spirit – Tawa Baptist

April 24, 2022June 19, 2022 Tawa Baptist

Completion

Scripture: 1^st Thessalonians 5:23-28

Video Link: https://youtu.be/cLT84c9Vbto

Structure:

Introduction
Completion of salvation
Affirmation of friendship
Conclusion – Grace

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Sometimes in the music world, you hear the term ‘unplugged’. An unplugged song is stripped down to its bones, so the sound is simpler, more acoustic. Unplugged songs often have an intimate feel.

Today we conclude our sermon series in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians by focusing on the closing verses of chapter 5. In these verses Paul gives us a stripped down acoustic summary of his letter. This is Paul unplugged. From first Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 23-28 we read…

²³May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

²⁵Brothers and sisters, pray for us. ²⁶Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. ²⁷I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. ²⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

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

In this passage Paul sums up the two main themes of his letter. When you strip it all down the letter has been about the completion of salvation and an affirmation of friendship.

Completion of salvation:

Transmission gully is now open. I think we can say it is complete. Complete enough to drive on anyway. We were waiting longer than we expected but with good reason. It was a massive project and it needed to be completed properly.

In verses 23-24 of Thessalonians 5, Paul pronounces a benediction or a blessing over the believers in Thessalonica. His benediction is essentially about the completion of our salvation, which has been one of the main messages of his whole letter. In the first part of verse 23 Paul says…

²³May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.

Paul describes God here as the God of peace. Gordon Fee reminds us that, in Paul’s writing, peace rarely refers to the well-arranged heart of the individual but rather to the life of the community, that believers live together without conflict.

Probably though, we can’t separate the inner peace of a ‘well-arranged heart’ from the relational peace of the community. I mean, it is difficult to live in peace with others if you aren’t at peace with yourself.

In any case, God is a God of peace. Which means God is relational. Jesus came to make peace possible in all our relationships.

Sanctify is a word which means to make holy, pure or clean. If your dishes are dirty you might sanctify them, or make them clean and holy, by putting them through the dishwasher.

Or if you get Covid you must go through a period of isolation until you have recovered and are able to be with others without passing on the virus. The isolation period is like a sanctification process.

To be sanctified through and through means being holy on the inside and the out. It’s like Jesus said: ‘Wash the inside of the cup and the outside will be clean too’.

In view of what Paul has just been saying about the God of peace, it would logically follow that being holy (or sanctified) has to do with the way we treat others; actions characterised by justice and mercy, attitudes shaped by humility and compassion.

Jesus’ stripped down, unplugged, acoustic definition of holiness is to love God, love your neighbour and love yourself.

In the second part of verse 23 Paul says…

May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Much ink has been spilled over what Paul means here by spirit, soul and body. But I don’t think Paul is giving a Grey’s Anatomy (medical) type description of the human person. Paul is simply using these three terms to describe a whole human being. It’s another way of saying, may God sanctify you through and through, inside and out.

Having said that, people are still curious about what the words spirit, soul and body are referring to, so some explanation is needed.

By body Paul’s mean your physical body. The body we inhabit is given to us by God and we need to look after it. For Christians the body is sacred. It is holy and not ours to do whatever we want with. Our bodies are instruments for God’s purpose in the world.

Our body is not separate from our spirit or soul. They all go together as an integrated whole.

The term soul can have a different nuance of meaning depending on the context in which it is used. Sometimes the soul refers to the whole person, like when someone says, ‘there were 54 souls on board’.

More often though the human soul refers to the non-physical (or immaterial) aspects of a person. That is, your life force, your will, your personality, the things that can’t be studied under a microscope but which are nevertheless real and make you uniquely you. We are more than just a collection of biological cells and chemical elements.

The human spirit can also mean different things depending on the context. Generally, though, we are probably best to think of our spirit as that part of us which connects with God. Our spirit is essentially a conduit for relating with God.

In differentiating the functions of the body, soul and spirit, we might think of the different parts of a computer. The hardware of the computer (the keyboard, screen and circuitry) is like the physical body. The operating system and application software is sort of like the soul.

And the wifi connection is like the spirit. Without wifi, a computer can’t connect with the internet or other computers.

This analogy should not be pressed too far. I’m not suggesting people are machines. Human beings are infinitely more valuable and complex than computers. Nor am I suggesting that God is like the internet.

Another (more organic) metaphor could be that of a tree. The trunk and the branches of the tree are like the body. While the roots of the tree are like the human spirit, because the roots connect the tree to the earth, drawing water and nutrients from the soil.

The sap running through the trunk and branches, together with the fruit of the tree, are a bit like the soul. The sap contains the tree’s life force and the fruit is an expression of the tree’s personality.

Although this metaphor is not perfect, it is helpful. We human beings receive life by putting our roots (or our spirit) down deep into the soil of God’s love. This spirit connection with God nourishes our soul and body so that we bear the fruit of love, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and so on, to the praise of God’s glory.

But I digress. We shouldn’t get too caught up with distinctions over body, soul and spirit. Paul’s main point is the completion of our salvation. God is at work to sanctify our whole being, both as individuals and as a community of faith.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we live in the ‘overlap’, the ‘in between’, the ‘now but not yet’. Yes, Jesus has come and he has conquered sin and death. And yes, all those who put their trust in Jesus are saved. But our salvation won’t be fully realised until Jesus returns in glory. In the meantime, we may still struggle with doubt and despair, temptation and suffering.

Paul’s prayer is that the Thessalonians (and all believers) be blameless when Christ returns.

By ‘blameless’ I don’t think Paul means we can never make a mistake. Sanctification, becoming holy, is a process. Making mistakes is usually part any learning process. So we should not give up if we mess up. We redeem mistakes by learning from them.

It takes time for a tree to grow and mature and produce fruit. It doesn’t happen overnight. Our job is not to try and force or contrive our own sanctification. Our job is to keep our roots in the soil of God’s love. Stay connected to Jesus and allow God’s Spirit to work in us, in his way and his time.

Paul picks up on this point when he says in verse 24…

²⁴The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

God is the one who calls us to trust and obey Christ. And God is faithful to his call. He is reliable and trustworthy. He always makes good on his word. While we certainly need to play our part in the process of sanctification, ultimately God is active in completing our salvation, so we do not need to be anxious.

