Chase after heaven, not after the wind

Ecclesiastes 1:1-13; 2:18-23 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 12:13-21

………………………….

Ecclesiastes. A man sets out to research the world, applying wisdom to everything on earth - and just ends up moaning about it all. But is life as bleak and pointless as he makes it sound? He starts off with a word he’ll use often - useless. Everything is useless, vain, like a vapour. When he talks of life being “useless”, he sometimes means it’s fragile - possessions - and life itself - can be snatched away in a moment. Another phrase he uses is “chasing the wind”. If you run after the wind and try to grab it, you will expend your energy for nothing. Like searching for “a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”, it’s silly. Why would you? 

He describes a lot of things as useless and “chasing the wind”, but I will summarise his words regarding what our lectionary readings compel us to look at. Enjoyment and happiness, when sought through riches. He gained this then realised it was useless. He, a wise man, would end up dying. He had no advantage over a fool. And all this wealth he’d slogged his guts out to gain, he’d have to leave behind. The hard work, the stress, the worry - it would all be for nothing because his successor would get it all and he might be an idiot. People work hard to succeed, but only because they’re envious of their neighbours. People bust a gut to be top dog, but can’t really enjoy it because they might be knocked off their pedestal. Someone might gain more than them so they have to keep working and stressing and fretting. Loving money means you’re never satisfied. Wanting to be rich is a never ending quest, because you’ll never be rich enough. You’ll stay awake at night worrying about getting more or losing what you have. A bad deal or a disaster outside your control and you can lose it all. Better to be content with a little than have a lot and be too stressed to enjoy it. Eat, drink and enjoy what you have, whether much or little - it’s a gift from God, so be grateful. Be satisfied with what you have instead of chasing after bigger, better, faster, more. Keep reminding yourself that death is waiting for you. That’s the end of my summary. 

Is it wrong to have money? I don’t think so. It’s wrong to make money your god or your goal in life. You can’t serve God and money. Money isn’t eternal; God is. It’s not how much you have, it’s what you do with it that counts. Paul wrote to Timothy: “Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share with others. In this way they will store up for themselves a treasure which will be a solid foundation for the future. And then they will be able to win the life which is true life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Are we to envy the rich? No. “It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” (Matthew 19:24) “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10) “You shall not covet your neighbour’s car, house or bank balance.”

Other parts of Ecclesiastes make life sound like a misery. It would be better not to have been born. The good person is no better off than the sinner. Enjoy your life because you’ll be dead a long while. Not things I expect to see in the Bible! Did he actually believe this, because for all his talk about how useless life is, he didn’t exactly suffer persecution or poverty. I can’t help wondering if this book is satire - is he mocking the ungodly attitudes of ungodly people? The person who compiled Ecclesiastes comments at the end, “The sayings of the wise are like the sharp sticks that shepherds use to guide sheep, and collected proverbs are as lasting as firmly driven nails. They have been given by God, the one Shepherd of us all.” (Ecclesiastes 12:11) Is he using the words of ungodly people as a stick to poke them into recognising their own bad attitudes? Is he saying, “Stop and listen to yourselves. This is what you’re like - complaining, murmuring, grumbling - when actually everything is good. You’re ungrateful towards God!” 

Our Gospel reading shows the Lord Jesus doing this. A man in a crowd wants Jesus to tell his brother to share the inheritance his father left them. An apparent case of injustice but, instead of acting as judge, Jesus tells a story which acts as a sharp stick to teach both brothers not to be greedy and that life is more than riches. A rich man had land which bore good crops, so he stored up his harvest, built bigger barns to store more, congratulated himself that he could now take it easy and live in luxury. He says to himself, “Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!” Very much like what we read in Ecclesiastes! But God says he’s a fool and will die that very night and who’ll get all his riches? Again, very much like Ecclesiastes! Here’s the sharp point of the stick: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21, NIV) 

Back to Ecclesiastes. Sure, he states that God has laid a miserable fate on us and laid heavy burdens on us. Yet also, God wants us to eat, drink and enjoy what we’ve earned. God gives knowledge, wisdom and happiness to those who please him. A person who loves God will escape the traps of sin. The whole timetable of the world (and of each individual) is set by God’s will. Whatever God does lasts forever and makes us stand in awe of Him. God is testing us. God will judge us. God is all powerful. God is beyond our understanding. He’s no whiny atheist. He sets his complaints in the context of a world where God is active and to be revered.

The final chapter sums things up. Life is short, so remember God while you’re young. You’ll get old and ill and frail and die. People will mourn your loss. Your body will turn to dust. Your spirit will go back to God, who made it. The author ends, “After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that we were created for. God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret.” (12:13-14) We are to chase God, who is to be obeyed and honoured, not worldly riches, which we can’t take with us when we die.

Our reading from Colossians raises our minds higher. Christ is the reason we don’t seek our fulfilment from this earthly life. “You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!” (3:1-4) We shouldn’t seek satisfaction on earth, but in heaven. Earthly desires such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed, have zero place in the life of Christians. They are among a long list of things we died to - and God hates them. Anger, passion, and hateful feelings, insults, obscene talk and telling lies must go. These don’t belong in the lives of people destined for Heaven. 

