This is an outline text of a family service talk
When Christians die, they go to be with Jesus.
We know that because Jesus said so and because the apostle Paul tells us so.
And at the moment, Xns who have died & are with Jesus don't have bodies – they don't need them now.
But when Jesus comes back to earth to make the world new and to get rid of all evil and sin, how will he raise the dead? What sort of body will they have?
Those are the questions the Christians in Corinth were asking – will these Xns who don't have bodies now, go back into their old bodies?
If so, how? And will they just be skeletons?
“Don't be silly”, says Paul, in v36 “What died isn't the same as what comes to life.”
And he answers each question in turn, with illustrations from plants and animals.
So first question: How are the dead raised?
Here's a seed.
It's quite big for a seed. It's dull and it's cream-coloured.
A few days ago, I buried one of them.
And it here it is now – very much alive.
God has given the seed a beautiful new body.
So the answer to our first question, 'how are the dead raised?' is: God gives them a new body.
But what about the second question? What kind of Body will we get when we're raised from the dead?
The simple answer is: a body that's just right for life in heaven.
So in v39, Paul reminds people that not all creatures have the same bodies:
So, we have a human body, and a stick insect body, and a gecko, and a hamster (children had brought in their pets, and we showed them via video-link on the screen).
Each body is just right for that particular animal's situation – the human body is not good for living in small twigs and leaves.
The gecko hates sand, but loves hard dry rocks – and his feet are specially designed for climbing up walls and rocks.
But hamsters love sand, and they love to burrow – so their feet are perfect for digging.
Animals are perfectly suited to where they live.
In the same way, God will give us a body just right for heaven – so it won't be the same as this body – this body is just right for life here & now. The new body will be different.
Then Paul illustrates his point by looking at the planets, sun, moon, & stars.
The earth has one kind of greatness, and the heavenly bodies – the sun, moon & stars – have another kind of greatness.
In fact, even the heavenly bodies are all different – the sun … the moon... and the stars.
God is able to create all kinds of different bodies – each one suitable for its job – the sun to give warmth & light; the moon to control the tides; the stars to guide the travellers of old.
And so it will be at the resurrection, says Paul, in vv42-43.
And he lists how this body is different from the body we'll have in heaven:
This body is sown perishable, in dishonour, in weakness, a natural body.
The resurrection body will be raised imperishable, in glory, in power, a spiritual body.
This body is perfectly suited to this temporary life – to a life which, sooner or later, ends in death.
But the Christian will be given a new body suitable for heaven – a life which will never end.
And in the following paragraph, Paul goes on to explain that this body, this life, is just like Adam's – affected by sin and under God's wrath, it gets old, wears out and dies.
But our resurrection body & life will be just like Jesus – the man from heaven. In heaven, we won't sin and God won't ever be angry with us. And our bodies will be full of the power of the Spirit and the glory of Jesus.
So if you've ever wondered what your body will be like in heaven, the answer is... well, your body will be... different, like Jesus, and so perfectly suited for living in the new heavens and the new earth.
Friday 30 April 2010
Friday 23 April 2010
Who to vote for?
As a Christian committed to working out Biblical values in every area of life deciding how to vote is very difficult. Here are some principles, but no one party fulfils them all, so there has to be an element of compromise.
First, as Christians, we are called to love God with heart, soul and mind. So our freedom to worship and obey God is crucial. Which party will best uphold this freedom?
Second, we're called to love our neighbour as ourself. So we shouldn't be choosing where to put our cross on the basis of which party will make me richest. Rather, since God has a bias to the poor, we should vote for the party which best supports those who, for no fault of their own, find themselves at the bottom of the heap. This may mean voting for the party that gives most by way of tax credits and the like, or the party that taxes the poor least, or the party which encourages enterprise so that the poor are employed. This is a tough choice!
Third, Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations. Which party will best defend our freedom to proclaim Christ as the only way to God? Do any of the parties want to close church schools? Will churches be allowed to continue as charities?
Fourth, though we must always remember that Christianity is not primarily about morality but about relationship with Christ, it's also true that we need to work for what's best for individuals and for society. Upholding God's moral standards will improve society, so questions of abortion and embryo research, euthanasia and assisted suicide, sexual morality and marriage are very important. Which party will be best in this arena?
Fifth, I think we should place special emphasis on children. The scientific evidence is quite clear that children who are brought up by married parents do better in nearly every sphere of life than those who are not. All three main parties deny or ignore this evidence. Their mantra is, 'stable families of all sorts'. But families where the parents are not married are not as stable as when they're married (see Cohabitation in the 21st Century). So which party will encourage marriage? Which party will encourage mothers not to rush back to employment, but to do the most important work and to fulfil the most valuable role of bringing up children? Who will dare to say that parenting is more important than earning money? Sadly, on this point, I doubt that anyone will. (Please note, this does not mean that children of single parents are "stigmatised", any more than children of smokers are stigmatised. Smoking harms children. So does family breakdown. We need to face the truth and work for children, not unfounded political dogma).
Finally, we must exclude any party that is racist, and the fact that the BNP only changed its 'whites only' membership rule because it was forced to by the courts means that this party is ruled out for Christians.
For further information about biblical principles and about the parties go to the Christian Institute or Be Thinking websites. Both have excellent articles.
First, as Christians, we are called to love God with heart, soul and mind. So our freedom to worship and obey God is crucial. Which party will best uphold this freedom?
Second, we're called to love our neighbour as ourself. So we shouldn't be choosing where to put our cross on the basis of which party will make me richest. Rather, since God has a bias to the poor, we should vote for the party which best supports those who, for no fault of their own, find themselves at the bottom of the heap. This may mean voting for the party that gives most by way of tax credits and the like, or the party that taxes the poor least, or the party which encourages enterprise so that the poor are employed. This is a tough choice!
