Tawa Baptist

Be Thou my Vision

Scriptures: Revelation 7:14-17; Proverbs 3:5-8; Ephesians 6:12-17;

Philippians 3:10-11; Matthew 6:1-4 & 19-24, among others.

Be Thou my Vision:

Good things take time, whether that’s aging cheese or wine, cooking and resting meat, waiting a few years for a tree to fruit or developing friendship and trust

  • Good things take time    

Today we continue our ‘Anthems’ series

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

Today’s song is Be Thou my Vision ­

  • Thou is an old English word which simply means you
  • So, Be Thou my Vision means ‘God, You be my vision’

‘Be Thou my Vision’ is a song that took a long time

  • It started as a poem, that lay dormant for many centuries, before the words were married to a tune and people started singing it in worship.
  • It is rich in history

At the church AGM last August, we presented Jason with a gavel for his many years’ service as chair of the Deacons board

  • The gavel was made by Bryan Hawkins, who turned the wood himself
  • The handle was made from a church pew, the head from a Tawa tree from Peterhouse Street and the stand was made from Rimu taken from the Tararua Ranges in 1992.
  • In some ways Be Thou my Vision is a bit like Jason’s gavel – it is a song recycled from some historically significant materials
  • Before we look at the lyrics though, let’s consider the history of the song and how it came into being.   

The tune for Be Thou my Vision is simply called ‘Slane’, after a village in Ireland called Slane.

  • The ‘Slane’ tune wasn’t originally church music – it was non-liturgical, meaning it wasn’t a Christian worship song. It was a tune people might sing in the pub or around an open fire at home.
  • There is a longstanding practice, in Irish worship music, of using traditional folk tunes to sing liturgical texts.
  • It would be akin taking a classic pop song (like Unchained Melody or Candle in the Wind or Let it be) and putting Christian words to it
  • Using mainstream music in worship was genius really – it meant everyone was familiar with the tune regardless of their background
  • It created a bridge, making it easier for non-Christians and new Christians to feel at home singing in church

Having said that, there is still a Christian connection with the Slane tune  

  • On the wall here is a picture of the ruins of Slane Abbey
    It was on Slane Hill in County Meath around 433 AD/CE that St. Patrick lit candles on Easter Eve, defying a decree by High King Logaire  
  • The king had said that no one could light a flame before he signaled the beginning of the pagan spring festival by lighting a fire on Tara Hill.
  • Like the prophet Daniel, Saint Patrick risked his life in going against the king’s orders
  • King Logaire was so impressed by Patrick’s courage and devotion that, despite his defiance, Patrick was permitted to continue his work as Ireland’s first Christian missionary.

The words for Be Thou my Vision are based on an old Irish poem

  • The experts are not agreed on who wrote the poem
  • Some attribute the poem to St Dallan who lived during the 6th century AD
  • Others say it was written later than that, around the 8th Century or even the 10th Century, by someone else who attached St Dallan’s name to it
  • Maybe they did this as a tribute to St Dallan or maybe they hoped to give the poem notoriety by associating it with a famous poet.
  • Whoever wrote it there seems to be a connection with St Dallan
  • So who was he?

Born in 530 AD, Saint Dallan’s given name was Eochaidh. He was given the nick name ‘Dallan’, meaning ‘little blind one’, because he lost his sight, apparently as a result of intensive study – such was his devotion to God

  • The words, ‘Be Thou my Vision’ take on a whole new meaning when one is blind and can’t see.  
  • Dallan had to rely on God – he knew first-hand what it meant to walk by faith and not by sight. We need the spiritual vision that faith provides. 

Saint Dallan’s poem, which is actually a prayer, was written in an old form of the Irish language, which meant it wasn’t accessible to many people in the modern English speaking world

  • It may have been lost to us except for the work of Mary Byrne who translated the Old Irish text into English in 1905
  • The English version was then versified by Eleanor Hull in 1912
  • But Eleanor’s version of the words of “Be Thou My Vision” wasn’t combined with the tune of Slane and sung in churches until 1919.
  • It could not have come at a more needed time

1919 was a difficult year in human history

  • People had suffered so much pointless loss as a consequence of the First World War (1914-1918).
  • Then, following hard on the heels of the Great War, came the flu epidemic which killed even more people than the war
  • The general population was blinded with grief and loss
  • In that historical context it was difficult to see God’s hand for good
  • As a consequence, there arose a movement known as ‘protest atheism’
  • Protest atheism is different from the lazy practical atheism of today
  • Protest atheism was the sort of atheism a Christian can have sympathy for
  • With protest atheism a person wants to believe that God is good and kind, just and merciful but their experience just can’t sustain that belief
  • How can God be loving when there is so much suffering in the world?
  • If one can’t see that God is good then one refuses to trust him, in protest
  • Like Owen Marshall said, ‘The world is divided between those who face the world with a religion, and those who wish to but have only irony in its place.’ [1]

During my twenties I went through a rough time. My experience caused me to question many of the things I had been taught to believe about God.

  • Part of that process of disorientation led me to toy with protest atheism. But I found it didn’t work.
  • Life loses all meaning when we try to take God out of the picture.
  • In the end I had to admit, some things are unknowable
  • Some things I just can’t see or understand
  • Some things I am blind to and I just have to trust that God will be my vision – that He can see and make sense of what I can’t.    

While it is true to say that this life is not always fair, we need to keep in mind that this life is not all there is. There is more to the picture than meets the eye

  • We need God to be our vision when we are blinded by our pain
  • We need to remember that Jesus will return one day to make all things new – to bring an end to war and sickness, death and suffering

In the book of Revelation, the apostle John records a vision he received from God. In chapter 7 we read of John’s vision for those who suffer and remain loyal to Christ…

“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation…

‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”   

Be Thou my vision, has been sung in churches for the last 100 years. It still speaks to our generation today.

  • It is an acknowledgment of our blindness, for we are all blind in our own way. None of us sees the whole picture.
  • Each us needs to see God’s hand for good in the world and in our own lives personally
  • All of us need God to give us a picture of the future which inspires hope
  • And when we can’t see a good future – when we lose our hope – we need God to be our vision

The vision of hope and goodness that God gives is Jesus

  • O Lord of my heart; is a reference to Jesus.
  • I am reminded of Saul of Tarsus (the zealous Pharisee) who sincerely believed the followers of Jesus were wrong and needed to be stopped
  • Saul hunted Christians down and persecuted them, fully convinced he was doing the right thing by God. But Saul was spiritually blind
  • So God gave Saul a vision of the risen Jesus on the Road to Damascus
  • And Saul was physically blinded by the light of Christ (blinded by the light), but at the same time he had the eyes of his heart opened to see that Jesus is Lord and he had actually been persecuting the Messiah
  • Saul repented, his sight was restored, he was renamed Paul and went on to promote the gospel of Christ  
  • The vision we need, the vision this hymn is asking for, is a vision of Jesus

The vision statement of this church is ‘Christ in community’

  • We want to see Christ at work in our own faith community and the wider community outside the church
  • We need the vision (the eyes) to see where Jesus is active and work in harmony with him and his purpose.

