Devoted to The Apostles' Teaching

‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ Acts 2:42

I will begin this week with The Apostles’ Teaching.

Before I focus on The Apostles’ Teaching, why this verse?

Two things:

Firstly…. we read also…. ‘The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved’. This was a growing community of Christians. If we wish to see our numbers grow, there are lessons to be learned here.

Secondly, there is a vital word in this verse that we are studying; if we are not careful we can miss it and it is absolutely key to all that we will be speaking about and studying, it is central to our worship and witness. Without it we become what John Wesley most feared the Methodist People might turn into…. ‘a dead sect, having the form of godliness but without the power’. The word is ‘devoted’.

‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’

The word is devoted, not committed. What is the difference? Think about it.

Do you get the impression that these four things were something they had to do, or something they wanted to do, because there is a difference. When Jesus said ‘Where your heart is, there will be your treasure also,’ he wasn’t just talking about money!
I tell you this;
when our hearts… yours and mine… can say with the Psalmist, ‘As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you, O Lord.’,
when it is our deepest desire
to know God’s word so we can obey it,
to share in fellowship with complete love for one another,
to break bread with broken and contrite hearts,
to pray as 19th century preacher William Arthur calls us to, for the power of the Holy Spirit; ‘Prayer, prayer, all prayer – mighty, importunate, repeated united prayer’…. If we can reach this devotion to the things of God, we won’t need to worry about Church growth because we will become as a powerful magnet is to steel.

The apostles’ teaching, then.

What is this teaching to which the early Christians devoted themselves?

Well, it includes the teaching of Jesus himself. In the great commission Jesus calls his apostles to make disciples, baptise and ‘teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matt 28:20.
The teaching of the apostles is primarily the gospel or Good News, which was centred around his death, burial and resurrection.
vv 23-24 of Acts 2:
This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Acts 3:15 : You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
Acts 4:10 : then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 :. Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
The apostles’ teaching was a unique teaching in that it came from God and was clothed with the authority conferred on the apostles
2 Cor 13:10 —the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

1 Thess 4:2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
Today, the apostles’ teaching is of course available to us in the books of the New Testament.
We do well to study them.
In recent weeks at the Mens’ Meetings we have grappled with The Sermon on the Mount, so very important, crucial to our Christian living !

What are the ways in which we can devote ourselves to The Apostles’ Teaching? How can we read, mark, learn and inwardly digest God’s word. Well I’ve been doing it for 40+ years, and I can tell you there is no easy way.
It takes time.

1. Try and follow a Bible Reading programme to read the Bible in a year.
2. Read a whole chapter or read the whole book of Ephesians for example.
3. Meditate on one verse, take it into the day with you. One verse I worked through by learning it before breakfast and thinking about it all day was this: ‘Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine according to His power that is at work in us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever. Amen.’ Eph 3:20-21, and the same night when I was on Crossline duty I was able to help a struggling Christian over the phone.
Abbreviate it to learn the central phrase: He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine according to His power that is at work in us. Eph 3:20

Meditating on God’s word is never a waste of time.
When the devil came to tempt Jesus he resisted him using the words of Scripture (see Matt 4) So must we.
4. Another way we can learn theology is through hymns and songs. This is what the early Methodists did. Many couldn’t read or write, but they could learn hymns easily, so they knew the gospel in its simplest form. This is a good tradition (not all hymns are good….not all traditions are good!) which has been handed down to us. Though we can all read and write, we still love to sing and it is a way of memorising the truths to be found in Scripture.
Look at the words of some of the songs* I have chosen for today.
Let’s page through them:
My God full of mercy
Only by grace
To God be the glory *
I’m special *
You’re the Word
Praise to the Holiest *
In Christ Alone *
Lord I’m grateful *
Use songs and hymns then to learn the truths to be found in Scripture.

5. Most of all, let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Always ask his help as you open the word.
Joyce Hugget uses 5 ‘R’s to help us.
This links beautifully with the word devotion, doesn’t it:? How might we read the Bible ‘God’s love letter’?
READ
RECEIVE/REPEAT
RESPOND
REST
REFLECT

May we devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, the precious word of God.

….and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever Ps23:6b

One of the reasons Ps 23 is so popular at funerals is the twofold promise in the Psalm regarding the valley of the shadow of death… that God is right with us there….. but also in this last sentence ‘I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever’. Psalmist David writes of both death and life here.

So what have we to look forward to? There are many clues in Scripture, but as I wrote this sermon one came to mind, the promise of Jesus to the dying criminal nailed to a cross beside Him, ‘Today you will be with me in paradise’. Paradise in scripture is a garden, a place of bliss and tranquillity and rest.

Whatever picture we may try to paint,however, our language falls short.
C.S.Lewis concludes his famous Narnia Chronicles suggesting that the things which happened to his characters after the books ended were so great and beautiful that he could not write them. He writes, ‘All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia (and what adventures.. have you read them?) had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no-one on Earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.’Elsewhere Lewis described earthly life as being the Shadowlands. This life, the colours we see, the good we experience, the joy we have, the pleasures we know… these are as minor shadows compared to the extraordinary colour, beauty, joy and delight of heaven.

