John 18 ; 33 to 37

John 18 ; 33 to 37

We can read the newspapers and look around us at what is going on in the world and think quite frankly - what a mess. Where is God in all this? What’s gone wrong with the world?

In fact lots of people when they see poverty and war and injustice decide that there can’t be a God or the world wouldn’t be like this.

Well in today’s reading from John’s gospel, Jesus goes some way to explaining why the world is in such a mess. He says in verse 36, “my kingdom is not from this world.” The New Living translation puts it as; “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom.”

In other words Jesus’s kingdom isn’t established in this world, and we don’t see life lived as God desires. We see people hating and hurting each other. We see greed and immorality and injustice.

But why is this - and what’s gone wrong?

Well the answer is given to us in the first few chapters of Genesis, where we see that everything went wrong right at the very beginning just after God had created a perfect world.

We see Adam and Eve when tempted by the Devil, choosing to disobey God and in so doing, to allow evil and sin and death - into the world.

God is perfect. He is perfectly wise and loving and good, so when we choose to disobey him, and to go our own way, imperfection results.

And this is what has happened to the world. Since people were first created mankind has chosen to go its own way in life and to disobey God.

So now we see a world that is locked in persistent rebellion against its creator and the mess we see around us is the chaos that results.

Of course there is also a spiritual dimension to the darkness and chaos we see as the story in Genesis makes clear.

The bible explains that this dark spiritual dimension is ruled by Satan or the devil – who was a powerful angel that rebelled against God’s authority long ago before the world was created.

Satan and his demonic followers are squarely opposed against God and so there is a battle going on in the world between the forces of evil and God and his angelic host.

Of course God is infinitely more powerful than the Devil, but for the time being until he is ultimately defeated, Satan and his demonic host have a degree of influence in the world.

Satan encourages people towards death and destruction. He delights in sorrow and misery and discord and hatred and he seeks to blind people to the truth of the gospel.

We see this battle in the gospels when for instance Jesus himself was tempted by the Devil to disobey his heavenly father and again when Jesus cast out demons from people.

Jesus could see when the spiritual forces of evil were oppressing people and he set them free.

We get a brief glimpse of what the world would be like if God’s kingdom were truly established on earth in the book of Revelation where we read about the future New Jerusalem – a time when God will dwell with his people and will wipe every tear from his people’s eyes and where death will be no more and where mourning and crying and pain will be no more.

But sadly as we all know the world isn’t like this at the moment.

Now this probably all sounds a bit depressing and I don’t want you to go home feeling depressed. There is good news and this is that although Jesus’s kingdom may not yet be established on earth – he is in fact a king. The NIV translates verse 18 of today’s reading as; 

“You are right in saying I am a king.”

Jesus is the king of the heavenly realms – the spiritual domain - and as he explains to Pilate, the reason he was born was to reveal the knowledge of his kingship and his kingdom to the world – to testify to the truth as he puts it in verse 37.

So when we read the gospels we see Jesus starting to put things right in the world. Where people are sick he heals them. Where people are possessed or oppressed by demons he sets them free. Where people have died before their time – he raises them back to life.

Where people are willing to confess their mistakes and to change – he enables them to experience forgiveness and acceptance by God.

We see the kingdom of Jesus – the kingdom of heaven, start to spill over into the life of the world.

God in the person of Jesus came to earth to restore and put right what is wrong with the world, and to reconcile human beings to their creator.

Thus Luke records that right at the start of his ministry Jesus says; “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.”

And this is the commission he has given to his church, to those who believe in him today.

With the help of his Holy Spirit – who lives in the heart of believers – we are to continue Jesus’ work, to bring peace and healing and the knowledge of salvation to our small corner of the world.

God is in the business of putting right what is wrong with the world and he does it person by person, individual by individual, heart by heart.

There’s part of a verse in the song ‘I vow to thee my country’ – about God’s kingdom, which I particularly like.

It reads; “And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase, and her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.”

God’s kingdom is established in the world as individuals repent and cease rebellion against their creator and seek to serve him in their lives.

Jesus’s message was repent because the kingdom of heaven is close at hand, and this is his message to people today.

God can only start to put things right in the world as we as individuals - cease rebellion against him and start to try and do things his way.

He calls us to acknowlege our wrongdoing – our contribution to the mess the world is in – and to start to try and live our lives in obedience to him – to kneel before him and to acknowledge his kingship in our lives.

I know some of you here have had military careers. Well when you joined the army you were required to swear an oath of allegiance to queen and country.

You chose to dedicate your life to the service of your monarch and her country and to be obedient to the orders you received.

Well God asks us to do something similar if we are to join his army of followers.

He asks us to the best of our ability, with the help of His Holy Spirit, to commit ourselves by faith to the service of His kingdom and to be obedient to what He asks us to do.

And his kingdom can only start to be established in our lives as we do this.

Jesus says in verse 37 that everyone who belongs to the truth listens to his voice.

In other words those who are genuinely on God’s side will listen to what he says and act in obedience to it.