Ed Sheeran has a song called ‘Photograph’. In it we find these lines…

  • You can fit me inside the necklace you got when you were sixteen
    Next to your heartbeat where I should be, keep it deep within your soul
  • I doubt that Ed was thinking of Jesus when he wrote that song but those lines come close to expressing the meaning of the opening verse of ‘Be Thou my Vision’

Some of you may have a locket that you wear around your neck, with a photograph of someone you love in it

  • The locket with the photo is always close to your heart
  • Others of you may keep a photo of your loved ones in your wallet or on your phone so whenever you go to pay for something you see your family 
  • Each of us needs a vision (a picture) of Jesus to sustain us
  • Jesus shows us what God is like and he shows us how to be human  

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art is a difficult line to understand

  • I think it basically means, ‘Jesus, I want you to be number one in my life’
  • ‘Jesus, I want to give you my best and not divide my loyalty.’   

Thou my best thought, by day or by night, both waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

  • God’s presence is often associated with light in the Bible
  • Light is silent. Light reveals the truth. Light is a symbol of goodness
  • Light is security, it dispels fear. This line is a prayer for inner light – for the truth and goodness of Christ to illuminate our mind

In Psalm 139 David celebrates the light of God’s presence with him always…

  • If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.    
  • God’s presence is with us always, whether we are conscious of it or not

Verse 2: Be Thou my Wisdom, be Thou my true word; is an acknowledgment that wisdom and truth come from God, not from ourselves.

  • In Proverbs 3, verses 5-8 we read…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Vision is connected to wisdom. Wisdom and truth help us to see the way to go.

Verse 2 of the song continues: I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son;

  • These lines are talking about a close family relationship with God
  • The phrase, I Thy true son, may jar with us these days, but it is not meant to exclude women. The point is: a true child of God obeys God the Father
  • In Matthew 21 Jesus tells a parable of two sons.
  • The father asks the first son to go and work in the vineyard.
  • The first son says he will but then he doesn’t   
  • So the father asks the second son to go and work in the vineyard.
  • The second son refuses, but then he goes and does what his father asks
  • The true child of God is the one who obeys God.
  • We need wisdom to obey God.

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one is talking about eternal life

  • Eternal life isn’t just living forever. Eternal life describes a certain quality of relationship with God – a relationship of closeness and intimacy, where God dwells in us by His Spirit and we dwell in Christ.  

Verse 3: Be Thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight; Thou my whole armour, Thou my true might; this is clearly a reference to the armour of God described in Ephesians 6

  • The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit
  • For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
  • We might not identify with the battle imagery we find in many of the older hymns but that’s only because most of us don’t know what it is to be in a war (for which we can thank God)
  • Ireland, at the time these verses were first written, was plagued with fighting.
  • And, as I mentioned earlier, the realities of war were still fresh in the minds of many in 1919 when this hymn was first being sung in churches

Verse 3 is essentially asking God to be our security    

  • Be Thou my soul’s shelter, be Thou my high tower, these words are straight out of the psalms. God is a sanctuary and fortress for us.
  • God is our security.  

 
O raise Thou me heavenward, great power of my power, is talking about resurrection. The power of God’s love is greater than the power of death

  • The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us who believe. In Philippians 3, verse 10, Paul writes…
  • I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.   

In 598 Saint Dallan was visiting his friend Saint Conall at Inishskeel when pirates raided the island monastery.

  • Dallan turned the other cheek. He did not resist when attacked and was beheaded by the pirates.
  • A peaceful man come to a violent end, much like Christ  
  • Dallan shared in the sufferings of Christ, becoming like him in death and so he shares in Christ’s resurrection – he is raised heavenward.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, the first in my heart,
O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure Thou art.

This verse finds its inspiration from Matthew 6 where Jesus says…

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

In Matthew 6 Jesus makes a connection between our vision (our eyes) and what we value or treasure  

  • Money (or mammon – the god of wealth) can blind us to what is really important. If we give our lives to making money, we lose our way.
  • But when our eyes are fixed on a vision of Jesus (who is the light of the world) we can see the path we are to follow.

As much as possible we try to have a mixture of old and new songs in our Sunday liturgy

  • Some people think this is a strategy to try and keep everyone happy but that’s not my purpose.
  • One of the main reasons we include a variety of songs (old and new) is so that we get a good variety in our theological diet
  • How many new worship songs do you know that talk about money?
  • Not many, if any. And yet Jesus had quite a bit to say about money, particularly the way it competes for our loyalty with God
  • What’s more, financial giving is part of our worship
  • If we didn’t sing old hymns like Be Thou my Vision, then we might never think how money affects our relationship with God, except when the preacher does an occasional sermon on it 
  • This is not to say new songs don’t have their place. They do.
  • The new songs tend to fill in the theological gaps of the older hymns and vice versa   

Verse 4 of the hymn also has that line about not heeding man’s praise.

  • This relates to what Jesus says at the beginning of Matthew 6 …

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.   

As Oswald Chambers prayed: ‘Lord, save me from the praise and blame of others’.

  • In the same way that money can blind us to the things of God, so too the opinion of others can obscure our vision
  • The idea with worship is that God is the audience.
  • Whatever form our worship may take, whether that’s singing or giving to the poor or doing justice, our motivation needs to be self-giving love and devotion to God, not self-centered love or devotion to our ego

In 1972 Carly Simon wrote a song called ‘You’re so vain’ – it was allegedly about Warren Beatty. The chorus goes…

  • You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you. You’re so vain, I bet you think this song is about you, don’t you?
  • When we sing the song Be Thou my Vision, we are praying, ‘Lord it’s not about me. It’s about you. Don’t let my life or my worship be vain.
  • Let my orientation, my perspective, my focus be you and not myself.’

The final verse of Be Thou my Vision, as we sing it, reads…

High King of Heaven, Thou heaven’s bright sun,
O grant me its joys, after victory is won.
Great heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be Thou my vision, O ruler of all.

A more literal translation, of the old Irish poem, reads like this…

O King of the seven heavens grant me this —
Thy love to be in my heart and in my soul.

With the King of all, with him after victory won by piety,
May I be in the kingdom of heaven O brightness of the son.

Beloved Father, hear, hear my lamentations.
Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.

O heart of my heart, whatever befall me,
O ruler of all, be Thou my vision.

This more literal version shows us the meaning between the lines

  • What really matters is not wealth or the opinion of others but whether we have the love of God in our heart and whether we are included in the kingdom of heaven
  • The author of this poem has suffered much and, like the psalmists of old, wants God the Father to hear his lamentations
  • A lamentation is a passionate expression of grief – it is a song of sorrow
  • For many years I thought of this as an inspirational song, almost a victory march. But it’s not.
  • It is actually the outpouring of the broken hearted – more like a country song. Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.