Third, Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations. Which party will best defend our freedom to proclaim Christ as the only way to God? Do any of the parties want to close church schools? Will churches be allowed to continue as charities?
Fourth, though we must always remember that Christianity is not primarily about morality but about relationship with Christ, it's also true that we need to work for what's best for individuals and for society. Upholding God's moral standards will improve society, so questions of abortion and embryo research, euthanasia and assisted suicide, sexual morality and marriage are very important. Which party will be best in this arena?
Fifth, I think we should place special emphasis on children. The scientific evidence is quite clear that children who are brought up by married parents do better in nearly every sphere of life than those who are not. All three main parties deny or ignore this evidence. Their mantra is, 'stable families of all sorts'. But families where the parents are not married are not as stable as when they're married (see Cohabitation in the 21st Century). So which party will encourage marriage? Which party will encourage mothers not to rush back to employment, but to do the most important work and to fulfil the most valuable role of bringing up children? Who will dare to say that parenting is more important than earning money? Sadly, on this point, I doubt that anyone will. (Please note, this does not mean that children of single parents are "stigmatised", any more than children of smokers are stigmatised. Smoking harms children. So does family breakdown. We need to face the truth and work for children, not unfounded political dogma).
Finally, we must exclude any party that is racist, and the fact that the BNP only changed its 'whites only' membership rule because it was forced to by the courts means that this party is ruled out for Christians.
For further information about biblical principles and about the parties go to the Christian Institute or Be Thinking websites. Both have excellent articles.
Tuesday 20 April 2010
The resurrection makes a difference now
1 Corinthians 15:12-34
You know, I'm always amazed how few people are prepared to check out the claims of Christianity – especially the resurrection of Jesus.
Having been ordained now almost 16 years, I've met with hundreds and hundreds of people to plan a relative's funeral.
For most of them, there's some vague assumption that, because Auntie Joan never did anyone any harm, or because Uncle Fred never had a bad word to say about anyone (except the referee and the groundsman in the Spurs – Portsmouth game last week) – because they were basically nice people – they deserve to be in a better place after death.
But this belief has no foundation – not a shred of evidence to support it. It's simply wishful thinking.
And yet, if only they'd look, they'd find that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is rock solid.
As Paul writes at the beginning of this chapter – Jesus died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the 3rd day. All this was foretold in the OT.
And Jesus appeared to many people – to Peter, to the rest of the apostles, to over 500 people at one time, most of whom were still living when Paul wrote this letter.
And Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, and turned him round from being a murderer of Christians to a preacher of Christ.
And, of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to evidence – an iceberg of evidence which is not melting as time goes by, but rather growing as knowledge about ancient manuscripts and archaeology increases.
But there have always been people who are unwilling to accept the resurrection of Jesus.
Why is that?
It's because of the consequences of Jesus' resurrection how we live now, and what happens when we die. Consequences which most people don't want to face up to.
But we'll come to that in a while. First, Paul shows us that there are consequences if Jesus did not rise from the dead.
Denying the resurrection is no new thing. There have always been people who tried to deny that Jesus rose again:
Within days of his resurrection, the chief priests and elders of the Jewish community bribed the Roman guards to say that the disciples had stolen Jesus' body.
20 years later, as Paul writes to the Corinthian Church, some of them are claiming there's no resurrection. 15:12f.
In the 1980's it was David Jenkins, the Bishop of Durham, who caused a storm by denying that Jesus had physically risen.
But, says Paul, there are 5 consequences if Jesus was not raised:
1.Our preaching is useless and witness is false vv14-15
“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless”, Paul writes in v14, and then in v15, he goes on, “More than that, we are found to be false witnesses about God.”
So if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, my preaching is useless i.e. powerless. It won't change anyone's life, it won't bring life or forgiveness or true hope.
In fact, it's worse than that, v15, it's a pack of lies. Peter & Paul, James & John were liars. I'm a liar. And Jesus was a liar, because he himself said that he would die and after 3 days be raised.
2.Your faith in Christ is futile v17
“If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile” - worthless. In fact, it's worse than useless because faith in Jesus brings you all kinds of trouble and difficulty as we'll see in a moment.
3.You are still in your sins v17
“If Christ has not been raised from the dead... you are still in your sins.”
The resurrection proved that Jesus death was acceptable to God as full payment for our sin and guilt.
If Jesus did not rise, his death was not accepted by God – in fact if Jesus stayed dead, then he must have been punished for his own sin – he was no different from the rest of us, and wasn't the 'full, perfect and sufficient' sacrifice for our sins.
And if Jesus did not take the just punishment for our sins, then we remain unforgiven. When we die, we will face the just punishment for our sin – hell.
4.Dead Christians are lost v18
If Jesus did not rise, “then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” - they have perished – they died unforgiven and are therefore in hell.
5.We are to be pitied more than anyone else v19
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Paul has given his whole life for Christ – if Christ wasn't raised, if there is no resurrection, then he's wasted his whole life.
The same's true for Sarah and me. If Christ wasn't raised and we're not going to be raised when we die, then we sold our house in Norwich losing £10k for nothing.
We gave up careers as Physiotherapists for nothing.
We work for St Peter's for nothing.
And if Christ wasn't raised from the dead, we all waste our money when we give to the church or mission agencies.
We waste our time when we work on the church building.
We waste our emotional energy when we encourage and love each other.
If Christ did not rise from the dead, we're pathetic. To be pitied by all those “sensible” people who have found “evidence” that Jesus did not rise again.
But, says Paul in v20, 'But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, [and he is] the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also from a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
I once asked a farmer how he knew when the wheat was ready to be harvested.
