Tawa Baptist

On this rock…

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20

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

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Clear identity
  • Stable leadership
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

You don’t own a cricket bat just to oil it. The purpose of a cricket bat is to score runs. Of course, a bat cannot score runs by itself. It needs to be guided by the hands of a skilled cricketer.

Likewise, you don’t buy a tea pot just to keep it on the shelf looking pretty.

The purpose of a tea pot is to brew tea. But the pot cannot make the tea by itself. A person needs to pour the water and add the leaves.

You don’t purchase a tractor to leave it sitting in the shed. The purpose of a tractor is to do work in the field. However, the tractor isn’t going to operate itself. The tractor needs a driver.   

The church does not exist for itself. The purpose of a church is to carry out God’s mission, his purpose in the world. But the church cannot carry out God’s mission by itself. The church, which is the community of God’s people, is built up, guided and moved by the Spirit of Jesus.

Over the past couple of weeks our messages have been in support of the work of Arotahi, our New Zealand Baptist missions organization. Two weeks ago, we heard how Mary said yes to God’s call on her life. And last Sunday we heard how Jesus is our way home to God.

In today’s message we listen in to Jesus’ conversation with his disciples about building his church. From Matthew 16, verses 13-20, we read… 

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hadeswill not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will bebound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will beloosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

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

This morning’s message is about building the church. Not the bricks and mortar construction of church buildings, but the spiritual and relational formation of a community of people who believe in Jesus. The church is the people.

As he talks about building his church community, Jesus has two things in mind: clear identity and stable leadership.

The Christian church gets its identity from Jesus and it requires stable leadership; leadership that is guided and sustained by the Spirit of Jesus.   

Clear identity:

Front and centre of today’s reading is the importance of having a clear sense of identity; we need to be clear about who we are. Without a clear identity, the church risks being assimilated into the surrounding culture. We don’t want to lose our saltiness, our distinctiveness, and become just another club.

Some of you may be familiar with the Avatar movies, made by James Cameron. This series of films features a fictional people known as the Na’vi. The Na’vi have blue skin. They live close to the natural world and they care for it. The Na’vi have a clear sense of identity. They know who they are and what they value.

When the Na’vi’s world is invaded by corporate raiders wanting to steal the planet’s natural resources, the Na’vi do not assimilate. They stay true to who they are. They remain clear on their identity and hold to their values.

The Na’vi have a saying, ‘I see you’. More than just a way of greeting people,

‘I see you’ is an acknowledgement of who that person is, deep in their soul.

It conveys respect, understanding and value for the person.

‘I see you’ is often accompanied by the gesture of moving one’s hand from the forehead to the chest, signifying trust and profound spiritual connection.    

As human beings we have a deep longing to be seen, in this way, by someone. We even have a word for it; intimacy. Into-me-see.

In verse 13 of Matthew 16, Jesus asks his disciples “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The Son of Man is Jesus’ way of referring to himself. Jesus is asking, ‘Who do people (in general) say I am?’ It is a question of identity.

The disciples reply, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Each of these people were servants of God, his spokesmen.

Herod thought Jesus was John the Baptist returned from the dead. Herod’s conscience was haunting him after he had John killed.

Elijah was one of Israel’s greatest prophets. He lived during the time of king Ahab and queen Jezabel. Like Jesus, Elijah confronted false religion and afterwards was taken up to heaven. Unlike Jesus, Elijah used violence.

People at the time of Jesus believed Elijah would return to herald the coming of God’s Messiah. In fact, it was John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus.

Jeremiah was probably more like Jesus than any of the other prophets.

Like Jesus, Jeremiah was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And like Jesus, Jeremiah, challenged the Jewish nationalism of his day, without resorting to violence. He had the unpopular task to telling his people to submit to their enemies. Sadly, the people paid a high price for not listening to Jesus or Jeremiah.   

In some respects, calling Jesus a prophet was no small thing. The Jews of the first century did not think God had spoken through a prophet in 400 years. And while it is true that Jesus was a prophet, this title is not adequate for him. Jesus is more than a prophet. The people of Jesus’ day did not see him, not properly.

So Jesus said to his disciples, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”
And Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Peter nailed it. Peter sees who Jesus really is.

Messiah is a Hebrew word which literally means ‘anointed one’. Christ is the Greek equivalent. In Old Testament times, God selected someone to be a prophet or priest or king by having his messenger pour oil over their head; oil being a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s anointing.

Jesus is God’s anointed one. He is not just a prophet. He is priest and King as well. More than this, there is something qualitatively different about Jesus.

He is in a league of his own. He is the Son of God. There is no other prophet, priest or king who comes close to Jesus. No other with the same standing.  

As Son of God, Jesus knows the mind of his Father. Indeed, Jesus reveals God the Father. To see Jesus is to see God.

Only God can reveal God, and so Jesus affirms Peter’s declaration, saying: Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter… 

The name Peter means rock. It’s like Jesus is saying to Peter, “I see you. You are a rock, strong, dependable.”

Two points of application here. Firstly, our discovery of Jesus’ identity must be a personal discovery. Peter was not following the crowd. His perception of Jesus was not influenced by the surrounding culture. Peter was able to see who Jesus really is because God revealed it to him personally.  

