Connect!

I was recently asked asked the question: what is the mot important advice you could give someone? Today I would like to share mine - so let's read:

John 15:1-8 (NLT)
"I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.
This brings great glory to my Father.


In this text, Jesus uses an analogy of a vine and its branches to describe the relationship or connection between himself and his believers. Paul the apostle also uses this analogy in Romans 11:17 to describe how non-Jewish believers have become God's own people - he says:

"...you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root..."


I don't know about you, but I am "horticulturally challenged" - I am a 'city boy' with little knowledge of vines, branches and the grafting of branches into vines - so I read up a little, and this - very briefly - is what I learned:

It is possible to graft a branch from one plant into another. To do so, a deep cut is made into the main plant such that its vital cell tissues (called the "vascular cambium") are exposed. The branch is also cut such that its vital cell tissues are exposed, and it is then inserted into the cut in the main plant.
The contact between the vital tissues of the two plants is critical for successful bonding to take place. The connection allows the life-giving chemicals of the main plant to flow freely into the branch and sustain it.

If the vascular connection is not properly made, the graft will fail - and the branch will wither and die.


So Jesus and Paul both describe the relationship between us and God as a very intimate connection. We do not have a loose "association"; we are bonded together in a life-to-life manner.

Let me illustrate with a valentine's analogy:
Say you receive a magnificent bunch of roses in a beautiful vase - you'll be thrilled, right?
How will that arrangement look in two weeks' time?
Say you receive a rose bush - you'll still be thrilled, right?
How will that bush look in two weeks' time?
In two months' time? In two years' time?

I'm not trying to devalue cut flowers, I'm illustrating the fact that a stem on its own, even if it gets fresh water daily, will die. But a stem on a healthy bush will live - and continue to produce flowers!

I've resisted giving you a title until now because only now will it make sense - I believe it's a word God is saying to many of us right now - it is:

CONNECT!

Friends, here is a scary reality: it is altogether possible to go through life with nothing more than a superficial association with Jesus - and his Body, the Church. We can be like cut flowers in a vase instead of healthy stems on the bush - ultimately a dried arrangement - attractive to some, but devoid of life!


John records a tough ministry moment in John chapter 6: many of the people who were following Jesus were seriously offended by some things he said. Picking up the account in verse 66 we read:

"At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, "Are you also going to leave?" Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life." (John 6:66-68 NLT)

Peter's words are bitingly honest and insightful! First he says, "Lord, to whom would we go?" In other words, "Lord, I've looked around for other options that I could take - but there aren't any!" He too was struggling with what Jesus had said and he felt his allegiance to Jesus being tested.

But as he considered his options, he realised that he was standing before the source of eternal life! He realised that Jesus is the vine - and that if he disconnected, he would be disconnecting from the source of life!

Maybe we can categorise the people on that day into two groups: followers and disciples.

The followers were what I would term 'fans'. They loved the miracles Jesus did and - up to that day - they were inspired by his teaching. But when he offended them, he was no longer appealing to them - so they simply walked away.
The disciples were what I would term 'connected'. They too loved the miracles and the teaching, and they too were somewhat offended by his words that day. But they had made a connection of faith with Jesus, they knew he was the source of eternal life - so they stayed with him.

So here is my first appeal:

Please don't settle for being a mere "follower" of Jesus - he has SO much more for you! A mere association with Jesus and his church is a hollow, lifeless counterfeit of what Jesus is calling you to!


It has been said that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship - Jesus does not call us into a loose religious affiliation, he calls us into a covenant relationship! He calls us to experience a shared life - like that of a vine and a branch - listen again to the words he uses to describe it:

Remain in me, and I will remain in you
I am the vine; you are the branches

Remain... in me... I in you... I am the vine; you are the branches... This is a magnificent word-picture of shared life! It is PERMANENT! It is MUTUAL! It is a picture of his life flowing into ours!
How could we accept some forth-rate, lifeless counterfeit?!!!
How can we settle for the vase when we can get the real thing - and be grafted into the vine?!!


