We're on a continuing mission...

This is the last blog in the series that links directly to the Lent / Easter message... Enjoy

The end of Lent marks the beginning of the Great Commission… to go out into all the world and preach the good news of Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice restores our relationship with God. So how do we communicate this plan of salvation to the world? How do we go about revealing to the world, that we can all live in a moment-by-moment relationship with God? And how do we develop this relationship with God in order to understand what Gods missional call on our lives looks like?

Professor Brian Russell makes the following statement that, ‘Every person that you’ll ever meet, including yourself, has over-estimated his or her own personal goodness by a ridiculous degree’. He speaks about the need for our “ministry (our act of service) to be missional; in feeding the hungry; looking after the poor; looking out for those in our community that cannot care for themselves; that our ministry is here and now; and that our salvation is rooted in God’s plan that was set in place at the moment of creation.’”

I tend to agree… particularly as the UK is in recession (2013) and some sections of our society are desperate for help. I believe that the question we need to ask is not necessarily about what God has saved us from… but rather what God has saved us into? What is our purpose? What is our mission?

Two scriptures that point to the missional call of God for our lives are from the New Testament:

‘For God called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserve it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time-to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.’ (NLT Bible, 1 Timothy1.9)

‘Now all glory to God who is able, through his mighty power at work in us, to accomplish infinitely more that we might ask or think.’ (Ephesians 3.20)

These two scriptures echo the consequences of the fall of man, outlined in Genesis 3. The devil used that most ancient of weapons in his armoury… “Did God say?” (Gen 3.1). The question deflects Adam from his missional calling to tend to the Garden of Eden, and places a question in the mind of man, like yeast in dough, which filters through the generations, questioning what God has called us to do, or what we are to be… How we are to behave; how we are to act, and so forth. If we ‘doubt that God has our best interests at heart’ then we will be unable to understand the call to serve.

The ancestral history of Israel contains a narrative that show’s how God began to work out his plan to draw all nations to himself. The story begins with the call of Abram, and works through all of his descendants to the establishment of the Nation of Israel through Moses and Joshua and ultimately, to the establishment of the temple through David and Solomon.

The temple symbolised to the world that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the same God who protected Joseph in Egypt; the God who rescued the people from the hand of Pharaoh through his servant Moses; the same God who led the people across the Red Sea and the River Jordan; and the same God who told Joshua to be strong and courageous, and to study the word of God as he led the people into the promised land, could be worshipped here.

The temple could not truly contain God in all his fullness, but it occupies in the minds of the Israelites, a place of worship and a place where we can receive God’s mercy and his forgiveness. This was also true of the foreigner who could pray and receive forgiveness at the temple. This fulfilled the missional call of God’s people to exist as a community who aligned themselves to God and his law, and as such, reveal the character and nature of God by their faithful obedience.

In Abram, God found a man who was faithful in answering Gods call and secure in his calling: “I will bless those who bless you, curse those who curse you; and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed by you.” (Gen 12: 1-3). God was no longer in the business of wiping the pallet of life clean as in the flood, but rather re-starting the commission that as the people of God, we are accountable for how we reveal the heart and character of God in the communities we build. God offers to Abram a new beginning out of the sin and wickedness around him and a new purpose. He answers a missional call to leave the comfort of what he knows, and to act in faithful obedience to the God he worships and in whom he places his trust.

As Christians, we are part of this heritage of faithful obedience which we see demonstrated in Abraham. Jesus repeats this promise that those who follow him will gain an inheritance: “And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.” (Mat 19.29)

Abram placed his trust in a God he knew; a God he knew to be true; a God who knew him; a God who offers hope, and a God who brings new life. Abram’s faithfulness, despite the stumbles that he and Sarah made along their journey, demonstrates to us that God is faithful; he is watching, waiting and listening; to pick us up when we fall; to set us straight; to enable us to continue on life’s journey.

The Israelites found that mercy and forgiveness was attained through repentance and sacrifice at the temple whereas today, we know that in Jesus we have the ultimate sacrifice and the source of Abram’s trust. Jesus came to seek out and save all who were lost. Those who longed for a fresh expression of God could see in Jesus at the cross, the fullness of God revealed. Where the temple could only symbolise the presence of the living God; Jesus was the fullness of God. Jesus calls us out of our sin and into a new life with the promise of an eternal blessing.

Paul in 1 Cor 6: 19-20 says to his listeners, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?” Just as the fire came down from heaven and consumed Solomon’s offering in the temple, so we are filled with the Holy Spirit to carry out the work that Jesus began at creation, and continues to do in each of our lives.