You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

In the book of Revelation, too, every chapter is more thrilling than the chapter before.
Joyce Huggett writes:
Reading Revelation at one sitting (I don’t think I ever did that) is as tantalising as hearing the sound of running water when climbing a mountain on a hot summer’s day, and as thirst quenching as drinking long draughts from such clear crystal streams. Each promise is precious; the promise of a new Heaven and a new Earth, the promise that God will wipe every tear from our eyes, that death shall be know more, and never again will there be sorrow or crying or pain. (21:1-4). But the greatest thrill of all is that we shall see the beloved face to face. He will make his home with us and we with Him. For the first time in our lives we shall be set free to truly worship,

Listen to this: Rev 7:9-17

9 After this I looked, and there in front of me was a huge crowd of people. They stood in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. There were so many that no one could count them. They came from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were wearing white robes. In their hands they were holding palm branches. 10 They cried out in a loud voice,
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne.
Salvation also belongs to the Lamb."
11 All the angels were standing around the throne. They were standing around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces in front of the throne and worshiped God. 12 They said,
"Amen!
May praise and glory
and wisdom be given to our God for ever and ever.
Give him thanks and honor and power and strength.
Amen!"
13 Then one of the elders spoke to me. "Who are these people dressed in white robes?" he asked. "Where did they come from?"
14 I answered, "Sir, you know."
He said, "They are the ones who have come out of the time of terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 So
"they are in front of the throne of God.
They serve him day and night in his temple.
The One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16 Never again will they be hungry.
Never again will they be thirsty.
The sun will not beat down on them.
The heat of the desert will not harm them.
17 The Lamb, who is at the center of the area around the throne, will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

In this life God’s felt presence is, at best, fleeting, intermittent, transitory. Not so in heaven: there we shall enjoy a permanent intimacy with God…. Beyond the bounds of time and space into regions of eternal light, far removed from any evil or imperfection.
Words fail us as we try to express the inexpressible.

Paul tried to deal with a question from the Corinthians as to what our bodies will be like in heaven. Even the great apostle struggles with this. He describes our life like a seed which when we die flourishes like a plant into new life.

One caterpillar said to another as they gazed at a butterfly, ‘You’ll never get me up in one of those!’

That's a good illustration of the contrast between the earthly bodies we occupy for a time and the new body we will occupy forever in heaven. Hard to get your head around isn’t it? That’s why the stories of Jesus after He rose from the dead are so important. Because they tell us that He ate and drank. He walked and talked. He could be touched and hugged. This is the pattern for what life in heaven is. Heaven will be physical.
We won’t be disembodied ghouls drifting around unable to communicate or recognise each other. Far from it. We will immediately recognise each other and enjoy each others company.
One of the main pictures Jesus uses of heaven is of a banquet. Jesus characterises heaven as a place of celebration, parties, dances and feasts, a beautiful garden, everlasting bliss. Wow! We certainly aren’t going to be bored or unfulfilled.

Just one thing I want to mention here.
It always bothers me when we talk about having lost someone.
I was reminded of a joke, hardly fitting, but I’ll risk it:
‘My grandma took up running when she was 65. She’s 90 now and we have no idea where on earth she is.’ (Grandma’s lost in other words).
The point I want to make is… it is all too easy to allow our thinking, when we talk about having lost someone, to drift to some kind of concept that they are ‘lost’. Ours is the loss, not theirs.
An old hymn goes:
‘Rejoice for a brother deceased, our loss is his infinite gain’
Wesley in trying to compare Earth to heaven uses the best word he can find, ‘infinite’.
How much better is it to be with the Lord?… infinitely.Far from being ‘lost’ we are truly found when we’re in heaven.

The lost are those who reject Christ…. When we believe, and accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, we have eternal life. John 3;16.
In 1Peter1,Peter states that thanks to Christ’s resurrection we have an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade… kept in heaven for us.
Wow.
‘I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’
‘One thing I have asked of the Lord, and this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.’

The fear of the process of dying is humanly perfectly understandable. But we should never fear what lies beyond if we trust in Christ.
Rather we should look forward with eager anticipation.
Paul… ‘for me… to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far….’

The good old Spirituals were all about the heavenly hope. Life on earth for the African slaves was miserable, but the way they kept going was by singing about the life to come. ‘Deep river…, ‘Steal away…’

And so, in anticipation of living in the house of the Lord forever, how should we live in the here and now?

The first and most important reply to that is to put your trust in Christ. He has died to pay the price of sin and open the door to life eternal for all who believe in Him.

How then should we live?
Selwyn Hughes says we should live each day as though it’s is our last on earth, and work for God as though we’ve got another hundred years.
Jesus encourages us not to live as if this life were everything. While this present life is important, it’s not all important. We don’t need to store up stuff in the here and now, He tells us, but we can be free to be generous, realising that to give money and share possessions is laying up special rewards in heaven.
Jesus is in heaven, where He reigns, where He prays for each of us, and also where He has a place ready for us. There He waits to welcome us with joy.

So are we, like David, looking forward to living in the House of the Lord forever?
Whatever the world may throw at you, it cannot affect the certainty of future reality in Christ’s presence for all who believe in Him. And so, in anticipation of living in the house of the Lord forever, live in the light of eternity.