Being a Christian is more than simply knowing about Jesus. Being a Christian means knowing Jesus through a personal relationship with him. Recognising who Jesus really is, on the inside. Understanding that he is Lord of life and death, that he alone is righteous; and therefore, worthy of our trust and obedience. To see Jesus is to have an intimate spiritual connection with him.  

Only God can reveal God. We need the Holy Spirit to turn the lights on in our mind and spirit if we are to see Jesus. 

The second point of application is this: We don’t define ourselves. Jesus defines us. Peter was not always called Peter. His given name was Simon. Jesus gives Simon a new name (a new identity) and a new purpose.

The surrounding culture we live in says, you can create your own identity; you can define yourself. Our surrounding culture is at odds with the gospel of Jesus. We don’t create our own identity. Our identity and purpose are intimately entwined with Jesus. It is in discovering who Jesus is, for ourselves personally, that we discover who we are and why we are.

A cricket bat is not a cricket bat until it is in the hands of the batsman. Without the batsman, the bat is just a piece of wood. Jesus is the batsman.

A tea pot is not a tea pot until it holds the tea. Without someone to pour the water and add the leaves, it is just a pretty ornament, an empty vessel. Jesus is the one who pours the water and makes the tea.  

A tractor is not a tractor until it is put to work in the field. Without the driver, the tractor is just a hunk of metal sitting in the shed. Jesus is the driver. Jesus defines us.

We do not know who we are or why we are without Christ. Jesus shows us our true self and he helps us to fulfil our God given purpose. More than that, Jesus defines the church (the body of believers) and he enables the church to fulfil God’s mission.         

Whenever someone asks me what the vision of the church is, my answer is always the same, Jesus is the vision. Jesus is God’s vision for the church. No one can improve on him.

Stable leadership:

The Christian church gets its identity from Jesus. But for the church to have a sustainable future, it needs stable leadership; a team of people who will steady the ship and make decisions that are in keeping with the will of Christ.

After Peter makes his personal discovery that Jesus is God’s anointed one, the Lord then goes on to appoint Peter as leader for the early the church. In verse 18 Jesus says: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hadeswill not overcome it…”  

The word translated as church is literally assembly, as in the assembly of God’s people. As already mentioned, the Christian church is not a physical building or even an institution. The church, as Jesus describes it, is a gathering of people who can say with Peter, “I see you Jesus. You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”    

That Jesus is building his church on a rock speaks of stability. The church has a secure, strong, dependable foundation. So strong in fact that the gates of Hades shall not overcome it.    

Hades is the Greek name for the realm of the dead. Some English versions say the gates of hell, but that translation is misleading. Hades is not the same as our modern concept of hell. We think of hell as a place of torment and demons and destruction. But Hades, in this context, is simply a metaphor for death, no torture or suffering implied.

Jesus is saying his church will be stronger than death. Indeed, those who are part of Jesus’ church (his assembly of people) will be raised from the dead.

The church on earth may not appear that strong or robust, but it is eternally secure, not because of Peter but because of Jesus.

As we have already noted, the name Peter means rock. When Jesus says that the apostle Peter will be the rock on which he builds his church, he is speaking poetically. In plain language, Peter will be the leader of the early church; his leadership will give stability to the church community, like a rock foundation gives stability to an actual building.

Now when we think of leadership, we picture the person at the top. But that is not the picture Jesus gives us of leadership. According to the logic of God’s kingdom, the leader is on the bottom, like the foundation of a building. The leader paves the way for others; the leader supports others.

Providing stable leadership includes setting standards for the community; making it clear what is acceptable and what is not. In verse 19 Jesus says to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;

This verse has been prone to quite a lot of misunderstanding over the years.

In popular culture, there is this idea that Saint Peter stands at the pearly gates, deciding who to let in and who to turn away. But this is not what Jesus had in mind in Matthew 16. Peter does not decide who gets into heaven. That is God’s decision.

We are better to understand the keys to the kingdom of heaven as the gospel concerning Jesus. As we heard last Sunday, Jesus is the way to God the Father. Therefore, the key is believing in Jesus. But how are people to believe in Jesus unless someone tells them the good news about Jesus?

Peter and the other apostles opened the door to the kingdom of heaven by their witness and preaching about Jesus. For example, in Acts 2 at Pentecost, Peter opened the door of the kingdom for 3,000 souls when he called on those present to repent and believe in the risen Jesus.

Likewise, in Acts 8, Peter and John opened the door of the kingdom for the Samaritans, by praying for those who believed in Jesus to receive the Holy Spirit, which they did.

And then, in Acts 10, Peter opened the door of the kingdom for the Gentile, Cornelius and his household. By doing this Peter was laying the foundation, paving the way, for all peoples to enter God’s kingdom through faith in Jesus.  

Of course, Peter was not doing this on his own initiative. Peter was responding to the impulse of Jesus’ Spirit.

Jesus continues addressing Peter saying, “…whatever you bind on earth will bebound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will beloosed in heaven.”

Binding has to do with what one forbids or prohibits, while loosing has to do with what one permits or allows.

During the first century the Jewish Rabbis had responsibility for interpreting the Law of Moses. Their interpretation either bound certain things (meaning it was prohibited), or it loosed certain things (meaning it was permitted).

