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This Journal will record the sermons preached at Upper Umgeni as well as any other commentary which might be of interest to the members of Upper Umgeni Presbyterian Church
© UUPC
The Law of Sowing & Reaping
Stewardship Series
OPEN WITH A PRAYER
Galatians 6:7 tells us, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap”.
We know that when we sow carrot seed we don’t get a crop of potatoes. God has designed plants to produce after their own kind, and He also said that the future seed would be within “itself” –read Genesis 1:11-12. In other words, everything reproduces and continues to reproduce according to the life which God has put into it. This is a basic principle of life –we are beginning to discover something about this code (DNA) which ensures reproduction of the same species.
It is clear however from the next verse of Galatians 6 that Paul is not talking about seeds and harvests –“The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” The principle applies to all of life!
v Discuss this principle of sowing and reaping. Do you think that it is correct to say that it is a basic law of life?
v There are times where cause and effect do not seem to prevail eg crime goes unpunished, good people get hurt, bad people get rich. Do you think that this disproves the principle?
Coming back to the analogy of seed and harvest, it is obvious that the purpose of sowing is to harvest. You don’t just sow because you have nothing better to do. You sow for the specific purpose of harvesting and when the harvest comes, and it will, you will reap it. By the same token you cannot expect a harvest if you have sowed no seed.
But the harvest is dependent on more than just the seed. There is the watering and the weeding, and the fertilizing and getting rid of the bugs. The seed, essential as it is, is just the beginning. (And it’s no good tending where there are no seeds!)
v It would then seem that whatever we do in life is “seed”, and will bear a harvest of sorts. Discuss how the principle of sowing and harvest should then influence everything we do.
v What can you do about seed that you have already sown and which you don’t want to reap eg an angry word.
This Law of sowing and reaping is more than just a philosophical and spiritual concept. It applies also to our giving of physical and monetary assistance. In Galatians 6 again it says, “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor” and “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” In our congregation we continually sow all the financial seed (and more) that comes in the form of tithes and offerings in anticipation of a great harvest of souls –we employ people, maintain our buildings and provide whatever is necessary to achieve this objective.
READ 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
v Discuss the stewardship of resources at
The 2 Corinthians reading suggested that if we sow sparingly we will reap sparingly and if we sow generously then we will reap generously. The context makes it very clear that it has to do with our giving. Seven years ago we spent a million rand on a new church and upgrading our other buildings. At the time we had only R 60 000 in the bank. Four years later we had fully paid for everything. The congregation believed in the harvest and contributed towards the seed. We’ve seen this harvest manifest in increased membership, improved attendance at worship services and especially in a deeper walk with the Lord for many in our congregation.
We continue to improve and extend our ministry as we “communicate the Gospel of Jesus in service of God, Each Other and the World.” We have expanded our involvement in Missions and Pastoral Care, increased feedback to the congregation through a comprehensive Pew Bulletin and extended the involvement of people in Homegroups. We keep sowing seed in anticipation of another harvest! We know that unless the seed is sowed there will be no harvest. We also know that the more seed we sow, the greater will be the spiritual harvest as we sow into the lives of people.
v Discuss how you feel about the seed sown at
v Do you ever rejoice in the work of this congregation to which you belong?
v What could you do to see even more of a harvest?
CLOSE IN PRAYER
Gods
© UUPC 2007
OPEN WITH PRAYER
MATTHEW 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
J Discuss your understanding of what it means to ‘be a Missionary’
The Greek term used for God’s
J Discuss how you believe Abraham’s call was significant in God’s rescue operation.
J Discuss what you would do if God called you to ‘get up and go’ without telling you where exactly you were going.
J What would some of the problems be that you would face if you were told tonight to leave Howick and go to place God would lead you to?
Abraham seemed to ask no questions, he simply obeyed. He was wealthy man and judging from his response his relationship with God was close and his priorities were obedience to God.
J How does it compare with your relationship with God?
Abraham’s call came after the great flood and the
J From the account in Genesis of the call, can you identify what these promises were and how they were fulfilled in Jesus? (Read Genesis 12:1-3)
Abraham’s call was to set in place a Nation through whom God would send the Saviour and bless all people everywhere through all time. The promises made to Abraham were fulfilled in Jesus, the seed of Abraham. (Read Galatians 3:26)
From these readings we see how the Father sent the Son, and the Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit. Jesus mission was clear. He walked alongside a few men, trained them and equipped them to spread the Good News, He overcame death, then sent the Holy Spirit. (Read Acts 1:1-9)
J How has the Holy Spirit been involved in
The Holy Spirit continues to be the means by which Missionaries all over the world are enabled to continue the work of the Gospel, but God has called all disciples of Jesus to be involved in
J In what way can we as individuals be involved in God’s mission?