Jesus tells a parable in Mark 4 about the growing seed, which overlaps with this idea of God’s faithfulness in completing our salvation. From verse 26 of Mark 4 we read…

²⁶Jesus also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

The person who scatters seed, in this parable, is the one who proclaims the gospel about Jesus. The person who scatters the seed does not make it grow. God, by his Spirit, makes the seed grow. God, by his Spirit, brings the plant to fullness and fruition, in time for the harvest. The harvest here refers to Jesus’ return in glory.

There is a certain mystery to this process. Yes, we can give the plant a helping hand. We can water it and put a stake alongside to support it. We can protect it from the wind and insects. But ultimately it is God who makes a human person grow to maturity (body, soul and spirit).

Or, thinking more like Paul, it is God who grows the community of believers (the church) to fruitfulness.

Okay, so that covers one of the main points of Paul’s letter, the completion of our salvation. The other point is the affirmation of friendship. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to affirm his friendship with them.

Affirmation of Friendship:

We all need friends. We all need to know we have someone on our side. We need to feel connected and not alone. Developing and maintaining good quality friendships is part of the process of our sanctification.

We need to be careful in church life not to get the cart before the horse. The horse goes first and the cart comes second. The horse, in this analogy, is our friendships. While the cart represents our programmes, the things we do in service to the community.

If we don’t take care of the horse (of friendship), then the cart (or the programme) isn’t going anywhere. Paul was writing to take care of his friendship with the Thessalonians.

In verse 25 Paul says: ²⁵Brothers and sisters, pray for us.

Numerous times throughout his letter Paul addresses the Thessalonians as ‘brothers and sisters’. It is a term of affection. A term of close relationship. A term affirming the bond of their friendship.

So what is a friend? Friends know each other, they have history. They share things in common. Friends do things together. They trust one another. They have each other’s back. Friends are loyal, through thick and thin. They care for each other and support one another. Friends give priority to their relationship. The bond of friendship is a sacred thing.

And this is one reason why Paul asks his Thessalonian friends to pray for himself, Silas and Timothy. Prayer is an act of spirit (both our spirit and God’s Spirit). Prayer helps to create connections and maintain friendships.

The idea of affirming friendship continues in verse 26 where Paul writes…

²⁶Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.

In the culture of that time people greeted each other with a kiss, much like we might greet each other with a handshake or a hug. It wasn’t a sexual thing. Rather it was a tangible, physical demonstration of friendship.

In Maori culture, people greet each other with a hongi. This is when two people press noses together. When you hongi, you inevitably share breath. You connect. It is a beautiful way of honouring the relationship with each other.

Some people don’t like to be touched and we must respect that. But there is still a place for good physical touch. If someone is anxious or up-set we show them they are not alone by holding their hand or touching their shoulder or holding them in our arms.

Conclusion:

In verse 27 Paul instructs the Thessalonians, in strong terms, to ensure his letter is read to everyone. Paul does not want anyone to be excluded. They are all his friends and they are all under God’s umbrella of salvation.

Paul’s final word though is one of grace. He says, ²⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Paul signed off pretty much all his letters with a reminder of God’s grace. The word grace means gift or favour. Something done for us by God that we do not deserve and cannot do for ourselves.

C.S. Lewis was once asked, ‘What makes Christianity different from any other religion?’ And Lewis replied, ‘Why, grace of course.’

The completion of our salvation and the security of our friendship with Jesus, depends on God’s grace. Not on how we are feeling. Not on our own efforts. Not on luck or circumstances beyond our control. When you strip it all down, the Christian faith, unplugged, is pure grace.

Let us pray…

Gracious God, we thank you for the work of your Spirit in completing our salvation. We thank you too for your gift of friendship. In and through Jesus we share an eternal bond. Give us all we need to go the distance in your will and help us to take care of our friendships. 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?

Why did Paul write to the Thessalonians?

What does peace mean for you? What did Paul mean by peace? What are the implications for us of saying that God is a ‘God of peace’?

What does it mean to be ‘sanctified through and through’? How are we sanctified? E.g. What role can mistakes play in the process of our sanctification? What role does God play in our sanctification?

How might we understand the terms body, soul & spirit (in the context of 1^st Thessalonians 5)? How do these three aspects of the human person interact/relate with each other?

Why do you think Paul wanted to affirm his friendship with the Thessalonians? What is friendship? What do friends do? Are there friendships in your life that you need to renew or affirm? How might you do this?

What makes the Christian faith different from any other religion?

November 17, 2019 Tawa Baptist

Create in me a clean heart

Scriptures: Psalm 51 and 2^nd 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 29^th 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. ²The rich man had many cattle and sheep, ³while 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. ⁴One 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.”

⁵David became very angry at the rich man and said, “I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die! ⁶For 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…

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

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?)
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?
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?
What is sin? How does David’s sin affect him? How does sin affect you?
What do we notice about David’s confession and repentance? How do we find forgiveness with God?
How is your heart & spirit? Are you open to God’s light or are you closed off to God?
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.

November 3, 2019 Tawa Baptist

Body & Spirit

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-24

Structure:

Introduction
Praying in the Spirit
Praying in the body
Conclusion

Introduction:

Cyril Bassett was New Zealand’s first Victoria Cross recipient

Cyril was a sapper in the NZ Engineers during World War 1
His job was to lay communication lines so the allies could talk to each other
Because of his short stature Bassett was initially rejected for military service but he persisted and they let him in, assigning him to Signals
Bassett served in Gallipoli and was noted for his bravery in laying telephone wires under heavy fire early in the campaign
Some months later, when the NZ Infantry was attacking Chunuk Bair, Corporal Bassett found himself in the heat of the battle once more laying communication lines on the exposed hill slopes
He braved continuous gunfire during broad daylight armed only with a revolver and a bayonet.
A bullet struck his boot and two more passed through the fabric of his tunic during the fighting, but he was not wounded
For his efforts he was awarded the Victoria Cross
Afterwards Cyril Bassett had this to say…

“I reckon there must be some guardian angel looking after me, especially as one man was shot dead in front of me and another wounded just behind.”

This morning we conclude our series in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, focusing on chapter 6, verses 18-24

Last week we heard about the armour of God and the need to stand firm in the battle against evil
In the same vein of thought Paul continues from verse 18 encouraging his readers to stay alert and to pray
Prayer is essentially about establishing and maintaining lines of communication with God and other believers
In praying we are doing the spiritual equivalent of what Cyril Bassett did
From Ephesians 6, verses 18-24 (in the NIV) we read…

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

²¹Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. ²²I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. ²³Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

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

Paul started his letter to the Ephesians with a prayer and now he concludes it by encouraging the Ephesians to pray.

