Tawa Baptist

Persuasion

Scripture: Acts 17:1-10

Video Link: https://youtu.be/Y-PupQ_mVz8

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Persuasion
  • Protest
  • Persistence
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

One of the things that distinguishes human beings from animals is language. Unlike animals, people are able to communicate using words.

In some ways though, words have become cheap for many people in the western world today. We are bombarded with words in advertising, at work, on TV and the internet. With all the noise and confusion around words and their meaning, we may find ourselves longing for the oxygen of silence.

Words may have become cheap for us but, in the thought world of the Bible, words carry real power.

Today we begin a new sermon series in Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. Paul wrote two letters to the Thessalonians but, before we start into the letters themselves, we are going to take a closer look at Acts 17, which describes how the Thessalonian church got started.  

In Acts 17 we hear about the power of words for good and for harm. From verse 1 we read…  

When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. 5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. 10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

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

Acts 17, written by Luke, describes Paul & Silas’ experience in the city of Thessalonica. Three things we note. Paul’s mission work is characterised by persuasion, protest and persistence. Let’s start with Paul’s words of persuasion.

Persuasion:

Do you know those toys, for small children, where the child has to fit different shaped blocks through the corresponding shaped hole? There’s no way an oblong block is going to fit through a square hole. You can’t force the blocks.

First, you find the right shape to match the right hole and then you adjust the position of the block so that it lines up correctly. Once you’ve done that the block fits easily.

Persuasion is bit like that. The box that receives the shapes is sort of like the human heart or mind and the shapes that fit into the box are like pieces of the gospel message; ideas and beliefs.

You can’t force someone to accept or believe something that doesn’t fit for them. You have to understand the shape of the person’s heart & mind and then position the idea or belief in a way that person can accept.

Paul understood this. Paul did not coerce or manipulate people into accepting the gospel about Jesus. As verse 4 of Acts 17 tells us, Paul persuaded people.

Paul thought about the shape of his listeners’ hearts & minds and presented the gospel message in a way they could receive, without compromising or changing the gospel and without damaging his listeners’ hearts.

Thessalonica was the capital city of the province of Macedonia. Verse 2 of Acts 17 tells us that Paul went to the synagogue as was his custom. The synagogue was like the local place of worship for people of Jewish faith living in that area.

On the Sabbath (a Saturday) people came together in the synagogue for prayers and singing psalms and hearing the Hebrew Bible (what we know as the Old Testament) read aloud and expounded.

It was Paul’s custom to go the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath because he had done that all his life. While the Jewish faith is not exactly the same as the Christian faith, the two hold quite a bit in common. The Christian faith grew out of the Jewish faith. The very first Christians were Jews.

From a mission strategy point of view, it made good sense for Paul to preach the gospel of Jesus in the synagogue because the people were starting with a shared understanding of God. This shared understanding included, for example, the belief that there is only one God, the creator of all there is. And he is just and merciful.  

Although Luke tells us Paul talked about Jesus in the synagogue over the course of three Sabbaths, this does not exclude the probability that Paul also talked about Jesus in people’s homes and the market place during the other days of the week. Luke’s account is not a comprehensive report of Paul’s activities. It’s more of a highlights reel.

What we notice in these verses is the way Paul went about persuading people to believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Paul understood better than anyone how difficult it was for Jews to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, when Jesus had been crucified.

The idea of a crucified Messiah was a key piece of the gospel that didn’t fit easily with the Jewish mind-set. To suggest that God’s Messiah had to suffer and die on a cross was like trying to fit a square peg through a round hole.

The Hebrew Scriptures carried authority for the Jews and so Paul reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. 

Reason, explanation and evidence were key tools in Paul’s toolbox of persuasion. We can easily imagine Paul using passages like Isaiah 53, which predicted the suffering of the Messiah, as a way of proving that Jesus had to suffer and rise from the dead. Isaiah 53 reads…

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makeshis life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of lifeand be satisfied;

Verse 11 is talking about resurrection after death you see. Isaiah continues…

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.  

Isaiah 53 fits for Jesus, the suffering Messiah.  

While it is Paul’s persuasive preaching that Luke highlights in Acts 17, it wasn’t just Paul’s words alone that convinced people to believe in Jesus.

As Paul himself writes in First Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 5…

…our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.       

This tells us the Thessalonian believers were persuaded not just by Paul’s words but also by Paul & Silas’ example (their lifestyle and deeds).

More importantly though, the Thessalonians were persuaded by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus is a Spirit of truth and grace. The Holy Spirit works in our heart and mind to create the right shaped opening to receive the gospel message, with deep conviction. God’s Spirit enables us to recognise when something is true.

Paul was mindful of his listeners, in the way he presented the gospel message, but he also recognised that ultimately the effectiveness of his message depended more on God’s Spirit than anything else.

Returning to Acts 17. Verse 4, tells us of three groups of people who were persuaded and joined Paul & Silas. In other words, they became followers of Jesus. These groups included Jews, God fearing Greeks and many prominent women.

We might pass over that without thinking much of it, but it’s actually quite illuminating. These days Paul gets quite a bit of criticism for what he writes in relation to women. Paul’s thinking may be misunderstood by people today but the fact that many prominent women responded positively to Paul’s presentation of the gospel strongly suggests that the women of the first century quite liked what Paul had to say.

Protest:

Not everyone liked Paul’s words though. Some of the Jews were not persuaded. In fact, some were so jealous at Paul’s success in winning converts that they organised a protest against Paul & Silas. The jealous ones formed a mob and started a riot. What happened next mirrored (in some ways) Jesus’ experience.     

They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”

There are few things less trustworthy than a crowd. The organisers of the protest were basically accusing Paul & Silas of high treason. In today’s terms it would be similar to saying they were terrorists. The accusation was untrue and unfair.   

We are reminded here, of Jesus’ words in Matthew 10…

32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Jesus is not promoting war or violence. He is not talking in military or political terms. He is talking in spiritual terms. The point here is that there is no sitting on the fence with Jesus. You have to choose which side you are on, spiritually speaking. And there are real consequences to the choice you make. 

Jason made the choice to show hospitality to Paul & Silas. The eternal (unseen) consequence of this was that Jason was joined to Christ, destined to share in Jesus’ glory. The temporal (felt) consequence, for Jason, was finding himself at the sharp end of a protest and legal action.

8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

In other words, the magistrates put a legal obligation on Jason and the other Christian believers to get Paul & Silas to leave town. If Paul & Silas stayed, then Jason and the other believers would face some kind of penalty like losing their homes or going to prison.

Paul & Silas did not want Jason and the new believers to come to harm so they left quietly in the night, without making a fuss. 

Some years ago I worked in a cycle and mower shop. At times we came across nuts and bolts that were seized together with rust and age. If you tried to force the nut off, you ran the risk of breaking the bolt or slipping and skinning your knuckles.

As Aesop once said, it is better to use persuasion, rather than force. Most of the time you can persuade a rusty nut to come off with patience and a squirt of CRC, no damage done.

The jealous ones, who organised the protest against Paul, did not use reason or truth to persuade the authorities. They used lies and fear. They twisted the facts and manipulated the situation so that Paul & Silas were forced to leave. The problem with using force is that it usually has unintended consequences.

Those who were out to get Paul unintentionally promoted the spread of the gospel. By organising a protest against Paul & Silas, pretty much everyone in the city became aware of Jesus.

Now, it is thought that Thessalonica had a population of about 200,000 people in the first century. At least some of those 200,000 people would have become curious to learn more about Jesus.

Without intending to, the protest organisers actually gave weight and credibility to Paul’s message. They signalled to everyone that the gospel and the name of Jesus is a powerful thing that should be taken seriously.

The gospel is powerful but not in the way the authorities feared. God has a sense of humour. Less than 300 years later the emperor would become a Christian.

One other unintended consequence of the protest was the strengthening of the new believers’ faith.

After a potter has shaped the clay into the vessel they want (a bowl or a cup), they then put the soft clay into a kiln to be fired. The heat of the kiln sets the clay and makes the vessel strong.

By putting heat on Jason and the other believers and dragging them before the authorities, the protest organisers actually made the new believers’ faith stronger. Having suffered for their new found faith, Paul’s converts were more resolved to stick with Jesus.       

Reading between the lines of Acts 17 we see that God has a way of working adverse circumstances for good.

Persistence:

This pattern of persuasive preaching followed by strong protest was not unique to the city of Thessalonica. Time and again (in the book of Acts) Paul and his friends had to flee from one city to the next.

Which brings us to the third ‘P’ in today’s message: persistence. Paul was relentlessly persistent in persuading people to receive Jesus.

Persistence is about never giving up. We see Paul’s persistence in the wider context of Acts.

Before arriving in Thessalonica, Paul had been preaching the gospel in Philippi. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Paul managed to persuade a small group of people to believe in Jesus, including Lydia (the seller of purple cloth). But it wasn’t long before someone protested against Paul and he found himself being flogged and thrown in prison.

Once they had been released from prison in Philippi, Paul and Silas didn’t give up. They carried on, making the 100-mile journey (probably on foot) to Thessalonica, where they were forced to leave again for the next town, Berea. Fortunately, Paul’s reception in Berea was more positive.

Paul’s persistence paid off. As someone once observed, ‘Water cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.’

Of course, even persistence has its limits. The goal is not to be so stubborn that we never give in. The goal is to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, that we may go the distance in God’s will for us.

Conclusion:

So what do these three P’s (persuasion, protest and persistence) mean for us as Christian believers today?

Well, persuasion has a number of points of application…

Before we can persuade anyone else that Jesus died and rose from the dead, we must first be persuaded of Jesus’ resurrection ourselves. We must know what it is we believe about Jesus, with deep conviction, and hold to it.

Persuasion also requires us to be respectful of others who have different beliefs from us. What may seem simple and straight forward to you may be incredibly difficult for someone else to accept.

It does no good to force our beliefs on other people. Like Paul, we need to be ready to speak about our faith with gentleness and an understanding of how the other person thinks, trusting the Holy Spirit to create the right shaped opening in their heart and mind.    

We must not be surprised or discouraged by protests against what we believe. When you become a Christian, you choose a side, spiritually speaking. You are not likely to be driven out of town, like Paul was. But there is a good chance you will be misunderstood and misrepresented if you identify yourself as a Christian.

Don’t take it personally. It’s not really about you. The Christian message has often been unpopular and met with resistance. Take heart. God is more than able to use the efforts of those who protest against him for good.

Finally, we must persist in our witness for Jesus. Sometimes that will mean quietly going about our lives, letting our actions speak for us. Other times that will mean proclaiming aloud our deepest convictions about Jesus. Whatever happens, hold to Christ and be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.   

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus, help us to know you more deeply, to love you more dearly and to share you more freely, with the help of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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?

  • The Jews of Paul’s day struggled to accept the idea of a crucified Messiah. How were they persuaded to believe in Jesus?
  • Are there any aspects of the gospel message that you have found difficult to accept? How did you come to accept these aspects? (Who, or what, persuaded you?)
  • Verse 4 (of Acts 17) tells us a number of Jews, God fearing Greeks and prominent women were persuaded to accept Jesus after listening to Paul. What does this indicate to you?
  • What were the consequences for Jason in providing hospitality to Paul & Silas and accepting Jesus? What are the consequences for you personally in accepting Jesus?
  • How did God use the protest, against Paul & Silas, for good?
  • How do you think Paul & Silas might have felt meeting resistance in preaching the gospel and having to flee to the next city? Why do you think they persisted?
  • Take some time this week to prayerfully reflect on the points of application in the conclusion (above). Is there any point of application in particular you feel a deep conviction about? What is the Spirit saying to you? 
Tawa Baptist

Water

Scriptures: Acts 22:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 2:38, John 7:37-39, Mark 1:8

Video Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTRtKBEhDz8

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Cleansing
  • New life
  • Holy Spirit
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today is such a special day because two of our congregation are being baptized.

The word baptize literally means to submerge or to plunge under water. 

Baptism also refers to the Christian ritual of initiation. Baptism is not a badge that says “I’ve made it.” Rather, baptism is a beginning.

Baptism naturally involves water. Some traditions of Christian faith sprinkle or pour water over a person’s head and other traditions (like ours) immerse the person under water completely. The amount of water that is used is not the main thing. The main thing is the attitude of the person’s heart toward Jesus.

So why use water for baptizing people? Why not anoint a person with oil or wave incense around them or something else? What is the significance of water in baptism? Well, the water of baptism signifies three main things: cleansing, new life and the Holy Spirit.

Cleansing:

Water is patient. It has the ability to soften things. If you have a cooking pot or a casserole dish with stubborn baked on food and grime, then soaking that dish in water over night softens the hardened crust so that in the morning the mess washes off easily.

The water of baptism represents cleansing. When people pass through the waters of baptism we are reminded that, through faith in Jesus and repentance, we are cleansed from our sin.

In Acts 22, when the apostle Paul is giving his testimony of conversion, he recalls how Ananias told him to, ‘Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’  The name we call on in baptism is Jesus.

It’s not that the water people are baptized in has any sort of magical power. The power is in the name of Jesus and his blood shed on the cross. The water is a symbol of cleansing, cleansing from the inside out.

The human body is a sacred thing. God gave us our bodies to worship him. When we are baptized we are dedicating our bodies to God, for his purpose. Full immersion baptism is a symbol that our whole lives, all of our self, is dedicated to God.

Whatever you may have done with your body and whatever may have been done to your body by others, through faith in Jesus, it is washed away and you can have a clean conscience.    

The water of baptism signifies cleansing and therefore new life and a new start.

New life:

Water is one of the most ancient elements on earth and yet it is always renewing itself in a never ending cycle of transformation, which includes condensation (when clouds form), precipitation (when it rains) and evaporation (when water molecules rise up into the air again).

Over time this cycle of condensation, precipitation and evaporation has a purifying effect on water. Which means the water we drink from our taps is actually recycled and has probably been used by other people for drinking, washing and cooking down through the centuries. 

If you think about the history of the water in this baptistery, it could have been all round the world. Perhaps some of this water was present during the great flood of Noah’s time. Maybe some of it was parted when the people of Israel walked through the Red Sea.

It is even conceivable that a few molecules of this H2O flowed through the Jordan River when John baptized Jesus 2000 years ago (although there is no way of knowing of course).     

Water is essential to our survival. They say the human body is roughly around 60-70% water, give or take, and that we can only last about 3 or 4 days without water. Water then is life to us.

Baptism is a kind of acted out parable of the death and resurrection of Jesus. When we lay a person down in the waters of baptism we recall Jesus’ body laid in the tomb and when we raise that same person up out of the water again we remember Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.    

In Paul’s letter to the Romans 6:3-4, we read, ‘Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.’

In other words, when we are baptized we are saying good bye to our old way of life, in which we did whatever we wanted, and we are committing to a new way of life in following Jesus. 

Closely connected with this newness of life, baptism signals entry into the church universal. When someone is baptized they become part of the body of Christ and part of the family of God.

The water of baptism symbolizes cleansing, new life and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit:

It seems lately there are a lot more news reports of flooding and landslides and catastrophic weather events. We hardly need further reminders that water is powerful and can be quite dangerous, if you get on the wrong side of it.

Little wonder then that some of the main images used to describe the Holy Spirit (wind, fire and water) are all powerful forces.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God; only God’s Spirit is not a destructive or chaotic power. God’s Spirit is a creative power bringing order and making life functional.  

In preparing the way for Jesus, John the Baptist said (in Mark 1:8), I baptize you with water, but he [meaning Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

Then later, during his public ministry, Jesus said to the people: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39)

About seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter stood up and said to the crowd: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

The waters of baptism are a reminder of the gift of God’s Holy Spirit.

Being a Christian is not easy. It can be a rough and confusing road to walk at times. But we don’t do it by ourselves or in our own strength. We follow Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit flowing within. The Holy Spirit is there to guide us into truth and give us strength and courage to obey Jesus in faith.

Conclusion:

Cleansing, new life and the gift of the Spirit. This is what the waters of baptism symbolize. 

There may be times in our lives when we hit a dead end or we may feel like we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, with nowhere to turn. Sometimes the way ahead seems impossible.

Let me say to you, water finds a way.

Whatever challenges you may face in the weeks, months and years ahead, remember that you are not alone. You are part of a world wide body of believers, the Christian church. And God gives us His Spirit. The water of God’s Spirit always finds a way, even when we think there is none.

May you be blessed and may the presence of Jesus be close and real for you always.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Have you been baptized? Describe / reflect on your experience (if you can remember).

Why do we need a ritual of initiation like baptism?