OK... I hope you're sold - you want the real thing... so what do we DO? How doe we "remain in him"???
Good Question - let's look at Jesus' words and see - there is not much time, so we'll just look at two...


verses 9 & 10:
"I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love."

The first thing we need to do is OBEY (now I've ruined it for some of you!) Jesus tells us the OBEDIENCE is a key to "remaining in" him. He knows this from experience, so says "be obedient as I am obedient".
Remember, for branch to graft successfully into a vine, the tissues must join. They can only do that if they stay in place. If the branch keeps moving, trying to point in a different direction, it will not connect. Likewise, we have to "get with the program" of Jesus. If he points one way, so must we. If he moves in the wind, so must we. We can't "do our own thing" AND make the connection!

Obedience means we we do what he says - so we need to know what he says - and we have an incredible collection of words of Jesus recorded in the gospels! They are there for all of us to read - so let's become people who read the words of Jesus - and do what he says.

This is a specific kind of reading - we are not reading as a ritual - like "OK, I've read my chapter, my duty is done." There is little life in that if any. We must read Jesus' words with the mindset of listening for his commands - so that we can obey them and remain in him. As we read, we need to be praying something like, "Lord, what are you saying to me here? How does this affect my life? Am I obeying you in this matter? What must I do - or stop doing?"

Friends, if we make this a habit, our lives will change - and Jesus says they will change fo the better! He goes on to say (v11):
"I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!"

I hope that this changes your mindset on the matter of obedience. This is not legalism, it is staying close to Jesus!


The other key I want to highlight today is PRAYER. You may think this is obvious, but it is VITAL, so it needs to be said.

Jesus speaks of asking the Father - this is prayer. And prayer is vital to our close relationship. Let me explain why:
When we ask for what we need in prayer, we acknowledge our dependence on God. We are saying "I can't make it on my own; I need you. I don't have enough strength; I need you. I can't make my life work on my own; I need you!"

Prayer is like binding the grafted branch tightly against the vine so that the inmost cells can connect. When we see prayer like this, then we value it more and we pray differently. We want the life of Jesus to flow into us, we want our spirit to connect with his Spirit. Again, this is not ritual; it is relationship! So let's spend time in prayer - not because its a spiritual discipline, but because it is a time when the life of Jesus can flow into us!


Today, please hear Jesus calling you to a closer relationship - to be a branch grafted into the vine - Jesus himself! Hear him offering you shared life, with his life flowing into yours! Hear him offering you a position of permanent, secure belonging!

As you hear him, please respond with a great big "YES!" And please commit to growing in this "remain in me and I in you" relationship through obedience and prayer!

The turning point in my life came when a friend challenged me to make up my mind and commit my life fully into Jesus' hands. I made up my mind. I put my life in Jesus' hands. And he graciously received me - I was grafted in. I began a new life - a life that keeps on getting better as I learn to "remain in Him" - and his life flows into mine.

I urge you today - if you have never made a 100%, all-in commitment to Jesus, DO IT NOW! If your spiritual experience is like a cut flower in a vase - some loose association with Jesus and the church instead of a genuine connection - Jesus is offering you LIFE - HIS LIFE! And you receive it as you allow him to take you and graft you into hiself. Put your life in his hands; and let him give you true life, eternal life!

I don't want to stretch this analogy too far, but some of you may be "partly grafted"! You have given your life to Jesus, but you keep pursuing your own will - so your connection is under constant stress! I urge you - surrender your will - Jesus came to give you LIFE TO THE FULL - his perfect will will take you to far better places than your faulty on will!

Turn on the light!

Turn on the Light!

Please turn to Matthew 5.

Last Sunday, Jenni reminded us of the Gospel - let me remind you of the four Scripture verses she read:
John 3:16 - that God loves the world so much that he sent Jesus - so that anyone who puts their faith in HIM will not perish (that is, spend all eternity separated from God in what the Bible calls hell), but have eternal life (that is, spend all eternity with God in what the Bible calls heaven).
Acts 4:12 - that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus.
John 14:6 - that Jesus is the only way to God - THE way, THE truth and THE life.
Philippians 2:19 - that the name JESUS is above every other name.

