Archive for Christian living

Three types of faith

November 22, 2009 at 6:00 pm · Filed under Christian living, Jesus Christ ·Tagged , , ,

See full size image 

 Matthew 8: 1-13, Mark 6: 1-6

“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” ( Luke 17: 6 )

and

“Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” ( Matthew 17: 20 )

These two very similar sayings seem to imply that it’s not the amount of faith that matters so much as the existence of faith. With no faith nothing can be done, but with some faith, however small, great things can be accomplished. True faith will always have its effect and, like a seed it can grow. It is a living thing.

In the ministry of Jesus we can see three different incidents, each of which illustrates a different kind of faith. And also one incident which shows unbelief.

1) Complete faith ( Luke 7: 1-10, Matthew 8: 5-13 )

There was a Roman army officer, a centurion, who lived in Caphernaum. This man had a much-loved and valued servant who was seriously ill. Now the centurion was on friendly terms with the local Jewish community so he asked some of the Jewish leaders to go to Jesus to ask him to heal his servant. This centurion was, of course, a Gentile but he had the most amazing faith. For he sent a message asking Jesus not to bother to come to his house. “I am not worthy for that: just say the word and he will be healed.”

This was tremendous faith, and even Jesus was astonished by it. “I tell you, I have not found faith like this, even in Israel.” None of the Jews had believed in Jesus like this – not even his disciples. But the centurion knew all about authority. He knew that he had authority over his soldiers ( authority which had been delegated to him by Caesar ) and he believed Jesus had a like authority ( from God ) to heal and to save.

Well, he was right and his faith was proved by what happened next. The messenger returned and found that the servant had been healed.

There have been other such people of faith down through history:

George Muller in the C19th. had no money, and yet he founded an orphanage to provide for hundreds of children. He did it all by faith – never asking for money or advertising the need. He and his helpers prayed, and believed, and the money came in – sometimes at the very last minute! As a result of this faith thousands of orphans were given Christian care and upbringing.

In the 1950s David Wilkerson was an ordinary minister of a little country church in the USA. but he felt called by God to go to the big city and to evangelize in the slums of New York. He went among drug pushers, pimps, prostitutes and teenage gangsters who were armed with knives and guns. In his book The Cross and the Switchblade he tells how may of these hardened young men turned to Jesus. They had killed people, they had peddled drugs, they had stolen, they had been involved in the occult – but they were transformed by Jesus Christ. All this came about through David Wilkerson’s faith. Because he believed that God loved these young men and could change them.

People like George Muller and David Wilkerson are a tremendous inspiration and a great challenge to us.

We move on to our second incident in the Gospels:

2) Partial faith ( Mark 1: 40-45, Matthew 8: 1-4 )

Once in Galilee a man with leprosy came to Jesus, got down on his knees and begged him to heal him. “If you are willing you can make me whole!, he said. Jesus was filled with compassion and touched him saying, “I am willing, be whole.” And the man was instantly cured.

This man’s faith was somewhat defective. He was in no doubt that Jesus had the power to heal him, but he wasn’t so sure that Jesus had the will to do it. “If you are willing” – does Jesus really care enough about me to want to heal me?

According to the Law of Moses anyone who touched a leper was unclean. Jesus surely could have avoided contamination and healed this man at a distance ( as he had done with the centurion’s servant ). He could have just given a word of command, but he chose to touch him as well – to show that he really cared, that he did indeed will to heal him.

This man’s faith in Jesus was only partial, but it still had its reward. Are we not sometimes a bit like this man? We doubt God’s love for us even when we believe in his power. Perhaps we think we are not worthy to experience his healing and saving power. “Oh yes Lord, you can help other people but you can’t help me,” is what is in our minds. Jesus shows us by his actions here, that his compassion is endless, that he is always willing to help those who come to him in faith. Even when that faith is partial. “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed …”

Our third incident shows another kind of incomplete faith:

3) Wavering faith ( Mark 9:14-29)

It happened just after Jesus had come down the Mountain of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John. They found a large crowd gathered around the remaining disciples and there seemed to be bit of an argument going on.

A man in the crowd explained: “Teacher, my son is possessed by an evil spirit which has robbed him of speech and ever so often sends him into a fit. Your disciples have not been able to do anything about it.” When they brought the boy to Jesus, immediately he went into a fit and fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

“If you can do anything, take pity on me and help us!” cried the man, in distress. “If you can?”, said Jesus, “Everything is possible to him who believes.” The man immediately said, “I do believe – help me overcome my unbelief!” Jesus rebuked the spirit and delivered the boy.

Now this man had doubted the power of Jesus – he had seen how his disciples had been unable to do anything and he doubted whether Jesus could either. Jesus’ reply to him was intended to inspire faith within the man’s mind. “Yes, the man said, “I do believe” – but at that very moment he was assailed by doubts, his faith ebbed away. “Help me overcome by unbelief!”, he cried. One moment he had faith, the next it had almost gone. It was a wavering faith.

Did this man deserve to have his request answered? Some would say “no”. Some Christians can see no room for doubt at all. Everything has to be black and white. But Jesus saw that, despite the doubt, this man really wanted to believe – was desperate to believe. It is the will that is important, rather than the feelings. He didn’t feel very believing, but he desperately wanted to believe. And his cry for help was answered – his son was cured.

I think most of us are like this man at some time in our lives – we have a wavering faith. I know I have been like that at times. Let us not despair – at the very moment of doubt we can at least cry out, “Lord,help me overcome my unbelief.”

You see, it’s not the amount of faith, nor the depth of faith, nor the breadth of faith that is important – it is the mere existence of faith. Even a tiny bit – a mustard seed bit – can do great things. After all, a mustard seen can sprout and grow into a huge plant.

The question is not, “Is my faith great?” but, “Have I got faith at all in Jesus Christ?”