God calls us out into his continuing mission; to be a blessing in our communities, to pray for our government and be transparent in our dealings with those who we work with, and to bring hope to a broken world. As temples of the living God we are commissioned to “go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Mat 28.19)

So this Easter, cling to the cross… see in Jesus not only our salvation, but our hope for a better tomorrow. Only when we grasp the majesty of what Jesus has done for us, can we recognise our true calling.

Are you an Apple fan? No, not a granny Smith!

A recent TV show called: ‘Secret of the Super brands’ (Technology) which you can find on YouTube, did an interesting study around the fanatical devotion that people have towards Apple products. The show reveals that when brain activity was observed through a CT scan, people’s reaction when shown an Apple product revealed a pattern of brain activity in the region of the brain that is similar to those who have had religious experiences.

The show then made a comparison between the appearance of an Apple Store with the furniture within a traditional Anglican Church… the beech tables are devoid of features and can be viewed as an altar; offering up the various Apple products on them. As consumers we crowd around the Altar and worship and marvel at the technology. Then similar to the church layout, you move through the stages from worshiping and idolising the product, through to the commitment to buy; you have a discussion with an advisor about how having the product in your life will add to your lifestyle; before moving through to payment and acquiring that which you covet!

I’ve deliberately used some emotive language here to trigger reactions in the way that I have phrased the description above… idolising; covet; worship. These are strong themes within the commandments given to Moses about how God’s people should conduct themselves in the market place… We should have no other Gods; do not make any idols; do not misuse the name of God; you should not covet… are just a few of the 10. They directly relate to our relationship with things.

I love car design and F1 in particular. If I idolise the drivers or covet the lifestyle of the teams and the glamour, which makes me neglect my responsibilities to God and to my family, then I suppose it becomes an issue. I have to ask myself how much my fondness for F1 prevents me from being the person God wants me to be because my interests are in split between two different places. We can have healthy interests and develop a fascination for a wide variety of things in the world, but if that is what we chase after, we may need to check our dials.

Please don’t get me wrong, as a teacher of design, I love new technologies and great aesthetic products that somehow transcend their physical properties. Some are very intuitive to use and seem to be a natural extension of our personalities. I believe in a creator God who equipped us to have inquisitive skills, exploring our known world; to grow beyond our known existence; and to live in harmony with the earth.

When this is used for good, you get an amazing expression of what it is to be human. There are many issues in the world where God is blamed for inactivity, or seeming not to care, but he has placed in each of us the potential to do the right thing; to step out of our comfort zone and engage with the world around us. This is how God works in the world – through us. If we take something like the battle for people in the developing world to access to clean water for example, we already have the technology to go into countries to support clean water project. It takes people to see the challenge and understand God’s will for our lives; ask God to use you in the task set out before you…

I am certain when looking at the volume of charitable humanitarian work, that God inspires people to make the difference with their lives and use their knowledge to make a difference in the lives of other people. I would argue that those who reject God, and pick up the humanitarian cause; embrace the rights and needs of people who cannot defend themselves, are still working for God… they just don’t know it yet! We will come back to this a little later.

I have had conversations with people about how wonderful products from many different brands are in the eyes of the people who have bought into the technology. They have seen something in the product that transforms their lifestyle or interaction with the outside world. They can go on-and-on about how marvellous the device is, in an almost evangelistic tone. Imagine then, if we can find in our faith, the same level of enthusiasm to share the good news that Jesus spoke about. We have so much blessing from God who loves us so much. We need to share the love of God’s grace to all.

We need to be listening to what God is calling us into. We are encouraged to live in the world, but not become part of it. Jesus talks about people being salt and light in the world but warns us to be cautious about losing our saltiness. But what does that look like? We know that salt is used as a seasoning as well as a preservative. So what can we do in our churches, communities, families and friendships that adds seasoning to our lives and those of others, while preserve the values that God has set out for us.

Jesus talks about storing up treasure in heaven as on earth they will corrode and grow dusty and we cannot take it with us! We invest in people then. We encourage our families by showing them our generous hospitality. By the lives that we live, we reveal God’s heart alive in us. Are we ready to care for the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the widow, the orphan? Would we be willing to grow out of consumerism and living materialistic lives, towards an alternative way of living?

We can see from the banking crisis all around the world, that when major losses hit the banks, government and business, their immediate role is to minimise the losses they have made. They are accountable to their shareholders and must still pay a dividend or show profits… those with money do not like to lose it! Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give to the poor. The man was shocked by this because in the culture of the time, prosperity meant that you were being blessed by God. The man felt that he had fulfilled what he knew of the law. Jesus knew that the fulfilment of the law wasn’t in wealth and position, but was in serving.