Our hearts should be set on heavenly things, not on getting as much world as we can. Our best life isn’t now, but in heaven, where we’ll spend eternity, sharing in the glory of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Chasing worldly wealth and status won’t lead us to Christ. Seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

I want to close with words from a hymn. May this be our experience.

I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining ev'ry day;

Still praying as I’m onward bound,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

I want to scale the utmost height,

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,

“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.”

Amen.

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GOD MAKES THINGS NEW

This talk was based on the passages:
Isaiah 35
Mark 7:24-37

Here’s what the West is like - it’s like people marching the streets with banners, shouting, “What do we want? Everything! When do we want it? Now!” We must get what we want, without delay, or someone will pay. People scream to get their will done. Patience - what’s that? So easily caught up in what’s happening now, we forget the past or future. Instant everything - that’s what we expect. But we’re blind, deaf and lame to the ways and will of God.

Ever since Eve saw that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was pleasing to the eye, humans have become those who want what we shouldn’t want, and God goes out of our thoughts. Gimme gimme gimme - I DESERVE it! We fix our eyes on what we lack and think the Universe doesn’t love us. I also easily lack patience, want every problem sorted straight away, want my will to be done. I have eaten the fruit of the tree. But I don’t blame God. The badness in humanity and in me isn’t God’s fault. He is perfect and gracious. This gives us hope.

I want to start in Isaiah 35. Note the words expressing Israel’s situation: desert, hands that are tired, knees that tremble with weakness; blind, deaf, lame; burning sand, dry land. A place for jackals and lions, a people in need of rescue, sorrowing and grieving. What a mess! But it’s not hopeless, because God comes along with promises. God will make the deserts fertile. God will rescue them and punish their enemies. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap, the dumb will shout for joy. There’ll be a road called Holiness, a place of safety for those who do right, who’ll enter Zion with gladness and joy; forever happy, forever free from sorrow and grief. Did this ever happen in or around Isaiah’s day? Maybe in part.

Fast forward 700 years to our reading from Mark. Any liberation Israel had previously gained was long gone. The Romans were the latest oppressors on the block, who came and squashed their freedom. But the Romans aside, they weren’t free anyway. They were oppressed by evil spirits, by prejudice, by sickness. Deserts come in many forms. In the coming of Jesus the Christ, God’s at work. After 700 years, Isaiah 35 comes to life. “The blind will be able to see, and the deaf will hear. The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy.” When John the Baptist was in prison and doubting if Jesus was the one God had promised to send, Jesus told him, (Luke 7:22-23), “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. How happy are those who have no doubts about me!” Jesus says His miracles and preaching show He’s the expected Christ. “What Isaiah wrote about - yep, that’s me.” That wait is over. He started to make all things new.

What happens in Mark 7? A non-Jewish Canaanite woman (a triple whammy of unworthiness) comes to the Jewish Christ. She sought Him with determination because He wanted to keep a low profile. She fell at His feet, begging Him to drive a demon out of her daughter. Jews considered non-Jews to be defiled rubbish. Jesus acts the part, effectively saying, “I came to save the lost sheep of Israel, not you. When Israel is saved, maybe then I’ll come and heal your daughter. It’s not right for me to give you what belongs to them.” The woman has none of it. She effectively says, “Not everyone in Israel accepts you. And those who do, have the wrong motive. Give me what they rejected.” This faith, courage and tenacity moved Jesus to set her daughter free. Matthew’s version has more detail. To the disciples, she was a nuisance to be gotten rid of. To Jesus, she was a woman of great faith. Her desert started to blossom. Jesus started making all things new. His disciples learned that Jesus will help anyone who asks Him. Come to Jesus and ask for His help; you’re not a nuisance.

Jesus moves on. A deaf man who could hardly speak was brought to Him. No quibbling or testing of faith this time. People begged Jesus to heal him, which He did. The desert for that man began to blossom. Jesus started to make all things new for him. This is just one example. The Gospels give many more. Remember also that Jesus did a lot more which wasn’t written down.

Is there anything else in Isaiah 35 that was fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus?

Verses 3 and 4: Give strength to hands that are tired and to knees that tremble with weakness. Tell everyone who is discouraged, “Be strong and don't be afraid! God is coming to your rescue, coming to punish your enemies.”

Jesus occasionally needed to speak words of encouragement to His disciples. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” (Matt 10:28) “Don't be afraid when you hear of wars and revolutions; such things must happen first, but they do not mean that the end is near.” (Luke 21:9) “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) The apostle Paul builds on this in Romans 8 (35,37): “Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death? No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!” Wow! God has given us victory over many enemies. In the coming of Christ, God judged His enemies, be they death, sickness, humans, the Devil. This may be hard to see, yet we walk by faith. More on that later…

Verse 8 also hints of the first coming of Jesus: There will be a highway there, called “The Road of Holiness.” No sinner will ever travel that road; no fools will mislead those who follow it.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, NIV) Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. And now we believe and know that you are the Holy One who has come from God.” (John 6:68-69) Jesus said, “I have already told you, but you would not believe me. The deeds I do by my Father's authority speak on my behalf; but you will not believe, for you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me. What my Father has given me is greater than everything, and no one can snatch them away from the Father's care. The Father and I are one.” (John 10:25-30)

To summarise: Jesus claimed to be the way to God, the path to life, one with the Father God. So be His sheep. Listen to His voice. Receive eternal life. Let Him guide us in the right paths.