With his help, they will seek to bring the knowledge and power of the kingdom of heaven into the lives of those around them.

With his help they will seek to bring peace and reconciliation and healing where there is hatred and discord and sickness.

And what can we expect when we choose to follow Christ and to serve others in this way?      

Well we will find that God starts to restore his divine order to our own lives and to make us whole.

I’m sure most of you have seen some of these house restoration programmes on telly where someone buys a run-down house and gradually restores it to its former glory.

Well this is what God will do with us. As we follow him and seek to serve him, he will help us to become more like Jesus.

He will help us to put things right in our lives. This will be relationships with other people but also most importantly our characters. He will help us to become more Christ like – more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, gentle and self controlled.

He will also gradually heal our personalities from past hurts and disappointments.

When I first became a Christian I was a fearful and insecure person and at one stage I got very depressed.

In the depths of my depression God told me that he would put my feet on rock, and over the years this is what he has been doing.

I am now a much more confident and secure person and things that in the past would have caused me to be fearful no longer do so.

As we seek to reach out and serve others and follow Christ, God gradually transforms our own lives and makes us fit for the kingdom of heaven.

This may also include physical healing if we need it.

As his kingdom becomes established in our lives we are gradually made whole by the King.

So I think the question we need to ask ourselves today is do we recognise Jesus as a king?

And if we do, are we obedient subjects? Do we kneel before the king of heaven and with the help of his Holy Spirit seek to serve him in our lives.

Are we seeking in our own small way to bring God’s kingdom into the lives of those around us?

Is the prayer of our hearts – thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven - or are we still continuing to live in rebellion against God?

That might sound a bit harsh but the bible says that we can’t sit on the sidelines. There is no middle way. There is no centre ground.

Jesus says in Matthew 12 verse 30 – “Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.”

If we are not actively serving God, then we are opposing him.

Since the time of Jesus, God has been raising up an army of people around the globe - who are willing to acknowledge his kingship and to actively serve him – who are seeking to extend his kingdom in their corner of this messy world.

Have you enrolled in that army yet or are you still a member of the opposing army?

In the name of the living God. Amen

December 16th Sermon; Luke 3 verses 7 to 18

December 16th Sermon; Luke 3 verses 7 to 18

Advent is not only about preparing for the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas.

It’s also about preparing for Jesus Second Coming - at some point in the future - when he will come as the Judge of mankind.

What would you do I wonder if you lived close to a volcano and were warned one day by the local authorities that it was about to erupt.

I suspect you’d heed the warning and act upon it. You’d quickly gather your family together, and if you had room in your car, friends or neighbours, and drive to a place of safety

Well in today’s gospel reading from Luke we have a warning about the judgement that will occur when Jesus does come again, and the sensible thing for us to do is to heed the warning and to act upon it – to flee from it as John the Baptist puts it in verse 7.

Let’s look at the passage in a bit more detail. The first thing we notice is that John the Baptist doesn’t pull his punches. He’s very blunt and direct. He tells the Jewish people exactly what their situation is and what they need to do about it.

His approach wouldn’t win any prizes for tact or diplomacy, but it seems to do the trick as crowds come to be baptised by him and cleansed form their sins – as they truly repent.

Why initially – in verse 7 - does he call those coming to him a brood of vipers?

Well Satan is portrayed in the bible as a snake - for instance in Genesis when he tempts Adam and Eve. So John is effectively calling the people children of the devil.

It’s not the most endearing term of greeting but it’s true. Many people assume that we are all children of God, but actually this is not our default position.

Unfortunately – just like the devil – we all rebel against God and seek to please ourselves. We then inevitably hurt other people and offend God.

We only become children of God as we come to recognise our predicament, and repent, which of course is what John was urging the crowds who came to him to do.

But as he makes clear in verse 8, our repentance must be genuine. If we’ve truly decided that we want to cease rebellion against God and to start to live in co-operation with him, our lives should show a change.

We should bear fruits worthy of repentance as John puts it.

I watched a short video on the Holy Trinity Brompton website the other day. Holy Trinity Brompton Church or HTB is where the Alpha course - which I’m sure most of you have heard of - originated.

This video was an interview with a man called Shane Taylor who’d been one of Britain’s most violent criminals. In fact he was so violent that at one stage he’d been locked away in solitary confinement as he’d stabbed two prison officers.

However he’d ended up going to a prison Alpha course and then eventually he’d repented.

He said he hated what he’d become and he really wanted to change.

He asked Jesus to forgive him and invited him into his life and he was a changed man.

He said that afterwards prison officers became his friends and having been released from prison he no longer goes into pubs looking for a fight but for someone to tell about Jesus.

He is now bearing fruit that is worthy of repentance.

John the Baptist says to the crowds don’t say to yourselves “We have Abraham as our ancestor, for I tell you God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”

In other words we shouldn’t sit here today and say well I’m OK because I’m an Anglican and I’ve been confirmed.