They are to pray in the Spirit and in the body.

Praying in the Spirit:

When you read a book you need to be in the light. If you are in the dark, it is very difficult to read

When you are sailing a boat you need to make sure your sail is trimmed to catch the wind. If your sail isn’t in the wind your boat won’t go far

In verse 18 of Ephesians 6, Paul says we are to pray in the Spirit.

That’s ‘Spirit’ with a capital ‘S’, as in God’s Spirit
Praying in the Spirit parallels what Paul says earlier in Ephesians about being in Christ
What then does Paul mean by praying in the Spirit?
We pray in the Spirit sort of like we read in the light
Just as we can’t really read all that well in the dark, so too we can’t really pray without the Spirit
Praying in the Spirit is also like hoisting a sail to catch the wind
Just as we can’t really get our boat moving without putting our sail in the wind, so too our prayers don’t provide any movement without the wind (or energy) of God’s Spirit

The Spirit of God communicates God to us. Through the Spirit we receive all the gifts and empowering we need from God [1]

True prayer in the Spirit isn’t about technique – it’s about relationship
True prayer in the Spirit involves engagement with God
If you want to cook a roast dinner, then you need to put the meat and veges in the oven
Say you are having roast chicken. You might make a nice basting sauce and rub it all over the raw bird.
You might make a sage and onion stuffing just like your grandmother used to make
You might put potatoes and pumpkin all around the chook
Then you turn the oven on and let it warm up to the right temperature
But if you leave the chicken and veges on the bench – if you don’t put them in the oven – then you are going hungry that night
Praying in the Spirit is like putting our prayers and requests in God’s oven. Without the Spirit of God our prayers are inedible
Praying in the Spirit nourishes us

Praying in the Spirit then is about praying in relationship with God

Simply reciting words without our heart being in it, or without directing those words to the person we call ‘God’, isn’t that effective
Praying in the Spirit is like pouring water into a cup – it requires focus and intention
I could throw handfuls of water around the room and some of it might, by chance, end up in the cup – but mostly it will just make everyone around me wet and annoyed
Praying in the Spirit fills the cup of our personal relationship with God

Praying in the Spirit is also like singing in a choir. It is prayer led by the Spirit and in harmony with God’s will.

Like choristers, we know the words & parts and we keep our eyes on the conductor, staying alert, listening as we sing (and by sing I mean pray).

Paul says to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Praying in the Spirit is comprehensive prayer, diverse in form and woven throughout all the circumstances of our lives.

If you come from a charismatic background you might think praying in the Spirit means praying in tongues and while it can mean that it isn’t limited to that
Praying in the Spirit can include lament & tears as well as laughter & praise
Praying in the Spirit can include meaningful liturgy read from the heart as well as spontaneous conversation with Christ as our close friend
Praying in the Spirit can include sitting alone in silence as we meditate on Scripture, our hearts open in a posture of listening to God, but I can also include singing songs in worship with other believers
We can pray in our heart for the person sitting next to us on the train during the week or we can intercede out loud in church on a Sunday for the things in this world that grieve God’s heart and ours
I could go on but you get the point, praying in the Spirit is not an occasional act – it is more like breathing
The Spirit of God is the atmosphere in which we breathe (and by ‘breathe’ I mean pray).

Alongside Paul’s instruction to pray in the Spirit we also find his encouragement to pray in the body

Praying in the body:

A few weeks ago I was talking with a sports fan about the rugby. He was telling me how the top rugby teams are really good at off-loading the ball before the ball handler is tackled and goes to ground

The more often a team takes the ball down in the tackle the quicker that team runs out of steam
But if you can keep your momentum by passing the ball you tend to make more ground with less effort
The All Blacks are brilliant at the off load pass. You often see them passing the ball out the back door, without even looking
When they throw the ball back they trust their team mates to be alert and in position to catch it
They don’t work as individuals – they work as a unit, supporting each other

Throughout Ephesians Paul has talked about the church in various ways

The church is the wisdom of God, the church is the temple of God and the church is the body of Christ
Paul wants to underline the connection believers have in Christ
He wants us to think of ourselves, not as a group of individuals (alone together), but as a unit, a single body made up of different parts
We need to remain alert, supporting each other spiritually, ready to receive the off load pass.

In the second part of verse 18 Paul says: With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

While it is okay to pray for yourself our prayers shouldn’t be self-centred
‘Praying in the body’ means being mindful of other believers in the church – remaining alert to the joys and sorrows, successes and trials of others
Praying for others actually gives us a break from thinking about ourselves
Not only that but it helps us to feel more connected, less alone
If you pray for someone long enough you start to care about them

In verse 19 Paul goes on to ask the Ephesians to pray for him also

Interesting here that Paul has the humility to ask for help from others. He doesn’t try to do the work on his own. He realises he needs prayer support.
The other thing to note is that Paul doesn’t ask the Ephesians to pray for his freedom, even though he is chained to a Roman soldier night and day.
Instead Paul asks for the clarity and courage to make known the mystery of the gospel.

The word ‘mystery’ here doesn’t refer to a puzzle to be solved but rather to something that was not known before but has now been revealed by God

‘Mystery’ refers to the unfolding of God’s plan – new light shed on an old word
Before Christ came Paul read the Old Testament Scriptures in a certain way – much of the meaning was hidden from him
But since encountering Jesus, Paul now reads those same Old Testament Scriptures in a whole new light
Before he saw a stern and angry God who was out to destroy sinners; now he sees a loving God full of generous grace for all
Before he saw himself as better than others; now he realises the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

Paul wants the Spirit’s help to preach the gospel about Jesus with clarity and courage – he wants others to understand all of the gospel, the rough with the smooth

The word ‘gospel’ means good news. But when we read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) we find there is actually a fair amount of bad news as well
The gospel talks about suffering as a prerequisite to glory; it talks about forgiveness with repentance; salvation for some but judgement for others
It can be tempting as a preacher to leave out the unpopular parts of the gospel but the Spirit of Jesus is a Spirit of grace and truth
Most people are happy to hear the nice bits, the grace-full bits, but the truthful bits require some courage to say
Paul doesn’t want to edit his message. Paul wants to be open and honest in his presentation of the gospel.