Life is difficult. God does not promise us a life free of suffering

  • What God does promise, when we place our trust in Jesus, is his presence, whatever may befall us in this life,
  • And heaven in the life to come.
  • What we need, to get us through, is a vision of Christ

Let’s stand and sing: Be Thou my Vision

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. Listen to (or sing) the song, ‘Be Thou my Vision’.  What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does it evoke for you?) 
  2. What significance (meaning) would Be Thou my Vision have held for people in 1919? In what ways does it speak to our generation in 2019? Which of the verses (or lines) are most relevant to you?   
  3. How does God answer our prayer for a vision? (Who does he give us?)
  4. How does money (and the opinion of others) blind us to the things of God? What is the remedy?
  5. Why does our liturgy (play list) need to have a variety of older & newer worship songs?
  6. What (secular) pop song would you like to give Christian worship lyrics to? Why not have a go writing your own lyrics?

[1] From Owen Marshall’s poem, ‘The Divided World’.

Tawa Baptist

Create in me a clean heart

Scriptures: Psalm 51 and 2nd Samuel 11 & 12

Structure:

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

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a right spirit within me;

Cast me not away from Your presence, O Lord

Take not Your Holy Spirit from me;

Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation,

And renew a right spirit within me.

Introduction:

Some of you may have seen the movie Rocketman recently

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

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

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

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

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

Keith Green:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

King David:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psalm 51:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From verse 3 we continue…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From verse 6 we read…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The rest of the psalm then talks about worship…

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

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

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

Conclusion:

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

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

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

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

Let us pray…  

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a right spirit within me;

Cast me not away from Your presence, O Lord

Take not Your Holy Spirit from me;

Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation,

And renew a right spirit within me.

Through Jesus we pray. Amen.    

Questions for discussion or reflection:

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

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

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

[3] Ibid, page 209.

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

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

Tawa Baptist

Build My Life

Scriptures: Luke 6:46-49; Romans 12:1; Philippians 2:5-11; John 1:43-49

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • I will build my life
  • Worthy of every song
  • Holy, there is no one like you
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

When we were training for ministry our Greek lecturer, Brian Smith, told us how most people in churches learn their theology from the hymns and songs they sing in church each week

  • Theology sounds like an impressive word but really it just means thinking or talking about God.
  • Whenever you think or talk about God you are doing theology 
  • Brian’s point was that the songs we sing in church have a profound influence on the way we perceive God
  • When words are put to music they tend to stick in our memory better – they also make a connection with our heart
  • We find ourselves unconsciously singing worship songs in the car or in the shower – and the meaning we attach to the words shapes our relationship with God

With this in view, today we begin a new sermon series called ‘Anthems’

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

I like what N.T. Wright says about worship…   

“Put it this way: if your idea of God, if your idea of the salvation offered in Christ, is vague or remote, your idea of worship will be fuzzy and ill-formed. The closer you get to the truth, the clearer becomes the beauty, and the more you will find worship welling up within you. That’s why theology and worship belong together. The one isn’t just a head-trip; the other isn’t just emotion.”

Some of the songs we will look at are old and others relatively new. Most you will be familiar with and others are less well known

  • Today’s song is Build My Life, written by Pat Barrett

Verse 1:

Worthy of every song we could ever sing.
Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring.
Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe, we live for you

Verse 2:

Jesus, a name above every other name.
Jesus, the only one that could ever save.
Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe, we live for you…

Chorus:

Holy, there is no one like you,
There is none beside you,
Open up my eyes in wonder.

Show me who you are
and fill me with your heart
And lead me in your love
to those around me.

Bridge:

I will build my life upon your love,
It is a firm foundation.
I will put my trust in you alone
And I will not be shaken.

I will build my life:

Build My Life was released in 2016, so it is a fairly new song, but it is based on some quite ancient ideas

  • Pat Barrett is a singer/songwriter and worship leader from Grace Midtown, a church in Atlanta, Georgia
  • He has written a number of Christian songs including “Good, Good Father”. Barrett is married with three young children.

Pat Barrett said the song, Build My Life, came to him over a number of years, at a time when he was looking for steadiness in his life, because he was going through quite a bit change and uncertainty.

The bridge is the heart of the song, and it also happens to be the first part of the song that Barrett wrote, so we will start with that…  

I will build my life upon your love, it is a firm foundation.
I will put my trust in you alone and I will not be shaken.

In an interview Barrett said, life rarely behaves with our plans. It is usually the uncertainty, the not knowing, the trials that reveal what we’ve been standing on the whole time (and by ‘standing on’ he means, what we’ve put our trust in)

  • Metaphorically, when you sing this song, you are looking up to worship God but at the same time you are also looking down to keep your footing
  • What am I standing on? Is it my career, my image (or persona), is it money? Those things aren’t steady – they don’t provide a firm foundation
  • The invitation from Jesus is to put your feet on the rock and find strength in him

Please turn with me to Luke chapter 6, verse 46, on page 85 toward the back of your pew Bibles

  • Barrett says he had this passage from Luke 6 in mind when he wrote the words of the bridge. This is what Jesus says from verses 46-49…

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and yet don’t do what I tell you? 47 Anyone who comes to me and listens to my words and obeys them—I will show you what he is like. 48 He is like a man who, in building his house, dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. The river overflowed and hit that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But anyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a man who built his house without laying a foundation; when the flood hit that house it fell at once—and what a terrible crash that was!”

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

In Jesus’ day building a house was a strenuous exercise. They didn’t have heavy machinery (like diggers) to excavate the foundations and so everything had to be done by hand. It required an enormous effort [1]

They couldn’t really build during winter because it was too wet so they had to build in summer

  • The problem was the high clay content in the soil combined with the heat made digging extremely hard going
  • It would have been tempting to simply build on top of the clay soil
  • The ground certainly seemed hard enough in the heat of summer
  • But when the winter rains came the soil went soft and washed away
  • So if the foundations didn’t go down deep enough (all the way to base rock) the house would fall.

The clay soil which seems hard in summer but washes away in winter represents the lies we sometimes believe and build our lives on

  • While the bed rock represents the teaching of Jesus – steadfast & true

Jesus says in this parable that those who hear his teaching and obey it are like the man who does the hard yards and digs down to lay his foundation on rock

  • The implication being that it is not enough simply to hear and agree with what Jesus says – we also need to do what Jesus says
  • And doing what Jesus says – loving our enemies, not judging others, being honest with ourselves, and forgiving – all of that is the hard part
  • Like digging down through baked clay it is difficult
  • Difficult yes – but also necessary if we don’t want to come to ruin.