  • If you have been baptized, what does your baptism mean to you? If not, is there anything stopping you? 
  • What are some of the qualities and characteristics of water? (E.g. water is patient, powerful, ancient, etc.) What significance might these qualities imply for baptism?
  • Discuss / reflect on some of the stories from the Bible involving water. What light might these stories shed on the significance of water in baptism?
  • In what ways is the Holy Spirit like water? 
  • Can you think of a situation (either from the Bible or from your own experience) when the way ahead seemed impossible but God (by His Spirit) found a way through? What happened?
Tawa Baptist

Vine

Scripture: John 15:1-10

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The vine
  • The gardener
  • The branches
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

One of the first things a new born foal does is stand. A baby horse normally attempts to get to its feet within the first 10 minutes of its life and manages to successfully stand after about 30 minutes or so.

Only after it has got to its feet does it begin to suckle off its mother. Then it will start to walk or run for the first time within 90 minutes of its birth. By comparison most human babies start walking independently around 12 months of age, on average.

Why the difference? Well, one reason could be that horses need to be able to run to survive. A horse can’t afford to wait a whole year before walking.

But humans are different. Human beings don’t rely so much on their ability to run. Human beings survive by forming attachments or relationships with other people. And so one of the first things a human baby does is cry, partly to get some oxygen into its lungs but also to get its mother’s attention and form an attachment.

Previously the experts thought that successful attachment was created by food, but John Bowlby discovered there was more to it than that. Babies need caregivers who are responsive to them, who smile at them and talk to them and spend time interacting with them in a warm and positive way. 

The central idea of attachment theory is that primary caregivers who are available and responsive to a baby’s needs allow the child to develop a sense of security. When the baby knows that the parent is dependable, this creates a secure base for the child to explore the world.

Today we continue our sermon series on the I am sayings of Jesus in the gospel of John. Jesus uses a number of I am statements to describe himself. These sayings tell us about Jesus’ being, his identity.

Please turn with me to John chapter 15. Last week we heard how Jesus is the gate for the sheep. This morning we hear how Jesus says to his disciples: I am the vine and you are the branches. The main idea here is that attachment to Jesus is essential to our spiritual survival. From John 15, verses 1-10 we read…

“I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit. 3 You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you. 4 Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me. 6 Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it. 8 My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and in this way you become my disciples. 9 I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

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

There are three main characters in Jesus’ allegory here, each in mutual relationship with the others. The vine (which represents Jesus), the gardener (which represents God the Father) and the branches (which represent those who follow Jesus). First let us consider Jesus, the vine.

The Vine:

The maple leaf is one of the national symbols of Canada.

The thistle is the national flower of Scotland.

The Protea is the national flower of South Africa.

While the silver fern is New Zealand’s symbol.

What plant do you think was used as the symbol of ancient Israel? Anyone want to take a guess? [Wait]

You are on to it. The vine, or the vineyard, in the Hebrew Scriptures, was a symbol for the nation of Israel.

In Isaiah 5:1-7 the prophet sings the song of the vineyard…

My friend had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug the soil and cleared it of stones; he planted the finest vines. He built a tower to guard them, dug a pit for treading the grapes. He waited for the grapes to ripen, but every grape was sour…  Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty; the people of Judah are the vines he planted. He expected them to do what was good, but instead they committed murder. He expected them to do what was right, but their victims cried out for justice.

There are other references in the psalms and the prophets describing Israel as the Lord’s vineyard and most of them end in a note of judgement. The message seems to be that ancient Israel had failed to produce the fruit of righteousness that God intended.

It is against this background that Jesus says of himself, “I am the real vine.” That’s like saying, “I am the real Israel.” Or, “I am the true Israel. I am the root stock of the nation who produces the fruit that God desires.”

That is an incredible claim to make. Jesus’ claim to be the true vine holds together judgment and hope. On the one hand, Jesus is criticising the nation of Israel, basically saying they have failed to produce the fruit God wanted.

But at the same time Jesus also castes a positive vision for the future. Judgment does not get the last word. Jesus is saying, I am what God called Israel to be. Where Israel failed, I will succeed. And so there is hope. In and through Christ, God gets the vineyard and the fruit he wants.      

Okay, so Jesus is the vine and God the Father is the gardener.

The Gardener:

From verse 2 Jesus explains how God, the gardener, breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit.         

To better understand what God does let me take you through the annual cycle of tending to a grapevine.   

During winter, the vine dresser prunes (or cuts back) the previous year’s canes and chooses the best branches to grow new shoots. The gardener trains selected branches to grow along the wire. [1]

Then, during September or October, comes the bud break. This is when the first signs of life occur. The buds are extremely delicate during this time. You pray there are no hail storms.

The buds continue to grow and then flower. The gardener may choose to prune the downward facing shoots to reduce the crop size. Pruning in this way reduces the quantity of the crop with a view to improving the quality. With fewer grapes on the vine you get a concentration of flavour.

Then in November or December comes the fruit set. This is when bunches of green grapes appear and grow. You wouldn’t want to eat the fruit at this stage; it would be too sour.

Towards the end of summer, the green berries change colour and ripen. This process is called veraison. Depending on how many grapes are on the vine, some winegrowers will thin the crop so that more nutrients and goodness go into the remaining fruit.

Harvest usually happens in autumn, sometime between March and May, once the sugar levels in the grapes rise and they have reached their perfect ripeness. Harvest is a busy time. Once harvested the grapes do not continue to ripen.

When winter comes round again the leaves die off and the pruners trim the vines ready for spring and a new cycle of growth.

Leon Morris makes the observation that fruitfulness is the whole point of the vineyard. Left to itself a vine will produce a good deal of unproductive growth. Pruning is essential for maximum fruitfulness. The fruit of Christian service is never the result of allowing natural energies and inclinations to run riot. [2]

Or to put it another way; less is more. The temptation, particularly when we are young and have energy to burn, is to try and do everything. So rather than strategically focusing our time and resources on one or two things, we may be inclined to dissipate our energies in a flurry of busy-ness and activity.

There is no end of need and worthy causes in this world. There is always a long list of good things we could be doing. But the reality is, we can’t do it all. So the question becomes, what is it that God (the gardener) wants me to give myself to?  

Another way to frame that question is to ask yourself, what is it that I can do that others can’t do? If you have children, then no one else can really be a mum or a dad to your kids in the same way that you can. So giving love and time to your children, while they are still young, needs to be a priority.

I’m pleased that Bono chose to write songs instead of driving trucks. Just like I’m pleased Ashley Bloomfield chose a career in medicine rather than being a rock star. Just as I am pleased each of our deacons chose to serve the church instead of watching TV or playing golf. 

We can’t do everything. Less is more. Less quantity means better quality. What is it (or perhaps, who is it) that God wants you to give yourself to? And what is it that God is wanting to prune?  

Being pruned is not a pleasant experience. It can be painful and bewildering to be cut back. We think we are on the right track, doing well. We seem to be growing and making progress in our discipleship and then wham. We suffer some kind of loss or set back and we don’t understand why.

The temptation at that point is to give up on God. To lose faith. To cease remaining in the vine. But we need to remember that God is the gardener. God is in control not us. And God is very skilled at his job. He knows what he is doing and why.

If you feel like you are being pruned at the moment, hold on to the fact that God has a purpose in what he is doing. It could be that he intends to use this experience to improve the quality of your fruit. The quality of Job’s relationship with God, after he had suffered catastrophic loss and been restored, was far better than it was before his loss.

Now, by drawing a parallel between loss and God’s pruning I don’t mean to imply that every bad thing that happens to us can be put down to God improving the quality of our fruit. Suffering is often a mystery that we won’t understand this side of the harvest. By faith we know that whatever we might suffer, nothing is beyond God’s reach. God can redeem anything.

Jesus is the vine. God the Father is the gardener and we, the followers of Jesus, are the branches.

The Branches:

We began today’s message with the idea of attachment. Being attached to another human being in a nurturing, responsive relationship is essential to our survival. As infants, it is through a healthy attachment with one primary caregiver that we learn trust and find psychological security.

In verse 4 of John 15 Jesus says: Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.

In other words, attachment to Jesus is essential to our spiritual survival.

We need Jesus like the branches of a tree need the roots and trunk. It is the roots and trunk that nourish and feed the branches. We need Jesus like a baby needs its mother or father. It is through Jesus that we learn trust and security.

Today is Pentecost Sunday when we remember afresh the gift of the Holy Spirit. Although Jesus does not explicitly mention the Holy Spirit, in the opening verses of John 15, he was just talking about God’s Spirit in chapter 14 and he will go on to say more about the Spirit in John 16.

We could think of the Holy Spirit as the sap flowing inside us from Jesus the vine. The Holy Spirit is life to the branches from within.   

More than once in today’s reading Jesus talks about the branches bearing fruit when they remain attached to him. So what exactly is the fruit? Well, verse 8 indicates the fruit is that which glorifies God. My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit;

When the vine produces quality grapes, the one who grew the grapes gets the credit. The gardener (God the Father) gets the glory. As branches grafted into Christ, our job (our main purpose in life) is to bear quality fruit for the glory of God. To glorify God means to reveal or reflect something of God’s goodness to others. To make God larger in the awareness of others, in a good way.

In Galatians 5 the apostle Paul lists some of the things that glorify God. Paul writes: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. This is not an exhaustive list of the fruit but it gives us the idea.

When a husband and wife love each other and remain faithful through all the ups and downs of life, this is fruit which glorifies God. Their faithfulness points to God’s faithfulness.

Or when someone at work is having a bad day and you respond by not taking it personally but instead showing forbearance, this is fruit that glorifies God.

Or when a child sees someone alone in the playground without any lunch and goes over to share their own lunch and friendship, this is the fruit of kindness.

Or when a landlord does not charge a huge rent, simply because the market dictates it, but instead keeps the rent at a reasonable level, this kind of fruit reflects the mercy and justice of God. 

In verse 7 we see a connection between prayer and fruit where Jesus says: If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it. 

This does not mean that we can use Jesus like a Genie in a bottle. Jesus is not promising to give us a never ending supply of wishes, like in the Tim Tam ad. Rather, when we are so closely attached to Jesus that his word is in us, we will be inclined to ask for things that are in line with his will and purpose anyway.

Another thing we notice is the number of times we come across the word remain in today’s passage. (The Good News Translation uses the word remain 11 times in ten verses.) The startling thing is that we bear the fruit of love by simply remaining attached to Jesus.

We are not required to go on some valiant quest to find the fruit like it was hidden treasure. Nor do we have to try and frantically manufacture or create the fruit ourselves. Branches don’t survive by running, like a horse. Branches grow and bear fruit by waiting, by remaining still. All we have to do is abide in Christ.

I say, ‘all we have to do is abide’, as if that is an easy thing. But in the rough and tumble of life, remaining attached to Jesus, over the long haul, is not as easy as it seems. Unlike the branches of a vine, we get a choice. We can walk away at any point. But in doing that we would only harm ourselves.

Okay then, if remaining (or abiding) in Christ is the key to fruitfulness, then what does it mean to remain attached to Jesus? How do we do that?

Well, in verse 9 of John 15, Jesus points us in the right direction when he says:

I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

Our attachment to Jesus is defined by love. There is a possible connection here with the Song of Solomon. The Song of Solomon is a love poem from the Hebrew Bible. The poet uses the vineyard as the place where the woman and the man will share their love. From Song of Solomon chapter 7:11-12 we read,

Come my beloved… let us go out early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grape blossoms have opened… There I will give you my love.

I won’t read anymore because I don’t want you to get too excited. The point is, the vineyard is a place of tender love and intimacy. 

Love is loyal. Remaining attached to Jesus means being loyal to him. Christianity is an exclusive religion in the sense that we worship one God. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. We follow him and no one else.

Love is open. Remaining attached to Jesus means being open to him. Open to listening to what he wants to say to us in the Scriptures. Open to receiving what he wants to give. Open to his truth and grace. Open to the sap of his Spirit. But it is an openness that goes both ways. We need to be honest with Jesus and not hide from him.

There is a certain vulnerability that comes with being open to Christ. Openness requires faith and trust on our part.

Love is voluntary. Remaining attached to Jesus is something we do because we want to, not because we are forced to. Our attachment to Jesus is not based on fear of punishment, nor is it based on some legal obligation. We stay close to Jesus and spend time cultivating our relationship with him because we like him. We enjoy his presence.       

Love needs to be expressed. When love is not expressed it turns into a kind of unbearable pain. When we express love to someone we invest a part of ourselves in that person and we strengthen the attachment.  Remaining attached to Jesus inevitably involves us expressing our love to him.

There are many ways to express love for Jesus but the primary way is through obedience; doing what he asks. Notice how Jesus puts love and obedience together. He does not separate them. Jesus loves us first and we respond by obeying him voluntarily. The love goes both ways.

Love is loyal. Love is open. Love is voluntary and love needs to be expressed. L.O.V.E. Spells love.

Now in giving you this acrostic I don’t mean to imply that this is all there is to remaining in Christ. There is a certain mystery with our attachment to Jesus. We can’t fully define it, much less reduce it to a pithy acrostic. Jesus’ attachment to us is deeper and more profound than we are able to fathom.

Conclusion:

Jesus is the vine. God the Father is the gardener and we are the branches.

One of the things I like about Jesus’ allegory of the vine is that it implies there are seasons in our life; seasons of new growth, seasons of fruitfulness and harvest, as well as seasons of dormancy and loss, when it seems that not much is happening.

This means we don’t have to feel guilty if we are not being fruitful all the time. Producing fruit is a process. We are not responsible for the outcome. We just need to remain attached to Jesus. God will take care of the fruit.

Whatever season you happen to be in at the moment, may God the Gardener keep you close to Jesus.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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?

  • Why is attachment so important for human beings? What is needed for successful attachment?
  • How would Jesus’ original Jewish audience have understood his statement: I am the real vine?  In what sense was this a criticism of ancient Israel? In what sense is Jesus’ statement pregnant with hope?
  • Why does God prune the branches? Have you ever felt like God has pruned you? How did God do this? How did you feel / respond? What was the outcome? What (or who) is it that God wants you to give yourself to at this time?
  • What does it mean to glorify God? Can you think of real examples of the sort of fruit Jesus had in mind?
  • How do we remain attached to Jesus, the true vine?
  • What season are you in at the moment? What might you expect in this season?    

[1] https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/lifecycle-of-a-wine-grapevine

[2] Leon Morris, NICNT John, page 594.  

Tawa Baptist

Suffering

Scripture: 1st Peter 4:12-19

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Manage your expectations
  • Suffering is evidence
  • Entrust yourself to God
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we continue our series in the New Testament letter of first Peter, focusing on chapter 4, verses 12-19. Peter was writing to encourage the fledging church in Asia Minor who were suffering because of their faith in Jesus.

In today’s reading Peter gives some practical advice on how Christian believers can handle suffering for their faith in a positive way. From 1st Peter, chapter 4, verse 12 we read…

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you that is taking place to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ,so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed,for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household;and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s willshould entrust themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

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

As I mentioned at the beginning, this reading contains Peter’s advice on how Christians can handle suffering for their faith in a way that is life giving.

Three things Peter suggests: Manage your expectations. Think of suffering as evidence and entrust yourself to God.   

Manage your expectations

Peter, as you know, was a fisherman by trade. Fishing can be a fickle business and involves a fair bit of suffering. It is heavy, dangerous work. Sometimes you can be out all night and come home cold, wet and tired, with nothing to show for your efforts. It doesn’t seem fair. Eventually though, if you persevere, you get a reward. I guess through his work as a fisherman Peter learned to manage his expectations. 

Some of you, over the holidays, may have completed a jigsaw puzzle. Those puzzlers who like a bit of a challenge might be familiar with the Wasgij range of puzzles. Wasgij is simply the word ‘Jigsaw’ spelt backwards.

With a regular puzzle you have the advantage of seeing the picture you are putting together on the box. You know what to expect. But with a Wasgij the picture on the box is not the same as the picture you are assembling. So you don’t know what to expect. Often it is the inverse of the image you are given on the box.

In some ways the journey of Christian faith is a bit like working on a Wasgij. When we become a Christian we may (for whatever reason) have this picture in mind about how our life is going to be. We may think life will be easier now that we believe in Jesus because we have God on our side. We might imagine people will be okay with our decision to become a Christian and want to join us, but that is not necessarily a realistic expectation.

While it is true that God is on our side when we put our faith in Jesus, it does not automatically follow that our life will get better or that others will welcome our decision. Your life may improve in some ways but it will probably get harder in other ways. Some people may be tolerant of your decision to follow Christ, but you may also lose some friends.

Jesus of course was very clear that following him would be no picnic. He did not mislead anyone.