Those who proclaim the word of God need clarity and courage

This morning the children in the Flock Sunday school are learning how God spoke to the boy Samuel at the temple in Shiloh
Samuel slept in the temple near the ark of the covenant – the symbol of God’s presence with his people
One night Samuel hears a voice calling his name
At first he thinks it is the priest Eli calling him but every time he goes to Eli, the old man tells him to go back to bed
Eventually Eli realises that Samuel is hearing the Lord’s voice, so he instructs Samuel to respond by saying, ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening’. Samuel does as he is told.

The next morning Samuel seems to be avoiding Eli, so Eli sits Samuel down and asks the boy to tell him what the Lord said, without leaving anything out

The message is one of judgement against Eli and his family
‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’
That’s a heavy message for a child to give a grown man
To his credit Eli accepted the message saying, ‘He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.’

The gospel message Paul preached wasn’t so harsh. Paul was able to say, ‘The good news is; your guilt is atoned for by Christ’s sacrifice, but you still need to change your ways and repent. God’s love is not a license to do what we want.

Eli may have been accepting of what Samuel said but not everyone was accepting of what Paul had to say and as a consequence he found himself under house arrest, chained to a Roman soldier day and night

Most people in the ancient near east would have been ashamed to be in chains, but not Paul. He is not an Instagram star, ‘showing the best and hiding the rest’. Paul doesn’t hide the reality.
By being open like this Paul owns his suffering. He doesn’t let it own him.

We are talking about praying in the body

Perhaps one of the reasons Paul was able to cope with being in chains is that he saw himself as part of the body of Christ, so it didn’t all depend on him
Sure, he couldn’t visit the Ephesians himself, but he could send Tychicus, his assistant
Tychicus was Paul’s hands and feet – he could deliver Paul’s letter
When Paul went down in the tackle of house arrest, he could off load the ball to Tychicus, so the momentum wasn’t lost.

Tychicus wasn’t just a letter carrier though – he was someone who knew Paul and could pass on personal news of how Paul and the others were getting on

It is so easy in the culture I come from to think of prayer as a disembodied thing – a mental exercise – just words you say in your head
But true prayer is embodied and relational
Prayer in the body isn’t just the communication of words and information
Prayer in the body involves being physically present
Prayer in the body conveys warmth and emotion
Prayer in the body communicates encouragement and comfort
Tychicus’ visit did this – his going to see the Ephesians in person was prayer in a bodily form.

When our youngest daughter was about two years old she caught rota virus and had to go to hospital. This was before I became a minister, when we were living in Tauranga

While we were in hospital the pastor of our church came to visit. He didn’t stay long, just popped in, spoke to us, said a short prayer and then went on his way again
I don’t remember the words he prayed but I do remember feeling comforted and encouraged by his presence
I had never been visited by a pastor before. Greg simply showed up embodying warmth and this made me feel cared for and connected to the rest of the church. That’s an example of prayer in the body (of Christ).

Now in talking about prayer in the body I don’t mean to convey the idea that this is somehow different from praying in the Spirit – body & Spirit go together

It must be over twelve years ago now our family went on holiday to Christchurch

On about the second day our youngest daughter had an accident and had to go to hospital
They put her is this tiny room with no windows, no view outside – it was an awful environment – we were supposed to be on holiday, having fun
To make matters worse the words I prayed to God didn’t appear to make any positive difference – our daughter just got worse
When you are in a strange city, with a sick child and God isn’t answering your prayers it makes you feel incredibly isolated and vulnerable – we were powerless really.

But in that situation God was still present, just not in the way we were expecting

Some friends we knew in Christchurch looked after our well daughter for us so she wasn’t stuck in hospital all week
When the church here in Tawa heard what was happening they arranged a gift basket for us and one of you asked his sister (who lives in Christchurch) to come and visit us in hospital. That meant a lot to us.
Then, when we had to stay longer than our accommodation was booked for, the Ronald McDonald House gave us a room for a couple of nights

My prayers in that situation didn’t bring about a miraculous healing but we were very aware of God’s providence

On reflection I am conscious of the Spirit’s intercession for us
In Romans 8 Paul writes, ‘…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express…’
I had prayed for our daughter’s healing thinking that was what was needed, but at a deeper level (a level I wasn’t conscious of) what we really needed was to know that we were not alone – loneliness, isolation, alienation, these are the real sicknesses of our society today
The Spirit of God knew what we really needed and interceded for us with groans that words cannot express and God answered the Spirit’s prayer to comfort us in the loneliness and isolation we felt with practical, embodied help through friends and strangers.
Prayer in the Spirit goes hand in hand with prayer in the body.

Conclusion:

Paul concludes his letter with a prayer of blessing for the Ephesians

Four key words we notice in his benediction. Paul wishes his readers…
Peace, love with faith, and grace.

Praying in the Spirit and praying in the body are not meant to be separated – they go together

In a few moments we will share communion.
Communion holds together body and Spirit
It is a celebration of the peace, love, faith and grace that are ours in Christ

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 does it mean to ‘pray in the Spirit’? Can you think of a time in your life when the Spirit interceded for you with groans too deep for words?
What are some of the ways you prefer to pray? Are there some new ways of praying you could try?
What does it mean to ‘pray in the body’?
Have you ever experienced prayer in body and Spirit? Perhaps share your experience with someone you trust or write it down in a journal.
What affect does praying for other believers have on us?
Why did Paul ask for clarity & courage in preaching the gospel?
How does Paul own his suffering? How might we own our suffering?
Take some time to slowly read Paul’s benediction in verses 23-24 of Ephesians 6. Receive this blessing into your soul.

[1] Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, page 344.

August 27, 2017August 27, 2017 Tawa Baptist

Elijah & Elisha

Scriptures: 1^st Kings 19:19-21 & 2^nd Kings 2

Title: Elijah & Elisha

Structure:

Introduction
The call of Elisha
The empowerment of Elisha
Conclusion

Introduction:

On the wall here we have a picture of a Maori Adze (or axe)

– The head of the axe is made out greenstone (pounamu) and the handle is made out of wood

– The handle has carving on it which symbolises the history or whakapapa of those leaders who have carried the adze in previous generations

– With each new generation of leadership the greenstone head is removed and a new handle is carved for the new leader

– So the pounamu head stays the same from generation to generation, while the handle changes

– This means there is continuity with the past but also freshness or newness with each succeeding generation

Today we continue our series on intergenerational relationships in the Bible

– That is, relationships between people of different ages or generations

– This morning’s focus is the relationship between Elijah & Elisha

– This is a relationship in which the mantle of prophetic leadership is passed from one generation to the next, so the work of God continues