Now, there’s an elephant in the room - if Jesus is all we say He is, has done all we say He’s done, why do people still live messy, sinful lives, ignoring God, turning their backs on Him? Why do we still see wars, oppression, atrocities, wickedness in nations, governments and, dare we say, in the church or maybe even in ourselves? It’s 2000 years since Jesus came - why are we waiting?

Isaiah 35 ends: “Those whom the Lord has rescued will travel home by that road. They will reach Jerusalem with gladness, singing and shouting for joy. They will be happy forever, forever free from sorrow and grief.”

This part of Isaiah’s prophecy is still not yet fulfilled, after 2700 years. We’re still travelling home with Jesus. We haven’t yet reached that heavenly City, that new Jerusalem, where we’ll be happy forever, free from sorrow and grief. Rather than suggest a God who doesn’t keep His promises or doesn’t care, this speaks instead of a God who is patient. He’s a God who’s passed judgement, but not yet fully carried the sentence out. What do we want? Peace on earth. When do we want it? Now! What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now! What do we want? An end to evil. When do we want it? Now! We want it; so does God. So what’s He waiting for? Here’s what Peter wrote: “The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” (2 Peter 3:9) God prefers to be merciful, than vengeful. But He’s not a big softy who’ll let everyone into heaven in the end. Peter also writes of “the day when godless people will be judged and destroyed.” Until Christ returns in glory the gate is open, the road is there to be walked upon, Heavenly Jerusalem bids us welcome. At a time of God’s choosing, that gate will slam shut. There’ll be joy on the inside, terror on the outside. God beckons us to come. He invites everyone to be saved. We only have ourselves to blame if we turn down His offer of life in Christ. He will rescue His people fully. “If God is for us, who can be against us? Certainly not God, who did not even keep back his own Son, but offered him for us all! He gave us his Son—will he not also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)

God has already made some things new for us. Christians have been born again, are new creations, partake in a new covenant through Christ’s death, live a new life in union with Christ, serve God in a new way of the Spirit. This means we live differently now, as new people in Christ. It means we patiently wait in faith, trusting in God’s promise that Christ will come again and make all things fully new. Then we will truly sing, with gladness, “we’ve come home”.

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Two Betrayals

Acts 1.15-26

1 John 5.9-13

Peter and Judas. Each betrayed Jesus in different ways. Each had very different outcomes. Let’s start at the Last Supper in Matthew 26 for the backstory. Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples when, while eating, he lets out this bombshell, “One of you will betray me.” Each one asks, “Is it me?” but only one is being insincere. Judas Iscariot knew full well it was him. He’d already struck a deal to hand Jesus over. After the meal, they went to the Mount of Olives, all still wondering, “who’s the betrayer?” Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter piped up, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” I’m sure Peter meant it. It was a loud protest that he wasn’t the betrayer. So imagine his horror when Jesus says, “This very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” Peter would’ve been terrified. He ups his protestations. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” Every disciple said the same. There was an air of suspicion now amongst this band of brothers.

Shortly after, Judas was with the crowd that came to arrest Jesus, who plainly says, “here comes my betrayer”. But Judas kisses Jesus. Calls Him, “Rabbi”. Jesus calls Judas, “friend”. Did this show of affection prevent the disciples understanding?

Peter demonstrates his intention to follow Jesus to death by cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant (which Jesus promptly reattached). He followed the arrested Jesus to the high priest’s house. This was brave and he deserves credit. But Peter lost his nerve. People started saying he was a follower of Jesus. Peter kept denying it. Then the rooster crowed, as Jesus prophesied. Luke adds that Jesus then looked at Peter. Peter wept bitterly. His resolve crumbled. It’s possible to think you’ll be heroic until you’re in a situation that demands it!

Peter denied Jesus rather than suffer with Him. In Matthew’s gospel, Peter’s name doesn’t appear again. But it’s not the end of Peter’s story any more than our failures are the end of ours. Maybe we don’t always choose to suffer with Jesus, even if we don’t actually say, “I don’t know the man!”

Skipping on. Luke tells us more. The women saw the risen Christ and the empty tomb. They told the eleven disciples, who didn’t believe them. What nonsense! It still sounds like nonsense to people today. “Dead men don’t rise.” Despite this, who ran into the tomb? Peter. No body, just grave clothes - strips of linen. He leaves, wondering what happened. I want to scream at him. “He kept telling you about this!!!” Then I think, how often do I have to hear Christian things before they sink in?

John shares a vital point in the story. After a miraculous catch of fish and breakfast on the beach with the disciples, Jesus talks with Peter.

Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep…”

But. The English word “love” translates two different Greek words. Agapao and phileo. Sacrificial love and fondness. So might we paraphrase it like this?