J What could we be doing as the body of Christ at
PRAY for ……. Annetjie and John (
Seeking the Kingdom
No sitting on the fence
Matthew 6:19-34
OPEN WITH A PRAYER
Last week we saw Jesus’ concern about our private life “in the secret place” (giving, praying, fasting); now He turns to our public business in the world (questions of money, possessions, food, drink, clothing and ambition). We cannot really separate these into sacred and secular because everything we do is “sacred” in the sense that it is done in God’s presence and according to God’s Will –we have an Audience of One, as we heard last week. So “your heavenly Father sees in secret” and “your heavenly Father knows what you need.” In both areas however, Jesus makes the same insistent call to be different from popular culture: different from the hypocrisy of the religious and different from the materialism of the irreligious. Here He places the material alternatives before us: two treasures (on earth and in heaven), two bodily conditions (light and darkness), two masters (God and mammon) and two preoccupations (our bodies and God’s Kingdom). We cannot sit on the fence with our choices!
v It is the nature of compromise not to make a choice between two options –to sit on the fence, so to speak. Here Jesus is basically urging us to make a choice for the
Treasures in heaven
It ought to be easy for us to decide which treasures to collect: treasures on earth are corruptible whereas treasures in heaven are incorruptible and therefore secure. We should then concentrate on the kind which will last. Jesus does not forbid earthly possessions, nor does he prohibit saving but what He does forbid is the selfish accumulation of goods, extravagant and luxurious living and the hard-heartedness which does not feel the colossal need of the world’s underprivileged people. He doesn’t directly define the treasures of heaven but it would appear that He wants us to focus on the development of Christlike character (since all we can take to heaven is ourselves); the increase of faith, hope and charity (all of which ‘abide’); growth in the knowledge of Christ whom we shall one day see face to face; the active endeavour (by prayer and witness) to introduce others to Christ; and the use of our money for Christian causes.
v Why do you think that so many find it difficult to make the choice between the treasures?
v Discuss the ‘treasures of heaven’ defined above. How do we ‘store up’ these treasures?
Developing our vision
In saying that ‘the eye is the lamp of the body’ Jesus is dealing with our vision –the knowledge of the direction of our future. Just as businesses today develop Vision Statements, Jesus is calling us to know where we are headed from the perspective of where we are now. Our ambition (where we fix our eyes) affects our whole life –if our vision is clouded by the false gods of materialism, we lose our sense of values. On the other hand when we have a single-minded ambition to serve God and His people we find meaning and purpose in life and it throws light on everything we do.
v
Which master?
Jesus has given us a choice between two treasures (where we lay them up) and two visions (where we fix our eyes), now He gives us an even more basic choice (whom we shall serve). It is the choice between God and mammon –the Creator or an object of creation. We cannot serve both and why, anyway, would one choose between a glorious personal God and a miserable thing called money?
v It would seem inconceivable that anyone could make a wrong choice, yet it happens all the time. Why, do you think?
Life in the
The conclusion for our right choices with regard to our treasure, our vision and whom we shall serve is that all anxiety is lifted from us. We don’t need to worry about what we shall eat or wear, what our life will be like. It is a focus on worldly wealth which brings anxiety –do I have enough? Is it safe? It is a lack of purpose and vision which leaves us floundering, not knowing which way to turn and how to make our decisions. It is when we serve an impersonal master (wealth, and the things and ambitions of the world) that we are driven into despair. When our focus is on the things which God has given for our benefit, they become our master and the driving force of our life. These wrong choices, says Jesus, lead only to worry.
Instead He tells us that when we make our life in the
v Discuss the things that bring us anxiety.
v How would the three choices for treasure, vision and master help to alleviate this anxiety?
CLOSE IN PRAYER
We now move in our series on the Sermon on the Mount from moral righteousness (kindness, purity, honesty and love) to the religious practices of righteousness (almsgiving, praying and fasting). The fundamental warning which Jesus gives is against practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them. This may seem a contradiction to that which Jesus had earlier said, namely, let your light shine before men that they might see your good works, but Jesus is, in fact, speaking against different sins. It is our human cowardice which makes Him say that we should display our good works, and human vanity which leads Him to warn us against making a public display of our piety.
v Both instructions (being open -Matt 5:16 & being secret -Matt 6:1) have, according to the Scriptures, the same objective. What is it?
v In each of the three “acts of righteousness” in our text Jesus uses the same formula. Can you identify the three parts of the formula?
a. ?
b. ?
c. ?
Almsgiving (giving to the needy)
There is much teaching in the Bible on compassion for the poor but generosity is not enough. In our text, Jesus is primarily concerned with motivation. It is not so much about what the hand is doing (passing over some cash) as to what the heart is thinking while the hand is doing it. We can be seeking the praise of men, or be quietly congratulating ourselves or we can be seeking the approval of God. The seeking of men’s praise was the besetting sin of the Pharisees –He paints an amusing picture of a pompous Pharisee on his way to give his gift with trumpeters blowing a fanfare ahead of him. Jesus calls this hypocrisy. Of such people, Jesus says, “They have their reward.” Instead Jesus tells us that our left hand must not know what your right hand is doing”. In other words it must not be self-conscious because then it could become self-righteous. Our almsgiving must be in secret so that your Father will reward you. Our Christian giving is to be neither before men (waiting for the clapping to begin), nor even before ourselves (our left hand applauding our right hand’s generosity) but before God, who sees our heart and rewards us with the discovery that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
v In this teaching, almsgiving is clearly different to tithing (or giving to the church), discuss this difference and how you could develop your own plan of almsgiving.
