20061105 God Speaks Thru Circumstances

God Speaks Through Circumstances

by Manuel Mariano, for 20061105, PBC

Focus

Today my topic is "God speaks through circumstances". This continues the thread of preaching here at

Punchbowl on "Experiencing God" based on the book by Henry Blackaby.



I will be focusing today specifically on answering the question: what does God say in our circumstances?

Not New

Today what I will share will probably not be new to you. But I hope that it will bless you as it has blessed me.

I have drawn part of this message from the writings of John Piper and J.I. Packer and I am thankful to God

that He has led me there.

Passage 1 Peter 1:1-9 (ESV)

1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,

2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of

the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

      Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth

into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,

5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be

revealed in the last time.

6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by

fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in

him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Opening Prayer

Focus here on seeking God's blessing through the talk.

Exegesis

The first letter of Peter is written around 62-64AD to the churches in Asia Minor, the areas within and around modern

day Turkey.



It is now around 30 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus. Peter is writing to the Jewish Christians who are

there, scattered because of persecution not just by the Roman authorities but by other Jews who believed the

Jewish Christians were a threat to their way of life.


Peter is writing to encourage these Jewish Christians in their suffering - and by this stage he is no stranger to
suffering himself. He is believed to be in Rome where he has been beaten and jailed as Rome started to purge the
empire of those of who would not bow to Caesar. Peter will die there. Peter is encouraging the Jewish Christians to
live joyfully despite their circumstances, and to remember the power, mercy and grace of God in the midst of these
circumstances.

This letter is also intended for us today because we believe in the same Jesus who said:



"All men will hate you because of me..." (Matthew 10:22) and again

" "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble." (John 16:33)

A life of Abiding Joy

Living a life for Jesus Christ is characterized by tremendous, ever-present joy.



Peter says in verses 8-9: "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,

you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith,

the salvation of your souls.



When you become a Christian - when we love and believe in Jesus, when we throw our lot with him and obey his
commandments even though you have not seen him - we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. Why?
Because we are receiving the goal, the prize of our faith. What is that goal of our faith? By God's grace!
it is the salvation of our souls.



Can you see the quality of this joy? Peter says that this joy is inexpressible and glorious. The joy itself is beyond

our capacity to explain or describe to ourselves and others. It just is. It is self-evident. It is glorious, magnificent

and those who see it in us want it for themselves.



And what's more, this joy is present in our lives NOW. Peter says we "are filled", rather than "will be filled" with

joy. It is indeed an abiding joy because it is ever-present, and is here now.

"...receiving the goal of your faith..."

An important point in v8-9 is that Peter says it is our faith that God uses to lead us to the salvation of

our souls.



So the quality of our faith is of paramount importance. The quality of our faith matters greatly.

Swimming

But we know for a fact that our daily experiences are smattered with not so happy times, right? Times when

we even experience walking in the valley of the shadow of death. And it is hard in those times to see the

thread of joy that is supposed to be abiding in our lives then.



When I was about 15, I almost drowned. And it was because I grew over-confident about swimming.



You see when I was small, I loved swimming. I spent many hours in the beach, in calm, chest high waters

swimming, floating and diving. I started to believe this meant that I could now swim regardless of depth

or condition.



Then one day my uncle Dan and his snorkelling buddy took me along in a canoe about a kilometer or so

from the beach.



When they went diving, I stayed on the boat - for about 5 minutes. I decided that since I was such a capable

swimmer, that I should at least be able to swim around the canoe to explore. And I was going to do it in such

a way that the safety of the canoe was no more than 2 or 3 strokes away.



The next thing I knew, the current had taken me 20 or so meters away - and if my Uncle had not seen my distress

and came to my rescue, at great personal risk himself - I would certainly not be here to you today.

Mirroring my Christian walk

My early Christian life is like that early passion for swimming.



In the same way that I was always attracted to the fun of it, so I was also attracted to the promise of joy

in the Christian life.



And when I became a Christian in 1994 the early days were indeed immersed in joyful moments. Times when

my quiet times were constant and craved for; when going to church was never burdensome; and it seemed

even those who did not believe in Jesus at least listened with interest when I shared Him to them.



It was like swimming in the relative safety of calm, shallow waters. Every stroke you make in the water gets you

somewhere. You hold your breath and swim underwater and you find yourself emerging at exactly the point you

planned to swim to.



And then as the months passed the initial euphoria was replaced with the hard slog that is the

Christian life. The immersion in deep waters. The reality is that the Christian life was always going to be

include what J.I. Packer calls "the daily chastening; the endless war with sin and Satan, and the periodic

walk in the darkness."

Not Exempted from Sorrow

It is clear, isn't it, that though it is joy that characterizes the Christian life, it no way exempts that life from

sorrow.



And we know that this is not merely a result of our times, because even Paul in his letter to the Corinthian

church in 2 Corinthians 6:10 says that he also lives "sorrowful, but rejoicing". The context in that passage

is that Paul describes how he values God's grace in his ministry no matter the circumstances he is in.



So how does this work? How does a life with sorrow still be a life of joy? God says in the bible that His plans

for those who believe in Him are plans for prosper them, and not to harm them, plans to give them a hope

and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).



In what way is the sorrow in our lives part of God's plan to prosper us, to give us a hope and a future?

In short, how are our sorrows meant to lead us to the tremendous joy?



In the passage we read today, Peter gives us two reasons why this life can be a life of Joy:



First - Despite the circumstance God has a great and fail-safe in the future for us to look forward to.

that can be found in v3-5.



Second - through the circumstance God has a design to increase our joy in that future by means of our distresses.

This can be found in v6-7, our main verses this morning.

First Reason for Joy: The promise of Prosperity, Hope and Future despite the circumstance

In the interest of time I won't be expanding this first reason too much today, but basically Peter affirms Jeremiah 29:11:



We have a future, because we are assured of life with Christ instead of eternal death in our sins, verse 3.

We have prosperity, because God is setting aside an imperishable, unspoilt and unfading inheritance in heaven, v4.

We have hope, because God is shielding us to guarantee that we will inherit that inheritance, verse 5.

Second Reason for Joy: a Design in our Distresses through the circumstance

The first reason given by Peter is enough, in fact more than enough to give us joy despite the circumstances.



But there is more! There is a reason for joy within the circumstance.



Peter gives us the second reason for joy: there is a design in our distresses.


The design is implied by Peter in the use of the phrase "so that" in verse 7.



The design is also implied even more in the literal translations of the bible such as the KJV and NASB by the inclusion of the

phrase "if need be" or "if necessary", respectively.

Missing in NIV ",if necessary,..."

in Greek/English Interlinear Bible (source: http://www.olivetree.com/cgi-bin/EnglishBible.htm), verse 6 reads:



"Wherein you exult, (though) you for a little while at present, if necessary, have been put to grief in various trials,..."



There is a design in our distresses.

God decrees our distresses

Who is making these distresses necessary? Who owns the design behind the distresses?



Not Satan, because Satan has no interest in refining, proving and building up our faith!



No - the ultimate design in our distresses is by God. Listen to these verses in 1 Peter:



3:17 - "It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."

4:19 - "So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator

and continue to do good."



Or this from Lamentations 3:37-38:

 37 Who can speak and have it happen

       if the Lord has not decreed it?

 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

       that both calamities and good things come?

So when Peter says "...if necessary...", he means "If God deems it necessary."



There are many more verses in the bible that confirms the universality of God's will in all events, such as Romans 8:28,

Isaiah 45:7; Daniel 4:34-35, Amos 3:6, Job 1:21; Jeremiah 15:2



God decrees our circumstances. He commands them to be so with the same authority by which He commanded

"let there be light, and there was light". God's word is effectual in that it will happen in the manner and

in the time he desires and wills.

A difficult implication

Now I know how this sounds - and I know these are difficult questions to answer.

Is it God's will that your family relationships are breaking apart?

Is it God's will that people ridicule you for your belief?

Is it God's will that you are suffering from illness?

Is it God's will that you be alone?

Is it God's will that your job is threatened?

Is it God's will that there are people dying through various wars and injustices throughout the world?



The answer, based on the such verses as 1 Peter 3:17 and 4:19, and Lamentations 3:37-38, is No, God does not will it, and Yes,

He does.