Jesus is the word of God. In Jesus we have someone greater than the Law of Moses. Indeed, Jesus is the true interpretation of the Law. Peter has just confessed Jesus as the Son of God and so Peter (and the other disciples) were given the responsibility of interpreting the teaching of Jesus. [1]

To be clear, it is not that Peter makes a decision and heaven then endorses it. No. It’s the other way round. Peter is not the initiator of new directions for the church, he is the faithful steward of God’s prior decisions. [2]

Jesus’ words to Peter here are a promise of divine guidance. If Peter is like the cricket bat, then Jesus is the batsman guiding Peter. If Peter is like the tea pot, then Jesus is the one who fills Peter with the water of his Spirit and the tea of his word. If Peter is like the tractor, then Jesus is the one in the driver’s seat. The Spirit of Jesus is guiding Peter in accordance with God’s will in heaven.

We see an example of the Spirit’s guidance in Acts 10. Just before Peter went to preach the gospel to Cornelius (the Gentile), the Lord gave him a vision of all sorts of animals both clean and unclean, saying it was okay to eat them. This happened three times to reassure Peter it was okay to fellowship with Gentiles.

This vision gave Peter authority to loosen the tradition around food and fellowship so that the gospel of Jesus could spread. Without this direction from heaven, Peter could not have opened the door of God’s kingdom for Cornelius and other Gentiles.    

Conclusion:

This morning we have heard how Jesus builds his church; the community of his people. Two things are crucial for building the church. Having a clear identity in Christ and having stable leadership, which is guided by the Spirit of Jesus.  

For more than 140 years New Zealand Baptists have been involved globally in planting and building churches by training pastors and evangelists and supporting church associations so that churches are equipped to grow.

In particular, New Zealand Baptists have helped to plant churches in Tripura, a northern state of India. We have worked alongside these churches for 87 years. Now, with local growth, there are 1,000 Baptist churches with over 100,000 members who collectively make up over 60% of all the Christians in Tripura.

The Tripura Theological College is the only theological college in the state.

To serve such a large population, it needs support to train people to interpret God’s word and provide stable leadership for the church.

Following this morning’s sermon (while we are singing our closing song) the stewards will take up the special Renew Together offering for the work of Arotahi. Some of this money will help support the building of Jesus’ church in Tripura.

Now though, let us pray…

Jesus, you are the one who builds your church. Our identity is found in you. You define us. Help us to stay true to who we are in you. Bless your church, here in Aotearoa and overseas, with stable leadership guided by your Spirit. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What is the church? Why does the church exist? What is the purpose of the church? What is God’s purpose for you in relation to his church?
  3. Why is having a clear sense of identity important for the church? Where does the church’s identity come from? How do we strengthen / maintain our sense of Christian identity?
  4. When did you first ‘see’ Jesus? How did this happen for you?
  5. Why is stable leadership important for the church? What does stable leadership look like?
  6. Discuss / reflect on Matthew 16, verse 19. What does verse mean? What does it not mean? In what sense did Peter unlock the doors of the kingdom for people? What does it mean to bind and loose?    
  7. Who are you?

Bibliography:

  • R.V.G. Tasker, ‘TNTC: The Gospel According to St Matthew’, 1963.
  • William Barclay, ‘Gospel of Matthew Vol. 2’, 1967.
  • Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
  • R.T. France, ‘NICNT: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.
  • Craig Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew – A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary’, 2009.

[1] Green, page 180.

[2] France, page 627.

Tawa Baptist

The Prophet

Scripture: Deuteronomy 18:9-22

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

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Choose a future with hope
  • Listen to God’s prophet
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

What would you give to know the future?

If you knew exactly when an earthquake or fire was going to destroy your property, you would get insurance cover for that period, but you wouldn’t bother getting cover for the rest of the time.

Likewise, if you knew someone was going to be involved in a car accident tomorrow, you would hide their keys and keep them home for a day. 

What would you give to know the future?

Today we continue our series in Deuteronomy, focusing on chapter 18. In this passage Moses deals with the question of how God’s people are to manage themselves in the face of an unknown future. From Deuteronomy 18, verses 9-22 we read… 

9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must remain completely loyal to the Lord your God.  14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” 17 The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.

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

There are two halves to today’s message: The first half is about choosing a future with hope. And the second half is about listening to God’s prophet. Let’s start by choosing a future with hope. 

Choose a future with hope:

Another question for you to consider: Is the future fixed?

There are some who believe the future is fixed and there’s nothing we can do to change it. These people think the future is up to fate.

Believing the future is set in stone comes with a number of problems. For one thing, it undermines hope and creates a sense of apathy or despair in the person who thinks this way.

If you really believe the future is pre-determined and there’s nothing you can do about it, then you will be inclined to care less. A fixed future is devoid of any ethical considerations. If I can’t change the future, then my actions in the present don’t matter. I may as well do whatever makes me feel good. You become reckless and lose your sense of responsibility. A rebel without a cause.

At the other extreme, there are those who don’t believe the future is fixed at all. They think we create our own future. These people have a strong belief in themselves and their own abilities. They tend to be quite driven or intense.

If you really believe the future depends entirely on you, then that’s a lot of pressure. That comes with heaps of worry and not much peace. Human beings need some freedom but total freedom is a terrifying thing. If you go sky diving you don’t want to be free of your parachute, that would be disastrous.  

The person who believes the future is totally on them tends to take on too much responsibility. They don’t leave room for God to do something unexpected.

Just as there is no hope in thinking it is all up to fate, there is no real hope in thinking it is all up to you either. Because when you fail yourself, and everyone does fail eventually, you have no safety net.  

