture, in the middle of a crowd as the call goes out:

1Praise the LORD!

Praise God in his Temple

Praise his strength in heaven!

2Praise him for the mighty things he has done.

Praise his supreme greatness. …

6Praise the LORD, all living creatures!

Praise the LORD!

‘Praise the Lord’ is the translation of the Hebrew word ‘Hallelujah!”.

And who does the Psalm writer say should lift those Hallelujahs? All living creatures. Other translations of the Bible have the phrase ‘everything that has breath’ instead.

So, quick question, if you think about what has breath, what comes to your mind? What about an aardvark, a cacti, a flax bush, or a pūkeko?

In Genesis 1 and 2, at the very start of the Bible, we read that all creation came from God … including the cosmos, the day and night, the land and water …

…­ as well all the animals, the plants, the fungi and other creatures that are usually very small, like an amoeba or a bacterium. And of course, human life.

In Genesis 1 & 2, the Bible explains that all living things share the breath of life, as a gift given from God. In Genesis 2:17, God breathes life into Adam.

While in verse 19, the same Hebrew phrase is used for when God breathes life into the ‘living creatures’ (that’s everything alive other than humans).[2],[3]

All breath, all life, came and comes from God. Nothing could exist without Him.

The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins said the world is charged with the grandeur of God.

As well as the breath of life, many, many verses throughout the Bible inform us how both human and non-human living creatures rely on God to provide for their needs and continued existence. [4] All living creatures have much to thank and praise God for.

Throughout the Bible there’s many indications that all of creation, not just humans, are intended to give God glory and praise.  The Psalms are a great example of this. I don’t have time to read or list them all, so I’ll put them in the notes that will be posted online.

But for now, here’s a section of Psalm 148[5], where not only living creatures with breath, but also the cosmos, the land and the weather, praise and glorify God:

7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
    stormy wind fulfilling his command!

9 Mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
    creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
    princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
    old and young together!

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his glory is above earth and heaven.

Just like Psalm 150, verse 13 of Psalm 148 signals to us that all of creation should, does and will praise God… but also, that we will do it together.

In his book, Creation Care Discipleship, writer Steven Bouma-Prediger reflects on these verses and proposes that “Creation is one grand symphony”, in which every living thing “…in their creaturely way, praise God their Creator and Sustainer”.[6]

These images raise some questions for me; maybe they do for you too?

First, how do animals, plants, fungi and other living creatures praise God? What is their ‘creaturely way?

  • Do seaweed sing?
  • Can a glowworm move to the beat?
  • A penguin play a riff on the guitar?
  • Or a kōwhai tree clap?

Singing and making music in those ways are obviously human forms of worship.

As humans we can only really know how it is to live and worship as a human.

This is our Umwelt – that’s a German term that literally translates to mean ‘environment’.

But Umwelt also has another meaning, of the way that a living creature perceives and experiences the world through its senses and perception.

In other words, how a creature is intelligent about the world around it.

Within the human population, there are different Umwelt. For example,people who are blind or deaf, or neurodiverse, can perceive the world in some way differently to other people.

Taking humanity as a whole, our Umwelt is different to other living creatures.

I think it’s fair to say that humans often think that intelligence is kind of what we have in spades, and other animals and living things, eh, they don’t have it so much.

Some might make exceptions for some animals such as dogs, apes, dolphins and parrots and crows. Increasingly though, research is showing that non-human living creatures have varied and remarkable forms of intelligence and perception, way outside of our human comprehension. For example:

  • Trees have been found to be linked underground by a network of fungi that allow them to send nutrients to other trees, as well as chemical signals if one of them gets a disease or are eaten by parasites…this network has been termed the Wood Wide Web.[7]
  • Plants played recordings of caterpillars munching on leaves, were found to flood their leaves with nasty tasting chemicals that caterpillars wouldn’t eat. It’s as if the plants could hear they might be about to be eaten and plan how to avoid this.[8]
  • Kea have shown they understand how to use probability to solve problems …including that if you secretly rearrange road cones when no humans are looking, you can make traffic move in all sorts of ways (the kea didn’t realise that NZTA had CCTV at the roadworks)[9]
  • Whales communicate with sounds so low, called infrasounds, they can travel over huge ocean distances (like across the Atlantic) – but also elephants use these sounds standing alongside each other.[10]

There are so many examples of these studies and research there’s no way to list them all. I hope this signals the potential of other living creatures having the wherewithal and intelligence to praise God and the idea isn’t something fanciful or impossible.

Exactly ‘how’ they will or do praise seems beyond us for now – it’s just mysterious – but as the Bible says, who knows the mind of God?

To me, it’s awe-inspiring there’s no limits to God’s creativity including the different types of intelligence that are out there and we just don’t know.

So if the first question is how do other creatures praise God, the second question that pops into my mind, is how we as humans can sing in harmony with animals like lions or sharks, who might otherwise be eyeing us up for dinner?

The Bible reveals a coming time of peace that all creation can look forward to, when God’s kingdom is fully restored and completed. It’ll be a time when all living things will live together in positive and mutually beneficial relationships. Isaiah 11 verse 6 gives a series of images, such as:

Wolves and sheep will live together in peace,
    and leopards will lie down with young goats.
Calves and lion cubs will feed together,
    and little children will take care of them.

But it’s not just in the future; in Isaiah 65 verse 17 states: “Behold, I will create a new heaven and a new earth. The phrase ‘will create’ is a form of grammar that also implies ‘I am in the process of creating’. So, it’s not just about God’s future intentions, but also an action He seeks to make happen now.[11]

Humans were given a specific role in helping creation thrive and praise God.

God gave humans a special character – God created humans in his image, Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 tells us.[12]

We are, as Paul said, to be ‘imitators of God’, with Christ as our model.[13]

You can think of this as ‘our job description’.[14] In having God’s likeness, God declares that humans will be responsible to have dominion over all living creatures.[15]

In fact, the first words God speaks to humans in Genesis 1 is a commandment:

“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”[16]

Only humans are given this role, a unique set of privileges with responsibilities.

It’s a delegated authority, like if your manager leaves you in charge of the business, or your parents ask you to look after your younger sisters and brothers.

The responsibility then is like a caretaker.[17] But your manager or parents are still in charge at the end of the day.

Likewise, all creation remains God’s. It is His.[18] He wants it to thrive and live well, abundantly. Humanity is called to reflect and do God’s wishes for all creation.

So how can we understand what is commanded of us in Genesis?

Firstly, writers I have read suggest that the word ‘subdue’ more likely meant ‘tend and care for’.[19]

Secondly, the term ‘dominion’ does not have the same meaning as domination.  

Kings in the Old Testament, who had ‘dominion’, were expected to imitate God – to be generous and benevolent, serving their people, and protecting those who were at risk of oppression, exploitation and destruction.

Jesus, is the King above all kings. He is superior to all created things, as it says in Colossians 1.[20] But Jesus, our King, came to serve, not to be served.

Of his upside-down kingdom, Jesus said ‘the first shall be last, and the last shall be first’.

Personally, I’m still grappling with what this might mean in terms of human’s relationship with other living creatures. Especially creatures such as fleas.

In Genesis 3 however, we learn that humans messed up this calling to be like God and instead tried to become God.

These actions had consequences, and impacted the rest of creation, its intended order and its response to God. In Romans Chapter 8, Paul expresses that all creation now groans for release and redemption from these consequences.[21]

We know some of the impacts to be the loss of biodiversity, pollution, deforestation, degrading of the land, climate change, and so forth. These outcomes weren’t God’s intention! How can creation praise Him if it cannot thrive?

Paul says through Jesus, God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.[22]

Ultimately God seeks a relationship with the creation in which He delights.

And God wants the different parts of creation to be in positive relationship with each other, to support each other to thrive.