John Piper says: "No in the sense that he does not delight in pain for its own sake; he does not command sin or approve of

sinning. But Yes, he does will that these things be, in the sense that he could easily prevent any of those things but sometimes

does not, but rather guides them, because of higher designs than the destructiveness of sin or the deceitfullness of Satan or

the painfulness of suffering."



You see suffering happens when there is sin. Is this not true? When Christians suffer, is there not sin being committed? And

yet above the destructiveness of sin, the deceit of Satan, exists God's design, governed by God's sovereign will.



When Christ was murdered on the cross, it was sin, but God willed that it happen: "It was the will of the Lord to bruise him"

(Isaiah 53:10). And by that same will that decreed Jesus death, we are saved.

What is the design?

So what is saying in the design of our distresses? We draw out five elements in the passage from Peter:



1. In God's design our distresses are made up of various trials



Verse 6b "...suffer grief in all kinds of trials". The point is that Christians will suffer in many different ways. So in

God's design it is "necessary", he says, to use a wide range of trials. There is not just one kind of trial in scope

here. Piper says "God paints with many colors", many dark and many bright. And in the end the painting that is your life

will be glorious and pleasing to God.



2. In God's design our distresses are brief



Verse 6a "...though now for a little while you may have had to suffer..." Now let's understand here that the phrase "a little

while" is in God's perspective. We may indeed suffer from the day we are born to the day we die, but that is brief

compared to the eternity awaiting us, compared to the enjoyment of the imperishable inheritance that God is keeping

for us in heaven and for which He is keeping us.



3. In God's design our distresses are grievous



Verse 6 says "...suffer grief..." God has so designed our distresses so that there is very real, authentic grieving in our

distress. But there is a difference. Peter says in verse 6 that we rejoice, despite the distresses.



Because our view of our distresses are fundamentally altered because we see a design in our grief. God's design is like

a strong and sure current that carries us along. Though we may be in deep waters and have nothing under our feet

to hold us up; though our limbs are too tired or incapable to take us anywhere - we are rejoicing and full of hope because

we are being directed to shore by God's sovereign grace.



4. In God's design, our distresses are like the fire that refines gold from its impurities



Verse 7: "These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—

may be proved genuine..."



When gold is melted in the fire the impurities rise to the top and can be skimmed off. It is God's design that in our

distresses all the imperfections in our trusting Him can be skimmed off.


Remember that we said earlier

that the quality of our faith matters? It is in our distresses that God refines the quality of our faith.


We believe in God, but sometimes this is mingled with faith in our abilities; our money; our friends; our health. These impurities

hinder our fullest experience of the goodness and the greatness of God. God's design is to remove all these props so that the

faith that results is of the greatest quality.



And God does this not because he doesn't love us: far from it. God loves us so much that he sees our faith as worthy

of refining.



5. Finally, in God's design, the result of this refining is that our faith will receive praise and honor and glory



Verse 7: "... may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."



When Jesus Christ comes again, his majesty and glory will be reflected in the refined quality of our faith. Jesus

will be exalted in the way his believers have fully trusted Him and His promises.



He will come no longer as that helpless baby in Bethlehem, but as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; people

from all nations will bow down and worship before Him.



And on that glorious day when we see Him, when we have already been overflowingly rewarded with a new life;

when our tears are already wiped away and all the old order of things including our pain and suffering are no more -

the King of Heaven Himself will add to our realized hope, prosperity and future, a crown of glory that will never

fade away (Peter 5:4).



And we will see finally that the design of God in our distresses has been the extraordinary joy of sharing

in the very glory and praise and honor of God himself.

Application

Today we may have come through those doors with burdens on our shoulder that we have been struggling with
all week, or even longer. And we see no reason, nor justification for it in our lives, and though we have prayed
at the very start that God take it away - yet it remains.

I encourage you today to not despair, remember that God is always in control even when your life seems out of
control. He holds us in the palm of His hand - and nothing, and no one can take us away from there.

I encourage you to remember that God loves you, and yet he does not want to leave you where you are: He
wants to take you on a journey of being more and more like Christ. And that necessarily means purging out
the bad things in our lives; the trusting in other created thing rather than the Creator.

He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us - and yet I know it is easy to say this out loud but
a totally different thing to live it out. Let me encourage you that as Paul says, God is faithful, he will not let
you be tempted, tested beyond what we can bear. In the midst of that temptation, that testing, he will always
provide a way out so that we can stand up under it.

So today even as we pray "Come Lord Jesus", let us also pray "Lord, let your will be done in me, as I wait".

Closing Prayer

Let's pray.

Romans 8:28 - More Than Conquerors

 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,^[a] who^[b] have been called

according to his purpose.





Dear God thank you that you are sovereign. That there is nothing in the world over which you do not hold dominion.

Nothing exists nor happens unless you decree it to be so.



But you are not only sovereign O Lord but you are a loving God who is committed to our Joy.



O Lord you have put in all our hearts the desire to be happy. And we know that any happiness we make for ourselves

are just not good enough for you have designed us with eternity in our hearts.



Thank you that you have given us joy and hope in the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ. We now

know that we have a future - a life beyond this body that will surely suffer and die.



And yet your love and generosity extends further than this promise of a new life, and you give us joy in abundance

by the promise of an eternal, imperishable inheritance in heaven that you have set apart for us and for which we

are being shielded and set apart too.



But that is not all, although those are already far more than we deserve. You have seen our paltry faith worthy of

refining so that it becomes of greater quality, and may result in us sharing in your praise and honor and glory.



O Lord forgive us for we sometimes do not see your hand in the distresses in our lives. Grant that we may leave

today fully convicted that you are working, you are ever working in our lives, painting on our canvas a glorious

picture that will bring glory to you.



We commit therefore to you all our distresses, and recognize that we are not equal to them. But you are, and more.

Lord help us to rejoice in our circumstances.



Amen.

20060917 Living The Significant Life

The Significant Life

by Manuel Mariano, for PBMC Sunday night service, 2006/09/17

Before the reading - What's happened prior to this passage

Why Paul is in Athens

Paul is in Athens, a city in Greece. He is in his second missionary journey from Jerusalem, the year is around 52AD, about 20 years after Jesus' death and resurrection.

Paul is in Athens because he was escorted there for his safety by some of the believers from a city called Beroea. Paul had been causing a ruckus from Philippi to Thessalonica to Beroea with the message about Jesus, the cross and the resurrection. Many Jews hated him and wanted him charged and punished.

So they left Paul all by himself in Athens, to wait for the arrival of his travelling companions Silas and Timothy who were still in Beroea.

The status of Athens at this time

At this time, all of Greece was rule by Rome - as was most of the know world.

Although Athens was no longer the political and economic center of Greece, it was still the intellectual centre. As Luke, the writer of the books of Acts says of them in verse 21 in our passage today, "All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas."

So Athens was full of intellectual people who were exposed to many ideas from all around the world because Athens was visited by foreigners from all over.

And so we catch up on the reading below.

Passage

Please open your bibles to Acts 17:16-34. I will be reading my passage from the New International Version.

Acts 17:16-34
New International Version (NIV)

In Athens

16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of
idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the
marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What
is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said
this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May
we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean."
21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about
and listening to the latest ideas.)

22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every
way you are very religious.

23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with
this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to
proclaim to you.

24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live
in temples built by hands.
25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men
life and breath and everything else .

26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he
determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is
not far from each one of us.

28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said,
'We are his offspring.'

29"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver
or stone—an image made by man's design and skill.

30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has
given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We
want to hear you again on this subject."

33At that, Paul left the Council.

34A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the
Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Opening Prayer

Pray for God's guidance to speak His words and not mine.
To speak clearly into all hearts His love and purpose for our lives.

Summary of the Talk

Today I wish to share the following:

that all peoples on the Earth have a common origin and a common purpose and direction. If we find our purpose, then we can live significant lives.

We are all created by God, and for God. That is our origin.

He did not leave us alone to muddle our way through life - although nothing is preventing us if we wish to muddle our way if we wish. Instead He made us according to his image, with everything inside us designed to seek him, to reach out to him, and ultimately to find him. That is our purpose and direction.

So if we live our lives seeking for him, reaching out to him and finding him, then we live significant lives.

That's what I hope to expand on today.