We can contrast unbelief with faith:

4) Unbelief

On one occasion Jesus returned to his home town of Nazareth and went to the synagogue to teach the people. ( Matthew 13: 54, Mark 6:1 ) Because the people did not believe in him “there he could do no mighty works” ( Mark 6: 5 ) They despised him as the carpenter’s son. They thought they knew all about him and his brothers and sisters. But they had really no idea of who was – the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, the Saviour of the world.

So today, in our post-Christian society people think the know all about the Christian faith and they dismiss it as something unpractical, simplistic and outdated. Just as the people of Nazareth dismissed Jesus 2000 years ago, thinking they knew all about him: so today people dismiss him and refuse to believe in him. But it’s that unbelief that does the harm. How difficult it is to preach the Good News in an atmosphere of unbelief. Even Jesus couldn’t do any great work in Nazareth.

But wherever there is faith in Jesus, however little, then there is hope. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can do great things. May we have such faith today.

Comments off

“For all the Saints”

October 31, 2009 at 4:12 pm · Filed under Christian living, New Testament, The Church ·Tagged , , ,

See full size image 

 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus”. ( Ephesians 1:1)

What kind of picture does the word “saint” conjure up in your mind? Is it a plaster statue of the Madonna? Is it a picture in a stained-glass window? One little girl was asked what a saint was. She replied: “Someone with light shining through them.” That girl was thinking of the light shining through the figures of saints in the stained-glass windows in her church. But you know, it’s not a bad answer, is it? A saint is a person through whom the light of God shines. But should we restrict this term for particularly famous or holy persons, renowned for their good deeds, or the simplicity of their life? Should we only use it of people like Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi? Should it be reserved for those who practiced great austerity and asceticism – people like Saint David who lived on herbs and cold water and spent hours up to his neck in icy cold water while he prayed.

Today is All Saints Day – a day of great importance to Anglicans, and even more so to Roman Catholics. But what does it mean to Non-conformists like us? What is a “saint” in Biblical terms?

Our text makes it plain and clears away any misconceptions: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus”. ( Ephesians 1:1)

 

 

A Saint is a Christian Believer

A saint is not just a particularly special, or holy, or famous Christian. A saint is anyone who is faithful in Christ Jesus. The Greek word used for “faithful” also means “believing” – so we could also say a Saint is a Believer in Jesus Christ. Paul writes to all the believers in Ephesus and calls them “saints”.

We find this view of sainthood in the other New Testament Epistles:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, …. to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. (Romans 1: 7)

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, (1 Corinthians 1:2)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia. (2 Corinthians 1;1)

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi. (Philippians 1:1 )

From these and other texts we see that:

  • A saint is faithful and believing
  • A saint is holy and sanctified
  • A saint is called by God

A saint is not a special Christian, but any true Christian. This one of the great truths rediscovered at the Reformation – we are all saints, and our sins are forgiven by the grace of God alone.

 

 

Mediaeval misconceptions

In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic church developed a particular doctrine of sainthood which still persists today in some circles. The idea was that some people were so holy that when they died they went straight to Heaven instead of going to Purgatory.

(Of course, the doctrine of Purgatory is not found in the Bible. We are all sinners but our sins are cleansed by the blood of Christ. We will not need to spend centuries in Purgatory to atone for our sins before we will be allowed into Heaven.)

Anyway, back to the saints. These particularly holy people were thought to be much closer to God than the rest of us. And, just as you might ask another Christian to pray for you, so you might ask one of the “Saints” – even after their death – to intercede on your behalf. Obviously if you believed the Saint was already in heaven then you would think that he or she was much closer to God.

So people were encouraged by the Church to ask the Saints to plead on their behalf before the throne of God. To this day many people pray to the Saints. Some even write letters to them (which seems to me a bit like children writing letters to Santa Claus!)

Now none of this has any Biblical justification – for we are all saints anyway, if we are faithful to Jesus. We all have direct access to God through his Son.

(And there is no such place as Purgatory. Protestants hold varied views about what happens in the “intermediate state” ( the time between death and the final judgement) but none believe in Purgatory. Some hold the view that the soul goes immediately to Heaven to be united with a new resurrection body after the Last Judgement. Others think that death is like a “sleep of the soul” – we shall rest in the Lord, and on the Day of Resurrection be raised up with new bodies. If you hold the first view, then it is just possible that you might think you could pray to the Saints – to communicate with the souls of the departed in Heaven and ask them to intercede on your behalf.

But remember, in both the Old and New Testaments, God has warned us of the danger of spiritualism. We are not, in any way, to attempt to communicate with the dead. To my mind praying to the Saints comes perilously close to this.)

But I digress – all believers are saints, and share in the privilege of belonging to Gods people. What then can we say of God’s saints?

 

 

Faithful and believing

As I said earlier, the same Greek word ( pistis) is used for both “faithful” and “believing”. So we can say of God that he is faithful, he is reliable, he is our Rock in whom we trust. And you can say that the believer, in trusting in Christ, also becomes faithful to him. In other words, becomes more like God. So we have a mutual relationship of trust and love. If we are true Christians, then our relationship with God is based on personal trust in Jesus. It’s not just knowing the facts about Jesus, but knowing him as Saviour.

 

 

Holy and sanctified

“Holy” means “set apart” – like God himself. A saint is “set apart” from sin, from all that is anti-God, from hatred, from greed, from impurity. A saint is one who seeks to live by God’s laws.

“Well,” you may say, “we all fail don’t we, which one of us can claim to be without sin?”

We all fail, yes, but we can all be cleansed by the Blood of Christ. After all, a saint is simply a sinner who has repented and asked for God’s forgiveness. A saint is a sinner who has been made new, born again.