“Simon son of John, will you sacrifice yourself for me even if these other disciples don’t?”
“Yes, Lord, you know that I’m fond of you.”
“Feed my lambs.”
“Simon son of John, will you sacrifice yourself out of love for me?”
“Yes, Lord, you know I’m fond of you.”
“Take care of my sheep.”
“Simon son of John, are you fond of me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Are you fond of me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I’m fond of you.”
“Feed my sheep…”

Peter loved Jesus but couldn’t bring himself to say the right love word. I wish we could see Peter’s face. Could he look Jesus in the eyes? I find it difficult to say the “L” word because I know my inadequacies. I know what love means, but find it hard to say so.

Peter had said, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” And, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” Despite his willing spirit, his flesh was weak. Peter thought he was better than the others. He’d stay strong when they crumbled. However, when the going got tough, he denied Jesus. “Do you love me more than the other disciples?” Peter couldn’t claim that now. But Jesus is merciful. To Peter, Jesus had said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” So Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Now the focus rests on Peter alone. He can’t bring himself to say the word. “Take care of my sheep.” Jesus then shocks Peter. “Simon son of John, are you fond of me?” I expect Peter deflates a bit. It hurt him that Jesus stepped down to his level.

Jesus doesn’t humiliate Peter, but gently forces him to face up to reality. Jesus takes us as we are. We can come no other way. We can’t deceive God. Peter accepts he’s not better than the others. Jesus says, “feed my sheep”. Despite everything, Peter still has the job. But it’s not a Peter who might lord it over the others. It’s a humbled Peter. It’s Simon, son of John.

Jesus continues, “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Peter WOULD sacrifice himself for Jesus. His fondness WOULD transform into sacrificial love. God won’t let him fall away. But still the challenge remained. “Follow me.” But, but, but, what about John? What’s going to happen to him? Not your business. “Follow me” is your business.

Peter followed. He journeyed from “I’ll die for you, no matter what!” to “I don’t know the man!” to “You know I’m fond of you, Jesus” to following, knowing he’d die for Him. This isn’t self righteous Peter. This is humbled Peter.

If you or I had been told, follow Jesus and you’ll die for Him, would we have followed?

So we come to Acts 1. Jesus has ascended to heaven. The apostles, the women, Mary and Jesus’ brothers are praying and waiting in Jerusalem, as Jesus told them to. Peter stands up to address this group. Peter is no longer like the child who wants to be noticed. “Ooh, teacher, pick me pick me!” Now he’s the Peter who must feed Christ’s sheep. He doesn’t begin, “Listen to me, subjects. I’m your leader. Jesus said so!” He begins, “brothers and sisters”. He’s not better than the rest. He sees a need to replace Judas Iscariot as apostle. He doesn’t pick a successor. He sets out the job description and the criteria. The whole group chooses two candidates. They cast lots, effectively giving God the final say.

Peter doesn’t go on to be perfect, but in Acts and in his letters, he’s a changed man.

What about Judas Iscariot, the actual betrayer? He showed remorse. He recognised he’d betrayed an innocent man. He confessed he’d sinned. He gave back the money. Why wasn’t he restored? He allowed himself no opportunity to change his life.

Judas followed Jesus out of self interest, stealing from the money bag that belonged to all. Yet he’d been sent to proclaim the gospel and heal the sick, like the others. He witnessed miracles, heard Jesus’ teachings, told others about Him. But he didn’t believe it. He had no faith in God. How on earth does that happen? Consider the Israelites whom Moses led out of Egypt. All they saw and experienced, yet the vast majority didn’t trust God. Dear Father, may our hearts not be unbelieving. I went to Bible College 30 odd years ago. One student I was friends with used to evangelise in his spare time. He’d pray with others and join Bible studies outside official college meetings. In other words, when he wasn’t obliged to. Years later I received a letter from him. Christianity is stupid. Christians are stupid, relying on blind faith. He never believed. He was always an atheist. It was all an act. Really? It’s what he claimed. Why spend two years at Bible College if it was all fake? Maybe you can put on a show and pull the wool over people’s eyes, just like Judas.

Our reading from 1 John gets to the heart of this. “Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Peter believed. Judas didn’t. God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Peter believed. Judas didn’t. Most still don’t believe it. Do you believe it? I once met a 93 year old lady who’d been going to church since she was 3. Someone asked her why Jesus had to die. She answered, “I don’t know why that young man had to die.” Doesn’t that break your heart? 90 years attending church and she didn’t even know that. We need to know Jesus died so our sins could be forgiven, believe in Him, seek Him in our lives, be fond of Him but also be living sacrifices. If the most we can offer is to be fond of Him, He can transform that into something greater. We won’t all need to die for Him like Peter did. But we must die to self, giving up sins and things to do what He wants. None of us love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We confess that every week. But He offers forgiveness. And the opportunity to change if we’re willing and don’t walk away. 

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WHY DOES IT MATTER IF WE BELIEVE JESUS IS THE MESSIAH?

1 JOHN 3:1-7

WHY DOES IT MATTER IF WE BELIEVE JESUS IS THE MESSIAH?