‘This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through.’

Temptation Lent 1

The subject on the first Sunday of Lent is Christ’s temptation in the wilderness.
We’re going to look at that, and then consider how we may resist and overcome temptation.
I have had a DVD of the Last Temptation of Christ (1988) for a couple of years. I don’t know where it came from, but I had not watched it. As I was destined to preach to you on the subject of Christ’s temptations I decided to watch it. I recall the controversy surrounding the film back in 1988, which may have put me off…. but now it was time to find out what it was about. Directed by Martin Scorsese the film is based upon the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, whose written introduction, given to us at the beginning, indicates his own struggle in his life between the flesh and the Spirit. So, a very human Jesus is portrayed. Far from the Jesus I read about in the Gospels, he confesses his sins, he is driven almost to insanity, he wonders if he is no more than a man, and with each healing he anguishes over those whom he has not healed. He seems to vacillate between demanding love for all people, and joining Judas (who is portrayed as a Zealot) in encouraging armed rebellion against the Romans. In his final temptation, the subject of the film, as he hangs on the cross, Jesus apparently latches onto the taunts, ‘If you are the Christ come down from the cross.’ and what appears to him and us as an angel calls him to come down and live. Up to this point the film is rather rambling, but now it begins to reach its climax. Jesus imagines what his life might have been like as an ordinary man. He pictures himself marrying Mary Magdalene, having kids and growing old. But remembering that all this is a temptation he is experiencing as he hangs on the cross the dream takes him to where he is dying an old man in his bed. Judas turns up to reproach him for abandoning his special mission, shows him that the so-called angel that persuaded him to come down from the cross is in fact Satan, and he snaps out of it to his final suffering on the cross, crying ‘It is accomplished’. So, although Kazantzakis takes Christ’s humanity too far, making him fall into sin and fail, he does seem to get the story right at the end.

Many Christians were outraged by the film and considered it blasphemous, which it was if you judge it by the standards of Christian orthodoxy. Blockbuster refused to carry it. But what clearly outraged and threatened many Christians was the notion of a fully human Jesus who experienced bitter trials and temptations just like you and I do---torment, doubt, loneliness, nagging questions, fantasies, confusion, despair, and even sexual struggles. The last temptation includes making love to Mary Magdalene. For many believers that sort of temptation was, well, way too tempting, which is to say, way too human and hence the backlash to the film. For me, however, that was not the problem with the film …as he is seen to resist the temptation in the final analysis.

In the Gospel reading from Matthew this week we read that Jesus was tempted or tried: (read Matthew 4:1) The Spirit of God descended upon Jesus in baptism, and then the Spirit of God cast him into the desert for trial and temptation.

Trying to decipher the psychology of Jesus is risky business, but we should not miss the point that Jesus was tempted and tried by Satan. Matthew and Luke specify three temptations: turning stones to bread, throwing himself down from the temple, and accepting the glories of earthly kingdoms. Interpreters have variously categorized these three temptations…. but does that matter so much because we know these were not Jesus’s only temptations. Luke writes that at the end of the forty day trial Satan left Jesus only “until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). The EvilOne came back, again and again, those next three years. Jesus’s ultimate temptation, and the ultimate despair anyone can experience, was the sense of feeling forsaken by God in Gethsemane.

We can safely say that Jesus was tempted not only in the desert but throughout his entire earthly life. The writer to the Hebrews says as much, but he makes a very important statement in it.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are---yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16, NIV).
1. yet was without sin….. ‘there was no other good enough to pay the price of sin’. A fallen Christ could not have been a sufficient sacrifice.
2. Let’s just look at that again, thinking about temptation….I find it hard to take on board that Jesus was truly tempted and tried like I am.. But this is what the writer to the Hebrews tells us; Jesus was tried “in every way,” it says, “just as we are.”
3. It is because of these two things put together…. that he is able to help us. He could not have helped us had he sinned. But he has experienced that temptation AND was without sin.

What this means is that the God who loves us is fully aware of and empathises with all the ambiguities, complexities, trials and temptations of our lives. He is not a distant disinterested god. Quite the opposite. If you have felt weak, then remember that Jesus is not condemning you but sympathizing with you. If you experience trials and temptations, then don’t forget that he has too, perhaps far more than we ever will. When you feel forgotten and forsaken by God, Jesus knew what that was like. If your trials tempt you to despair and turn away from God, Jesus encourages us to do the opposite, “take confidence, come to me for grace and help because I have experienced what you are enduring.”

Having been tempted and tried himself, Jesus is the friend of sinners, not their enemy. One of the more remarkable characterizations of Jesus in the Gospels is that he was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34). We read that social and moral outcasts flocked around Jesus, attracting the fury of the religiously righteous. They clearly felt safe with Jesus, accepted, embraced, and welcomed by Him.
As the friend of sinners who suffered trials and temptations, “he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). He is for us, not against us.
…and as we read 1 Cor 1013 the temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.



To conclude then:

No matter how desirable, alluring, appealing, tantalizing, or inviting the sin may be, we must not commit it. We cannot get sucked into Satan’s web of deceit. Nothing in this world is worth ruining our reputations, and far worse ruining our fellowship with our Lord.