When we grasp the enormity of this message, we realise that it is the most important message anyone can hear! Everyone needs to know this!!!
So what do we do? Surely we need to do something!!

Let's read Matthew 5:14-16 and ask Jesus to teach us!

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Lesson 1: You ARE light
Jesus did not say "you should be the light of the world", he said you ARE the light of the world. Some of us need to wrestle with this, because we don't FEEL like "light"! We are acutely aware of our shortcomings and honestly wonder how we can possibly be light to others!
And then there's the devil, who is called Satan, meaning "adversary" or "accuser". He will lie to you and tell you that you are not light. He will remind you of sins you have committed - and maybe a weakness or two - and tell you that you are definitely NOT light!
And then, just as Jesus countered the devil with Scripture, you need to do the same! Tell him, 'it is written - in in Matthew 5:14 - and Ephesians 5 verse 8 - that I once was darkness, but now I am light in Jesus!'



To quote Ephesians 5 verse 8 from the NIV:
"...you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."
Everyone has a "past" - a past of darkness. But Jesus has rescued us from that darkness and made us people of light! The devil would have you live chained to your dark past; but Jesus has set you free to live in his light present!

So don't lt the devil lie to you - if you belong to Jesus, you are no longer darkness, but LIGHT! BELIEVE IT!!


Lesson 2: You are NOTICABLY DIFFERENT
Jesus said "A town built on a hill cannot be hidden." It is IMPOSSIBLE to hide it! In the same way, as people of the light, we stick out - sometimes like the proverbial sore thumb!
The more we experience of the life of Jesus, the more different we become - because we become more like Jesus. Paul described the Christian life as a transition of ever-increasing glory - listen to 2 Corinthians 3:18:
"And we all ...are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory..."

So as followers of Jesus, we become more and more like him - and more and more noticeably different to those who are not.

Uncomfortable? You bet!! It makes others uncomfortable and it makes us uncomfortable. But it is the will of God that we become more and more like Jesus... so we need to "get over this" and get used to it! And know this - it is "good different" - they are good changes!

Though the changes may challenge some people around us, they show how God makes us better than we were - and most people would like their lives to get better!


Lesson 3: DON'T HIDE YOUR LIGHT!
Jesus rightly points out that you don't switch on a light and then hide it away - you switch on the light to light up the room. Likewise, as people of light, WE MUST NOT HIDE!

There is a school of thought that says we must make every effort to become like those we want to reach - and there is some truth here - for example, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23:
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

But understand this - Paul was explaining about his freedom and his occasional choice to not use it - to bring down unnecessary barriers between him and others for the sake of the Gospel. So he would not do some things that would hinder people from receiving the gospel - like not eating pork before Jews - but before non-Jews, he would not insist on dietary restrictions - that would hinder them.

But this was not in order to "blend in", to CAMOUFLAGE his faith! It was to make sure that he put up no unnecessary obstacles in front of the people that would hinder them coming to Christ.

Let's put this into 2012: two examples of unnecessary obstacles are:
- speaking "Christianese" - using language foreign to the "unchurched" (saved, blood-washed)
- insisting on wearing formal clothes to church meetings
People do not have to speak like us or look like us to be saved - they need to believe in Jesus! So let's not put any unnecessary barriers in front of them.

But this does not mean that we should try to be just like them! If we are "just like them", then why should they follow Jesus? It would not make any difference!!
Jesus said: "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

When we let our light shine, it points people to Jesus and gives him glory - in other words, it makes him look good. When we live good lives, it makes Jesus look good to unbelievers - so they are more likely to seek him.
So don't be shy - SHINE!! It points people to Jesus!

