The Prayer of Jabez

June 27, 2009 at 10:48 am · Filed under Old testament, Prayer ·Tagged , , ,

 

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. And God granted his request.  (1 Chronicles 4:10 )

Some years ago I was in a Christian bookshop in Cardiff, browsing the shelves, when I saw something that caught my attention – “Prayer of Jabez Plaque”. I thought, “Whatever is that?” I looked at it, read the prayer on it from 1 Chronicles 4, and thought, “That’s nice”. Then I looked around and saw a whole shelf of merchandise linked to this prayer of Jabez – book-marks, plaques, key rings – all sorts of things. I thought, “There’s something going on here.” Little did I realise that this was the biggest thing in Christian publishing and merchandising for a long time.

 

Prayer of Jabez coffee mug!

 

How strange! Until recently, hardly anyone had heard of Jabez. All we know of him is in a few verses in 1 Chronicles. Now he had suddenly become the centre of a vast enterprise – bringing in vast sums for Bruce Wilkinson, the man behind it all. He wrote a book on the Prayer of Jabez which became an international best-seller, topping the New York Times best-seller list and selling nine million copies. It has been embraced by Evangelicals, Catholics, Fundamentalists, and even by non-christians!

 

A prayer or a mantra?

Here is the full text of this prayer from 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, I gave birth to him in pain. Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. And God granted his request.

 
A recipe for success?

Bruce Wilkinson has taken this simple prayer from the Old Testament and used it as a basis for a whole philosophy of life. Although I haven’t yet actually read his book I think I can see why it is so popular, and why so many people use the Prayer of Jabez as a kind of good luck charm.

The Jabez Prayer is a cry to God for success and to be delivered from pain and evil. It is very natural to want to pray this kind of prayer. (And Jesus did tell us to pray to be delivered from evil.) But some people see the prayer of Jabez as a recipe for success in life -  and not just spiritual success. Jabez prayed that God would increase his territory and God answered his prayer.

 
Vain repetition?

Jesus did teach his disciples to pray for their daily needs, as well as for God’s Kingdom to come, and that they might be delivered form the power of the Evil One. So it’s not wrong to pray, asking things for yourself. But Jesus also warned his disciples against using any prayer  as a kind of mantra – something you repeat over and over again, hoping it will bring success.

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.   Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.       (Matthew 6:7-8)

The trouble with Bruce Wilkinson’s book, and the literature associated with it, is that it encourages people to do just that. To keep repeating the same prayer over and over.

 
A formula for blessing?

In the preface to the book Wilkinson writes:
I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers. It is brief – only one sentence with four parts – and tucked away in the Bible, but i believe it contains the key to a life of extraordinary favor with God … I challenge you to make the Jabez prayer for blessing part of the daily fabric of your life. To do that I encourage you to follow unwaveringly the plan outlined here for he next thirty days. By the end of that time you’ll be noticing significant changes in your life, and the prayer will be on its way to becoming a treasured lifelong habit.”

Wilkinson claims that if we just pray the Prayer of Jabez, word for word, every day for a month, then we’ll see Gods power released in our lives. To Wilkinson the key is that Jabez stumbled upon the right formula for asking things of God.
But surely prayer is not a matter of getting a technique right. Prayer is all about our relationship with God. It’s a matter of learning to wait on God and to experience his help and power in our lives. The working of that power might indeed bring worldly success and wealth, but then it is just as likely to involve a life of poverty or persecution. Indeed, to judge by the general tenor of Jesus’ teaching, you could say it is more likely to be the latter.

 

 

A pattern of prayer

Now, I’ve been negative so far in what I’ve said about Wilkinson’s book but I don’t want to give the impression that the actual Prayer of Jabez itself has anything wrong with it. Far from it, it is a gem  of a  prayer, and all the more precious in that it is set in the midst of all these dry-as-dust genealogies in 1 Chronicles!

I think that for many of us, brought up in the Presbyterian Church, nurtured in a Calvinistic way of looking at things, there is no danger of getting bogged down in prosperity teaching. The danger is the opposite. Perhaps some of us have been taught to believe that it is wrong and selfish to pray for ourselves, that you should never ask things for your own benefit. I have heard that view expressed. Well, the Jabez Prayer can perhaps help us to see that it is not wrong to ask things for ourselves. ( Although we should be able to see this from the Lord’s Prayer.) If we put God first in our lives surely we do have the right to believe that he will provide all that is needful for us to serve him.
What then can we learn from the Prayer of Jabez?

 
1) Jabez was more honourable than his brothers

The word could mean more “distinguished”, or even more “honoured”, than his brothers. However I think it might mean that he had a greater concern for the honour of God. He asked great things from he Lord because he believed that the Lord was  a great God.

Once there was a philosopher in the court of Alexander the great. He was of outstanding ability, but was very poor. So he asked Alexander for financial help, and was told to draw whatever he needed from the Imperial Treasury. So he asked the treasurer for an amount equal to about £30,000 in our money. Of course the the treasurer refused. But Alexander said, “Pay the money at once. This man has done me a singular honour. By the largeness of his request he shows that he has understood both my wealth and my generosity.”
One hymn writer says:

Thou art coming to a King;
Large petitions with thee bring.
For his grace and power are such
None can ever ask too much.      (John Newton

Jabez also had that kind of faith. Have we?

 

 

 2) His mother had named him Jabez, saying, I gave birth to him in pain.

She had named him Jabez because he had been born in pain – she had had a terrible time in labour. Jabez, in the Hebrew language, means “he causes pain”.

Such a name would have been seen as a very bad omen in those days. The Hebrews had an almost magical understanding of the effect of names. To be called Jabez ( he causes pain) was almost like a curse. But by his faith Jabez turned the curse into a blessing. That’s why he is mentioned in 1 Chronicles.

 
3) Jabez cried out to the God of Israel

He cried out to the God of Israel no doubt in his concern to avoid making a disaster of his life, and thus fulfil the meaning of his name. He was also concerned for the honour of God. He cried out, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!”

In these words we are reminded of the prophet Isaiah:
Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.   (Isaiah 54:2)

In Christian terms this can be seen as a prayer for the extension of God’s Kingdom. Both texts have been an inspiration to many pioneer missionaries, eager to extend the Kingdom of Christ. Do we cry to God like this?
“Oh that you would extend the borders of your Kingdom Lord! Oh that more people would come to know Christ’s love and power! Oh that the people of this city would turn to you!  Oh that the Church would grow in numbers and in spiritual depth!”

Do you pray like that for your city, for your church, for the members of your family? That they will come to know God?

Jesus taught us to say: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done”.  Do we pray that way.

 
4) Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

Matthew Henry comments: He prayed that God’s hand might be with him. God’s hand with us to lead us, protect us, strengthen us, and to work all our works in us, is a hand all-sufficient for us”.

“Free from pain” – this is a very natural thing to pray for. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
“Do not bring us to the time of hard testing” is an alternative translation.
Jabez was very concerned that he might suffer harm and pain because of his name.

 Matthew Henry comments:  He prayed that God would keep him from evil, the evil of sin, the evil of trouble, all the evil designs of his enemies, that they might not hurt, nor make him a Jabez indeed, a man of sorrow. God granted that which he requested. God is ever ready to  hear prayer: his ear is not now heavy.”

 

 

5) And God granted his request

This is the whole point of the passage. Jabez and his prayer feature in the book of Chronicles because something amazing happened in his life. This prayer is spiritual dynamite! Not in the way Bruce Wilkinson describes it, as some kind of mantra to be recited, but as an inspiration to faith. In the nineteenth century John Hyde the missionary was inspired by this verse to start a life of faith and prayer that resulted in him being known  by the nickname “Praying Hyde”.