We are asking the question: is the future fixed? Somewhere in the middle of the spectrum are those who answer both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Some things are fixed but not everything. We can have some influence over the future, but there are other things we have no control over and simply have to accept.

Hope is the capacity to imagine a better future, a good future, the best is yet to come. If you believe the choices you make matter in shaping the future, but that it doesn’t depend entirely on you, that ultimately God will work it all for good, then you have hope.

There are of course those who might say, I don’t know whether the future is fixed or not. That might be because they are too lazy to wrestle with the hard questions. Or it might be because the future has ambushed them and they are not sure of anything at the moment.    

Deuteronomy believes that ultimately God is in control of the meta-narrative of human history, but the choices human beings make still influence the course the future takes. God uses our choices in shaping the future. To obey God, in faith, is to choose abundant life. To receive Christ, in faith, is to choose a heavenly future, beyond this life.  

In verses 10-11 of Deuteronomy 18, Moses lists several things the Israelites are not to do. No divination, no magic, no witchcraft, no child sacrifice, no consulting the dead and so on. This list illustrates the sorts of things people sometimes do in order to try and know the future or even control the future.

There are still people today, in New Zealand, who do this kind of stuff. People who try to predict the future by reading tarot cards or tea leaves or the stars. Or, maybe they try to control the future by casting spells or sacrificing the wellbeing of their children in order to pursue a love affair or some other fantasy.

These people either believe the future is fixed and cannot change or they believe they create their own future. Either way, their hope is not in God. The Lord hates all this witchy poo stuff because it is based on a lie and it destroys people’s capacity for hope. It’s takes away people’s freedom. It is not good for the human soul.

There may be some here who have dabbled in this sort of thing, or maybe you’ve got in over your head. Perhaps you were at a fair ground one day and out of curiosity you got your palm read by Madam Zelda. Or maybe you were grieving for a loved one and went to a medium to try and contact them. Or perhaps you and your friends had too much to drink one night and tried a séance. Or maybe you’ve done worse.   

Does this mean you are excluded from God’s people forever? Is there no hope for you? Well, not necessarily.

Your future is not yet set in concrete. You have some influence over your future. You can choose not to do that sort of thing anymore. You can choose life and trust your future to Jesus. God, who loves you very much, has the power to deliver you from your past.  

The message of Deuteronomy is summed up in verse 13, which reads…

You must remain completely loyal to the Lord your God.

We must not divide our loyalty between God and anything else. We can’t say, in God we trust, and then rely on horoscopes or gazing into a crystal ball. 

Verse 13 is another way of saying, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. This is how we choose life and a future with hope for ourselves.

Okay, that’s first part of our message, choose a future with hope. The second part is about listening to God’s prophet. God, in his grace, provides an alternative to airy fairy magic. God is willing to reveal the future through his chosen spokesperson.  

Listen to God’s prophet:

In verse 15 of Deuteronomy 18, Moses says: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.                                                          

Israel did not need to go to a medium or a spiritist to find out the future. God sent his own messenger. In fact, God raised up a series of prophets throughout the Old Testament who spoke His messages to the people as they needed it. Men and women like Samuel, Deborah, Nathan, Isaiah, Huldah, Micah, Jeremiah, Amos, Ezekiel, Daniel and so on. These prophets had a special role in keeping the nation accountable to the Law and their covenant with Yahweh.

In a healthy democracy the government’s powers are not concentrated in one person or one institution. Rather, power is separated, so the people who make the law are not the same as the people who enforce the law or decide disputes.

Traditionally, a democracy has three official institutions:

There is the legislature, which is the people who make the laws (for example, our Members of Parliament).

Then there is the judiciary, which are the people who adjudicate disputes (the courts and the judges).

And thirdly, there is the executive, which are the people who enforce the law (that would be the police).

There is another (unofficial) institution known as the fourth estate. We call it the news media; that is, journalists or the press. It is the job of the news media to report the facts concerning parliamentary, police and court proceedings, in a balanced and unbiased way, keeping the governing authorities accountable. 

In some ways our modern democracy, with its four estates, has its roots in the structure of government Moses prescribed for Israel. Yahweh (and Moses) recommended a separation of power in government.

Yahweh gave the Law through Moses. Judges were appointed in a democratic way to adjudicate disputes between people. And the Levites and priests had a role in enforcing the law.

The king (as we heard last week) was an optional extra. It wasn’t his job to make the law. His main job was to be a good example in keeping the law. He might also support the judges and the priests in making sure justice was done.

But it was the role of the prophets to be the fourth estate. The prophets were like credible investigative journalists who reported the facts in order to keep the king, the judges and the priests accountable to God’s law. Staying loyal to Yahweh was the key to life and a future with hope.

Now, in using this analogy, I do not mean to imply that journalists today are the contemporary prophets of our world. God can choose whoever he wants to be his spokesperson.

We might also think of God’s prophet as a doctor, diagnosing illness in the nation. If you have diabetes, you don’t want the doctor fudging your results and saying you will be fine. You need to understand clearly what the problem is and how best to manage your health going forward, so you have a future with hope.

Likewise, if God’s people are losing their saltiness and conforming to the pattern of this world, then they need God’s prophet to diagnose their spiritual illness and prescribe the right treatment to restore them.

Asking the prophet for advice was sort of like phoning a friend. If something was amiss and the king or the priests or the judges were unsure what to do next, they could inquire of God through his chosen prophet.