 

 

Called by God

A saint is called of God. Have you heard the call of God? Have you heard a call to personal repentance and faith in Jesus? You can be a nominal Christian because you were brought up in the Church, or because your parents were Christian, or because you are a church member. But that doesn’t make you a saint – a Christian in the true sense. One becomes a Christian, or a saint, when one hears the call of God and responds to it.

Perhaps some might say, “I have never heard the call of God.” Then I would say, “You are hearing it now, through this sermon!” Everyone here, in this church has heard, or is hearing, the call of God.

 How are we going to respond? Is it, “Yes, Lord, I am a sinner, but I want to be a saint”, or is it, “No, Jesus, I am not interested in religious things, I want to stay the same.”

How sad it is when people respond in the second way. They are condemning themselves to an eternity away from God, unless they repent before it’s too late.

 

 

May we all be true saints of God:

  •  faithful and believing ·
  • holy and sanctified 
  •  called by the Lord, and responding to the call.

May it be said of us that we are “saints” – people through whom the light of God shines. Jesus said: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” ( Matthew 5:16 )

 

 

 

Comments off

“If my people”

September 18, 2009 at 7:21 pm · Filed under Christian living, Old testament, Prayer ·Tagged , , ,

2 Chronicles 7:11-22

Do you get depressed about the news – I know I do sometimes. Often it is nothing but a litany of murders, rapes, child abuse, violent robberies, financial scams, cynical exploitation of the poor and weak, marital unfaithfulness, sexual promiscuity, teenage pregnancies, homosexuality, drug abuse, binge drinking. All these things seem to be on the increase – not to mention the economic downturn and the problems of unemployment and debt. All these ills are but symptoms of the malaise of our society and it seems to get worse year by year. Of course, their has always been crime and humans have always been sinful. But there were in place in the past stern codes of morality and standards of behaviour based on the Ten Commandments which helped to hold back the worst effects of sin.

And then the state of the church is not promising. I ask myself, “Will there be a Presbyterian Church of Wales in ten or fifteen years time. I do remember asking this question 20 years ago! Well we are still here – but only just. There has been a steady decline in the membership of our denomination over the last 20 years or so. The fact the the decline is slow must not blind us to the truth that it is happening. Just as the decline of the Roman Empire took place over several centuries, so it is with our church and with our society.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”   ( Matthew  5:13)

If God’s people in the church lose their “saltiness”, what then will be the state of society?

 

Complacency

We might think that just because Wales has a Christian heritage we will never lose our chapels and churches. After all, we are known as the Land of Revivals. God would surely never allow his church to disappear from Wales.  But on what basis do we say this? History  shows us that the churches in Asia Minor ( which were the first Christian churches  outside Palestine and had been established by the Apostle Paul) vanished when Islam took over that area. They had become corrupt and they were not able to stand up to the onslaught of militant Islam. Today in Turkey there are very few native Christians.

The same is true for the churches  of North Africa which were centres of theological scholarship in the time of Saint Augustine. Now they are no more – also destroyed by Islam.  this should be a warning to us in Wales.  Christianity can die out in a country and it will be replaced by something else. In Wales it might be materialistic Atheism that takes over, or New Age spirituality perhaps.

The ancient Israelites had the same kind of  misconception about he Temple and the city of Jerusalem. They thought that because it had been established by God it could never be destroyed. God would surely never allow his Temple to be removed – no matter how badly his people behaved. The prophets spoke out against this complacent attitude, this false hope, but the people took no notice. So it was a severe shock to the nation when Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed the Temple and took the people off into exile!

 

God’s promise

Our reading take us a lot further back than those times -  right to the reign of Solomon, to the time when the Temple itself was built.  When the Temple was dedicated Solomon offered a long prayer to God (you can read it in 1 Chronicles chapter six)  in which he prayed that God would bless the nation and make his dwelling  in that place.

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
(2 Chronicles 7:1 )

And God answered. He spoke to Solomon in a vision at night. And God made a promise to Solomon concerning the nation of Israel.  It’s a promise we can also take hold of,  for under the New Covenant all who believe in the Messiah are part of the Israel of God.
 
This was the promise:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”        (2 Chronicles 7:14 )

I believe this promise from God shows us the way out of our current plight. It shows how God can revive and renew his people. It shows how he can heal our nation and bring us back to himself.

Why do we not see revival in Wales, the Land of Revivals?  Well here, in these verses, we see three conditions for revival. Or rather, three hinderances we must get rid of. The three hinderances are:

  • Pride
  • Prayerlessness
  • Perversity

Let’s look at them:

 
1) Pride

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves.”
(2 Chronicles 7:14 )
 
These people need to become humble. But who are we talking about? Who are God’s people. In the Old Testament they were the people of Israel.  They were called by his name – they were Israel and he was the God of Israel. Their behaviour would reflect for good or bad upon the God of Israel

We also are called by his name. Jesus is the Christ and we are Christians – followers of Jesus  Christ.  And our lives will reflect on Christ himself. People will see the way we live and decide on that basis whether or not they want to have anything to do with Christ.

Yes, we are called by his name and this verse says we must  humble ourselves.

Why is lack of humility – pride – singled out here as the main sin? Pride was the original sin of mankind – and of Satan himself. It was pride that led to the building of the Tower of Babel.  It is pride that separates people from God and from one another. It is pride that lead to wars and strife.

(We are not talking here about the justifiable sense of pride that one might have in one’s country, one’s school or one’s work, but rather the pride of arrogance. The pride that thinks it is better than everyone else. The pride that sets itself against God himself.)

And perhaps spiritual pride is the worst – as with the Pharisees in the time of Jesus who thought they were alright. They prided themselves on their good works – when in fact they were spiritually poor. They were in a worse spiritual state than the very people they despised – the tax gatherers and sinners.

We must turn from that kind of pride and humble ourselves before God.

 
2) Prayerlessness

“and pray and seek my face.”  ( 2 Chronicles 7:14 )

The most important thing of all is our relationship with God. It’s not just a matter of saying prayers, reciting set forms of words. It’s about being open to God and dependant on God, or rather,  realising our dependence on him.