Paul's Distress

16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

From his background and experience, Paul knows only one God

We read that Paul was 'greatly distressed' to see so many idols in Athens. Why was he distressed, or in other translations, why was 'his spirit provoked within him' by the idols? Because Paul, from his cultural background as a Jew and elite education in Judaism, and then later from his transforming experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus, knows intimately that there is only one God.

God prohibits worship of other gods in the ten commandments

And this God declares powerfully in the ten commandments that belief or worship of any other created things is prohibited.

God's first commandment He gave the people of Israel states (Exodus 3:20):

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.You shall have no other gods besides me.  4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God"

Paul knows quite well what rebellion against this commandment leads to. The whole history of Israel and Judah shows how God punished Israel and Judah for worshipping other gods. Years of exile away from the promised land followed; a large proportion of Jews died by the sword, by pestilence - all because they abandoned God.

Paul's spirit was provoked to warn, not to judge

Paul was distressed primarily because he was concerned of God's judgement on the city for their rebellion against God. I don't think he was doing it merely to tell them they were wrong, but to warn them that there are very dire consequences for idolatry. So he preached in the synagogues and in the marketplace, to anyone who would listen, passionately, so that Athens might turn away from the worship of idols.

Reaction to Paul

18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

Outrage from the Philosophers

Then some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers argued with Paul. Obviously what Paul was saying disagreed with their philosophy. And so it should. The Epicurean philosophy discounts superstition and divine intervention, and instead emphasizes overcoming fear and pain through knowledge. The Stoic philosophy discount passions and emphasizes reason.

On the contrary the message of the gospel as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18 seems like foolishness to those who are perishing. To the Epicurean God doesn't even exist so the idea of sin and the need for salvation is foolishness. To the Stoic the idea that the resurrection even happened is completely unreasonable and therefore foolish.

This hasn't changed much at all today. The cross still appears foolish to the "wise", and the main reason is that we discount God at the outset, so any argument for God is immediately unreasonable.

At the Council of the Areopagus

19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean."
21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

They 'took' him to the Areopagus - an Arrest?

Then they 'took' him to the council of the Areopagus.

Scholars believe that Paul was not invited to friendly get-together; it was more an arrest. The reasons pointing to this include the fact that the word "dispute" in verse 18 in the original Greek translation leaned more towards being translated as "quarrel".

Furthermore, the philosopher's reference to Paul talking about 'foreign divinities', scholars say, is the same charge that condemned Socrates in Athens as well.

And the phrase "they took him and brought him" in verse 19, say the scholars, could just as legitimately be translated as "they took hold of him".

The Areopagus - what was it?

A Word about the council of the Areopagus.

The Areopagus is a hill in Athens, northwest of the Acropolis. It is also called Mar's Hill.

The council that met there in ancient Athens was the highest governmental assembly; later it became the chief judicial criminal court in Athens. Even under the Roman rule, the council of the Areopagus still maintained significant authority over the citizens of Athens.

A Trial?

Scholars believe that Paul was brought before the council in a formal sitting. The purpose perhaps was to determine whether Paul was preaching something that threatened Athens; and then maybe to decide whether he should be allowed to continue to preach at all.

Parallels between Athens and 21st Century Australia

22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.

23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

Intolerance of faith is unacceptable today

Now I believe that what Paul says to the Athenians at the Areopagus he also says to us today.

As with the Athenians, our society has learned to tolerate many belief systems, even if some of them contradict. We have different world views. And on the surface at least, it is criticism of other faith that is not tolerated.

We would scrutinize Paul critically today too

So if Paul were to come today stating repeatedly and with passion, to anyone who would listen - that none of these belief systems were right, he too would face our most critical scrutiny.

We normally suspend judgement against any religion don't we, until they appear to judge ours? Well that's what Paul was doing in Athens. No wonder they 'took hold of him' and presented him to the formal sitting of the council of the Areopagus.

When he stood before the council, Paul confronts the Athenians, and us who read about this event, about the things that we 'worship', the things that we put our trust in. Paul confronts us about our idolatry.

Idolatry: a quick definition

We need to define idolatry at this point.

In general terms 'idolatry' is used by religions to describe the worship of false gods. This means each religion in the world believes that those who do not worship their god are committing idolatry.

What is the biblical interpretation of idolatry? Earlier we touched on God's commandments to Israel expressly forbidding them from worshipping other gods. So in the bible the condemnation of idolatry is not made by human followers, but God himself.

Idols: Tangible and Intagible; Inanimate and animated

And it is God who defines the terms by which we recognize 'idols' - it is anything that we put up for ourselves and worship, instead of worshipping God. In Genesis we see that idols can be tangible objects, made of metal or wood.

Now 'idols' are not merely limited to tangible, inanimate objects - made of metal or wood. Any attitude or world view or person in fact can be an idol if we value them above God. If they take centre stage in our affections. For example, in Ephesians 5:5 we read:

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

An idol therefore is anything that causes a man to become immoral, impure or greedy because they have taken God's place as the center of that man's motivations and passion and worship.

See how extensive this quicksand of idolatry is? And do we recognize from this definition that we therefore today have as many idols as the Athenians did?

John Piper said "Anything that usurps that [God's] place becomes an idol, whether it be a spouse, a child, a humanitarian project, or pornography, or drugs or power over the poor or religion. An idol is a god-substitute. Archeology limits idols to stone statues, biblical theology teaches that idols are anything that take the place of God in our lives."

Pause and consider - what are our idols today?

Let's take a moment here and pause and consider - what are our idols today?

What have we put up above God? For what things do we say - "I'll do this first, and I'll go to God later"? Whatever that thing is, you've made it more important than your communion with your Creator. You've made it your idol.

But idols are not just those things that we believe give us something 'good'. They can be things that we know are 'bad' for us.

Our idols include 'bad' things we've put above God

What have we put as beyond God? What wrong things that we've done in our lives do we say, "God could never forgive me for this"? Because whatever sin  that may be, you've made it more powerful than God in your life. You've made that sin your idol.

What hurt have we experienced that we say, "God could never heal me in this"? Because whatever hurt that may be, you've made it more powerful than God in your life. You've made that hurt your idol.

Brief Summary of Paul's declaration at the Areopagus

I've already said that what Paul has to say to the Athenians at the Areopagus he also says to us today.

In brief Paul declares the following at the Areopagus, and to us:

1. Who God is (verses 22-26)
2. Who we are (verses 27-28)
3. The judgement against idolatry to come (verses 29-31)

I will not discuss the third part of his talk, that is the judgement against idolatry. I will talk about what Paul says about God briefly, to strengthen what is my main focus for today - and that is what Paul says about who we are.

Who is this God?

Proclaiming the 'Unknown God'

Firstly Paul acknowledges the Athenian's piety, or their willingness to perform religious duties. The fact that they reserved an idol for the "unknown god" shows how seriously they wanted to perfectly perform these duties, to cover all religious requirements of all possible gods.

The Paul tells them that he proclaims to them this "unknown god".

God the Creator - self-sufficient and complete

Paul says that this God is creator of everything; heaven and earth. He gives men their life; their breath, everything.

Because of this, God doesn't need shrines made by human hands - nor does he require the service of men. Indeed God doesn't need anything because He made everything.

This God is complete within Himself; He is totally self-sufficient. Man's actions do not add anything to God's glory.

God is not distant but is close to each of us

Paul says at the end of verse 27 that God is not far from each one of us. God is not a distant entity. In fact, Paul says he is near "each one of us", implying that God doesn't look at humanity only as a group, but as individuals. Having God that close to each of us individually implies that he is interested in the minutiae of our individual lives.

God is interested in us

And God is not uncaring - he doesn't leave us to fumble our way in the dark.

Paul says that at the start of verse 27 that if we reach out for him, we will find him. In fact that is why he created us - that "men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him".

Who are we?

Unity in Humanity

Paul says that God created us all from "one man", to "inhabit the whole earth" - meaning that regardless of our color, nationality, culture - we are all united. We come frome the same source.

There is nothing that differentiates our needs; our wants; our desires our rights from that of anyone else in the world.

There is nothing that separates us in God's eyes, the Creator, from each other.

Isn't it amazing though how easily we gloss over this fact in the way we see each other? How easily we fall into the "us and them" syndrome.