– Elisha is like the new handle for the old pounamu axe head

– Elisha carries the word of God as Elijah did before him and as others would after him

Today’s message is in two parts:

– Firstly, the call of Elisha and then the empowerment of Elisha

Elisha’s call:

The call of Elisha is found in 1^st Kings 19, just after Elijah’s encounter with the Lord God on Mt Horeb

– After defeating the prophets of Baal, Elijah runs for his life into the wilderness because Jezebel wants to kill him

– Elijah feels scared and alone – he has lost his perspective, his sense of continuity (some would say he is burnt out)

– But God meets him, not in the fire or the wind or the earthquake but in sheer silence

– After this Yahweh tells Elijah to go and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat to succeed him as prophet

– By giving Elijah an apprentice the Lord is making Elijah’s work less lonely and he is giving Elijah a sense of hope & continuity

– The Lord’s work will not die with Elijah

– From verse 19 of 1^st Kings chapter 19, we read…

¹⁹So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. ²⁰Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”

“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”

²¹So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

On the wall here is a picture of some Korowai

– A Korowai is a special type of Maori cloak (or mantle) woven out of flax with tassels and sometimes feathers on it

– It can take anywhere between 4-12 months to make a Korowai by hand

– They are a special garment to be worn on special occasions like graduations or weddings and other important ceremonies

– Korowai are often handed down as an heirloom from one generation to the next

– They provide a continuity or connection with the past, present and future

– A Korowai is reflective of honour, leadership, identity, warmth, protection, skill & beauty

One of the intriguing things about Elisha’s call is that Elijah doesn’t actually say anything to Elisha

– Elijah simply takes his cloak (or his mantle) and throws it over Elisha

– Elijah’s cloak wasn’t a Korowai as such, (it may have been quite ordinary for all we know) but it was nevertheless special because Elijah wore it

– By throwing his mantle over Elisha, Elijah was effectively bestowing honour, leadership, identity, warmth, protection and skill on Elisha

– It was an invitation for Elisha to become his successor and Elisha understood this intuitively

Another thing we note is that Elijah found Elisha at work in the fields plowing

– To give some context the land had been in drought for over 3 years and after Elijah prayed the rains came

– This meant that farmers, like Elisha, were finally able to get out and plow the ground and sow their crops

– Which means Elisha was being called to leave his work at a time when things were picking up again

– It wasn’t so much that one door closed and another opened for Elisha

– It was more like two doors opened at the same time and Elisha had to choose which one he was going to walk through

– Was he going to be a farmer or a prophet?

Elisha chose to follow Elijah – but first he asked permission to kiss his parents good bye

Elijah granted permission saying: “What have I done to you?”

– It is unclear what Elijah meant by this exactly

– It could mean, ‘you are free to choose what you do’

– But at the same time, Elijah may have his own experience in mind so he means something like, ‘In calling you to be a prophet, I’ve called you to a difficult life. You will be lonely, misunderstood and you will lack the usual securities and comforts that other people enjoy’

– Jesus said a similar thing to those who followed him – people will hate you because of me

Elisha is young and willing – he’s a good keen man which is just what the older more jaded Elijah needs

– After some difficult experiences Elijah (who is recovering from burn out) is at risk of falling into cynicism and contempt

– Elisha is a breath of fresh air for Elijah

– I imagine Elisha’s youthful enthusiasm and sense of hopefulness inspired Elijah to be the best version of himself that he could be, for Elisha’s sake

To mark his commitment in following Elijah and God’s call, Elisha sacrifices his two bulls as a fellowship offering – there’s no turning back now

– Sometimes choosing continuity with God’s story means discontinuity with our old way of life

– Elisha feeds the people with the meat from his oxen

– This is symbolic of his ministry – as a prophet Elisha will sustain people with the meat of God’s word (man cannot live by bread alone)

When I started here at Tawa, you (the congregation) gave me a mantle of sorts – a cloak in the form of a Hurricanes rugby jersey

– I come from the Waikato / Bay of Plenty area where the Chiefs are based

– Had I been a Chiefs supporter I suppose I would have had to burn my chiefs jersey, sort of like Elisha burned his oxen and farming equipment

– Luckily for me I was never a Chiefs supporter

After Elisha has said his goodbyes and fed the people he goes with Elijah and becomes his attendant or servant

– Similar language is used of Joshua who became Moses’ servant centuries earlier

– We, the reader, are meant to see the continuity woven into the Korowai of God’s salvation story

– Elisha is to Elijah what Joshua was to Moses – someone chosen by God to carry on the Lord’s work after Elijah is gone

Elisha’s empowerment:

Some of the external doors of the church auditorium have been difficult to open and close, partly due to their age and partly due to all the rain we’ve had lately

– During the week Ewan & Neville fixed the fire exit here at the front

– One of the things they did to free the door up was replace the hinges – the old hinges were a bit rusted and seized

– They didn’t throw the door out – they kept the door but replaced the hinges so there is continuity with the past, present and future

The purpose of a hinge is to allow movement and change – to create openings and endings

– In some ways a prophet is a bit like a hinge in that they allow movement and change

– They are anchored to the past (the door frame) and to the present (the door itself)

– Through the words they speak God’s prophets make society aware of hinge moments in human history

– They let people know when new doors of hope have been opened

– They also warn people when old doors of sin & injustice are about to close in judgment

Of course, it is God who opens and closes the doors of history – the prophet (like the hinge) simply helps to facilitate that movement

– If a prophet performs the function of a hinge in history then we could say, Elisha is like the new set of hinges on the old door

We are not told much about how Elijah mentors Elisha, as we were with Moses & Joshua

– Presumably Elisha learned like any apprentice, by watching and doing

– In any case the emphasis of the text isn’t on the technical aspects of mentoring – it is rather on the spiritual empowerment of Elisha

The next time we hear about Elijah & Elisha together is 2^nd Kings chapter 2

– After a bit of a tiki-tour through Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho, Elijah & Elisha head out into the wilderness toward the Jordan

– They both know that Elijah is soon to be taken by God

– When they reach the river Elijah strikes the water with his cloak, the water divides and the two of them walk across on dry ground

– Sort of like Moses separating the Red Sea with his staff

– Once again we find a continuity – the past, present and future are woven together into the wider cloak of the Biblical narrative

– We pick up the story from verse 9 or 2^nd Kings chapter 2…

⁹When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

¹⁰“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

In ancient Jewish culture the first born son inherited a double portion of the Father’s estate

– So in asking for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, Elisha is asking to be Elijah’s legitimate heir – that is, the prophet’s successor