Are we also prepared to be inspired by the Prayer of Jabez?

 

[Sermon preached in Park End Presbyterian Church, Cardiff, June 16th. 2009]

Comments off

The Serenity Prayer

June 27, 2009 at 9:59 am · Filed under Christian living ·Tagged , , ,

 

 Proverbs 8:1-12, Luke 10:25-37,  James 1:1-8

Introduction

Today I want to look at a prayer which is very popular. It’s not from the Bible but you see it everywhere – on plaques, on cards, on bookmarks.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

This is usually known as the Serenity Prayer. It was written by Reinhold Niebuhr as part of a longer prayer.

Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr was an American theologian and pastor in the early part of the last century. In 1915 the Mission Board of his denomination (the Evangelical and Reformed Church) sent him to Detroit as a pastor. He served there for 13 years, during which time his congregation grew from 65 to nearly 700. (The increase was no doubt partly due to the tremendous growth of the automobile industry in Detroit.) Niebuhr composed this prayer in 1932. In 1939 it came to the attention of a member of Alcoholics Anonymous who liked it so much that it was taken up by the AA. Cards were printed and passed around and this simple prayer became an integral part of the AA movement.

 The prayer is today so popular that it might seem to be a bit trite, yet it is actually very profound.

 

 God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change

Now serenity is not the same as complacency. It is all about accepting that there are certain things in life we are not meant to change. Maybe, in his divine plan, God intends someone  else to change them. Maybe they cannot be changed by any human agency at all.

The Apostle Paul had learned this kind of serenity when he wrote:

 I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.     (Philippians 4:11-12 )

What sort of things we can not change? The weather, the financial markets, international affairs. Indeed we have very little direct influence over these things. You know, some people live in a state of constant forboding. The weather forecast is bad for today so they expect foul weather. But often the expected bad weather doesn’t materialise. Or they get depressed with the news.

I knew a lady in North Wales – her name was Hannah. Hannah was housebound and spent a lot of time watching daytime television and listening to the radio. Every hour there was a news bulletin reminding her of the terrible things happening in the world. Hannah used to get really upset. I think it is a good thing to take a rest from the news sometimes. Remember: there are many good things happening in the world that you don’t hear about on the news.

In a perfect world everyone who worked hard would be rewarded with the appropriate exam results, job prospects and family happiness. In reality we know that those who work hard are not always rewarded. Sometimes those who just happen to be in the right place at the right time reap the reward. So often it is just by chance. A pop singer is discovered by a talent scout and becomes a great star. But there are hundreds of other performers just as good who never made it.

The Bible has something to say about this phenomenon:

The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.       (Ecclesiastes  9:11)

There is really nothing we can do about this but accept it philosophically and trust in God. Perhaps we should avoid the kind of fatalism seen in other religions. In Islam people just say “It’s the will of Allah” and accept it. Perhaps we should avoid that kind of fatalism, but nonetheless there has to be some kind of acceptance of those things that can not be changed.  “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change”.

I think we need to also realise that we can not change people.

A bride was very nervous just before her wedding day. At the rehearsal, the Vicar said to her, “Now don’t worry, you don’t have to remember a lot. Just come down the aisle on your father’s arm, stand by the Groom at the altar, and then we sing a hymn. Remember Aisle – Altar – Hymn.”

Well she practiced these words over and over again. As she came down the aisle in her nervous state the Bride was repeating the words to herself: “Aisle – Altar – Hymn. Aisle – Altar – Hymn.”  Or, as it sounded to the Groom, “I’ll alter him!”

Well it’s true, often people get married to someone who has faults or habits they don’t like. They think they will be able to change them after they are married. But it doesn’t work like that. You have to love a person as they are. Otherwise it can lead to disaster.
Often people say that we ministers ought to do more telling people how they ought to live their lives. “Tell them the right way to live, then that will sort out their problems”  Isn’t this  a very superficial view? Experience shows that simply telling people makes no difference at all. the Holy Spirit has to work in their, hearts convincing them, before they will change. God can change people – we can’t.

It is one of the great points of the Calvinistic branch of Christianity (to which we belong) that we believe in the Sovereignty of God. His the one who makes the changes – we are his instruments and his co-workers. How often have we heard people say, “I was converted by Billy Graham”  – or some other evangelist. that person’s life was indeed changed,  but it wasn’t Billy Graham who did it – and he would have been the first to say so.

As preacher I can’t convert people. I can’t pressurize people to come to church – I can’t change people’s habits. But God can. I need to learn the lesson of serenity – to accept the things I can’t change. Do you?

 
Courage to change the things I can

What is often seen in eastern countries, where the prevailing philosophy is Hindu or Buddhist, is the idea that you must not intervene when you see a needy or suffering person. what is happening to them is supposed to be the result of their Karma. They have to suffer to expiate sins committed in a previous incarnation. Don’t interfere with the will of the gods.

Now Christianity is the opposite of this. If you see a needy person you should try to help them – to do what you can. Not to even try is to fail as a Christian, according to the teaching of Jesus in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Some things you can’t change, but a great many other things you can. The Samaritan couldn’t stop the man being attacked. He couldn’t stop the Jews and Samaritans hating one another. But he could at least care for the injured man. And it takes courage to be a Good Samaritan.

It takes courage to change things. It takes courage to stand up for truth and justice. It takes courage to speak out against evil.

·  In the Old Testament, Daniel and his friends had this kind of courage.

·  In our day we see this kind of courage in people like Aung Suu Kyi, the democracy campaigner in Burma. And Christians in Saudi Arabia who are prepared to go to prison for their faith.

Some things in life can be changed – by campaigning, by protesting, by praying.

It was protesting and praying that brought down the Iron Curtain. And the apartheid regime in South Africa. There are things we can do to change the world. We can, for example, support the movement for Fair Trade.

Over the centuries social reformers have campaigned to abolish slavery, to stop children going down mines and up chimneys, to improve prison conditions. Almost all these reforms were carried out by Evangelical Christians with a strong belief in prayer and the sovereignty of God, and in the life hereafter. But that didn’t stop them campaigning to improve things in this life too.

There are things we can change. We ministers can’t change people, but we can preach the Gospel which, under God’s sovereignty, can change people.

You can’t convert your neighbours to the Christian faith, but you can be a good neighbour to them and help them in any need. That might open the door. yes, there is a lot we can do to change things, and often it requires courage.

 
Wisdom to know the difference

How essential this is. I could give you a list of things, as long as my arm, that I think need to be changed in the world. And you could give me an equally long list. But we could both be wasting our time. God has got works for each of us to do – so I must concentrate on what he has for me. We need to discern God’s will for us. We need wisdom.

Many people fret about things that they can’t change. They waste time and energy in trying to change them. Others fail to act when they can. They can’t see what needs changing. They have become complacent. Wisdom can save us from  both these errors.

The Apostle James writes:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.   ( James 1: 5-6  )

 

 
Conclusion

May God give us all serenity, courage and wisdom to make a difference in the world in which we live.

Let us pray:

(the full version of the Serenity Prayer)
 
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as he did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.
Trusting that he will make all things right if I surrender to his will.

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with him forever in the next.   Amen.