In verses 12 & 13 of chapter 4 Peter writes…

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you that is taking place to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ,   

Peter, the veteran fisherman, is gently telling his readers to manage their expectations. People are naturally surprised when something does not happen as they expect. Peter is removing the element of surprise by reminding them that they can’t expect everyone to celebrate their decision to follow Jesus. They should expect a bit of push back. Christ suffered, therefore as his followers, you can expect to suffer as well, although probably not to the same extent.

Christianity, at that stage in history, was a brand new religion. It was not an established tradition and so the general population did not really know it or trust it. Most of the people Peter was writing to were Gentiles. For them converting to Christianity meant a comprehensive change of lifestyle.

At the time of Peter’s letter, it wasn’t that Christians were systematically persecuted as such. That came later. It was more that they were socially marginalized. People spoke against them to heap shame on them.    

Peter describes the rejection they are facing as a ‘fiery ordeal to test them’. This is a metaphor. Just as precious metals, like silver and gold, are tested and proved through fire, so too the precious metal of Christian faith is tested by the fiery ordeal of being insulted and put to shame. If Peter’s readers stayed loyal to Christ, even though people who were once their friends and family rejected them, then the metal of their faith was proved true.

Now in saying that we need to manage our expectations Peter does not mean always thinking the worst will happen. If we do that we will soon lose hope. Peter wants his readers to replace their surprise (or disappointment) with the joy that comes from hope. So, while we need to be prepared to suffer in the short to medium term, we still remain confident that God will work things for good in the long run. That is our hope and that is where our joy comes from.  

Last year we baptized a new believer here in our church. A few weeks ago we prayed for him as he had to return home to India. His prayer request was that he be able to confess the name of Jesus before his family and his community and that this would go well. But even if he was rejected he wanted to stay true to Jesus. This man was managing his expectations, just like Peter said. He was expecting a fiery ordeal but still hoping for the best.

Most of us have not had to suffer the kind of test of faith that many of our Christian brothers and sisters overseas have. But even so we still do come under some scrutiny and pressure for our faith in Jesus. The wider NZ society in which we live is not as friendly toward Christians as it once was. There is a certain loss of face and loneliness that comes with following Jesus, which is one reason why we need to love one another. 

I remember when I left my job in Tauranga to train for ministry in Auckland, I got a mixed response. Some people were encouraging and supportive. Some couldn’t understand it and told me so. Others didn’t really care. Then there were one or two who, after I had left, said some things that were unkind and untrue. We can’t expect everyone to like us let alone understand or accept us.

The journey of faith is like a Wasgij puzzle. The picture we have in our mind beforehand is seldom, if ever, the same as the reality we end up experiencing. One strategy for handling suffering is managing our expectations. Another strategy is to think of suffering as evidence.            

Suffering is evidence

When we suffer in some way we tend to ask ourselves, why? Why is this happening to me? Why does this sort of thing happen to anyone?

If you are a person of faith, then your mind may take you down one of a number of different paths. If you have a sensitive conscience you might, for example, ask, ‘What have I done wrong? Is God angry with me? Am I being punished, is that why I’m suffering?’

On the other hand, you could go down another path in your mind and think to yourself, ‘This isn’t fair. God must have abandoned me. He doesn’t care.’

Or you might try to give meaning to your suffering by telling yourself, ‘This is character building. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’

Peter’s first century audience were suffering injustice for their obedience to Christ and Peter offers a completely different way to think about it. Peter’s advice is not to think of suffering as a mystery or a problem to be solved. (Don’t go down that rabbit hole. You risk getting lost.) Instead think of suffering as evidence. In particular, suffering for Christ is evidence that the Spirit of God is with you. It’s also evidence that you belong to the household of God. From verse 14 Peter writes…

14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed,for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Now when Peter says, if you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, he does not mean that suffering and insult are a blessing. They are not. Suffering and insult hurt. Under certain circumstances suffering can be character building but it is more likely to destroy character. It is more accurate to say that suffering reveals character. Suffering provides evidence of what a person is like on the inside.

In any case the blessing is not in the suffering. The blessing is in the presence of God’s Spirit. 

Suffering for Christ is no cause for guilt or shame. God is not punishing you. To the contrary, being insulted for the name of Christ is evidence of the Spirit of glory. Suffering injustice, in a noble way, is the prerequisite of glory.  

What’s more, suffering for your association with Jesus does not imply that God has abandoned you. Far from being abandoned, suffering for Christ is evidence of God’s presence. The Holy Spirit being the manifestation of God’s presence.

Most of you would have heard of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The thing that people seem to overlook about Goldie Locks is that she was a burglar, a vandal and a meddler. She broke into someone else’s house, ate their porridge, wreaked their furniture and messed up their beds. Being blonde and cute is no excuse for bad behavior. You have to ask yourself, what was a small child doing on her own in a bear’s house? I expect her family and friends told her to go and play in the woods because she was annoying them. 

The real heroes in this story are the three bears because (in one version of the story at least) they showed Christian love and forbearance to the delinquent child. Despite the bad reputation bears get in the media they didn’t eat her or take revenge in anyway. They didn’t even file a complaint with the police or try to press charges. They simply let Goldilocks go, cleaned up her mess and quietly got on with their lives.  

In verses 15 & 16 Peter makes it clear that not all suffering qualifies for the blessing of God’s Spirit. Peter says…

15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

We all have a bit of Goldie Locks in us, don’t we. You know, we are not easily satisfied. We want things ‘just right’. It’s like Peter is saying, ‘Don’t be like Goldilocks. Be like the three bears’.

The label ‘Christian’ was not thought up by the followers of Jesus. The nickname ‘Christian’ was coined by unbelievers. It was not a term of endearment either. It was an insult. Like bears, Christians had a bad reputation. People hated them because they were different. Christians wouldn’t bow to idols or participate in pagan rituals.

To most people in the first century Christians were a detestable lot and lumped in the same category as criminals. Not because they broke any laws or did anything wrong. But simply because their religion was new and unusual.  

Peter’s point is that you cannot expect the blessing of God’s Spirit, the Spirit of glory, if you do things that are clearly wrong (like murder and theft). Nor can you expect God’s blessing if you do things that are simply annoying (like meddling in other people’s business). If someone suffers for being bad or foolish (like Goldilocks did) then they are not suffering according to God’s will; they are suffering by their own hand and deserve what they get.     

The suffering Peter has in mind is suffering for bearing the name of Christ. It is undeserved suffering, similar to what the bears endured as a result of Goldilocks’ visit. 

But wait, suffering provides even more evidence. Suffering for Christ now (in this life) proves you are part of the household of God and therefore will be saved in the long run. From verse 17 Peter writes…

17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household;and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Judgment has become almost a swear word in the English language today. It has undertones of condemnation and punishment. However, there is more to God’s judgment than that. Judgment also includes the process of discerning or sorting or deciding. And that is probably the sense in which Peter is using the word in relation to God’s household.  

Peter is implying that the hostility his readers are experiencing is an integral part of God’s end-times judgment. [1] It has the effect of sorting out those who are loyal to Christ and those who are not. If it was too easy to obey Jesus everyone would do it and how would you know who was truly loyal.  

Everyone, whether they are a Christian or not, must face God’s judgment at some stage. Believers get judged first but if we remain loyal to Christ we do not need to fear. Suffering for Christ now is, in fact, evidence that you belong to God’s household and that is something to celebrate.

Okay, so Peter’s first two pieces of advice for handling suffering are:

Take the element of surprise out by managing your expectations, and

Don’t approach suffering as though it were a mystery to be solved, rather think of suffering as hard evidence that God is with you and for you.

Peter’s third piece of advice is, entrust yourself to God.

Entrust yourself to God

When you reach a certain age, or when you get married or when you have children, it is advisable to update your will. When you go to the solicitor they normally ask you who you would like to appoint as your power of attorney. And if you have children they want to know who you will entrust with the care of your children.

You go to the solicitor imagining it is going to be a quick appointment and you come away thinking who can I really trust with my children and my money? 

In verse 19 of chapter 4 Peter says quite plainly…

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s willshould entrust themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

In the first Century they didn’t have banks like we do today. So if you wanted to go away for a while you had to find a friend (someone you trusted completely) to look after your life savings. You committed or entrusted your nest egg to that person and on your return they were honour bound to give it all back to you.

The Greek word Peter uses for entrust, in verse 19, is the technical word for depositing money with a trusted friend. It is the same word used by Jesus on the cross, in Luke 23:46, when he said: “Father, into your hands I commit (or entrust) my spirit.”  

Peter is saying, when we suffer according to God’s will (and not as a murderer or a thief or a meddler) we should entrust ourselves to our faithful Creator and continue to do good.

The implication is that God is a close friend to those who suffer according to his will; close enough to be your power of attorney and banker all rolled into one. Except it isn’t just your money you are entrusting to God. It is your reputation, your job, the rightness of your cause, your family and your very life you are placing in God’s hands.

Peter describes God here as a faithful Creator. This speaks of God’s trustworthiness and also his wisdom and power to make things new and to restore order to the world.

The message here is that we are not defined by what others say about us or do to us. Therefore, we do not need to waste our time and energy trying to justify ourselves to others. We have nothing to prove. God will vindicate us in the end. So we can invest our time and energy into doing good now.

Suffering drains life and vitality from you. Too much suffering is soul destroying; it weakens your character. Doing good, on the other hand, nourishes your soul; it affirms your identity in Christ and builds character.               

Conclusion:

This morning we have heard three pieces of advice, from Peter, for those who suffer for being a Christian.

Do not let suffering take you by surprise. Manage your expectations.

Do not try to solve the problem of suffering in some deep philosophical way. Instead think of suffering as hard evidence that God is with you and for you.

And thirdly, when you suffer injustice, entrust yourself to God and do those things that are good for you and good for others. In this way you will restore what the locusts have eaten.

May God give us the strength to remain loyal to Christ when our faith is tested and the grace to apply Peter’s advice when we suffer.

If you are going through a hard time at the moment and would like prayer, then there will be someone available to pray with you after the service at the front by the water cooler.

The musicians will lead us now in our closing hymn.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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?

  • Have you ever suffered because of your association with Christ? What happened and how did you feel?
  • How might we manage our expectations, without always thinking the worst?
  • When you suffer, what path does your mind go down? (E.g. do you think you are being punished or do you think God has abandoned you or do you think this is character building or something else?)
  • What difference does it make thinking of suffering for Christ as evidence that God is with you and for you? What is the blessing in being insulted for bearing the name of Christ?    
  • What does it mean to entrust yourself to God and do good? How might we do this? What good things can you do for yourself and others that will nourish your soul and build your character?

[1] Karen Jobes, Commentary on 1st Peter, page 292

Tawa Baptist

Stones

Scripture: 1st Peter 2:4-8

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Cornerstone
  • Living Stones
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

When our kids were younger, and we were on a road trip somewhere, we often played the word association game. With the word association game one person starts by saying a word and the next person has to say another word which is related to the previous word and so on. The idea is to keep it going as long as you can without repeating any words. 

So, for example, I might start with the word Milk and then you might say Cow and someone else would say Pasture. Green. Spinach. Dinner. Dessert. Ice-Cream. Sundae. Church. Chocolate fish. Birthday. Party… You get the idea.

Today we continue our series in 1st Peter, focusing on chapter 2, verses 4-8. Over the last couple of weeks, we have heard about the Christian believer’s personal relationship with God and other believers. This morning’s passage focuses on the church’s collective relationship with God.

One of the things we notice about today’s reading is the abundance of Old Testament references. It’s like Peter is playing a word association game, using only words and ideas from the Hebrew Bible. Peter associates Christian believers (collectively) with God, with the temple, with the Messiah, with Israel and with the priesthood. From 1st Peter chapter 2, verses 4-8 we read,  

4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by Godand precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being builtinto a spiritual houseto be a holy priesthood,offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

8 and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

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

Peter’s writing here has more layers than your nan’s trifle. As usual, there is so much going on. Two handles, to give structure to the message:

Firstly, Jesus is the cornerstone of God’s new temple

And secondly, Christian believers, collectively, are living stones in God’s house

First, let us consider Jesus, the cornerstone of God’s new temple.

Cornerstone:

When you hear the phrase, “You are such a brick”, what do you think of?

“You are such a brick” reminds me of The Famous Five stories by Enid Blyton. I’m not sure if that phrase was actually used in the original Famous Five books but for some reason I associate it with them. “You are such a brick Julian”.

“You are such a brick” is a compliment. It’s a way of saying you are solid and reliable. A person of integrity and strength.

Possibly the saying originated from king Lycurgus of Sparta. The story goes that king Lycurgus was boasting to a visiting monarch about the walls of Sparta. When the visiting monarch looked around and saw no walls, he said to the Spartan king, “Where are these walls then?” And king Lycurgus pointed at his soldiers. “These are the walls of Sparta. Every man a brick.” [1]      

This morning’s reading begins with Peter referring to the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by Godand precious to him.

Then, in verses 6, 7 & 8 Peter continues his stone theme with three quotes from the Old Testament. The first quote comes from Isaiah 28:16 where the prophet says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Before the time of Jesus, the stones in these Old Testament passages were understood by the Jews to be a reference to the Messiah. So when God says through prophet, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, he means, the Messiah is coming.

Peter picks up this stone metaphor. The living Stone, the cornerstone, is Jesus the Messiah, the Christ. Unlike an actual stone Jesus is living, for God has raised Jesus from the dead.

A rock or a stone is not a perishable thing. A stone is imperishable, lasting, permanent. To say that Jesus is the living Stone, implies his permanence. The life of Jesus is a resilient life; a life everlasting.

As well as being the living stone, Jesus is the cornerstone of God’s new temple. In ancient times the cornerstone was the very first foundation stone to be put in place. The cornerstone set the profile for the whole building. The angle and course of the walls was taken from the cornerstone. So it was important that the cornerstone was square and true, otherwise the building would not be level. [2]

If we read on into verse 17 of Isaiah 28, the Lord says, I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line.

In other words, the Messiah (the cornerstone of God’s new temple) will be square and true. There will be no crocked-ness, no injustice in God’s holy house.

Jesus, the cornerstone, is described as precious to God and to those who believe. The word translated as precious comes from the Greek word for honour. [3] If we put our trust in Jesus, we will not be put to shame at the final judgement. In fact, we will share in Jesus’ honour.

As a result of becoming Christians many of Peter’s readers had suffered a loss in social status, a loss in honour, a loss of face. What an encouragement to them to be reminded that in God’s kingdom the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Those who suffer shame for Christ now, will one day share in his honour.

In verse 4 and verse 7 Peter faces the fact that Jesus (the Messiah) has been rejected by men but chosen (or elected) by God. In verse 7 Peter quotes from Psalm 118:22, which reads: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”.

The builders, in this context, are the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. The Jewish religious leaders believed they were building God’s temple, but ironically they discarded the most important building block of all. They rejected Jesus. But God vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead and making him a living stone, the cornerstone of His new house, a temple not made with hands.       

In verse 8 Peter goes on to retrieve another stone quote, this time from Isaiah 8:14. To those who do not believe, [Jesus is] “a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall”.

The point here is that there is no sitting on the fence with Jesus. You cannot be neutral when it comes Jesus. Jesus will either be a firm foundation on which you build your life or he will be a stone that trips you up.

In 1st Peter 2:8 the apostle writes: They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

This does not mean that God has predestined some people to disobey and fall. No. God wants everyone to be saved. If it was up to God, no one would stumble and fall. But God has given us freewill. And the choices we make come with consequences.   

The parable of the two builders (in Matthew 7:24-27) informs our understanding here. If we build our house on the firm foundation stone of Jesus’ teaching. If we trust and obey Jesus, then our house will stand through the storm. We will not be ashamed on judgement day.

But if someone builds their house on the shifting sands of popular opinion. If they reject Jesus’ teaching, then their house will fall. Not because God decided for them, but because of what they have decided for themselves.

A number of commentators make the observation that Peter does not refer to himself as the foundation (or cornerstone) of God’s new temple. In fact, Peter does not give himself any sort of special place in these verses. This is interesting, especially when we remember what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:18.

After Peter makes his confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus says to Peter: Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

In this gospel story, Jesus gives Simon a new name, Peter; which means rock or stone. It’s sort of like Jesus is saying, “You are such a brick Simon”.

Because of tradition we tend to understand Jesus’ words to mean that he will build the church on Simon Peter. But I’m not sure that is how Peter understood it. Otherwise he might have named himself as the cornerstone of the church. It seems that Peter understood Jesus to be saying that the Lord will build the church on Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.[4]     

If this is the case, then the rock on which the church is built is not Peter. The rock on which the church is built is the confession that Jesus is the Messiah. As people profess their faith in Jesus the church is built.