So, what might this all mean for us, if the Bible purports that “all that has breath, praise the Lord?” (Psalm 150) Or, as Bouma-Prediger asks, “How can we strengthen the symphony so that all God’s creatures are enabled to sing praise to God?”[23]

Well, Jesus gave His followers no exemption to the commandment to protect God’s creation and to help it flourish and thrive.

A writer on Christian practices for creation care, Jonathan Moo, has framed humanity’s role in caring for creation as: “…a sign of participation in the life of God’s kingdom…”

And he says we can do this as a “…grateful response to the work God has already accomplished and is bringing to completion in Chris through the Holy Spirit.”[24]

You might be expecting me to finish up with some kind of to do list of what you and we can all do to care and protect other living beings and the environments in which they and we live. But that’s outside the time of this talk, plus there’s so much information out there.

One group and their website I will recommend from a Christian perspective is A’Rocha – an international organization, which has an Aotearoa New Zealand branch, and also local groups throughout the country.[25]

The writer, the Rev Dave Bookless, whom I referred to earlier, is A’Rocha’s Director of Theology. To conclude, I’d like to give a few of the principles that he lists in that article, for you to ponder on:

  • The world and all its creatures (human and non-human) belong to God and exist to bring glory to God.
  • Humanity has a divine vocation in reflecting God’s character towards living creatures.
  • Christianity offers hope for all creation through the redeeming work of Christ.

Thank you.[26]

[1] Bible verses are from the New Revised Standard Version (Updated Edition)

[2]  David Bookless, ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord’, in Cambridge Papers, September 2014 (volume 23 number 3). Available online at: https://www.cambridgepapers.org/the-bible-and-biodiversity/

[3] See Psalm 104:30

[4]  For example, see Psalms 24:1, 65:9-11, 104:10-18, 145:15-19

[5] Psalm 148:7-13

[6] Steven Bouma-Prediger, Creation Care Discipleship: Why Earthkeeping is an Essential Christian Practice, Baker Academic, 2023.

[7] There’s been a few books and documentaries on this, but for a quick overview see the article in New Zealand Geographic here: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-wood-wide-web/

[8] This example came from Hope Jahren’s book, Lab Girl, Penguin Random House, 2016

[9] Caught on NZTA’s CCTV – watch a clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuA5tO_c7s4

[10]  Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animals Sense Earth’s Amazing Secrets, Penguin Books, 2023

[11] For examples, see Psalm 104:30, Isaiah 65:9, ,  Revelation 21:1

[12] Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7.

[13] Ephesians 5:1

[14] David Bookless, ibid.

[15] Genesis 1:26

[16] Genesis 1:28

[17] Or kaitiaki, in Te Reo Māori. Te Ao Māori, the Māori worldview, is imbued with the concept of stewardship.

[18] See Psalms 24:1 and 50:10-12; 1 Cor. 10:25-26; Col. 1:15-20.

[19] Those who first heard Genesis came from farming communities, and very attuned to the needs of the animals, crops and the soil, and how they thrived. See the chapter ‘People Who Care for Creation”, in Christopher Wright’s book The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission, Zondevan, 2010. I have a copy if you’re interested to read it.

[20] Col. 1:15-19.

[21] Romans 8:18:23; see also Hosea 4:3.

[22] Col. 1:20

[23] Bouma-Prediger, 2023, ibid.

[24] Jonathan Moo, ‘When Good Christians Destroy the Earth’. In Ecoflourishing and Virtue, (editors Steven Bouma-Prediger, Nathan Carson), Routledge 2023.

[25] The Aotearoa New Zealand website URL is: https://arocha.org.nz/

[26] For an overview of some of the themes in this message, see also Christopher Wright’s book.

Tawa Baptist

Christmas: The Story Continues…

So, here we are at the start of a new year. Christmas is just about over. Well, in a sense that’s true, but the birth of Jesus is not really something we leave behind us; we carry its consequences with us.

I sometimes think of the Christmas story as being like an episode in a long-running TV series. Each episode may be viewed as a separate story, but it only really makes sense if you have seen what happened earlier. And at the end of each episode, you sit there wondering what’s going to happen next.

In a way, the Bible is like a series of episodes that takes place over a very long period of time. Many episodes can be read on their own, but they also need to be considered as part of a continuous narrative. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for each episode to come along – they are all in the Bible for us to read now, from the very beginning. Having said that, we will have to wait for the last episode – the release date has not been announced yet!

We often (but not always, of course) start the Christmas story with an angel appearing to Mary, and end with the wise men heading back to their homes somewhere in the east. It is an important episode, but it only makes sense when we consider what happened earlier. The period of Advent, which led us up to Christmas, helped us do that. It can be hard for us to understand the joy of the first Christmas if we don’t realise the longing that God’s people felt.

The Christmas story is about the birth of Jesus of course, but it’s also about some normal people made special by God. I mentioned that for any episode in a TV series, we love to know what happens next. Today, I’m going to look briefly at ‘what happened next’ to some of the ordinary people in the Christmas story. I hope you already know what happened to Jesus!

The Bible tells us that an angel visited some shepherds in the fields, and told them where to find the new-born Jesus. After they had seen the baby and his parents, Luke’s Gospel tells us that “The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.”

And that’s it; we aren’t told how many shepherds there were, or what their names were. “The shepherds returned”; after all, they still had sheep to look after. But I doubt that they returned to just ‘business as usual’ – their lives would never be the same again. Can you imagine anyone meeting Jesus in such a way and not telling others about it?

There were the wise men from the east too, who followed a star to the child Jesus. They worshipped him and gave him gifts. In Matthew’s Gospel we hear that “Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.” Again, we aren’t told how many wise men there were, exactly where they came from or what their names were. Like the shepherds, it’s hard to imagine that the wise men arrived home the same as when they left.

There are many times in the Bible when we are not told the names of people involved. Just a few examples: the Samaritan woman at the well is not named; the two criminals on either side of Jesus when he was crucified are not named, nor is the boy who donated his lunch to feed a large crowd. The recipients of many miracles are not named. For the host of unnamed people, including the Christmas shepherds and wise men, they only appear once – so knowing their names is not needed for later identification.

God knows everyone’s name, but it’s what people did that mattered, not what their names were. The shepherds were obedient to God and they spread the word of Jesus’ birth – their names didn’t matter. The wise men showed that Jesus would welcome non-Jews from a different culture – their names didn’t matter.  

There are times when it seems God does want us to know the names of people he used in his plan for us all. In the Christmas story, Mary and Joseph come to mind. They both played an important part in what came next.

Mary and Joseph were changed by the Christmas story. On top of staying obedient to God, they now had the responsibility of bringing up Jesus. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the early life of Jesus, just enough episodes to create (together with a bit of guesswork) a picture of the roles Mary and Joseph played. They raised him up in the Jewish religion, making sure he kept the traditions and learned the writings and teachings. They protected the infant Jesus by taking him to Egypt to escape the murderous King Herod, returning to be part of a supportive community in Nazareth when God told them it was safe. They fed him, spent time with him, encouraged him, dealt with his childhood problems, taught him a trade, worried about him when he went off without telling them. And at the same time, Joseph worked for a living and Mary organised a household that included numerous brothers and sisters.

You know, they did all those things parents do. Despite having the Son of God in their family, Mary and Joseph were normal parents, juggling work and family life. If you ask someone today what they like best about Christmas, they’ll often say “family”. I think Mary and Joseph were an example of why we might agree with that. Of course, some of us aren’t parents, or we aren’t able to enjoy being with family at Christmas. We can still look to Mary and Joseph as examples of faithfulness and obedience to God.