INTRODUCTION

Last month, Jean McCloughry used an illustration of a person joining us on Zoom without their video on. Their screen name was H M ELIZABETH II. I’m nicking that idea to make a different point. Someone joined us on Zoom today and hasn’t shown their video. Their screen name is JESUS. Who is on the other side of the camera?

My theme today is, why does it matter if we believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ? Firstly, we need to know what Messiah means.

Messiah means an anointed one. Very helpful, you cry! It’s somebody set apart for a purpose or to an office. Prophets, priests and kings are amongst those who received anointing. In the gospels the expectation of the ultimate Anointed One is clear - one set apart by God to be prophet, priest AND king - to rule Israel, to speak from God, to deliver His people from their enemies. Son of the living God, descendant of King David, yet David’s superior; king of Israel, miracle worker, the Lord, the one to be obeyed. He would be the best of the best of all the old testament heroes of faith. This is what Messiah is - and then some! The Gospels and New Testament tell us this SuperMessiah is the Lord Jesus.

Why does it matter if we accept that Jesus is this person? This is one issue John addresses in his first letter.

Who was John warning the early Christians about? There was a false teacher called Cerinthus. Amongst other things, Cerinthus taught that the man Jesus was not the Messiah. Rather, a spirit called Christ came upon Jesus at His baptism. This Christ left Jesus before His sufferings and death. A bit of a scaredychrist, if you ask me. John mentions people left the church. It’s reasonable to think they left to follow Cerinthus or someone similar.

The first reason it matters that we believe Jesus is Messiah is that….

IT’S VITAL FOR OUR SALVATION

To separate the man Jesus from the spirit Christ is an error. An error which is still around today. Jesus was born Christ. 

We read in Matthew 2:(4-5):

“Where will the Messiah be born?” “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea, …” 

In Luke 2:11, an angel tells the shepherds of Bethlehem, “This very day in David's town your Saviour was born—Christ the Lord!”

At Jesus’ dedication in the Temple as a baby Simeon, who’d been told he wouldn’t die until he’d seen the Messiah, picked up Jesus and said, “Now, Lord, you have kept your promise, and you may let your servant go in peace. With my own eyes I have seen your salvation...” (Luke 2:29-30)

This baby was born Messiah. Otherwise, the angels and Simeon were wrong.

Jesus Himself said, “The Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later…” (Luke 24:46.) No Christ departed before suffering came. Otherwise, Jesus was wrong.

Jesus always was and is Messiah, not just some bloke on whom Messiah came for three years.

John has strong words for those who think otherwise. He calls them antichrists and liars.  

In 1 John 4:1-3 (NIV), he warns: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist...”

1 John 2:22 (NIV): “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist – denying the Father and the Son.”

1 John 5:10b: “...those who do not believe God, have made a liar of him, because they have not believed what God has said about his Son.”

John wouldn’t go down well in our society.

The second reason it matters that we believe Jesus is Messiah is that….

IT’S VITAL FOR OUR UNION WITH GOD

In February, Jenny spoke about Jesus telling the disciples, “I am the vine.” In John 15:4-6, Jesus said, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”

It’s vital that we remain in Christ to have union with God, because Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6.) 

If Jesus is just a man, He cannot unite you to God any more than I can. But as Messiah, the way, the truth, the life, the one who’s in the Father and in whom the Father is, the God-man, we’re united through Him.

John has much to say about being united to God. Many had left the church. They didn’t “remain in Jesus”. John had to encourage those who stayed. Imagine the upset if a chunk of our congregation said a new prophet told them we’re wrong about Jesus and they upped and left. 

John needs the Christians to know they’re God’s children, united to Him. How can they know?

By living like Jesus Christ did (tough ask!), by obeying God’s commands, by loving one another, by declaring that Jesus is the Son of God. That’s what being united with God looks like. It’s the basis for Christian living.

As is this awkward verse in our reading:

“So everyone who lives in union with Christ does not continue to sin; but whoever continues to sin has never seen him or known him.” (v6) Whoa! Which of us doesn’t sin? Are we all doomed? Clearly not. In this letter, John says we deceive ourselves if we say we have no sin, that God will forgive us if we confess our sins, that if we sin Jesus pleads with the Father for us, that if we see a believer sin we’re to pray for them. John is fully aware that Christians sin. So what’s he on about? The only thing that makes sense to me (and which I suggest for consideration) is that “continues to sin” means denying we do anything wrong, so we don’t change a thing, we live our lives as we always have, we don’t believe we need to change or ask God’s forgiveness and so continue as we are. That self righteous attitude is very different from wishing you hadn’t done wrong and saying sorry to God.

The third and final reason it matters that we believe Jesus is Messiah is that….

IT’S VITAL FOR A GOLDEN FUTURE

“We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.” (1 John 3:2)

God loved the world and sent His Son, but most spurn that love and refuse to believe. Many Jews didn’t believe in Jesus because He was the “wrong kind of Messiah”. Many non-Jews didn’t believe because a dead god is stupid and useless. “Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children.” (John 1:12) This is down to God’s goodness and initiative. 