We must say "no" to temptation; we must say “no” to sin!

…and to enable us to resist, we are to rely on the strength of God:

 (Eph. 6:10-11) “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
That verse from Hebrews again:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are---yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16, NIV).
So, this morning we come again to that throne of grace.

Christ the King!

Christ’s Kingship…. In what respect was He and is He the king? How was this understood and misunderstood when He was on Earth and do we belong to His Kingdom today?
As there are many republics across the world, and today Kings and Queens have reduced political clout, the concepts of ‘kingship’ and ‘kingdom’ are increasingly lost on us.
The earliest followers of Jesus used the language of kingship to describe who he was, what he said, and what he did. Every king enjoys a reign, a rule, and a kingdom. Jesus’s very first words of public ministry proclaimed that in him "the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15). But as we shall see, his ideas about kingship radically subvert our normal definitions of political power.

At the birth of Jesus pagan magi inquired, "where is he who has been born king of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2). Their worship of Jesus with extravagant gifts reminds us that Jesus is not only the king of the Jews; he's the king of all nations and peoples. In contrast to our propensity to privilege one ethnicity or people over another, to view one's own people as exceptional to God, and to exclude other people who are different, the pagans from Persia show how king Jesus welcomes all people everywhere.
Whereas the magi worshipped king Jesus, king Herod tried to kill him.
We don't normally associate the birth of a baby with the demise of political power, but Matthew does. His political parody is writ large. Matthew contrasts two rival kings who rule not only over one people (the Jews) but over all the world. This is a baby, says Luke, who would "bring down rulers from their thrones" (Luke 1:52). No wonder that in the 1980s the government of Guatemala prohibited the public reading of Mary's subversive Magnificat — if Jesus is king and lord, then Caesar, Herod, Pharaoh, Pilate, are not lords. Nor are Mammon, materialism, and other 'isms' which try to replace Christ as No.1 in our lives. They are posers to be deposed.

The language of kingship also characterises the accounts of Jesus's death. His "triumphal entry" into the streets of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was a highly symbolic, and deliberately provocative act. It was an enacted parable or street theatre that dramatized his subversive mission and message. He didn't ride a donkey because he was too tired to walk or because he wanted a good view of the crowds. Jesus's triumphal entry was more like a "planned political demonstration" than the religious celebration that we sentimentalise today.
In a bold parody of imperial politics, king Jesus descends the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem from the east in fulfillment of Zechariah's ancient prophecy: "Look, your king is coming to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Matthew 21:5 = Zechariah 9:9).

Jesus was later dragged to the Roman governor's palace for three reasons, all political: "We found this fellow subverting the nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Luke 23:1–2). In short, Jesus died as a politically subversive criminal.
Pilate met the angry mob outside the praetorium, then grilled Jesus alone back inside. "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus replied. "My kingdom is from another place."
"You are a king, then!" mocked Pilate.
"Yes, you are right in saying that I am a king."
Back outside, Pilate then declared that Jesus was innocent. However, the mob hounded Pilate: "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." Pilate thus found himself sandwiched between angering the mob and betraying his emperor.
He caved in: "Here is your king. Shall I crucify your king?"
"We have no king but Caesar!"
And so human identity is reduced to politics …how like our own age.
Pilate then handed Jesus over and had his soldiers beat, flog, and humiliate him with purple robes and a crown of thorns befitting a man whom he miscalculated was a political failure: "Hail, O king of the Jews!" they mocked.

When Pilate crucified Jesus, he insulted the Jews one last time by fastening a notice to the cross, written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek, that he knew would offend them: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." They objected, of course: "Don't write 'The king of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
It was too late: "What I have written, I have written," said Pilate. To be sure, with his mockery of the Jews he wrote much more than he ever could have known or imagined (John 18:28–19:22), for later believers would worship this Jesus not only as king of the Jews, but also as "the king of kings" (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16), the "king of the ages" (Revelation 19:3), and "ruler of the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5).

When Jesus insisted that his kingdom was "not of this world" he didn't mean that it was merely spiritual, or relegated to a future age beyond history or in heaven. Far from it, as his detractors rightly surmised. In its simplest terms, the kingship that Jesus announced and embodied is not of this world in the sense that it is not established here. Imagine what life would be like on earth, here and now, if God were king and not Obama, Medvedev, Kim Jong-il, Mugabe, or Ahmadinejad.
Every aspect of personal and communal life would experience a radical reversal in such a kingdom. The political, economic, and social subversions would be almost endless — peace-making instead of war mongering, liberation not exploitation, sacrifice rather than subjugation, mercy not vengeance, care for the vulnerable instead of privileges for the powerful, generosity instead of greed, humility rather than highness, and inclusion rather than exclusion. The ancient Hebrews had a marvelous word for all this, shalom, or human well-being.

And so in the readings for this week we discover how Jesus is a king who instead of waging war, "he makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire." (Psalm 46:9). Jesus the king welcomes criminals (Luke 23:43). In the mission and message of Jesus, says Paul, God intends to "reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood" (Colossians 1:20). Peace and reconciliation for all of creation are thus signs of the kingdom of God in Jesus.

And where do you and I fit? Are we subjects of this Kingdom?