[Sermon preached in Park End Presbyterian Church, Cardiff, June 16th. 2009]

Comments off

With Jesus in the boat

June 22, 2009 at 7:27 pm · Filed under Jesus Christ, New Testament, Suffering ·Tagged , , ,

 

 

Mark 4: 35-41

Introduction

“With Jesus in the boat we can smile at the storm, Smile at the storm, Smile at the storm, With Jesus in the boat we can smile at the storm, As we go sailing home.”         (Children’s chorus based on this incident in Mark.)

 

A storm at sea

Jesus had been working hard, teaching the crowds, healing the sick. He was exhausted. So he said to his disciples, “Let’s get in a boat and go to the other side of the lake”. That was the Gentile side – he knew it was unlikely that any Jewish people would want to go there. Jesus climbed into the boat just as he was and lay down on a fisherman’s leather cushion at the stern of the boat. Within a short while he was fast asleep – worn out. And so they set off in their boat, and a few other small boats with some other followers of Jesus went with them.

Now, weather conditions on Lake Galilee are treacherous. The hillsides and valleys all around the lake funnel the winds. Sometimes a squall can blow up out of nowhere, with no warning. That’s what happened here. One moment all was peaceful and calm, the next they were struggling against strong winds and huge waves. The waves were breaking over the boat and they were in danger of being swamped. The disciples panicked – but there was Jesus, fast asleep! One is reminded of Jonah fast asleep, below deck on the ship to Tarshish. The difference is that in Jonah’s case, his sleep was an escape from a guilty conscience. In the case of Jesus it was sheer physical and mental tiredness. He was asleep and he was at peace.

All this was too much for the disciples. “Master don’t you care if we drown?” they cried, as they tried to rouse him. Jesus rubbed his eyes, got slowly to his feet, and in a loud clear voice said, “Quiet, be still!” Jesus spoke to the storm just as you might command a barking dog to be quiet. And the wind just petered out, the waves died down, and calm came over the sea.

“Why are you so frightened?” he said to his disciples. “Do you still have no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and fear. “Who is this, even the wind and the waves obey him?” It was fear that had led them to awake the master. Now he is awake it is replaced with a much more profound awe and fear. Who is this man?

At the beginning of this incident we see a very human Jesus. He lies down in the stern of the boat just as he is: unwashed, unfed, totally worn out. He seeks the oblivion and restorative power of sleep. This is a very human Jesus. He is so obviously a man, and we can all identify with him. But when he calms the storm they see his divine power. Here is a man who can control the weather with a single word of command. We see no magic mumbo-jumbo here, no incantations, no spells. Not even an invocation of the name of Jehovah. By his own power Jesus stills the storm, with a word of command. And the wind and waves obey him.

Who is this man? He’s more than just a man. What then, an angel? A semi-divine being? No, something more than that. For the disciples this was the beginning of a steep learning curve that will lead ultimately to Thomas’s great words of faith: “My Lord and my God!” The recognition of the divinity of Jesus Christ.

 

Storms of life

Now we, as followers of the Risen One, also believe that Jesus is Lord and God. We also believe he has power to calm storms. Like many preachers, and commentators, and hymnwriters of the past, we can see a parallel with the storms of life which Jesus can calm.

“Will your anchor hold in the storms of life, When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?

When the strong tides lift and the cables strain, Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

“We have an anchor that keeps the soul Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,

Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.”

 

And:

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.”

 

what do we mean by “the storms of life”? Well, I suppose, all the “heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to”, as Shakespeare says in Hamlet.

We are thinking of all the trials and difficulties we face at times. For one person it might be financial crisis of debt. For another: life-threatening illness. Or it could be bereavement. It could be be pain and disability. It could be rejection and opposition, perhaps persecution for one’s faith, or because of one’s race. Some might suffer slander and backbiting. Others might be worried about loved ones: their safety, their heath, their moral or spiritual well-being. It might be the burden of broken relationships or divorce. It might be the pressure of work or the stress of responsibility. It might be the loss of a job or the pain of long-term unemployment. It might be the intolerable burden of caring for someone else. This is a far from comprehensive list. I’m sure some of you could add to it from your own experience.

 

With Jesus in the boat we can smile at the storm

Whatever the storms of life may be, we know we are safe if the Lord is with us. Those disciples were safe as long as Jesus was in the boat with them, even when he was asleep! God would look after him: it was not his destiny to drown in Lake Galilee. Rather, he was to go on to die at Calvary. That was God’s plan. Yes, “With Jesus in the boat we can smile at the storm”.

But notice this: Jesus has to be in the boat with us. Have we got Jesus on board?

Our church, the Presbyterian Church of Wales, faces many storms at present – have we got Jesus on board with us? If we are seeking to glorify him, then we will weather the storms.

We have storms in our lives too. Ask yourself: “Have I got Jesus on board? Is he the Lord of my life? Does he rule my actions? Do I know him as my Saviour? If the answer is “yes”, then I can face the storms of life that come at me. The Lord is in the vessel of my life, I need not fear the storms. And if, perchance, he does not calm the storm, then he will give strength to endure it. If we have Jesus on board, then we can face the storms. But if we don’t yield our lives to him, then there is no way we can expect his help in our lives.

 

Conclusion

So, once again, the call is to follow the Risen Christ, who is Lord and God in human form. “Immanuel: God with us.” He will be with us in the boat as long as we have invited him on board.

Comments off

The Holy Spirit in the Church

June 8, 2009 at 7:43 pm · Filed under Christian living, The Church, The Holy Spirit ·Tagged , , ,

 
 
 

 (based on a sermon outline by Roger Campbell, p179 in Preach for a Year # 1 )

Acts 11: 9-14, 2: 1-8, 42-27

 When God’s Son came into the world, the world did not know him, even though the world was made by him. That was the coming of God’s Son into the world. After he had returned to heaven he sent the Holy Spirit, and it was the same old story. The world did not recognise him. Indeed, on the Day of Pentecost when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, some people just said they were drunk!

And since then in the history of the Church there have been times when people have not recognised the Holy Spirit. And they have forgotten about him. They have gone about the Christian life as if it were just a matter of keeping laws, man-made rules and regulations in one’s own strength. The Holy Spirit is in the Church, and the Church was made by the Holy Spirit, but at times the Church knows him not.

What a difference it would make to our Christianity if every individual member of the Church were to be filled with the Holy Spirit! We can look into the Book of Acts to see what that situation would be like. What is a church like when it lives in the renewing power of the Holy Spirit?

We can note three things:

 

1)  From weaklings to witnesses (Acts 1:8)

The early chapters of Acts show us the followers of Jesus, just after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Just before he ascended to heaven Jesus met with his disciples and they asked him some questions:

“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (V6)

In other words: “Is it now time for us to go out in your name and bring in the Kingdom of God?”

Jesus said, “Not yet.”

“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you (v7-8)

You must wait first until the Holy Spirit comes upon you – you will not carry out this work in your own strength.

 

When we consider the weakness of that first group of disciples we are amazed at what they were able to achieve in the power of the Holy Spirit.Remember just who they were:

· There was Peter who had denied his Lord in a moment of crisis.

· There was Philip whose faith was weak, who had asked, “Lord show us the Father and then we will believe.”

· There was Thomas who doubted the Resurrection of the Lord.

· And there were all the other disciples, cowering behind locked doors for fear of the Authorities.

These are the people Jesus took, and filled with his Spirit, and used to turn the world upside down.

However weak we may be in our own human strength we will be witnesses to Christ when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

 

2)  From faction to fellowship  (Acts 4:32)

There was the possibility of all kinds of faction and division in the early Church. Those first followers were such a disparate group of people. Some had been fishermen: others tax gatherers. Some had been Zealots, fighting against the Romans: others had worked for the Romans. Some had lived highly moral lives others had been crooks or prostitutes.