He showed me how a handful of grain is crushed in a tiny press, and placed in a moisture meter. When the moisture level was just right, harvesting began.
That handful of grain was his firstfruits – the guarantee that the rest of the harvest would be gathered in.
And so Jesus' resurrection is the guarantee of bodily resurrection for all who are united to him by faith.
In vv23-28, Paul explains that Jesus' resurrection was proof that he had power & authority over everything – even over death itself.
But Jesus' resurrection isn't just some past event that guarantees us a happy future when we die.
I remember leading a Lent Bible study in the Old Vicarage in Heydon, the conversation turned to heaven, and one lady said, 'It's all very well talking about heaven, but some people become so heavenly minded they're of no earthly use'.
Karl Marx, the founder of communism, said that 'religion was the opiate of the people'. What he meant was that because religion gave people hope of a better life after death, their sense were dulled and they couldn't be bothered to change this life.
This idea that confidence in the resurrection could lead people to apathy in this life is unthinkable to Paul.
In fact, the hope of heaven lead Paul to a life of risk-taking and danger for the sake of those he met, and he explains this in vv29-34.
But he begins with one of the most opaque verses in the whole of the NT: v29
What is this all about? We don't really know for sure!
The best guess is that there was a group of people who would be baptised on behalf of people who had died, in the hope that it would benefit them in some way.
It's not that Paul agrees with this practice, he just notes that it happens, and says, 'This is what some people do because they believe in the resurrection of the dead.'
He then goes on, in vv30-34, to show what he does as a result of his belief in the resurrection.
And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained?
If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your shame.
And so belief in the resurrection leads us to do two things:
1.Take risks for the sake of others
2.Stop sinning
And it's these consequences that stop people from investigating the claims of Christ.
People don't want to stop sinning. They don't want to stop being immoral.
And they don't want to have to love others if that means putting their own lifestyle at risk.
And, because they have no real hope of the resurrection, this is not surprising – their philosophy is 'Let us eat & drink, for tomorrow we die'.
Since they have no real hope of eternal life, they just have to make the most of this life because this is all there is.
So for the non-Christian, life doesn't get any better than this. And he's not prepared to risk this life's pleasures.
But for the Christian, who knows he will be raised to eternity with Christ, life doesn't get any worse than this.
Do you remember the song that was played following Tony Blair's 1997 election victory? 'Things can only get better'.
Now, whether Britain is better now than it was 13 years ago may be debatable, but there's no question at all that, because Christ was raised from the dead, we know that everything can only get better for us as Christians.
And that's why Paul is prepared to put himself in danger for the sake of others, and why he does everything he can to live a godly life.
And this is what the Corinthians needed to hear.
They were living for today – as if this life was all there was:
in Chapters 1-3, we hear about them boasting & quarrelling about which church leader was the most powerful & impressive speaker.
in ch 4, they were boasting about their wealth and power.
in ch 5, they were proud of their sexual freedoms which meant they were more immoral than the world around them.
in ch 6, we read about them suing each other in court.
in ch 11, the rich Christians are getting drunk and eating all the food, leaving their poor brothers & sisters with nothing.
And so on and on.
These Corinthian Christians had stopped believing in the resurrection. The inevitable result is that they were living entirely for the pleasures of this life – sleeping around, getting drunk, boasting, quarrelling, spending on themselves.
And they laughed at Paul because he suffered as he gave his life to bring the hope of eternal life to others.
But Paul knows that this life is not all there is. So he's prepared to take risks in loving others and sharing the great news of Jesus' death & resurrection.
So, in 2 Corinthians, he says, “Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” “Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!”
Knowledge of the resurrection leads us to a life of risk-taking, danger and sacrificial love.
It leads us to fulfil the great commandments – to love God with all that we are, and to love others as ourselves – whatever the cost in this life.
It leads us to fulfil the great commission – to make disciples of all nations – whatever the cost in this life.
This is the effect of believing in the resurrection: we have such certainty about the future, and such joy in our present hope, that we're able to make real sacrifices for the sake of others.
We're able to go without so that gospel work can grow and prosper.
We're willing to risk losing our job if it means honouring and obeying Christ.
We'll sacrifice our immediate lusts and passions, and stop sinning because we know there are far greater pleasures to come.
We'll do all this now because we know that there is no greater joy than seeing Christ face-to-face, living with him and being like him forever.
And we won't want to lose him for the sake of momentary pleasure now.
You know, I'm always amazed how few people are prepared to check out the claims of Christianity – especially the resurrection of Jesus.
Having been ordained now almost 16 years, I've met with hundreds and hundreds of people to plan a relative's funeral.
For most of them, there's some vague assumption that, because Auntie Joan never did anyone any harm, or because Uncle Fred never had a bad word to say about anyone (except the referee and the groundsman in the Spurs – Portsmouth game last week) – because they were basically nice people – they deserve to be in a better place after death.
But this belief has no foundation – not a shred of evidence to support it. It's simply wishful thinking.
And yet, if only they'd look, they'd find that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is rock solid.
As Paul writes at the beginning of this chapter – Jesus died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the 3rd day. All this was foretold in the OT.
And Jesus appeared to many people – to Peter, to the rest of the apostles, to over 500 people at one time, most of whom were still living when Paul wrote this letter.
And Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, and turned him round from being a murderer of Christians to a preacher of Christ.
And, of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to evidence – an iceberg of evidence which is not melting as time goes by, but rather growing as knowledge about ancient manuscripts and archaeology increases.
But there have always been people who are unwilling to accept the resurrection of Jesus.
Why is that?
It's because of the consequences of Jesus' resurrection how we live now, and what happens when we die. Consequences which most people don't want to face up to.