One of the more obvious things to note in this parable is that there is a storm and it hits both houses

  • The implication is that when we follow Jesus and align our lives with his teaching, we still face storms, we still suffer in a whole variety of ways
  • The difference is that God brings us strong through the storm

But this is not all there is to the parable. Jesus’ Jewish listeners would have heard more…

In Isaiah 28 God says through the prophet…

  • I am placing in Zion a foundation that is firm and strong. In it I am putting a solid corner-stone on which are written the words, ‘Faith that is firm is also patient.’ Justice will be the measuring-line for the foundation, and honesty will be its plumb-line.

Zion is a reference to Jerusalem

  • In the temple in Jerusalem (in the holy of holies) there was a special foundation stone on which the Ark of the Covenant used to sit
  • When the ark was taken away the priests put a fire pan on the foundation
  • The fire pan burned incense – a symbol of the people’s prayers to God.

When Jesus told the parable of the two builders he was really saying…

  • I am the firm & strong foundation stone promised by Isaiah
  • Build on me and my words and you will not be shaken

Now this was an incredible thing to declare

  • Jesus was saying that the new temple, promised by God 700 hundred years earlier, was not going to be a building but a person and that he (Jesus) is that person 

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians the apostle writes…

You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself. He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.

When we build our lives on the firm foundation of Christ, we too become part of that new temple promised by God

Think about that for a moment – it is a profound idea

  • The temple is a place of reconciliation – a place where sacrifices are offered and peace is made  
  • The temple is also the place of God’s presence – a place where his Spirit dwells and people are close to God
  • When we build our lives on Christ we become God’s sacred and holy people.

Returning to Pat Barrett’s song. Some of you will have noticed that the words in Pat’s bridge don’t exactly mirror the words in Jesus’ parable in Luke 6

  • The foundation Jesus had in mind was his teaching or his ‘words’, whereas Pat Barrett describes the foundation as, ‘your love’, meaning God’s love for us in Christ
  • Although Barrett is using a bit of poetic license here, he gets it right – Jesus’ teaching is an expression of his love.
  • In fact, Jesus’ message (his word) was, love God and love your neighbour
  • Before we can do what Jesus teaches we must first know we are loved by God – love and grace come before obedience
  • Our obedience to God’s word (as embodied in Christ) needs to grow out of love for God, not out of fear or guilt

The idea of God’s love being a firm foundation on which to build our lives is found in Ephesians 3, where Paul talks about putting our roots down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love

  • So we can sing this bridge with confidence, knowing it is based in the wisdom of Scripture.

Worthy of every song:

What about the verses then – what meaning can we glean from them?

  • Well, if the bridge is about looking down to keep our footing then the verses are about looking up to worship God.

Verse 1 repeats the word worthy three times

  • The term ‘worship’ comes from an old English word meaning ‘worth-ship’. Worship is about ascribing worth
  • We make the effort to get out of bed on a Sunday morning and come to church to sing songs of praise to God because he is worth it
  • Francis Chan is quoted as saying…
  • His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us our words can’t contain Him. Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate.
  • I love the last verse of the gospel of John, where the apostle says…
  • Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.   

Worthy of every song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

  • That’s a way of saying, our words can’t contain God; our praise can never really do justice to God; even the whole world would not have enough room for all the books that could be written about the Lord’s deeds.

And for those who may be thinking, ‘Yea, but worship is more than singing’, Pat Barrett is way ahead of you, because his very next line is…

  • Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe, we live for you.
  • The idea here is that worship isn’t just something we do in church on a Sunday. Worship is like breathing – it is threaded through all of life.
  • Worship is primarily about how we live

We live for you, picks up Paul’s thought in Romans 12 where he says…

  • Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.
  • We try to live our lives in a way that pleases God because he is worth it
  • Living for God ties in with what Jesus was saying in Luke 6, about obedience to his teaching
  • ‘We live for you’ Lord is another way of saying, ‘I will build my life on your love’.

One of the things I like about this song is way it uses both plural and singular pronouns

  • The words, we live for you, reminds us that worship isn’t just an individual thing. It’s something we do in community with other believers
  • At the same time the words in the bridge, I will build my life, remind us that worship involves a personal commitment.
  • Worship is both we and I – it is both public and personal   
  • I’m not sure if Pat Barrett intended all this meaning but it’s what I glean from it.

Verse 2 begins…

  • Jesus a name above every other name.
  • Jesus’ name is both his reputation and his integrity
  • This is a direct quote from Philippians 2, verse 9, where the apostle Paul writes about imitating the humility of Christ…

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very natureof a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The thing that makes Jesus’ name great, the reason God gave Jesus a name that is above every other name, is that Jesus was obedient to God.

  • The foundation of Jesus’ life was loving obedience to God the Father
  • Once again this connects with the bridge of the song – the building of our life gets it integrity, it’s strength, from loving obedience to Christ.

The second line in verse 2; Jesus, the only one that could ever save, is a reference to the Christian doctrine that salvation from sin and death is found in Christ alone (Solo Christo)

  • This doctrine comes from Martin Luther, the great church reformer of the 16th Century, who got it from his understanding of the New Testament
  • For example, where Jesus says to his disciples…
  • “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
  • Salvation through Christ alone is an unpopular belief in our contemporary society – so verse 2 is quite a provocative line to sing

Holy, there is no one like you:

And so we come to the chorus

  • If the verses look up in worship of God and the bridge looks down at where we are standing, then the chorus looks both in to the heart and out to our neighbor.

Holy, there is no one like you, there is none beside you, open up my eyes in wonder…

The word holy means ‘set apart’. To be holy is to be different, special, sacred

  • Jesus is unique. He is beyond compare.
  • Holiness goes together with wonder
  • Wonder is a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar – something holy in other words

The thing is, not everyone recognizes Jesus’ holiness

  • To many of the people of his day Jesus appeared to be like anyone else
  • Jesus’ holiness, his glory, is hidden at first – we need our eyes opened in wonder so we can appreciate just who he is.

In John chapter 1, Philip says to Nathanael, ‘Look, we’ve found the Messiah. Come and meet him. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’

  • And Nathanael replies, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
  • I imagine Nathanael was a bit like Mr Darcy, he despised anything false or pretentious. He had no patience for the games people play and wasn’t too bothered by who he offended, so long as he spoke the truth
  • People like Nathanael don’t make great diplomats – they may come across as a bit rude, a bit blunt, and are therefore often misunderstood
  • Nevertheless, Nathanael goes with Philip anyway.
  • When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, “Here is a real Israelite; there is nothing false in him!”
  • Jesus could see into Nathanael’s heart and that touches Nathanael – he says to Jesus, “How do you know me?”
  • Perhaps for the first time in his life Nathanael felt truly understood and accepted for who he was. Jesus gets me.
  • Jesus’ wise insight and acceptance opens Nathanael’s eyes in wonder
  • Nathanael declares, “Teacher,” you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

G.K. Chesterton once said, ‘We are perishing for lack of wonder, not for lack of wonders.’ 