Before the death of Jesus his disciples had quarrelled about who was going to be the most important in the Kingdom. After the Resurrection there was still the question of Peter’s denial, Thomas’s lack of belief, the other disciples forsaking Jesus at his arrest. Yes, there were plenty of possible causes for recriminations and dispute.

But after the coming of the Holy Spirit they are united in heart, mind and will

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed any of his possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32)

The Holy Spirit had united them with a bond of love that was far more important to them than mere possessions.

It is always so with the Holy Spirit. When he is at work he brings unity and love among the members in the local church. When the Christians truly love one another, then their work of outreach is not compromised. But if there are divisions in the church, how can they expect to be able to bring in others?

Sadly some of the very churches which make the greatest claims about the work of he Holy Spirit are riven by internal divisions. Such division between groups of people who both believe in Jesus is a sure sign that the Holy Spirit is not being given his rightful place. However much lip-service may be paid to the work of the Spirit – if there is division, then he is not being given his rightful place.

 

 

3) Growth without gimmickry (Acts 4: 33)

In the Book of Acts, every time we see the Holy Spirit at work in the church we also see growth.

· 3000 people were converted on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 41)

· After Peter and John had been arrested, the number of believers rose to 5000 men (not counting women and children). (Acts 4: 4)

· After the incident with Ananias and Sapphira, multitudes were added to their number. (Acts 5: 14)

· “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6: 7)

 

This was church growth in New Testament times.

· It was not the result of a strategy drawn up by a committee.

· It was not attained by adhering to “church growth principles”.

· It was not the result of massive evangelistic rallies with world-famous names on the platform.

· It was not the outcome of natural gifts and abilities.

· It was not brought about by gimmicks.

Such things are often used today to try and whip up revival. But without the power of the Holy Spirit none of these things will produce real growth. And by that I mean growth in depth of faith and love, as well as growth in numbers. And the Book of Acts shows us that the Holy Spirit does not need any of these things to produce revival!

Aren’t you tired of gimmicks? I am.

All we need is what those first disciples had: we see it in Acts 2 as they waited in the upper room.

They joined together to pray and to worship God in the name of Christ. They waited on God with a humble spirit.

Are we prepared to do this?

 

If we are, then we too can be:

· changed from Weaklings to Witnesses,

· our relationships can be mended as we go from Faction to Fellowship,

· and converts will join the Church as we experience Growth without Gimmicks.

If only we will trust God for his power.

 

 

Comments off

Pentecost Power

June 5, 2009 at 6:12 pm · Filed under New Testament, The Holy Spirit ·Tagged , ,

 

Acts chapter 2

(Sermon Preached in Brecon Presbyterian Church on Sunday 31 May 2009)

Today is Pentecost Sunday – although I don’t ever recall it being called that when I was a child in Park End Church, Cardiff. I can’t remember it being called anything but Whit Sunday. In those days Whitsun was a bank holiday and Whit Monday was always the day for the Whitsun Treat. I remember us as children clambering onto a lorry with Sunday school benches roped to it. We clung on to those benches for dear life as the lorry climbed the steep hill out of Cardiff,  up to some farmer’s field, where we had games and a picnic. There didn’t seem to be any Health and Safety regulations in those days!

I think, to most of us, the the religious significance of Whitsun was completely lost. We must have been taught about it in Sunday School but I don’t ever recall hearing about the coming of the Holy Spirit. For children today it probably has even less significance. It’s not even called Whitsun now, it’s the Late Spring Bank Holiday, and it doesn’t always happen on Whit weekend.

By the way, if you’re wondering about the origin of the phrase Whit Sunday, it comes from the time when confirmations were always held at Pentecost. The candidates for confirmation all wore white robes and dresses: hence White or Whit Sunday.

 

Rumours

But how can we get back to the true meaning of Whitsun? It helps a bit, I think, to call it Pentecost because that reminds us of the events we read about in Acts Chapter two. On the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, when Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims from everywhere Jews lived, the Holy Spirit came. He came upon an obscure group of Galilean fishermen and ex tax-collectors who were followers of Jesus of Nazareth -  Jesus who had been crucified seven weeks previously. On that day, Good Friday, the Sun had been darkened, there had been an earthquake and the heavy curtain in the Temple had been torn in two  – momentous and apocalyptic events.

A week later there were rumours going around that Jesus had risen from the dead and had been seen by his disciples. His tomb was empty and his body gone – the Jewish and Roman authorities didn’t know what to make of it.

And still the rumours kept coming. More and more people said they had met with the risen Jesus – on a mountaintop, by Lake Galilee, in Jerusalem behind locked doors, in the village of Emmaus. Jesus kept popping up everywhere! But despite these appearances of the risen Lord his followers seemed to be pretty intimidated. They were scared of the authorities. They didn’t want to risk facing jail and crucifixion, so they met in secret. No doubt the authorities hoped all this religious enthusiasm would die down. After a while surely people would realise Jesus was dead. And then his followers would disperse – going back to their old lives as fishermen, etc. That’s what the authorities hoped, but how wrong they were!

About six weeks after the Passover there were more rumours rumours going round. This time it was claimed that Jesus had gone back to heaven. Some of his followers even claimed to have been at his ascension. It all seemed too ridiculous to be true to the authorities, but his followers continued to believe in him. They started holding daily prayer meetings in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem. They were waiting for something to happen – the coming of that mysterious power Jesus had promised them.
“Do not leave Jerusalem,” he had said, “but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”      (Acts 1:4)

And that’s what they were waiting for.

 

 

A storm of spiritual power

Then, ten days after the Ascension, it happened. On  the Day of Pentecost there was a sound like a rushing wind, something that looked like tongues of flame resting on each follower of Jesus. Every one was filled with the Holy Spirit, They felt a new joy and peace and love, a new power. They started praising God in strange tongues. It all happened at once. That quiet little upper room in Jerusalem suddenly became the centre of a veritable storm of spiritual power. People outside heard the noise and came running. And the disciples spilled out into the street proclaiming God’s glory in a variety of languages. And so the Christian Church was born.
Imagine a news report of the time might have looked (if they had had them).

 

AMAZING EVENTS IN JERUSALEM AS RELIGIOUS HYSTERIA HITS THE CITY

Yesterday a tremendous wave of messianic fervour hit the Metropolis as crowds of followers of the prophet Jesus rampaged though the streets. Jesus of Nazareth was a messianic pretender who was crucified by the Romans seven weeks ago, during the Passover festival. Now his followers claim he is alive again. They have been seen in the streets shouting out in many different languages that Jesus is the Messiah and praising him as the Son of God.

Why do the authorities tolerate such blasphemy? Why don’t they just produce the body of the imposter Jesus and put paid to these claims? And how did these ignorant men become proficient in so many different languages – Parthian, Elamite, Phrygian and Egyptian among others?

In an astonishing further development it appears that about 300 people publicly joined themselves to the new Jesus sect yesterday.

The man Peter seems to be the ringleader of the group. Yesterday he harangued the crowd and publicly accused them of responsibility for the death of Jesus. Then, in an unprecedented turn of events, instead of lynching him, the crowd asked how they too could become followers of the so-called Messiah! Will this madness never end? Will it take over the whole world? Can the authorities do nothing?

 

Well, we know it didn’t stop there – and it is still taking over the world. Here, in the West, we get despondent when we see the decline of Christianity in our society, as well as the increase in other religions such as Islam. And yet the Gospel is spreading like wildfire in many parts of the world. Even in the Muslim heartlands of North Africa thousands of people are turning to Christ.