Joseph is not mentioned in the Bible after Jesus reached the age of 12, and it’s normally assumed that Joseph died. But Mary kept on without him, supporting Jesus and witnessing some of his ministry, along with the rest of her children. She was present when Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine at a wedding. She also saw Jesus die on the cross. The last time we hear of Mary was after Jesus had risen and been taken up to Heaven – Mary and some of her family met with the disciples to pray.

Mary and Joseph didn’t know God’s plan, but their faithfulness, sacrifice and trust are examples to us all. For Mary and Joseph, the first Christmas was not something they could just put behind them; it was the start of a huge new episode in their lives. We can be encouraged to stay faithful in our own journey, even when we don’t see where God is leading us.

And let’s not forget the shepherds and the wise men; they got to see Jesus, and their lives would never be the same. For most of us, our lives also changed when we first met Jesus.

Christmas is over. Will you carry on with life as normal?

Or perhaps you’ll be like Mary and Joseph, and take the opportunity to deepen your faith and obedience.

Perhaps you’ll be like the shepherds, and pass on the good news of Jesus to others.

We could all be like Mary right after the visit of the shepherds. They had told her of the angel’s message, that Jesus would be a saviour, good news to all people. Luke 2:19 tells us that:

“Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”

What will the next episode in the Christmas story look like for you this year?

Tawa Baptist

The Portrait

Scripture: Matthew 5:3-10

In his book The Tender Commandments, Ron Mehl tells the story of a father and a son…

Once there was a wealthy man who, along with his son, shared a passion for collecting art. They would travel the world together adding only the finest pieces to their collection. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many others hung on the walls of their family estate.

The father, who had lost his wife many years earlier, looked on with satisfaction as his only son became an experienced and skillful art collector in his own right. The bond between father and son was strong, their relationship close.

One year war engulfed the nation and the son enlisted to serve his country.

After training he shipped out to the front with his company. He had only been there a few short weeks when his father received a telegram to say his son was missing in action.

The father waited, fearing the worst. Within days his fears were realized.

It was confirmed that his son had died while rescuing a wounded mate.

The father was beside himself with grief. Christmas was coming but what was there left to celebrate. His wife and only son were gone so there did not seem much point.

Early on Christmas morning the old man heard a knock at the door and slowly lifted himself from his chair to see who it might be. As he walked down the long wide corridor of his mansion, the masterpieces hanging on the walls seemed to mock him. Beauty and riches are meaningless if you don’t have someone to share them with.

Opening his front door the old man was surprised to see a young man dressed in uniform with a large package in his hand. The soldier introduced himself saying…

“I was a friend of your son. As a matter of fact, I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments. I have something I would like to show you.”

As the two began to talk the soldier told how the man’s son had spoken so much about art and the joy of collecting masterpieces alongside his father.

“I’m something of an artist myself”, the soldier said a bit shyly, “And well, I want you to have this.”

As the old man unwrapped the package, the brown paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man’s son, who had been killed. No one would consider the painting a masterpiece, but it did capture the young man’s expression.

Tears welled in the old man’s eyes. The soldier painter sat still, not saying a word. He simply made room for the old man’s grief.

After a few moments the father managed to compose himself long enough to say, “Thank you, I will hang the picture above the mantlepiece.”

Later that same day, when the soldier had left, the old man removed a Monet to make room for the portrait of his hero son in pride of place over the mantlepiece. Then he spent the rest of the day just looking at it, remembering his boy as he was.

During the days and weeks that followed, the man realized that even though his son was no longer with him, the boy’s life would live on because of those he had saved. His son had rescued dozens of fellow soldiers before being cut down himself.

The portrait of his son became the old man’s most prized possession. He told his neighbours it was the greatest gift he had ever received.

A few years past before the old man became ill and died. With the famous collector’s passing, the art world eagerly anticipated a great auction. According to the collector’s will, all of the works would be auctioned on Christmas day, the day he had received his greatest gift.

Christmas soon arrived and art dealers from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world’s most spectacular paintings. The excitement was palpable. What would be put up for sale first? A Picasso perhaps or maybe a Van Gogh…

But the auction did not begin how people expected. The auction began with a painting that was not on any museum’s list. It was the simple portrait of a young soldier, the collector’s son.

The auctioneer began, “Who will open with a bid of a hundred dollars?”

The room was uncomfortably silent. Finally, after what seemed like an age, a gruff voice could be heard from the back of the room, “Who cares about that painting? It’s just a portrait of the old codger’s son”. Other voices could be heard grunting their agreement. “Let’s forget about it and move on to the good stuff.”

“No” the auctioneer replied, “we have to sell this one first. Now, who will receive the son?”

Eventually, a neighbour of the old man spoke up. “Will you take fifty dollars for it. I knew the boy, so I’d like to have it.”

“I have fifty dollars”, called the auctioneer, “Will anyone go higher?”

After more silence, the auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice, sold for $50!”

The gavel fell and cheers filled the room. Someone called out, “Finally, now we can get on with it”

But at that moment, the auctioneer looked up at the audience and announced the auction was over. Stunned disbelief blanketed the room.

Someone spoke up, “What do you mean it’s over?” I didn’t fly halfway round the world for a picture of the old guy’s son. What about all these other paintings? There’s millions of dollars’ worth of art here. I demand an explanation!”

In a quiet, clearvoice the auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple… according to the will of the father, whoever receives the son, gets it all.”

In some ways, Jesus is like the son in this story. Jesus is loved by God the Father, so much so that whoever receives Jesus by faith, inherits the kingdom of heaven.

Of course, Jesus does not go to the highest bidder. Jesus freely offers himself to everyone who will make room to receive him.

However, the gift of God’s son is not usually offered in the way we might expect. Jesus was born into poverty and laid in a feeding trough. I don’t think anyone anticipated that. Even more shockingly, Jesus suffered and died on a cross, giving his life to save ours. No one expected a crucified Messiah.

We do not receive Jesus in strength or by our own resources. We receive Jesus in weakness, on our knees, with nothing to offer but an honest confession of our need.

Those who receive Jesus, will (eventually) inherit it all, for Jesus embodies the kingdom of God.

In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about what it looks like to receive him…

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Will we make room to receive Jesus, even when he comes to us in ways we are not expecting?

Let us pray…

Father God, we thank you for your love and generosity. Help us to recognize the opportunities you give for receiving Jesus. May we be open to accept your grace, your truth, your mercy, your Spirit. Amen.   

Tawa Baptist

Joy at Christmas

Scripture: Luke 1 & 2

Video Link: https://youtu.be/HqQXjSp8HI8

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Elizabeth’s joy
  • The shepherds’ joy
  • Mary’s joy
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning and merry Christmas everyone.

I have here in my hand an apple. (Don’t worry, this is not going to be a sermon about forbidden fruit.) If I were to plant the seeds of this apple and nurture them, it could take several years before the seeds produced more apples to eat.

The theme of this morning’s Christmas day service is joy. Joy is the fruit of hope. Or, to put it another way, if joy is the apple, hope is the tree. If you want joy, then cultivate the seeds of hope, and be prepared to wait. We can put our hope in many different things, but for our joy to be secure, our hope must be true.  

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure. The account of Jesus’ birth is peppered with joy. This morning’s message touches on some of the joy found in Luke’s birth narrative.

Elizabeth’s joy:

We begin with Elizabeth and Mary. When Mary learned from the angel that she would become pregnant with Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, she went to visit her relative Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist.

Mary entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favoured that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy…”

What was the cause of Elizabeth’s joy? Two things: the presence of the Holy Spirit and the anticipation of Jesus’ arrival. The Holy Spirit confirmed Elizabeth’s hope to be true, and this produced joy, from the inside out.

Now it needs to be acknowledged that for many years Elizabeth’s life was not characterised by joy. Zechariah and Elizabeth suffered a great deal of disappointment in not being able to have children. Their hope of starting a family died. But the Lord in his mercy resurrected new hope.