But we'll come to that in a while. First, Paul shows us that there are consequences if Jesus did not rise from the dead.
Denying the resurrection is no new thing. There have always been people who tried to deny that Jesus rose again:
Within days of his resurrection, the chief priests and elders of the Jewish community bribed the Roman guards to say that the disciples had stolen Jesus' body.
20 years later, as Paul writes to the Corinthian Church, some of them are claiming there's no resurrection. 15:12f.
In the 1980's it was David Jenkins, the Bishop of Durham, who caused a storm by denying that Jesus had physically risen.
But, says Paul, there are 5 consequences if Jesus was not raised:
1.Our preaching is useless and witness is false vv14-15
“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless”, Paul writes in v14, and then in v15, he goes on, “More than that, we are found to be false witnesses about God.”
So if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, my preaching is useless i.e. powerless. It won't change anyone's life, it won't bring life or forgiveness or true hope.
In fact, it's worse than that, v15, it's a pack of lies. Peter & Paul, James & John were liars. I'm a liar. And Jesus was a liar, because he himself said that he would die and after 3 days be raised.
2.Your faith in Christ is futile v17
“If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile” - worthless. In fact, it's worse than useless because faith in Jesus brings you all kinds of trouble and difficulty as we'll see in a moment.
3.You are still in your sins v17
“If Christ has not been raised from the dead... you are still in your sins.”
The resurrection proved that Jesus death was acceptable to God as full payment for our sin and guilt.
If Jesus did not rise, his death was not accepted by God – in fact if Jesus stayed dead, then he must have been punished for his own sin – he was no different from the rest of us, and wasn't the 'full, perfect and sufficient' sacrifice for our sins.
And if Jesus did not take the just punishment for our sins, then we remain unforgiven. When we die, we will face the just punishment for our sin – hell.
4.Dead Christians are lost v18
If Jesus did not rise, “then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” - they have perished – they died unforgiven and are therefore in hell.
5.We are to be pitied more than anyone else v19
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Paul has given his whole life for Christ – if Christ wasn't raised, if there is no resurrection, then he's wasted his whole life.
The same's true for Sarah and me. If Christ wasn't raised and we're not going to be raised when we die, then we sold our house in Norwich losing £10k for nothing.
We gave up careers as Physiotherapists for nothing.
We work for St Peter's for nothing.
And if Christ wasn't raised from the dead, we all waste our money when we give to the church or mission agencies.
We waste our time when we work on the church building.
We waste our emotional energy when we encourage and love each other.
If Christ did not rise from the dead, we're pathetic. To be pitied by all those “sensible” people who have found “evidence” that Jesus did not rise again.
But, says Paul in v20, 'But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, [and he is] the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also from a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
I once asked a farmer how he knew when the wheat was ready to be harvested.
He showed me how a handful of grain is crushed in a tiny press, and placed in a moisture meter. When the moisture level was just right, harvesting began.
That handful of grain was his firstfruits – the guarantee that the rest of the harvest would be gathered in.
And so Jesus' resurrection is the guarantee of bodily resurrection for all who are united to him by faith.
In vv23-28, Paul explains that Jesus' resurrection was proof that he had power & authority over everything – even over death itself.
But Jesus' resurrection isn't just some past event that guarantees us a happy future when we die.
I remember leading a Lent Bible study in the Old Vicarage in Heydon, the conversation turned to heaven, and one lady said, 'It's all very well talking about heaven, but some people become so heavenly minded they're of no earthly use'.
Karl Marx, the founder of communism, said that 'religion was the opiate of the people'. What he meant was that because religion gave people hope of a better life after death, their sense were dulled and they couldn't be bothered to change this life.
This idea that confidence in the resurrection could lead people to apathy in this life is unthinkable to Paul.
In fact, the hope of heaven lead Paul to a life of risk-taking and danger for the sake of those he met, and he explains this in vv29-34.
But he begins with one of the most opaque verses in the whole of the NT: v29
What is this all about? We don't really know for sure!
The best guess is that there was a group of people who would be baptised on behalf of people who had died, in the hope that it would benefit them in some way.
It's not that Paul agrees with this practice, he just notes that it happens, and says, 'This is what some people do because they believe in the resurrection of the dead.'
He then goes on, in vv30-34, to show what he does as a result of his belief in the resurrection.
And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained?
If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your shame.
And so belief in the resurrection leads us to do two things:
1.Take risks for the sake of others
2.Stop sinning
And it's these consequences that stop people from investigating the claims of Christ.
People don't want to stop sinning. They don't want to stop being immoral.
And they don't want to have to love others if that means putting their own lifestyle at risk.
And, because they have no real hope of the resurrection, this is not surprising – their philosophy is 'Let us eat & drink, for tomorrow we die'.
Since they have no real hope of eternal life, they just have to make the most of this life because this is all there is.
So for the non-Christian, life doesn't get any better than this. And he's not prepared to risk this life's pleasures.
But for the Christian, who knows he will be raised to eternity with Christ, life doesn't get any worse than this.
Do you remember the song that was played following Tony Blair's 1997 election victory? 'Things can only get better'.
Now, whether Britain is better now than it was 13 years ago may be debatable, but there's no question at all that, because Christ was raised from the dead, we know that everything can only get better for us as Christians.
And that's why Paul is prepared to put himself in danger for the sake of others, and why he does everything he can to live a godly life.
And this is what the Corinthians needed to hear.
They were living for today – as if this life was all there was:
in Chapters 1-3, we hear about them boasting & quarrelling about which church leader was the most powerful & impressive speaker.
in ch 4, they were boasting about their wealth and power.
in ch 5, they were proud of their sexual freedoms which meant they were more immoral than the world around them.
in ch 6, we read about them suing each other in court.
in ch 11, the rich Christians are getting drunk and eating all the food, leaving their poor brothers & sisters with nothing.