  • I suppose Chesterton meant that God is doing wonderful things all the time, all around us, we just don’t have the sense of wonder that is needed to appreciate them 
  • The wonder of God, the beauty of his holiness, his goodness, is the inspiration for our worship

The second part of the chorus reads…

  • Show me who you are and fill me with your heart,
  • And lead me in your love to those around me.

‘Fill me with your heart’ is a significant thing to say

  • To be filled with God’s heart is to be filled with His love – while God’s love is a good thing, to be filled with it is also a painful thing. God’s love comes with suffering – so this is a brave line to sing
  • To be filled with God’s heart is also to be filled the Spirit of Jesus
  • These words are talking about intimacy with God, through Jesus
  • It is as we abide in Christ (the vine) that we bear the fruit of love for our neighbours
  • It is as we build our life on Christ that we find the strength to love those around us.

Conclusion:

  • Whatever storm you may be facing, whatever uncertainty you may be going through, Jesus provides a firm foundation.   

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. Listen to the song, ‘Build My Life’, by Pat Barrett.  What are you in touch with as you listen to this song? (What connections, memories or feelings does it evoke for you?) 
  2. Discuss / reflect on the significance of the parable of the two builders in Luke? For example; What does it mean to build your life on Jesus’ teaching? How might Jesus’ original Jewish audience have understood this parable? What foundation are you building your life on?
  3. How does the line in the song, “we live for you”, connect with Romans 12:1? What does it mean to be a living sacrifice?
  4. Why does God give Jesus the name that is above every other name? How does Jesus redefine greatness?  
  5. What does it mean to ask God to fill us with His heart?
  6. Do you still have a sense of wonder? Take some time this week to notice and appreciate the wonders of God all around you. Lose yourself in wonder, awe and praise of the what God has accomplished in Christ.

[1] Many of the insights on Luke 6:46-49 were gleaned from Kenneth Bailey’s book, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, pages 321-331.

Tawa Baptist

Arrival

Scripture: Psalm 122

 

Title: Arrival

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Arriving
  • Gathering for worship
  • Asking for peace (within)
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the Songs of Ascents – which we know as Psalms 120 to 134

–         In ancient Israel people went on road trips each year to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the three main religious festivals

–         To help them prepare for the festivals pilgrims might sing these 15 songs on their journey

 

The word ‘Ascent’ has to do with moving upward

–         The temple in Jerusalem was on a hill – so the pilgrims were physically ascending (or moving upwards) as they made their way to the temple

–         And, at the same time, they were drawing closer to God

 

In April this year we will celebrate Easter

–         Easter is the main festival for Christians, alongside Christmas and Pentecost

–         The plan, over the next couple of months, is to explore these Songs of Ascents as we journey toward Easter

–         This morning we take a closer look at psalm 122

–         In this song the psalmist arrives in Jerusalem – his destination

–         Jerusalem is where he finds security

–         And, it is where the people of God gather for worship & justice

–         From the New Revised Standard Version we read…

 

1 I was glad when they said to me,     “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” 2 Our feet are standing     within your gates, O Jerusalem.

 

3 Jerusalem—built as a city     that is bound firmly together. 4 To it the tribes go up,     the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel,     to give thanks to the name of the Lord. 5 For there the thrones for judgment were set up,     the thrones of the house of David.

 

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:     “May they prosper who love you. 7 Peace be within your walls,     and security within your towers.” 8 For the sake of my relatives and friends     I will say, “Peace be within you.”

9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,     I will seek your good.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this song for us

 

Arriving:

On the wall here we have a diagram of the water cycle process:

–         Precipitation, evaporation and condensation

–         Precipitation is rain or snow – basically water falling out of the sky because it has become too heavy to stay in the clouds

–         After precipitation the water collects on the ground for a while until it evaporates

–         Evaporation is when the liquid on the ground turns into water vapour which is transported up into the sky by the power (or heat) of the sun

–         And condensation is basically the formation of clouds, when the water vapour condenses before eventually turning into liquid precipitation (or rain) again

 

This water cycle process (precipitation, evaporation and condensation) has the effect of purifying the water

–         When the water gathered on the ground evaporates it leaves behind the impurities

 

Psalm 122 describes the Jewish pilgrim happily arriving at the gates of the holy city, Jerusalem

–         Arrival is both an end and a new beginning

–         It is a change from being on the move to being still

–         Verse 2 touches on this stillness with the psalmist saying…

–         “Our feet are standing within your gates O Jerusalem”

–         In other words, we have arrived, we are here, we are safe & secure

 

As I mentioned before there are 15 songs of Ascents and we’ve only got to the third song – yet already the psalmist has reached his destination

–         We might not have expected him to reach his journey’s end until perhaps the 14th or 15th psalm

–         Maybe we are not meant to think of these 15 songs in a linear way – travelling from point A to point B

–         After all, arrival is both an end and a new beginning

–         Perhaps our spiritual journey is more like the water cycle process, involving both movement and stillness, transformation and purification

 

Alec Motyer notes: “The 15 songs seem to form five sets of three. For the most part the keynotes of the psalms in each set are distress in the first, power in the second, and security in the third” [1]

 

So there is a repeating cycle or movement from distress to empowerment to security (not unlike precipitation, evaporation and condensation)

–         This seems to fit what we’ve come across so far in this series

–         Psalm 120 describes the distress the Jewish ex-pat felt as he was surrounded by liars, a long way from home

–         While Psalm 121 describes the power (or grace) of God to protect the pilgrim as he makes his journey through the wilderness

–         And Psalm 122 talks about the security or safety embodied by Jerusalem.

–         Looking ahead to psalm 123 we pick up notes of distress again

–         Followed by power (or deliverance) in psalm 124 & security in psalm 125

 

In a general sense we could apply this pattern to our own spiritual life

–         By his power (or grace) the Lord transports us from distress to security

 

For example…

–         The power of God’s judgment transports us from the distress of our anger (at injustice) to the security of peace

–         Likewise, the power of Jesus’ forgiveness transports us from the distress of our sin & guilt to the security of acceptance by God

–         So too, the power of Christ’s resurrection transports us from the distress of death to the security of eternal life

–         And, in the meantime, the power of the Holy Spirit transports us from the distress of fear and anxiety to the security of trust and assurance

 

It seems to me that God takes us through this cycle of distress, power & security many times in this life – and in the process we are purified, sanctified

 

Okay then, Jerusalem is a place of security

–         It is also a centre for worship and justice

 

Gathering for worship:

In physics the mass of an object is the amount of matter (or stuff) it contains

–         The more matter an object contains the greater its mass

–         So, an elephant has a greater mass than a mouse because an elephant contains more matter

 

Mass is what causes gravity

–         The greater the mass of something (the more stuff it contains) the stronger its gravitational pull

–         So the elephant here has more gravitational pull than the mouse

–         Just like the sun has more gravity than the earth and the earth has more gravity than the moon