A quick summary:


If you belong to Christ, YOU ARE LIGHT. The devil will deny it and you may doubt it. But Jesus said it - so let's BELIEVE IT!
If you belong to Christ, YOU WILL BECOME NOTICABLY DIFFERENT - and will become more and more so as you become more like Christ. This can be uncomfortable at times, but it is God's purpose. So we need to get over it and get used to it!
If you belong to Christ, you are light - DON'T HIDE IT; LET IT SHINE! This makes Jesus look good and points people to him.

One last Scripture in closing: 1 Peter 3:15:

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..."

Sooner or later, people will ask us WHY? Why are our lives different? This is our big moment! This is our chance to humbly speak of the redeeming work that Jesus has done in our lives - to tell them that the good things they see are because of the life of Jesus at work in us.
These are moments when we can speak with true humility and integrity of the redeeming work of Jesus. Let's be ready to do so!


We are the most privileged people on earth. We have discovered the goodness of God in Jesus Christ and our lives are being transformed into more and more glorious light! Let's let it shine! Let's shine wherever we are - at work, at home, with friends, with strangers... and see how God is glorified in us!

Christ in the Fire

Text: 2 Corinthians chapter 1

As an eldership, we are acutely aware of many who are experiencing great trials – and that many of you have been through great trials.  I believe that this passage of Scripture will help us all to deal with these situations – so let’s read:

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

  To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Quick survey:

-       How many of you have asked God to put you through some really tough times?

-       How many of you went through some really tough times anyway?

Few, if any, of us, would volunteer for significant hardship – yet this is part of life on earth.  Most of us would gladly avoid it, and some of us will do everything we can to avoid it! 

Some of us may think – consciously or unconsciously – that as Christians, we should not experience suffering.  We think that it is Jesus’ job to keep us out of trouble.  Yet Jesus clearly said (and I quote John 16:33):

In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart! I have overcome the world.

A solid theology of suffering is very helpful when we endure trials.  This message won’t complete your theology by any means, but I do believe that it will strengthen it.

So let me highlight some verses from our text and let’s get stronger:

v5: For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

The first lesson is that suffering and comfort are BOTH part of the Christian life.  Peter wrote this in his first letter (I’m quoting 1 Peter 4v12):

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.

So don’t have a crisis of faith when trials come your way – they do not mean you are not a proper Christian or that you have lost your faith!

Paul was very much a Christian and a man of great faith – yet he endured tremendous trials.  Listen to verses 8 & 9:

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

Paul experienced a level of stress that was beyond his coping skills – a pressure so heavy that he despaired and felt doomed to die at any moment.  Now, please Lord, I am not saying that we should expect to go through such extreme suffering – all I am saying is that when we go through suffering, this does not invalidate our faith.

You haven’t lost the faith”.  And God hasn’t lost you either!  The next lesson is that trials also don’t mean that God has left you.  In verse 4 we read that God

“…comforts us in all our troubles…”

When life gets tough we can feel like God has left us.  But in the midst of our darkest days, we can find God’s comfort.  He has not “left the building”.  He is with you!

In fact, in the midst of trials we can experience God in two truly magnificent roles:

-       As Father of compassion

-       And as God of all comfort            

In verse 3, Paul describes God in these two ways.  As we struggle, we can know the Father of compassion with us.  As we hurt, we can know the touch of the God of all comfort.

As we cry out to God with our little faith, we find that he is not some aloof being monitoring our suffering from afar… he is standing with us, full of compassion for us, wanting to pour his comfort into our hearts!

In verse 4 we learn a little about the dynamics of this comfort:

[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Comfort comes to us in two ways: (1) from God directly, and (2) also from the family of God.  Many times we can simply draw aside in prayer and find his comfort.  But at other times, we can struggle to connect with God – and in those times, we really need the family of God.  We need others around us, praying for us, encouraging us, and sometimes simply “being there” with us.

When we experience trials, and the comfort of God in them, we find ourselves equipped to help others.  I’m sure many of us have taken comfort in the encouragement of a fellow-believer who has “been there” where we are, and God has brought them through.