And so on and on.
These Corinthian Christians had stopped believing in the resurrection. The inevitable result is that they were living entirely for the pleasures of this life – sleeping around, getting drunk, boasting, quarrelling, spending on themselves.
And they laughed at Paul because he suffered as he gave his life to bring the hope of eternal life to others.
But Paul knows that this life is not all there is. So he's prepared to take risks in loving others and sharing the great news of Jesus' death & resurrection.
So, in 2 Corinthians, he says, “Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” “Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!”
Knowledge of the resurrection leads us to a life of risk-taking, danger and sacrificial love.
It leads us to fulfil the great commandments – to love God with all that we are, and to love others as ourselves – whatever the cost in this life.
It leads us to fulfil the great commission – to make disciples of all nations – whatever the cost in this life.
This is the effect of believing in the resurrection: we have such certainty about the future, and such joy in our present hope, that we're able to make real sacrifices for the sake of others.
We're able to go without so that gospel work can grow and prosper.
We're willing to risk losing our job if it means honouring and obeying Christ.
We'll sacrifice our immediate lusts and passions, and stop sinning because we know there are far greater pleasures to come.
We'll do all this now because we know that there is no greater joy than seeing Christ face-to-face, living with him and being like him forever.
And we won't want to lose him for the sake of momentary pleasure now.
Sunday 11 April 2010
Can we know the truth about Jesus?
Since Christianity stands or falls with the historical person and works of Jesus, we need to know the truth about him. People like Dan Brown (DaVinci Code) and Philip Pullman are trying their best to undermine any historical basis for believing in Jesus by writing fictional accounts of Jesus and the early church.
So whether you're unsure about the real Jesus, or want to be able to answer those who challenge you, this day conference is for you:
The Bible And Church Conference on Saturday 12 June at St Helen's, Bishopsgate
10am - 4.15pm
"The Evidence of Eyewitnesses" Dr Peter Williams
"The Evidence of Manuscripts" Dr Dirk Jonkind
"The Evidence of History" Dr Simon Gathercole
See the website for bookings:
http://www.bibleandchurch.com/
So whether you're unsure about the real Jesus, or want to be able to answer those who challenge you, this day conference is for you:
The Bible And Church Conference on Saturday 12 June at St Helen's, Bishopsgate
10am - 4.15pm
"The Evidence of Eyewitnesses" Dr Peter Williams
"The Evidence of Manuscripts" Dr Dirk Jonkind
"The Evidence of History" Dr Simon Gathercole
See the website for bookings:
http://www.bibleandchurch.com/
Friday 9 April 2010
Neil R's sermon
A number of people have asked for a transcript of Neil R's sermon from our Passion for Life guest service. Neil has kindly agreed, so here it is:
Bible stories often come in pairs:
Two creation narratives
Joseph and Potiphar’s wife: Judah and Tamar.
Dry ground in the Red Sea: water gushing from a rock in the desert.
David and Absalom: David and Ittai.
Paired parables, sometimes parables and miracles together
Herod’s banquet, Jesus feeding the 5,000.
In our readings today we have a couplet of stories in which two conversations are recorded side by side.
A Pharisee and a Samaritan Woman:
The Pharisees get a bad press as an elite of hypocritical, self-righteous bigots. They were certainly in constant conflict with Jesus and before St Paul got converted, he was a Pharisee busy stoning Stephen and breathing threats and murder against the believers. But in their culture they were well respected as devout, pious and godly men. Nicodemas, a member of the ruling elite, a man of power (although subject to Rome), influence and reputation comes to Jesus in the middle of the night, doubtless to protect his reputation.
The nameless woman, a Samaritan woman, meets him at mid-day. She has no reputation to protect; on husband number 5, her name was already shredded. She is an outcast among a despised caste of society. The exact origin of the Samaritans is obscure, but it seems that after the Assyrians conquered the northern tribes in about 720BC and took them captive, that other subjugated people were brought in. They felt the need to placate what they thought were the gods of their new land and mixed Judaism with a variety of other pagan practices and produced a hybrid religion. This was then a half-caste people with a half baked religion.
If you were to try and see the two ends of near-eastern society these would be it. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans had been going on for centuries; pure bred and half-cast, orthodox and heterodox. Just a few years before these conversations the relations between Jews and Samaritans had been further soured by the destruction of the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerazim by John Hyrcanus and the desecration of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by Samaritans spreading human bones.
The Jews and the Samaritans really hated each other and their spite was legendary. When the Jewish authorities wanted to insult Jesus they called him demon possessed, a Samaritan. When Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan, His audience could not even bring themselves to use the word. These two stories form a pair; Jesus in conversation with the devout and the down and out, at the Garrick and at a Greasy Spoon, Harrods and Mencap, the Ritz and a Night Shelter, Mother Teresa and Paris Hilton, Norman Tebbit and Arthur Scargill.
A man at mid-night and a woman at mid-day
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night
He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
No street lights, Roman curfews, robbers at large and Jesus meets up with a senior politician who does not want to be seen with Him. Jesus is not offended, by the implicit insult. Jesus does not say, “So, you chicken, afraid to come and see me in day light eh? You would not want to find your picture in the Jerusalem Post with me now, would you?” No, Jesus enters into a deep discussion about the nature of identity, life and birth. A midnight encounter with His political opponent and He seeks no humiliating political capital, but treats him fairly and squarely.