Here in Wales – formerly known as “the Land of Revivals” – we have a situation which makes us feel despondent. Our clinging to outworn traditions and basking in our knowledge about the great revivals of the past have made us complacent. We somehow think revival will come automatically, like the ebb and flow of the tide. 

  • But will it come if we don’t pray?
  • Will it come if we don’t spread the Gospel?
  • Will it come if we don’t repent of all evil in our lives?
  • Will it come  if we don’t seek reconciliation with our brothers and sisters?
  • Will it come if we don’t open our hearts to the work of the blessed Holy Spirit.

(close with prayer)

Comments off

Joseph and his brothers

May 18, 2009 at 7:52 pm · Filed under Old testament, Suffering ·Tagged , ,

 

 Joseph Recognised by His Brothers, by Peter Von Cornelius 

 

[Talk given at a Family Service in the Brecon Presbyterian Church]

Joseph had ten older brothers and one younger. His older brothers hated him because he was the favourite of their father Jacob. One day Joseph’s father gave him a very special ornamented robe with long sleeves. It was the sort of garment only worn by an important man. Jacob was treating Joseph as if he was the head of his brothers. And Joseph also used to tell tales on his brothers when they did wrong. So they hated him.

 

The dreamer

And Joseph was a dreamer. One day he told his brothers how, in his dream, they had been binding corn in the field when suddenly all his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to his. And in another dream the Sun and Moon and eleven stars had all bowed down to him. This was too much even for Jacob. So he said, “Will I, and your mother, and your brothers all bow down to you?”

One day Joseph was sent by his father to see how his brothers were getting on with tending the flocks – he was sent to check up on them. When they saw him coming from a distance they said, “Here comes that dreamer, let’s get rid of him”. Some wanted to kill him, but eventually they just grabbed him and threw him down a pit. It was a dry water cistern. Joseph cried for help but the brothers ignored him and sat down to enjoy their lunch. Eventually they sold him off to some traders who were on their way to Egypt.

 

In Potiphar ’s house

So Joseph ended up in the slave market in Egypt. He was bought by Potiphar , the chief of the palace guard. Joseph had had a hard time, but in Potiphar ’s house God blessed him. He was so good a servant that Potiphar put him in charge of the whole household. Everything went smoothly and Potiphar prospered. But after a while Potiphar ’s wife began to notice Joseph – he was a very handsome young man of about 18. She was filled with desire for him. “Come to bed with me!” she demanded. Now Joseph could have done this. He would have been well treated as Potiphar ’s wife’s “toyboy”. No doubt he would have got away with it. But Joseph knew in his heart it was wrong. “My master trusts me with everything. He has kept nothing back from me, except you because you are his wife. And it would also be a sin against God.” Potiphar ’s wife was persistent – every day she pestered Joseph and tried to get him to lie with her.

One day she came into the house while Joseph was doing his household duties. There was no one else there. She grabbed hold of his robe and said, “Come to bed with me!”Joseph ran off, leaving the robe in her hands. Then Potiphar ’s wife was angry – she had been rejected. She screamed out to the servants and told them that Joseph had tried to rape her. When she told Potiphar, he was angry, and had Joseph put in prison.

 

In prison

But in the prison God was still with Joseph. The prison warder, when he saw how competent Joseph was, put him in charge of the whole prison. Joseph did all the administrative work and the everything ran smoothly. The story of Joseph is full of ups and downs. We’ve already seen some of them. But there are a lot more to come!

Reading: Genesis 40:1-8

 1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.     2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,    3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

    4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time,    5 each of the two men— the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison— had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

    6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.    7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, Why are your faces so sad today?

    8 We both had dreams, they answered, but there is no-one to interpret them. Then Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.

Genesis 40:1-8 (New International Version – UK)

 

We’ve just heard how the cup bearer and the baker of Pharaoh had dreams they could not interpret. With God’s help Joseph was able to explain the dreams. The cup bearer had dreamed of a grape vine with three branches which budded and blossomed before his eyes and then produced grapes. Then, in his dream, he took the grapes, squeezed the juice and gave the cup of grape juice to Pharaoh. Joseph saw that this was a sign that the man would be forgiven by Pharaoh and restored to his high position. When that happens, Joseph said, “Get Pharaoh to let me out of this prison. I haven’t done anything wrong!”

The baker, when he heard the favorable interpretation, eagerly told Joseph about his dream. He had dreamed of three baskets of cakes which he was carrying on his head. And the birds were coming down and pecking at the cakes. Joseph said, “In three days time Pharaoh will lift up your head – but not in the good way he lifted up the cup bearer’s head. No, he won’t restore you to honour. Instead he will lift up your head on the gallows! And so it happened just a Joseph had predicted: the cupbearer got his job back but the baker was hanged.

But when the cup bearer got his old job back he forgot all about Joseph and left him there in the prison!

 

Pharaoh’s dream

Joseph spent two more years in prison before something else happened. Pharaoh had a dream, a very strange one. Seven fat cows came out of the Nile, followed by seven skinny ones. And the starved and skinny ones swallowed up the fat and sleek ones. Again he dreamt. This time seven plump ears of corn were followed by seven withered and blasted ears. And the withered ones swallowed up the plump ones.

Pharaoh woke up with a start! He didn’t like these dreams one bit, even though he couldn’t tell what they meant. He called or all his wise men and magicians, and not one of them could interpret his dreams. Then, at last, the cup bearer remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh about this Hebrew slave who had predicted everything that happened to him and to the baker. “Call him at once,” said Pharaoh . So they hurriedly brought Joseph out of the jail. They gave him a wash and a shave and put clean clothes on him, and brought him before Pharaoh .

“I hear you can interpret dreams,” said Pharaoh.

“No, not I, but God can explain them,” said Joseph.

So Pharaoh told his dreams and Joseph explained them with God’s help. The seven fat cows and seven fat ears of corn represented seven years of plentiful crops. They would be followed by seven years of famine. And the years of famine would be so severe that they would eat up all the harvests from the good years.

Joseph said, “Pharaoh should find a wise man and put him in charge. He should collect one fifth of each of the good harvests and store away the grain as provision for the bad years which will follow. “What a good idea,” said Pharaoh, “And who is better fitted to do it than Joseph?”.

So Joseph was made the second in command over the whole land of Egypt. He had full authority to implement the famine relief strategy.

 

Ruler of Egypt

So Joseph became a great man and married the daughter of one of the priests and ruled the land of Egypt under Pharaoh. And then it came about as Joseph had predicted. And Joseph so organised things that there was no starvation in Egypt. But the neigbouring counties were hard hit by the famine and people flocked to Egypt to buy the surplus grain.

One day some Canaanites came to Egypt on donkeys with bags of silver to buy food. Joseph immediately recogised them as his brothers – but they didn’t recognise him. After all, he was now a full grown man in his thirties and he was wearing Egyptian clothes and was clean shaven. He didn’t look like a Hebrew at all. And he was speaking Egyptian and communicating with them through an interpreter.

Joseph was disturbed in mind – he had mixed feelings. On the one hand he was glad to see his brothers and he desperately wanted to hear about his father. On the other hand, could he trust them? They had sold him as a slave. They had even talked of killing him. How could he know whether he could trust them? Testing his brothers So Joseph decided to test them. He accused them of being spies and put them in prison. Then he sent them home but kept one of them – Simeon – as a hostage.