In verses 57 and 58 we read: When it was time for Elizabeth to have a baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy and they shared her joy.

Joy was a long time coming for Elizabeth, but it was worth the wait.

When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure.

The shepherds’ joy:

Joy is for sharing. In Luke 2, an angel from heaven shares the joy of Jesus’ birth with some shepherds in the fields saying: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord…

What we notice here is that divine joy is not just for a select few. The joy of Jesus’ birth is for all people. There is more than enough salvation for everyone. That is very good news.  

After the angels left, the shepherds went and found Jesus, wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. When they had seen him, they shared the joy by praising God and spreading the word about Christ the Lord.

Now it needs to be acknowledged that life was not easy for these shepherds. They were poor, working around the clock in all sorts of weather, not able to participate in the normal rhythms of community life. They were looked down on with suspicion by many. Misunderstood.  

So it was a joyful surprise for these shepherds to be among the first to hear about the birth of the Messiah. It meant they were seen by God and trusted by him. Included. Accepted. When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure.

Mary’s joy:      

We have compared joy to the fruit of a tree. We might also compare joy to the keel of a yacht. The keel is that part we do not see because it is underwater. The keel keeps the yacht upright, especially in high winds. Without the keel, the yacht would be prone to capsizing.

In the same way a keel lends stability to a boat, so too joy (born from a deep and true hope) lends stability to our soul, especially in the storms of life.

The joy surrounding Jesus’ birth acted as a keel for Mary’s soul. In Luke 2, we read how Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Joy often overflows in praise of God and sharing good news with others, but for those with a more contemplative soul, joy finds sanctuary in the heart and mind. As we ponder what God is doing in Christ, our joy deepens (like the keel of a yacht) lending stability when the circumstances of our lives get a bit rough.

It needs to be acknowledged the first Christmas was far from ideal. Israel was oppressed by the Romans. The people suffered under a heavy yoke both politically and spiritually. Not a great environment for raising children.

And yet, in spite of this, hope was growing and joy was budding.  

Conclusion:

We are not oppressed in the same way people were in the first century.

But many of us feel weary and weighed down in other (unseen) ways. Christmas is not always a happy time. The expectation that it should be happy only heightens our disappointment when it is not.

Perhaps you identify with Elizabeth. For you, joy is a long time coming. Hang in there. A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure.

Perhaps you identify with the shepherds. You know what it is to be left out in the cold, not trusted, misunderstood. God judges fairly. He sees you.

He gets you. When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure.

Perhaps you identify with Mary. Young and vulnerable, with something precious to lose. Ponder the Lord’s faithfulness. Treasure the joy he brings.

It will be a keel for your soul.

When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure. Where is your hope placed?

May the awareness of God’s goodness sustain our hope and fill us with joy.

Grace and peace be yours this Christmas and New Year. Amen.

Tawa Baptist

Leadership & Administration

Scripture: Romans 12:8 and 1 Corinthians 12:28

Video Link: https://youtu.be/8qs2bj1tBlg

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Administration
  • Leadership
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Max Lucado once wrote: A person who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

The conductor does not follow the crowd; they follow the music. They cannot afford to worry about what others think; they must stay focused on leading the orchestra, helping all the different musicians to play their part in harmony.  

Over the past two or three months we have been considering the spiritual gifts Paul mentions in Corinthians and Romans. Gifts like prophecy, teaching, helps, tongues, marriage, singleness, wisdom, knowledge and so on. Today we conclude our series on spiritual gifts by taking a closer look at the gifts of administration and leadership.

If we think of the church like an orchestra, then those with the gifts of administration and leadership are like the conductor of the orchestra, helping the various members of the church to use their gifts in harmony with each other. Let us begin then with the gift of administration. From First Corinthians 12 we read…

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 

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

Most of you would remember the TV show MASH. MASH stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. MASH was a dramatic comedy set in the Korean war of the 1950’s. One of the lead characters in MASH was Corporal Radar O’Reilly.

Corporal O’Reilly got the nickname ‘Radar’ because he always sensed when the choppers were coming with wounded before anyone else did. Radar was not an officer or a doctor. He was the hospital’s administrator. He filled out forms and basically kept the organisation running smoothly.

We could say Radar was the ‘under the radar’ leader of the MASH unit. He was like the conductor of the orchestra except he wasn’t seen up front. Without Corporal O’Reilly the MASH unit would not be able to function. It was a running gag that a Corporal (and not a Colonel) was actually running the place.

In Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the church being like a body with many different parts. Each person in the church is a part of the body of Christ and just as each part of a body has a special function, so too each believer has a special gift. We need each other to be different or else the church will not function as it should.

One part of the body Paul mentions is those with the gifts of administration. We might not think of administration as that spectacular but, in any organisation, it is essential to have people who can organise things.

The alternative would be chaos.

A church without administrators would be like an orchestra without a conductor. It would be like a MASH unit without a Corporal O’Reilly, or an aircraft without a pilot.    

In fact, the Greek word translated as administration, in verse 28, literally means the work of a ship’s pilot. The ship’s pilot is the one who steers the ship through rocks and shoals to safe harbour. [1] Modern Greek uses the same word for an aircraft pilot. [2] 

The work of an administrator then is the work of steering the church in the right direction, keeping it on course, avoiding dangers, recognising the changing weather and adjusting accordingly.

Bible commentator, David Prior, observes (and I paraphrase here)…

The pilot / administrator knows the capabilities of their craft and crew.

They know who to call on at which moment. They do not panic nor relax their vigilance. They are focused on the goal of reaching journey’s end safe and sound.  

The gift of administration carries the idea of giving guidance. The guidance may be for an individual or for the church as a whole.

Joseph, the son of Jacob (in Genesis) was a gifted administrator. Joseph rose to the position of chief steward in Potiphar’s house. After being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph was sent to prison where he was put in charge of the other prisoners due to his administrative skills.

Then, after being released from prison, Joseph gave guidance to Pharoah (king of Egypt) and Pharoah put Joseph in charge of the administration of Egypt’s entire economy. Joseph, a man with a God given gift for administration, piloted Egypt through a severe famine, saving millions of lives from starvation.      

It is interesting that Jesus chose at least one tax collector (Matthew – aka Levi) among his disciples. Tax collectors are administrators. They are good at keeping records. Matthew’s gift with admin bore fruit in his recording of Jesus’ teaching, giving us the gospel of Matthew.

The infamous gangster Al Capone was, in the end, caught and put away by an accountant, someone good at administration. Through a meticulous investigation, forensic accountant Frank Wilson uncovered evidence of tax evasion and, in October 1931, Al Capone was convicted of tax fraud (through Frank Wilson’s guidance).

There is a lot of administration in running a church these days, way more than when I started. Much of the administration is driven by keeping up with statutory compliance. There are quite a few people in this church who provide guidance by assisting with administration behind the scenes.

We have the deacons board of course, but also the finance team and the health & safety committee, as well as Brodie, in the church office. Pastoral staff have a significant administrative element to their work too. Administrators provide information that is helpful in guiding our decisions.

Let me say thank you to the administrators among us. We need your skill and attention to help steer the church and keep us off the rocks. It is not glamourous work, but it is necessary for the right functioning of the body.

Let me also say, administration is no less ‘spiritual’ than some of the more dramatic (or supernatural) gifts. The same Spirit who empowers the prophet also empowers the administrator.

We come across an example of good administration in the early church in Acts chapter 6. From verse 1 we read…

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jewsamong them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Three things we note here. Firstly, the apostles did not try to do everything themselves. They recognised their gift was not administering food to widows, so they delegated this responsibility to others who did have the gift.