No shade and the noon-day sun is beating down at the town well. Why does this woman come at such a crazy time? Her domestic disarray means she would not dare show her face at the well when respectable women would be there in the cool of the morning or the evening. She is the easy girl of Sychar and by the well stands a Jewish rabbi. Don’t miss the cultural innuendo here; Moses met his wife at a well, Isaac’s wife Rebecca was courted and found at the well. Let me read you P53 from Essad Bey:
Jesus is putting Himself in a very compromised situation here, open to all kinds of misinterpretation, but He does not send her away with any insults, nor does He abuse her in any way, but rather speaks to her with the deepest respect. This catches her quite off balance. The Mishnah says; “Engage not in too much conversation with women. They said this with regard to one's own wife, how much more [does the rule apply] with regard to another man's wife. Hence have the sages said: As long as a man engages in too much conversation with women, he causes evil to Himself, [for] he goes idle from [the study of] the words of the torah, so that his end will be that he will inherit gehinnom.”
Just observe His careful respect for the politician and the party girl. There is no side to this Saviour, just a deep longing for people of all parts of the social spectrum to come to salvation. Both desire it, both are deeply in need of this saviour.
Both recognised Jesus was someone special
Nicodemas said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
“Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”
Somewhere, deep down inside they both perceived that this Jesus was someone special. They had observed His actions and His words and recognised at least something divine about Him. When you look at the Gospel records, it is very hard to escape CS Lewis’s conclusion that He was either a lunatic, a liar or really was the Lord He claimed to be. You may have a sneaking admiration for Jesus, but do not damn Him with faint praise. Look at the evidence.
A lunatic might claim to be God, but does not generally win the deep affection and devotion of personal friends and large crowds. A lunatic might claim to be immortal, but cannot convince his family of his psychosis. A fraudster and a liar may trick a few people into allegiance, but not those who have been his daily companions for three years and who have seen him in all the situations life can throw up, including death. No-one is willing to die for a con artist. No man is a hero to his valet.
No, this Pharisee and this floozy both knew they had met someone very special.
New life within
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
He talks to one of new birth and to the other of a new source of life. He is not contradicting Himself, simply presenting the same truth in different ways. What you call life now, for one power for the other promiscuity, needs to be replaced with something new and eternal. When we seek meaning in the passing things of this life, prestige and passion, we find out so very quickly how they turn to dust and ashes in our hands, smoke in our eyes and to grit in our teeth. We need new birth, because we are all too well aware of the transience of this life. We need fresh water, because we all know how stagnant and bitter is the ditch we are drinking from.
In these conversations, Jesus only makes an oblique reference to His impending death; “like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness”. But from this side of the cross we see that it is by His death and in His resurrection that God’s justice is satisfied, God’s love is declared, our sins are removed, our debt is cancelled, our slavery is abolished, death is broken, Satan is defeated and we find eternal life, new birth in the One that death could not hold. It is by His Holy Spirit that springs of living water bubble up from inside us. No more lowering the bucket of our soul into some stagnant well, but rather an insuppressible soul spring, fed by eternal currents of holiness, spills over into eternal life that starts now.
Literalist misunderstanding
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”
“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Was it just an obtuse misunderstanding, or were they doing what we all do when we hear something we do not want to engage with, find some fault with the apparent logic and take a detour. I can’t follow a Messiah who demands I pluck out my eye or cut off my hand. I can’t believe in a Saviour who tells me to hate my parents. I can’t put my trust in a God-man who says I must pick up my cross. And we hide behind deliberate misunderstandings and literalist readings so that we do not allow the truth to penetrate our defences.
What obstacles we pick up and place in front of the gate of heaven to trip us up and bar our way in. Jesus, cuts right to the chase with both of them.
Jesus points out their ignorance
Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
You worship what you do not know;
You might be a banker and He says, “Can’t you figure this out?” You might be a doctor and He says, “Wrong diagnosis, sir!” You might be the life and soul of every party and He says, “Are you really enjoying this?” You might have won the lottery and He asks, “Where have you left your soul?” You might have written the Kama Sutra and He says, “The position of true love is washing the feet of those who will betray you.”
Spiritual worship
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth”
When I got married to Lucy, I said “with my body, I thee worship”. I was giving up my claim to physical, financial, emotional and every other form of autonomy. I was giving up my rights, I was being willingly captured and putting myself at the disposal of this person whom I adore. I was saying that I wanted there to be no veils of decency or deception behind which to hide. I was inviting her to mutual, covenanted disclosure.
Worship is the total giving of one person to another. When we come into a relationship with God, He sees everything, there are no secrets. We pray this prayer; “Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden”
Psalms 139
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
Proverbs 15:11
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD;
how much more the hearts of the children of man!
Hebrews 4:13
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
He sees everything. God wants the worship of our hearts and He wants it to be true devotion; objectively and subjectively true. What do I mean by that?
Objective truth means that He wants accurate, right and verifiable truth to be the source of our worship. Aaron made a golden calf and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” It was worship, but the object of their worship was not based in truth. How easy it is for us to exchange the God who made heaven and earth, the eternal Spirit, with some material counterfeit. He says to this woman at the well, “you worship what you do not know” and the common substitutes are people, prosperity, pleasure and power. How easy it is to exchange the truth for a lie.
Subjective truth means a right and accurate self-appraisal. Jesus told the story of a Pharisee and a tax-collector going up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee full of self-addicted conceit praised God that He was not like other men. The tax-collector would not lift his eyes to heaven, but rather groaned out that the Lord would have mercy on him a sinner. The taxman’s worship arose out of truth, an accurate self-assessment; the Pharisee’s out of a lie.
Our worship must come out of a true perception of God and a true assessment of ourselves, but it must also be in spirit. It is difficult to know whether this is spirit with a capital S or a small s. But probably both are true. God is deeply concerned about the orientation of our hearts, not the orientation of our prayer mat. God is deeply concerned about the purity of your soul, not the cut of your suit, the state of your heart, not the length of your skirt, your spiritual account rather than your bank account. He wants to infuse our spirits with His Holy Spirit so that our worship can be pure and holy and acceptable and what He wants it to be.