The Lord's Prayer just might be the most subversive of all political acts: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." If we choose to live and pray this way we have a very different agenda than the world’s agenda… whatever our party political persuasion. Nothing will ever be the same. We have nailed our colours, entered a kingdom, pledged our allegiance to a ruler, and submitted to the reign of Christ the King.

(thanks to Journey with Jesus www.journeywithjesus.net)

pray always without losing heart

According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus told his disciples a parable because they were having problems with prayer. We all have problems with prayer. Jesus disciples were having problems with prayer. That's why Jesus told them this parable.
We have many questions and issues and problems about prayer. Mainly we wonder if prayer is really heard by God. So many of our prayers seem unanswered: We pray for health, but there is still a spot on the X-ray. We pray for peace, but the troops aren't home and the war rages. We pray for doors to open, but they seem to be bolted against us.
We have problems with prayer, but when we look closely, our deepest problem with prayer is that we lose heart. We just lose heart. We lose confidence and trust and hope that our prayers will be heard and answered. We lose heart.
'And Jesus told them a parable that they might pray always without losing heart'. Say it with me...

John Wesley encountered many times of rejection and denial. I picked up a few of these instances from his Journal … paraphrased:
Sunday A.M., May 5:Preached in St. Anne’s. Asked not to come back.
Sunday P.M., May 5:Preached in St. John’s. Deacons said, "Get out, and stay out!"
Sunday A.M., May 12:Preached in St. Jude’s. Can’t go back there either.
Sunday P.M., May 19:Preached in St. Somebody Else’s. Deacons called special meeting, and said I couldn’t return.
Sunday A.M., May 26:Preached on street. Kicked off street.
Sunday A.M., June 2:Preached at the edge of town. Kicked off highway.
Sunday P.M., June 2:Preached in a pasture. Ten thousand came.
If you and I are to get an answer, it may take some action. Consistent, and persistent action! George Mueller, the great prayer warrior, said, "The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere!" So..pray always without losing heart'

The story that Jesus told his disciples was about a corrupt and selfish judge. This judge hated people and he hated God.
Unfortunately, appearing in his courtroom was a poor widow who needed justice but had nothing. She had absolutely nothing. She had no money, she had no husband, she had no standing, she had no power, she had no resources, she had nothing. She was so insignificant, she probably couldn't have got justice in a good courtroom with a good judge, but here she was in the courtroom of the worst judge in the land.
Now, did I say that she had nothing? That's not quite true. She did have one thing... note. She had the capacity to be a pest, to annoy. And, when you only have one weapon, you use it. So she annoyed this judge constantly. She shouted aloud for justice in his courtroom: “Give me justice! Give me justice! Give me justice!” She knocked on his chamber doors, left messages on his ansaphone. She probably even put him off his stroke at the Golf Club shouting, “Give me justice! Give me justice! Give me justice!”
Finally, she wore the old judge down. The judge said to himself, “You know, I don't care about justice. I don't care about this widow, I don't like people, I don't like God and I don't care about anybody. But this woman is about to drive me crazy! I'm going to give her what she wants just to get her off my back.”

And that's the story that Jesus told us that we should pray always without losing heart. It's easy to misunderstand this parable, or to fail to see the full picture.

Some may say Jesus wants us to keep our eyes focused on the bad judge. He does tell the disciples, “Pay attention to what this unjust judge says.” And if we pay attention to the judge, well, what do we see? What we see is that, even though he was a corrupt man, at the end of the day he did give the woman the justice that she demanded and needed. So maybe what Jesus is teaching us is that, even though the headlines in the newspaper often show a world of corruption and evil, this is, you know, God's world, this is a world ruled and overruled by a loving and just God, and at the end of the day, there is justice after all. Maybe that's what Jesus wants us to see.
Well, I believe that and I think that's part of it, but I don't think that's not the heart of Jesus' story, because if that's all Jesus wanted us to see, the moral of this story would be, “Take heart. Things are not as bad as they seem.” But the message of this story is “pray always without losing heart.”

OK, maybe Jesus wants us to focus our attention on the poor widow. Did you notice how she went after what she needed? It was, after all, her persistence—“Give me justice! Give me justice!”—that managed to wrangle justice from the unjust judge.

I read a delightful story about Mother Teresa. She went to visit Edward Bennett Williams, a legendary Washington criminal lawyer. He was a powerful lawyer. .. he was the lawyer for Frank Sinatra and Richard Nixon, among others. Williams' biography tells the story of when Mother Teresa visited him because she was raising money for an AIDS hospice. Williams was in charge of a small charitable foundation that she hoped would help. Before she arrived for the appointment, Williams said to his partner, “You know, Paul, AIDS is not my favorite disease. I don't really want to make a contribution, but I've got this Catholic saint coming to see me, and I don't know what to do.” Well, they agreed that they would be polite, hear her out, but then say no.
Well, Mother Teresa arrived.....a little sparrow sitting on the other side of the big mahogany lawyer's desk. She made her appeal for the hospice, and Williams said, “We're touched by your appeal, but no.” Mother Teresa said simply, “Let us pray.” Williams looked at his partner; they bowed their heads and after the prayer, Mother Teresa made the same request, word for word, for the hospice. Again Williams politely said no. Mother Teresa said, “Let us pray.” Williams, exasperated, looked up at the ceiling, “All right, all right, get me my cheque book!”