Prayer
In this second example of “religious” righteousness, Jesus depicts two men at prayer. Again the basic difference is between hypocrisy and reality. Jesus cautions us to go into “the secret place” rather than to “babble like pagans on the street corner”. This obviously does not exclude the need for public prayer for even then righteous prayer is not hypocritical, it seeks God as the only audience and does depend on the approval of men. The word for the secret place is tameion and it is used of a closet or storeroom where a household would keep its treasures. The idea might well be that there are already treasures awaiting us when we pray aright, whether in private or in public.
v Discuss the kind of treasures which might come from prayer. Give some practical examples from your own experience.
Fasting
Most Christians lay stress on daily prayer and sacrificial giving but there is seldom any stress on fasting. Yet fasting (the total abstinence from food) is an important spiritual exercise. The Pharisees fasted, making a big show of it –even painting their faces so that they looked gaunt, but Jesus says that instead we must comb our hair and put on aftershave so that no-one will even know that we are fasting. Certainly He expected us to fast –He, Himself fasted for 40 days. It is true that when questioned about why His disciples did not fast He said that they did not need to fast when He was with them but “when the bridegroom is taken away, then they will fast”. This did not however deny the practice of fasting. Perhaps we can see it this way –fasting is essentially a humbling of ourselves before God. It is necessary, and was practiced as such in the Bible, at times when God did seem to be far away –in times of distress and in penitence for sin (separation from God). It is a way of acknowledging that we cannot cope on our own or have failed in our own endeavours. Fasting then is an admission before God of our need for Him (because He is absent from us). Its reward is not in the compliments of men but in the response of God to our humility.
v Discuss fasting as a spiritual exercise. How does the abstinence from food become a humbling experience before God?
We can bluff a human audience but we cannot fool God. We need always to choose God as our audience (the audience of One!) –God watches us as we give, as we pray and fast, God is with us in the secret place. He hates hypocrisy but loves reality –when we are aware of His presence our giving, our praying and our fasting will be real.
A Life Worth living (Philippians) Pt 2
Philippians 1:3-1:11
3 I thank my
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of
=================
I was told by a friend the other day, that according to research she’d just read, while the percentage of people who currently reach the age of 100 is about 5% of the population, of those who are now teenagers the percentage is likely to be closer to 50%. There’s no doubt that our life span is increasing. We’re all likely to live longer than our parents or grandparents. But all that does is raise the question, "Will our lives be worth living?"
As we’ll see next week when we get to Phil 1:21, Paul didn’t see the prolonging of life as a great advantage. In fact the opposite: he saw death as bringing a far greater reward than anything in this life. Yet at the same time, he saw that Jesus Christ had made this life eminently worth living. As we saw last week there’s an amazing sense of joy overflowing which comes through the pages of this letter, even though it’s written from a goal cell as he awaits trial and possible execution over false charges brought against him by his opponents. He wants his readers to enjoy life in Christ, despite their external circumstances, to grow in their knowledge of him, and in holiness, and in the fruit of righteousness.
Over the next number of weeks we are going to see how this can happen.
Today our focus is on the new heart that Christ brings into our life.
Let me tell you the story of Alma and Steve. They were a couple from
They owned a pet shop specializing in aquarium fish.
One day
She didn’t have a clue about church. She didn’t know when to sit and when to stand. She was uncomfortable singing – and we sang a lot, and with gusto. But she listened with deep intent to the sermon. After the service she shot out before anyone could talk to her.
The next week she was back and again she left in a hurry. This carried on for a couple of weeks, then she brought Steve with her and the little girl went to Sunday school. They stayed afterwards and she pounced on me. “Tell me more about this
To cut a long story short, their life, like their personal hygiene, garden and house, was in a mess. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. They were in huge financial difficulties. Although the house and car was paid off and they had thousands of rands worth of tropical fish – they had barely enough money from their shop takings to buy dog food, cigarettes and bread – in that order.
I spoke to them about Jesus and the Christian life. They hung onto every word – they had never heard it before.
In the end they gave their lives to Jesus, were baptized in their swimming pool (once it had been cleaned) and were rid of the demons that had come into their life through their involvement in an occultic organisation.
It was the most amazing transformation that I had ever seen. They cleaned themselves up, tidied their garden and house and seemed to have permanent smiles on their faces. Oh yes, they also got married and little Emma was baptized.
It was an extraordinary display of
The story of Steve and Alma gave to me A Heart of confidence in the power of
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he greets them in the customary way and tells them of his thankfulness to
The founding of the Church in
But then the owners of the slave girl, who’d been charging people to have their fortunes told started a riot and had Paul and Silas arrested for throwing the city into an uproar and for advocating customs unlawful for Romans to accept or practice. So Paul and Silas were thrown into prison.