Later, when they returned with Benjamin the youngest brother, Joseph played a trick on them. He planted a silver cup in the neck of Benjamin’s sack of grain and then accused him of theft. The brothers were aghast. They believed that this had come about as punishment for what they had done to Joseph almost twenty previously. Judah offered his own life as a slave in exchange for Benjamin. How could they return to their father Jacob without Benjamin the youngest? It would break Jacob’s heart which had already been shattered after the disappearance of Joseph.

Now Joseph could stand it no longer. He ordered out all his servants and he wept loudly before his brothers as he told them he was Joseph. They were stunned and shocked. They couldn’t believe it. How could this man be Joseph? And if he was, what then? Would he not now take his revenge on them?

 

Reconciliation

But Joseph said, “Don’t be upset, it has worked out alright. God has sent me to Egypt ahead of you so I could save the lives of all of us. Go back to my father. Tell him I am alive and now in charge of the land of Egypt and then come and live here in this land where there is plenty of food.”

 Pharaoh was pleased when he heard about Joseph’s brothers. He invited them to go home and bring the whole family to Egypt. And so Jacob came at last to Egypt to meet his son who was now such an important man. And he saw his two grandchildren, Joseph’s sons. And he was presented to Pharaoh and lived the rest of his life in the land of Egypt. After Jacob died his body was embalmed after the custom of the Egyptians and carried back to the land of Canaan for burial. And then Joseph’s brothers were afraid that he would now take his revenge on them – now that their father was dead. So they sent a message to Joseph saying that Jacob, before his death, had asked that Joseph would forgive them.

Joseph wept when he heard this – he had already forgiven his brothers years before. He was grieved that even now they didn’t trust him. They didn’t believe him when he said he had forgiven them. Joseph said, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good! He brought me to this position of power so I could save the lives of many people”. So he spoke kindly to them.

 

Conclusion

What do we learn from Joseph ? Life is full of ups and downs but God is in control. He was even in control when Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave, and when Potiphar’s wife accused him, and when he was forgotten in jail. God was still in control and brought good out of the situation. Like Joseph we have to learn to trust God. if we are faithful to God he will be faithful to us. He is the Faithful One.

Theres a little song in the old Scripture Union hymn book “Sing to God” – No. 130

Joseph had eleven brothers

 Joseph had eleven brothers, and they wished him far away. Sold him for a slave in Egypt for some silver coins one day.

Refrain: He remembered the Lord in the land of Egypt and the Lord remembered him.

He worked very hard for his master and was treated like a son. Until he was thrown in prison for a crime he hadn’t done.

He worked very hard for the warder and took care of all the men. He explained their dreams but he longed to have his freedom back again.

Pharaoh had two dreams that bewildered him till Joseph made them plain. He was given power and appointed to take charge of all the grain.

 Joseph’s brothers travelled to Egypt; no where else could they buy bread. They didn’t know this great man was Joseph; they were sure that he was dead.

He discovered that they were sorry for their cruelty and greed. Told who he was and forgave them and he helped them in their need.

(Sister Oswin)

We have to learn to forgive – just as Joseph did.

Comments off

Five Resurrections

April 25, 2009 at 8:58 pm · Filed under Resurrection of Jesus, The hereafter ·Tagged , , ,

 See full size image

 

 

 

 

Introduction
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live.” 
(John 11: 25)

For the last few weeks we have been reminding ourselves of the Easter story. This Sunday let us consider five great resurrections. The first three are recorded in the Gospels – they are resurrections which Jesus performed in his lifetime. On each of these occasions Jesus raised from the dead someone who was close to someone else. His motivation for this was compassion, but in doing so he showed forth the power and glory of God.

 

Resurrection No 1 – Someone’s daughter ( Mark 5:21-24, 35-43)

Jairus was an important man, the ruler of the synagogue,an influential and wealthy man. He came to Jesus distraught with sorrow and worry.

“My little girl is dying. She’s only twelve years old and she is about to die. Please come and help her.  Please lay hands on her and heal her.”

Jesus saw the man’s need and agreed to go with him to his house. But on the way they were delayed -  another needy person, a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years. She touched the hem of Jesus’ robe and she was healed. There was quite  a lot of fuss then, while Jesus spoke to the woman in front of the crowd.

All this time Jairus was waiting for Jesus to come to his house  – he was on tenterhooks. He was deeply anxious and he feared that his daughter might already be dead. When they got to the house Jairus’s worst fears were realised. A man came out of the house and said, “Your daughter is dead, why bother the teacher any more?”

Jesus turned to Jairus and said, “Don’t be afraid: just believe.”
Jesus then went into the house accompanied just by his closest disciples. There was a tremendous commotion with people crying and wailing loudly. Jesus went in and said to them, “The child is not dead, but asleep.” They mocked bitterly at him.  Jesus gave an order to clear the house of the weeping and wailing people. Then just with Peter, James and John, and the child’s parents, he went into the room . She was lying there, dead on the bed. Jesus gently took her by the hand  and said, “Little one, get up.”  Immediately she sat up! She looked around in a puzzled way, then walked about the room. They were all completely astonished, amazed and overjoyed. “Give her something to eat,” Jesus said, “and don’t tell anyone else about this.”

So it was that Jairus and his wife and three of the disciples were the only witnesses of this amazing miracle. The time had not yet come for Jesus to proclaim openly  his power to raise the dead.

 
Resurrection No. 2 – Someone’s son (Luke 7: 11-16)

On another occasion Jesus came to the town of Nain in Galilee. His disciples were with him and a large crowd of people were following him. They had seen some of his miracles and heard his wonderful teaching. As they approached the town they met another crowd coming in the opposite direction. It was a funeral procession on their way out to the cemetery. Tragically the deceased was a young man. It was particularly sad also that he was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. So now she had no one in the world. The Lord saw her situation and his heart went out to her.

“Don’t cry,” he said. Then he went up and touched the funeral bier, and the pallbearers stood still. They were aghast – this was an act of profanation. To touch a body, or a coffin, or a funeral bier, was to incur ritual pollution. None but a close relative would do that.

Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”

And the man who had been dead sat up in the bier and he spoke some words. Jesus gave him back to his mother. The crowd were filled with awe: “a great prophet has appeared among us. God has come to help his people!”

The news was getting out that Jesus was a mighty man of God.

 
Resurrection No.3  – Someone’s brother  (John 11:38-43)

Martha and Mary were two sisters who lived at Bethany. They were friends and disciples of Jesus.  So when their brother Lazarus became desperately  ill they sent for Jesus to come and heal him. But Jesus waited two days before making the long journey from Galilee to Judea. When they got to Bethany they found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Against the wishes of the sisters Jesus had the tomb opened, and with a mighty word of command brought Lazarus back from the dead.

“Lazarus come forth!”

The people  standing around the tomb were transfixed with amazement as they saw a flash of something white at the entrance of the tomb. Next moment, there was Lazarus standing at the mouth of the tomb with his grave-cloths still fluttering around him, and  a napkin wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave-clothes and let him go.”

As a result of this miracle many of those who had come to visit Martha and Mary in their sorrow came to believe in Jesus. And the religious authorities, when they heard about this, plotted to kill Jesus.

Now this was definitely a real resurrection. Yes, to the sceptical mind Jairus’s daughter could have just been in a deep coma (and after all Jesus did say she was only sleeping). Likewise, the widow of Nain’s son had only just been declared dead. In those days people were buried as soon as they died. It was just possible that this  young man was not actually dead, but in a coma.