So, in the midst of trials, we can FIND COMMUNITY, as we ENDURE TRIALS TOGETHER.  This is such a reality in some of our small groups – some of you guys are amazing as you walk together through the challenges you face.  As Paul put it in v7,

…just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Part of this community experience is PRAYER SUPPORT – praying for one another.  Paul wrote (verses 10-11):

On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.

This is a wonderful truth, folks – we can all help those who are suffering as we pray for them.  YOU CAN HELP THEM!

Lastly, trials build our faith.  We don’t need faith when things are going well!  When things get rough, then our faith is exercised, and it grows stronger. When God brings us through that trial, we find that we have more faith for the next challenge – and we can say like Paul:

On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us…

Let me summarise quickly:

From 2 Corinthians 1 we have learned that:

-       Suffering and comfort are BOTH part of the Christian experience

-       Suffering for the Christian can be severe at times

BUT, in all of our trials:

-       God is with us – as Father of compassion; and as God of all comfort

-       God comforts us directly and through people around us who have experienced his comfort

-       We can experience community with fellow believers as we walk through the trials together

-       We can help one another by praying for them

-       And our faith grows stronger into an ENDURING FAITH that says he will continue to lead me through.

So what do we do with this?

1.    Don’t lose faith when trials some – you haven’t left God and God hasn’t left you!

2.    Reach out to God for his comfort and strength – he is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort!

3.    Reach out to others who will pray with you and for you.  Don’t withdraw; rather draw closer to the community of believers.

4.    Lastly, look forward to a testimony of how God brought you through – as Paul wrote in verse11 :

Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

 So be it!

The Lead Story (or ‘What’s Your Headline?’)

Today I’d like us to look at three major events in the New Testament – but from a different slant.  Please work with me on this; I need you to put your imagination to work!

Imagine this: you are a newspaper editor in Jerusalem and Luke is your top reporter.  On three occasions, he submits what are clearly front page news articles.  Your decision each time is to decide: what will the headline be?

I am told that a golden rule of journalism is “don’t bury the lead statement”.  When you have a story, work out what is the most important part of the story and start there.  But Luke was a doctor, not a journalist!  His mission was to report the facts in an orderly way – so the “lead” is not written up-front.  We’ll need to find it!

Let’s look at Luke’s first major story: Luke 5 from verse 1:

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

This was a truly remarkable day!  What headline would you use for this report?

-        “Miraculous Catch of Fish!”?

-        “Two Boatloads from One Net!”?

-        “Jesus fishes like he preaches!”?

-        ?

We can easily conclude that “this is the account of the miraculous catch of fish”.  We can analyse the event: Jesus spoke, Peter obeyed, stepping out in faith, and a miracle resulted.  It is definitely a fantastic case-study of hearing and obeying in faith!

This is a profoundly significant miracle... but there is an even greater event in this text (and the NIV editors have added a heading to help us spot it) – it’s in verses 10 and 11:

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

The catch of fish was amazing – but the CALL OF JESUS was AWESOME!  Jesus engaged Peter fully through this miracle and then called him to change careers – to become a “fisher of men”.

And Peter, James and John pulled their boats up on shore, left them behind and followed Jesus.

The greatest catch of this day was three fishermen – who made a life-changing decision to follow Christ and began a new career of reaching people for Christ.

Let’s fast-forward Peter’s story – to Acts chapter 2:

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say…

This is DEFINTELY another front page story!!  Another AMAZING piece of history! 

The disciples were meeting together during the feast of Pentecost, and suddenly the Holy Spirit took over their meeting!  It looked like fire was on them, but they didn’t burn up!  Then they began to speak new languages!  Foreigners heard the noise – and heard the wonders of God being declared in their home languages by these Jews!  They were amazed – and confused!  What was going on?

Then Peter stepped up – he stood up, raised his voice over the crowd, and preached his first sermon – without any preparation!

The sermon was powerful – so powerful that 3 000 people put their faith in Christ!

So what is your headline?