Well, in prison with their feet in stocks, they began praying and singing hymns to
So as Paul writes to the Philippians he can say with great assurance: "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ." He remembers the way
Before Steve and Alma became Christians they had never had any concept of the love of
That’s the sort of experience that Paul is looking back on as he writes of his confidence that
A heart of compassion
Notice too, that the experience he had in sharing the gospel with them has left him with a deep affection for them, and vice versa. He says "I long for you with the compassion of Christ Jesus." Now Paul was no soft touch. He was as tough as old boot leather when it came to facing opposition to the gospel. In fact in
In v5 he speaks of the way they share in the gospel. In v7 he says they share in
He longs for them with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And what is it he longs for? That their love "may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of
This isn’t some gushy, sentimental sort of love. The love he’s talking about overflows with knowledge and insight. What sort of knowledge do you think he’s talking about there?
Is it knowledge of
A knowledge born out of a personal relationship with him through Jesus Christ?
A knowledge that, ultimately, comes from
A knowledge perhaps of what pleases
And how do we build on that knowledge? By being students of
But is it also a knowledge of humanity?
Of the weaknesses and foibles of our fellow Christians?
A knowledge that helps us to empathise with one another, to make allowances for the failings of our fellow mortals.
A knowledge, perhaps of what might be helpful to another person in a given situation?
That seems to be the idea behind the word insight. Insight is that faculty which allows our love to be directed in a way that’s right for a particular situation, or for a particular person. Insight allows us to see through the obvious or the superficial to the deeper significance of what’s below the surface, to get to the root of the matter, so we can know how to act in the most loving way. Again this is something the Holy Spirit gives us as we ask him for it.
Finally now, a Heart of concern for Christian growth
The aim of Paul’s prayer that their love would overflow in knowledge and insight is both personal and global.
It’s personal because his aim is that they might each be found to be pure and blameless in the day of Christ. That their overflowing love for
It seems to me that when Paul talks about a harvest of righteousness, he’s looking beyond our personal righteousness, to the righteousness that will spring up in the hearts of others who see us and are drawn to the gospel like a moth to a flame. It’s as though the love we show becomes a seed that’s planted in the hearts of those around us.
It’s like a contagious disease. The sort of life he’s talking about, you see … a life characterised by love overflowing in knowledge and insight and purity and righteousness, is a very attractive thing. People love being near people whose character exhibits that sort of love. Just think how effective we’d be in spreading the gospel if our whole life was characterised by that sort of love!
Do you ever pray that sort of prayer for the people of Howick? Do you ever pray that sort of prayer for me, or the other leaders of the congregation? Let me suggest that it would be a great thing to pray every day for those named on the front copver of the Pew Bulletin. And for the elders on the inside back page. And for those named on the Joys and Concerns page and for those celebrating birthdays and wedding anniversaries and for the five families that we pray for anyway each week.
Pray that their love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help them determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ they may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of
Paul prays with confidence and joy because he knows that in the end, it’s
We too are recipients of
So let Paul’s prayer be ours as well: that our love would overflow in knowledge and full insight so we’d be able to determine what’s best, so we might be found pure and blameless in the day of Christ and so our lives might bear a harvest of righteousness, not only in our own lives but in the lives of those we influence by our love, for the glory and praise of
Roy Robertson, a former sailor, founder of "The Navigators" and staff member of the Billy
"My ship, the
+ When it comes to joy, pretty much all of us are simply firing blanks. We live in an age consumed by entertainment. All around us advertisements tell us that there is absolutely nothing money can’t buy to make our lives happier. Since we know that our happiness cannot be found in things or pleasures, why is it that so many believers are "firing blanks" when it comes to joy? Many Christian people talk about joy; some actually show joy -- at least when they’re near other believers. But all too often our experience lacks the real joy of the abundant life which the Bible promises.
Paul in the four short chapters of Philippians, uses "joy" six times as his frame of reference. He cared a lot about this church. He had been instrumental in founding it on his second "missionary journey". We read in Acts 16, how Paul had wanted to go north with the gospel (through what we used to call the "Eastern-bloc" countries), but a strong vision of a Macedonian man calling-out for his help he was compelled to cross the Aegean Sea towards
The first town Paul encountered was
This letter is all about the search for genuine joy. It is a call back to Christian roots; that which Jesus laid-out in the parable of the wheat:
"The hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." Jn 12.23-25 [NIV]
Can we find the secret of the Christian life in the context of losing self, and being found in service? Is there a life-principle here that can help us succeed in our search for genuine joy? Is there anything in this "giving it all up for Jesus" that finds common ground with our contemporary culture?
We live in a society that has gone materialistically mad! It stands absolutely in contrast to what Jesus said about the way a person should live.