No revival ever came to the Church without a lot of prayer beforehand. People had been praying for decades prior to the 1904 revival that there would be a spiritual awakening in Wales. Evan Roberts, the leader of that revival, himself had spent about ten years in fervent,  persistent  prayer before the revival came.  It wasn’t a matter of his personality and gifts -  it was the working of the Spirit of God.

So God’s people must humble themselves, and pray, and develop their relationship with him, before there can be any revival of the church. And without revival there will be no Christian Church in Wales in 50 years time.

 
3) Perversity

 
 (I’ve chosen this word purely to allow an alliterative scheme! What I am really thinking about is sin.)

“If my people … will seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven  …”   ( 2 Chronicles 7:14 )

God’s people must turn from their wicked ways. Not just the people of the world, but those who are called by his name. This means that we are to live lives which glorify God.

Once again we think of the words of Jesus:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”  ( Matthew  5:13 )

If we are not “salty” then we will not be able to restrain corruption in our society. Ask yourself this question: “Is my life any different from that of any respectable member of society who is not a Christian?”  It ought to be  different. There should be some elements in our life which are only there because we are followers of Jesus. We are called to be more loving, more kind, more generous, more moral, and more honest than the people of the world.

In a sense we are responsible for the state of our nation. Had we shone brighter as  lights, had our salt not lost its savour, our society might not have got into the state it is in now.   In the Old Testament we read of Daniel praying for the nation (Daniel Chapter 9 ). He identifies with the nation completely and confesses the sins committed by the nation  -  sins of idolatry and contempt of God’s laws. Daniel has not committed these sins himself but he confesses them to God on behalf of the nation. Perhaps we need to pray  for our nation in this way.

There are also many sins which can be found among church-going people which are a hindrance to revival coming to the church.  Among them are sexual immorality, dishonesty, and a bitter unforgiving spirit towards others.

 Revivals are always preceded by people putting things right with God and with those around them. Confessing their faults, making reparation when they can, seeking to be reconciled with their neigbour.

 
Conclusion

This verse sets out the conditions for revival, but it also gives promises when these conditions are fulfilled. The promises are of reconciliation and restoration.

 

1) Reconciliation to God

“Then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin …”
 (2 Chronicles 7:14 )

Once we have repented, confessed our sins to God and put our trust in Jesus who died for us, then we know peace with God. Our conscience is clear and our communion with him is restored.

 
2) Restoration of our land

“Then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
 ( 2 Chronicles 7:14 )

God promises to heal our land,  that is, to help to put right our social ills. There is no doubt that past revivals have brought healing to our land. They have always been followed by a wave of social reforms and an increase  in righteousness.

“Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
( Proverbs 14:34 )

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
( 2 Chronicles 7:14 )

Comments off

“No pain, no gain.”

September 11, 2009 at 9:59 pm · Filed under Christian living, Jesus Christ, Sacrifice of Jesus ·Tagged ,

 See full size image

 

 

 

 

 

Mark 8:27-38

A Family Service at the Brecon Presbyterian Church

Talk  (A)
(Illustrated with felt board figures and scene.)

Jesus left Galilee and went to the area known as Caesarea Philippi. It was in Gentile territory – a pagan place. The town had been built in honour of Caesar by Philip, the ruler of that area. It was a place were they worshipped Caesar as a god. It was also been a place where, in the past, people had worshipped the god Ba’al.  As well as this, the Greek god Pan was worshipped here -  he was said to have been born in the area.

As they were going along the road to this place Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

“Some say you are John the Baptist brought, back to life. Others say Elijah the prophet has returned. Others say you are one of the other prophets who has come back,” they replied.

“Yes, but who do you say I am?” Jesus asked.

Peter said, “You are the Messiah, God’s Anointed One.”
Jesus then told them them to keep this knowledge to themselves for the time being.

 

The Messiah

But who was this Messiah Peter spoke of? The Jews were waiting for him to come. He was the one who was going to solve the nation’s problems. They had been under the rule of foreign powers for centuries but they believed the Messiah was going to come. He would restore the kingdom and bring new life to the nation. This was the hope of the Jewish people at the time of Jesus.

They had all sorts of ideas about what he would be like. But most of them thought of a mighty conqueror who would drive the Romans from the Holy Land and then reign as king in Jerusalem. Then they would defeat all the Gentile nations and rule over them.

No doubt Peter thought in these terms when he said, “You are the Messiah.”

But Jesus’ idea of the Messiah was very different. It was more like the “suffering servant” we read about in Isaiah.

 

Suffering and Sacrifice

Jesus started taking about the Messiah in these terms: “The Son of Man will suffer many things. He will be rejected by the religious leaders and he will be killed. But after three days he will rise again.” All this was very different from Peter’s ideas of the Messiah and Jesus emphasized it a great deal until it was too much for Peter.

“No, Lord, don’t talk like that! These sorts of things wouldn’t happen to the Messiah. You’re not going to be rejected and die.” (Peter  didn’t seem to have cottoned on to the bit about rising from the dead.)

Jesus must have felt then he was being tempted to turn away from the path God had set before him  – the way of the cross. It was just like on that previous occasion when he had been tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Then Satan had proposed ways of avoiding the suffering and sacrifice.

Yes,  it would have been easy for Jesus to do that. People were willing to follow him as a military leader. By using force and supernatural power he could have overthrown the Romans. But his way is not the way of force and military might.

“Get behind me Satan,” he said, “these are not God’s thoughts, but men’s.”

 

Talk (B)

 
Song written by Larry Norman in the 70’s

Some say he was an outlaw that he roamed across the land
With a band of Unschooled ruffians and a few old fisherman.
No one knew just where he came from, or exactly what he’d done.
But they said it must be something bad that kept him on the run.