When Christ returns, we’ll be like Him. Remarkably, He will share His glory with us! John saw this glory at the transfiguration, when Jesus’ face changed and His clothes became dazzling white. In Revelation 1(13b-16), John had a vision of Jesus, “wearing a robe that reached to his feet, and a gold band around his chest.  His hair was white as wool, or as snow, and his eyes blazed like fire; his feet shone like brass that has been refined and polished, and his voice sounded like a roaring waterfall. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth. His face was as bright as the midday sun.” 

Our resurrected bodies will be beautiful, strong, immortal, spiritual, like Christ’s body. He shared our humanity that we might share His divinity. Not His deity, but His divinity. We’ll share His character, not His being. By grace we’ll be LIKE Him, but we won’t BECOME Him.

The infant church faced problems from false teachers and false prophets. Ever since, false teachings have become more sophisticated, more numerous, ever developing. It’s tempting to see something new and think “we must follow this exciting development because it’s new and better than what we have!” But no, we must follow the old ways, the old truths. John wrote, (1 John 2:28) “remain in union with him, so that when he appears we may be full of courage and need not hide in shame from him on the Day he comes.” Why turn from truth only to be embarrassed as we stand before the Lord?

(1 John 5:20) “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we know the true God. We live in union with the true God—in union with his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and this is eternal life.”

CONCLUSION

The apostle Paul warned against accepting a different Jesus. John warned about false prophets. As did Jesus Himself. He said they’d be like sheep on the outside but vicious, devouring wolves on the inside. 

When Christians talk about false this and false that and point out error and fake Christians, we’re not merely trying to “protect the brand”. We’re doing it because eternal life is at stake. Some Christians get paranoid and angry and denounce as heretics anyone with a slightly different opinion on smaller issues. We should reserve the condemnation “heretic” for those preaching a different Jesus.

This JESUS who joined us on Zoom. Who do you say that He is? There are many opinions in the Bible. A reincarnated prophet of old, a king who will overthrow God’s enemies, a criminal, a deceiver, a demon-possessed Samaritan, a good teacher? Maybe it’s a trick - no one’s there because it’s all a made up story? Is it some poor stooge whom the Christ abandoned when the going got tough? Or is He Messiah, as the scriptures, as Jesus Himself, as God the Father say? Choose wisely and accept no substitutes!

Still Waiting?

Galatians 4.4-7 Luke 2.15-21

Are you patient? I easily get agitated and start tut-tutting. Pacing up and down. Muttering, “this is ridiculous!” When the computer’s on a go-slow. When traffic lights stay red for-e-ver. In queues. In the doctor’s waiting room and he’s running 45 minutes late.

Not all waiting is this annoying. But we live in an instant world. Information is at our fingertips in seconds thanks to the Internet. Amazon Prime makes next day delivery normal and expected. Credit cards mean you can buy things you can’t afford - NOW! How did people manage in the old days (by which I mean the 1980s)? Waiting was just what you did. Maybe we were more patient?

In the Bible, God makes people wait. We’ve just finished Advent Season, waiting for Christ to be born. This waiting is over. But a month of liturgical waiting for us, was at least 4000 years of actual waiting for humanity. Advent is also waiting for the Second Coming. This is almost 2000 years and counting.

1) The Waiting Is Over

Christ’s birth isn’t the beginning of His story. We treat birth as day one of a new existence. However, before we get out, we spend nine months developing in the womb. We had to get into the womb in the first place. Each person has a pre-history. Our parents met one another rather than someone else. And their parents, and so on. If any combination of my ancestors met a different person, or even if a different sperm got to the egg first, I wouldn’t be as I am today. The DNA of different individuals combined to eventually make us as we actually are. A cast of thousands made us. This is also true of Jesus. Only with Him, it’s a greater story with greater significance.

Mary had to wait for her nine months of pregnancy to end. Nothing unusual in that (except she was expecting no “ordinary” baby but one who’d deliver Israel). Nine months was a short wait.

700 years earlier, Isaiah prophesied this. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” and “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” 700 years - a long wait.

One who’ll reign on David’s throne forever. God told David about this. “When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13).” Seemingly fulfilled in Solomon, actually fulfilled in Jesus. The Temple Jesus built is the church, the living stones, which cannot be destroyed. 1000 years before Christ - a long wait.

In Deuteronomy 18:15 Moses told the Israelites, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” In Acts 3, Peter confirms this is Jesus, even though it seemed like the Israelites Moses addressed would be the ones to hear him. Prophecy is a bit funny like that. No immediate coming - the Israelites had to wait 1400 years.

Just one more. God told the serpent in Eden, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” We see this as fulfilled in the cross specifically. The Devil tried hard to kill Jesus before the cross. Herod is the human villain in the Christmas story. The author of Hebrews wrote of Jesus, “since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” An explicit fulfilment of the coming of Christ as a human to destroy the serpent. That took at least 4000 years to happen. God is patient - and willing to make humanity wait.