Just look at what our society has become:
First, we have become isolated
We have lost the sense of community. We live in isolation from one another. People say -- "It’s not like it used to be! No one sits outside anymore, or walks down the street to visit with the neighbors in the evening." Window-shopping ended in 1958!
There is a genuine loneliness in the world. The philosopher Thomas Wolfe said, "The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human experience."
We are isolated behind our walls, barbed wire and alarm systems, transfixed by our TV gods; protected from interruption by our answering machines and phones which tell us who is calling. We have isolated and insulated ourselves from human touch.
Second, we have become selfish
From the first stamping of two-year-old little feet that don’t want to do what mother says, to road rage on the streets, we have developed an assertiveness (spelled "MY WAY") in our demand for society to recognize “me” above all else. Sacrifice and service have become foreign words to us.
Third, there is a growing air of ambivalence
We used to be passionate, with fire in our bellies. We used to have a sense of right and wrong; of good and evil. Today feelings are as dependent upon the direction of the prevailing winds, as on any code of morals or values.
One of the reasons our society is where it is.. why it has no interest in life, is that we see no firmness of commitment to an ethic, or to ideals, or to each other. Options dominate our thinking. "If I don’t like this circumstance I’ll change it. If I can’t change it I’ll go somewhere else.”
Fourth, our focus is on human rights
We now live in a land obsessed with individual rights, where everything is so acceptable that nothing can be believed or practiced for fear it will offend someone else. If I plow my field I’m threatening the existence of the Wattle Crane. We are forbidden from praying in Parliament and if I am guilty of questionable business practices or immoral practices I can appeal to the
We have become so open-minded our brains are leaking out on the pavement. We live in a society where no one is an exception; a society where no one is an aberration; and, on top of it all, a legalistic society where everyone’s under investigation! There’s not only a selfishness and ambivalence in the land -- there’s also a weirdness in the land!
And we have so become obsessed with gender, human sexuality and empowerment issues that we have lost all clear and balanced Biblical thinking.
Our contemporary culture has made us isolated, selfish, ambivalent, individualistic and gender-haters. This is no joy-filled legacy for the next generation.
-Where is the joy?
Paul writes in Philippians about genuine joy. In our society there is an angst about joy. Someone once said, "It’s pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed."
When Fritz Perls, the father of
The modern theory of happiness goes something like this, "What we need for happiness are: something to do, someone to love and a future to hope for."
This theory has its place, and carries a certain validity. Self-discovery, living for the moment, and involvement in great causes are noble and worthy ideals. They are part of living. They are, however secondary to the one truly satisfying (joyful) condition: a surrender to the saving grace and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Only salvation, coupled with a lifetime of discipleship provides genuine joy. Everything else is diversion!
Who are the most joyful people?
They are the believers who practice their faith. Most of my friends in the ministry, though many tell of severe problems with church members, of too-long hours, and a frustrating workweek, almost all are generally happy to be serving the Lord in their pastoral duties. That seems strange, but it is the absolute characteristic of the "community of faith" known as the Body of Christ. As participating partners in the faith we share together the mystery and splendor of the gospel ... and that produces some things:
1. JOY OF PURPOSE Philippians 1:1
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
Paul called himself and Timothy “servants”. The word literally means slave." {SOUNDS REALLY JOYFUL, DOESN’T IT?} Paul humbly addressed himself as a slave of Jesus Christ. It takes a great deal of humility to enslave yourself to another. What could make a man do something like that? To go from servant, with some choices and freedom, to slave, totally bound to the will or whim of a master, has to have some strong motivation.
For Paul it was the realization that being "In Christ" was greater than anything else life offered.
Paul had a wide range of experience and education. He was self-motivated, self-actualized, self-justified and totally self-righteous. Then he met Jesus on the road to
Paul could see no further than the cross, and it drew him to offer himself as servant, then slave of the Lord Jesus. Paul used the phrase "In Christ," or "In the Lord" some 150 times in his letters. Much like a fish lives "in water", Paul could feel the close, comforting, compelling presence of Jesus in every waking moment. Paul had given himself over to the cause of Christ - it had become his purpose.
There is something unique and joyful about people who are driven from within, in a noble cause that is from above.
For each of us there is a person out there whom you must face someday. It is the person you’re becoming. The purpose you give yourself to is the person you will become. Paul gave himself to Christ as Lord and Master -- slave for life! The spiritual principle is that the slave will do the Master’s will, and in the doing, become like the Master. In Christ, Paul’s life was purpose-filled, purposeful, and he was pointed at the "joy set before him." A partnership in the gospel gives joy of purpose.
2. JOY OF PEACE Philippians 1:2
We don’t hear anything about weddings that Paul officiated at but here is a marriage Paul performed - the words "grace" and "peace".
If we read our times correctly, many people are looking for peace (both public and private), but are looking in all the wrong places. Politicians negotiate treaties, supposing that peace is the result. Policemen are sometimes called "peace officers", supposing that legal order passes for inner peace (joy). The popularity of alcohol and drugs manifests the craving for peace, as people attempt to gain escape from the war (within and without) by getting "high" for a few hours.