 

Now just because something appears bigger (just because it takes up more area) it doesn’t automatically follow that it has more mass

–         Mass is measured in kilograms, not square metres

–         Take this balloon for example. If I blow it up like this [blow up balloon] it appears larger than this chocolate bar

–         But which of these two things do you think has the greatest mass – the balloon or the chocolate bar?  [Wait]

–         I reckon it is the chocolate bar because there is more matter (more stuff) compacted together in the chocolate bar than there is in the balloon

–         The chocolate bar has a mass of 25 grams – whereas the balloon would be less than a gram

–         The chocolate bar has more gravitational pull than the balloon, especially if you are hungry. The balloon is just full of air

 

In verse 3 the psalmist describes Jerusalem saying it is built like a city that is bound firmly together

–         Or as the NIV puts it: built like a city that is closely compacted together

–         The image here is one of strength, wholeness and substance

–         In other words, Jerusalem is not full of air

–         It may not look as large as other cities but it contains a lot – it has significant mass, real gravitational pull – enough gravitational pull in fact to draw the tribes of Israel together in worship

 

Verse 4 makes this explicit

–         Jerusalem is the place that the Lord chose (or decreed) for the Israelites to gather to give thanks and offer sacrifices

–         According to Deuteronomy 12, verses 13-14, the Israelites were not to offer their burnt offerings at any [old] place they happened to see. But only at the place that the Lord will choose…

–         Jerusalem was the place the Lord chose

 

What we notice here is the contrast between the Jewish idea of worship and the pagan idea of worship

–         Pagans made sacrifices to try and win the favour of the gods

–         They thought, if the gods are happy with my sacrifice they might make me rich and successful

–         These days we might call this ‘cargo cult’ or ‘prosperity doctrine’

 

But Israel had a different approach to worship

–         They didn’t make sacrifices to keep God happy or try to win his favour

–         God had already shown them his favour

–         They could no more control God than they could the weather

–         The Israelites made sacrifices to say ‘thank you’ for the blessings God had already provided

–         The name of the Lord refers to God’s goodness – his integrity

–         True worship involves thanking God for his goodness, his love, his forgiveness, his faithfulness and so on

 

Verse 5 then explains the other part of the gravitational pull of Jerusalem

–         It is the place where the thrones for judgement were set up

–         The thrones for judgment were the legal institutions, or seats of justice, that had been set up by king David. [2] (They were like our law courts)

–         So people came to Jerusalem to seek justice

 

It’s interesting that in the Jewish faith worship of God and justice for people go together – they are not separated – they are bound firmly together

–         This is how it is to be in Christian faith also – worship & justice go together

–         We cannot say we love God if we do not treat the people around us fairly

 

So far then we have heard that Jerusalem is a destination for security, for worship and for justice

 

Asking for peace within

With these things in view the psalmist says to pray for the peace of Jerusalem

–         Peace in Hebrew thought isn’t just the absence of conflict – it is more positive than that

–         Peace (or shalom) is the presence of health and prosperity and right relationship in community with others. It is wholeness & abundant life

–         As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, truth & justice is the pre-requisite to peace – without truth & justice there can be no peace

–         So to pray for peace is to ask God for fairness and justice for all – so that everyone prospers

–         This is a prayer the poor will readily pray – but it’s a lot more difficult to pray if you are rich & powerful and have something to lose

 

If we widen the lens of our perspective to include the verses that follow, what we notice is that half way through verse 6 (having just told us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem) the psalmist then directly addresses his beloved city saying:

–         May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls…” and so on

–         This shows us how much the psalmist cares about Jerusalem personally

–         Jerusalem is like a close friend to him – he cares for her like his own family. His very heart is wrapped up in her

–         If the city were cut he would bleed

 

Given Jerusalem’s importance both to the Jewish nation generally and to the psalmist personally it is essential that the city be kept in peace

–         However, the biggest threat to peace does not lie outside the walls

–         The biggest threat lies within

 

That word, ‘within’, is repeated three times in two verses

–         It seems the psalmist is particularly concerned for internal harmony

–         He doesn’t want any in-fighting or in-justice – no corruption here

 

It’s a general principle in life that the inner workings are often more important than what happens on the outside

–         About 10 days ago Robyn had her morning shower and noticed the water was cooler than usual

–         By the time it was my turn the water was practically cold – so it was a shorter shower for me

 

We got the electrician in and he discovered what I suspected

–         The problem was not with anything external like the shower or the water supply – The problem was within

–         The element inside the hot water cylinder was caput

–         It happens to hot water cylinders from time to time

–         No big deal, just have to drain the water out of the cylinder so you can replace the element inside and restore the warmth

 

Like the psalmist, Jesus was personally concerned for the peace of Jerusalem

–         Unlike the psalmist though, Jesus did not approach Jerusalem with joy

–         Luke 19 tells us Jesus wept over Jerusalem, addressing the city directly like it was his treasured child, saying…

 

“If you, even you, had only recognised on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground…and will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognise the time of your visitation from God”

 

Jesus came to show people the way of peace – genuine peace – the kind of peace which comes from within the community – from doing justly and living in right relationship with those around us

–         But the people rejected Jesus

–         They didn’t realise God was visiting them in the person of Jesus

–         They didn’t recognise the things that make for peace

–         They thought peace was secured by external force – by armies and political pressure and that sort of thing

 

Less than 40 years after Jesus’ death & resurrection (around AD 70) the people of Jerusalem rebelled against Rome and, just as Jesus had predicted, they were crushed and the temple was destroyed – not one stone left upon another

 

The city of Jerusalem has suffered much

–         During its long history it has been destroyed at least twice

–         Besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times & captured & recaptured 44 times [3]

–         Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital

–         The city remains a source of bitter conflict till this day

–         It appears people’s prayers for the peace of Jerusalem have not been answered in 3,000 years

–         The earthly situation seems hopeless

–         I can only imagine that Jesus still weeps over Jerusalem

 

Looking at recent history we would have to say that over the past century peace has not come to Jerusalem from the outside

–         It hasn’t come from the League of Nations or the United Nations or Britain or America or anyone else in the west

–         If we take seriously what the psalmist is saying then peace must come from within – what’s more it can’t be achieved without divine help

 

Conclusion:

So where does that leave us? How are we to interpret and apply this psalm?

–         Indeed what might it mean for us to seek your good [Jerusalem] for the sake of the house of the Lord our God

 

I’m not sure what we can do in a practical sense for earthly Jerusalem, especially from this distance (being on the other side of the world)

–         Distance aside though, we in the West are deluded if we think we can restore peace in the East – our cultures are fundamentally different

–         Peace will not come from the outside

 

So does that mean this verse and indeed this psalm is redundant?