Yes, to the sceptical mind I say these things might not seem to be real resurrections. But the raising of Lazarus is a different thing -  he had been in the tomb for four days. His body had started to decompose but Jesus reversed the process and brought him back to life. An amazing miracle! No wonder Jesus had said,

“I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”  (John 11: 25)

 

 
Resurrection No. 4 – God’s Son

In the Easter season its not the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter, or the widow’s son, or Mary and Martha’s brother we celebrate, but he Resurrection of God’s Son.

All these people Jesus raised were brought back to physical life, only to die a natural death later. (The girl probably married and had a family, the young man was able to support his widowed mother, Lazarus was returned to the bosom of his family but al three of them died later.)

But the Resurrection of Jesus is totally different: he rose with a new, spiritual, glorified body. In his risen form he could appear and disappear at will -  even behind locked doors. He could veil his appearance so that people did not recognise him. But he didn’t return as an apparition, a phantom, a ghost. No, he had a solid existence. He was there in the body. People walked with him on the road, they sat at his feet, they ate and drank with him. On one occasion he sat by a campfire on the lakeside and served them fish and bread cooked on the hot coals. Imagine: a barbecue with the risen Jesus!

At the end of forty days Jesus was taken from their sight to heaven. He is risen and glorified – he will never die again.

 
Resurrection No. 5 – Our resurrection

This is the bit I’m looking forward to!  Jesus raised the three people mentioned in the gospels and he himself was raised from the dead on Easter day. But the good news of Easter is that we shall be raised too!

 We too, on the day of Resurrection, will be given  wonderful, glorious, Resurrection bodies. Like the Lord we shall no longer be limited by the physical constraints of this material world. And yet we shall not be mere disembodied spirits, insubstantial wraiths. No, we shall be more solid, more real, than we are in this life. We shall have entered the ultimate reality of God’s presence.

Now this is all a great mystery, we can not imagine what it will be like,  but the Resurrection of Jesus guarantees it.
The Tomb was empty, the Body was gone -  and Jesus appeared to his disciples.

 The Lord is risen  – he is risen indeed!

Comments off

Saint George

April 24, 2009 at 10:54 am · Filed under Christian living, Uncategorized

Talk given at  Brecon Scouts St George’s Day Service 2009

No doubt all you scouts, cubs and beavers know the story of Saint George and the dragon. He’s the Patron Saint of England, but the English don’t pay as much attention to him as the Welsh, Scots and Irish do to their patron saints!
St. George is also the patron saint of Aragon, Catalonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal,  Russia and Serbia. And, of course, of the Scout Movement.
A lot of the stories about George were made up in the Middle Ages – especially the one about him slaying the dragon.
What do we know about him historically?

 

The story of George

George was a Roman soldier who lived at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth century. He was born and brought up in Lydda in Palestine, but he served as a soldier in Asia Minor ( modern day Turkey). George was a very good soldier and he rose to become an officer in the bodyguard of the Emperor Diocletian.

George was a Christian, and there were many other Christians in the Roman empire at the time. There were plenty of pagans too, who worshipped the old Roman gods, but generally the Christians were allowed to practice their religion  in peace. But then, in 303 AD, the Emperor Diocletian banned the Christian  faith and started torturing and killing Christians.

 

A choice

George had been a good soldier of Rome and a faithful servant of Christ, but now he had to chose between the two.  If he remained a soldier he would have to deny Christ and worship the gods of Rome. Then he would be allowed to live in peace. If he remained faithful to Christ he would have to disobey the Emperor and face the consequences.

George set out to the Emperor’s court to plead for the law to be changed. His friends begged him not to go. They could see it would end in his death. When he got the message the Emperor Diocletian refused to see George and handed him over to the governor of the city of Nicomedia. There George was condemned to death. He was tortured and dragged though the streets of the city. Eventually he was beheaded. This happened on April 23rd. – St George’s Day.

 

Make a stand

So George was a great soldier, a brave man, a faithful servant of God. Perhaps the story of his slaying a dragon is just a way of saying he stood up against the “dragon” of paganism and of tyranny.

We can all learn from George. We all have our dragons – those bad things in our lives we need to struggle against – things like cruelty, unkindness, greed, laziness selfishness.

There are also many temptations to do wrong  – to steal, or to  lie, or to take drugs. There are also evils in society we should fight against – such thing as ignorance and poverty and corruption.

Sometimes we have to make a stand for truth or right or justice – even when it costs us. To speak up for the weak and the oppressed. To be a follower of Jesus, even when no one else  seems to want to follow him. To not be afraid of being unpopular or appearing uncool because we stand up for what we believe.

Comments off

Christ our Passover

April 13, 2009 at 12:29 am · Filed under Jesus Christ, Old testament, Sacrifice of Jesus, Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

 

Passover ceremony

Have you ever wondered why the date of Easter jumps around so much. There can be as much as a month’s difference from one year to the next. Easter is what is known as a “movable feast” – but why?

The simple answer is that it is connected with the Jewish Passover, and that varies from year to year because it always occurs at full moon. Jesus died and rose at Passover time, and so Easter is always held a this time of the year. But it does not always coincide with Passover. For some reason the Church leaders in the Middle Ages decided to use a different method of calculating the date to that used by the Jews. Possibly they were motivated by anti-semitism – I don’t know. I think it would be a very good idea if we kept the same time as the Jewish Passover, or alternatively  kept a fixed date for Easter. This year Easter does coincide with Passover, and so I thought it would be a good thing for us to see the parallels between the two.

Jewish passover rituals

The Passover has been celebrated for thousands of years by the Jewish people. It is a retelling of how God rescued his people from a life of slavery in Egypt. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt in a hurry after the last plague fell  ( the Death of the Firstborn). The original Passover ceremony involved the sacrifice of a lamb and the  daubing of its blood on the doorposts and lintel of the house. Then the lamb was roasted whole and eaten by the members of the family. They also ate unleavened bread as a reminder that, when they fled Egypt, they had not had time to wait for their bread to rise,  but ate it without yeast.

In the modern Passover ceremony there is no lamb – for since the destruction of the temple in AD 70 there have been no animal sacrifices in Judaism. A shank-bone of a lamb is always present on the table as a reminder of the sacrificial lamb but no lamb is eaten at the modern Passover meal.

 

Christian significance

“Well,” you might say, “that’s all very interesting, but what’s it got to do with us as Christians?”  A lot actually!

In the New Testament Christ is spoken of as the sacrificial lamb of God through whom the sins of the world are take away. John the Baptist  spoke of him in this way and Paul spoke of Christ our Passover sacrificed for us. It is very likely that his Last Supper with his disciples was a Passover meal. His use of bread and wine in the Sacrament he instituted comes from the Passover.

Not one bone broken

When the Passover Lamb was sacrificed it was important that none of its bones were broken. Its blood was poured out, but its bones were not broken, and it was roasted whole.  In Psalm 34: 20 it is prophesied of the Messiah that “not one of his bones will be broken”. During the crucifixion the soldiers came to break the leg bones of the victims as a means of hastening their death. (It prevented the man on the cross from being able to push up with his legs to take a breath. With their legs broken the poor victims could not breath and were soon asphyxiated.) But when the soldiers came to Jesus they found he was already dead, and so they did not break his leg bones. Thus the prophetic words of the Psalmist were fulfilled.

Passing over

The original Passover lambs were slain so that their blood could be daubed on to the door posts and lintels of the houses of the Israelites. It was said en that when the destroying angel came to strike the firstborn of that house he would stay his hand when he saw the blood on the door posts. God and his destroying angel  would “pass over” that house. Hence the term Passover.