Failing to accept this 'unity in humanity' allows people to justify mistreatment of others - Slave labour; forced prostitution; bullying at school.

We have a built-in desire to seek God...

Paul then says that God created every person on earth, and allocated for them their own space to live in, and their own finite time, firstly so that we would seek him.

Paul is implying here that God's creative work can be recognized within the sphere of human experience. That even without any formal religious introduction or background, every person on Earth would naturally seek after God, just by the mere fact that they exist, and that this existence is in a particular place and for a finite time.

Paul here is appealing to a natural theology that even the Greeks would recognize.

This explains why in all of man's history in every civilized society that ever existed, we have never stopped seeking for something greater than ourselves to define us; to guide us; to lead us.

Some seek it through religion; others nature; others humanity; others government, others anarchy, etc. etc.

It is built into us, as intrinsic to our natures as breathing.

... but we don't reach out to God

But then note what Paul says next in verse 27 "...and perhaps reach out for him". Note the use of the word "perhaps". In other translations it says "in the hope of".

I see Paul here saying that even though we will all automatically seek God, we won't necessarily reach out to God. Some people will try to engage with this God whose divine existence is obvious in what is created.

Some people have intellectually or morally decided outright that there is no God and therefore they find god-substitutes.

They would reach out to their idols instead.

We all seek our purpose

We've already said that all of us will definitely seek God. But we haven't seen "why" yet.

Paul hints at why we are seeking God in verse 28 when he said "For in Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring."

The reason why we seek God? Because we are seeking our identity, our purpose and ultimately our direction.

An often quoted phrase to describe this longing is "... a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known by Jesus Christ."

Created in God's Image

If your question today is "what is my purpose in life?" Verse 28 answers it for us. That is why this is for me the key verse for this message. Paul tells us that who we are; why we are; is "in Him".

In saying this, Paul reminds us that we are created in God's image, therefore it is in God that we will finally find our identity, purpose and direction.

What is God's Image in man?

Understanding God's image = understanding our purpose

We should spend a little time here discussing what this "God's image in man" is. This is critical because this image is what makes man man.

Misunderstanding the meaning of this image of God in man can mean misunderstanding our purpose in God.

The key passage regarding the image of God in man is in Genesis 1:26, in the creation of man God says "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, ^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Various theological views about the image of God***

There are basically three (3) views on the image of God in man: the 'substantive', the 'relational' and the 'functional' view.

Let's look at these briefly.

The relational view states that the image of God in man is the relationships we have with each other and with God, and not anything that man is or possesses. It is patterned in the understanding that God's image is the relationship within the trinity - and therefore the image of God in man is also about relationships.

The functional view states that the image of God is in what man does. In Genesis 1:26 it is believed that the image of God in man is in his dominion or mastery over all creatures - that is what makes man like God - this lordship that God has extended to man.

The more common view is the 'substantive view' which says that the image is "identified as a definite characteristic or quality within the makeup of the human". Some believe the image is an aspect of our physical makeup. Others believe it is an aspect of our physchological, or spiritual makeup.

What view to believe? **

Scholars see many weaknesses in both the functional and relational view. Based on careful examination of the bible, it is apparent to them that the image of God is more 'substantive' - that is the image of God is something that God put in man.

What is the image of God in man?

What can we say definitively about the image of God in man, based on the bible?

1. the image of God is a set of attributes of God which, reflected in man, make worship, personal relationships, and work possible. It is the intelligence, the will, the emotions that enables man to have the divinely intended relationship with God and fellow men, and to exercise dominion.

2. Everyone possesses the image of God, not only good people. In Genesis 9:6 murder is prohibited because man is created in God's image. It does not prohibit it only for believers, but all men. Therefore everyone has the image of God in them whether or not they recognize it.

3. Also implied in the prohibition of murder is that this image of God was not lost after Adam and Eve sinned. Otherwise muder would not have been prohibited.

4. The image of God is not present in different amounts from person to person. It is not linked to natural superiority, intelligence. It is not dependent on what we do because God intended it before Adam was created - so it wasn't at all based on what Adam and Eve could do.

Why are we created in God's Image? (What is our purpose?)

In Jesus we can find out why we were created in God's Image

So why were we created in the image of  God? This would answer our question about what our purpose is - why are we here?

The bible tells us that it is our sin and sinful nature that separates us from God. To save us it became necessary to send His Son Jesus as the sinless sacrifice (Hebrews 4:15) to pay the price of salvation that we could not pay. That is the good news of the gospel.

Since Jesus is the only sinless person who ever lived, then he possessed humanity in pure form. In him the image of God was lived out to perfection. By studying Jesus, we get our answer as to why God created us:

1. We are intended for perfect fellowship with God.
In John 17:21-22 Jesus said that He and the Father are one, and his prayer is for those who believe in Him be one with Him too.

2. We are intended for perfect obedience to God.
In the Garden of Gethsemane the night Jesus was arrested, Jesus prayed to the Father to take away the coming suffering at the cross, but that the Father's will, not Jesus' will, be done. Throughout his ministry Jesus' always put his will as subordinate to the Father's will.

3. We are intended for strong love for others.
Jesus was concerned about the sick, the poor, the widowed, the grieving.

So it is God's intention that we are only completely human if

a.) we show the same characteristics of fellowship, obedience and love in our relationship with God,
b.) we are bound to each other in love.

How are we to live out our purpose?

A common answer: Jesus

So at the end of this, how are we to live out our purpose?

Whether you are already a believer in Jesus or not, the answer to this question is the same: the answer is still Jesus.

To the unbeliever

If you do not yet believe in God, know that He believes in you. And did so even before you were born. He made you in His image which is in you today even though you don't acknowledge that it is there. It is intrinsically in you, and it is what is pushing you to seek an answer - any answer. It is why you put up your idols. You were made by God and for His purposes. You won't be happy until your life is in complete synch with his plans for it.

Today He is telling us that we need to put  away our idols. Put our trust in God alone. God has already provided for the way, through Jesus who said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me."  5God presented him (Jesus) as a sacrifice of atonement (on the cross),^[a] through faith in him (Romans 3:25)."

God is able. No sin, no pain is beyond his capacity to forgive and heal - and his chosen channel for both to come through is in faith in Jesus. Jesus said in Matt 11:28 - 31:
 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

To the believer

If you are a believer then remember that you are to pattern yourself after Jesus who is the complete revelation of the image of God in us.

If we want to see how to live a life of purpose, we only need to look at Jesus.

We are to characterize the dedication of him who said "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as you will".

We are to characterize the determination  of him who said, "'We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work.' (John 9:4).

And we are to emulate the love in the life and death of him who said "greater love has no man than this, that a many lay down his life for his friend" (John 15:13)

20060828Preaching-Being_a_Servant_of_God-v2.0

Being a Servant of God

20060827
by Manuel Mariano

Introduction

We have been learning together in the last two Sundays that God calls us all to experience Him.  The use of the word 'experience' is deliberate; it conjures up in our minds something that engages our whole being; all our senses. We are called to be actively immersed into God.

Miguel and Dip-Dip

Miguel loves to do 'dip-dip' - which is what my family calls it when you dip a biscuit into a hot drink of Milo and then quickly slurp the whole biscuit before it breaks off. I'm we've all done something like this before.

Immersion into God

Well when I said "immersed into God" I mean that we are to be like the biscuit dipped into Milo .... and then left there. Left to the point where we can no longer tell any difference between our will and God's supreme will; between Jesus' character and our character. Where we live with Him, for Him and in Him, moment by moment, breath by breath.





That is the extent and magnitude of how we experience God.

Main Verse - John 12:26

What I want to share with you today is centered around John 12:26. In this verse Jesus says:

NIV:"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."

I want to share how this command helps us in immersing ourselves in the experience of God. How do we experience God through serving Jesus?

Opening Prayer

Pray for God's leading during the talk, for open hearts, ready to receive.

Passage - John 12:20-26

To get the context of this verse, let's read John 12:20-26 - NIV:

20-Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast.

21-They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus."

22-Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

23-Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

24-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.

25-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.

26-Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Experiencing God through Serving Him

A Christian is a Servant of God

A Christian is a Servant of God because a Christian is modelled after Jesus. The apostle Paul said that our attitude should be the same as Jesus - who made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant and humbled himself even to death on the cross (Phil 2:5-8).