Maybe that's what Jesus wants: pray like that, pray like Mother Teresa, pray like the widow, cry out, bang on the doors of heaven with insistence.
Well, that's part of it, to be sure. But that's not all of it. If that were the whole meaning of Jesus' story, then the moral of the story would be “Be feisty. Pray always.”

But the message of this story is more...., “pray always without losing heart.”

No, Jesus' story is not finally about the bad judge and it's not finally about the insistent widow. It's finally a story about God and about you and me. This story says, if a poor widow with no standing can finally wrangle justice out of an evil judge, how much more will you—God's own child, the one God formed in the womb, the God who has loved you from the very beginning— how much more will you and I find and know our God who will hear and answer prayer. He says to us, pray always without losing heart, for I will answer.

There's a famous story about a young boy named Frank who was walking along the bank of the Mississippi River and he noticed in the river another boy about his age wrestling with a homemade raft. He said to him, “What are you doing?” He said, “I'm going to take this raft out to that island in the middle of the river. I dare you to go with me!” Well, Frank couldn't resist the dare so he scrambled down the bank and got on the raft. The two boys headed out to the middle of the river but the current was swift and strong. As they approached the island, the raft broke up and sank and they had to swim to the island. And there they were, abandoned on an island, late in the afternoon. Nobody knew where they were. What would they do?
Right at that moment a Mississippi paddle steamer started coming down the river and Frank ran to the edge of the island and began screaming and waving his hands, “Help! Help!” The other boy said, “Don't waste your breath. They can't hear you and even if they could they wouldn't pay any attention to boys like us.” But just at that moment the paddle steamer turned toward the island. The boy said to Frank, “How did you do that?” And Frank said, “Well, there's something you don't know. The captain of that boat is my father!”

Well, the captain of the universe is our father and how much more will He, who has loved us since before we began...how much more will He hear our cry. So pray always without losing heart.

Paul, In that amazing bit of the letter to the Roman Christians (8:31-32) cries out; 'If God Is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own son but gave him up for us all... how will He not also along with Christ, graciously give us all things?
So, people... pray always without losing heart

Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me

Sorry if this one's a bit disjointed!! Stick with it...

Psalm 23 has been all about the care a good shepherd gives his sheep.The health and vitality of the sheep has been the shepherd's number 1 priority. In this last verse the care given the sheep is summed up.
I want to introduce you to two sheep dogs……God's two sheep dogs.
Remember, the shepherd is leading the flock…. I want you to imagine two dogs as rearguard.
God has two sheep dogs that always follow us and their names are goodness and mercy.
They are there not to scare us or hurt us, but to keep us in the fold and guide us to the next pastures.

1. Goodness.
God's goodness means we get things we don't deserve. If we believe in the goodness of God we can look to the future with hope.
Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

A good parent does not fulfil every wish and whim a child has. Why? Because not everything will benefit the child. Sometimes a parent will need to say, ’No I don’t think you two should play with the carving knives’!! God knows what is good for us far better than we know ourselves. God's goodness is great…

It’s most important that we understand that the promise of God's goodness does not mean a problem - free life. In Psalm 23 David has needed his soul restored, direction, help with fear and assurance of God's presence.
Not everything in life is good but God works in all things.
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
When my wife makes a cake she mixes together ingredients that by themselves don't taste good but all are needed to make a delicious cake. Raw eggs, Flour. Baking powder etc are not palatable. So many things that happen in our lives are unpalatable, but God works them in to make something good out of it all. Even in our toughest times God moulds us into the people He wants us to be.
Those things which would prove to be detrimental to our good have been kept from us. Those things which will work together for the “good” God has planned for us, God arranges and controls in such a way as to produce that good. Everything in the life of the Christian is designed for accomplishing the “good” God has planned for us.

The “good” which God purposes for us is of course in the future and which we cannot presently see. That “good” includes our salvation, sanctification, and our future full adoption as sons of God. It will involve being tested perhaps by suffering, as the “good” which is spoken of here is not so much happiness as holiness.
So the “all things” which God causes to work together for our ultimate good includes hardship, includes our failures and our sins, our innocent suffering, for the cause of Christ, and that suffering which results from our sin and stupidity.
“All things” includes the malicious things others do to us. It includes, at times, Satan’s attacks by which he hopes to destroy us, but which God allows for our own growth.
The “all things” includes events which took place before we were even born. “All things” includes those things which happened before we were saved. It surely includes the things which have come about after our conversion and also those events yet to come. The “all things” over which God has control and which He is causing to work together for our good includes the minute details of our lives and not just major decisions and actions.

God causes all things to work together for our good.
Joseph is a very positive illustration of God working for our good. Joseph was cruelly sold into slavery by his brothers. They acted sinfully out of jealousy. Joseph was treated badly by others. He was not kindly treated by his father (his favoritism was no favour to Joseph). He was not treated fairly by Potiphar, and especially by Mrs. Potiphar! He was not treated kindly by the king’s wine taster. He could have wallowed in the suffering which he experienced. And yet Joseph seemed to understand God’s goodness better than anyone. He could tell his brothers, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good” (see Genesis 45:5; 50:20). Belief in the sovereignty of God, at work for his good in the midst of his suffering, encouraged Joseph to be faithful, to look to God and to the future for his final “good.” It enabled him to forgive his brothers, knowing that God’s gracious hand was behind their sinful actions.