2) The Coming of Christ

Paul wrote to the Galatians, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…” It was no accident that Jesus was born when He was. God didn’t think, “well, I think I’ve made ‘em wait long enough. This Mary chick is a nice girl. She’ll do.” He maneuvered history to this point, getting the circumstances just right. But what if He hadn’t and Christ never came? What might we be doing in the UK now?

We can only speculate. In spite of His coming, the vast majority don’t worship Christ. Half the people openly say there’s no god or they’re not sure. Society doesn’t compel them to assume they’re Christian or pretend to be when they know they aren’t. The Ten Commandments have been largely ditched.

If Christ never came, what might we be worshipping? Probably different deities for different occasions. Maybe ancient British or Celtic gods, Saxon gods, Norse gods? Plenty of those. And many are just variations on the themes of war, harvest, earth, water. Or maybe we’d directly worship the sun, moon, stars, trees, water, animals?

How would people who think the story of Jesus’ birth is fanciful nonsense cope with stories of Roman gods and goddesses? Or would they tolerate it for the wine and sex, the dancing and singing? Consider the Roman god Saturn, who devoured his children by his wife Ops as soon as they were born because of a prophecy that one would overthrow him. After chomping through 5 children, Ops hid the child Jupiter and offered Saturn a large stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead, which so upset his stomach he was forced to disgorge all the other children. Or Venus, born of the seafoam. Naughty Saturn castrated his father and threw the bits into the sea. As they drifted over the water, the blood mixed with it to foment the growth of Venus. Or Bacchus, who was born twice. The first time fathered by Jupiter, who assumed the form of a snake, slithered into the underworld and impregnated Proserpina. Later on, Bacchus was killed, his body torn to pieces. Jupiter gathered them up, placed Bacchus’ heart into a potion which was drunk by Semele, a mortal, who became pregnant. She was murdered, so Jupiter ripped the baby from the womb and sowed him into his thigh to nourish him until he was born.

Compare these to the birth story of Jesus - the difference is immediately obvious. In spite of the angels, the virgin birth, the star, it comes across as a very human story. The Bible accounts are supernatural, not unnatural. We’re privileged this is our story and God hasn’t given us over to depraved gods and practices.

3) The Wait Goes On

God sent His Son. And the consequence for us? Our adoption to sonship. The Holy Spirit in our hearts. We are children and heirs.

Jesus is the only begotten Son. We are adopted children. This is a brilliant thing. God chose you. God is our Father because He wants to be. It pleases Him. We’re God’s children now, but we wait for the redemption of the body. The wait goes on for the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead, when the perishable body will be raised imperishable, raised in glory and power. As John wrote, “now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

The Holy Spirit lives within the believer, the guarantee of our inheritance, a deposit of what is to come. Our inheritance is to share in the glory of Jesus. It’s knowing God. It’s eternal life. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all...will also, along with him, graciously give us all things”. Nothing in all creation “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The wait goes on for the fulness of this inheritance.

God has “blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” It “can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” Moth and rust cannot destroy it. Thieves cannot break in and steal it. But the wait goes on. God kept mankind waiting at least 4000 years for the first coming of Christ. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that we’ve waited almost 2000 for the second. He’ll come when the time is right. God will keep His promise as He did before.

CONCLUSION

For many, Christmas is a time for the kids, the family, for eating and drinking too much. And God forbid any religion should sneak its way in! But for Christians, the religion must come first and the rest is trimmings. We need to “be more shepherd”. They heard the message of the angels and hurried off to look; then told everybody what they’d seen; they glorified and praised God. And we should “be more Mary”, who treasured the events to think about them often. And we, I, should be more patient...







Image by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz

https://pixabay.com/photos/sheep-shepherd-young-man-portrait-5605251/

God of Wonders

This is my talk at Zoom Church from 7th July, 2020 (Trinity Sunday)
The Bible text is Psalm 8.




THE WONDER OF CREATION

When I was young, I’d go into the back garden and look up at the evening sky. It was amazing to see the blackness, punctuated by starlight and the lovely moon. My childlike awe at this sight made me feel so insignificant. I had nowhere to go with this feeling. I believed in a god, but didn’t know Him. Did David look at the night sky and also feel awestruck? David, a grown man with a developed intellect, knew God and responded by praising the creator of all. He seems to throw up his arms and cry out to the majestic, creator God. We shouldn’t praise creation, but the One who made it. Instead of thinking humanity is insignificant, David was amazed this God considered people very significant.

Today, with the help of technology, we see far more than David could have dreamt of. How much more can we marvel that God loves us?

Psalm 8 is like a meditation on Genesis 1. It’s Trinity Sunday, and in Creation we see a God in three persons working - a Father who created, a Spirit who hovered over the waters of the Earth, a Word by which God created all things. John 1:1-3 tells us: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” At creation is a Father God, a Word of God and a Spirit of God. The Church came to understand these are not three gods, but one God in three Persons. These Persons work together in unity.

THE WONDER OF GOD’s PERSISTENCE

David marvels that God bothers with human beings. The moon, the stars, the heavens - God could sit back and enjoy these things. They're no trouble, don’t disobey Him, don’t rebel against Him. Why intervene in David’s life, guide him, be his good shepherd, care about him?