Of course, the prophet also passed on messages from God when no one had asked for his input. Like when the prophet Nathan confronted David after the king had murdered Uriah and committed adultery with Bathsheba. 

God’s prophet was a friend to Israel, but he (or she) was not in the king’s pocket. The prophet was a step removed, operating outside official government channels, able to give an unpopular minority report.

In verse 18 of Deuteronomy 18, the Lord says concerning his prophet, I will put my words in his mouth. This naturally raises questions for us: how did God do that? How did the Lord communicate with the prophets?

Reading through the Old Testament we notice the Lord spoke to the prophets in a variety of ways. It appears that God spoke to Moses and Samuel in a clear, audible voice. Other prophets, like Daniel & Ezekiel, received dreams or visions. Some may have interacted with angels. Elijah heard God not in earthquake, wind or fire but in a still small voice, like a whisper.

I’m not a prophet. I can’t tell you what the future holds specifically. I don’t know when the war in Ukraine will end. Nevertheless, there are times when I sense the word of the Lord has come to me. Not in an audible voice as such. More like a thought planted in my mind.

I know the thought is not my own because it is a better quality thought than the usual rubbish that flows through my brain and it is not a thought I’ve had before. It hasn’t come from any book I’ve read or any TV show I’ve watched.

It is new to me and it feels whole. It fits for the circumstances I’m in. Like the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle, it creates connections and makes sense of other things. God’s word brings order to my thinking.

When the word of the Lord comes, I have to take myself off somewhere quiet and write, because writing helps me to listen to the virgin thought. 

There are times when I’m preaching in church and a stillness comes over the congregation. A kind of holy hush. (I’m sure it happens for other preachers too.) The traffic noise dies down, the rustling of lolly wrappers ceases and people stop coughing or whispering among themselves. I love those moments. In that stillness it seems to me the word of God is at work among us, in our hearts.

I believe the word of the Lord can come to any Christian believer, just not always in the same way. God made us with the capacity to receive his word, to sense his presence touching our spirit.

We cannot control when or how the word of the Lord comes but when it does come we need to pause and listen. Receive it into ourselves.

I wonder how the word of the Lord comes to you.

As God’s spokesperson, the Lord’s chosen prophet held quite a bit of influence in Israel. So there would inevitably be a few pretenders for the role, despite the severe punishment for taking the Lord’s name in vain. How then could you tell who was a bona fide, God authorised prophet and who was a fake? Well, there were three main tests…

Firstly, a true prophet of God speaks in the name of Yahweh and not in the name of some other god. Secondly, the message they preach comes true. And thirdly, they don’t say anything that contradicts the Law of Moses.

The first test, speaking in the name of Yahweh, is the test of clarity. Reading tea leaves or interpreting the entrails of a bird are pretty ambiguous and unclear signs. In contrast to this, the Lord’s prophets are clear about who they represent and what their message is.

Although the poetry and signs of the prophets of old may seem strange to us, their metaphors were not difficult for the people of that time to decipher, even if the prophet’s message was difficult to accept.

John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, was very clear in his message of repentance, calling the religious leaders of his day a brood of vipers. Despite this clarity, many religious leaders hardened their hearts and chose not to believe John’s testimony concerning Jesus.

The second test, proclaiming a message that comes true, indicates the prophet’s words are verifiable. God’s messages are ‘evidenced based’, in other words. The truth of God’s word is worked out in human history.

We know Jeremiah was legit because his message came true in history. While other self-proclaimed prophets at the time were saying, “Don’t be afraid of Babylon, God will save Jerusalem”, Jeremiah was giving the very unpopular message of, “Don’t resist Babylon, you can’t win”. God upheld Jeremiah’s words because Jeremiah’s words were actually God’s words.     

Centuries later, Jesus (like Jeremiah) wept over Jerusalem when he could see history about to repeat itself. In Luke 19, Jesus predicted the Romans laying siege to the holy city and destroying it. This happened, as Jesus said, in AD 70.

There is a small catch with the verifiable test though. Sometimes true prophets are killed before their predictions can be verified.

The third test of a true prophet, that their message does not contradict the Law of Moses, is the test of consistency. God’s word is consistent. God does not contradict himself.

Jesus criticised the religious leaders for making their man made rules more important than God’s Law. The Pharisees had become so bogged down in the details they couldn’t see the wood for the trees. They were more loyal to their own tradition than they were to God himself and so, like the true prophet he is, Jesus called them out on their blindness.

As you have probably deduced by now, Jesus is the ultimate prophet to succeed Moses. Jesus fulfils the Law and the prophets. Through faith in Jesus, we can know the truth from God and we can choose a future with hope.

Does that mean then, that we have no further need for prophets? Well, no. In his letters to various churches the apostle Paul writes about the gift of prophecy. For Paul it was one of the more important spiritual gifts.

Of course, if someone claims to bring a word of prophecy, we (the church) still need to test that word and discern together if it is legitimate. The threefold test is similar. A true prophet speaks clearly in the name of Jesus. Their message is verifiable and it is consistent with the teachings of Jesus.

The Spirit of Jesus is a Spirit of grace & truth, so we would expect the prophets of Jesus to embody the same Spirit of grace & truth.

Conclusion:

At the beginning of this message I asked the question: What would you give to know the future?

A better question to ask is: What would you give to know Jesus?