Some say he was a sorcerer, a man of mystery,
He could walk upon the water, he could make the blind man see.
He conjured wine at weddings and did tricks with fish and bread
And he talked of being born again and raised people from the dead

Some say he was a poet that he would stand upon the hill
And his voice could calm an angry crowd, or make the waves stand still.
He spoke in many parables that few could understand
But the people sat for hours just to listen to this man.

Some say a politician, who spoke of being free
He was followed by the masses on the shores of Galilee.
He spoke out against corruption and he bowed to no decree
They feared his strength and power, so they nailed him to a tree.
Some say he was the Son of God, A man above all.
That he came to be a servant and to set us free from sin And that’s who I believe he was,
because that’s who I believe.

 

Talk (C) 

[Show various crosses - gold necklace, wooden, palm cross, etc.]

Take up your cross

Every day we see crosses all around us. People wear them as jewellery, they hang them on the wall, and they use them as key chains. When you pass by a church, it is not unusual to see a cross on the steeple. We even see many people who wear the cross as a tattoo. What comes to your mind when you see a cross? What does the cross mean to you? Is it just a piece of jewellery or a work of art?

For Jesus the cross was not a piece of jewellery or a work of art. It was the instrument on which he was going to be executed. When he said to his disciples that they would have to take up their cross and follow him they didn’t think he was talking about wearing jewellery or carrying an ornamental wooden cross. He meant that, as his followers, they would have to be prepared to die for their faith, if necessary.

 

Deny yourself

Jesus also talked about denying oneself in order to share  in eternal life. What does this mean? In the Middle Ages people thought it meant becoming a monk, treating yourself harshly, fasting for long periods, whipping your body and wearing hair shirts! But Jesus didn’t mean this. By denying yourself he meant forgetting yourself – letting go of selfishness and thinking about other people. Most of all, thinking about God and what he wants for your life. It’s about submitting to God’s will and living for others.
You know the saying: “If you want JOY in life then put Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last.”  J.O.Y.

If we are going to enter into God’s Kingdom then there are certain things we might have to let go of. Of course, we must renounce sin and turn away from all that we know to be wrong. We have to repent and ask forgiveness for our sins in the name of Jesus. But even after that there may be some things we have to let go of. They are not things that are wrong in themselves; it’s just that they might get in the way of eternal life.

Jesus said: What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses his soul?    ( v 36)

 if we don’t let go of these things we might miss out on the most important thing of all – a relationship with God and the sure and certain promise of being with him for ever.

This is how Eugene Peterson paraphrases this passage in The Message:

“ … But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works! Calling the crowd to join the disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat;I am. Don’t run from suffering, embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self Help is no help at all. Self Sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an ever greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”

 

Choices

It’s true that in life we make all kinds of choices.

  • Will I look for wealth and power: or will I look for ways to help people?
  • Will I care for the people around me: or will I just selfishly seek my own pleasure?
  • Will I concentrate on money, fame or fashion: or will I work hard to develop my talents to use for the benefit of others?

 
At a most basic level it could be a simple as:  ”will I go to church this morning, or will I do something else?” For the grown-ups that “something else” might be playing golf, or washing the car.  For young people it might be going our with your friends. The point is that there will always be clashes in life. We often have to make a choice between one thing and another.  We have to decide our priorities. So, how much priority do we give to following Jesus?

 

Following

Jesus never said it was going to be easy to follow him. In fact he used the most stark image to describe it. “You’ve got to take up your cross”, he said. And he wasn’t thinking of a gold cross, or one ornamented with jewels. He was thinking about the cross carried by the condemned man -  the cross he was going to be crucified on. Some people have literally done that – they have died for their faith in Jesus.

Clarence Jordan was a well known preacher, scholar and farmer in the USA in the mid 20th. century. (He was one of the founders of  Habitat for Humanity.)  Once Jordan was invited to preach at a magnificent church. The pastor showed him everything and pointed to a beautiful cross on the steeple: “That cross alone cost us $10,000.’

Jordan said, “Time was when a Christian could get one of those for free.”

(“A Cloud of Witnesses” by C. Douglas Weaver, Macon GA: Smyth & Helwys, 1993)

It’s unlikely that we will be asked to die for our faith, but we must be prepared to live for it. To give it the top priority in life.

Clarence Jordan also founded a Christian community of both black and white people in South Georgia in the 1940s. This was revolutionary thing to do and the congregation were severely persecuted.  Jordan asked the help of his brother who was a lawyer. “Having political aspirations, the brother refused. Clarence suggested that his brother should go back to the rural church where they had both walked the aisle to accept Christ and explain something. ‘Tell them,’ said Clarence, ‘what you really meant to say was that you ADMIRE Jesus, not that you want to FOLLOW him.’”

(“A Cloud of Witnesses” by C. Douglas Weaver, Macon GA: Smyth & Helwys, 1993)

Do we just admire Jesus, or do we want to follow him?

Comments off

“Ephphatha”

September 7, 2009 at 10:29 am · Filed under Christian living, Jesus Christ, New Testament

Mark 7:24-37

Introduction

Today I am going to so something I rarely do – preach from a text, a single verse. Actually it’s really just one word from Mark 7: 34

“Ephphatha”, which means “be opened”.

This is the actual Aramaic word used by Jesus when he healed a deaf man and commanded his lips and mouth to be opened. But I want to apply it to this whole passage in Mark 7: 24 to the end of the chapter. Here we see Jesus going out into Gentile territory and breaking new ground, opening up new groups of people to the Kingdom of God. So it’s all about being open – in contrast to the closed minds of the Pharisees and Scribes. In the previous section they were criticising the disciples of Jesus for not going through the correct procedure before eating their food.