And that brings us to the second main point in our message today: Christian believers, collectively, are living stones in God’s temple. Jesus is the cornerstone and we, who believe in Jesus, are living stones aligned with him.

Living stones:

Let me tell you a story about a girl named Lucy. In fact, it’s probably better if I let Lucy tell you in her own words. Lucy says…

When I was a child I went to the local diocesan school for girls. It was a church school with borders and daygirls. I was a day girl. Being a church school, we started each morning with a chapel service. Nothing too fancy. Just two or three hymns, a couple of prayers and a Bible reading.

It was a nice way to begin the day. Some of the girls complained about religion being stuffed down their throat but it wasn’t like that. Actually the rhythm of daily worship was comforting, like sitting in a rocking chair.

The chapel services were led by the school’s chaplain, who also taught us religious instruction and coached hockey. He was married to Mrs Barry who taught home economics. They lived on site, so they would be available for the girls at any time.

Chaplain was a lovely guy and quite a practical man. He invited any of us who were interested, to help him during lunchtime, to make bricks for an extension to the chapel. 

Making bricks was a bit like baking, except we did not cook them in an oven. Instead we had these wooden frames which formed the moulds for the bricks. The wooden moulds were oiled up (sort of like greasing a cake tin) so the bricks would slide out easier afterwards.

We shoveled cement and aggregate into a concrete mixer, added some water and let the mixer do the rest. When it was ready we poured the slurry into the moulds and let it set for a few days before releasing the bricks from the frames.

It was satisfying work. You saw something permanent for your efforts. We broke a few finger nails in the process but we also discovered meaning in doing something good for someone else.

Brick making is a slow process. I was at that school for six years. For the first five years we made bricks. It was only in the last year those bricks were used to build the extension to the chapel.

Although he had every opportunity, Chaplain did not try to draw out some life lesson from the making of the bricks. He let the experience speak for itself and it did, but not till many years later.

As I reflect back on my time as a brick maker (now a woman in my forties with a family of my own) I realise how God has formed us as living bricks in his house.

The concrete mixer has become a symbol to me of the rough and tumble of life. Life is not easy. Suffering turns us upside down and inside out, but the mixing process is necessary to build integrity and resilience.    

I am thankful for the daily rhythm of chapel services. This pattern, of starting each morning by focusing on God, was like a mould holding me together until my faith firmed up. I still start each day with a devotion. It comforts me and sets my mind on a good path. 

Now, in talking about brick moulds, I do not mean to imply that all Christians are the same. Yes, we come from the same tradition of faith, we believe in the same Jesus, but each of us emerges from that mould with our own unique imprint. What’s more, each of us is given a different place to serve in God’s house.  

And then there is the silent work of time. Just as the bricks needed time to cure and to strengthen in the fresh air, so too my faith has cured over time. When we are young we are often in a rush to experience everything all at once. And in our hurry to prove ourselves, we grow up too fast. Usually we are better served by slowing down. Some things can only be properly appreciated with age and time.

Perhaps the most significant learning from my brick making though, was the day I dropped a brick, fresh out of the mould. It broke clean in two. I felt terrible and thought briefly about hiding what I had done, but in the end decided to confess my sin to Chaplain. Actually I didn’t say anything; I just showed him the broken pieces, one in each hand.

To my surprise, he was not cross. He smiled and said, “Don’t throw those away Lucy. Give them to me. I know just the place for them.”

In this way, Chaplain showed me that God is not angry. To the contrary, there is value in my mistakes. God does not waste anything. He can use my mishaps and my broken pieces in building his house. Nothing is too difficult for Him.   

Returning to 1st Peter chapter 2. In verses 4 & 5 Peter tells us: As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by Godand precious to him— 5 You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.   

We come to Jesus by faith, by believing in his resurrection from the dead. We become what we believe in. The pattern of Jesus’ life is the mould for the slurry of our faith. Just as Jesus is the living Stone, rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him, so too we become living stones precious to God. Collectively, we become solid and reliable, a people of integrity and strength.

We may suffer rejection in the concrete mixer of this world but that is only for a time. We need to keep the bigger picture in mind and remember that we are precious to God.   

It may take some time for our faith to cure but one day we will share in Jesus’ resurrection to eternal life. We stand to inherit Jesus’ resilient life; life everlasting.  In the meantime, our job, collectively, is to be living stones bearing witness to the reality of God’s presence in the world. Like the soldiers of Sparta, every woman, every man a brick.     

Verse 5 says we are being built into a spiritual house, or a temple in other words. The word house has a double meaning. It can mean both a building as well as a household. [5]

Peter is not thinking of a literal temple building here but rather a group of people holding God’s presence in common. A holy priesthood, like the household of Aaron in the Old Testament.   

Peter calls this household of God, a spiritual house. Last week heard about the Greek word logikos, which is translated in English as spiritual. In verse 2 of chapter 2, Peter says we are to crave spiritual milk. That is, we are to feed on that which is true to our real nature as children of God.

However, the Greek language has more than one word for spiritual and the word translated as spiritual in verse 5 (as in spiritual house and spiritual sacrifices) is not logikos but pneumatikos. Pneuma means air in motion, breath or wind. The Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the pneuma or the wind or breath of God.

Spiritual, in the sense of pneumatikos, refers to something that we cannot see but is still very real. We cannot see oxygen but that does not make the air any less real. We can feel the wind on our face, for example, and we certainly notice when the air is removed from our lungs. Likewise, we cannot normally see the Holy Spirit, but we can learn to be are aware of His presence.

So the spiritual house (in 1st Peter chapter 2) is the community of Christian believers who, collectively, form a household filled with the Holy Spirit.

Likewise, spiritual sacrifices are not literal animal sacrifices, as Peter’s first century readers would have been familiar with. Rather ‘spiritual sacrifices’ refer to the many sacrifices (large and small) of a life lived in holiness and obedience to God, with the help of the Holy Spirit.             

Reflecting on Peter’s spiritual house metaphor; we in the 21st Century western world, have a tendency to think individually. In contrast, Peter’s household metaphor represents collective thinking. So, in the context of 1st Peter, it is not that each of us, individually, is a house or temple of God. Rather it is that collectively we are God’s household. 

Another implication of Peter’s words here is that we do not need to travel all the way to Jerusalem to meet God in his temple. We simply need to meet with one or two other Christian believers.

Conclusion:

This morning we have heard how Jesus is the cornerstone of God’s house,

while Christian believers, collectively, are living stones in God’s house.

What Peter is getting at here is our identity and belonging in Christ.

We are not defined by the world around us. We are defined by God.

We are precious to God and acceptable to Him through faith in Jesus. 

As living stones, joined to Jesus, we have a certain solidarity with one another.

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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?

Play the word association game with those with you, starting with the word ‘Stone’. 

What does it mean that Jesus is the living Stone and the cornerstone?

Many of Peter’s first century readers had suffered rejection and a loss of status for their faith in Jesus. How would Peter’s words, in these verses (2:4-8), have encouraged them? What encouragement do you take from Peter here?

Why do you think Peter makes no special mention of himself when talking about the building of God’s house? How does this help us to interpret Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18?

What life (or faith) lesson(s) do you draw from Lucy’s brick making story?

What does Peter mean by ‘spiritual house’?

Take some time this week to reflect on our collective identity and belonging in Christ?

[1] Refer William Barclay’s commentary on 1st Peter, page 231.

[2] Refer Edmund Clowney’s commentary on 1st Peter, page 84. 

[3] Refer Thomas R. Schreiner’s commentary on 1st Peter, page 110.

[4] Refer Karen Jobes’ commentary on 1st Peter, page 151.

[5] Refer Karen Jobes’ commentary on 1st Peter, page 150.

Tawa Baptist

Secure

Scripture: 1st Peter 1:3-12

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Salvation secured
  • Faith tested
  • Prophecy revealed
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

When you find yourself on holiday, browsing through a book store for that perfect summer read, you might look at the dust cover of a book to get an idea of what the story is about. The brief blurb does not tell you the whole story and it certainly won’t give away the ending, but it’s designed to whet your appetite and get you interested in reading further.

It’s similar with movies. Before the feature movie starts they usually play trailers advertising other movies. Just a small taster to sow a seed and invite your imagination in.

When you go to a friend’s home for dinner they normally greet you at the door with a warm welcome, a hug or a handshake and they offer you something to drink and some snacks before the full meal is served. The host wants to put you at ease and make you feel good about being there. That way you will let your defences down and simply enjoy the evening. 

Today we continue our new series (started last week) in the letter of 1st Peter. Today’s reading, from chapter 1, verses 3-12, is one long sentence in the original Greek. This passage is like the dust cover of the book, or the trailer of a movie, in that it gives you an idea of what’s in store in the rest of the letter. It whets your appetite and invites your imagination in.

Today’s reading is also like the warm welcome you receive when you go to a friend’s house for dinner, in that it puts you at ease. It’s like Peter is saying to his readers, ‘I know you. I understand your situation. I get where you’ve come from. We are friends.’ In this way Peter helps his readers to feel comfortable, so they will lower their defences and allow his words in. From 1st Peter chapter 1, verses 3-12, we read… 

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!In his great mercyhe has given us new birthinto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritancethat can never perish, spoil or fade.This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire— may result in praise, glory and honorwhen Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you,searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christin them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you,when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.Even angels long to look into these things.

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

There’s a lot going on in these verses. It is the theological equivalent of a Christmas cake – rich and thick. To help provide some clarity, I see this one long sentence in three parts:

Verses 3-5 are talking about salvation secured,

Verses 6-9 are about faith tested

And verses 10-12 touch on prophecy revealed.

First let’s consider the security of our salvation.  

Salvation secured:

Imagine you are driving your car along a country road in the rain. It’s been pouring for days and the paddocks either side of the road are flooded. You come round a bend and see the road in front of you is underwater. You stop for a moment to consider what to do.

You have been driving for hours and are in the middle of nowhere. If you go back the way you came you might run out of petrol, or find that the road you’ve just travelled has become impassable. But if you go forward you risk stalling the car and getting stuck underwater.

You decide to risk it and very carefully drive forward, hoping the water doesn’t get too deep. Your car handles the first 50 metres well enough but then there is a dip in the road, the car bonnet is submerged and the air intake starts sucking water. The engine cuts out and won’t start again. You are stranded.

Water is filling your car quickly now and as the tide rises, so does the feeling of panic. You climb out the window and on to the roof. There is no cell-phone reception. You are wet, cold and alone. It’s just a matter of time before the whole car goes under, so you try to swim to higher ground, but the current is too strong and sweeps you away. It’s all you can do to keep your head above water.

The torrent carries you downstream for some miles – you can’t be sure how far. By this stage you are exhausted and thinking, ‘so this is how it ends’. Then, in the distance, you see a bridge with people standing on it. Hope flickers in you like a distant star. You wave out to them. Maybe they can help.

The people on the bridge see you. One of them runs away only to return moments later with something. What is it? As the current carries you closer you recognise it is a rope. They are lowering a rope to you and yelling for you to grab hold of it as you float past.

You manage to get a hand on the rope and find they have conveniently made a loop in the end, so the rope will hold you like a harness. You feel the rope snapping tight and realise the people up on the bridge are pulling on it. All you have to do now is hold on. You hope the rope will hold your weight. You hope your rescuers are strong enough.

After the two longest minutes in your life your rescuers have you out of the water and on the bridge with them. You look round and see the rope was tied to a four-wheel drive all along. A four-wheel drive with a snorkel. That’s how they roll in the country. You are still cold and tired but you are not alone. You were as good as dead but now you live again. It’s going to be alright.

Hope is the belief that something good is waiting for us in the future. Or said another way, hope is the ability to imagine a good future. The rope lowered from the bridge symbolises hope. Hope is like a rope connecting the future to the present. Hope gives us something to hold onto in the present moment. When we are struggling to keep our head above water, hope connects us – it keeps us afloat and allows us to imagine a future with a good outcome.

In verse 3 of chapter 1, Peter praises God for his great mercy in giving us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus. God (Father, Son & Spirit) is like the people on the bridge who threw you the rope. You were as good as dead and powerless to save yourself but God, in his mercy, threw you a life line. God saved you. He gave you new birth.

Jesus talked about this new birth in John 3, when Nicodemus came to see him at night. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again… Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 

Peter says we are born again into a living hope. If the people on the bridge had thrown a rope that was too short to reach, or too rotten to carry your weight, then that would be a dead hope. But the rope they threw you was long enough and strong enough and so it is a living hope. Meaning it is a hope that is sure and certain and secure. It is not a long shot, like winning Lotto. The rope of hope that God offers is a hope that will not disappoint.    

The thing that makes Christian hope living and sure is the resurrection of Jesus. Whenever Peter preaches in the book of Acts he talks about the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection was front and centre of the Christian message in the first century. Jesus’ resurrection is the anchor of Christian hope. Our hope of salvation is tied to the resurrection of Christ like the rope (in my story) was tied to the four-wheel drive. It is because Jesus has been raised from the dead to eternal life that our hope of eternal life is not just wishful thinking.

In verse 4 Peter goes on to say that our new birth is also into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – an inheritance kept in heaven for you.  

Just as people receive their ethnic identity, their citizenship, their socio-economic class (and so on) from their biological parents, Christians receive a new identity and a new citizenship from God (their heavenly Father) when they are born again. The new birth that God gives redefines the believers’ relationship with society and transforms their identity and character. [1]      

There’s a line in that great hymn Be Thou my Vision which reads: “Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise. Be thou my inheritance now and always.”

The most common form of inheritance in the Middle East, of the first century, was land. In the context of this world, land represents security.

Some of Peter’s listeners had likely been disinherited for choosing to follow Jesus. Others may have been driven from their homeland by persecution, due to their Christian faith. So they had essentially lost their inheritance in this world. They had lost their physical and material security.

What an affirmation and an encouragement it would have been to have Peter, a hero and an icon in the early church, saying they have a heavenly inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. An inheritance which is immortal, pure and beautiful – and therefore more secure, more valuable, than land.

Again we hear the echo of Jesus’ words, where the Lord says (in Matthew 6:19-21) 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.

Jesus is talking about eternal security here. The most valuable part of our inheritance is Jesus himself. We want to be building a quality relationship with Jesus now (in this world) that will serve us well for all eternity. 

In verse 5 of chapter 1, Peter talks about the Christian believer being shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

The salvation Peter has in mind here is a deliverance from this world (which is hostile to God) and into God’s kingdom – a place where God’s will is done perfectly. For Peter, salvation is the coming inheritance, to which Christian believers are now fully entitled but do not yet fully possess. [2]   

Okay, so our salvation, our hope of eternal life, our inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, is secure. The next thing I want to highlight is the way Christian faith is tested, as Peter describes in verses 6-9.

Faith tested:

Roald Dahl wrote a book called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s about a boy called Charlie who wins a golden ticket for a tour through Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Charlie and his family are very poor and so the abundance of Mr Wonka’s chocolate factory fills young Charlie with awe and wonder.

Other children win tickets too and are allowed to take one adult with them on the tour. Little do they realise but Mr Wonka is trying to find someone to inherit his chocolate kingdom. He wants to give it all away to someone he can trust; someone who will trust him.

As the children make their way through the factory, one by one, they get themselves into trouble so they cannot finish the tour. It’s not that Mr Wonka is trying to catch them out. It’s just that in a chocolate factory trials and temptations are inevitable.

In the end, only Charlie and his Grandpa Joe are left. But they are disqualified for stealing fizzy lifting drink. Charlie proves himself faithful by handing the everlasting gob stopper back to Mr Wonka. ‘So shines a good deed in a weary world.’  

The analogy is not perfect, and should not be pressed too far, but in some ways God is a bit like Mr Wonka, wanting to share his kingdom with humanity. Likewise, Peter’s listeners are like Charlie, poor in material wealth but rich in genuine faith.

From verse 6 Peter writes: though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire— may result in praise, glory and honorwhen Jesus Christ is revealed.  

Gold, in the ancient world, was the most valuable material there was and one of the most durable too. Peter is comparing Christian faith to gold. He is saying genuine faith in Jesus is more valuable and more resilient than gold.

The grief and trials his readers have had to suffer are not cause for shame or disgrace. They should not think of their hardship as a punishment from God. Suffering does not mean God is unhappy with you. Nor is God going out of his way to make life difficult for people.

As one commentator put it, this life is not an obstacle course that we must get through in order to make it into heaven. Rather, suffering in a world that is opposed to the ways of God is inevitable and serves to prove the true value of your faith.

Now, we may not suffer in the same way that Christians did in the first century. While NZ society has (generally speaking) become less friendly to the church, we are not yet openly persecuted for our faith in Jesus. But we do still suffer. This life is difficult and being a Christian does not make one immune from trials and grief.  