Some possible headlines:

-        Strange Fire, Strange Meeting!

-        Spontaneous International Translation!

-        Is this what the Prophets Foretold?

-         ?

As we read this amazing account, we can easily become engrossed in what is now known as “Pentecostal” activity – supernatural signs and supernatural speech.  What an amazing meeting!!  Imagine if OUR meetings could be like this!!

Jesus had told the disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came (recorded in Acts 1:7) – this was the big moment!  What an event!!

But again, the story ends with something even more spectacular – verse 41:

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

So the headline could be something like:

-        “3 000 converts to Christ in one day!”

It is truly amazing!  3 000 people made the life-changing decision to follow Christ – and without hesitation, they were all baptised!

Think about it:  We are (rightfully) thrilled when one person puts their faith in Christ…  We want to build a 1 000-seater church… In one day, Peter saw 3 000 new converts!

Last one: let’s read on a little further – not about Peter, but about the 3 000 converts – in Acts 2 from verse 42:

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

YET ANOTHER amazing account!!  The Church has exploded into existence and it quickly develops into the most MAGNIFICENT community!  The members are devoted… there is great teaching and great fellowship… many miracles are happening in their meetings… they have big public meetings in the temple courts and small intimate meetings in their homes…  God is honoured and the believers are admired by the community…

I certainly read this in wonder – what a magnificent picture of the church!  I can spend tons of time examining this description of a vibrant church and thinking about how we can be like this – who wouldn’t want this as a description of their church?

So maybe you’d write a heading like this:

-        “Devotion Redefined!”

-        “Believers redefine Community!”

-        “From Capitalism to Community!”

-        “Transformation!”

-        ?

But yet again, I am stopped by the last sentence of this account:

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Every day, people were being saved – finding faith in Christ.  Every day, people were being rescued from darkness and brought into the light of Jesus!

The Church life is magnificent – but people being saved every day is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!

So a better headline could be “Church Grows Daily!”

Now you may have guessed that I am not particularly interested in developing your journalism skills!  There is “method in my madness” – I have a point in all this! J

And here it is – my conclusion as I gaze over these events in history:

·       Hearing God is really important.

·       Faithful obedience to what HE says is really important.

·       Miraculous provision by God is really important.

·       The work of the Holy Spirit is really important.

·       The ingredients of church life are really important.

These things are all really important – in fact, this is an understatement!

And this is why they are important:

Are you paying attention? J

All of these things are really important – but they are not the end in themselves – they are really important because they result in DECISIONS TO FOLLOW CHRIST.

They are really important because:

·       The “lost” need to be “found”!

·       Those who are still living – and dying – in the dark need to see the light!

·       Those who are still being ruled by the devil and his evil forces need to be rescued and brought under the authority – and the eternal protection – of Jesus!

Peter’s catch brought him to a place where he could make his decision to follow Jesus.

Pentecost took place so that people from all over the world could make their decision to follow Jesus.

The church was born and blessed so that, on a daily basis, people could make their decision to follow Jesus.

Many of us know John 3:16&17

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Jesus came to save the world – and we are a part of his one, massive rescue plan! 

All he is doing in our lives… all he is wanting to do in our lives… it all has a significance that reaches far beyond our personal blessings – as glorious as these blessings are.

Jesus’ work in our lives brings us to the place where we can make key decisions to follow him.  And his work will put OTHERS in a position to make THEIR decision to follow Jesus.

The work of God in our lives is glorious – let’s enjoy it!  But let’s know that it all has a greater purpose – to rescue those around us!  God’s plan is so much bigger than me… than you… than COGS… than church groupings and movements…

IT IS TO REDEEM THE WORLD.  This is why you and I are not yet in heaven – we have lives to touch!

Let’s go out and touch them.

Prayer and His Presence

Text: Matthew 6:5-13.  Let’s see what God will teach us today!

5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 "This, then, is how you should pray:  " `Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

Now let’s look again at verses 5-6:

5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus distinguishes here between prayer that has a “public profile” and prayer that does not.  This could be misunderstood – is he saying we must only pray in private? 