I say that’s a better question because Jesus is the future, the eternal future. Jesus is the goal of humanity. He is our hope. If you want to know the future, get to know Jesus. Most of us know Jesus to some degree but none of us knows him completely or fully yet. May we grow deeper in our knowledge of and trust in Christ.

Let us pray… 

Father God, we thank you for not leaving us in the dark. We thank you for revealing your will to us through Jesus. We thank you too for offering us a future with hope. May you empower us by your Spirit to be completely loyal to Christ, for your glory and our own salvation. 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?

  • What would you give to know the future? What is it you would want to know and why?
  • Where would you place yourself on the spectrum between a fixed future and a fluid future? What are the implications of thinking the future is fixed? What are the implications of thinking we create our own future?
  • How do we choose life and foster a future with hope?
  • Why does Moses outlaw discerning the future through magic, reading omens, consulting the dead, etc.?
  • Has the word of the Lord ever come to you? What happened? What did the Lord say? How did you respond?
  • How might we test / know whether a prophecy is true or not?   
Tawa Baptist

Passenger or Crew?

Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-16

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Diversity
  • Maturity
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Are you a passenger or crew?

  • Are you a spectator or a player?
  • Are you a casual observer or an active participant?

Today we continue our series in Ephesians by focusing on chapter 4:7-16

  • Two weeks ago we explored the first six verses of Ephesians 4 where Paul talked about the unity of Christian believers and living a life worthy of our calling
  • In this morning’s reading Paul develops those themes by talking about diversity and maturity
  • In the body of Christ unity goes hand in hand with diversity and a growth in maturity of faith. From Ephesians 4, verse 7, we read…

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was Christ who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

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

 

Diversity:

I want you to imagine Star Trek Crew

  • We have Sulu, who is the Helmsman or pilot/navigator of the ship
  • Then we have Uhura, who is the Communications expert,
  • Spock, the Science Officer, also second in command
  • Captain Kirk
  • Chekhov, the head of Security,
  • Then Bones, the ship’s Doctor
  • And Scotty, the ship’s Chief Engineer (‘Beam me up Scotty’)

The Star Trek crew are an example of unity with diversity

  • A crew of people, each with their own speciality, working together as one

Paul has just been talking about the unity of the body of Christ – now he talks about its diversity – in particular the diversity of gifts

In verse 7 we read, ‘But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.’

  • Then, to support his point Paul quotes from Psalm 68:18, where it talks about the Lord returning victorious from battle and ascending on high to share the spoils of victory with His people

Paul connects Jesus’ descent to earth (i.e. his incarnation) and his ascension to heaven, with his authority and power to distribute gifts to his people

  • Because Jesus has descended to earth he knows what we need
  • And because he has ascended higher than all the heavens no one can usurp his power

 

In verse 11 Paul lists four or five gifts which are needed for building up the body of Christ: apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor/teacher

An apostle is someone who is sent with a certain delegated authority – like an ambassador

  • In one sense all Christians are apostles; we are all ambassadors for Christ
  • But that’s not what Paul means here. In the first century the term apostle referred to those leaders in the church who had witnessed the risen Jesus
  • People like Peter, James, John and Paul
  • By that definition we don’t have apostles today because Jesus has ascended to heaven and isn’t walking around appearing to people
  • But although we don’t have apostles in the sense that Paul meant, we do have specially gifted leaders who God works through for his purpose
  • So the term apostle has evolved to mean someone who initiates and leads a movement of God
  • In that sense, people like William Wilberforce and John Wesley were apostles; although they hadn’t seen the risen Christ, the Spirit did work through them to lead significant movements of reform in society
  • Returning to our Star Trek analogy, Captain Kirk is like an apostle of Star Fleet (but not of the church)

 

A prophet is someone who tells people what is on God’s mind

  • Their message may be related to the future but more often is about what is happening in the present
  • In the Bible a prophet got a direct revelation from God and communicated what they heard – they were God’s mouth piece

A prophet, in the modern sense, is not exactly the same as a prophet in the ancient Biblical sense

  • These days a prophet is someone with the gift of insight into the Scriptures and / or our contemporary society
  • So a modern prophet doesn’t add anything new to the Bible but they may reveal the meaning of the ancient text in fresh ways that are relevant for our time
  • I believe Martin Luther was a prophet; he interpreted the New Testament in a way that brought much needed correction to the church of his time

Or, to use the Star Trek analogy, if Captain Kirk is like an apostle leading and inspiring the crew, then Spock is like a prophet, giving insightful honest advice and challenging Kirk at times

Of course, God can speak through anyone at any time, so any of us could potentially be a prophet

  • However, not everyone who thinks they are a prophet actually is
  • As a teenager I remember there was someone in the congregation of the church I attended who would quite often stand up in a Sunday worship service and give a pronouncement, prefaced with the words, ‘Thus saith the Lord’. He believed he was a prophet
  • Sometimes the minister would challenge what he said by saying to the congregation, ‘I don’t believe that was God speaking to us’.
  • Often the most effective prophets are those who don’t realise they are passing on a message from God

We have two measures for discerning whether a prophet is from God or not: The Bible and that person’s character

  • If what the person is saying doesn’t fit with Scripture, then it can’t be trusted (they’re not from God)
  • Likewise, if the person giving the message behaves in an ungodly way then they are not the real deal
  • As Jesus said, by their fruit you will know them.