These men thought of religion as something just for the elite. Only for Jews, and only really for those Jews who were wealthy enough to be able to afford to go through elaborate time-consuming rituals. It was partly to get away from such people that Jesus went off to the territory of Tyre and Sidon. He also probably needed to get some rest and relaxation. So he left the country, he went abroad, out of Jewish territory.

Although Tyre and Sidon had originally been included in the land allotted to the tribes of Israel, the fact is that the tribe of Asher had never fully settled their territory. So Tyre and Sidon remained in the hands of the pagan Canaanites. At the time of Jesus it was a very mixed area, both ethnically and religiously. There were a few Jews around, but most people were pagans.

These were the cities of the Phoenicians who were great sailors. They were the first men to steer by the stars. They traded right across the Mediterranean, and even as far as Britain where they came to buy Cornish tin. They built cities in North Africa – most notably, Carthage. The Phoenicians who lived in Tyre and Sidon were known as Syro-phoenicians (that is Syrian Phoenicians) as opposed to the ones from North Africa who were known as the Carthaginians. They were all descendents of the ancient Canaanites and worshipped the god Baal.

(We read quite a lot about them in the Old Testament, in the story of Elijah. Jezebel was a Sidonian princess and worshipper of pagan gods.)

In Phoenicia there were also other tribes and races – Romans, Greeks and Syrians, among others. Two main languages were spoken by the common people – Aramaic (a language related to Hebrew which had been the official language of the old Persian empire) and Greek (which had been the language of the empire of Alexander the Great). Latin was the official language of the Roman authorities. The same situation existed in Palestine and it is very likely that Jesus and his disciples were bilingual in Aramaic and Greek.

 

 

Moving out

Mark tells us that Jesus and his disciples went to the vicinity of Tyre and stayed in a lodging place there. Jesus wanted to be on his own – but soon people heard who he was and started flocking to him. A woman came to him and begged that he would save her daughter from the power of an unclean spirit. We don’t know anything else about the girl. What was her name? How old was she? What form did the demon possession take? How had she come under this evil power? How long had she been in this state? We don’t know these things but we do know that her mother was desperate. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

She was desperate enough to come to this Jewish healer, even though she was just a gentile. “Gentile dogs” is what they were called by most Jews. And to the Jewish way of thinking dogs were unclean animals.

Now we come to the part of the story that causes most problems to modern commentators. It’s just so politically incorrect! Jesus refers to this woman and her daughter as dogs!

“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

It seems so harsh. It makes it appear that Jesus was as narrow minded and judgmental as the Pharisees. But we notice one thing, which is not apparent in the English versions of the Bible.

When he speaks to her, Jesus doesn’t use the normal Greek word for dog, KUON, which just means a cur, any old dog roaming the streets. Instead he uses the diminutive form, KUNARION, a little dog, a pet dog. It’s almost a term of affection.

It is surely significant that Jesus used this word for dog. (By the way, if you are wondering why Jesus should have been speaking Greek, it was because this woman was a Greek-speaker. Although she was Syro-phoenician she didn’t speak Aramaic. Just as you can be of Welsh birth and nationality and yet not be able to speak Welsh. Jesus apparently was bilingual, so he spoke to her in Greek.)

“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

The little pet dogs that lie under the table waiting for the children to drop scraps of food for them. Of course, no orthodox Jew would have such an arrangement in his household. The dogs, if there were any, would have been kept outside. But Jesus is talking to a Gentile woman, and Gentiles didn’t necessarily regard all dogs as unclean.

Jesus is saying, in effect, that he had come to bring God’s help to the Jews first. His mission was to show to the Jews that he was their Messiah. Only after that had happened would the Gentiles be included. Jesus is not excluding the Gentiles, he is just stressing that he is, first and foremost, the Messiah of the Jews.

Also he seems to be testing this woman to see if she really wants to allow God to work in her life. Or is she just looking for a miracle cure for her daughter? There are several other occasions in the gospels when Jesus seemed to go out of his way to put people off following him. He often needed to test their intentions.

But this woman rises to the test:

“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

 It wasn’t just because of her clever repartee, it was because she showed faith in the God of Israel. She acknowledged that Jesus had come to the Jews first but she also wanted some crumbs to fall for the Gentiles. It’s an amazing combination of humility, boldness and faith.

And because of that faith Jesus performed an amazing miracle. He drove out the demon at a distance, without even meeting the girl. No words of power, no ceremony of exorcism, not even a command to the demon to go. He simply said, “The demon has left your daughter” – and it was so! She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

 

 

Moving back

Jesus stayed in the region of Tyre and Sidon for some time. (One commentator suggests about six months.) Then he returned home to Galilee. On the way home he went into the region of the Decapolis which was on the Gentile shore of Lake Galilee.

The people of this area were also pagan – a mixed population of Syrians and Greeks. But the area was close to Jesus’ home in Caphernaum and the people spoke Aramaic, just as he did.

In one of the villages they brought to him a man who was deaf and who had a speech impediment. Once again, we don’t know anything about this man. We don’t know his name or his age, or how long he had been deaf. Was it from birth? Was he indeed totally deaf or just profoundly deaf? Was his speech impediment a consequence of his being deaf? We don’t know.

This man lived at a time when there was no provision at all for deaf people. No one had yet devised a sign language for the deaf. There was no support, and no cure for his condition. This man was in a desperate plight. The people begged Jesus to lay hands on him, in the hope that it might effect a cure.

So there was this crowds of excited people all around the man – jostling and gesticulating. They grabbed hold of the man and propelled him toward Jesus. The deaf man must have been completely bemused. He didn’t know what was going on, or why they were pushing him toward this stranger! Immediately Jesus grasped the situation. He saw that the man was bewildered. So he led him away from the crowd, to a quiet place.