When God created humankind, He made them in His own likeness and breathed His Spirit into them. When God recreates us, He turns us ever more into the likeness of the Lord Jesus and breathes His Spirit into us
This Saviour meets people at all points of the social spectrum with respect
This Saviour offers new birth, He offers living water.
This Saviour confronts our ignorance and confusion
This Saviour sees right into the deep recesses of our beings
This Saviour offers eternal life
This Saviour demands true and spiritual worship
I don’t know where you are between these two stories, between midnight and mid-day, between the Pharisee and the floozy, between respectability and disgrace. But Jesus knows, Jesus sees right through your disguises, Jesus meets you with respect and with devastating and penetrating truth, Jesus invites you to new life and to receive from Him inner spring of eternal life, Jesus wants you to worship the Father in Spirit and truth.
There is a beautiful old prayer of David and it goes like this:
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my anxious thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
If you want this new birth, this spring of eternal life, then pray it after me and come and see Mike or me and tell us what you have done. If you are not yet ready to pray this prayer, then sign up for Simply Christianity and dig deeper. If you know the Lord, but have been hiding behind a few fig-leaves of late, then let Him back in; you haven’t fooled Him one bit.
Thank you for inviting us to be with you this weekend. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have.
Bible stories often come in pairs:
Two creation narratives
Joseph and Potiphar’s wife: Judah and Tamar.
Dry ground in the Red Sea: water gushing from a rock in the desert.
David and Absalom: David and Ittai.
Paired parables, sometimes parables and miracles together
Herod’s banquet, Jesus feeding the 5,000.
In our readings today we have a couplet of stories in which two conversations are recorded side by side.
A Pharisee and a Samaritan Woman:
The Pharisees get a bad press as an elite of hypocritical, self-righteous bigots. They were certainly in constant conflict with Jesus and before St Paul got converted, he was a Pharisee busy stoning Stephen and breathing threats and murder against the believers. But in their culture they were well respected as devout, pious and godly men. Nicodemas, a member of the ruling elite, a man of power (although subject to Rome), influence and reputation comes to Jesus in the middle of the night, doubtless to protect his reputation.
The nameless woman, a Samaritan woman, meets him at mid-day. She has no reputation to protect; on husband number 5, her name was already shredded. She is an outcast among a despised caste of society. The exact origin of the Samaritans is obscure, but it seems that after the Assyrians conquered the northern tribes in about 720BC and took them captive, that other subjugated people were brought in. They felt the need to placate what they thought were the gods of their new land and mixed Judaism with a variety of other pagan practices and produced a hybrid religion. This was then a half-caste people with a half baked religion.
If you were to try and see the two ends of near-eastern society these would be it. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans had been going on for centuries; pure bred and half-cast, orthodox and heterodox. Just a few years before these conversations the relations between Jews and Samaritans had been further soured by the destruction of the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerazim by John Hyrcanus and the desecration of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by Samaritans spreading human bones.
The Jews and the Samaritans really hated each other and their spite was legendary. When the Jewish authorities wanted to insult Jesus they called him demon possessed, a Samaritan. When Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan, His audience could not even bring themselves to use the word. These two stories form a pair; Jesus in conversation with the devout and the down and out, at the Garrick and at a Greasy Spoon, Harrods and Mencap, the Ritz and a Night Shelter, Mother Teresa and Paris Hilton, Norman Tebbit and Arthur Scargill.
A man at mid-night and a woman at mid-day
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night
He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
No street lights, Roman curfews, robbers at large and Jesus meets up with a senior politician who does not want to be seen with Him. Jesus is not offended, by the implicit insult. Jesus does not say, “So, you chicken, afraid to come and see me in day light eh? You would not want to find your picture in the Jerusalem Post with me now, would you?” No, Jesus enters into a deep discussion about the nature of identity, life and birth. A midnight encounter with His political opponent and He seeks no humiliating political capital, but treats him fairly and squarely.
No shade and the noon-day sun is beating down at the town well. Why does this woman come at such a crazy time? Her domestic disarray means she would not dare show her face at the well when respectable women would be there in the cool of the morning or the evening. She is the easy girl of Sychar and by the well stands a Jewish rabbi. Don’t miss the cultural innuendo here; Moses met his wife at a well, Isaac’s wife Rebecca was courted and found at the well. Let me read you P53 from Essad Bey:
Jesus is putting Himself in a very compromised situation here, open to all kinds of misinterpretation, but He does not send her away with any insults, nor does He abuse her in any way, but rather speaks to her with the deepest respect. This catches her quite off balance. The Mishnah says; “Engage not in too much conversation with women. They said this with regard to one's own wife, how much more [does the rule apply] with regard to another man's wife. Hence have the sages said: As long as a man engages in too much conversation with women, he causes evil to Himself, [for] he goes idle from [the study of] the words of the torah, so that his end will be that he will inherit gehinnom.”
Just observe His careful respect for the politician and the party girl. There is no side to this Saviour, just a deep longing for people of all parts of the social spectrum to come to salvation. Both desire it, both are deeply in need of this saviour.
Both recognised Jesus was someone special
Nicodemas said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
“Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”
Somewhere, deep down inside they both perceived that this Jesus was someone special. They had observed His actions and His words and recognised at least something divine about Him. When you look at the Gospel records, it is very hard to escape CS Lewis’s conclusion that He was either a lunatic, a liar or really was the Lord He claimed to be. You may have a sneaking admiration for Jesus, but do not damn Him with faint praise. Look at the evidence.