 

What about the evangelist?

  • An evangelist is someone who shares the good news of salvation in Christ using their words
  • Again, we all have a responsibility to share our faith with others; we must all be ready to do the work of an evangelist and give account for our hope
  • But there are some people who are just more naturally suited to it
  • Evangelists are sort of like Uhura, they are the church’s communications specialists

Sadly, the term evangelist has fallen into disrepute in recent decades

  • People often associate evangelism with TV personalities who scam vulnerable people out of money; that is not what Paul is talking about in Ephesians 4
  • We need to redeem the word and recover a proper understanding of what an evangelist does

An evangelist is a communicator of good news

  • They are able to listen to you and understand your needs
  • They can explain the gospel of Jesus in a way that is relevant and makes sense to people unfamiliar with the Bible, because they understand the cultural context in which they are living
  • They have the ability to gain your trust and give you the confidence to make a commitment to Christ
  • But their trustworthiness doesn’t come by deception or using some special trick or technique – their trustworthiness comes from the way they embody the message of the gospel in their lives
  • An evangelist genuinely believes the message they are sharing and they are living in the hope and joy that they profess
  • A true Christian evangelist doesn’t do anything from selfish ambition or vain conceit – a true evangelist operates with pure motives and that fosters trust
  • Evangelists understand God to be generous and they want to invite as many people to God’s party as they can
  • As I’ve often said before, an evangelist is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread
  • We desperately need good Christian evangelists today

 

The expression, pastors and teachers may be two names for the same ministry

  • The minister of a church is traditionally both a pastor and a teacher
  • The word pastor comes from the Latin word for shepherd
  • A shepherd guides and protects and feeds the sheep of their flock
  • Teaching people the ways of God is at the heart of shepherding people
  • Biblical preaching guides, protects and feeds people’s souls

Thinking of our Star Trek crew again, the pastor / teacher role is embodied by a number of characters, particularly Chekhov, the chief security officer, whose job it is to protect people, and Bones, the ship’s doctor

 

Some of you may be wondering, ‘But what about Scotty, the chief engineer? Where does he fit in?’

  • Well, the four or five gifts named in Ephesians 4 are not an exhaustive list of the spiritual gifts Christ gives; there are other gift lists in the New Testament as well and each list is different
  • Perhaps Scotty’s gift is practical helps
  • There is no limit to the diversity of gifts that the Spirit gives
  • A spiritual gift is simply the way the Holy Spirit works through a person for the well-being of others
  • Last Sunday we talked about the church’s mission: To glorify God and be a blessing to His world
  • Our gift is the specific way we bless others

This is not to assume that any of the gifts is a lifelong possession

  • We are just the conduit, or the vessel, for the gift
  • When I was a boy I would go with my grandparents to their bach up north
  • Their bach was located in a fairly remote area so we collected rain water off the roof into tanks
  • I remember my grandfather had this long pole he would lower into the tanks to measure how much water we had
  • We were taught to be careful not to leave taps on unnecessarily – water is a precious resource and needs to be thoughtfully used

If the gifts Jesus gives are like rain water, then we are the tanks

  • We might hold the gift for a while – but really it’s not ours to keep
  • The water of Christ’s gifts is just passing through us to bless and refresh and strengthen others
  • While there is no limit to God’s resources we still need to be thoughtful in how we use the gifts God has given us and not waste them down the drain

 

Maturity:

Okay, so there is one body with a diversity of gifts and the purpose of those gifts is to …equip God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

These verses tell us a number of things

  • Firstly, that church is not a spectator sport; everyone has a part to play
  • Church isn’t like a bus with one person up the front doing all the driving while everyone else sleeps in the passenger seats behind [1]
  • Church is more like the crew on a yacht; it requires everyone to man their station, pitch in and pull their weight
  • Are you a passenger or crew?

 

We share our gifts to build others up

  • The goal is maturity and maturity is understood as all of us reaching unity in the faith and knowledge of Christ

 

I have here a bucket

  • Hold up a bucket with sections cut out at different levels
  • Bucket illustration - 11 Aug 2019
  • This bucket is yet to reach unity (or maturity)
  • You can see different sections of the side are at different heights, which means I can only fill this bucket to the level of the lowest section
  • As it is this bucket can’t attain the whole measure of its fullness
  • If you can imagine this is an organic growing bucket, then each of the sides needs grow to the same height so the bucket can be whole and reach its full potential – like this [hold up a bucket that hasn’t been cut]
  • Everyone needs to exercise their gifts for the bucket of the church to reach maturity and be able to hold the full measure of Christ

I guess one question for us to ask ourselves, as a congregation, is what gifts are we missing or not exercising? [Hold up the bucket with the gaps in it]

  • In what areas does this church need to grow to reach maturity and unity?
  • It’s not just a question of us exercising our own gifts – reaching maturity also requires us to encourage those around us to exercise their gifts, because it is in the process of exercising our gifts that our faith and knowledge of Jesus grows and develops

 

When I was 10 I joined Cubs. (Cubs is like Boy Scouts for younger kids)