Part of Peter’s message to us is that suffering provides an opportunity to test and prove genuine faith. Why are you a Christian? Is it just for the perks of forgiveness and grace? Is it just so you can get into heaven when you die? Or is it because you love and trust Jesus as your Lord and friend.    

Peter shows us that suffering can be a positive thing. Suffering for Christ leads to glory with Christ. For this reason, Christians can find nuggets of joy in the gravel of suffering.

Now the thing about faith and hope is that one trusts in what one cannot see. When Charlie handed the everlasting gob stopper back to Mr Wonka he could not see how that was going to play out. Charlie was simply doing what he believed to be right, in faith, that things would work out in the end. Likewise, when a person who is drowning is thrown a rope, they take hold of it in faith that it will hold their weight and save them. 

In verse 8 Peter admires his readers saying they love Jesus and believe in him even though they have never seen him. In some ways, their faith (and ours) is greater than Peter’s own faith, for Peter had seen Jesus, whereas his readers have not. As the risen Jesus said to Thomas, in John 20:29, Blessed are those who do not see [me] and believe. Peter’s readers are truly walking by faith and not by sight.

The inheritance of our salvation is secure and the presence of suffering is cause for joy because it tests and proves genuine faith. Which brings us to the third point of today’s message: Peter’s readers live at a time in history when the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus (the Messiah) have been revealed.  

Prophecy revealed:

Throughout this year, the government in New Zealand have based their COVID management decisions on scientific evidence. No one can predict the exact timing or circumstances in which a virus cluster might arise but, through contact tracing and community testing, we can gain some understanding of the patterns of the virus and when it is prudent to move up or down levels.

Modern science is also working hard to find a vaccine against the virus, so we do not have to keep running and hiding every time a cluster flares up. 

In many ways we are privileged to live at a time in history when science is able to reveal so much about the virus. When the bubonic plague broke out nearly 700 years ago, people simply did not have the technology to accurately identify it, let alone create a vaccine for it.   

In verses 8-9 Peter applauds his readers for believing in Jesus, even though they have not seen him. Although there is an element of not being able to see with faith, this does not imply there is no evidence for Christian faith. Faith in Jesus is based (in part) on the evidence of the Old Testament prophets.       

Peter observes how the prophets (people like Isaiah and Jeremiah and others) were able to predict the pattern that the Messiah would suffer and then be glorified. But they did not know the time and circumstances in which the things they predicted would take place.

Like the scientists of today, who are searching for a vaccine for COVID, the prophets of long ago searched intently and with greatest care to determine when and where the Messiah would turn up, but this was not revealed to them. It has however been revealed to us.

By recognising the Old Testament prophets in this way, Peter accomplishes a number of things at the same time. Firstly, Peter shows there is a continuity between the Old & New Testaments. The same Holy Spirit who empowered Christ and was poured out at Pentecost, is the same Spirit who pointed the prophets of old to the pattern of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection.

This pattern was not an accident of history but was in fact designed and planned for, by God, all along. Despite the way things may appear, God is still in control and his purpose will be achieved in the end.  

Secondly, Peter is providing objective evidence for those believers who may have been struggling with doubts and thinking about chucking their faith away. The fact the Old Testament prophets predicted the pattern of Jesus’ suffering, death and glorification, confirms that Jesus is the Messiah and so their faith in Jesus is well placed. Not only that, but their current suffering confirms they stand in solidarity with Jesus – so they can take comfort in knowing they are on the right track.

Thirdly, for those who may be tempted to self-pity (due to their trials and grief), Peter points out how privileged they are; for they live at a time in history when the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus have been revealed. Something even angels long to look into.   

Conclusion:

The things Peter touches on here, at the beginning of his letter, whet our appetite and invite our imagination in. Verses 3-12, of chapter 1, show that Peter understands his readers. He knows where they have come from and where they are headed. 

The hope of our salvation is secure through Jesus’ resurrection.

The true value of our faith is tested and proved through suffering.

And we are privileged to live at a time in history when the ancient prophecy concerning Jesus, the Messiah, has been revealed.

Peter will develop these three ideas in the rest of his letter. 

What is the take away for you today?

Are you weary with grief and trials? Are you struggling to keep your head above water? Hold on to the rope of hope. Jesus is standing on the bridge holding the other end. He’s got you.

Suffering is not a sign that God has abandoned you. Suffering provides an opportunity for the refining of our faith. It is an opportunity to show God that you love him for who he is and not just what he gives.

We don’t know how lucky we are to live at this time in history.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

 Questions for discussion or reflection:

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?

Peter says God has given us ‘new birth’. What are we born again into? What are the implications of this new birth for us?

What is hope? In what sense is hope like a rope? Where is your hope placed? (What rope are you holding onto?) Why is Jesus’ resurrection important to Christian hope?

Peter talks about an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. What does he mean by ‘inheritance’?

What purpose/meaning does Peter give to suffering? How might this inform (or transform) the way we interpret our own suffering? Why are you a Christian?

What three things may we glean from Peter’s reference to the prophets in verses 10-12? 

Take some time this week to reflect on (and give thanks for) the privileges we enjoy at this time in history.  

[1] Refer Karen Jobes’ commentary on 1st Peter, page 81.

[2] Refer Karen Jobes, page 88.

Tawa Baptist

Known

Scripture: 1st Peter 1:1-2

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Sender
  • Receivers
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If you want your cooking to taste really good, you might add some stock.

Stock can be made in a variety of ways. For example, you might put a chicken carcass (bones and all) in a pot of water with some vegetables and salt and let it simmer for several hours.

During that process lots of flavour and goodness (like iron and marrow from the bones) is infused in the water. Once the simmering is finished you strain the bones and vegetables out and are left with the stock. Of course, that takes a long time, so we tend to use an Oxo cube instead.

Today we begin a new sermon series in the New Testament letter of 1st Peter.

Our focus this morning is on the first two verses. It might not seem like a lot but these two verses (and indeed the rest of the letter) are like homemade stock – not sweet, but rich in goodness, giving a depth of flavour and meaning.

From 1st Peter chapter 1, verses 1-2, we read…

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

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

There are two parts to today’s message. First we’ll look at the sender of the letter, Peter. And then we’ll consider the recipients – who were they, where were they, and why were they.

Sender

You may have heard me say on other occasions, that power is the ability to do something, while authority is the right to do it. For example, you may have the ability to drive a car but without a driver’s license you don’t have the right (or authority) to drive. Of course, having a license doesn’t give you authority to break the speed limit. Even those with authority must still submit to a higher authority, otherwise they lose their license.

Authority is not something that can be assumed or taken lightly. Authority is a weighty thing – it has to be earned. You do not have the authority to call yourself a doctor unless you have spent 7 or 8 years at university studying and passing exams to earn your degrees. Likewise, you don’t have the authority to teach others unless you have done the hard yards gaining some mastery of the subject yourself. Authority usually comes from personal experience. You can’t really tell others to recycle if you are not recycling.

The story is told of a mother who brought her son to Ghandi. She asked Ghandi if he could get her son to stop eating sugar. Ghandi told her to come back in a week’s time. So the woman went away and came back again with her son a week later. Then Ghandi simply said to the boy, ‘Stop eating sugar’. The mother was puzzled by this and asked why Ghandi had sent her away a week earlier? Why didn’t he just tell her son to stop eating sugar the first time she came? It would have saved her the trouble of going back and forth. Ghandi replied, ‘Before I can tell anyone to stop eating sugar I must first stop eating sugar myself.’ That’s authority you see.

The opening verse of 1st Peter tells us this letter was written by Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament sense of the word, an ‘apostle’ is a messenger sent with authority. By calling himself an ‘apostle of Jesus Christ’, Peter was claiming a special sort of authority. Peter’s authority came from Jesus himself and it came from Peter’s experience of Jesus.

This is the same Simon Peter who left his fishing business to follow Jesus around Galilee and Judea, listening to his teaching and seeing his miracles first hand. The same Peter who witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration, suffering and death. The same Peter who denied Jesus before the cock crowed. The same Peter who met the risen Jesus and was restored a few days later.  The same Peter who spoke to the crowds in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given. The same Peter who had once refused to set foot in the house of a Gentile but then later, under the guidance of the Spirit of Jesus, ate a meal and stayed the night with the Roman Centurion, Cornelius. 

Peter’s words in this letter, are not something to be taken lightly. Peter’s words carry weight – they have authority because Peter had walked with Jesus in person. Peter could talk about forgiveness because he had failed Jesus and been forgiven himself. Peter could preach with authority about the resurrection of Christ because he had seen Jesus die and raised to life three days later. Likewise, he had authority to speak to both Jews and Gentiles because he had obeyed Jesus by accepting Cornelius’ hospitality. Peter’s personal experience of Jesus, together with Jesus’ mandate to Peter (to feed my sheep), made Peter well qualified to encourage and teach the Christian church.

The name ‘Peter’ means rock or stone. Jesus gave Peter this name in Matthew 16. When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied,

Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Talk about authority.       

Eugene Peterson makes the observation that Peter’s influence in the early church was enormous. He was easily the most powerful figure in the Christian community. The truly impressive thing about Peter, the thing that confirms his authority, is the way he handled himself in that position of power. He stayed out of the centre and maintained his submission to Jesus. Given his position Peter could have taken over, using his association with Jesus to promote himself. But he did not do that. [1] Peter kept Jesus at the centre. He pointed people to Christ and so we can trust him.  

Okay, so Peter is the sender of the letter. And he’s not just any old sender. He writes with Christ given authority and humility.

Recipients

What about the recipients? Who were they? Well, the rest of verse 1 tells us they are God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.

This tells us that Peter’s letter is a circular letter. It’s not a letter written to a specific church in order to address some problem in that church. It is a letter to be circulated among the various house churches in that particular geographic region (what we know today as modern Turkey). So Peter wrote the letter, probably from Rome, and then had another Christian believer travel around Turkey taking the letter to the various congregations in Asia Minor.

Most likely Peter’s letter was read out loud in their gathered worship (sort of like a sermon) and those house churches (who could afford it) probably made careful copies so they could refer to it again. 

Do you know what a horologist is? I’ll give you a moment to think, without using Google. [Wait]

That’s right a horologist is someone who makes and fixes clocks and watches.

A few weeks ago I mentioned the TV programme, The Repair Shop. It turns out I’m not alone in liking that show. Unfortunately, the very week after I mentioned it the series came to an end. Hopefully they make another one.

For those who have not seen The Repair Shop, the idea is, people bring in their beloved family belongings to a workshop of craftspeople who go about restoring the item to make it functional again.

The Repair Shop has a resident horologist as part of the team. His name is Steve. Several times someone has brought in an old clock to be repaired and Steve has taken it apart completely, put the various brass components in a special cleaning solution, fixed any broken pieces and then reassembled the clock, making it functional again. Incredible skill. I don’t know how he remembers where everything goes, especially when the clock comes to him already in pieces.

Peter describes the Christians he is writing to as God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered…

In some ways the recipients of Peter’s letter are a bit like the pieces of a disassembled clock – scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.    

If this world is like God’s repair shop, then Christian believers are strangers in this world. The repair shop is not our permanent home. It’s a temporary place, where we are sanctified, before we are returned to our proper home, which is the kingdom of heaven.

To be sanctified is to be made holy – as in whole and functional. If we think of the church as a clock, then the Holy Spirit is like a horologist. The Holy Spirit sanctifies the clock of the church. He strips us down, removing all the corrosion by baptising or immersing our metal in the special cleaning fluid of God’s word. He fixes any broken parts and reassembles the clock.

Now we should not press the clock analogy too far. I’m not suggesting God is like a divine clock maker who winds up the world and walks away to let it tick by on its own. Nor am I suggesting that you are just a cog in God’s machine. You are far more valuable to God than brass. And unlike metal, we human beings feel things.

The point is, this world is not our home. This world is like a repair shop. It is a place of disorientation for us. The sanctifying work of the Spirit is not an easy process. It is strange and difficult and confusing for Christian believers to be taken apart in this world.

The recipients of Peter’s letter were suffering. Because of their faith in Jesus they were being given a hard time, socially ostracised. Slander and malicious talk undermined their relationships in the community. [2] Many scholars think that Peter wrote his letter sometime between 62 and 64 AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Nero. Nero was the one who famously fiddled while Rome burned and then blamed Christians for the fire he started.

Peter is writing to encourage his fellow believers. It’s like he’s saying, “You are in the repair shop. You are being treated unfairly by the society you live in. You are misunderstood and maligned. It might feel like you are being taken apart right now but you need to remember who you are, where you are and why you are. Your time in the repair shop of this world is temporary. You will be restored whole and new again to your proper home, in the Kingdom of heaven.”

The word translated as ‘strangers’, in verse 1, can also be translated as sojourners or resident aliens or refugees. Abraham was a sojourner. I know that some of you, who are listening to this, have immigrated from different parts of the world, so you know what it is to be a sojourner. But all believers, whether they are born in the country they live in or shifted there, are sojourners in this world.

The word translated as ‘scattered’ is diaspora (as in dispersion). It is the term commonly used to describe Jews who were scattered through the world after the exile of 587 BC.

The intriguing thing here is that Peter uses typically Jewish terms to describe the recipients of his letter, even though they are not all Jewish. Some of them were Jews but a good proportion were Gentile. Peter (who was Jewish) is saying that Gentiles are now included in the people of God (they now belong) through faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Peter has come a long way in his thinking. He has gone from being a Jew who refused to associate with Gentiles to one who accepted people of all nations. Peter learned that Jesus is the key to belonging to the people of God.

The thing about being a stranger or a sojourner is that people don’t know you or understand your ways. It is difficult, lonely and isolating to be not known and misunderstood by your neighbours. And so, in verse 2, Peter says you have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.  

The idea here is that even though their neighbours may not know them or understand their ways; even though their neighbours may in fact be spreading malicious rumours about them, God the Father knows them. He knows the difficult situation the followers of Jesus are in and he cares for them.

Returning to our analogy of the clock in the repair shop – God knows where every piece of the clock is scattered. He knows how long it needs to stay in the cleaning solution and where it fits when the clock is put back together.

But it’s not just that God knows certain facts about believers. God knows us with a personal, loving, fatherly knowledge.

In Psalm 139 David praises God for his personal foreknowledge saying:

You have searched me,Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughtsfrom afar. 3 You discern my going outand my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

As any parent understands, knowing your children goes hand in hand with caring for them. In fact, you can’t really provide care for someone without knowing them. If you are preparing meals for people and you don’t know they have an allergy to peanuts, for example, care becomes harm. 

There is one person in our house (who shall remain nameless) who cannot stand bananas. Possibly she had a bad experience with a banana sandwich when she was young and now she almost gags at the smell of a banana. If I did not know her I might bake a banana cake for her, thinking I was doing something kind. But my kindness would not be received. It would probably end up on the floor. Knowing her I would be better to offer a bag of chips.

Some of you may have picked up the reference to the Trinity in verse 2, where Peter talks about the foreknowledge of God the Father, the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the blood of Christ.

Peter says his readers are ‘sprinkled with the blood of Christ’. This is another Old Testament, Jewish stock like, reference. It is rich with meaning. When God made a covenant with the people of Israel in the wilderness, Moses sprinkled the people with blood. Therefore, Jesus’ blood (shed on the cross) makes us one with the people of God.

Likewise, Jewish priests were sprinkled with blood as a way of consecrating them in service to God and his people. Therefore, Jesus’ blood sets Christian believers apart as a royal priesthood. We have a special role in interceding for the world.    

In a similar vein, when a leper was declared cleansed of their leprosy the priest sprinkled the person with blood. So too Jesus’ blood cleanses us from sin so that we are able to participate in worship.        

In verse 2 Peter spells out quite clearly why God has chosen the recipients of his letter: for obedience to Christ.  Our purpose is to obey Jesus – to follow his teaching and his call on our lives.  

Conclusion:

Some people might think that because Peter was a fisherman he wasn’t that intellectual or cerebral. But that is a prejudice against fishermen and others who earn a living with their hands. Peter shows a real depth of wisdom in these two verses.

He knows he is writing to people who are scattered and doing life hard, through no fault of their own. What they need is to be reminded of who they are, where they are and why they are.

Who are they? That’s a question about identity. They are the God’s special people, known personally by him.

Where are they? That’s a question about belonging. They are not at home. They are in the repair shop of this world, temporarily. The kingdom of heaven is where they really belong.

Why are they? That’s a question about purpose. Their reason for being is to obey Jesus.

Last Wednesday Auckland went back to level 3, under COVID restrictions, and the rest of the country went to level 2. Consequently, we are not able to gather for Sunday worship. We are scattered in our house churches.