That does not make sense, for Scripture is full of corporate worship and prayer!  So let’s look again at the text and see what Jesus is saying to us.

Notice these key words: “hypocrites” and “to be seen by men”.  Jesus is showing us a picture of hypocritical prayer, of prayer that seeks the praises of those around us.  He is not saying that we must not pray IN public, but that we must not pray FOR the public! 

WHY?

One reason is that when we pray FOR the public, those around us become our audience; they become our focus instead of God.  When we pray with “the public” in mind, we begin thinking about what people think about us (e.g. do we look or sound silly to them?)  We can fall into the trap of seeking the praise – or at least the acceptance – of those around us.  This kind of praying is misdirected and hypocritical! 

The only reward we will receive for this kind of praying is the recognition from those around us – recognition that we are “religious” (or that we think we are! J)

But when we pray alone, and when we pray in secret, there is no-one to distract us or influence our prayers – only God.  There is no-one to impress – only God.  There is no need for hypocrisy: the people-pressures are gone and the people-focus is gone.  We find ourselves OUT of the presence of man – and IN the presence of GOD!

Folks, this is an awesome place! It is the presence of God Almighty!  This is the place where Jesus urges us to go!  This is a place where God rewards!

Let’s read on to verses 7-8:

7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

As we find ourselves alone with God, this can be an awkward moment – how do we behave in the presence of God Almighty?  Do we have to assume a “religious” manner like priests we have seen and heard?  It is hard enough to impress people, but how on earth do we impress GOD?!

Jesus tells us – my paraphrase – don’t try to impress him! 

He says ‘do not keep on babbling’ – this is for pagans, for those who have no real relationship with God!  We are not strangers to God; we are his children!  God does not want us to “go religious on him” with long, formal prayers – he knows what we mean!

When we pray: “Father, I’m worried about my work”, we don’t have to explain all the details as if he were some stranger – he actually understands the situation better than we do!

So here’s a thought – if he knows what we need even without us asking, why does he want us to go to our rooms, close the door and ‘let our words be few’?

It is because HE WANTS US IN HIS PRESENCE! 

-        It is not because he can’t hear us when we’re all praying together! 

-        It is not that God is busy and wants us to ‘keep it short’!

It is that God desires our company – much more than our words!  He is our FATHER in heaven – he is a RELATIONAL God!

So let me give you a title for this message: it is “The Reward of His Presence.”  When we draw aside to pray alone, God rewards us almost immediately – and this reward is his presence.

For me, this is the greatest reward of prayer.  In one sense its sounds so simple – even obvious; yet in another, it is so profound – that we can choose to draw aside from the crowd and be alone – and be welcomed into the presence of GOD ALMIGHTY!

When the awe of this sinks in, it is abominable to think that people have “dumbed-down” the greatest connection we can ever make – and the greatest relationship we can ever build – into some kind of religious ritual or exercise!!

Think about it: Prayer is presented by some as a cold, hard discipline, a religious ritual.  The longer you pray, the more often you pray, the more eloquently you pray, the more spiritual you are considered!

IF WE THINK LIKE THIS, WE HAVE LOST THE PLOT!!

The Pharisees proved this theory to be totally incorrect.  They were “prayers of note” – yet, these men who prayed long, often and impressively, could not recognize who Jesus was – nor could they understand his message!

This view of prayer as a religious ritual is a lie that keeps many people from entering into God’s presence – for two reasons:

1.     We can think we are “not spiritual enough” to enjoy the presence of God.

2.     We can think that prayer is only a ritual/discipline, and not expect to enjoy God’s presence.

So Jesus tells us: Don’t be misled by the “religious gurus”!  Don’t think prayer is about looking religious - or about impressing other religious people - or about impressing God - or about eloquent prayers - or about how long and how often you pray!

PRAYER IS ABOUT YOU CONNECTING WITH GOD!