–         No – I’m not suggesting that we no longer need to care about Jerusalem

–         Jesus cared for the holy city and he is our model

–         I’m simply pointing out the limits of what we can do

–         And I’m suggesting we take a broader view of what Jerusalem represents

 

In the book of Revelation the apostle John saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And [John] heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live among them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  [4]

 

Taking a broader view then, Jerusalem represents the gathered people of God

–         Therefore, this psalm is still very relevant if we apply it to the church

–         In our own strength and understanding we may not be able to bring peace to the earthly Jerusalem but we can seek peace where we are

 

It’s interesting how the night before he died Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another – by this will all people know you are my disciples [5]

–         Jesus was concerned that there be peace within the community of his followers – peace and warmth

–         We need to ensure the element in the hot water cylinder of the church (that is, our love) is functioning properly

–         When we (the church) get that right – when we love one another and seek the good of those in the pews with us – then those outside the church come to know Jesus and they know we are genuine

–         Our love for one another gives the church real mass (real gravity) – drawing others to give thanks to God

–         Without love for one another we are just a balloon – full of air

 

Perhaps our greatest gift to the world is to model what it means to be a Christ-like community of peace from within (from the inside out)

–         If (by God’s grace) we can do that then we will be light in the darkness

 

 

Let us pray…

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/12-feb-2017-arrival

[1] Alec Motyer, ‘Psalms 73-150’, page 220.

[2] Refer James Mays’ commentary on the Psalms, page 393

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem

[4] Revelation 21:2-4

[5] John 13:34-35

Tawa Baptist

Free to Worship

Scripture: Exodus 35-40

 

Title: Free to Worship

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Preparation for God’s coming (hope)
  • Worship from the inside out (freedom)
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we conclude our series on Moses in Exodus by looking at the final six chapters – 35 through to 40

  • In this section the people make the tabernacle in accordance with the detailed instructions Yahweh gave them in chapters 25 to 31

 

The tabernacle, you may recall, is like God’s mobile home – it is a sacred tent for God’s presence

  • The God of Israel is not aloof or detached and He is not fixed in one place
  • Yahweh wants to be present among His people – on the move with them

 

We don’t have time this morning to read all six chapters – I really just want to draw your attention to some of the main points in view, in particular…

  • Israel’s preparation for God’s coming
  • And their worship from the inside out

 

Preparation for God’s coming:

As we heard earlier, today is the first Sunday in Advent, which means we are less than a month away from Christmas

 

Tell me, what are some of the things that you have been doing (or at least need to do) to prepare for Christmas?

  • Write and send Christmas cards
  • Shop for Christmas presents
  • Put up the Christmas tree
  • Decide where you will spend Christmas
  • Buy special food
  • Attend end of year parties

 

Okay, show of hands, who really enjoys this time of year?

  • And who can’t wait for it all to be over?
  • There is much to do in preparing for Christmas – it is a busy time

 

Recently, in the last 3 months, we’ve had two new babies born in our congregation – Matthias & Pascal

  • There is quite a bit to do in preparing for the arrival of a new born baby, especially if it’s your first (as it was for Oti & Ann Na)
  • You need to set up the nursery, buy baby clothes, make arrangements for time off work, get a baby seat and maybe get a bigger car

 

At the beginning of this month Prince Charles paid a visit to Tawa College

  • I imagine there was a fair bit of preparation involved with that visit
  • Communicating to the pupils and the parents what was happening
  • Having some students ready to greet and perform for the prince
  • Liaising with police about security
  • Having some contingency plan if things didn’t quite go as expected
  • I don’t know – I guess there was lots to think of

 

There is certainly a lot to think of in preparing for a wedding

  • Organising the ceremony itself and then the reception afterwards
  • Inviting guests, buying a dress, hiring a suit, arranging flowers, working through some kind of marriage preparation course with the minister
  • Writing a speech, planning the honey moon – all sorts of details you wouldn’t imagine until you go through the process

 

Next week’s ‘19 Sleeps to Christmas’ guest service involves lots of preparation too (nearly as much as a wedding)

  • I don’t want to give too much away but there has been quite a bit of planning and work going on in the background for several weeks now
  • At this afternoon’s practice we’ll put it altogether to see how it works

 

That word Advent (on the front of your newsletters) simply means ‘coming’

  • During Advent we look back to Jesus’ first coming to earth 2000 years ago and we look forward to Christ’s second coming in glory
  • Christmas Advent is meant to be a time of preparation for the arrival of both a special event and a special person

 

When you read through Exodus chapters 35 to 40 you get a feel for the amount of preparation that went into Yahweh’s coming

 

There’s lots of detail about joining and fastening and making and then assembling the tabernacle. For example:

  • He made curtains of goats’ hair
  • He joined five curtains by themselves
  • He made the table of acacia wood… and overlaid it with pure gold
  • He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners
  • He also made the lampstand of pure gold… and so on

 

The image presented is not a static one

  • We don’t get a still photo of the completed project
  • We get a series of moving pictures, describing the process of the people’s preparation for the coming of God to dwell in their midst.
  • The community is in Advent mode.’ [1]

 

Much of the detail in chapters 35 to 40 is repetition of chapters 25 to 31

  • The main difference being that in chapters 25-31 God describes things in order of sacredness – starting with the ark in the most holy place and working His way to the outer courtyard and surrounding curtains
  • Whereas in chapters 35 to 40 we get a works report – so the order follows the practical logic of construction

 

Why the repetition? (albeit in a different order)

  • Because preparing for the Lord’s coming (His Advent) is important
  • It is not instant coffee or a microwave meal
  • It is not a Bunnings flat pack or ready-made curtains
  • Everything is unique, a one off, custom made and hand crafted

 

In the Old Testament the tabernacle isn’t just a symbol of God’s presence – it is an actual vehicle for divine presence

  • When God fills the tabernacle in Exodus 40, Moses is unable to enter

In the New Testament Jesus is the actual vehicle of God’s presence – more than just a symbol

  • As the Israelites prepared for Yahweh’s coming so we need to make room for the Christ child – we need to be ready to receive our risen Lord

 

Being prepared for Christ’s coming gets some attention in the gospels too

  • Jesus told a number of parables about being ready for his return
  • The parable of the 10 virgins – only 5 of whom kept their lamps trimmed
  • The thief in the night
  • The parable of the servants and the talents, and so on
  • This looking forward to Christ’s return is not meant to be an anxious thing – it is supposed to inspire hope – Hope is an attractive energy

 

Looking at the book of Exodus as a whole, we notice a contrast between the beginning and the end of the book

  • At the start of Exodus the people are despairing – Pharaoh is crushing their spirit under cruel slavery – they have nothing to look forward to
  • But by the end of the book Pharaoh is nowhere in sight and the people are busy preparing for the Lord’s coming – energised by hope

 

  • Despite the Pharaoh’s of this world and despite Israel’s own failure, God promises to be with His people and that promise fills the people with a sense of joyful anticipation
  • Like the joy and excitement we might feel as we anticipate getting married or as we look forward to the birth of a child or being reunited with loved ones at Christmas

 

As well as describing Israel’s preparation for God’s coming, Exodus 35 to 40 also shows us the quality and fabric of their worship – from the inside out

 

Worship from the inside out:

Aesop has a story about the sun and the wind – it’s a classic, worth repeating

 

The North Wind boasted of great strength.