This raises a mixture of feelings for people. Some are thankful that the government have acted swiftly to prevent the spread of the virus. Others may feel frustrated or anxious or simply tired.

Whatever you are feeling, remember these three things:

Remember who you are. You are a child of God. We are the people of God.   

Remember where you are and where you belong. You are a sojourner in this world but your home is with God in the kingdom of heaven.

And remember why you are. Your purpose is to obey Jesus, to be sanctified and made whole by the Holy Spirit.   

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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?

What is authority and where does it come from? Where did Peter’s authority come from? How did Peter use his authority?

Who were the recipients of Peter’s letter? What was there situation?

What is meant by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit?

What does it mean to be a stranger (sojourner) in this world? Where does the Christian believer belong? Where is our home?

What is the meaning/significance of being sprinkled with the blood of Christ?

Why are we? What is our purpose as the people of God?

Take some time this week to reflect on who you are, where you are and why you are? What implications does this have for your life?

[1] Refer Eugene Peterson’s introduction to 1-2 Peter in the Message Bible, page 2209.

[2] Refer Karen Jobes’ commentary on 1 Peter, page 58.

Tawa Baptist

There is a Redeemer

Scriptures: John 1:29, Deuteronomy 7:8, Luke 4:14-21, Genesis 50:19-21, Philippians 2:5-11, 1st Corinthians 13:8-12, Romans 8:22-24, Ephesians 1:14

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jesus, our redeemer
  • Name above all names
  • Father, Son & Spirit
  • When I stand in glory
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

In the late 80’s I wrote an article for a Christian magazine. It was for a competition. I can’t remember exactly what the magazine was called now and I don’t remember the article either, but apparently not many people entered. They published the article and sent me two complimentary CD’s of Keith Green’s music.

Today we continue our ‘Anthems’ series. In this series we are looking at the lyrics of one hymn or Christian worship song each week to see how that song informs our thinking about God and how it connects with Scripture and the heritage of our faith.

This morning, because it is Trinity Sunday and because we are having communion, we are looking at the song There is a Redeemer. For many years I thought this song was written by Keith Green, because I had listened to it on his CD collection and it was his voice singing the song. Only recently did I learn it was actually written in 1977 by Melody Green, Keith’s wife. Keith made the song famous and he added another verse.

Near the beginning of this Anthems series (in November last year) we heard about Keith Green’s conversion to Christianity, when we looked at the song Create in me a clean heart. Melody Green’s story is similar. Like Keith, Melody was born into a Jewish family. Her grandparents fled persecution in Russia and settled in America. Melody’s dad was a Navy Seal, who served in World War 2. On his return he worked in a factory. Her mother worked in an accounting firm and her grandfather was Jewish Rabbi.

During her teenage years Melody went searching for God and tried various Eastern religions and philosophies. Eventually, Melody met Keith and they both went to a Bible study where they became Christians.

Melody and Keith were not ones to do things by halves. They took the words of Jesus seriously and opened their home in radical hospitality to people in need, giving away most of the money they earned. They also wrote an evangelical magazine called Last Days. 

Sadly, in July 1982, just a few months before his 29th birthday, Keith died in a plane crash along with two of their children. Melody was nursing a baby at the time and was pregnant with their fourth child. She became a young widow and solo mum.

Although it was incredibly painful and difficult, Melody came through this tragedy with greater gratitude to God and more love for others. She says, “Today I have more faith in God’s goodness and ability to provide than ever before. Even when terrible things happen He can turn those things towards our good…  but only if we have the patience to wait while we are hurting.”

Melody carried on the work she and Keith had started, serving and loving and preaching and writing in the name of Jesus. She lives in California these days.

Although Melody wrote the song There is a Redeemer five years before Keith died, it speaks to that situation and others like it. There is a Redeemer is about the ability of our triune God (Father, Son & Spirit) to redeem terrible things and use them for good.

Jesus, our redeemer:

The song starts with the words…

There is a redeemer, Jesus, God’s own Son
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One.

Right from the start the focus is very much on Jesus. The opening verse gives us five titles for Jesus.

Jesus’ name itself means ‘the Lord saves’.

Jesus is God’s own Son. This means he is divine. We heard about Jesus’ divinity a couple of weeks ago.

Messiah literally means ‘anointed one’. Jesus is the prophet, priest and King, chosen by God to save His people.

Holy One means Jesus is set apart for God’s special purpose. It also points to Jesus’ goodness, his purity and integrity.

And Lamb of God picks up the ancient Jewish idea of sacrifice to remove sins. In the gospel of John chapter 1, John the Baptist sees Jesus and says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”     

In the Bible, lambs were associated with innocence, gentleness and deliverance. 

When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar, God provided a lamb as a substitute, thus delivering Isaac and his descendants from certain death.

When the people of Israel were about to leave their slavery in Egypt, God instituted the Passover festival – where each family was to sacrifice a lamb and paint the blood over the door frame, so the angel of death would pass-over that house.

And, on a daily basis, lambs were sacrificed in the Jewish temple as a way of atoning for sin

Lamb sacrifices were reminders of God’s deliverance, his redemption from sin and death.

Which brings us to the leading title for Jesus in this song. Jesus is our redeemer. So what is redemption?

Redemption is essentially a two stage process (or transaction). The first stage involves release and the second stage involves restoration.  So redemption is about setting free and making right. It’s about putting things back in their proper place, where they belong.

Imagine you are at a picnic by a lake. It’s a lovely day. You are sitting on your rug, eating your sandwiches and feeding the ducks, when you hear the sound of a large splash. You look round to see your car has rolled into the water. Someone left the hand break off.

Fortunately, no one was in the car and no people or animals were harmed in the making of this story. But you still have a dilemma. Your car is stuck in the mud and half under water. It doesn’t belong there and you can’t get it out. So you ring your insurance company and they redeem things for you. They send a tow truck which comes and winches your car out of the lake. Once the tow truck driver has released your car, she then takes it to the garage where a mechanic restores the engine to get it working again.

A few days later your car is running fine and back with you, on dry land, where it belongs. That’s redemption: first release, then restoration. While it didn’t cost you much, it did cost the insurance company quite a bit. Redemption is usually an expensive exercise, at least for the redeemer.        

The idea of redemption is illustrated clearly in the law of Moses. For example, if an Israelite came upon hard times and was forced to sell their land, the land could be redeemed by a close relative (a kinsman redeemer). This means a price was paid for the land to be released and restored to the rightful owner.

Or, if an Israelite was forced to sell himself into slavery, a close relative (like a brother or a cousin) could pay for that person’s release, so they could be restored to the status of a free man.

Every 50 years the Law of Moses provided for a Jubilee, which was basically a year of redemption, when all land was returned to the families it belonged to and all slaves were set free and debts forgiven. In this way people were released and restored. It was a handy strategy for preventing a gap between rich and poor. (Although we can’t be sure that ancient Israel actually practiced it.)

In any case, Jesus is our redeemer. With Jesus there is Jubilee. This is what Jesus was saying when he stood up in the synagogue and read from the prophet Isaiah saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the captives and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

The year of the Lord’s favour refers to the Jubilee year. The year of redemption. The year of release and restoration. Jesus is our redeemer. He makes Jubilee happen. 

The quintessential redemption story is the story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. But I’m always referring to Ruth so I’ll choose another story instead. Like when God redeemed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

In Deuteronomy 7:8 we read: But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  

The Israelites were under the power of a foreign dominion; they were oppressed in Egypt. God released his people from that land of slavery and (eventually) restored them to the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, flowing with milk and honey, where they belonged. That’s redemption on a national scale.

Jesus is our redeemer. He sets people free from the slavery of sin and death, restoring us to God’s kingdom, where we belong. Jesus’ redemption is international in its scope. He does it for all people and nations who put their faith in him.

One of my favourite redemption stories is the story of Joseph. Joseph was his father, Jacob’s, favourite and it made Joseph’s brothers envious. They sold him into slavery and faked his death. But God redeemed the situation. He used it for good. Through a series of fortunate and unfortunate events Joseph rose through the ranks from being a lowly slave to becoming the Prime Minister of Egypt. God used Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and deliver the nation from starvation when the seven years of famine came.

In the end God restored Joseph’s family to him also. In Genesis 50 we read how Joseph’s brothers were afraid because of the way they had treated Joseph but Joseph redeemed them saying: “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.”

Joseph became a redeemer for all of Egypt and for his brothers. Joseph points to Jesus, our redeemer. In Jesus we find the release of forgiveness for our sins and restoration to right relationship with God the Father.

Name above all names:

The next verse of the song reads…

Jesus my redeemer, name above all names,
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, oh, for sinners slain.

A person’s name is their reputation, their integrity and their honour. That phrase name above all names is saying that Jesus has the greatest name. His reputation, his personal integrity, his honour, is higher than any other. We are reminded of Philippians 2 where the apostle Paul writes…

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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

This passage of Scripture tells us that Jesus is divine; he shares the very nature of God. It also speaks of Jesus’ sacrifice for sinners. Jesus is the precious sacrificial lamb of God.

One of the things about the sacrificial lamb in Jewish worship is that it had to be spotless, without blemish, perfect. God is infinitely worthy and so he deserves the very best we can offer. To say that Jesus is precious is to say that he is one of a kind. He is the only one good enough to serve as a sacrificial lamb in our place. No one else will do.

The song reminds us that Jesus was slain (or killed) for sinners. The word, sinners, does not refer to a particular class or category of people. Sinners refers to all human beings. We are all sinners and we are all sinned against. To be a sinner is to be alienated from God. That is, to be under the power of a foreign dominion. Sin is not where we belong.

As sinners we are like the car that rolled into the lake. We are in need of redemption. We have a choice. We can either stay in the lake or we can call on God for help. When we call on God he sends his Son, Jesus, to redeem us. Our redemption doesn’t cost us as much as it costs Jesus. He releases us from the lake and, as we cooperate with his Spirit, restores the engine of our heart so we are able to function in a right relationship with God again.       

Father, Son & Spirit:

The chorus of Melody’s song reads…          

Thank you, oh my Father for giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit ’til the work on earth is done.

There is a clear reference of the work of the Trinity in this chorus. Jesus doesn’t do the work of redemption all on his own. Rather the redemption of creation is a team effort with each of the three members of the Trinity (Father, Son & Spirit) working together.

Broadly speaking, from a human perspective, redemption is the initiative of God the Father. God the Father comes up with the plan (I imagine in consultation with the Son & the Spirit) and then sends his Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit into the world to implement the plan. The plan is that Jesus will deliver humanity from sin and death by sacrificing himself on the cross. Jesus works in harmony with the Spirit and is obedient to God the Father in going to the cross. Then later, after Jesus’ resurrection, the Holy Spirit was given to complete (or bring to fruition) Jesus’ work of redemption in the lives of human beings. As I said last week, we are sanctified (or made holy) as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit.  

The point is, when it comes to our redemption, it is a team effort on God’s part.

Imagine your liver is failing. The whites of your eyes are turning yellow, you look jaundiced and you feel rotten. So you go to the doctor. This doctor is a liver specialist and a surgeon. The doctor examines you and sees that you need a liver transplant. He goes looking for a donor for you – someone who is healthy and well. As it happens the only donor who is a match for you is the surgeon’s own son. The surgeon’s son is precious for many reasons; especially as he is the only one who can save you.

Although the donor (the surgeon’s son) is a stranger to you, he loves his father and, after hearing about your situation, is willing to donate part of their liver. You only need a part of the liver. It will regenerate on its own once it is transplanted.

The whole situation humbles you. The doctor must really care about you; given he is willing to risk his only son’s life to save yours. But what can you do. You don’t have medical insurance and if you don’t accept the organ donation you will die. You gratefully accept the doctor’s surgery and trust the son’s sacrifice to redeem your life and health.

The surgery goes well and your body accepts the new liver. You begin to feel better and you realise you owe everything to this father and son. You ask what you can do to say ‘thank you’ and they reply, ‘Take care of your new liver.’ So that’s what you do. You lay off the alcohol and you go easy on sugar. You look after your body, inside and out, and you find ways to pay it forward.

In some ways, not in every way, but in some ways God the Father is a little bit like the surgeon and Jesus is a little bit like the son, who donated his liver, and the liver you received is a little bit like the Holy Spirit.

It’s not a perfect analogy, so don’t press it too far. I’m not suggesting the Holy Spirit is chopped liver. The Holy Spirit is a person in his own right. But he is like a vital organ to our life with God.

The point is, your redemption, my redemption, is a team effort on God’s part and it is costly. God’s only motivation was love. We owe God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) our very lives. How are we taking care of the new liver he has given us?

When I stand in glory:

The last verse of Melody’s song, which I think was added by Keith Green, reads…

When I stand in glory I will see His face
And there I’ll serve my King forever in that holy place.

‘Glory’, in this context, refers to the return of Jesus when God’s kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, is fully realised. So the line, when I stand in glory, looks forward to that time when we see Jesus face to face in all his heavenly glory. In 1st Corinthians 13 the apostle Paul writes about what it will be like when we stand in glory. From verse 8 we read…

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

For many years (most of my life in fact) I had seen the Remarkables (a mountain range in Queenstown) on TV or in post cards and thought they look nice. It would be cool to go there one day. But when I actually did go to Queenstown and saw the Remarkables face to face I was blown away. I couldn’t stop looking at them. They really are remarkable.  

None of us have actually seen Jesus face to face, not yet anyway. We’ve seen his reflection in the Scriptures and perhaps in the church, that is, in the love we have known and shared with other believers. And while these reflections are beautiful in their own way, I expect they don’t really compare with the beauty of a face to face encounter with Christ in his glory. I imagine we will find it difficult to stop looking at Jesus.         

Our redemption is not complete. Full redemption is yet to be accomplished. In Romans 8 Paul puts into words our longing for full redemption where he writes, 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.

And in a similar vein Paul looks forward to the completion of our redemption in Ephesians. From chapter 1, verse 13 we read…

When you believed, you were marked in Christ with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

When purchasing a house, the buyer normally puts down a deposit first, as a guarantee that they will go through with the agreement. The deposit seals the deal as it were. Then, when it is time to move in, the balance is paid and the keys are released to the new owner.

The Holy Spirit is the deposit on our soul guaranteeing our inheritance in God’s kingdom. We haven’t moved into God’s kingdom fully, not yet. We still live in this far from perfect world. But we won’t be slumming it forever. When Jesus returns we will be released from the power of this world and restored to God’s dominion.      

Conclusion:

Jesus is our redeemer. Jesus releases us from the power of sin and death and he restores us to God’s image and God’s kingdom. But he doesn’t do this on his own. No. Our redemption is a team effort between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

While our redemption is guaranteed (from God’s end at least) it is not yet complete. In the meantime, we look forward in hope to that day when we can see Jesus face to face. 

I imagine when our redemption is fully realised we will be better able to worship God than we can now. 

Let’s stand and sing There is a redeemer as we prepare for communion…

There is a redeemer, Jesus God’s own Son

Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One.

Jesus my redeemer, name above all names
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, oh, for sinners slain.

Thank you, oh my Father for giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit ’til the work on earth is done.

When I stand in glory I will see His face
And there I’ll serve my King forever in that holy place.

Thank you, oh my father, for giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit ’til the work on earth is done.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

Listen to the song ‘There is a Redeemer’.  What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does the song evoke for you?) 

What are the two parts / stages of redemption? Can you think of a time in your own life when you have experienced redemption in some way?

What examples of redemption do we find in the Old Testament? How do these redemption stories point to Jesus, our redeemer?

Discuss / reflect on the meaning of the phrase: ‘Jesus, precious Lamb of God’.

How do the Father, Son & Holy Spirit work together for our redemption?

Thinking of the liver transplant analogy above; how are you taking care of the new liver (new life) God has given you?

In what sense is our redemption incomplete? When will our redemption be fully realized? Take some time this week to reflect on what full redemption will be like. 

Tawa Baptist

Gracious Spirit

Scriptures: John 1:17, John 8:1-11, Proverbs 4:23, Luke 9:51-56, John 16:5-16, 1st Peter 1:13-15

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Grace & truth
  • Tenderness & Might
  • Holiness & sanctification
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Some of you may have paddled kayaks or gone rafting on rivers. You will know how powerful a river is. A river is life giving, flexible and patient. Water always finds a way.  

In years gone by rivers were a means of transport, a highway of sorts. Boats would travel from place to place up and down rivers because the forest was too thick or the terrain was too rugged. When you travel on a river you need to respect the current; to cooperate with the flow of it. If you just drift and let the river take you, it won’t be long before you find yourself in trouble.