The "high" that is really needed is grace. You cannot experience peace until you’ve known grace. There can never be a friendship with
A foreman was once called to inspect a concrete basin at a sewerage plant. He asked a worker if the bottom of the basin was solid. The man replied, "Solid as a rock". The boss, being a man of action, promptly waded in. To his great surprise he slowly sank up to his waist in the gooey mess, and as he was going down he yelled at the worker, "I thought you said this bottom was solid?" The worker replied, "It IS, boss, you just ain’t come to it yet!"
If you’ve looked for your peace in a better job or bigger car, a prettier wife, more leisure time, or anything else, you may be a person of action, but you haven’t come to THE SOLID ROCK! Peace comes after the grace.
3. JOY OF PRAYER Philippians 1.4, 5 (NIV)
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
The Philippian church had been faithful. Their gifts, prayers and encouragement had followed and undergirded Paul throughout his ministry. It is wonderful to have the faithful beloved you can count on in the lean times.
Many times during the ministry I have felt low, struggling with issues and people. When both my brother and my Dad died last year I experienced a particularly depressive time. But it was the prayers and messages of comfort that came from this congregation which undergirded me. It was the fact that my family dropped everything to stand by me that pulled me up. It was the elders who approved my long leave who showed me that I could refind that joy.
It was those who are in partnership with me in the gospel who through prayer and support gave me back my joy.
4. JOY OF PERSUASION Philippians 1.6
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Being assured of some things in life is a necessity. Without a certain amount of confidence you cannot function like
A minister was doing his usual "children’s sermon" during the morning service. They were gathered on the floor around him. "Tell me, kids, what is furry, gray and lives in a tree?" No reply. "Okay, let me give you a better hint. What’s furry, gray, lives in a tree and eats nuts?" Nothing! "One of you must have the answer." Dead quiet. "All right, see if you can get it on this; what’s furry, gray, has a long bushy tail, eats nuts, and lives in a tree?" Little Johnny only half-raised his hand. "Ahh, John, you know?" "Sir," said the hesitant Johnny, "I know the answer must be Jesus, but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me."
What are you absolutely certain about? Death and taxes?
"For I am CONVINCED that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of
Are you that certain of heaven? If you are, let me remind you that heaven is a place better than any other -- and it’s yours! If that doesn’t produce genuine joy in your soul, your "joy bone" is broken!
5. JOY OF PARTICIPATION Philippians 1.7 (NIV)
"It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in
There’s a certain joy about participating together in kingdom work. There is a camaraderie that develops when people work together. A cooperative spirit and "family-ness" can be experienced in your job, charity work, or helping a neighbor. But, there is nothing better than kingdom work, sharing in
After a long period of waiting, he felt called back. However, he constantly feared that his sin would come back to haunt him and cripple his ministry. After a time, when nobody confronted him, he felt certain it was in the past, and he went on preaching, rejoicing in the forgiveness of
The evangelist took the letter and went on his knees. A few moments later he stood to address the crowd. He began by reading the note … every word. Then he said, "I want to make it clear that this letter is true. I’m ashamed of what I’ve done. I come tonight not as one who is perfect, but as one who is forgiven".
What have you done?
What letter - if the truth be known - would you have to read? "Sinner" describes all of us, and it is all "first degree," premeditated! So where’s the joy in that you may ask. That’s just the point - joy isn’t in sin! It’s in Jesus!
This letter to the Philippians is a call back to the community of faith (away from our isolation); it is a call back to self-denying serving (away from our selfish ways); it is a call back to standing for Christ-likeness and
What
CHILDRENS’ STORY
The Cracked Pot
A water bearer in
One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load
because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house.
Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the
sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.
But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on
your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side?
That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it.
I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them.
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table.
Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots.
But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s
table.
Matthew 18:15-22
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
John 21:15-19
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “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. 18 I tell you the truth, 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.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify
I was trained as an economist not as a theologian.I spent nearly twenty five years analysing the ins and outs of the world, making judgements over the balance of payments, political statements and fiscal policy.
Then I was called by
The call was so urgent that I didn=t want to waste time on endless debate over
So I studied just enough theology to get from economist to pastor because the denomination requires it.
And I am petrified every time that I get up to preach and to speak about the ways of
As an economist I did my fair share of analysing things over which I had no control other than theory - and I found, that like the weatherman, it was easy to be wrong.
I have found it much easier to forget the analysing and to simply get on with the living in a trust wholly based on the Word of
that in Christ He has saved me
and that by the Holy Spirit He will always be with me as Comforter and Counsellor.
I say that I am petrified to stand here to share about what
And Apetrified@ is a good word to describe how I feel because it reminds me of Simon Peter.
A man trained to be a fisherman not a theologian.
But a man called by Jesus to be an apostle.
A man who learned his theology by saying and doing the wrong things all the time: sudden rushes of blood to the head at the Mount of Transfiguration, running away at the least threat, hiding back at the fishing boats on
Simon and I have a lot in common when it comes to this.