– Elisha wants to carry on the prophetic work Elijah started but he needs the power of Elijah’s spirit to do that

– And by “Elijah’s spirit” we don’t mean his human spirit we mean the Spirit of God that rests on Elijah

Elijah says to Elisha, “You have asked a difficult thing”

– In other words, it’s not up to me whether you will be my successor or not

– I can’t control what the Spirit of God does any more than I can control where the wind blows

– The hinge doesn’t get to tell the carpenter what door it will hang on

From verse 11…

¹¹As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹²Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

By calling Elijah his “father”, Elisha is showing deep respect and affection for his predecessor

^–“The chariots and horsemen of Israel” is another title of respect for Elijah

^–Elisha is basically saying that Elijah is the Lord’s weapon against evil

^–God’s word through Elijah was far more powerful than any army of chariots and horsemen

The point, not to be missed here, is that Elisha saw his master go, which means he would inherit Elijah’s spirit – the Spirit of God

– Elisha would now become the Lord’s weapon against evil

Yet again we see continuity with the past, present & future

– Elijah’s ascension foreshadows Jesus’ ascension to heaven – it is all part of the weaving of the larger Biblical narrative of salvation

– Just as Elijah ascended to God’s presence in heaven before Elisha inherited his spirit – so too Jesus ascended to heaven before pouring out his Spirit on his disciples at Pentecost

^–So if Jesus is like Elijah then we are sort of like Elisha, empowered by Jesus’ Spirit to carry on the Lord’s work

Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

Again we notice the Lord’s masterful weaving

– Just as Joshua (the successor to Moses) separated the river Jordan so the people could cross over into the Promised Land, so too Elisha (the successor to Elijah) divides the waters of the Jordan on his re-entry

The interesting thing here is that it didn’t work the first time for Elisha

– He has to strike the water twice and ask where God is before the river parts for him

– Perhaps this is a reminder that the power is not in Elijah’s mantle – the cloak is not magic – the power is with the Lord God Almighty

In any case…

¹⁵The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

Conclusion:

The other night around our dinner table one of the kids asked what is salience?

– I had a vague idea but wanted to make sure I had my facts straight so went to get a dictionary off the book shelf to look it up

– Robyn laughed at me (as she usually does) and said, “Just google it”

– Of course I ignored her and went off to find an actual dictionary while she looked up a virtual dictionary on her phone

– Robyn has kept up with the new generation – I’m more old school

– Not that it really matters – different approaches, same answer

Salience is the quality of being particularly noticeable or important

– A salient point is one which is prominent – or sticks out like a tall poppy

The story of Elijah & Elisha is enigmatic – it is cloaked in mystery

– Yes, theirs is an intergenerational relationship but so what?

– What is the salient point of their story?

– What’s the application for us?

Well, the thing that stands out most prominently to me is that God is weaving the cloak (the Korowai) of our salvation

– One of our values as a church is passing on our faith (the Christian faith) to the next generation

– We don’t want the church to end with us – we want to leave things in good shape for our kids and see them continue walking with Jesus

– We want there to be a continuity between the past, present and future

– That’s one of the reasons we encourage an intergenerational culture in the life of the church – that’s why we are having this sermon series

The salient point with Elijah & Elisha’s story is that God is the weaver, not Elijah & Elisha

– Yes, Elijah was obedient to God when the Lord told him to appoint Elisha as his successor

– And yes, Elisha was willing to submit to God’s purpose, even though he had other options

– But really it was the Spirit of God who empowered both Elijah & Elisha and created the continuity

What I’m trying to say is that, even though the tide of cultural change is against us at present, we don’t need to be anxious about the future of the church

– Yes, we have our part to play but what really counts with passing on our faith to the next generation is the power of God’s Spirit

– Like Elijah, we don’t get to tell the Spirit what to do

– God is the master weaver and he will draw it all together in the end

– We are part of his larger Korowai – his cloak of salvation

– The Lord will provide the continuity by his Spirit

Reflection Questions:

1.) What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.) Why did God tell Elijah to anoint Elisha to succeed him as prophet?

– How might Elisha help Elijah?

3.) What was the significance or meaning of Elijah throwing his cloak (mantle) over Elisha?

4.) Have you (like Elisha) had the experience of two doors opening at the same time and needing to make a decision about which one you will walk through?

– Can you share your story? (E.g. What happened? How did God guide you? What and why did you decide as you did? Etc.)

5.) How is Elisha similar to Joshua?

6.) In what sense is a prophet like a hinge?

7.) What does Elisha mean when he asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit?

– Why is this a difficult thing to ask for?

8.) In what ways does Elijah foreshadow Jesus?

9.) What is the salient point in the story of Elijah & Elisha?

– And what’s the application for us?

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/27-aug-2017-elijah-elisha

May 1, 2017 Tawa Baptist

The Weaned Soul

Scripture: Psalm 131

Title: The weaned soul

Structure:

Introduction
Humility of heart
Contentment of soul
Conclusion – Hope

Introduction:

On the wall here we have three pictures

– We have Doctor Who’s ‘Tardis’

– The Wardrobe from the ‘Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’

– And the suitcase from ‘Fantastic Beasts and where to find them’

Who can tell me what these three things share in common? [Wait]

– That’s right – they are all a lot bigger on the inside than they appear on the outside and they transport you to a different world

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

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

– They are songs about drawing nearer to God

Our focus today is psalm 131

– While this song appears quite small from the outside (only three verses long) – it is actually very spacious on the inside

– Psalm 131 is like a gateway into a whole different realm

– In this song the author, King David, touches on some pretty deep themes including humility of the heart, contentment of the soul and hope for the nation. From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

¹O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.

²But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

³O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

Humility:

I have in my hand a spirit level

– This is a builder’s tool which shows whether something is level or not

– If the floor or the wall or whatever it is you are measuring is straight and true then the bubble here will sit nicely between the two lines

– But if it’s on an angle (if one part is lifted up or standing too proud) then the bubble will move outside the lines [1]

David begins psalm 131 by talking to the Lord about humility. He says…

– O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high…

– David is saying here that he is not proud – he is humble

Some people think that humility consists of being self-deprecating or having a low self-esteem or putting yourself down. It doesn’t.