Jesus told many parables about how the kingdom he was establishing operated. In Luke 16, he tells a very strange parable about how a dishonest servant gains the admiration of his master by halving the bills of debtors to receive some of the income owed, whilst gaining favour with those whose debt had been relieved. Jesus goes on to say that this man knew he was accountable for his action and the resources he had to use. He also stated that those who operate in the world can do so much better than someone who has become a Christian because they are shrewd with their dealings. This is challenging stuff because the servant was gaining favour by dishonesty.

Jesus turns this around by saying look, this man profited from being generous to those in debt in order to save himself; by being dishonest to his master… how much more should Christians be prepared to show generosity to all we come across; to answer for the hop we have within us; to find favour with people through are servant heart; to reveal God’s heart because we too have been shown God’s Grace in wiping away our debt.

Jesus also points out that as salt and light, we cannot live our lives by gaining through dishonesty… We need to be willing to lay down our possession in order to focus on the greater prize of eternal life. Jesus taught about the value we place on money because it was as culturally relevant then, as it is today. God understands the needs of the world and hopes that we will follow in his footsteps and follow his lead. God’s mission has always been to reach out to the world he created, and bring us back into his presence. This is our calling and our destiny, to show in our lives, the nature and character of God. We can reveal Jesus in out hospitality, our serving and our hearts, so that the good news of the gospel can be seen at work in this world.

Endurance... are we there yet?

Endurance… is it worth it?

During Lent we give up superficial things like chocolate so that we can focus on the spiritual things in our lives. We get ready for a new season of renewal through the Easter festival which is a Christian adaptation of the Passover meal. Being brave about facing up to the things in our lives that have burdened our sense of peace, is an important part of the process of redemption. Jesus wants all of us. As we uncover the causes of sin in our lives, it gets quite raw and we remain vulnerable to external pressure. That’s what the ‘fast’ is for… to explore our character and invite God in to the areas of our life we struggle with. Last week we talked about forgiving and being forgiven… learning to let go of the things we hold on to, so that God’s justice and grace can set to work in us.

As soon as I had posted last week’s small group blog on forgiveness, I had to practice what I had spoken about the very next day. I experienced an attack on my character that was like a curve ball… I didn’t see it coming. The delivery of the attack came from a source I did not expect, nor could I believe at the time. I was taken out for a drink by a friend who I hadn’t seen for ages. It was a bit of a treat as I hadn’t been out for a drink with a mate for a while (being a Dad). Sat down with the pint in my hand, I opened the conversation with pleasantries but immediately my friend tabled an accusation made by a friend of my wife and I, that was so shocking I couldn’t speak. Without going into details that involve others, the basic premise was I had acted inappropriately towards them. They had spent three months thinking about it and could no longer keep it to themselves. So they went to my church pastor, who then spoke to my friend who was to act as a mediator. I was stunned.

For a while, God has been gently nudging me to step out of my comfort zone and start to take on more of a leadership role within my church. I put myself forward to do more things around the church and have developed a pastoral role for people in my small group by trying to actively check on how they are and be available to them. The problem with doing that is remembering that when we step out in faith, we are entering into a battle between what Paul called, ‘Principalities and Powers.’(Ephesians 6:12)

At the cross, Jesus once and for all defeated the effects of sin in the world – our rebellion from God. His sacrificial life was designed from the very beginning to be used as a way to re-connect God to his creation in the way it was designed to be. Jesus’ death at the hands of his fellow countryman and in full view of the Roman Empire revealed how God has always been at work. Jesus’ work was not to come and overthrow those in authority and become King, as many Jews believed, but rather work with the people to reveal the kingdom of God to those genuinely searching. As a body of people, as a community of believer’s, we are his church. We reveal God to the world through our expression of faith in the way we act and in what we do.

I’m not talking about church with a capital ‘C’ – the institution of what a church denomination is. I’m talking about the promise of the presence of God that when two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus, he will be there in the middle. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost revealed that we are not alone, but are a community of believers that live by faith. As we grow in our faith, we claim back that which we have lost through our past, and claim the promises of God.

The enemy of this process was also at the beginning… Satan, the devil or the ‘deceiver’ is described by Peter as a being like a prowling lion. He absolutely hates the goodness that God has released into the world through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and will do as much as possible to distract believers from their mission as followers of Jesus – this was my curve ball.