Secondly, the apostles empowered the congregation to choose their own administrators. And the congregation chose mostly Hellenistic Jews. That is, Greek speaking Jews. Jews who were born and raised outside of the land of Israel. Because these administrators were Hellenistic Jews, they had a better understanding of the needs of the Hellenistic widows who were missing out.

Thirdly, the apostles commissioned the seven administrators by laying hands on them and praying for them. In doing this the apostles were demonstrating that administration is spiritual. It is a function carried out with the help of the Holy Spirit.

As a consequence of this wise administrative move, the apostles were released to preach the gospel and the church continued to grow.   

Leadership:

Closely related to the gift of administration (or giving guidance) is the gift of leadership. In Romans 12, verse 8, Paul writes…

8 If [your gift] is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  

The Greek word translated as lead (in verse 8) is proistēmi. It literally means ‘to stand before’ and thus to influence others. That is, to cause them to follow a recommended course of action. [3] To lead, in other words.

Leadership is more than administration. A leader doesn’t just provide guidance. A leader embodies the guidance. They stand before others. They go first, modelling by their actions the way people are to follow.

Seth Godin puts it this way…

‘The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.’

There is quite a bit in this pithy statement. Firstly, a leader does what they believe in. This implies authenticity. The leader is not faking it. Nor are they just talking about an idea. They are deeply committed to what they believe in.

They live their beliefs.

Painting a picture of the future is about giving people hope. Someone once said, ‘leaders are dealers in hope’. If you are asking people to change, then they need to believe the change will be worth it. They need to be convinced the future will be better for having made the change.    

Going there, is about being the change you want to see in the world. Leadership involves influencing people by what you do. Deeds speak louder than words. Leadership means showing as well as telling.

To be convincing then, a leader needs to be authentic, they need to offer hope and they need to lead by example. Ultimately though, what makes a person a leader, is people who will follow. Without followers one cannot really call themselves a leader.      

Being the first one to do something, taking the lead, requires a certain courage.    The courage to turn your back on the crowd, to risk rejection and humiliation, to do things differently, to cut a new path for others to follow.

One of the greatest leaders of all time was king David, king of Israel. Before he took the throne, while he was still a callow youth, David showed Israel the leadership they needed at that time.

David acted on his belief that the God of Israel was stronger than the enemy. David painted a picture of the future by defeating Goliath with a stone and a slingshot. David was a dealer in hope. He had the courage of his convictions.

He led by example, and people followed him.

But one even greater than David has come. His name is Jesus. Jesus cut a new path; he redefined leadership in terms of service to others. Jesus did not come to conquer Israel’s political enemies. Rather, Jesus conquered humanity’s spiritual enemies by going to the cross. Jesus overcame sin and death.  

Jesus is our leader. He suffered rejection and humiliation, betrayal and loneliness. But God vindicated Jesus by raising him to eternal life on the third day. Jesus’ resurrection paints a picture of what the future looks like for those who follow him in faith.

Now the examples of David slaying Goliath and Jesus conquering sin and death may feel a bit out of reach for us. They might also give the false impression that leadership is an occasional, isolated act of heroism.

Leadership does require courage and going where others have not been before, but the day-to-day reality of church leadership is less dramatic than that.  

Returning to Romans 12. Paul says that those who lead should do so diligently.

The definition of diligence is ‘careful and persistent work or effort’.

David learned how to use a sling through diligent practice as a shepherd defending his sheep. Likewise, Jesus went to the cross after 33 years of careful and persistent obedience to God the Father.

Leadership requires the energy to give our best every day and in every situation for the wellbeing of the community. If you are in the habit of serving diligently by giving your best in the routine small things, then when a trial by fire comes you will be better equipped to deal with it.

One of my favourite jobs when I was younger was splitting firewood. It is incredibly satisfying to bring an axe down on a willow ring and feel the wood come apart. Not so satisfying when you get a knotty piece though.

The trick with splitting wood is not holding the axe handle too tight or too loose. If you hold the axe too loose, it will fly out of your hands. But if you hold it too tight, you will get blisters faster and you will feel the shock through your arms more sharply. You have to hold the axe handle with just the right amount of tension.  

Diligence is about holding the handle of leadership just right, not too loose, not too tight. If you are a bit slack in your approach to leadership, you risk losing a handle on what you are doing. Likewise, if you are too up-tight (too white knuckle obsessive in your approach) then you risk burning out and making everybody else’s life a misery.

The Pharisees were hyper diligent in their observance of the law of Moses and it got in the way of people loving God and loving their neighbour. We need to keep the main thing the main thing. Diligence is a fine balance.

One of the things that sets Christian leaders apart is that we are followers first.

The ancient Greek philosopher, Solon, is credited with saying…

‘He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.’

Before we can lead anyone in the Christian faith, we must first learn to obey Jesus. Our authority to lead others comes from our obedience to Christ. Christian leaders are disciples of Jesus first. Indeed, if we take on the mantle of leadership, we don’t stop being disciples. We continue to take our lead from Jesus himself.    

When we look at the leaders of the early church, they were actually following the Spirit of Jesus, not their own inclinations.

In Acts chapter 10, the apostle Peter received a vision from heaven with a sheet containing all sorts of unclean animals. Then he hears a voice telling him to eat the animals.

At first Peter was shocked and appalled, saying ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean’. And the voice spoke again saying, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean’.

Long story short, the Lord wanted Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles and to the Roman Centurion, Cornelius, in particular. More than that, the Lord wanted Peter to lead the way in showing the mainly Jewish Christian church that it was time to welcome Gentiles (non-Jews) into the fold.

This might not seem like a big deal to us, but it was huge for Peter and others at the time. Peter was being asked to turn his back on the crowd and on Jewish tradition. But Peter found the courage to obey Jesus, to follow the Lord’s lead, and now the Christian church is made of people of all nations.   

The other thing we note about Christian leadership is that it is usually plural.

In the New Testament, Christian leaders don’t normally stand alone. They stand together and make decisions together.    

The famous baseball player Babe Ruth once said: ‘The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.’   

In Acts 15 we read how some Jewish Christians were insisting that Gentiles who wanted to become Christians must be circumcised and required to obey the Law of Moses. Then in verse 6 we read how the apostles and elders met to consider the question.

Peter did not try to handle this on his own. He got the other church leaders together to discuss the issue and together they found a way forward.

Conclusion:

This morning we have been talking about the spiritual gifts of administration and leadership. These gifts are no less spiritual for being down to earth and practical. Maybe you have one of these gifts. Maybe God has gifted you in some other way.

Charles Schultz (of Charlie Brown fame) once wrote: ‘Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.’

God doesn’t just give us one gift. He is generous. He normally gives a number of gifts. What gifts has God given you? How are you using these gifts?

Let us pray…

Gracious God, thank you for the gifts you have given your people. Help us to understand how you have equipped us and where you want us to serve. Glorify yourself through our strengths and our weaknesses we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What does Paul mean by the gift of administration, in 1 Corinthians 12:28? What does a good administrator do for an organisation? Is this your gift?
  3. Discuss / reflect on Seth Godin’s comment: ‘The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.’ By this definition, who has had a significant leadership role in your life?
  4. What qualities or characteristics does a leader need to possess to be convincing?
  5. What does it look like to lead with diligence? Why is diligence important in leadership?
  6. What are some of the distinctives of Christian leadership?
  7. What gifts has God given you? How are you using these gifts? 

[1] Refer William Barclay’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 129.

[2] Refer David Prior’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 221.

[3] Refer Marva Dawn’s book, ‘Truly the Community’, page 131.

Tawa Baptist

Teaching & Encouraging

 Scripture: Romans 12:7

Video Link: https://youtu.be/WFz64Wj_FKk



Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Teaching
  • Encouraging
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

We have had no shortage of rain lately but (according to the Wellington City Council) we could be in for a dry summer. Careful watering will be needed.