And it pleased God to let us experience Him through this servant-master relationship, which is different from the way we understand such a relationship in the world.

The Servant-Master Relationship in the world

When we talk about the servant-master relationship in the world - we see that the servant's role is to do what the master cannot do, or  chooses not to do.



There is no obligation for the master to share his reasons for his command to the servant; and there isn't necessarily a close relationship between the master and the servant. Even if a master is a benevolent master, there is still a hard line that separates the master's position from the servant's position.

The Servant-Master relationship with God

It's different when you are a servant of God. God shares his heart and his intention when we read the bible.



We can know from reading the bible that God is a just God, and at the same time a loving God. His perfect justice  condemns sin; and His perfect love provides a rescue from sin through Jesus.



The bible tells us too that there is no hard line separating us from God.  In John 17 (17:22-23) This is what Jesus says in His prayer to the Father: "I have given them (Jesus' followers) the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."



And Jesus our master is not commanding us to do something that he chooses not to do, or cannot do. He Himself was a Servant who gave Himself for others and for God. There is nothing that he commands that He Himself has not undergone in greater magnitude.



Finally this servant-master relationship is starkly different from the seculiar definition because Jesus is not aloof from those who serve Him. Instead He promised in Matthew 28:20 that He would be with them always, to the very end of the age.

Context

In the passage we read, we see Jesus and his disciples arriving in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Jesus is now only 5 days away from being arrested by His enemies, condemned, beaten, then nailed to the cross in the most gruesome capital punishment imaginable.



The Jewish leaders had set in motion measures to finally put an end to this upstart Rabbi from Nazareth (John 11:45-57). They tried to stone Him at least twice before, and because of this Jesus and his disciples had to escape across the Jordan (John 10). The Jews were instructed to report if they saw Jesus in Jerusalem so He could be arrested.



His disciples knew the threats and were understandably alarmed when Jesus told them they were returning to Judea. They asked "Rabbi, a short while ago the Jews tried to to stone you, and yet you are going back?" (John 11:8)



It is with the shadow of this impending suffering and crucifixion that Jesus says in John 12:26, "Whoever serves me must follow me..."

The weird answer to the Greeks' request

When I first read this passage, it seemed to me that there was a chunk of verse missing between verse 22 and verse 23. I couldn't see the connection between the two.



In verse 22 and prior, Andrew and Phillip come to Jesus to pass on the request from the Greeks who wanted to "see" Jesus.



Then in verse 23, Jesus talks about how it was now time for the Son of Man (Jesus himself) to be glorified. What happened to the Greeks and their request?

The missing word - "and"

When I checked other more literal translations of the Bible like the English Standard Version (ESV) or Young's Literal Translation (YLT), or the New American Standard Bible (NASB) - I found that in fact verse 22 and 23 are directly connected.



There is a word at the start of verse 23 that is missing in the NIV, but present in the other translations. And that word is "and".



In both the NASB and ESV therefore, verse 23 reads "And Jesus answered them..."



Therefore what Jesus says from verse 23 onwards pertained to the request of the Greeks through Andrew and Phillip. And what was that request again? They said, "we would like to see Jesus".

A word on the different translations

Now I'm not really here to talk today about why there are many different translations of the bible. Perhaps we can ask Pastor Ray to schedule a talk dealing with the authority and the authenticity of the bible at a later time.



However I do want to explain what I meant by a 'literal translation' of the bible.



The bibles of today, in general, tend to fall somewhere between a paraphrased translation, or a literal translation. The NIV and the Good News bible for example tend more towards paraphrasing - the aim is to clarify meaning and make it easier to read.



The ESV, the NASB and ASV lean more towards literal translation where they attempt to stick as accurately as possible to the grammar and sense of the original Hebrew and Greek texts, while at the same time clarifying meaning.



There are advantages and disadvantages for either type of translation - but the message of the bible is unchanged.



A paraphrased translation sometimes misses out on specific nuances and deliberate mangling of words in the original text. The 'mangling' of the words was necessary for writers like Paul because there was nothing in their vocabulary that could accurately describe the spiritual concepts that they were talking about.



For example, in John 3:16 it is written in the NIV "... whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life". But according to theologian Dr. Bill Mounce who was the professor of New Testament and Director of the Greek Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the literal Greek translation actually reads "...whoever believes into Him shall not perish".



This is bad greek grammar, but awesome theology because the Apostle John is saying that it is not enough to "believe in Jesus" because even the devils believe Jesus and are afraid of Him. The kind of belief required is believing into Jesus where everything - everything a believer values or puts their trust in - everything is  poured into, and surrendered in favour of, believing in Jesus so that this belief is all-encompassing.

"We would like to see Jesus"

"We would like to see Jesus".



In a profound way, when Christians worship or spend time reading their bibles, that is exactly what they are seeking - to see Jesus. To spend time with Him. To be quiet and to hear what He wants to say.



In the way Jesus answered the request from verse 23 onwards, we see that there is more to the request than the Greeks than merely wanting to observe Jesus from a distance. The implied questions in their minds were "What must I do to be saved? What must I do to have eternal life? What must I do to be in Your Kingdom?"

Jesus' Glory through Death

To this request Jesus answers, "So you wish to see me? You wish to serve me? You are right to want to serve me and be identified with me - because my hour of glory is here. The hour is now. This hour is why I came."



But then Jesus says that His hour of glory is fulfilled through death. He is the "kernel of wheat" that bears fruit only if it dies.



He says "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."



A seed has but one and only one purpose, doesn't it? To grow into a plant and produce even more seeds, and by consequence more plants. But for a seed to accomplish this purpose it must fall to the ground and die. In the same way, Jesus is saying that unless He dies, His purpose will not be fulfilled.

A Person to be Adored

My Misunderstanding of Calvary

While preparing for this message, I found myself examining how I first understood or more acurately, misunderstood Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.



I was in High School when I first really heard of why Jesus died on the cross, and why He is worthy of my love and affection.



Perhaps because I wasn't listening properly to my cathecism classes, or perhaps because it wasn't clarified to me, from then and for a long time afterwards I loved Jesus not for anything He did for me, but because I felt He died for no reason.



Yes I believed He was God - but I believed that He had come to Earth on a mission to tell us that He loved us, and wanted us back - but the tragedy is that no one wanted to listen, but instead decided to kill Him.



I loved Him because I believed I understood what He was trying to teach us, and yet He was unjustly executed by an ignorant generation.



Therefore when I looked at Jesus' second coming, to me it was my chance tell Him that I at least valued Him and wanted to hear more. I would deal with Him, I thought, more justly than the previous generation.

The Truth of Calvary

Now there's nothing wrong in seeing the injustice done to Jesus, and to feel grieved at what happened in Calvary. You see we have in us the image of God that calls us to act justly and to abhor injustice. That's what the prophet Micah says (Micah 6:7-9).



But now I know that the person who hung on the cross at Calvary was not a victim deserving my admiration; but a willing Saviour deserving my adoration.



The bible tells us in Isaiah 53:

(v10) Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him (Jesus) and cause him to suffer... the LORD makes ^[c] his life a guilt offering,

Why?

to be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; to take on the punishment that brought us peace, and by whose wounds we are healed.

He did not waiver

The most amazing thing about what happened is that He knew all along His life was meant to end at Calvary. But He did not waiver from it.



In v27-28 Jesus says ""Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"

"...Follow Me."

Even as Jesus says his glory comes through His death, He says, "Whoever serves me must follow me."



This is not just following behind Jesus going the same general direction, but to completely imitate Him.



If we today are serious about serving Jesus, we must follow Him - walk where He walked. More clearly, we are called to die with Him. To hate the life we have in this world, the life that is a servant of the world, and to become a servant of Jesus instead.



Today people still say, "We wish to see Jesus". People are still seeking to meet with Him. What is God's instrument to show them Jesus?



In 2 Corinthians (4:10-12) we learn that it is the believers,  in their daily dying that Jesus is shown to the world.

Following Jesus -  A Hard Thing to Do

That is what a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, is called to do. To die daily. Jesus says (Luke 9:23) "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Clarifying what is meant by "Dying"

But what is meant by this dying daily? Aren't the believers, as Paul says, crucified with Christ and no longer live but Christ lives in them? Does this mean we become a Christian all over again? Does this mean we have to daily "win" back our salvation?