It is from this incident in the Old Testament that we gain our Christian understanding of the work of redemption which Christ did for us. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. His blood was shed for us. When we trust in him and in the power of his blood we are, as it were, putting the blood on the doorposts and lintel of our lives.  God passes over our sins  and refrains form punishing us. Instead the punishment falls on Christ the sinless victim on the cross.

First fruits

As part of the Passover festival the Israelites would take some of the first fruits of their barley harvest and bring it to God’s Temple to offer as a sacrifice.
(There were two grain harvests in the land, one a barley harvest, which began at the Passover, and the other a wheat harvest, which began at Pentecost.)

They brought the first fruits ( i.e. the first sheaf of barley they harvested)  to show that they trusted God to provide for the rest of the harvest. How appropriate it is that it was at the time of the offering of the first fruits of the barley that Jesus rose from the dead. Paul tells us that Christ became the first fruits of those who are asleep (1 Corinthians 15:  20 ) -  i.e. the first one to rise from the dead and a guarantee that we also shall rise on the Last Day.

Resurrection

In the Passover ceremony today there is a fascinating ritual carried out by the head of the household. Three matzos ( pieces of unleavened bread) are taken and placed together. After a while the middle one is broken, wrapped in a cloth and hidden away while the ceremony proceeds. Later it is brought out and shared between the participants. It is thought that this was the unleavened bread which Jesus  broke and shared with his disciples saying, “This is my body which is broken for you”.

If you ask a Jew what is the significance of this part of the ceremony they will not be able to tell you. But Jews who have become followers of Jesus see a great significance in these actions. For them the three matzos represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The middle one is the Son, Jesus, whose flesh was broken on the cross. It is hidden in away, just as the body of Jesus was hidden in the tomb, and it is “resurrected”  just as he rose on the third day.

 

Christ our Passover

In the Passover ceremony four cups of wine are drunk. The third one, which is taken just after the meal, is known as the Cup of Redemption. It was this cup which Jesus raised when he said “this cup is the New Covenant in my blood”.  For his followers it represents his blood shed on the cross so that we could be forgiven. The New Covenant – the New Agreement – between God and his people, sealed with the sacrificial blood of Christ. Through his Death we are cleansed of our sins and through his Resurrection we are raised to newness of life. So this is what we celebrate on Easter Sunday. But every Sunday is a kind of mini Easter, a celebration of his Resurrection on the first day of the week. And every time we share in Holy Communion we remember the sacrifice of Jesus. In the worlds of the Apostle Paul:

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.      

 (1 Corinthians 5: 7-8 )

[Sermon preached at Brecon Presbyterian Church, Easter Sunday 2009 ]

Comments off

Palm Sunday

April 5, 2009 at 9:30 pm · Filed under Jesus Christ, Sacrifice of Jesus ·Tagged , ,

Palm Sunday

Just five days before he died, Jesus came riding on a donkey into the city of Jerusalem. Crowds came out to meet him and his followers from the country came behind him in procession. The crowd was ecstatic: they waved palm fronds, they carpeted the ground beneath his donkey’s feet with branches and with robes, they shouted his praise.

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

The little children also joined in the praises. Later that day they were seen running around in the Temple courts, shouting excitedly “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

All this happened to fulfil the words of the prophet Zechariah: “Fear not, O daughter of Zion. Behold your King comes, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

The disciples at the time didn’t understand the significance. But later, after Jesus had returned to the Father, then they remembered how they had done all those things the prophet had spoken of.

 

Now, what does Hosanna mean? Isn’t it just a shout of praise – a bit like hallelujah? True, there is that aspect of it – the word Hosanna by the time of Jesus had come to be used as a general acclamation or praise to a conquering hero. But originally the word had a very specific meaning: Hosha-na – “save us, we pray”. It was a cry for help, a plea to be rescued from their enemies.

I’m sure many of the people in the crowd on Palm Sunday were thinking that Jesus had come to rid them of their enemies, the Romans. So they were very pleased to welcome him. But they didn’t seem to notice he wasn’t riding a war horse with armed men marching behind. He was on a humble donkey, the symbol of peace! Yes, Jesus was coming to save his people, but it wasn’t to save them from the Romans. It was to save them from their sins and from their spiritual enemy, the Devil. Jesus wasn’t going to bring in the Kingdom by force. No, he was going to die on a cross for the sins of the whole world. And even as the crowd was crying Hosanna there were some in Jerusalem plotting to destroy him. Already they were planning to bribe one of his disciples to betray him.

 And so Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. On Monday he cast the money changers out of the Temple. Then he spent time in the Temple courts, teaching about God and his Kingdom. In fact, many of the parables and teachings of Jesus we are most familiar with were given at this time – during the last week of his life. On Thursday he shared his last supper with his disciples and washed their feet. Then Judas went out into the darkness to betray him. And so, on to Good Friday:

 

Good Friday

 

 When Jesus was nailed to the cross the sun was darkened for three hours – even the world of nature was affected by the great events that were happening.

 

Criminals

Alongside him were crucified two other men – criminals who had committed violent offences against the state. Jesus had done no harm in his life but was punished and died the death of a criminal. One of these men reviled Jesus and mocked him: “Are you not the Messiah, save yourself – and us!” But the other said: “Don’t talk like that. Aren’t you afraid of God? We are being punished because we deserve it, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 

Enemies

Now there were other people by the cross that day – the enemies of Jesus were there. Many of the passers-by mocked him. “Save yourself and come down from the cross!” they said. And the Chief Priests were also there mocking him. “He saved others but he can’t save himself! Let the Messiah, the King of Israel come down now from the cross that we might see and believe!” Such cruel mockery. But it was not weakness that kept Jesus there on the cross. It was his love for these very men, and for all the world, that kept him there.

 

Friends

But it was not just the enemies of Jesus who were present. Thankfully some of his friends were there too – particularly the women among his disciples. There at the foot of the cross were Mary, his mother, and John, his beloved disciple. Jesus looked down at Mary and said to her, “Behold your son!” You might think he was referring to himself and to the terrible plight he was in upon the cross. But he then looked toward John and said, “Behold your mother!” Thus he indicated that, after his departure, John should be like a son to Mary, and Mary like a mother to John. And we are told that from that time John took Mary into his house as a member of his family. Even in his deepest pain and sorrow Jesus found time to think of his mother and to make provision for her after his death. It must also have been a comfort to him to see some of his friends watching at the foot of the cross.

 

Believing

And even some of those who were supposed to be his enemies were drawn to him at the foot of the cross. They found themselves believing in him. The Roman Centurion, for example, and some of the other people there. There were awe-inspiring occurances when Jesus breathed his last. There was a mighty earthquake and, in the Temple the veil separating between the Holy of Holies and the rest of the Temple was torn from top to bottom. When the Centurion and some others with him felt the earthquake and saw the way Jesus died they were filled with awe. “Truly this man was the Son of God!” So even the Centurion and the other Roman Soldiers began to see who Jesus was. After he died his body was taken from the cross and placed in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. There he rested until the third day, the day of Resurrection. And we shall celebrate that next Sunday. Amazing love Meanwhile, in the coming week we shall reflect on the amazing love of God that brought his Son into the world to be our Saviour.

“How deep the Father’s love for us,

How vast beyond all measure,

That he should give his only Son

To make a wretch his treasure. “

 

[ Address given on Palm Sunday 2009 at a service of all-age worship at the Brecon Presbyterian Church. The talk was illustrated with felt board figures.]

Comments off

Older Posts »