And there are numerous other examples in scripture and in history.

When our life is not going well we begin to question God's care. . Our natural reaction to trials is fear, worry and to ask "why?" We begin to think He really doesn't know what He is doing with me. We get tempted to panic and want to run from His care. We get the idea we can survive better on our own.
When our health breaks down, someone is taken from us in death, our job folds, we cannot meet our bills or our kids are going in the wrong direction we can wonder where God is…. But His goodness is not far behind!

2. Mercy /lovingkindness.
God's mercy means He bases His actions in our life on His lovingkindness. He has made an unconditional commitment to us to be merciful, because He's chosen to commit Himself to us.
On your best day and on your worst day God's commitment is the same.
God loves you just as you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay as you are. He wants to change some actions and thoughts in your life, but when you make those changes He won't love you more than He has already committed to love you, the fellowship will just be sweeter.
Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
If Romans 8:28 is one of the Bible’s great verses, so is Romans 5:8...
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We are sinners deserving the penalty of everlasting separation from God… but He takes the initiative…. sending His Son to die for us… while we are still in sin. This is love, this is mercy beyond words.

I Timothy 1:15-16
15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

Mercy, grace and love are here. We are saved by the blood of Christ on the cross. We do nothing. All is of grace… the only thing I can offer is the sin from which I need to be saved. All is of grace…undeserved mercy.
Romans 5:1
Standing then acquitted as the result of faith, let us enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
What mercy, what love…. We are saved from sin and death.
But His mercy does not end there…. This sheepdog called mercy also follows us all the days of our lives, so when we mess up as surely we will, mercy pursues us again.
1 John 1:8-9
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
He is a merciful God.

3.All my life.
God's two faithful sheep dogs follow me all the days of my life. They will be with me as long as I am on this earth…. What a promise.
Heb 13:5
Be content with what you have; for God Himself has said, "I will never, never let go your hand: I will never never forsake you."
They follow me no matter the kind of day I am having. Discouraging days, distressing days, dangerous days, delightful days….days of sweet fellowship with the Lord.
David is pointing to the future. No matter what problems I may face, I am sure my shepherd will be there for me. Whatever David faced he chose to have complete confidence in God.He was confident that goodness and mercy followed him even when he could not see them.

4. Surely
What a great word. Not maybe, perhaps, possibly or hopefully. It is a certainty. No guess work, no doubts, no wondering, no hesitation, no question marks - absolutely without a doubt. When we go through times of confusion, discouragement and depression we can be sure that means we can be secure. We only become insecure when we forget how much God loves us. When the Lord is your shepherd He is for you.
Psalm 56:9
When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.

David said surely - God's goodness and mercy are following us.
God is always at work but with our limited understanding as finite human beings we cannot always comprehend His infinite wisdom.
God does not give up on us. He does follow us with His goodness and mercy because He loves us and despite our doubts and misgivings about His management of our life, He picks us up and brings us back to Himself.
It is so often in hindsight that we realise we were never out of His care. No difficulty can arise, no dilemma can emerge, or no seeming disaster can descend on our life without God eventually bringing good out of the chaos.
Heb 5:13 again “God Himself has said, "I will never, never let go your hand: I will never never forsake you."

The valley of deepest darkness

Thankyou to Kate for reminding me to keep my sermons blog up to date!
Not doing a lot of preaching at the moment...

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
This verse is probably most often used at funerals to remind us of the triumph of resurrection over death and that we no longer have to fear its dark shadow. We often think how this dark valley relates to the final journey in life. David was stating in Psalm23:4 his complete and utter trust in God's ability to lead and guide him through the actual valley of death as well as the dark valleys of daily life. From the perspective of the ending of our earthly life, the emphasis on this verse is found in the comforting words that "God is with us" and there is no need to "fear any evil" for God will lead us home.
God does not want His children cowering in fear of what lies on the "other side". As much as we fight to live.... and that's a natural instinct God placed within us, there comes a time in every person's life when the hope of what is to come overrides and replaces the pain of what has been. Fear of the pain of dying is understandably human... let's be honest.... but God wants us to know that when that moment comes when we literally find ourselves walking the valley of death, that He will be right there with us holding our hand and leading us to glory where there is no more pain, sorrow or death. There are many promises in the Bible which give us firm ground as Christians to be sure of eternal life. We hear them at every funeral service.
We will look again at this subject when, on another occasion, we examine the last phrase of Ps23; 'I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever'.

But what I want to focus on is not so much our last days, but on life's struggles.
The question really isn't whether we'll have a handful or a cartload of valleys to go through in our lives but, 'how?'; "how do we get through them." The key is in this verse because we don't go through life alone. The Good Shepherd is our constant companion.