A lunatic might claim to be God, but does not generally win the deep affection and devotion of personal friends and large crowds. A lunatic might claim to be immortal, but cannot convince his family of his psychosis. A fraudster and a liar may trick a few people into allegiance, but not those who have been his daily companions for three years and who have seen him in all the situations life can throw up, including death. No-one is willing to die for a con artist. No man is a hero to his valet.
No, this Pharisee and this floozy both knew they had met someone very special.
New life within
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
He talks to one of new birth and to the other of a new source of life. He is not contradicting Himself, simply presenting the same truth in different ways. What you call life now, for one power for the other promiscuity, needs to be replaced with something new and eternal. When we seek meaning in the passing things of this life, prestige and passion, we find out so very quickly how they turn to dust and ashes in our hands, smoke in our eyes and to grit in our teeth. We need new birth, because we are all too well aware of the transience of this life. We need fresh water, because we all know how stagnant and bitter is the ditch we are drinking from.
In these conversations, Jesus only makes an oblique reference to His impending death; “like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness”. But from this side of the cross we see that it is by His death and in His resurrection that God’s justice is satisfied, God’s love is declared, our sins are removed, our debt is cancelled, our slavery is abolished, death is broken, Satan is defeated and we find eternal life, new birth in the One that death could not hold. It is by His Holy Spirit that springs of living water bubble up from inside us. No more lowering the bucket of our soul into some stagnant well, but rather an insuppressible soul spring, fed by eternal currents of holiness, spills over into eternal life that starts now.
Literalist misunderstanding
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”
“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Was it just an obtuse misunderstanding, or were they doing what we all do when we hear something we do not want to engage with, find some fault with the apparent logic and take a detour. I can’t follow a Messiah who demands I pluck out my eye or cut off my hand. I can’t believe in a Saviour who tells me to hate my parents. I can’t put my trust in a God-man who says I must pick up my cross. And we hide behind deliberate misunderstandings and literalist readings so that we do not allow the truth to penetrate our defences.
What obstacles we pick up and place in front of the gate of heaven to trip us up and bar our way in. Jesus, cuts right to the chase with both of them.
Jesus points out their ignorance
Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
You worship what you do not know;
You might be a banker and He says, “Can’t you figure this out?” You might be a doctor and He says, “Wrong diagnosis, sir!” You might be the life and soul of every party and He says, “Are you really enjoying this?” You might have won the lottery and He asks, “Where have you left your soul?” You might have written the Kama Sutra and He says, “The position of true love is washing the feet of those who will betray you.”
Spiritual worship
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth”
When I got married to Lucy, I said “with my body, I thee worship”. I was giving up my claim to physical, financial, emotional and every other form of autonomy. I was giving up my rights, I was being willingly captured and putting myself at the disposal of this person whom I adore. I was saying that I wanted there to be no veils of decency or deception behind which to hide. I was inviting her to mutual, covenanted disclosure.
Worship is the total giving of one person to another. When we come into a relationship with God, He sees everything, there are no secrets. We pray this prayer; “Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden”
Psalms 139
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
Proverbs 15:11
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD;
how much more the hearts of the children of man!
Hebrews 4:13
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
He sees everything. God wants the worship of our hearts and He wants it to be true devotion; objectively and subjectively true. What do I mean by that?
Objective truth means that He wants accurate, right and verifiable truth to be the source of our worship. Aaron made a golden calf and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” It was worship, but the object of their worship was not based in truth. How easy it is for us to exchange the God who made heaven and earth, the eternal Spirit, with some material counterfeit. He says to this woman at the well, “you worship what you do not know” and the common substitutes are people, prosperity, pleasure and power. How easy it is to exchange the truth for a lie.
Subjective truth means a right and accurate self-appraisal. Jesus told the story of a Pharisee and a tax-collector going up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee full of self-addicted conceit praised God that He was not like other men. The tax-collector would not lift his eyes to heaven, but rather groaned out that the Lord would have mercy on him a sinner. The taxman’s worship arose out of truth, an accurate self-assessment; the Pharisee’s out of a lie.
Our worship must come out of a true perception of God and a true assessment of ourselves, but it must also be in spirit. It is difficult to know whether this is spirit with a capital S or a small s. But probably both are true. God is deeply concerned about the orientation of our hearts, not the orientation of our prayer mat. God is deeply concerned about the purity of your soul, not the cut of your suit, the state of your heart, not the length of your skirt, your spiritual account rather than your bank account. He wants to infuse our spirits with His Holy Spirit so that our worship can be pure and holy and acceptable and what He wants it to be.
When God created humankind, He made them in His own likeness and breathed His Spirit into them. When God recreates us, He turns us ever more into the likeness of the Lord Jesus and breathes His Spirit into us
This Saviour meets people at all points of the social spectrum with respect
This Saviour offers new birth, He offers living water.
This Saviour confronts our ignorance and confusion
This Saviour sees right into the deep recesses of our beings
This Saviour offers eternal life
This Saviour demands true and spiritual worship
I don’t know where you are between these two stories, between midnight and mid-day, between the Pharisee and the floozy, between respectability and disgrace. But Jesus knows, Jesus sees right through your disguises, Jesus meets you with respect and with devastating and penetrating truth, Jesus invites you to new life and to receive from Him inner spring of eternal life, Jesus wants you to worship the Father in Spirit and truth.
There is a beautiful old prayer of David and it goes like this:
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my anxious thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
If you want this new birth, this spring of eternal life, then pray it after me and come and see Mike or me and tell us what you have done. If you are not yet ready to pray this prayer, then sign up for Simply Christianity and dig deeper. If you know the Lord, but have been hiding behind a few fig-leaves of late, then let Him back in; you haven’t fooled Him one bit.
Thank you for inviting us to be with you this weekend. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have.
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