Now Jesus could have just laid hands on this man and cured him. But he wanted the man first to know what was happening – so that he would have faith in Jesus. So Jesus spoke to the man with signs and gestures:

  •  He placed his fingers in the mans ears, as if to say, “Your hearing will be made whole.”
  •  He touched the man’s tongue with saliva, as if to say, “Your speech will be made perfect.” (In ancient times saliva was believed to have healing properties.)
  • · He looked up to heaven and sighed deeply, as if to say, “God sympathises with your plight. He is going to heal you.”
  • · And then Jesus said the word “Ephphatha”, which means, “Be opened”.

 

Why does Mark record the actual Aramaic word Jesus used? I don’t know, but I can’t think of a better word to use. Just think of these three syllables:

Eph – Pha – Tha.

Each syllable requires moving the lips and the teeth. It must be just about the easiest word in the world to lip-read! So the man saw the word with his eyes. He knew he was being healed, and the next moment he could hear and speak.

At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

 

 Conclusion

“Ephphatha: be opened.”

This word seems to me to be the key to the whole passage. It’s all about openness.

  • Jesus went to Phoenicia and spent time among the Gentiles. He saw them as human beings, with human needs. Despite his words to the women he did not see them as dogs. He was open to them. “Ephphatha: be opened.”
  •  He delivered the little girl from an unclean spirit. Her life was suddenly opened up to all that was good and pure. “Ephphatha: be opened.”
  •  His conversation with the Syro-phoenician woman indicated that the saving power of God was going to be made available to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Not yet, but after the Resurrection, and after the Day of Pentecost, the Good News was going to go out to every nation. The doors of salvation were going to be opened up to all. “Ephphatha: be opened.”
  •  In the Decapolis, once again Jesus ministered to a Gentile person. He opened up a new life for this man even as his ears and mouth were opened. “Ephphatha: be opened.”

 

And what about us? do we need to open up too?

  •  Surely we need to be open to the fact that God can work in ways we can not imagine, outside our institutional religious structures. That’s just what Jesus was doing in that Gentile territory.
  •  We also need to open up to God himself. We can’t hide anything from him anyway. But he yearns for us to open our hearts to him – to receive the blessings of his Spirit.
  •  Then at last our ears will be open and we will listen to his word. Our mouths will be open and we will proclaim the glory of his name. We will tell others about this Jesus who “has done all things well”.

Comments off

Unwashed Hands

August 29, 2009 at 11:34 am · Filed under Christian living ·Tagged , ,

Mark 7:1-23

Jane and I were at a Folk Camp the other week. We hadn’t been camping for about ten years, but we enjoyed it. All the catering was done for us – and that’s a very big thing – so we were able enjoy the various activities, which included folk music and dancing. Because of the Swine Flu scare we were advised to take precautions – to wash our hands frequently and use the dispensers for antiseptic gel which were provided.

The medical experts tell us that hygiene is very important when it comes to keeping away infection. And we all teach our children to wash their hands after they have been playing in the garden and before they eat. That’s because we now know about microbes and how infections are spread. But this was not so in the past. 150 years ago surgeons operated in filthy blood-stained coats, and never washed their hands!

Yes, hygiene is very important. So it’s interesting to read in the Old Testament of the rules in the Law of Moses about defilement and washing. Certain things were recognised as causing ritual defilement – contact with a dead body, for example.These rules were probably very important from a hygiene point of view. If the people of Israel kept these rules they were more likely to be free from illness than the other nations.

Of course, they didn’t have modern notions of hygiene. Rather, they thought of the defilement as a spiritual thing – something which restricted their access to God. For an observant Jew it was (and still is) thought to be almost morally wrong not to wash your hands before eating. And the Rabbis elaborated all sorts of rules about how it should be done and what objects should be washed before a meal – pots, pans, dishes, etc. There were also all sorts of rules in addition to the Law of Moses.  These rituals were known as the “Tradition of the Elders”.

Criticism

In our reading from Mark chapter 7 we see the Pharisees and some of the Teachers of the Law criticising the disciples of Jesus. They noticed that not all of Jesus’ disciples followed the correct procedure before eating. They didn’t always bother to wash their hands. Most of these disciples had come from humble backgrounds -  simple fishermen from Galilee, farm labourers, unsophisticated people. They had never been taught the “correct procedure”.

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with ‘unclean’ hands?
(Mark 7:5)

Jesus was angry at this criticism of his followers. Some of them had previously lived lives of sin and immorality. But they had repented and now they wanted to go God’s way in their lives. How unfair that they should be pulled down for a small ceremonial  infraction by those who had received a privileged upbringing! Yes these Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were wealthy men who could well afford the time to go through such rituals.

Hypocrites

But Jesus saw that they were hypocrites too. How dare they criticise his disciples when they themselves set aside God’s law and put human traditions in its place!

Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’
You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.
(Mark 7:6-8)

Jesus gave an example of how they these men would neglect to provide for their parents in their old age – thus breaking the commandment about honouring your father and mother. Then to cover up their fault they would say that they could not afford to keep them because they had already given the money to God’s work. (The word “Corban” is used – it means a gift dedicated to God. Once it is given it can not be taken back and put to another pupose – never mind the fact that providing for your parents would be God’s work.)  These Pharisees were using their religiosity as a cover up for their moral failings. Hypocrites!
 “And you do many other things like this”,  Jesus said.

In the previous chapters of Mark we read about Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, stilling the storm, feeding the multitude, walking on water, delivering people from demonic powers. He was performing all these signs and wonders as well as teaching the most sublime truths, and all the Pharisees could do in response was to carp at his disciples not washing their hands!

Priorities

About 30 years ago Jane and I were youth leaders in the church we belonged to.  It was a rather stuffy church in those days – you had to come to church wearing a sober suit and tie if you were a man, or a dress if you were a woman. But the youth work was successful and there were a lot of young people coming to our after church fellowship on a Sunday evening. Most did not come to the church service beforehand, but some did. And we were always pleased to see them in church, even though the service was rather formal and not the sort of thing they really could relate to. They would usually turn up wearing jeans and tee-shirt and trainers. We were glad to see them however they were dressed but some members of the church did not like this. They thought the young people should wear suits and ties! But which is more important, that a person really wants to know God and follow Jesus, or that they should wear a smart suit?