In some ways the Holy Spirit is a bit like a river. He is both powerful and life giving. Just as a river can carry us along to our destination, so too the Holy Spirit helps us in our journey of faith. However, we can’t afford to simply drift and let the river do all the work. We have to cooperate with the Spirit by reading the changing eddy lines and putting in some effort to guide our soul in the right direction.

Today we continue our ‘Anthems’ series. In this series we are looking at the lyrics of one hymn or Christian worship song each week to see how that song informs our thinking about God and how it connects with Scripture and the heritage of our faith.

This morning, because it is Pentecost Sunday, we are looking at the song Gracious Spirit, dwell with me. As the name suggests, Gracious Spirit is a song about the Holy Spirit. In particular, it is a prayer about cooperating with the ebb and flow of the Holy Spirit in the journey of becoming more like Christ.

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me was written by Thomas Lynch, a Nineteenth Century London church minister. Although Thomas’ congregations were relatively small his reach was larger. The quality of his preaching attracted theological students and thoughtful people who had an influence on others.

He died in 1871 at the age of 52. His last words were: “Now I am going to begin to live.”   

There are 5 verses to Thomas Lynch’s song, each of which focus on a different facet of the Holy Spirit’s character. Verse 1 focuses on grace, verse 2 on truth, verse 3 on tenderness, verse 4 on might and verse 5 on holiness. (Verse 3 is not included in the Baptist Hymnal, so you may not be familiar with that one.)

These five facets are not the only characteristics of the Spirit; they are simply the ones Thomas Lynch thought were appropriate for the people of his day. All five facets align with the character of Christ.

What we notice is that the first two verses, about grace & truth, form a natural pair as do the second two verses, about tenderness and might. While the last verse, about holiness, offers a kind of summary or conclusion. 

Grace & truth:

In the opening chapter of his gospel, John writes: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

This tells us the Spirit of Jesus is a Spirit of grace and truth, in contrast to the law of Moses which has to do with obligation and guilt.

Grace, as we know, means gift. To receive grace is to be given something good, something beautiful that we don’t deserve. Grace is unmerited favour. Truth is the natural companion of grace. We tend to think of truth as the correct or right information and, while it is that, it’s more than that. Truth is lasting or eternal. Truth is a power, something that sets people free. Truth is also a person. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life.” Jesus, in himself, embodies grace and truth together. He doesn’t separate them.        

The truth & grace of Jesus is like a surgeon’s scalpel. A scalpel may hurt but it also heals at the same time. All truth and no grace is like a hammer; it causes pain without healing. Likewise, all grace and no truth is like putting a band aid on an infected wound. It may be well intentioned but it doesn’t actually deal with the cause of the problem.

Everything Jesus did combined grace and truth. The grace & truth of Jesus, in contrast to the obligation & guilt of the law of Moses, is seen clearly in John chapter 8.

One morning, around dawn, Jesus was teaching in the temple courts. People were gathered around him listening when the teachers of the law and the Pharisees presented a woman caught in adultery. Straight away we wonder where the man is? According to the law of Moses he had to face up to what he had done as well. Sadly, the religious leaders’ intention was not gracious or true. Their purpose was to try and trap Jesus.

They made the woman stand before everyone and said to Jesus, ‘The law of Moses commanded us to stone such women. What do you say?’

They think they have Jesus between a rock and a hard place. If Jesus says, “stone her”, then he would be in trouble with the Romans because Jews had to submit Roman law. But if he says, “don’t stone her”, he would lose face with the people for contradicting the law of Moses.

Jesus doesn’t answer straight away. He bends down and starts writing on the ground with his finger. We are not sure exactly why Jesus did this. Perhaps he was being kind and giving his enemies a chance to walk away; de-escalating the situation in other words. But it’s also an act of grace for the woman. By writing on the ground he was drawing attention away from the woman and onto himself. I imagine the woman felt overwhelming shame and the last thing she wanted was a lot of men looking at her.

The experts in the law don’t take the hint. They keep questioning Jesus. So Jesus straightens up and says to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

This sentence embodies both grace and truth. Jesus had the power to expose the secret sins of his enemies – that is to major on truth without grace – but he doesn’t. Instead Jesus makes a skilful incision with his scalpel of grace and truth to release the infection and cleanse the wound.

One by one the truth dawns on each person there – the truth about themselves. As they remember their own sins, their conscience is moved. They drop their stones and walk away.

Eventually it’s just Jesus and the woman left standing there. Once again Jesus speaks words of grace and truth saying to the woman,

“Where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go and leave your life of sin.”  

Grace and truth you see. Jesus does not condemn the woman. He gives her a second chance. But nor does he condone her sin. He puts her on the right path.

Verse 1 of the song reads…

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would gracious be;
And, with words that help and heal, would Thy life in mine reveal;
And, with actions bold and meek, would for Christ my Saviour speak.

Meek is a word which describes strength with gentleness. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is great power under control. Jesus demonstrated meekness in his handling of the crowd who wanted to stone the woman. He could have smashed his enemies but he doesn’t. Instead he does the more difficult thing of respecting his enemies and helping them from within. 

Verse 2 of the song, the companion to verse 1, reads…

Truthful Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would truthful be;
And with wisdom kind and clear let Thy life in mine appear;
And with actions brotherly speak my Lord’s sincerity.

Again we see the kind and clear wisdom of Jesus in his response to the woman in John 8. I am in awe of Jesus’ grace and truth. His calmness in highly pressured situations. His ability to know clearly what to do and the courage to carry it through without doing violence. We need the help of the Spirit to be like Jesus. Thomas Lynch’s song repeatedly asks the Spirit to dwell with us so that we would think and act in Christ-like ways. 

We started this message by comparing the Holy Spirit to a river. The Spirit is also like the wind.

As Christians we are on a journey – it is the journey of becoming more like Christ. This journey is epic, like travelling from one continent to another. It is too far to swim. We need help. If faith in Jesus is the boat for getting us to the land of Jesus, then the Holy Spirit is the wind in our sails. But we have to cooperate with the Spirit. We have to pay attention to the way the wind is blowing and trim our sails to catch it. While the journey to becoming more like Christ doesn’t depend on us entirely there is some concentration and effort required on our part.

Tenderness & might:

Just as verses 1 & 2 of the song are companion verses, so too verses 3 & 4 go together. The Spirit of Jesus is both tender and mighty. Tenderness and might don’t look like they fit at first glance but, in Jesus, these qualities are a perfect match.  

Verse 3 reads…

Tender Spirit, dwell with me! I myself would tender be;
Shut my heart up like a flower at temptation’s darksome hour,
Open it when shines the sun, and his love by fragrance own.

This verse of the song reminds us that the way to be tender and gentle is to guard our heart. Proverbs 4:23 reads,

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.”

We guard our hearts by keeping temptation out and letting the light of God’s goodness and love in.

The importance of the human heart is found throughout Scripture. The prophets warned against having a hard heart and looked forward to the time when God would give people a heart transplant: removing their heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart toward him. It is the Spirit of Jesus who softens our heart. It is grace & truth that makes us tender on the inside, at our core.

If you burn your dinner while cooking it, you might end up with some crusty stubborn charred food stuck to the bottom of the pot. You can try and clean this quickly with steel wool and harsh scrubbing. Or you can let the pot soak in water and detergent overnight. It takes longer soaking it but the hard stuck on food softens in the process and comes off easier. God’s Spirit is tender, not rough. He often takes the slow, gentle approach with us, letting us soak for a while to soften up our burnt crusty stubborn bits. 

A tender heart is a necessary companion to mightiness and power.

Verse 4 of the song reads…

Mighty Spirit, dwell with me! I myself would mighty be,
Mighty so as to prevail where unaided man must fail,
Ever by a mighty hope pressing on and bearing up.

The Spirit of Jesus is tender and gentle but tenderness should not be mistaken for timidity or lack of courage. The might of Jesus redefines strength and courage. We’ve already heard about Jesus’ courage in facing an angry crowd in John 8 but there were many other times when Jesus’ might prevailed in non-violent ways. The might (or power) of Jesus is the strength to love one’s enemies and the grace to forgive. In Luke 9 we read… 

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.

This story shows us Jesus’ might in keeping a tender heart. The Samaritans and Jews were arch enemies. Generally speaking, they hated each other. But that did not stop Jesus from reaching out to them. Jesus’ heart was tender toward them.

On this particular occasion one Samaritan village refused hospitality to Jesus and his disciples. Not all Samaritan villages treated Jesus in this way. Some welcomed Jesus.[1] The wonderful thing about Jesus is that he didn’t let rejection harden his heart. Jesus could have reacted in anger and called down fire from heaven to destroy them but he doesn’t. Instead he guards his heart, keeping it tender. That village rejected Jesus in ignorance and Jesus graciously moved on to the next village, without making a fuss. Can you see how Jesus’ might and tenderness go together? It requires real strength to be gentle and not take revenge.

Returning to verse 4 of the song, we see another aspect of might – the might of hope. The last line reads: Ever by a mighty hope pressing on and bearing up.

The idea here is that of patient endurance and tenacity. As I said before, it is a long road to become like Christ. It is the Spirit who inspires the hope we need to go the distance and not give up.  

The Biblical images for the Holy Spirit, of wind and water, are helpful but they only give us pieces of the picture. Wind and water are powerful but they are not personal. We need to remember the Holy Spirit is a person. Wind and water cannot inspire hope in quite the same way a person can.

In John 16, the night before he died, Jesus explained to his disciples how the Holy Spirit would come to help them. Jesus described the Holy Spirit in personal terms as a Counsellor or an Advocate. The Greek word used here to describe the Holy Spirit is ‘paraclete’, which literally means ‘one who comes alongside’. Verse 13 of John 16 reads: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth… and he will tell you what is to come.”

I find it helpful to think of the Holy Spirit as a coach. If you’ve ever been part of a sports team you probably had a coach. A good coach comes alongside the players to inspire hope. A good coach gives the players a picture of future success. A good coach encourages and guides the players by speaking the truth to them in a way they can accept. A good coach listens and understands and motivates and gets the best out of their team by helping them to work together.

If we think of the church as a sports team, then the Holy Spirit is the coach. He comes alongside us to help us become more like Jesus.          

Holiness & sanctification:

And so we come to the last verse of the song…

Holy Spirit, dwell with me: I myself would holy be;
Separate from sin, I would choose and cherish all things good;
And whatever I can be, give to Him who gave me Thee.

To be holy primarily means to be set apart for a special purpose. You might have a tea set or silverware that you set apart for special occasions. You don’t use it every day. That is holy in a sense.

The defibrillator on the wall outside the church office is holy – it is set apart for a special purpose but at the same time it is accessible to the community.

A surgeon’s scalpel is holy – it is sterilised and set apart for one purpose only, operating on people.

Your dinner table is holy – it is set apart for serving food. You don’t sit on a table because bottoms shouldn’t go where food goes.

Likewise, your toothbrush is holy. You don’t use your toothbrush for cleaning the toilet. Your toothbrush is set apart for cleaning your teeth.    

Holiness also has to do with wholeness and integrity and good morality. As followers of Jesus we are set apart for God’s special purpose. That includes being set apart from sin but not set apart from the world. We are in the world to point people to Jesus and indeed to reveal Jesus.

In 1st Peter, chapter 1 we read…

13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

The process of becoming holy, like Jesus, is called sanctification. The task of the Holy Spirit is to effect in us what God commands. [2] Our task is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the process of becoming holy.

So how do we become holy? How are we sanctified? The French Jesuit priest, Jean-Pierre de Caussade has some helpful things to say in this regard. [3] Jean-Pierre lived during the 17th & 18th Centuries. He basically said we are sanctified by doing the will of God, that is, by obedience to the Spirit of Jesus. This does not mean blindly following a set program of spiritual exercises. Rather it means being sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit and doing what the Spirit directs us to do in the present moment. Much like cooperating with the current of a river or trimming our sails to catch the shifting wind or taking the specific advice of a sports coach.   

For example, if the Spirit is prompting us to be still in silence, then sanctification (being made holy) happens as we do that. If we try to read Scripture or pray out loud when the Spirit is telling us to meditate quietly, then our soul will emerge troubled. There is nothing wrong with reading Scripture and praying out loud of course. At certain times (when the Spirit directs) this is what we need to do. But it is not always the right thing to do. “All we need to know is how to recognise his will in the present moment.” [4]

And I guess that’s where it gets tricky. It takes time and experience to learn sensitivity to the Spirit. Sensing the Spirit’s movement is like communication in marriage. The longer you are married the better able you are to sense what your husband or wife is thinking. Or it’s like batting in cricket. You need to give yourself a few overs to get your eye in and feel how the pitch is playing.

The point is we are sanctified, we are made holy like Jesus, as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows us intimately and he knows what is best for us. We need to trust him and flow with him.

Conclusion:

Not sure about you but it often feels like I have a long way to go to become like Jesus. Progress seems incrementally slow. It doesn’t help to think too much about the gap. It is helpful to remember that sanctification is a process and it doesn’t depend entirely on us. We don’t need to worry about our past mistakes or the distance yet to travel. The past and the future are in God’s hands.

Our part is to obey the Spirit in the present moment. So ask yourself: what is the Holy Spirit wanting me to do right now?

Is it to sit still and rest?

Is it to pour out your heart in words and tears before the Lord?

Is it to take a walk outside?

Is it to ring someone who needs to hear a friendly voice?

Is it to listen to your husband or wife?

Or is it something else?

Let us pray. (You could pray this prayer responsively if you like)

Lord Jesus, you are generous. Help us to enjoy your kindness and pay it forward.

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me.

Lord Jesus, you are wise. Help us to be honest with ourselves and to listen.

Truthful Spirit, dwell with me.

Lord Jesus, you are gentle. Help us to guard our hearts and let you in.

Tender Spirit, dwell with me.

Lord Jesus, you are courageous. Help us to harness hope and go the distance.

Mighty Spirit, dwell with me.

Lord Jesus, you are enough. Help us to serve your purpose in the present moment, with love.

Holy Spirit, dwell with me. Amen.

Let’s stand and sing, Gracious Spirit, dwell with me. Make this your prayer…  

1. GRACIOUS Spirit, dwell with me:
I myself would gracious be;
And, with words that help and heal,
Would Thy life in mine reveal;
And, with actions bold and meek,
Would for Christ my Saviour speak.

2. Truthful Spirit, dwell with me:
I myself would truthful be;
And with wisdom kind and clear
Let Thy life in mine appear;
And with actions brotherly
Speak my Lord’s sincerity.

3. Tender Spirit, dwell with me!
I myself would tender be;
Shut my heart up like a flower
At temptation’s darksome hour,
Open it when shines the sun,
And his love by fragrance own.

4. Mighty Spirit, dwell with me!
I myself would mighty be,
Mighty so as to prevail
Where unaided man must fail,
Ever by a mighty hope
Pressing on and bearing up.

5. Holy Spirit, dwell with me:
I myself would holy be;
Separate from sin, I would
Choose and cherish all things good;
And whatever I can be,
Give to Him who gave me Thee.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

Listen to the song ‘Gracious Spirit, dwell with me’.  What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does the song evoke for you?) 

Have you ever gone swimming or kayaking or rafting on a river? What do you remember about your experience of the river? In what ways is the Holy Spirit like a river?

How is the grace & truth of Jesus evident in John 8:1-11? Can you think of any other gospel stories that show Jesus’ grace & truth working together? 

Have you ever been sailing or flown a kite? What do you remember about your experience of the wind? In what ways is the Holy Spirit like the wind?

Why is it important to guard your heart? How might we guard our heart from evil, while still allowing the goodness and love of God in?

How do Jesus’ tenderness and might combine in Luke 9:51-55?  Can you think of any other gospel stories that show Jesus’ tenderness & might working together?

Have you ever had a sports coach? What does a good coach do? In what ways is the Holy Spirit like a good coach?

What is sanctification? How did Jean-Pierre de Caussade believe we are made holy? How might we recognize the will of God’s Spirit in the present moment?

Take some time each day this week to ask yourself: ‘What is the Spirit wanting me to do right now?’

[1] See for example John 4.

[2] Refer Stanley Grenz, ‘Theology for the Community of God’, page 442.

[3] Refer ‘Devotional Classics’, edited by R.J. Foster & J.B. Smith, page 230-233.

[4] Ibid, page 231.

Tawa Baptist

Create in me a clean heart

Scriptures: Psalm 51 and 2nd Samuel 11 & 12

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Keith Green
  • King David
  • Psalm 51
  • Conclusion

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a right spirit within me;

Cast me not away from Your presence, O Lord

Take not Your Holy Spirit from me;

Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation,

And renew a right spirit within me.