  • The Sun argued that there was greater power in gentleness.
  • “We shall have a contest,” said the Sun.

 

Far below, a man travelled a winding road.

  • He was wearing a warm winter coat.
  • “As a test of strength,” said the Sun, “Let us see which of us can take the coat off of that man.”

 

“It will be quite simple for me to force him to remove his coat,” bragged the Wind.

  • The Wind blew so hard, branches broke off trees. The world was filled with dust and leaves.
  • But the harder the wind blew, the tighter the man clung to his coat.

 

Then, the Sun came out from behind a cloud, warming the air and the frosty ground.

  • The man on the road unbuttoned his coat.
  • The sun grew slowly brighter and warmer.
  • Soon the man felt so hot, he took off his coat and sat down in a shady spot.

 

“How did you do that?” said the Wind.

  • “Gently, from the inside out”, said the Sun

 

Pharaoh was like the wind to Israel – forcing them against their will with threats and whips and external pressures

  • But the way of Yahweh was more like the Sun – warming Israel, wooing them gently, so they were moved of their own volition, freely, naturally, from the inside out

 

From Exodus 35, verse 4 Moses said to all the congregation of the Israelites:

This is the thing that the Lord has commanded:

Take from among you an offering to the Lord; let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, bronze… [and so on]

 

And they came, everyone whose heart was stirred and everyone whose spirit was willing and brought the Lord’s offering to be used for the tent of meeting…

So they came, both men and women; all who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and pendants, all sorts of gold…

[and so on]

 

Willing heart – willing spirit

 

In this context the ‘heart’ stands for the inner constitution or disposition of a person – their unseen inner reality

  • While the human ‘spirit’ refers to personal energy, gusto or inner drive [2]

The point is, no one was forcing the people to provide valuables for making the tabernacle – they did it freely and willingly, from the inside out

  • God, in His grace, had moved them with the warmth of His loyal love and commitment
  • The people were so generous that they had to be asked to stop giving

 

The best things in life are simple – Chocolate is a point in case

  • Chocolate only has three ingredients – and two of those ingredients come from the same plant
  • You can add other things to the chocolate like fruit or nuts or some other kind of flavouring but essentially the chocolate itself only has 3 parts
  • Would anyone like to guess what those three ingredients are? [Wait]

 

Yes, that’s right

  • Cocoa beans (or cocoa mass), cocoa butter and sugar

 

The cocoa beans give the chocolate that dark look and bitter taste

  • The sugar is needed to balance out the bitterness
  • And the cocoa butter gives it a smooth silky texture

 

Worship is a bit like chocolate – in that it has three basic ingredients

  • Giving (as in some form of sacrifice or offering)
  • Willingness (as in a willing spirit or a generous heart)
  • And obedience (doing what God asks)

Giving is integral to worship – like cocoa beans are integral to chocolate

  • We can give all sorts of things to God – we might offer songs of praise, money, talents or our time
  • The offering we take up each Sunday isn’t just to cover the church’s expenses – It is primarily an act of worship
  • Likewise, if you volunteer your time on the music team or the property committee or the deacons board or helping with Club Intermed or Youth group or Sunday school or doing the lawns or whatever else you may do
  • Then, so long as you are doing it for the Lord, it is worship

 

We’ve already heard how the people offered their valuables to God – their gold, silver, fine linen and so forth

  • The other thing they gave was themselves – their time and talents in service to make the tabernacle

 

Those who were at Doris Lindstrom’s funeral yesterday would have heard a reading from Exodus 35, verse 30…

 

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 he has filled him with divine spirit, with skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach…

 

The Scriptures go on to say how others joined Bezalel, under his guidance and tuition to build the Lord’s tent and equipment

  • They offered their time and skill

 

What this means is that work is sacred when it is done as an act of worship for the Lord

  • Your work during the week can be as much an act of worship as singing songs of praise in church on a Sunday morning

As the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians

  • Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men or women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord… [3]

If giving is to worship what cocoa beans are to chocolate, then willingness is like the sugar, making the giving sweet

  • Worship isn’t meant to be an empty ritual
  • Worship is not blindly going through the motions
  • Worship needs to be from the inside out – from a willing heart and with a spirit (or an energy) which really wants to express love and appreciation
  • Without willingness the giving becomes bitter drudgery & loveless duty
  • Without willingness the letting go of sacrifice doesn’t free our heart – it clenches our heart into a fist of resentment

 

Okay then – if giving is the cocoa beans and willingness is the sugar, then obedience must be the cocoa butter

 

More than the other two ingredients it is the cocoa butter which determines the quality of the chocolate

  • The cocoa butter is the most expensive of the three ingredients and so cheap chocolate tends to skimp on cocoa butter or substitute it with something else
  • Just as there is no substitute for cocoa butter in quality chocolate, so too there is no substitute for obedience in quality worship
  • Obedience is indispensable to worship

 

Exodus 35-40 never tires of stating how the divine instructions were carried out in precise detail; there are 18 references to Moses doing as God commanded [4]

  • Obedience – doing what God wants – is more important than giving to charity or anything else we might think of as ‘good works’
  • What is it the Lord says, ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice’

 

Without cocoa butter it isn’t really chocolate

  • Without obedience it isn’t really worship

 

The cross was Jesus’ ultimate test of obedience to God

  • We read about it in the accounts of Jesus’ anguished prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane
  • Not my will Father, but Your will be done

 

Giving God what He wants, willingly, that is true worship

 

Conclusion:

The book of Exodus finishes one year after the people left Egypt with the presence of God filling the tabernacle

  • Exodus means ‘exit’ or ‘leaving’ – so it’s really about movement
  • It’s about God taking Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness
  • Out of the known and into the unknown
  • Out of forced labour under Pharaoh to willing worship of Yahweh
  • Out of slavery and into freedom
  • Out of despair and into hope

 

And it hasn’t been an easy journey for Israel or Yahweh or Moses

  • It’s been a rollercoaster of redemption, failure, forgiveness and faith
  • But through the Lord’s (& Moses’) loyal love, Israel are a new creation

 

Jesus came for our Exodus – for our redemption – to make us a new creation, free to worship the Lord – free to willingly give God what He wants

 

Let’s stand and sing about the Lord’s love and faithfulness as we prepare for communion…

 

 

[1] Terence Fretheim, Exodus, page 314

[2] Alec Motyer, BST Exodus, page 320.

[3] Ephesians 6:7-8

[4] Terence Fretheim, Exodus, page 313.