Yet despite everything that he has done and failed to do, Jesus still calls him APeter@ - the rock. For the Lord gives Him that strength, the Lord gives Him that empowerment.
After the resurrection, you see, the Lord makes a point of coming back to the failed and despondent Peter to encourage him in the mission of love that He gives him.
And Jesus calls him by the name the world gives him, “Simon son of John”, but encourages him with the word that can only come from
ASimon, do you truly love me more than these ....feed my lambs@
ASimon, do you truly love me ... take care of my sheep.@
ASimon, do you love me ... feed my sheep...... And follow me!@
Simon’s story is like the account of the boy who was shooting rocks with a catty. He could never hit his target. He was in his
Simon Peter had listened to the words of the accuser in his own head pointing out his sin and failure until Jesus came to him. The very One he had sinned against came to him – forgave him and restored him. That’s
Today I want to speak about
How do you explain something that comes fully from
How do you tell what
....You come to
The One who strengthens and empowers.
The One who turns you into what He wants you to be.
And that my friends, is grace!
But something happened: sin entered human nature
And thereby
He ceased to have fellowship with
But
He set out once more to make man like Himself.
He devised a way whereby the effects of sin and failure in our life might be nullified.
And He set in motion a process of making men like Himself -
and we call this grace.
In
In
In
It is the work of restoration, of transformation, of shaping and moulding.
It is the work of enabling and equipping so that we might reach our full potential as the children of
In Jeremiah 18,
So also with
When we are saved ... when we come to Jesus as the Saviour, we are marred vessels. He justifies us by the forgiveness of our sin through His death on the Cross.
But we still struggle, don=t we?
The influence of past sin and the consequence of living in a sinful world implies that though we are saved, we are not yet perfect (as Jesus commands in Matthew
Paul says to us in Romans 8, Athat we have an obligation not to live according to the sinful nature ... but to live by the Spirit of sonship ... as heirs of
This makes us radically different to what we used to be .. So different that it depends entirely on
Yes, we can contribute but we can never do the transforming.
It was not by firm resolution of his impetuous nature that a once shamed Peter could stand up on the day of Pentecost to preach with boldness the call to repentance and baptism.
It is not by skill nor by good learning that brings a has-been economist to speak of the glory of
They say of economists, who are always dilly dallying on the one hand and then the other, that if you laid them all down end to end, they=d never reach a conclusion.
Well, this economist reached a conclusion that Jesus is
But he also realised Athat He who began a good work in him would carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus@. (Philippians 1:6)
The Holy Spirit works within us all the time to rid us of the sin that is rampant in our lives.
He is continually working out the sin as a patient gardener works out the weeds that continually spring up in our flower beds. Seeds that have lain dormant for years but which suddenly spring up when the conditions are right, seeds that are brought in by the birds and the winds just yesterday, seeds that we will never be rid of until we finally stand before the throne of grace.
We have a beautiful garden at our home. It was painstakingly planted and tended over a period of some 30 years. The owner left that house to the church. We have been living in it for a number of years now and I now appreciate just how much work has to go into that garden. If it is left for just one week, it takes a month to get rid of all the weeds and overgrowth and get it right again.
And so the Holy Spirit is continually working in us to keep us on the road to glory.
One way of understanding this continuous work in us is through Jesus= allegory of the Vine in John 15..
AMy Father is the
And the work of the Holy Spirit is to bring us into relationship with Jesus as the fruitful branches on the Vine. Through that which the theologians call Asanctifying grace@ He brings us to abide in Jesus the True Vine.
Abiding means that we draw our life and our strength from Him in order to bear fruit in our lives. But we also see that when parts of our life are unfruitful, they will be pruned - this is the same process as Jeremiah=s Potter.
It is cutting away the mars in our life and encouraging the fruitful branches.
The Holy Spirit convinces us that we are truly forgiven in Jesus even when we don=t believe it ourselves.
He appoints us who were formerly hopelessly lost to be servants and witnesses of Jesus. (Acts
He calls us to the holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. (2 Timothy 1:9)
This is the
And the Holy Spirit gives us power to resist temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13 : No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And
He gives us peace in the midst of our turmoil (John 14:27 : My peace I give unto you. Do not let your hearts be troubled).
He delivers us from the grip that sin has over our lives.
And He makes us a new creation.
By the
As he deals with the sin in our lives,
convinces us of our pardon,
frees us to serve Him and to love our enemies, the Holy Spirit is transforming us into the likeness of Jesus.
From glory to glory He=s changing me, changing me, changing me
His likeness and image to perfect in me
the love of
For He=s changing, changing me
From earthly things to the heavenly
His likeness and image to perfect in me
The love of
This is the
Isaiah 58:6-12
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go
before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Two men were talking. One of the men said, “When it comes right down to it, we are all basically selfish. We take care of Number One and the heck with everyone else.”