Introduction:

Some of you may have seen the movie Rocketman recently

  • It’s a bio pic about the life of Elton John
  • Elton John is of course an incredibly talented musician, but he didn’t write all those hits songs on his own – many of his songs are a collaboration with Bernie Taupin
  • Bernie was the lyricist – he wrote the words and gave them to Elton who then put them to music.

Last week we began a new sermon series called ‘Anthems’

  • In this series we are looking at the lyrics of one hymn or Christian worship song each week to see how that song informs our thinking about God and how it connects with Scripture and the history of our faith.
  • The purpose is not to find fault with the words but to help us interpret the songs in the best possible light.

Today’s song is called, Create in me a clean heart

  • This song is a collaboration between king David, Keith Green and the Holy Spirit
  • The lyrics were written by David roughly 3,000 years ago, I’m not sure who wrote the tune we sing it to but it was covered by Keith Green about 40 years ago.
  • Before we get to king David though, let’s consider Keith Green’s life

Keith Green:

For Keith Green it was all about glorifying God. This is what Keith says…

The only music minister to whom the Lord will say, ‘Well done, thy good and faithful servant’, is the one whose life proves what their lyrics are saying, and to whom music is the least important part of their life. Glorifying the only worthy One has to be the minister’s most important goal.  

Keith Green was born in 1953 is New York, into a show biz family

  • Like king David, Keith was Jewish, although unlike David, Keith’s family didn’t practice the Jewish faith
  • Keith was genuinely gifted, a child star. At the age of 11 he landed a five-year contract with industry giant Decca Records
  • Time magazine hailed him as a ‘prepubescent dreamboat” who “croons in a voice trembling with conviction…”
  • Keith was poised to become the next teen heart throb until Donny Osmond beat him to it. Worldly success didn’t happen for Keith.

In the 1960’s, at the age of 15, Keith ran away from home in search of girls, drugs and the promise of universal love preached by the hippie movement

  • This was a time when the west was discovering the east and so Keith looked to eastern religions to try and find spiritual truth
  • As he devoured the writings of the religious ‘masters’ one thing struck him as odd: their teachings kept referring to Jesus Christ, but Jesus was at the bottom of Keith’s list.
  • Eventually, one day in 1973 after much trial and error, when he had exhausted every other option Keith bought a cross, put it on and alone, through tears prayed in desperation, “Jesus, if you’re there, show yourself to me.” And Jesus did. The love of Jesus broke through.

In the gospel Jesus says, those who have been forgiven much, love much.

  • Keith Green had been forgiven much and so his love for Jesus was very strong. Keith had a tremendous energy and passion to see others come to faith in Jesus and it showed in the songs he wrote 
  • Between 1977 and 1982 Keith released five gospel albums
  • But he wasn’t just a performer – Keith was the real deal.
  • He and his wife Melody opened their home in radical hospitality to people in need and they gave away most of the money they earned
  • They also wrote an evangelical magazine called Last Days  
  • Some people saw Keith Green as a prophet, because his songs called the church to repentance, but he was never comfortable with that label.

Sadly, in July 1982, just a few months before his 29th birthday, Keith died in a plane crash. It was around this time I became a Christian and was baptized.

King David:

Create in me a clean heart is a simple song based on verses 10-12 of Psalm 51

  • It is essentially a prayer for conversion from the inside out – a heartfelt request for real and lasting change to one’s self

The sub-title to psalm 51 reads: A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone into Bathsheba.

  • To put you in the picture, David has, by this stage, been king for a number of years and has enjoyed quite a bit of success
  • While his army is away fighting David stays home in his palace
  • One evening he looks out over his balcony and sees a beautiful woman bathing. Like the Bruce Springsteen song, David is on fire.
  • Maybe it is the loneliness of leadership?
  • Maybe it’s the corrupting influence of power?
  • Or maybe David has simply grown complacent in his prosperity?
  • Whatever the reason, David must have this woman and invites her to his room. Her name is Bathsheba.
  • One thing leads to another and Bathsheba gets pregnant.

This is not a good look for David. David wants to cover his tracks, to hide what he has done

  • Bathsheba is married to Uriah the Hittite. Uriah is a good guy. He is actually away fighting in David’s army    
  • David calls Uriah back from the front line, tries to get him drunk and then sends him home in the hope he will sleep with Bathsheba
  • That way no one will know what David has done – everyone will think the baby is Uriah’s.
  • Well not quite everyone. God knows. But David puts God out of his mind. David behaves as though God does not exist. Practical atheism.

Unfortunately for David, Uriah is a real boy scout and instead of going home to get reacquainted with his wife, Uriah sleeps on the doorstep of David’s palace.

  • He can’t stand the thought of taking any comfort for himself while his brothers in arms are sleeping rough in fox holes.
  • This means David has to resort to Plan B. He sends Uriah back to the front and a messenger follows.
  • The message is for Joab, the commander of David’s army. David wants Joab to put Uriah where the fighting is heaviest and then fall back so Uriah gets killed by the enemy.
  • Joab is a soldier. He follows orders and it is done. Uriah dies in battle and, after the time of mourning, Bathsheba becomes David’s wife.

David thinks he is in the clear. Yes, he’s having trouble sleeping and like Lady MacBeth he just can’t seem to get rid of that damn spot, but at least his reputation is intact. Then Nathan, the prophet, turns up

  • Nathan is wise in his approach. He doesn’t confront the issue head on. That would only make David angry and defensive.
  • Instead Nathan goes for the sucker punch. He tells David a parable [1]              

“There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had many cattle and sheep, 3 while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him. 4 One day a visitor arrived at the rich man’s home. The rich man didn’t want to kill one of his own animals to fix a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared a meal for his guest.”

5 David became very angry at the rich man and said, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die! 6 For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took.”

  • Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man”.

All at once David knew it saying, ‘I have sinned against the Lord’. Then he goes on to compose Psalm 51.

Psalm 51:

As I said before, the words we sung earlier are just a handful of lines from David’s original song.

  • They capture the essence of the psalm but to understand them properly we need to hear them in the context of the whole
  • From verse 1 we read…

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

These opening verses summarise the psalm – David wants mercy from God. Previously he had wanted justice. Now that he sees himself as he is, he wants mercy.

  • David’s plea for mercy shows what he believes about God’s character – that God is gracious and good.
  • Someone once said that faith is believing that God accepts me even though I am unacceptable.
  • David knows he is unacceptable and yet he has the faith to believe that God is generous enough to forgive him and accept him.

David doesn’t rely on his own good works to save him – he doesn’t say to God, ‘I’ve done a lot of good things for you and Israel over the years Lord. Remember what I did with Goliath. How about you let this slide.’

  • Rather, David relies on God’s steadfast love and mercy, God’s hesed.

David describes his wrong doing with the words: iniquity, transgressions & sin

  • They are essentially three ways of saying the same thing, although each word has a different nuance.
  • Iniquity is any act of injustice
  • Transgressions refers to the ways David has crossed the line of God’s law (in this case coveting, adultery, murder and lying)
  • While sin is more a state of being in which we act independently of God, as though God did not exist.

The word wash, as in ‘wash me thoroughly’ is the same word that is used for washing clothes

  • In David’s day, people got stains out of clothes by rubbing the fabric together or by beating the clothes on a rock
  • For David to ask God to ‘wash me thoroughly’ then, is to invite some rough treatment for his sin – David does not expect cheap grace.
  • God’s forgiveness of David did not mean David got off scot free.
  • In 2nd Samuel 12 the prophet Nathan tells David that, while he is forgiven, his child to Bathsheba will die and the sword will never depart from David’s house. God is merciful but he’s also just.  

From verse 3 we continue…

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. 5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

These verses contain David’s confession. Often when we mess up in some way, our first instinct is to deny our wrong doing or make excuses or blame someone else. David does not do this. David admits he is wrong and God is right. No excuses.

At the beginning of verse 4 David says he has sinned against God alone, which jars with us a bit because clearly David’s iniquity has affected Uriah, Bathsheba, the nation of Israel, his family and himself as well.

  • I think David is using the word sinned in the sense of operating independently of God, behaving as though God did not exist.
  • The point is, sin is first and foremost an affront to God
  • So often we judge ourselves by the ethic of: “It’s okay as long as I don’t harm anyone else.”
  • But in saying that, we exclude God. We don’t consider God as a person
  • We forget how our actions affect the Lord. 
  • As offensive as David’s behaviour was to other human beings, it was even more offensive to God. 

Derek Kidner observes the change in David’s attitude here…[2]

  • Previously David’s only concern was, ‘How do I cover my tracks?’ How do I protect myself and my reputation?
  • Now David is more concerned with ‘How could I treat God like this?’      

David is not blaming his mother or his parents in verse 5, where he talks about being guilty even in the womb

  • No. David is saying the problem is with me. My character is deeply flawed. I have always been prone to sin. I am to blame.

From verse 6 we read…

  • 6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore, teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
  • The problem is inside us. Sin starts with a lie, with stinking thinking.
  • We need God to teach us the wisdom of being honest with ourselves so we can think straight – then change will happen from the inside out.

Verse 7: 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

  • When a priest declared a leper clean and fit to re-join the community they would dip the branch of a hyssop tree in sacrificial blood and sprinkle the person seven times. David is comparing himself to a leper.
  • Jesus’ blood, sprinkled on us, makes us clean.
  • The word purge is equivalent to ‘de-sin’ [3] – in other words, ‘remove from me any desire to be independent of you God’.

Verse 8: 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

  • The weight of David’s guilt is crushing him deep inside and, like broken bones, it is extremely painful, not to mention paralysing
  • He can’t enjoy anything because of his guilt.

And so we get to the verses we sing in church…

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

The words create and renew go together. They refer to something only God can do. David is asking for a miracle of transformation, a deep conversion of himself from the inside out 

  • In the Genesis account of creation God brings order to the chaos, so that it becomes functional.
  • David wants God to bring order to the chaos of his heart – to renew the core of his being, as opposed to replacing it.

Over the past few months our car has been playing up. Not all the time, just randomly, sporadically. Sometimes, when we turned it on, it would start up for a few seconds and then the engine would die. Other times it ran fine.

  • I took it to the mechanic last week and he diagnosed that it was a faulty cam-belt sensor. The sensor thought there was a problem, when there wasn’t, and shut the engine down unnecessarily.
  • These days we fix a problem like a faulty sensor by throwing the old one away and putting a new one in, but this is not God’s preference.
  • Sometimes God replaces but more often He is inclined to use what is already there – to transform what is broken and make it functional again.
  • So create in me a clean heart does not mean throwing the old heart away and replacing it with a new one, like with the sensor in our car
  • Create in me a clean heart means transforming the old heart so that it functions in the way it should.

The words heart and spirit (as in the human spirit) go together

  • It’s difficult to tie these words down or define them exactly because they can be used in different ways depending on the context

Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart because it is the well-spring of life

  • The heart is to our soul what a water bore is to a farm.
  • The heart is to our life what roots are to a tree.   

Spirit can mean the breath that animates the body and makes it alive, but it can also refer to something that is not physical or material and yet still very real.

Spirit normally has to do with relationship though – as in the bond between God and people and what characterises that bond 

  • For example, a ‘spirit of fear’ describes a relationship based on fear.
  • Or we might say, someone has a ‘gentle spirit’, meaning they relate with others in a gentle way, as opposed to a rough or violent way
  • A right spirit is a relationship characterised by treating others right
  • A right spirit can also be translated as a ‘steady spirit’ or a ‘loyal spirit’. David doesn’t want to be inconsistent in his relationship with God or others – he wants to be steady and loyal and faithful.

We express our self (who we are) through our heart & spirit

  • Our heart and spirit characterise the condition and direction of our life [4]   
  • In praying for a clean heart and a right spirit David is acknowledging that the direction and condition of his life have gone haywire
  • David’s heart & spirit have expressed adultery and murder and he doesn’t want that to happen again
  • David wants his life to be open to God and directed toward His purpose.

My lawn at home has quite a few daisies and butter cups in it. As much as I like mowing lawns I’m reluctant to cut the flower heads off.

  • During the day the daisies and buttercups open up to face the sun.
  • They direct themselves toward the light and in doing so they express the beauty of their heart and spirit. But then at night they close up again.
  • We human beings are a bit like flowers. In the same way a flower expresses its beauty by opening its petals to the sunlight, so too we express our beauty as we direct our lives toward God and open our heart to His light (the light of Christ).

Verse 11: 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

  • God’s presence and God’s Holy Spirit go together – God is present through His Spirit.
  • Today the children in the Flock Sunday school are learning how Samuel anointed David to be king of Israel
  • When king Saul disobeyed God, the Lord took His Spirit away from Saul and gave it to David
  • The anointing of God’s Spirit gave David both the power and authority to rule as king of Israel – God’s Spirit made David royalty. God’s Spirit makes us royalty too.
  • Perhaps David is worried that God will take away his kingly authority, like he did with Saul.
  • More likely though David doesn’t want to lose the intimacy he enjoys with God through the Holy Spirit. 
  • The application for us here is that we can’t presume upon God’s grace.
  • God’s Spirit is a gift, freely given. But God can and will take His Spirit back if we abuse our power or position without remorse.

God’s presence may also be a reference to the temple in Jerusalem – the temple being a symbol of God’s presence

  • This psalm would have been particularly poignant for the Israelites in exile in Babylon (a few hundred years after David).
  • They knew what it was to be cast away from God’s presence and longed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
  • The body of Christ, the church, is the new temple of God’s presence
  • When we sing this line we aren’t just asking for some personal mystical experience of God’s Spirit – we are asking to remain in Christ as part of His body the church. 
  • We are saying, ‘Don’t excommunicate me Lord. Let me enjoy communion with you and your people.’

Verse12: 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

  • Joy is a positive energy – it sustains our spirit. David had no joy.
  • People may lack joy for a whole lot of reasons, often through no fault of their own. But, in David’s case, it was because of what he had done wrong, because of his guilt.
  • God’s salvation for David, in this situation, means God’s forgiveness
  • David has killed an innocent man and therefore he deserves to die
  • Salvation would mean having his life spared
  • Salvation would also mean a clear conscience.
  • David wants to be free of his guilt so he has the energy he needs to willingly do what God wants.
  • A willing spirit can also be translated a princely spirit, as in a noble spirit.

Verse 13: 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

  • I don’t think David is intending to preach to people here. I think he means his example will be a sermon to others.
  • When people see how God has saved David, they will repent. They will think, if God can forgive David’s sin, then he can forgive mine too.
  • Indeed, David’s example of honest (excuse free confession) and deep heart felt repentance has provided hope for forgiveness and a pathway to redemption for millions of people down the centuries.

The rest of the psalm then talks about worship…

14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. 17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, 19 then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

For our worship to be acceptable it must come from a broken spirit and a contrite heart – from the inside out

  • ‘God is looking for the heart that knows how little it deserves and how much it owes’ [5]
  • Our humility is beautiful to God, like an open daisy or a buttercup

Conclusion:

I’m not sure why Keith Green chose to do a cover of Create in me a clean heart

  • Perhaps it was because he identified with David in being a prodigal son who had returned to God his heavenly Father
  • Or maybe it was to irritate the church’s conscience – a kind of call for God’s people to live holy lives and not take God’s salvation for granted.
  • Keith longed for deep conversion for himself and others.

Like Keith Green, king David had been forgiven much and so he loved much

  • Worship is an expression of our love for God
  • Psalm 51 begins with confession and ends in worship
  • Before we can worship God properly we have to realise how much we have been forgiven
  • And before we can realise how much we have been forgiven we have to face the truth about ourselves, we have to feel the depth of our sin and make our confession.

Let us pray…  

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a right spirit within me;

Cast me not away from Your presence, O Lord

Take not Your Holy Spirit from me;

Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation,

And renew a right spirit within me.

Through Jesus we pray. Amen.    

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. Listen to (or sing) the song, ‘Create in me a clean heart’.  What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does it evoke for you?) 
  2. How did you come to faith in Christ? In what ways is your conversion story similar to Keith Green’s? In what ways is it different?
  3. How do you feel as you read the story of David & Bathsheba & Uriah? Who do you identify with most in this story? (David, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab or Nathan.) Why?
  4. What is sin? How does David’s sin affect him? How does sin affect you?
  5. What do we notice about David’s confession and repentance?  How do we find forgiveness with God?
  6. How is your heart & spirit? Are you open to God’s light or are you closed off to God?
  7. What does God require from us in worship? 

[1] Refer 2 Samuel 12:1-7.

[2] Refer Derek Kidner’s commentary on Psalms 1-72, page 208.

[3] Ibid, page 209.

[4] Refer James Mays commentary on the Psalms, page 203.

[5] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, page 211.