They reckon the best time to water your plants is in the morning. The soil is coolest then and the water has the best chance of seeping down to the roots.

They also say it is best to water your plants at the level of the soil, rather than pouring water all over the leaves. It’s the roots that take the water in not the leaves. Baptising the tree tends to waste the water.

When watering your plants take it slow, be gentle. You don’t want to knock the plant around or blast the soil away and expose the roots.

Of course, you don’t just water once and walk away. Watering is something we do on repeat. New plants generally need more frequent watering early on.

Watering then needs to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated.

Today we continue our series on spiritual gifts, this week focusing on the gifts of teaching and encouraging, in Romans 12. If we think of our faith as a plant, then teaching and encouraging are like watering the tree of our faith.

As a general rule, teaching and encouraging need to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated. To remind you of the context, let me read a few verses from Romans 12, starting at verse 6…

 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with yourfaith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

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

Teaching:

I invite you to take a moment now to think back to when you were at school. Some of you may need more time than others. Who was your best teacher? Who was the teacher who really got you and helped you more than any other?

I was fortunate to have many good teachers when I was at school. One in particular was Mrs Smith. She was my teacher in standard 1, the equivalent of year 3. I could not read or write. Had no clue with words or with numbers either for that matter. But I enjoyed eating my lunch.

Mrs Smith could see that and knew what I needed. For a whole year she gave me individual coaching and special homework. The extra work required some effort from me and I probably complained to my parents quite a bit at the time, but Mrs Smith taught me how to read and write.

Her teaching was timely. Had Mrs Smith not intervened when she did, I would have fallen further and further behind and my life may have taken a very different path.

Mrs Smith’s teaching was focused on what I needed. She taught me basic sight words and this gave me confidence to learn more. There was a lot of repetition. Pretty much every morning before school, day in, day out Mrs Smith introduced new words and reinforced what we had learned. Mrs Smith was firm but gentle in her approach.

There was no stick but there was a carrot. At the end of year prizegiving I was awarded the most improved student. This was an acknowledgement of my work and a reflection of Mrs Smith’s skill as a teacher.

We are talking about the gift of teaching. What then does the apostle Paul mean by teaching? Is it the same as a modern schoolteacher or is it different?

Well, the Greek word used in the Bible for teaching covers a wide spectrum of roles and functions. It could mean someone who teaches children to read and write but, in the context of Romans 12, it probably refers more specifically to those who teach others about Jesus and the Bible.

At its heart, teaching in a church context, is about communicating truth, the truth of what we believe about God and Jesus. If prophecy is the revelation of new truth from God, then teaching is conveying old truth from God.     

Teachers were vitally important in the early church. The Christians of the first century had the Hebrew Bible, what we know as the Old Testament, but they did not have the New Testament compiled in a book like we do.

People couldn’t just go to their bookshelf, pull out the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John and read for themselves about Jesus. Early Christians were reliant on teachers to recount the historical events of Jesus’ death and resurrection and explain the meaning of this for them.

Teachers in the early church had a huge responsibility. Without people to accurately pass on Jesus’ teachings, the core message of God’s grace in Christ would be diluted or lost altogether.

These days we do have a New Testament and stacks of books we can pick up and read anytime. However, it has been 2000 years since the events described in the New Testament and, without good Bible teachers to explain the meaning, much of the Bible is lost in translation, misunderstood and misapplied.   

Someone who is good at maths once calculated that for every one degree you are off course, you will end up being 1 mile off course after traveling 60 miles.

For example, if you are flying from Wellington to Auckland and the plane is 1 degree off course you might end up in Indonesia or run out of fuel and crash into the Pacific Ocean. 

Teachers are like navigators. Just as a ship or a plane needs the navigator to keep the craft on course, so too the church needs teachers to keep it on course.  

The church’s teachers these days are not limited to people who offer sound Biblical preaching but extend to anyone who faithfully passes on the truths of the Christian faith. This might include, for example, Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, youth group leaders and parents.

Parents play an important role in watering the faith of their children. Parents might do this by reading Bible stories to their kids and praying with them so their children can see and hear how prayer is done. Children probably learn most from the model their parents give them.        

In some ways teaching is like an iceberg. The presentation people see or hear from the teacher is just the tip of the iceberg. The bigger part of the work of teaching is the preparation. The preparation lies beneath the surface and is not usually seen.  

Preparation is one of the key differences between prophecy and teaching.

A prophet may stand up in church on a Sunday and spontaneously speak the words given them by the Spirit.

A teacher, on the other hand, does not normally give an extemporaneous talk. Rather, they do their homework ahead of time. They carefully prepare their sermon through prayer, reading, research, reflection, and writing. The teacher is aiming to water the roots gently.

If you have a formal teaching role, whether in the pulpit or Kids’ Church or as a Bible study leader or a parent, then you cannot expect to pass on the truth of the gospel unless you have done the hard yards in learning the truth yourself.

Studying the Scriptures is not merely an intellectual exercise. Yes, it does involve using your brain, but the Bible asks more of you than that. The Scriptures contain the word of God. The Scriptures interpret us. They make claims on us, test us, discipline us, and ultimately put us to work.     

Every believer has a responsibility to learn what they can about the Christian faith. We need to love God with our mind as well as our heart and soul.

We never know when a teaching moment might present itself. Maybe when you are sitting beside someone on the train or tucking the kids in at night or lying in a hospital bed. If someone asked, why are you a Christian, what would you say?   

Some people have a special gift in teaching others. They understand their subject matter, they can see things from the perspective of the learner, and they know how to bridge the gap in understanding.

More than this, a good teacher possesses the patience to gently water the roots in a timely way, over and over again until the truth is firmly established.  

Jesus prioritised teaching in his ministry. After healing people, the Lord often instructed the person he had healed to tell no one. For Jesus, the miracles were not the main thing. In fact, the miracles risked becoming a side show which distracted people from the main thing. The main thing being Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God.    

In Matthew 11 Jesus says: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

A yoke is a piece of equipment worn over the shoulders to make it easier to carry a load. Yokes could be worn by animals for pulling a plough or they could be worn by people for carrying water say.

In this little parable the yoke represents teaching. The Jews of Jesus’ day were weary and burdened by the yoke of the Pharisees’ teaching. The Pharisees insisted upon a whole lot of extra rules.  

By contrast, Jesus’ yoke is easy and his burden is light. The word translated as easy means fitting, as in not rubbing or chaffing. Part of Jesus’ work as a carpenter may have involved making and shaping wooden yokes so they fitted easily over the animal’s shoulders, without causing injury to the animal.

To take Jesus’ yoke upon ourselves is to listen and learn from his teaching. Jesus’ teaching shows us how to love God and our neighbour in a way that fits who God made us to be.    

Encouragement:

Closely related to the gift of teaching is the gift of encouragement. Now, when we hear the word ‘encouragement’, we tend to think of someone who says kind and affirming words to make another person feel better about themselves or their situation. Things like…

“That was really good. You are doing so well. Keep it up. You will get there.” 

And while this is partly what Paul means by encouragement, the Biblical understanding of encouragement is broader than that.

The Greek word translated in verse 8 as encouragement is ‘parakaleo’. Para means beside or near and kaleo means to call. So parakaleo is literally ‘to call beside’. To be an encourager in this Biblical sense then is to come alongside another person and speak good words to them, words that build up and strengthen them.     

Parakaleo has a range of meanings and is variously translated into English with words like encourage, exhort, urge, comfort and entreat. No one word in English does parakaleo justice, but in the context of Romans 12, Paul probably means those with the gift of encouraging Christians to live out the truth of the gospel.

Those with the gift of teaching give people an understanding of the truth of the gospel and those with the gift of encouraging come alongside to give people the courage to obey Jesus’ teaching in the gospel.