There is a road that goes between Jericho and Jerusalem known as the "shadow of death" due to its narrow way and steep sides. David may well have known it. As a shepherd, he was very much aware of the dangers of these narrow trails that could result in the death of a sheep sliding down into the ravine.
When the shepherd of Bible times led his flock into the mountains to graze during the summer, there were valleys marked by cliffs and cold winds that must be crossed. The sheep had to go further and further up the mountains to graze, then later in the year go through it all again on the way home.
The comfort given in these dark, treacherous valleys was the presence of the shepherd, his rod, and his staff. The sheep had learned to depend on the shepherd for shelter, guidance, and safety. In these dark, shadowy valleys where there were life-threatening obstacles, a good shepherd protected of his sheep with his own life.
The word "shadow" implies it is late in the day when the sun has already gone behind the rocks and thus the ravine or valley would be darkened by late day shadows. The darker it would get, the more treacherous the attempt to navigate the trail. As it would get darker, the temperature would drop, and the vicious wild animals would appear looking for their evening meal.

David's soothing voice of confidence in this verse is that even if he must walk through the darkest valley late in the day with shadows abounding and potential for disaster with every step; he would fear no evil. In other words, he was able to walk through this valley with a deep assurance that God was with him and that God would guide him and bring him comfort.

Phillip Keller, once a shepherd himself, describes the closeness between the shepherd and the sheep.
Sometimes, I have been fascinated to see how a shepherd
will actually hold his staff against the side of some sheep
that is a special pet or a favorite, simply so that they are "in touch". They will walk along this way almost as though it were "hand-in-hand". The sheep obviously enjoys this special attention from the shepherd and revels in the close, personal, intimate contact between them...It is a delightful and moving picture.

The shepherd's rod and staff were not instruments of fear used to beat sense into the sheep or punish them for straying. These tools were simply used to keep the sheep on the "straight and narrow". When wild animals threatened, the shepherd would be ready with his rod. When the sheep would veer off course, the shepherd would gently nudge the sheep to the right or left to keep them on the trail instead of falling into the valley of death. The staff is the familiar crook which would be used to lift up and pull the sheep up out of danger.

As the Shepherd is with us we don't have to be afraid of the shadows. Do you know what a shadow is,? ... it's the outline of something blocking the light. The shadow is harmless except for the fear we let it generate in our hearts because of the unknown 'whatever' which it hides.
Would you rather be run over by a bus or the shadow of a bus? The shadow has no substance, you see. And also the shadow implies the light.....the Light of Christ reminding us there is nothing to fear for He is with us.

Donald English writes:
"We are no nearer to explaining why suffering is allowed as an element in our daily lives. Nor are we ever likely to be much nearer to that. We have seen how much of it we bring upon ourselves, either individually or corporately. But much more important is the assurance we have that however deep our sense of dereliction may be, God is actually in it with us....'

I was reflecting on the 62 mile walk we did for Christian Aid. The first bit from Melrose was going to be in the dark, so I walked it in daylight a few weeks before when Cindy and I were up there on holiday. So on the actual weekend of the walk I was able to lead and guide the other three easily in the dark since I'd been there.
The next morning, however, as we crossed the moor to Wooler in the dark, it was much harder, and we got lost. I hadn't done that bit in daylight.

Donald English continues; 'There is no place where we can go on earth's surface where the footsteps of God in Jesus have not preceded us. There is no deep place of suffering where God will not be with us. And God's presence is to redeem.... The God whom we worship is the one who, as Rabbi Hugo Gryn put it about his reaction to losing family in the concentration camps of WW2, 'wept with me'.
He's been there. He understands, and He's right beside you..... with His rod to protect and correct, and His staff to rescue and guide.

The valley of deep darkness will be ours sooner or later..
In more than 40 communications, published since her death, Mother Teresa bemoans the 'dryness,' 'darkness,' 'loneliness' and 'torture' she is undergoing.
Churchill spoke frequently to his family and friends about his 'Black Dog' which was a euphemism for depression.
He suffered with depression for most of his life and at times struggled to hide the extent of his black moods from his political colleagues. Interestingly he used to lay bricks as a means of distracting himself when depressed and felt that this kept the 'Black Dog' at bay.
. John of the Cross writes of 'the dark night of the soul', and two chapters of his book extol the benefits... not least that we learn to trust and depend on God more.
He leads us through these shadowy valleys, teaching us to trust and obey......"You are with me": The good Shepherd is with us even in what can seem the most troubling situations in our lives....working things out for our good.
And the Good Shepherd guards us with His life. 'He lays down His life for the sheep', says Jesus of himself.....the heart of the gospel is here, friends. Jesus died for me!

If I were to ask you now if you have known dark valleys, I don't think that one of you would say 'no', if you're honest. The trouble so often is we look at each other across the room and say to ourselves, 'He doesn't understand what I'm going through. She can't know the pain I feel.' Well, actually, he probably can. She probably does. Part of our commitment to love one another involves being authentic... honest with each other, being vulnerable, being available for each other...

As Jesus prepares to leave His disciples, as His time on earth is over, whilst assuring them of His presence always, He commands them to 'Love one another as I have loved you.'
That's perhaps a step beyond David's experience.
We must support and help one another. This love is the mark of the Christian and, reaching out, to come along side those outside these walls who suffer, not only to share the suffering, but to rescue and redeem ......that they may come to know the Good Shepherd as we do.