The other man responded, “I don’t agree with you, and I’ll tell you why. I stopped recently to get my paper at a café as I do every day. I’ve known the man who sold me that paper for years, but one day he had tears in his eyes and I asked him why. He said, “Do you see that bus stop over there? There’s a woman who comes every day around this time. She sits there for about an hour knitting and waiting. Buses come and go, but she never gets on and no one ever gets off for her to meet. The other day I took her a cup of coffee and sat with her for awhile. Her only son lives a long way away. She last saw him about two years ago when he boarded one of the buses right there. He is married now and she has never met her daughter-in-law or seen their new child. She told me, ‘It helps to come here and wait. I pray for them as I knit little things for the baby, and I imagine them in their little tiny apartment, saving money to come home. I can’t wait to see them.”
Then the man said, “The café owner took a deep breath and told me that he had just looked out the window and there were the woman’s son and his family getting off the bus. When they fell into her arms, the look on her face was the nearest thing to pure joy he had ever seen. ‘I’ll never forget the look on her face as long as I live,’ he said.
The next day when I returned to the café my friend was behind the counter and before he could say anything, I asked him, ‘You sent her son the money for the bus ticket, didn’t you?’ The store owner looked back at me with eyes full of love and a smile and replied, ‘Yes, I sent him the money.’
In that story, who are you? Which one represents your life? Are you like the man who categorized people as largely selfish, and included himself in that description–people who simply live for the day and try to take care of their own business. That kind of person has no color. It’s like a picture in black and white. The basics are there, but there’s not a whole lot of life in the person.
Or are you the man in the story who has experienced the joy of the café owner who was moved and touched by a very heartwarming story, but notice that the story is not his own. He is simply passing on a story that he has heard. He is not the person in the story itself. That’s like an oil painting. It has color and has life and passion in it, but it’s not real. That kind of person is alive but has made no difference to anyone’s life.
Or are you the café owner. Do you see the difference in the experience of life. The man telling the story was warmed by it, but the man who made a difference in this woman’s life and joy he experienced is like life at its best. It’s real! Those people make a difference in this world.
Who do you want to be? Do you want to live and experience life as more than a two-dimensional character on a page without color? Do you want to experience the life and vitality of
Do you want to experience hope, meaning and purpose in your life–the purpose that comes from touching other people’s lives? Then stop watching life pass you like you see it on TV. Involve yourself in the lives of others and make a difference.
One of the great tragedies of today is the way in which we have become isolated from people. It has also meant that we have become isolated from discovering and experiencing meaning and significance in our lives. Many people cannot say what difference they have made in another person’s life.
Whenever the elections come around, the parties, usually the ones in second place, tell us that we must make our vote count. But I hope this morning that you might say to yourself by the time this is over, “I want my life to count.”
Your life is more than a vote. You need to make your life count. I hope that you will catch
If you read the first 39 chapters of Isaiah,
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.”
In the last 27 chapters, 40-66,
The first is a deep spiritual root. At first impression it seems that
The problem was that the Jewish people lost the heart and soul and depth and meaning for fasting. It became only ritual and going through the motions. That’s why in this passage
They had reduced a real spiritual activity which could bring the power of
Fasting is a practical thing. It frees us up by not preparing food so that we can take that time and spend it with
Fasting is a symbolic act. Why did
Does this describe our devotion? Does this describe why we attend church? Does this describe how we worship? Are we simply here just for the bowing, just for the humbling, just to look as if we are faithful and religious and we are Christian people? Is it just to go through the ceremony? Then we are no different than that black-and-white cartoon, living a very sterile existence, living simply in the area of body and soul. We lack spirit, we lack passion, and we lack heart. We are simply surviving like
If this is you, I encourage you to come out of the gray and into the colors of
Does this describe your life? Have you made a heartfelt commitment to
Is the spirit of
Once we have this vertical relationship with
What does
It is interesting that in the midst of this great social context,
What are you doing in your life to accomplish
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty
Dumpty together again.
That’s the world.
Someone once said that if enough people got involved, we literally could solve all our social problems. It is not magic, it simply means getting involved. We need to say, “we are not just about ourselves. We are about making a difference.” Faith makes no difference unless it comes into the world in which we live. Unless it does, it is like a movie on a TV screen. It’s great to watch and I laugh sometimes, but it makes no difference in my life. It has solved none of my problems.
One poet writes, “There are two kinds of people on earth today, just two kinds of people, no more to say. Not the good and the bad for tis well understood that the good are half bad and the bad are half good. No, the two types of people on earth I mean are the people who lift and the people who lean.” Who are you?
Many people ask this question and have no answer, “What is
Do something today to bring gladness to someone whose pleasures are few. Do something to drive off sadness or cause someone’s dreams to come true. Find time for a neighborly greeting and find time to delight an old friend. Remember, the years are fleeting and life’s latest day will soon end.
Do something today that tomorrow will prove to be really worthwhile.
Help someone to conquer sorrow and greet the new dawn with a smile, for only in kindness and giving of friendship and service and cheer do we learn the pure joy of living, and find Heaven’s happiness here.
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