Confirmation is only of value if we genuinely mean the promises we undertake, if we sincerely turn away from what we know to be wrong and turn to Christ

Similarly the water used in baptism isn’t magic. It is only symbolic, and again the efficacy of baptism depends on the promises that are made - being lived out.

My old vicar used to say that if baptismal water really did have special powers he’d fix up a hosepipe and squirt the local school children with it.

As John the Baptist points out in verse 9, what God is really looking for is good fruit in our lives.

Now this fruit can only be borne by those who have genuinely repented and invited Jesus into their lives.

And this fruit is brought forth as people use their God given talents under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

It’s interesting that John compares us to trees. Trees have sap in them and the sap that must be in us in order to bear good fruit, is the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus.

Jesus says that apart from him we can do nothing.

In other words we of ourselves have no power to change people’s lives – only God can do that.

However as we seek to walk with God and to serve him, He can work through us to bless and heal people, to draw them to him, and to open their eyes to know him.

Christians are the body of Christ in the world. We are Jesus hands and feet and his mouth. He uses our bodies, our words and our hands to bless those around us, but he is the source of any fruit that we bear.

For instance as you know, we have prayer for healing at the communion rail once a month. If you have experienced physical or emotional healing – realise that it was Jesus who healed you because he loves you.

Campbell and I have absolutely no power to heal anybody. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. We can only invite God to work through us by His spirit and pray that He will.

So if you’ve experienced any sort of healing please do say thankyou to God and realise who your healing has come from.

Verse 9 speaks of the judgement that is to come and echoes verse 17.

Of course no one really wants to hear about judgement but it is an inescapable part of the gospels.

There is good news but there is also bad news. There is heaven but there is also hell.

We like the idea of Jesus as kind and gentle and loving and forgiving, but we don’t particularly like the idea of him as a judge.

However God is perfect and so he is perfectly just. As humans who are made in the image of God, we also share a sense of justice.

We don’t like it if something seems unfair and if we are wronged we look for justice.

Because God is just He cannot simply turn a blind eye to sin and say ‘there there never mind – it doesn’t matter.’

When people hurt and hate each other and damage each other’s lives and in so doing offend God, there is a price to pay.

As humans we have a choice as to who pays that price. It’s either Jesus or if we reject his offer of forgiveness - we will have to pay the price ourselves.

Because he loves us, Jesus has paid the price for our sins himself on the cross and has been punished in our place.

But in order to avail ourselves of his forgiveness, as John the Baptist makes clear - we need to genuinely seek to follow him in our lives, and our lives should then show a change.

In verses 10 to 14 John gives practical examples of the types of things the people should be doing if they really have changed.

Notice that in all these examples the changed behaviour of an individual has a knock on effect to those around them.

So the person with 2 coats helps someone else who has none, and the tax collector improves the lives of those people on his round by not taking too much money from them. And the soldier no longer harasses and bullies others.

Life around the changed individual improves for those they come into contact with, and ideally it should be the same with us.

In the last few verses of today’s gospel reading John the Baptist announces the coming of Jesus and in verse 17 we get another stark warning about the day of judgement.

Jesus as the judge of mankind, will separate the wheat from the chaff.

Now as I tried to illustrate with my example of a volcano about to erupt, it’s extremely important that we heed these warnings and take action.

Christianity isn’t just a lifestyle choice that we should consider along with membership of the gym or golf club.

Christianity is about our eternal destinies. It’s about making peace with God and finding a relationship with Him that will carry on into eternity.

And when we’ve found that relationship it’s about reaching out to others and helping them to find the same relationship.

There will one day be a day of judgement and it will be a terrible experience for those who find themselves on the wrong side of God.

It is essential therefore that initially we ourselves make the decision to repent and to follow Christ and then seek to work with God to lead those around us to make their peace with their Creator.

God loves every human being he has created and it is his desire that everyone should be saved.

And he has done everything necessary himself on the cross for everyone to be saved, but people can only be saved as they make the decision themselves to cease rebellion against their creator and invite Him into their lives.

And in most cases this can only happen as the gospel is preached and lived out.

You are unique and you have a unique set of God given talents and abilities.

You also have a unique circle of family and friends and acquaintances. God desperately wants to reach out to these people through you, using the talents he’s given you.

He wants you to love them and to tell them that He loves them and has died on the cross for them.

If you haven’t yet made your peace with God I urge you to do so today – not just for yourself but for those you love and regularly come into contact with  – so that God can reach out to them through you.

And if you’re already a Christian I’d urge you to renew your concern for those around you, to commit yourself to praying for them and to make every effort to tell and show them that God loves them so much that he died on the cross to save them from judgement.

Let’s pray.

Perhaps this morning in this season of Advent - you would like to make your peace with God and escape the coming judgement described in today’s gospel reading.

Firstly ask God to forgive you for all the wrong things you’ve done in your life, and if there’s anything that you particularly regret - mention it to him now.

Now thank Jesus for dying on the cross for you – and paying the debt for your wrong doing.

And lastly in your own words invite Jesus into your life – so that you may come to know his love for you and those around you. AMEN