It’s all a matter of priorities. What is the most important thing in life? Is it the outward appearance or is it what you have in your heart? The Pharisees were putting the Tradition of the Elders before what God wanted of them. And they were more concerned with externals than anything else.

Inner life

Jesus said to the crowd, “Don’t worry about what the Pharisees say. It’s not the things you eat that make you unclean – rather its what is already inside you.”

Afterwards the disciples asked him about this. They didn’t quite understand what he meant.

“Well,” he said, “it’s not the food you eat that makes you unclean. That goes though the digestive system and then it is eliminated. No it’s what’s in your heart that really counts. If you are pure in heart you don’t need to worry about outward man-made rituals. But if your heart is full of evil thoughts: lusts, dishonesty, greed, hatred and so on – these things defile you.”

For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’.
(Mark 7:21- 23)

So it is that in the Christian faith we don’t lay any emphasis on dietary laws. Other religions make a great deal of this. To the Jew everything has to be kosher. To the Muslim it has to be hallal. The Hindu won’t eat beef and many are vegetarians, as are many Buddhists. But we believe that Jesus declared all foods clean. We don’t forbid certain foods but we leave it to the individual’s choice. And we do not lay down rules for ritual hand washing before meals, even though we do recognise the importance of hygiene.

What we do stress is what is the heart – and that is much more challenging. In a sense it’s easier to follow a religion that just sets rules. “ Eat this, don’t eat that, follow this ritual, fast on that day, make a pilgrimage to this shrine, recite that prayer.”
You can do all these things and still be a long way from God.

But when we look into our own hearts and we see the sin there, all the evil things Jesus spoke of, then we are brought to trust ourselves to the mercy of God and ask to be forgiven. Then, and only then, are we in a position to receive his grace and be cleansed within. Jesus died, he shed his blood on the cross, so we could experience that cleansing.

Yes, there are certain things we do when we worship and when we come to church. Yes, there are ways we behave as Christians and we seek to follow certain guidelines in life. But in essence we live by grace, not law.

And we must never elevate mere human traditions above what God wants for us.

Comments off

Punctuation Marks

August 11, 2009 at 12:17 am · Filed under Christian living ·Tagged , , , ,

(Talk given at an Open Air Service in Brecon)

Mark Twain once sent a manuscript to his publisher, completely unpunctuated. But at the end of the piece he had typed a whole lot of punctuation marks – commas, full stops, colons, etc. with the words, “Sprinkle these around as you see fit!” He couldn’t be bothered to punctuate the manuscript himself. But punctuation marks are very important.

You’ve got the question mark, the quotation mark, the exclamation mark, all the various commas and semicolons and colons, and finally the full stop.

These marks can help us to think about life.

 
Question mark – why?

We do need to ask questions in life. Why are we here? What is the  purpose of life? Is there a God? does he care about us?
The person who hasn’t asked these questions hasn’t begun to live.

 
Quotation mark – “speech”

Used when someone has something to say. In the Bible, God has something to say to us. He has spoken to the human race. And most of all, he has spoken through Jesus. He is the Word of God.

 
Exclamation mark – important!

This draws our attention. It tells us that the speaker has something important to say. Or at least something that means a lot to him or her. “ help!”, “ wow!”, “Watch out!”,  are all exclamations.

So God sometimes speaks to us in exclamations. He says, “You need me in your life! You have become separated from me! I am holy and you are sinful!  You need to repent, change your ways!  I sent my Son into the world so that you can have eternal life!” God says all these things to us through his word – and we need to take heed.

Then we have the various partial stops:

 

 The comma, the semi-colon, the colon – pauses

 These are used as pauses. You stop for a very short while to get breath before you go on to the end of the sentence. In life we also need to pause, we need to rest. We need sleep every night, we need to take a break from work. We need holidays.

And we need more than just physical and mental rest  – we need spiritual rest too. We need to pause, to pray, to turn to God and to listen to him. What does his word say to us? We need to come to church and worship on Sunday.

An explorer in the Amazon found all his native bearers sitting round looking miserable. They wouldn’t go any further. He had pushed forward hard though the jungle the previous day and they needed to rest. When he asked the interpreter why they would not go on the interpreter said, “They are waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies!”

We need to allow our souls to catch up with our bodies. We need spiritual refreshment.

 
The full stop (or period).

You can go no further in the sentence. You have come to the “end of the line” and so you put in a full stop. Sometimes in life we get to the end of our tether, we come to the end of our own resources. We have come to the end of self and so we must throw ourselves upon the mercy of God. We need his grace. We can not save ourselves. God alone is our help.

It’s a good position to be in because he is all-powerful. He can cleanse our sins, he can lift our guilt, he can bring to us eternal life. He can bring joy and purpose to life. We have come to the end of the sentence – a full stop, a halt – but Jesus can start us on a new one.

And then, one day, we will come to the end of life. Our bodies will come to a full stop. We shall breath our last breath in this world. But that won’t be the end. If we trust in Jesus who died for us, death will be but a pause before eternity. We shall be with him for ever in heaven.

Comments off

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 has suddenly become the centre of a vast enterprise .  Bruce Wilkinson is 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.  I think I can see why  this  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. Some people think in terms of increasing their material wealth.

 
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 much of the literature associated with the Jabez Prayer 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 his 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.”

In other words, the claim is  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. Was it that Jabez stumbled upon the right formula for asking things of God? I don’t think so -  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 how some people use the Prayer of Jabez but I don’t want to give the impression there is anything wrong with the actual prayer itself.  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 that some people would want to use 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

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

Older Posts »