  • One evening we went to Te Rapa pools in Hamilton to earn our swimming badges
  • There were three levels of swimming badges: gold, silver and bronze
  • Gold being the highest level and bronze the lowest
  • Naturally we all wanted to gain our gold badge
  • They put us into groups of about four boys each and you weren’t allowed to progress up a level until everyone in your group had attained the required standard
  • There was one boy in our group who wasn’t as physically capable as the rest of us and, even though he tried really hard, he wasn’t able to get past silver, which meant everyone in our group was held back with him, even though the rest of us had done what we needed to attain gold
  • It’s a bit like that with church as well – we stick together, no one gets left behind; we reach maturity together, as one. Maturity is unity

As a 10 year old boy I was pretty disappointed to miss out on gaining my gold swimming badge

  • Looking back now though, I am grateful for the experience
  • Our Cub leaders were teaching us to think about others in our team
  • We don’t come to know Christ by individual achievement
  • We come to know Christ through a caring commitment to one another – by using our gifts to serve each other and build each other up

We know our faith and knowledge of Christ is mature when we are no longer unsettled or deceived by false teaching

  • A mature faith is able to listen, and discern truth from error
  • A mature faith is a knowing faith; it isn’t rattled by clever rhetoric
  • A mature faith is not a blind faith; it is faith born of experience with God
  • The kind of knowledge that is in view here isn’t just an intellectual head knowledge (as important as that is) – it’s the intimacy that comes from having a personal relationship with Jesus

 

In verse 15 Paul continues his theme of maturity when he writes…

  • Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

For many years I read this verse in English and thought that speaking the truth in love meant having the maturity to handle difficult conversations with people

  • You know, speaking those truths that hard for people to hear in such a way that leaves the relationship intact
  • And while it can mean that, it actually means so much more
  • You see, in the original Greek text the verb speaking is not there

What it actually says in the original text is…

  • Instead, truthing in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

In the Greek then, the word truth here is a verb, a doing word

  • English doesn’t have a verb for truth; in English truth is a noun
  • So the translators had to find a verb to put in because ‘truthing’ isn’t a word in English
  • While you can say, ‘speaking the truth in love’ it would be more accurate to phrase this verse as living the truth in love. or, doing the truth in love [2]
  • The idea is one of integrity – that is, integrating the truth of the gospel with all of our life; not just our speech but our thinking and our deeds too
  • Truth and love go together – we can’t separate them

Take evangelism for example – you might be able to explain the gospel in ways that are really creative and clear so people can understand in their head what you’re saying, but if they don’t feel like the church loves them or cares about them, then they won’t believe you.

  • Without love, the truth of the message just won’t hit home, it won’t stick.

True story: During the week I met with a man whose wife used to attend Tawa Baptist back in the late 1960’s and early 70’s (during Jack McFadyen and Barrie Hibbert’s time)

  • She first came as a child to the Sunday school here. Her parents didn’t attend church but were happy to send her along
  • This girl didn’t have a wonderfully stable home life; I was told her parents had their challenges
  • But there was something about the people here that made her feel welcome and safe – she found sanctuary in this place
  • When she out grew Sunday school this girl started attending youth group
  • Around that time the church put on a musical production called Saul Talk and they found a place for her in that production
  • As someone whose parents didn’t attend it would have been easy for her to be overlooked but certain individuals in this church went out of their way to make sure she was included – they made room for her
  • That young woman came to faith in this church and, although she left the area for work, she has carried on in Christian faith and service all her life
  • She would be in her early 60’s now

The man who told me this story said he was thankful for Tawa Baptist because this church cared for his wife (before they were married)

  • He then went on to name a number of people who in very practical ways went the extra mile to look after her, by helping her shift flats and that sort of thing
  • I tell you that story because it’s a good example of what truthing in love means – this church has a heritage of living the truth in love
  • To those of you who were here at that time I want to say, thank you
  • As a consequence of your love this young woman believed the truth of the gospel and grew to maturity in her faith and knowledge of Christ
  • Truth and love go together

From him [that is, Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The point here is that truthing in love is meant to be done in community with other believers

  • If we try to do it on our own, we’re not going to get very far, we’ll run out of steam
  • Caring for people, like that young woman, is a team effort – every supporting ligament is involved
  • What do ligaments do?
  • They hold us together on the inside – they connect bones and muscle and allow movement
  • A ligament is not seen. Maybe you aren’t an upfront person. Maybe you don’t serve in ways that people can see. Perhaps you are a ligament connecting other people to the church and to Christ
  • You are important – we need you

Conclusion:

What is your gift?

  • What has Christ equipped you to do to strengthen his body?
  • Where can you serve?
  • We have a wonderful heritage in this church
  • We need to keep on ‘living the truth in love’
  • Are you a passenger or crew?

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?
  • Why do you think this stood out to you?

2. What do we mean by unity with diversity?

  • Can you think of examples of unity with diversity functioning in the body of Christ?

3. Discuss / reflect on the gifts that Paul lists in Ephesians 4:11

  • What does each one mean?
  • How does the first century understanding of these gifts differ from a 21st Century understanding?

4. What other gifts does the Spirit of Jesus give?

  • What is your particular gift?
  • Are you able to exercise this gift? (When/how?)

5. What gifts is your church strong in?

  • What gifts are missing or need of building up?

6. What is Christian maturity? What does it look like?

7. What does it mean to ‘live the truth in love’?

  • Can you think of a story from your own experience of ‘truthing in love’?
  • Find someone you trust to share your story with

8. Are you a passenger or crew?

 

[1] The bus illustration comes from John Stott’s commentary on Ephesians

[2] Refer John Stott and Klyne Snodgrass