– Humility is about having a true and accurate estimation of yourself in relation to God and others

– The person who is truly humble doesn’t think too highly of themselves nor too lowly of themselves – they are level headed in their perception

– To be humble then is to be on the level, straight, true and honest

Now you might be thinking – isn’t David boasting when he says he’s not proud, doesn’t that undo his humility? (humility is a sort of a Catch 22 like that)

– Well no. David isn’t boasting, he is simply stating the facts

– He has got his spirit level out and everything is straight & true – nothing is lifted too high or sitting too proud

David says that his heart is not lifted up

– What does he mean by his ‘heart’?

Contemporary western society tends to equate the heart to a person’s feelings or emotions

– In the Bible though, the heart isn’t limited to a person’s feelings

– Rather the heart is the seat of the will

– In other words, the heart is where decisions are made

– This means, what we say and do comes from the heart

– Our personal values, the things that are important to us, the principles we live by all reside in the heart

– The human heart is sort of like the parliament of the individual

– The heart governs a person’s life

You sometimes hear people talking about ‘inviting Jesus into your heart’

– What does that mean?

– It means to let Jesus sit on the throne of your life,

– Let him be Lord, let him be Prime Minister,

– Give him executive authority, make Jesus your power of attorney

– Let Christ inform and guide the decisions you make

When David says to the Lord, my heart is not lifted up (or not proud) he means something like: I don’t make decisions without you God

– I am not wilfully disobedient

– I don’t think that I know better than you Lord

– I submit my will to your will

– I give you, O God, power of attorney over my life

Now at this point some of you, who know David’s story, might be thinking…

– ‘Really? Is that right David? What about Uriah and Bathsheba? How did God feature in those decisions?’

– And that’s a fair point – David wasn’t perfect.

– We don’t know exactly when David wrote psalm 131

– It could have been before the debacle with Uriah and Bathsheba or it might have been after that, when David had repented

– We can be fairly confident he didn’t write it during that time

In any case we are told that David was a man after God’s own heart

– Meaning that, generally speaking, David pursued God’s will

– He went after what God wanted in most situations

Returning to verse 1 – David goes on to say to the Lord:

– …my eyes are not raised too high

– If a person’s heart is where decisions come from then a person’s eyes relate to perception

– It’s like David is saying: I don’t look down on others

– I don’t think of myself as better than other people

– I don’t even compare myself to them

– And I don’t see my desires as being more important than anyone else’s

Sometimes we can be bitterly disappointed when we don’t get what we want, especially if someone else does get what we want

– That’s my seat, I always sit there

– I was looking forward to that last piece of cake and someone beat me to it

– I really wanted to be selected for the Lion’s tour of NZ but Warren Gatling didn’t pick me

– Or, I wanted to sleep in but the kids woke me up early

– These are frivolous examples of course but you get the point:

– The truly humble person knows that it’s not realistic to expect to always get what you want

– Humility is the awareness that we are not the centre of the universe – the world doesn’t revolve around us

The second half of verse 1 continues this theme of humility

– I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.

Here David appears to be saying, I accept my limits – in particular the limits of my understanding and the limits of my ability

– Humility means accepting that we don’t know everything and learning to live with mystery, which can be more difficult for some than others

Science is able to explain many things about the physical universe but not everything

– In 1953 Albert Einstein wrote a letter in response to one of his critics

– In the letter he says…

“Dear Mr. Moffat, our situation is the following. We are standing in front of a closed box which we cannot open, and we try hard to discover what is and is not in it.” [2] (The closed box Einstein was referring to is the universe)

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

– What happens to something when it enters a black hole in space?

– Who built Stonehenge?

– Is there intelligent life on other planets?

We could go on but I don’t mean to side track your thinking or occupy your mind with things too great and marvellous

– If we are this limited in our understanding of the physical universe how much more limited are we when it comes to understanding God?

– Humility means accepting the limits of what we know and learning to live with mystery

Humility of heart is perhaps the most important of all the virtues

– It’s a bit like the soil out of which the other virtues grow

– Like the virtue of contentment – which we read about in verse 2…

Contentment:

But [instead of occupying my time and thoughts with things too great and marvellous for me – instead of comparing myself with others and instead of lifting what I want above what God wants]

– I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

David has talked about the heart, the eyes and the mind

– Now he talks about his soul

– What is the human soul?

Well, describing the soul is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle – you can’t really define the soul in one pithy sentence or reduce it to a formula

– The best we can do is describe the soul in pieces and then admit that we don’t have all the pieces – there are limits to our understanding here

The soul is different from the heart and the spirit

– The heart is where values are held and decisions are made – like the parliament of the individual

– And the human spirit is our capacity to connect or relate with God and others – sort of like wifi or cell-phone coverage

– While our soul is the life force which animates us and connects the various aspects of our self

If the term ‘life force’ is too Star Wars sounding for you then you might prefer Dallas Willard’s metaphor, where he compares the soul to an inner stream, which refreshes, nourishes and gives strength to every other element of our life [3]

– Just as a river gives life to the land it passes through, so too our soul gives life to our body, our mind, our heart and our spirit

– Normally we can see a river or a stream but the stream of our soul is underground, it is hidden deep beneath the surface

– In fact the soul is the deepest level of life and power in the human being

Expanding on Dallas’ metaphor we could say that if the soul is a stream of water, then God is the source (or the well-spring) of the soul

– While the human spirit is the channel (or the conduit) through which the water of our soul flows

The thing that convinces me most that we have a soul is death

– Whenever I see a dead body it’s obvious to me that the soul has departed

– Looking at a corpse is quite different from looking at someone sleeping

– Death has a certain pallor – a kind of greyness

– A dead body is missing something more than just a heart beat

– It’s missing the soul – it’s missing the stream of its life force

Returning to psalm 131 – David says he has calmed and quieted his soul

– What does it mean then to quieten your soul?