For example, the teacher might explain the way of Christ is to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. That is wonderful teaching but very difficult to put into action, especially by yourself. The encourager is the one who comes alongside you and by their presence and gentle words actually helps you to love your enemies.  

John Stott comments that encouragement can be exercised from the pulpit when the preacher gives an inspiring talk, but more often it is used behind the scenes as the gift of counselling or in offering friendship to the lonely or giving fresh courage to those who have lost heart. [1]         

Jesus sent his disciples out two by two so they would not be alone, so they could encourage one another. 

Part of the role of a spiritual director is to help people hear what God is saying and encourage them to do what God is asking. (Incidentally, Kim is embarking on spiritual director training. She is looking for someone to encourage. So, if you want some help in your spiritual journey, talk to Kim.)

Like watering, encouragement needs to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated. Those with the gift of encouragement don’t carelessly pour a deluge of words over you. No. They listen first. They don’t assume. They seek to understand and they show empathy. Then they focus the water of their words on the roots. They gently speak to your heart the refreshment you need to hear. They believe in you, giving you confidence and hope.

In Luke 5, we read how Jesus encouraged Peter. When Jesus was calling his first disciples, Peter fell at Jesus’ knees and said: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” And Jesus replied, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Jesus gave Peter the courage and the comfort to become his disciple.

If teaching is about communicating truth, then encouraging is about giving hope. The teacher says, this is the way of God, and the encourager says but you don’t have walk it alone. I am here to walk it with you.

One of the most winsome souls we come across in the Bible is a man named Barnabas. Actually, his real name was Joseph, but he was given the nickname of Barnabas which means ‘son of encouragement’. In the book of Acts chapter 11 we learn how the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to the believers in Antioch. From verse 23 we read…

23 When he [Barnabas] arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Iron in your blood is essential for carrying oxygen and producing energy. Without sufficient iron your physical strength and immunity is weakened.

The right encouragement at the right time is like an iron infusion, it boosts your energy and strengthens your immunity. Barnabas’ encouragement was like an iron infusion for the church in Antioch.

Barnabas came alongside the believers and watered their roots by speaking good words to them, words that brought refreshment and strength. Barnabas’ presence reassured the believers in Antioch they were not alone and gave them courage to share their faith.

But wait, there’s more. From verse 25 of Acts 11 we continue…  

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.

The apostle Paul was first known as Saul of Tarsus. Before his conversion, Saul persecuted Christians. After his conversion, Saul repented and changed his ways. He became one of the church’s greatest missionaries.

I imagine though it was not easy for Saul in those early days after his conversion. Many Christians had suffered because of Saul and people still viewed him with suspicion. I expect it was quite isolating for Saul at times.

Verse 25 tells us Barnabas went out of his way to look for Saul. Barnabas sensed somehow that Saul needed some comfort and companionship. Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch and encouraged him to teach.  

One wonders what might have happened to Saul / Paul had Barnabas not found him and encouraged him in his calling for the Lord. Barnabas put Saul on a good path in God’s purpose.

Conclusion:

Teaching and encouraging (like watering plants) needs to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated.

Two questions to ponder…

How are you watering your faith?        And..

What opportunities has God given you to water other people’s faith?

(Who can you be a Barnabas to?)

May the Spirit of Jesus continue to fill each one of us and all of us together. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Who was your best teacher and why?
  3. What does Paul mean by the gift of teaching? Why is good teaching important in the church? In what ways can someone be a teacher?
  4. If someone asked why you are a Christian, what would you say?     
  5. How is the gift of encouragement different from the gift of teaching? How do these two gifts complement each other?
  6. Why do teaching and encouragement need to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated? 
  7. How are you watering your faith? What opportunities has God given you to water other people’s faith? (Who can you be a Barnabas to?)

[1] Refer John Stott’s commentary on Romans, page 328.

Tawa Baptist

Practical Helps

Scripture: Romans 12:3-8

Video Link: https://youtu.be/u8-QxbcMRtI

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Service
  • Giving
  • Mercy
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

It’s almost summer. Our trees and hedges are growing faster now. They will need a trim soon.

For many years I trimmed my hedges by hand, with a pair of manual shears.

It’s a bit of a workout and some of the branches are bit tougher to cut through. About a year ago I was given a petrol hedge trimmer. It is more powerful than my manual shears, and way quicker, like a hot knife through butter.

Both tools get the job done. One just requires a bit more time and effort that’s all. As much as I like my power tools, they are not suitable for every job. I still use my manual tools for certain tasks. Both are needed.  

Today we continue our series on spiritual gifts. Most of the gifts we have looked at so far (in Corinthians 12) have been like my petrol hedge trimmer, they are like power tools, enabling you to accomplish more than you could by hand. Things like prophecy and discernment, healing and miraculous powers, as well as tongues and their interpretation. However, Corinthians 12 is not the only list of spiritual gifts in the New Testament.

In Romans 12 Paul has another list of spiritual gifts, most of which are more like manual tools (like my hand shears), more basic, requiring time and effort from us. Let’s read then from Romans 12, verses 3-8…

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with yourfaith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

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

Some of you here may enjoy watching superhero movies. Films like Guardians of the Galaxy, Justice League, the Avengers and so on. One of the themes running through many of these movies is that no one person can do everything on their own. We are better together.

The individual superhero (whoever he or she is) inevitably comes to the realisation that, despite their special abilities, they cannot fight evil by themselves. They need to work together with others who have different abilities in order to save the world.

And this is Paul’s point in Romans 12. Each member of the church (the body of Christ) has a different gift. Some have a power gift and others have a manual gift. But all the gifts are needed for the body as a whole to function. No one individual can do everything on their own.

We (as the church) don’t need to save the world. Jesus has already done that. Rather we need to think of ourselves with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has given us. In other words, we should not try to do it all ourselves. We need to understand our gift and exercise it in a Christ like way.     

In Romans 12 Paul lists seven gifts: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading and mercy. With the exception of prophesying, which is a power gift, the other six gifts are more like manual tools. They are what we might consider regular or everyday abilities. But that does not diminish their value. They are still spiritual gifts given by God.

Today we focus on the gifts of serving, giving and mercy. These three go together. They could be thought of as practical helping gifts. What then do we mean by serving?

Serving:

The gift of ‘serving’, mentioned in verse 7, originally meant ‘waiting at table’. Like someone who cooks your meal and brings it to you. The kind of service in view here is usually of a personal nature. It could mean mowing the lawns, making tea & coffee or looking after someone’s children. Any practical thing that helps other people.

Jesus described his own intention in terms of service and urged his followers to emulate him. For example, in Mark 10 we read: whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

As a demonstration of serving, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet at the last supper, the night before his crucifixion and death. Although serving others may seem quite menial and mundane, we never know how God might use our acts of service.

In John 2, Jesus instructed the servants at a wedding to fill six stone jars with water, each holding 20 to 30 gallons.

This was heavy time-consuming work. The servants had to get the water from the well. They couldn’t just turn on a tap. Backwards and forwards carrying water. Mundane manual labour. And yet these servants participated in Jesus’ first power miracle of turning water into wine.   

Now there is more than one way to understand the gift of serving. We might think of the gift of serving as an enhanced ability possessed by certain individuals. Some people are better wired for doing manual tasks. They think in a practical way. Working with their hands to solve practical problems just comes naturally to them. They enjoy it.   

We might also think of the gift of serving as an opportunity provided by God for a specific situation. Have you ever found yourself in the right place at the right time, with the right resources to help someone in need? Maybe a little thing like carrying their groceries or giving them a ride when they had been walking in the rain or fixing their car.