God made mankind lower than angels. Yet it was to humans, not angels, that God gave charge over the earth. God said: “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over” all other living creatures. Birds, livestock, fish, wild animals - not made in God’s image. Mankind is. God says to humanity: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Mankind is to be like God to the rest of earthly creation; to rule over it. Not brutally exploiting the earth, not killing animals for fun, not draining earth’s resources for greed or the lust for power, denying others a little while hoarding excesses for ourselves. Rather, to work it and take care of it, as God may do with us. Training in order to produce a harvest for all. God isn’t cruel and exploitative, so in representing Him we shouldn’t be. We’re to rule over earth to enable it to produce good fruit, just as the Father prunes us to produce good fruit.

God instructed people to be fruitful, increase in number, rule over the earth and the other living creatures, but not over each other. They were to rule together. But soon humanity’s wickedness spiralled out of control and “the Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5). Instead of obeying God, they did their own wicked thing. Disobeying God, jealousy, murder, arrogance, pride, sexual immorality, corruption, violence, unbelief. Sound familiar? It was so bad God wiped out virtually everything by flood. Still mankind sinned as if there hadn’t been a worldwide catastrophe. (Let’s not take it for granted that COVID-19 will change people.) Rather than representing God, mankind made itself like God. In time, God took Israel and laid down detailed laws to show how they should live, as a witness to the nations around them. But barely had the ink dried on the agreement, Israel disobeyed over and over. And the nations continued sinning. Whatever God tried to get people to live right, it failed because people are sinful and rebellious in heart. But God didn’t give up.

THE WONDER OF THE INCARNATION

And so, we see the Trinity working together again. The Father sends an angel to Mary with good news - she’ll bear His Son. The Holy Spirit overshadows Mary’s womb so she conceives without a man. The Son born is Jesus, God in flesh, God in action as a human. Again, people were having none of it and killed Him.

Jesus, the God-man, demonstrated the kind of ruler God is. The Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve. The one who is first, became as the one who is least. The king over all washes the disciples’ feet. His joy was to serve His Father and He served Him by serving others.

“Jesus ... made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!”

Jesus, king of angels, who could have summoned angels to rescue Him, became lower than angels. The Creator becomes part of His Creation, tasting the food He created, breathing the air, touching with human hands what He had made. The ruler of all things feels what we suffer, experiences our temptations, dies for our sakes. None of us fully understands what it is to be in someone else’s shoes. God now knows what it’s like to be Adam.

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

His perfect sacrifice leads many to God. Man kills Him, God raises Him to life. He ascends to heaven. He is crowned with glory and honour.

OUR RESPONSE

How should we respond?

By worshipping the Creator, not the creation, which is idolatry. We must not allow ourselves to bow down to other gods, which are just man made nothings. When we see something beautiful, give thanks to God, for it is His handiwork.

By caring for creation in all its forms, obeying God’s purpose for humanity, and in doing so reigning with Him. Maybe we need to consider our consumer choices a bit more, favouring ethical products.

By becoming like little children, shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David”, joyfully praising our Saviour. Rather than suppressing knowledge of God, we should sing it out. We bow the knee and acknowledge that He is Lord. We throw down our crowns and say:

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”

Can We Be Good? - Part 3 (Conclusion)

The text of my sermon on 29th March, 2020.
The Scripture this is based on is Romans 8:6-11

I have two questions to conclude with:

Did God really say? And, Is all this fair?

Did God really say? This is the doubt Satan sows. It worked splendidly with Eve, so why abandon a winning formula? Did God really say human nature is wicked? Did God really say you’re sinful? Did God really say only He is good? If I think I’m a good person who doesn’t need God, that’s the devil whispering, Did God really say? If I think Jesus didn’t need to die for me because I’m innocent, that’s the devil whispering, Did God really say? If I think Jesus isn’t the only way to God, that’s the devil whispering, Did God really say? If I think there’s a kingdom of darkness for bad people, a kingdom of Heaven for Christians, but there’s a middle ground for good non-Christians, that’s the devil whispering, Did God really say? It seems naive and nasty that nice, decent people who don’t believe in Jesus, are God’s enemies who can’t please Him. But Paul lays that on thick (and therefore I am compelled to do the same). This should lead us to preach the gospel to give those who are out the chance to get in.

The second question: Is all this fair? Is it fair that I’m condemned because my ancestors sinned? Is it fair I live in a messed up world because someone I never met ate some fruit? Is it fair that God condemns me for being human, something I can’t help? Is it fair that God gets the blame for bad things that happen in the world? Is it fair that He who gives us life and everything good is maligned, dismissed, disobeyed? Is it fair that Jesus died on a cross for our sins, though He’d done no wrong? Is it fair that I get to spend eternity with God when I don’t deserve to?

In every case, no!  A fallen world isn’t fair. We can’t make it fair. We’re wholly inadequate to do it in a just way. God has a better way than fairness. It’s called grace. Grace is better than fairness. Grace gives what isn’t deserved. For God’s grace, we must be grateful. Fair would see us condemned; grace sees us redeemed. And with the Spirit’s help, we should live a life of grace.