The first curve ball that was fired at me was three years ago when a church member made an allegation about my conduct. My Christian friends, who were witnesses to what happened, talked amongst themselves about what they had seen. They decided that there was something I should be answerable to, and instead of talking to me about it right away, went to my pastor with their concerns. At the time, not one of these people had the courtesy to talk to me about their concerns, or even offer any form of explanation or indeed any type of pastoral support. They effectively became the judge, jury and executioner.

I was totally broken. I couldn’t believe that my church family would do something in such and underhand way. I couldn’t understand how they had ignored my character and personality in favour of their feeling about what they believed to be wrong with my actions. I felt as though the whole thing had been pulled out of all proportion. So instead of stepping out with faith, I shrivelled back to the time before I had made a commitment to answer God’s gentle persuasion.

So today three years later, I am back in that same place. Curve ball No: 1 – Integrity. Only there is a difference. This time I could see the curve ball for what it was. I was able to take myself out of the picture and look down at the unfolding events and look for cause and effect. I recognised that there were those with genuine feelings of being wronged, and I could appreciate how emotional this can be. I also recognised the need for my leadership role to be accountable to the church, but there was now this new element... Why is this happening here and now? I recognised that there are always cause and effect but that we are also in a battle.

Recently I was given an opportunity to play guitar in the worship band, something I hadn’t done for three years or more; I was invited to speak in the main church service; I was involved with leading the Alpha course; our small group had developed into a good community of friends; I had become a trustee of the church; I had started an on-line theology course… Hopefully you get the picture. Stepping out in faith made me more visible to attack from the enemy and here was his first curve ball salvo designed to destabilise my walk with God and question my integrity.

Also this week, I have had the added stress of dealing with a car crash I was in the previous week; my wife’s car also broke and needed repair. Financially due to these two events, we are spending a lot more money on extra transport costs than we budgeted for. This is curve ball No: 2 – Finance. We all want to be financially secure and free from debt… How you gonna cope with that Roger?

This is a good question, however I agree with the writer of Acts 20 v24... My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. So I will endure.

There are many people in the world who don’t deserve the misery of the situation they find themselves in. There are a large number of people with a variety of scenarios much worse than mine that can leave some to say ‘Where are you God?’

God promises to be with us in each and every moment of our lives. Knowing this despite the catastrophic events that life serves, is what builds our faith… we endure. We know that God does not want us to be burdened by the things of this world. Jesus says that his burden is light and that those who carry heavy burdens can find rest in him. We may have gone without food for a few days and don’t know which way to turn to find a meal… giving this to God, helps us to see perspective. If God’s churches are living a life in community with one another, they will be reaching out to the hungry, the homeless, and the lost. So when that desperate person is looking for food, somewhere in that place, there would be a group of Christian’s obeying God’s call to serve.

And so we can endure… whatever curve ball is being thrown at us, we can be certain of the hope that God has placed within us by his spirit. We learn to pick ourselves up as Paul commented… we are running a race. We learn to run with endurance. To finish today, I have posted the following verses I found on a website to do with running the race and enduring…

Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of age. Matthew 28:20

The Lord will work out his plans for my life. Psalm 138:8

I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as the mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. Matthew 17:20
  
              To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. Luke 19:26

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1

I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope.’ Jeremiah 29:11

Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. I Timothy 4:12

We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28

Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. Psalm 37:5

With God’s help we will do mighty things. Psalm 60:12

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. Romans 5:3

We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:9

The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you. 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:5

Be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded. Chronicles 15:7

Whatever you do, do well. Ecclesiastes 9:10

He will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. Psalm 91:11

Anything is possible if a person believes. Mark 9:23

The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Luke 6:38

I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize… Philippians 3:13

Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 2 Corinthians 4:17

I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Forgiving and being forgiven...

So, last week we investigated how prayer, prayer and more prayer was a window into our soul and a mechanism for us to open our hearts and minds to God’s grace. Through prayer, we can reveal our innermost thoughts to God, although he already knows us inside out as nothing is really hidden from him. However God delights in our offering of our lives, however small, because it reveals our faith… it reveals how much we are prepared to trust that God knows how to work through our issues.

This week we will focus on forgiveness. We find it hard to offer forgiveness to others as it is not our natural state. When we are wronged, we want some form of justice so that we can alleviate the offence we feel. Life gets so complicated sometimes, but we can make conscious choices in the season of Lent to stop doing those things that harm us, particularly in choosing not to forgive. We often echo what the apostle Paul wrote about when he states that he wrestles with his own sense of guilt when he finds that he does the things he ought not to do, yet neglect’s the thing he ought to do. This is the same Paul who took the Gospel to the Mediterranean, who was shipwrecked and rescued and received such a revelation of God, that he was blinded by the glorious light of his son Jesus… even after all of this, he struggled with the everyday complications of life.