You might not always give them a ride or carry their groceries or fix their car, but on some specific occasion God gifted you with the opportunity to help someone and in helping them trust was strengthened and God’s love was shown.

As many of you know, Robyn and I recently took time off work to support our parents. For months I could see the day was coming when they would need our help and so I had been praying that God would allow us to honour our parents in their time of need.

God answered my prayer. Our time in Tauranga supporting parents was a gift of service to them. In between managing various crisis’s, we were cooking, cleaning, mowing, shopping and doing whatever practical tasks needed doing. It was a privilege. We got to be there for our parents and help them.

At the same time some of you helped us in practical ways also. Ewan led a couple of services for me. Brodie picked up some of the tasks I would normally do in the office. Angela mowed our lawns and Maddy weeded our vege garden. Others of you helped in different ways too. We received your practical help as a gift of service.

As followers of Christ, we are people of the way. It is not just the act of service that is important but also the way we serve. We are to serve in the way Jesus serves, with grace and humility.

Exercising the gift of serving requires more than simply having the time and skills to help others. It also takes a special understanding. The ability to sense what is helpful without needing to be told. Knowing when to serve and when to step back. Serving in a way that touches a person’s heart with God’s love.

In his paraphrase of Romans 12, verse 7, Eugene Peterson (author of the Message) says: ‘If you help, just help, don’t take over’.

The point is, whenever we exercise our gifts, we need to be careful not to overstep the mark. All the gifts have a potential shadow side. One danger with serving is that we might do too much for the other person. We might create a dependency or rob them of the joy and dignity of doing it themselves.

While it was a privilege to serve our parents, I would not still want to be there now. That would not be good for them or us. There is a time to serve and a time to let people do for themselves.      

Giving:

Giving is closely related to serving. Giving means contributing to the needs of others. Making donations of money or food or clothes or whatever is needed.

Giving may be of a personal nature, from one individual to another, or it could be giving to support an organisation or a worthy cause. Jesus gave his life for us.

Giving (like serving) is a responsibility everyone has. Some people feel freer in themselves to give than others though. Marva Dawn puts it this way…

“One who is gifted with liberality gives generously not because they have much to give, but because they have a freer understanding of possessions and their importance.” [1]

If we truly believe all that we have is a gift from God and is his in any case.

And if we believe this life is not all there is, then we come to value material possessions in right proportion. It’s not that money does not matter. Money and possessions serve a helpful purpose in this life. But you cannot take it with you when you die.   

In Matthew 6 Jesus says: 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Giving out of love for others has eternal value.

We are people of the way and as people of the way we are to exercise the gifts we have been given in a way that reveals something of the character of God. Generosity is a characteristic of God and so we are to give generously.

Again, in Matthew 6, Jesus says this…

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Generosity is not only about the amount we give, but also about our intent.

To give generously is to give with simple kindness. Giving for the sheer pleasure of giving. Giving with pure motives, not for leverage or optics.

When the kids were young, we used to grow Dwarf beans over summer.

The remarkable thing about Dwarf beans is the more you pick them the more they grow. If we went away on holiday to the beach and stopped picking our beans for a couple of weeks, they would stop producing. 

If we wanted beans when we came back from holiday, then it paid to ask someone to keep harvesting them in our absence, then the plants would still be giving a crop for weeks after our return.

God is generous. He gives us more than we need. When we share our excess with others, he has a way of making our crop fruit for longer.

Every gift has its shadow side. Giving should never become a substitute for justice. Giving large sums away to strangers, at the expense of your family, is not being generous. It is neglect. Being generous includes taking care of those closest to you.

If you are an employer, then pay your workers and your creditors fairly and on time. Justice is better than charity.    

Mercy:

The last gift in Paul’s list in Romans 12 is mercy. Last but not least. Showing mercy is about helping people in distress. Lifting people out of a hole. Doing something for someone they cannot do for themselves. The good Samaritan (in Jesus’ parable) showed mercy to the wounded man on the side of the road.

Jesus showed mercy on the cross when he said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”. Forgiveness is an act of mercy. Saving someone from shame or embarrassment is an act of mercy. Donating blood (or a kidney) is an act of mercy.  Doctors and nurses and home care workers are all agents of mercy.

Mercy includes acts of service and giving generously to those in need. There is considerable overlap with these three.

One of the reasons we went to Tauranga was to support Robyn’s dad who was having hip surgery. I took Malcolm to the hospital around 11am on a Friday. He was scheduled for his hip replacement at 1pm.

Malcolm went through all the pre-op checks with the nurse, then got changed into his (elegant) hospital gown and we waited… and waited… and waited… (like the Mainland cheese ad.) They say waiting is the hardest part, but that’s not true. Waiting is the second hardest part.

1pm came and went. 2pm came and went. Eventually, they took us through to the pre-op lounge, which is a room with lots of lazy boy chairs in it. The last room you wait in before being taken to the operating theatre.

Just before 3pm a different surgeon (not my father-in-law’s surgeon) came and told us a more urgent case had come in which meant Malcolm’s surgery had to be postponed. It was not the surgeon’s fault. The health system is under a great deal of pressure. You know the story.

My father-in-law was in a lot of pain. Bone grinding on bone. He had been on the waiting list for over a year. To get this close and be told you have to wait even longer, that was the hardest part.

This was out of our hands. We had no power, no agency in this situation.

We were at the mercy of strangers. They took us back to the waiting room we had been in before, the one without the lazy boy chairs. We sat in silence collecting our thoughts, nursing our disappointment, silently praying.  

Fifteen minutes later the surgeon who had given us the bad news came back and told us he had managed to pull together a team and, although Malcolm was not his patient, he would do the operation instead. This was the best part.

The surgeon and his team showed us mercy. They went the extra mile for us.  Who knows how many hours they had worked that week. We thanked the surgeon and Robyn’s dad had his hip replacement done, the last one that day.

I have no idea whether the doctor who operated on Robyn’s dad was a professing Christian or not, but he did show us mercy in a Christlike way.

He was willing to do the surgery. He cared about people and wanted good outcomes for his patients. He was not irritable or grumpy about it. He showed us kindness and compassion.  

Jesus said, blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

Mercy is about the right use of power. To be able to show mercy you have to be in a position of power, relative to the person in need.

We are not all surgeons. We may not find ourselves in a position to help and heal like doctors and nurses can. As we get older, we may feel more and more like we are at the mercy of others.

Nevertheless, there will inevitably be times in our life when we are entrusted with power and have the opportunity to show mercy. In the same way the gift of service can be circumstantial, so too the gift of mercy can be circumstantial; an opportunity provided by God for a specific situation.

When it is in our power to help someone in distress, we are to recognise that opportunity as a gift from God and exercise mercy cheerfully. We need to keep our eyes open for the opportunities God provides to help others and be quick to respond.

Conclusion:

This morning we have heard about the gifts of practical helps, including serving, giving and mercy. These may be manual gifts, requiring some time, effort and sacrifice from us, but they are no less important and no less spiritual than the more spectacular power gifts.

What opportunities has God given you to serve, to give and to show mercy?

Let us pray…

God of love, we thank you for the different ways you have gifted each of us. Grant us eyes to see our neighbour in need, skilful hands to serve, generous hearts to give and a cheerful spirit to show mercy. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How are the spiritual gifts in Romans 12 different from the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12? How are they similar?
  3. Discuss / reflect on the two ways of understanding the gift of serving mentioned in the sermon.
  4. Have you ever found yourself in the right place at the right time, with the right resources to help someone in need? What happened? How did you feel?   
  5. What does generous giving look like? How might you know if someone has the gift of giving?
  6. Can you think of some examples of showing mercy? Perhaps from the Bible or from your own experience.
  7. What gift has God given you? What opportunities to help others and glorify him?

[1] Marva Dawn, ‘Truly the Community’, page 126.