NO. if you are a Christian, you have alread died. In Colossians 3:3 we read: "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." As Paul puts it in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."



When you become a Christian, something magnificent and decisive happens once and for all time. Your old self that rebelled against God - that self died with Jesus on the cross when you come by grace, through Faith to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.



Therefore the dying to self that is talked about here, is living daily no longer relying or depending on ourselves, but living moment by moment relying only in Jesus. This is a life-long experience of becoming in practice what we are in our position with God. God declared us innocent because of what Jesus did on the cross. Now therefore we practice daily living an innocent life, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

A Hard life

And this is hard to do, isn't it? Jesus knew this. (Matthew 7:14) Jesus said, "The gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few." It is hard to die. It is hard to hate your life in this world. It is hard to follow Jesus on the road that leads to the cross. It is hard to take the role of a servant when the world only values power.

What does dying to ourselves look like

What does dying to ourselves look like?



God made put us all in different positions in life; and He did not give us the same talent or ability to serve Him.



(1 Corinthians 12:4-6) The bible says that "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."



Dying to self may mean giving up a promising career and its rewards, and work for God instead as a missionary, or a poorly-paid pastor. It may be giving up your time to encourage another person - to disciple, to teach, to pray with; It may be to abandon safety in silence by speaking out boldly against injustice and speaking for the victims, the poor, the needy; to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. It could be to abandon your own fears and doubts and step up to serve in ministries in the church to which you bring nothing but the certainty that God has called you there.



Jesus calls His servants to live out the two greatest commandments - “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:36-40). 



Dying to self means living for God first, and then living for others second. Now, because the first commandment calls you to love God with all that you are and have, then the love you have for others and yourself would be drawn from the same all-encompassing love you have for God. You would love others and yourself as God would have you love others and yourself. And in such a love, God is the center, and you are not in the picture at all.

Following Jesus -  A Glorious Thing to do

Following Jesus is a hard thing to do, but John 12 also tells us that following Jesus is a glorious thing to do. We mustn't focus soley on the sacrifice because we miss out on the power and the freedom that comes with serving Jesus.



Yes like the kernel of wheat we must fall to the ground and die - but we will bear much fruit! This dying is not in vain.



Yes we must hate our lives in this world, but we gain eternal life instead.



Yes we must follow Him to Calvary, but Jesus says "where I am my servant also will be." Jesus used the same phrase in John 14, and there he meant heaven: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." If we follow Him to Calvary we will be with Him in Heaven.



Yes we must become His Servants. In fact the greek word used is DOULOS, which means 'slave'. But what does the Father do to Jesus' servants? "My Father will honor the one who serves me."



What we give up for Christ in serving Him, He will give back to us again with glory.

Challenge

If we today do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and we are repelled by the idea of losing our "personal freedom" because we become a Servant of God as a Christian - consider that if we are not serving God, we are serving the world. Our ambition may be enslaving us; other people's expectation may be enslaving us. Our very idea of freedom itself may be enslaving us because it doesn't allow us to consider freedom in Jesus Christ.

The bible says that we are created in God's image, and for fellowship with Him. We will not find true joy unless we find our true purpose. And you know what? Our Creator knows our purpose more than anyone else does. We either serve the World or serve God. It is not an easy life to live to serve God, but it is a significant life. I invite you not leave today without seriously examining what has been said here, and to not delay.

For those today who have a relationship with Jesus, soberly ask ourselves the question: is there something that is hindering my fruitfulness of Christ—something that keeps me from seeing him and showing him—something that I need to die to?

Closing Prayer

• 
  

  
  Is there something God is calling me to die to that I might experience more fully my position in Christ; that I might see Christ more clearly and show him more compellingly?
  

  
  
• 
  

  
  Am I striving against my very nature as a Christian by trying to keep alive something God sentenced to death when I became a Christian?
  

  
  
• 
  

  
  Are my weaknesses as a father or a husband or a witness owing to something that needs to die in me—some old habit, some secret sin, some root of pride, some fear of looking silly, some desperate need for approval, some desire for wealth?
  

  
  

Lord show us what it is; and we will obey the word and put it to death by the Spirit (Romans 8:13).

treasuring God through loving others

Treasuring God through loving others

INTRODUCTION

Last week, if you were here, you would have heard the message preached through brother Robert which was about children's responsibilities to their parents. I was really blessed by that especially because what was preached confirmed and supports the message I was preparing for today.

To my mind I summarized the message last week this way:

The faithful performance of the parents responsibility to teach their children, combined with the faithful performance of the children's responsibility to obey and honor their parents, results in:
1. harmony in the family
2. honor to God

Today I want to focus on the link between those two results: 'harmonious families' and 'honoring God'. What I hope to share is that genuinely loving our families and in general, genuinely loving others, is inseparable from loving and honoring God.

And the link is this: that you can only genuinely love your mother, your family, your friend, your neighbor, even your enemy - if you treasure God. Loving others flows from treasuring God. What our family needs is not that we give more of ourselves to them; what they need is that we give ourselves completely to God. Everything else flows from this.

As Jesus said as part of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6, seek first the kingdom of God, put God first in your life, have faith in God, make God your treasure - then all these things, including improved family relationships, will be added unto you.

PRAYER

READING, GALATIANS 5:13-17

BACKGROUND TO GALATIANS

The letter to the Galatians shows Paul in conflict with other
missionaries. Jewish-Christians from Palestine had visited the
church at Galatia after Paul's visit there and taught that
Paul's Gospel was incomplete. They persuaded some of the Galatians that
salvation required observance of the Torah laws, including
circumcision. Paul writes to rebuke and to persuade the Galatians in
this letter.

Paul's asks them these questions: why are you now following a different gospel and as a result put yourself under the curse of the law? Why believe that salvation is not complete unless you also add to it 'good works'?

He goes on to remind the Galatians what they should know by heart: that no one is justified or freed through the observing of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

Now the passage we read this morning Paul talks about freedom in Christ; and then encouraging them to use that freedom to love others 'as you love yourself'; and then exhorting the Galatians to live by the Spirit and not by the sinful nature.

This love that Paul is talking about, the love that is possible in the freedom in Christ, is the same love that our family needs. Hopefully we are able to see this truth clearer later on.

WANTING OUR FAMILIES TO WORK

If we are today celebrating our mum for mother's day we are testifying not only to our gratitude to her for all the good things she has done for us, we are also testifying that we value family relationships.

I believe that regardless of where you stand with God, we all have a desire for family, and a desire to make it work.

And 'making it work' is just another way to say we want to see our family as that relationship that:
1. builds its members up
2. encouraging one another
3. cheering each other through the fun times
4. consoling each other through the hard times

In short we want our families to be defined by, permeated and sustained by love.

WHAT IS NEEDED: TREASURING GOD

The last few messages here at Punchbowl has been given to help teach and direct us on how we may enhance our family relationships. Already we've talked about the responsibilties of parents to their children and vice versa, we've talked about what God expects in a married life.

Today I want to crystallize our messages down to its essential point such that we answer with clarity the question:

what do we ultimately need to enhance our family? Or in line with today's thoughts, what do we ultimately need to engender genuine love in our family?

The short answer is we need hearts that treasure God.

The long answer, based on Paul's letter to the Galatians is this:

What is needed are hearts that have been freed (Gal 5:1 & 13) through the faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 2:16),
who in freedom and complete reliance on the Holy Spirit treasures God as their ultimate joy(Gal 3:1-5), and who naturally expresses this treasuring of God through loving
others (Gal 5:6).

Let us unpack this a little more.

FIRST PART OF THE ANSWER - HEARTS FREED THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

The first part of the long answer: hearts that are set free through faith in Jesus Christ

Paul in another letter, the letter to the Romans (Rom 3:11) says that the reality is that no one seeks after God, much less love God.

The state we are in when we do not seek God is compared by Paul in this letter to enslavement. Like slaves we are not free to be who we are, a person created to love God and to love others. In fact our slavery is so complete that we don't even know that we are slaves, and now and then we have a nagging suspicion that we are not complete.

And because we are unable to live out God's commandments in this state, we are condemned to death according to it.

Now Paul says in Gal 5:13 to the Galatian Christians: you are called to be free. And that is the calling of every Christian.