– Well, sitting still in silence, is a helpful start but it’s not usually enough by itself – our mind can be racing even if our tongue is still

– We quieten our soul by abandoning outcomes to God

– By not seeking to manipulate the end result

– Not seeking to make ourselves look good in the eyes of others

– Not seeking success or fame or superiority

– Embracing the truth that we (on our own) don’t have the resources to make things turn out right

– The soul settles down and finds its level when we let go of our reputation and simply trust God with the outcome

Dallas Willard compares the soul to an inner stream

– Like any metaphor though it has its limits, it’s just one piece to the puzzle

– King David provides another piece, comparing his soul to a weaned child with its mother – The poetry in this verse is profound

To say the soul is like a child indicates that the soul is not static or fixed but is dynamic, changing and growing, developing and learning

– Furthermore it seems David is implying that God is the mother of his soul

– We normally hear God described as a Father but sometimes the Bible associates God with motherhood

– This is entirely appropriate – God cannot be contained by our narrow human categories

– In any case, David appears to be saying that his soul feels a close bond with God – like a mother and child

The aspect that is underlined most strongly though is that David’s soul is like a weaned child

– (He says ‘weaned child’ twice, which is significant in such a short poem)

– To be weaned is to become accustomed to managing without something which we were previously dependent on

– In the case of a mother and a baby, the child becomes accustomed to food other than it’s mother’s milk

– So the child stops drinking its mother’s milk and starts eating solid food

– It’s not that milk is bad – it is good for a time – but as the child grows it needs more substantial nourishment

A baby cries when it is hungry so the mother will feed it

– A weaned child doesn’t cry though – a weaned child knows it will be fed and waits for mum to prepare the meal

How does God feed the soul?

– God feeds the soul with meaning

– When something is meaningful it is worthwhile – it has a point to it, a purpose that is satisfying

– Meaning answers the ‘why’ questions of life & death

– We often find meaning in stories – that’s why the Bible is full of stories – they feed our soul, they help us to make sense of our lives and our losses

Ultimately God is the one who gives meaning to our lives

– The thing is, we often have to wait for that meaning to be revealed

Abraham couldn’t see the meaning of his wealth when he had no children to pass it on to – he waited many years for God to fulfil his promise

– But his wait was not in vain

I imagine Joseph struggled to see the meaning of his life when he was sold into slavery by his brothers and then later sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit

– But God used Joseph to save millions from starvation

Moses probably didn’t see much meaning in his life as a shepherd caring for sheep in the desert for 40 years, especially after being raised in a palace

– But God used Moses to save the Israelites from slavery

The disciples struggled to see the meaning in Jesus’ death on the cross

– At the time it may have seemed to them like they had wasted the last 3 years of their lives

– Little did they know the cross was part of God’s plan to redeem creation

You may be finding it hard to locate the meaning in your life at the moment

– Perhaps your job seems pointless or maybe you don’t have a job

– Perhaps you were once very involved in church work or missions but now you feel like God has forgotten you

– Maybe you have suffered a terrible loss and the grief is overwhelming

– Hang in there – you never know when God will reveal the meaning

John of the Cross was a 16^th Century Carmelite monk who didn’t really understand the meaning of his life’s work at the time

– Through his thinking and writing John was among those who tried to lead a reform of the Catholic church during the 1500’s

– John was arrested by those he was trying to help and during his confinement he wrote what became a classic, The Dark Night of the Soul

– I don’t expect he ever imagined God would use his writing to help millions in the centuries that followed

Let me read you some excerpts from his book – John speaks directly to this process of God weaning the Christian soul…

After a soul has been converted by God, that soul is nurtured and caressed by the [Holy] Spirit. Like a loving mother, God cares for and comforts the infant soul by feeding it spiritual milk. Such souls will find great delight in this stage. They will begin praying with great urgency and perseverance; they will engage in all kinds of religious activities because of the joy they experience in them.

But there will come a time when God will bid them to grow deeper. He will remove the previous consolation from the soul in order to teach it virtue and prevent it from developing vice…

They will enter the dark night of the soul and find all of these things removed. They will have the pleasure taken away so that the soul may be purified. For a soul will never grow until it is able to let go of the tight grasp it has on God…

When their delight [in spiritual milk] comes to an end, these persons are very anxious and frustrated just as an infant is angry when it is taken away from its mother’s breast…

Let it suffice to say, then, that God perceives the imperfections within us, and because of his love for us, urges us to grow up. His love is not content to leave us in our weakness, and for this reason he takes us into a dark night. He weans us from all of the pleasures by giving us dry times and inward darkness. [4]

David’s soul had been feeding on spiritual milk – but God weaned him off milk in order to help David grow up (spiritually)

– David’s soul had been through the dark night – a time of disorientation and dryness where his usual devotional routines (like writing and singing worship songs for example) had lost all their pleasure

– But now the dark night has done its work and David’s soul is content

– He doesn’t cry out to God every time something doesn’t go his way

– His prayer time isn’t a long shopping list detailing all his needs & wants or worries & fears

– He knows that God understands his needs and he trusts God to provide

– David has abandoned the outcome to God

– His soul has found contentment with the Lord

Now some of you will have been through the weaning process we call the dark night of the soul and you will know exactly what David and John of the Cross are talking about

– Others of you wouldn’t have faced the dark night yet – that’s okay

– If you haven’t faced the dark night, know that it’s coming

– And when it does come – don’t panic

– Be calm, be still, quieten your soul – abandon the outcome to God

– When your soul is being weaned by God you may feel like you are losing your faith – you’re not

Hang on through the dark night – God is bringing you to the next stage of faith in him, where you will be less anxious to know all the answers and better able to accept His will, even when His will is unpleasant or delays your satisfaction

Conclusion – Hope:

David finishes his song by addressing the nation…

– ³O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.

Hope has to do with believing something good is coming in the future

– Hope is a form of meaning more substantial than milk

– The bread of hope feeds our soul in the present

– Hope sustains our soul with joy and energy

God has weaned David off spiritual milk and is now feeding him the bread of hope – David (the king) wants to share this bread of hope with his people

We are currently in the season of Easter, as we wait for Pentecost

– For Jesus’ first disciples Easter was a time of weaning

– There was Easter Saturday of course when Jesus was dead and the disciples were confused and grief stricken

– (A very acute dose of the dark night of the soul)

– But the time between Jesus’ resurrection and Pentecost was also a time of weaning

– Previously the disciples had access to Jesus 24-7

– He was present with them physically all the time – like a mother with a small child

– But after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension the disciples’ way of relating with Jesus had to change

– Jesus was no longer present with them physically

– The disciples had to go through this weaning process in order to grow up in the faith

Jesus didn’t abandon them altogether though

– Jesus gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit and the bread of hope

– He promised them he would return one day in glory to make all things right – this is our hope too

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/30-april-2017-weaning-the-soul

[1] The inspiration for this illustration comes from Josh Moody’s book, ‘Journey to Joy’, page 137

[2] http://discovermagazine.com/2004/sep/einsteins-grand-quest

[3] You can read more about Dallas Willard’s thoughts on the soul in his book, ‘Renovation of the Heart’, pages 169-181.

[4] From Richard Foster and James Smith’s book, ‘Devotional Classics’, page 33-36.