Let me “bring this home” for a moment.  Ever listened to an “informational prayer”?  They go on at great length to explain the situation to God – as if they know more about it than he does (or perhaps they are using their prayer to communicate their significant knowledge and insight with those around them?) 

Or perhaps you’ve heard a “theological prayer”?  Their prayers are “teaching moments”!  They quote lots of Scriptures and clarify the theological basis for their prayer – as if God needs to see that they are praying correctly (or perhaps they do it for us so that we may gain from their knowledge?) J 

These folks can intimidate us, leaving us feeling inadequate to enter into God presence in private.  LET’S GET SET FREE FROM THIS!!!

Now please hear me:  Please don’t be afraid to pray detailed prayers, and please don’t be afraid to pray Scripture; but please do be aware that we can “lose the plot” about what prayer is really all about and become modern-day Pharisees, religious prayers who connect more with the crowd than with God!

I think I need to say this too though: it does take some discipline to stop and pray!        I think this is largely because our lives are too crowded and too noisy! 

-        Some of us are too busy – we try to do more things than there is actually time to do. 

-        Some of us are hardly ever alone. 

-        Some of us are hardly ever quiet.

Looking at Jesus words and at our lives, I conclude that the disciplines of prayer are:

-        to make time

-        to get alone

-        to get quiet

In other words:

-        postpone your plans for half an hour or start your day earlier.  Make some time.

-        Go into your room or find a private place.  Get alone.

-        Switch off the TV.  Switch off the music.  Switch off your phone.  Get things quiet!

Now pray!  No need to be clever, theological or religious – just pray!

OK, so you do these things.  Here you are, in God’s presence.  Now what?  Not sure where to start? Well, Jesus gives you a GREAT prayer in our text!  “Father in heaven…”

But why not just be silent?  Remember, this is not a religious ritual; this is you “visiting” your heavenly Father!  You don’t have to fill the air with nervous chatter – just “visit”!

When we get this right, we enter into the greatest space ever – it’s “you and God”, no-one else. 

·       You and GOD ALMIGHTY, creator of heaven and earth! 

·       You and FATHER GOD – YOUR heavenly Father! 

·       And – get this – HE WANTS TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU!

WHAT AN AMAZING PRIVILEGE!!! THIS HAS TO BE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING WE CAN EVER DO!!!

And we dumb it down to a religious ritual – SHAME ON US!!!

Three quick testimonies to encourage you: two from Scripture and one personal:

Moses knew the presence of God – and came to value it supremely.  In Exodus 33:15, we read that Moses said this to God: “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here”!

King David knew and loved the presence of God.  In Psalm 16:11 he wrote: “you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

I am SO with these guys! My first experience of doing what Jesus tells us to do was amazing! (I didn’t actually know the Scripture at that stage, I did it right by “accident”!)  I went to my room and closed the door.  I lay flat on my back on my bed, put my faith in Jesus and surrendered my life to God.  God met me in my simple faith and made his presence powerfully known to me – my whole body felt different: I KNEW I was in his presence!!  The next time I prayed, I did the same thing again – it was all I knew – and God touched me again! 

Those times really grew my faith – times of simply being in my Father’s presence.  I KNEW God was real, and I KNEW God was interested in me!  His presence was AMAZING!  I joined a youth group and met some other “presence junkies” – and we used to have the most amazing times in prayer, just knowing the presence of God!

Just so you know, I don’t often pray flat on my back anymore – at my age, I tend to fall asleep! J  And I don’t always feel God’s presence tangibly… I tell you this story simply because it’s a picture of “getting alone with God in simple faith” – and of his delight to bless us as we do so!

I hope these words have helped “demystify” and “de-religiousify” the presence of God for you!  I trust that you can see, from Scripture, that God wants YOU to draw aside in prayer – and enjoy HIS PRESENCE – the most awesome experience!

So I urge you – take time this week to take some time out… to draw aside into a private place… to pray a simple, authentic prayer… and to enjoy the presence of God.

You will be SO glad you did!