And this is not a simple call that is dependent upon a response. This is what we call 'effectual calling' or 'irresistible grace', that is that it is a call that is a work by the Holy Spirit through which a person is led from sin to the recognition of their sin, then to an understanding of Jesus Christ that leads to a person embracing Jesus Christ as their saviour, freeing them from the  slavery of their sin.

Paul confirms this 'effectual calling' in Gal 2:16 and Gal 5:1, saying that we are set free by Jesus Christ through faith in Him:

"16know that a man is not
justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we,
too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by
faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the
law no one will be justified."

" 1It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be
burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

So the first part to the answer of what is ultimately needed in our families: hearts that are set free through faith in Jesus Christ.

SECOND PART OF THE ANSWER - THE NATURE OF THAT FREEDOM IS RELIANCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT TO LOVE GOD

The second part of the long answer: that these freed hearts then live lives that are sustained and empowered by the HS, to treasure God as their ultimate joy.

Notice an interesting thing about Gal 5:1? It effectively says that Christ sets a person free so that they may have freedom. Sounds redundant doesn't it? Doesn't a free person have freedom by default?

If you think about it, this passage hints at what TRUE FREEDOM is all about. A person may be free but not really have true freedom. True freedom is not merely defined as having the opportunity and ability to do anything you desire to do. True freedom is having the opportunity, the ability and the desire to do what gives you ultimate joy forever. Lasting joy is the defining fruit of True freedom.


And you know what I believe would be our ultimate joy? It is that we
live out our lives as we have been designed to - Treasuring God. We were not designed to be made much of, but to make much of something great. And there is nothing greater to contemplate than the majesty and power of the Creator, who has declared in many ways that he loves us!

So rephrasing Gal 5:1 Paul is saying, "Christ has set you free so that you may have all the opportunity, all the ability and all the desire to do what gives you ultimate JOY forever: to love God"

Now when we look at ourselves, do we believe that even as freed people in Christ, do we possess within us the opportunity, the ability and the desire for God? Yes we do, but with this qualification: we possess them through Christ. "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me."

I think forgetting this is what got the Galatians into trouble - they started believing that they had all they needed to attain joy apart from faith in Jesus Christ.

And so Paul tells them off! And he reminds them that they must live by the Spirit (5:16) and to keep in step with the spirit (5:25), and to throw away conceit.

If you are a professing Christian today this is a timely reminder that we are not to pursue self-confidence nor self-sacrifice nor self-esteem nor self-denial. We are not called to regard ourselves too highly, or too lowly, nor to think that any part of this journey with God can be undertaken in our own terms. But we are to regard ourselves as being dependent upon God through the Holy Spirit.

THE THIRD PART OF THE ANSWER - FREEDOM IN GOD EXPRESSED IN LOVE FOR OTHERS

Here now is where the work of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit touches the people around us, including our family. The third part of the answer is this:

A person who is (1) freed through faith in Jesus Christ, (2) upheld by and dependent on the HS, treasuring God as their ultimate Joy, then (3) expresses that treasuring of God through loving others.

Lets look at Galatians 5:13-14 again "...serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in  a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. Note here that Paul is reminding the Galatians what God commands them to do - to love others.

The command frames the love for others as the same love we naturally give ourselves.

Now this is impossible apart from the freedom in Christ. Why?

Because the opposite of love is the selfish indulgence of the sinful nature. Love is the sharing of joy from our fullness, but the works of the sinful nature are motivated by the desire to fill our emptiness. The sinful nature uses everything in its power to fill that emptiness: if it is a religious sinful nature it may demand legalism; if it is not religious, it may demand self exaltation. It is fully self focused and therefore cannot love their neighbor as themselves. That is why the command is impossible.

Paul reaffirms this in Gal 5:16-17 where he says that the sinful
nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the sinful nature. The two are mutually exclusive.
Therefore if love is the fruit of the Spirit as expressed in Gal 5:22, then the sinful nature
cannot produce that same fruit.

But is it also a burden to a true Christian?

No, because God has made it so that what he commands us to do, he grants us the power to do through the Holy Spirit.

We see this in Gal 5:22 which as we've seen, Paul says the HS has multiple fruits, the first of which is love. So those who abide by the HS will naturally bear the fruit of love for others.

Furthermore, these acts of love are the visible proof a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

In Gal 5:6 Paul says that the only thing that counts is "faith expressing itself through love".

So faith without love is not faith at all, and love without faith is not love at all. Faith must show itself, naturally and without being coerced, through acts of love.

This is God's design - that faith is not faith unless it expresses itself in love for others.

But why did God do it that way? Why isn't it sufficient that He knows our faith and that is that?

Well you see faith on its own is invisible. Your treasuring of God and your daily reliance on the holy spirit is not visible to the rest of the world. But from the very beginning God has declared and acted and continues to act in ways would bring glory to His name. Everything he does is motivated by his desire to be glorified.

Isaiah 48:11 is the banner over every divine act:

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
       How can I let myself be defamed?
       I will not yield my glory to another.

God wants his grace and glory to be praised in the visible acts of his children.

As Matthew 5:16 says, God wants us to let our light shine. Why? so that people will see our good works and give glory to your father in heaven.

SUMMARY OF THE LONG ANSWER AGAIN

Let me now again, for our benefit re-state the question we asked at the start, and the answer we expanded upon:

what do we ultimately need to engender genuine love in our family?

Answer: What is needed are hearts that have been freed (Gal 5:1 & 13) through the faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 2:16),
who in freedom and complete reliance on the Holy Spirit treasures God as their ultimate joy(Gal 3:1-5), and who naturally expresses this treasuring of God through loving
others (Gal 5:6).

Let me share with you one last thing before we close now. In preparing this message I have learned something new about God's commandments, given the fact that because of the freedom in Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey God's command to love others.

I use to think when I thought of 'commandments', that they are
God's way of saying - I'm not happy with who you are so I want you to
change to something completely different, something better than you.



But today I think about commandments differently. I see in them God saying - my child this is who you really are. You were made and designed to love me and treasure me above anything else, and you were designed to love others. You have gone away from this but look, let me call you back to it. Loving me and loving others is your privilege, your inheritance and your ultimate joy.



To
me now, I can see the commandments in the context of the Parable of the
prodigal son. I can rephrase the commandments according to that parable
like this: the commandments is the father saying to the son, you must
come home to me that I may run to you even while you are far off; you
must let me embrace you even as you say you are sorry; You must wear
this best robe and this ring on your finger so that everyone will know
you are mine; and you will inherit everything that is mine, even though
you believe yourself unworthy.

The commandments say we are complete in God. And that is well with my soul.


CLOSING PRAYER

My hope and prayer for you today as we close is this: that as I read this passage from Jeremiah 17, that you might yearn to daily be the kind of person that Jeremiah calls 'blessed':

 7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
       whose confidence is in him.

 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
       that sends out its roots by the stream.
       It does not fear when heat comes;
       its leaves are always green.
       It has no worries in a year of drought
       and never fails to bear fruit."

The Parable of the Great Banquet

Reading - Luke 14:15-24

What has happened before

As we saw in the earlier verses of chapter 14, Jesus was at a prominent pharisees house invited to a banquet where he was not, in reality, one of the honored guests. He was 'closely watched', for the purpose of seeing him say or do something that his enemies could use against him.

We saw that he spoke and reproved / admonished / took to task both the guests and the host of the banquet.

He said to the guests that they must look humbly at themselves and not fight over the most honored seats. v11 "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted".

To the host Jesus said that if they wished to be blessed by God, they should not invite those who can repay back the invitation, but those who cannot - the poor, the cripple, the lame and the blind. And their blessing will come at the 'resurrection of the righteous' v14

Jesus turns the table of scrutiny

It is clear that the thrust of Jesus' words was not to teach proper social etiquette. What he is teaching is not in the same vein as "sit up straight", or "take your elbows off the table", or "don't slurp your soup", or "don't burp out loud".

Jesus instead is using the social occasion to teach them about humility and grace and compassion. Instead of being the subject of their scrutiny, Jesus turns the table and challenges them to scrutinize themselves: are they living the form of humility and grace and compassion that God would bless?