Sin in our lives is identified when we come up against God’s authority and order for our lives. Reading the Bible and seeking the heart of God through prayer helps to highlight the things in our lives that need change. Asking the spirit to break the chains that bind us is a useful exercise for Lent. As we give up our favourite chocolate bar so that we can focus on spiritual matters leading up to Easter, it is important to allow God in to do his work. Sometime we hold on to emotional hurt and blockages that prevent us from receiving the fullness of Christ’s blessing for our lives because we would rather box up the pain and store it in our emotional attic than let God in to deal with it. It is often too painful for us to return there… He’ll keep knocking, but we have to open the door (Rev 3: 20).

Galatians 6 is a description of the type of community that holds each other accountable to one another. Encouraging us to help each other out, sharing our burdens and recognising what our responsibilities towards each other are. It also talks about our integrity at work and our challenge to live to honour God with our lives… to honour the spirit so that we might receive the promise of eternal life.

God is a master of growing good stuff from tricky situations. I think of Paul and Silas trapped in prison, awaiting justice and befriending the jailer and prisoners, talking to them of the things of God. Then an earthquake shakes the prison to the foundations. The jailer fears for his own life. If the prisoners have escaped, their family business would be ruined. Paul calls out to him, reassures him, and he and his entire household are saved. For both Paul and the jailer, they receive the blessing that God had prepared for them by being faithfully obedient in the time and place that they found themselves… Paul was being obedient to God in spreading the 'Good News' of Jesus Christ, while the Jailer and his family recognised their sin and asked God to forgive them. Paul is later released and the Jailers family have the gift of an eternal life. (Acts 16: 16-40)

There is always something to learn from the things in our lives that need change. Working through things like anger or irritability can be useful for all of our lives, our relationships and our work, not just the spiritual. God knows this. If we can be more patient, we become better listeners. Becoming better listeners means we can hear the need beyond the words (reading body-language; observing emotion)… we can offer counsel. Offering counsel builds trust in each other; it builds community; it builds accountability; it develops fellowship; it leads to faith. The more we encounter this process in our lives, the more we are able to see the value of this special spiritual experience, even when it is hard and it makes no sense what so ever. Always with God, we can look back and see that his hand has never left us (1 Peter 1: 6-7).

This is what Paul talks about when he mentions about his trouble with sin. He recognised most of all that when the law was applied to his character and behaviour, there were things that were not holy in his life. As he battled with these things under the weight of the law, he felt it was impossible to break out from his condition. Only God’s grace through the actions of his son Jesus, could release him from the captivity of sin.

However, the devil will seek ever more devious way’s to deceive us as we press in with God. God strengthens us when we read his word in the Bible and find truth for our lives; he empowers us by being filled with the Holy Spirit to inspire our thought and deed; and he grows his church through our fellowship with one another. The devil’s ruse has always been; ‘Did God say…?’ This is a question that we begin to explore with our intellect and our action. If we are not grounded in God’s truth through his word, we can be easily de-railed by distraction. We can be led into all types of activity where we think that we won’t get found out! We can ignore the spirit’s guidance sometimes because the draw of what we want is greater than our self control. However, our faith is in an all knowing God. It grieves him to think that we would harm ourselves by poor counsel or a lack of wisdom. He wants to help (Hebrews 4: 12 – 16).

God loves us unconditionally. He is not easily shocked. He already knows of our worst sin, yet he would send his son Jesus all over again if we were the only one left to be saved from our sin. We are charged to hate the sin is us and grow in the strength that we can gain through the renewal of our mind by the grace of God. We are forgiven people so we need to learn to forgive others… Jesus says that we should forgive 70 times 7, which would be 490 times. If we wanted a nominal amount of forgiveness we had to offer before we could get our revenge, then this would be it. However, if think of forgiveness in this way, we have missed the point. When we fail to forgive that person for doing that 'thing', perhaps God might be looking to point to areas in our own life where we have caused offence but we had failed to notice! (Matthew18: 21 – 35)

We can carry around un-forgiveness that can develop hatred and resentment; foster an expectation of failure or settling for second best. This rob’s us of our very humanity when we become ‘closed’ in heart and mind and cannot feel love or show compassion to those in need. We need to learn to give these things to God in order to receive the Joy of forgiveness and the peace that comes from repentance as this leads to faith. That again is the essence of Lent.