By any measure both the host and the guests fighting for the most favored seats were found wanting. Instead of humility they were self-deceived in their pride; instead of grace and compassion - elitism ('eleet-tism').

How would you react?

I wonder what your reaction would be if you heard such a message?

Here you are in a
social gathering, a feast, with perhaps your closest friends or even
enemies, hoping to enjoy time with them and perhaps, for a bit of sport, the humiliation of such a man as this Nazarene preacher. Did he really think he belonged here?

But instead he forces you to look at yourself, challenging not only your place at that feast, but your place at the greater feast, the feast in the Kingdom of God. This Jesus forces the issue as an issue of the heart - what is your real motivation? pride? acceptance and admiration by your peers? Jesus tells you that you should not do anything out of self-interest. Instead, he says, you must look at others as better than yourself; look at others not for what they can give back, but what you can give them.

What would your reaction be?

One guest reacts

One guest did react. He said: "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God" (v15).

Who was this man? We don't know, the bible doesn't say. Maybe he was one of the host's family or friends. Maybe he was another one like Jesus who were invited there to be 'carefully watched'.  What we can state with a great degree of confidence is that this man was a jew.

Why did he say what he said? We don't know for sure what his motivation was. The bible doesn't say what else this man said; nor convey the tone or the manner with which he said this, so its hard to determine why he said it at all.

Perhaps he was just filling in the awkward silence that would have followed Jesus' reproof.

Perhaps he thought to remind Jesus (and at the same time put this itinerant Nazarene rabbi in His place) that as a Jew he was guaranteed such a blessing in God's table. Maybe.

But it is also possible that whoever he may have been, he agreed with Jesus and was voicing out his agreement. That finally, here, this man understood what such blessing from God means. Indeed: "(Tremendously) blessed are those who will eat at the feast in the Kingdom of God!" This was after all a plain and acknowledged truth even in that time. They would all have been familiar with the banquet of God mentioned in Isaiah 25:6-9 which is a victorious event where God prepares a feast "for all peoples (all nations, cultures)" and where God will "swallow up death forever" and "wipe away all tears from all faces" and "remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth". Blessed are they indeed that find themselves at that table.

Jesus drives home the message of God's Grace and Compassion

And so in a sense Jesus follows on with this man's statement, but subjects it to further scrutiny so as to give an answer both to those who were wondering if they had that privilege, and to those who were self-assured that they already had that privilege.

And the answer, in the form of the parable of the great banquet, is this: It is God who grants the invitation to whomever He pleases; no man enters the kingdom of God apart from God's undeserved favor - that which we call Grace.

The parable - summarized and analyzed

And as we read, the parable goes like this: a man invites many people to a feast but at the time of the feast, the bible says "they all alike began to make excuses". They all backed out! Now a little bit of context here: these people knew they were invited, and knew it early enough to accept it, which they did. When the man sends out his servant, it was a second time as is the custom in the Middle East (v17 "Come - Gk 'Keep coming'). Today we send invitations and put, more often than not, RSVP (French: reply please). This is important so that we can prepare sufficient food for our guests. So it was in the Middle East, and in that culture and in that time, confirming which guest was coming was even more important. Not only did they need to know to prepare the right amount of food, but to avoid wasting expensive, costly food. So to back out is not socially appropriate after you've already said you would come.

But we note from the passage that the host was angered by these guests backing out. And we can see why, because all the excuses given by the invited guests were obvious lies. In the M.E. it is not the practice that one would buy a field without first examining it thoroughly - know where the wells and springs are, where the boundaries are, and what the rainfall was like. Only after you were satisfied with the land would you buy it - and yet the first guest says he has bought a field that he now needs to examine. Same with the second guest who said he needed to 'try out' a new team of oxen he had already bought. This just was not the practice at the time. And the third guest stating he had just gotten married had no real excuse - in a tight-knit community everyone knew when marriages happened and celebrated, and such an occasion would not have been scheduled at a time that conflicted with another banquet.

All these guests basically insulted the host with obvious lies. Now to see the magnitude of such an insult we need to understand that in the M.E. a banquet such as this is meant to celebrate an important transition/transformation; such feasts celebrate a change in social status of a person with another. For example through such feasts strangers are transformed into guests; enemies into friends; and as we see in the parable of the prodigal son - rebellious sons restored back to their status.

What these guests rejected was not merely food; but the honor that the host was conferring upon them. This is why the host was very angry.

So the host instead confers that honor on the undesirables: the poor, the blind, the lame and the cripple. And still there was room, so he confers the same honor to aliens, people found on the roads and country lanes. He does this so that his house would be full.

The Parable of the Banquet - how it was understood by Jesus' audience

This parable, told by Jesus after someone says "blessed is the man who will eat at the feast of the Kingdom of God", would have been clearly understood by those who heard it as referring to the Messianic feast of the age to come. They also would have understood of whom Jesus spoke about through the parable.

Those who were invited and rejected the invitation at the last minute (and as a result greatly angered the host) symbolized the leaders of Israel: the pharisees and the teachers of the law; those who knew God (by head knowledge) and His invitation yet did not consider them as valuable.

The poor, the blind, the lame and the crippled symbolized the undesirables, the lost sheep of Israel. It was to these that Jesus sent his disciples in Matt 10:5-8 with the instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[a]drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

And finally those who were invited from the roads and the country lanes symbolize the gentiles - all those who are non-jews. Us.

Those who heard this knew that Jesus was saying there is no privilege in the presence of God apart from those that God grants. And God will grant this privilege to whomever he pleases. That, which we call today as God's grace. And God is pleased to call anyone, regardless of their qualification or disqualification, to His feast.

In the day of God's feast all these people who did not deserve to be invited will instead be honored by God and celebrated by God. On that day they will have completed their transformation and they will have the right to sit with God and eat with Him and enjoy his favor. And who here would not want to enjoy God's favor? To be called God's friend and child instead of His enemy?

The Invitation is by Grace

Again what we get from this parable is that no one enters the kingdom of God without God's invitation. And that invitation is by grace. If we today have a saving relationship with God, it is because God invited us even though we were poor or crippled or lame or blind or had no rightful claim to the feast. And if we today recognize in our hearts the deep longing for this same saving relationship with God, then the same invitation is being extended to us. God wishes that his house be full, and guess what - Jesus parable ends with the invitation being sent out, not with the celebration of the feast because you know what, the invitation is still being sent out and people like you and me are still being called in.

Now a question that I want to end with is this: what then does God expect of his children to do with this privilege? Our brother Marbuen will pick that question up and answer it in his message later on.

The Lord's Supper as a foretaste of God's Banquet

Here in Punchbowl we celebrate the Lord's supper and as we are in the middle point of our series of messages on 'Building each other up in life and ministry', it is appropriate that we take the time now to celebrate the Lord's supper as an avenue for practically applying what we have learned so far. We understand that it is God that is in control both in the invitation into His family, and in keeping us in his family.

Normally our Lord Supper celebration follows a certain format: someone comes up here and leads us into the supper. But that format removes the kind of communal experience that is suppose to be present at a feast. So today we're going to do this a little bit differently.

The Lord's supper is a foretaste of the feast in the Kingdom of God. It serves to remind us of what Jesus did on the cross that resulted in our salvation by grace, and reminds us that we have a living hope and living reward that is set aside for us until the completion of the coming of the kingdom of God. At its core the Lord's Supper is a form of testimony and like any testimony its effect is to encourage and build up. It builds us up by reminding us that our status and hope and future and sustenance is in, through and from God alone.

So where you are on your tables we would like to ask you to share the bread and juice together. But before you do so, we want to give you the opportunity to build each other up through the sharing of your testimony. Share your prayer points, your joys and your struggles. To guide you in your sharing, ask yourself one or both of these questions:

1. What times in my life so far have I been really humbled and have come to God recognizing he is sovereign?
2. What times in my life have I experience God's grace and compassion?
3. What times in my life have I realized that I am completely reliant upon God to keep me, hold me and uphold me?

Then after your sharing time, break bread together and share your drink as a reminder of Jesus' death.

Then we will call you together so we can continue the rest of our service.

Sermon Transcript - 28 Aug 2009 - The Judgement and Grace of God in the Flood & the Tower of Babel

This message (PDF format) was shared at Punchbowl Baptist Church on 23-Aug-2009.