John Chapter 11 verses 17 to 44 - Back to Church Sunday

First of all good morning to you all and welcome, especially if you’ve come today because it’s Back to Church Sunday.

Over the past three weeks we’ve been looking at John’s Gospel and focusing on a series of seven I AM statements which Jesus made about himself.

This morning we’re looking at Jesus’ claim to be the resurrection and the life which we come across in verse 25 of today’s gospel reading, which you’ll find printed on your service sheet.

Sometimes people make very bold claims. Some sportsmen for instance have claimed to be the greatest or the best in their particular field.

Sometimes like Usain Bolt they can back up their claim as they hold both the World record time and the Olympic title. Their track record verifies their boast.

Sometimes however it doesn’t and rather embarrassingly they are brought down to earth with a bump.

In this passage today Jesus makes a very bold claim. He says “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me even though they die, will live - and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

Now either Jesus is telling the truth or he is very deluded indeed, so this morning I’d like to look at this claim of Jesus and see what light this story of the raising of Lazarus can throw on it.

Firstly there are 3 pieces of background information we need to be aware of when looking at this passage. Campbell has already mentioned these but we need to be reminded of them to fully appreciate what is going on here.

Firstly John’s gospel is an eye witness account of Jesus life and ministry.

John saw and touched and lived with Jesus, and his gospel is based on the time he spent with him and what he experienced.

So John was there when Lazarus was raised from the dead and he has recorded for us at first hand what occurred.

Secondly John wrote his gospel as he says in Chapter 20 “so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

John’s whole gospel is aimed at persuading you – sitting here today - that Jesus really is who he claimed to be, the Christ, the Messiah, God made flesh, so that you can experience the eternal life which he came to give you.

And thirdly, the words I AM that Jesus uses in this passage, are very significant as these are the words that God used to describe himself to Moses.

In Exodus chapter 3 God says to Moses, when Moses asks him who he should say had sent him; "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.”

So when Jesus uses the words I AM just before raising Lazarus, he is using exactly the same words which God used to describe himself, and John records these 7 I AM statements that we’ve been looking at over the past few weeks, precisely in order that we ourselves might recognise Jesus as God.

Let’s look at the passage. Firstly John wants us to be sure that Lazarus is well and truly dead by the time Jesus gets to him. Thus he records Martha’s words in verse 39 when Jesus asks for the stone to be rolled away; “Lord, already there is a stench, because he has been dead for four days.”

4 days is significant because there was a Jewish belief that for 3 days the soul hovered near the body in the hope of re-entering it, but after 4 days the soul departed and the person was well and truly dead.

Martha knew that her brother was dead and that after 4 days it was likely that the body would be starting to decompose.

Jesus however is undeterred by Martha’s incredulity. We see in the previous verses of this chapter, that He knew when he first received word that Lazarus was ill that he would be raised back to life.

He says in verse 4 “This illness does not lead to death. Rather it is for God’s glory so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Jesus knew that his beloved friend would be brought back from death to life.

So the stone is rolled away and then Jesus looks up towards heaven and prays out loud to his heavenly father.

He wants all those who are witnessing this event, including us here today, to understand the intimacy of his relationship with God the Father in order that we will believe that he has been sent by God.

He says “Father I thank you that you have heard me. I know you always hear me but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Jesus talks to his Heavenly Father out loud so that those watching and reading this story will realise that he is talking to the God of Abraham, the creator of the universe, the one who lives in him and in whom he lives.

Now this may sound a bit confusing but in John chapter 14 Jesus explains a bit more about his relationship with his heavenly father in answer to a question from Philip, who says; “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’

In other words Philip says to Jesus, show us God and then everything will be clear.

Jesus says to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.”

So in this account of the raising of Lazarus we see God himself in the person of Jesus raising a dead man back to life that we might believe in him.

We see the author of life speaking words of command to a dead man to reveal his true identity to us, so that we might recognise who he is, and believe in him.

We see the one who claims to be God and to be the resurrection and the life demonstrating that he has the power and authority to summon a man back from death.

Jesus simply speaks a few words of command; “Lazarus come out,” in the same way that he spoke words of command when he healed people – “be healed,” and in the same way that he spoke words of  command to demons – “come out of him”, and in the same way that he spoke commands at the creation of the world.

But what does Jesus mean when he says that he is the resurrection and the life, and that those who believe in him even though they die, will live and everyone who lives and believes in him never die.

Firstly he is saying that there is neither resurrection nor eternal life outside of him. He is the only one who can raise the dead to life and he is the only one who can give us eternal life.

You can look for resurrection and eternal life elsewhere but you won’t find them except in the person of Jesus.

The resurrection Jesus is referring to is the final resurrection of believers at the last day.

The bible teaches that those who have believed and placed their faith in Jesus will be resurrected at the last day. So this resurrection is a future event.

This resurrection is a sharing in Jesus own resurrection. Just as he overcame the power of death and burst forth from the tomb so will those who place their faith in him. On the last day we will be raised up with him, clothed with immortality and imperishable bodies.

However the life that Jesus is referring to is eternal life, the life of his kingdom. And this is something that we posses as soon as we put our faith in him.

And this eternal life will never end. Unlike ordinary mortal life which ebbs away, the life that Jesus gives will transcend death, so whoever lives and believes in him will never die.

The life of the relationship we have with Jesus as we come to believe in him, will carry on into eternity.

The bible teaches that until we come to believe in Jesus we remain spiritually dead.

Although our bodies and souls are alive we are cut off from God and the life of his kingdom. 

We don’t really know God or experience fellowship with him.

A useful analogy is radio waves. Radio waves are all around us but in order to listen to them we need a radio with a functioning aerial.

Once these are in place we can tune in and listen to different stations.

Until we come to believe in Jesus our spiritual aerials are missing. However as we put our faith in him and invite him into our lives, he imparts eternal life to us, the life of his kingdom.

We experience a spiritual birth. This why Jesus spoke of being born again and said unless a person is born again they cannot see the kingdom of God.

At this point we start to experience life in 3 dimensions rather than just 2. Rather than just experiencing physical life and the life of the soul, we also start to experience spiritual life, the life of God’s kingdom, the life that Jesus came to impart.

We become aware that a spiritual realm exists – an eternal realm, that is inhabited not only by God and angelic beings but also the devil and demonic beings.

We become aware that this spiritual realm impacts the physical realm in which we live, and that actually there is a battle going on between good and evil, between God and the forces of evil.

We become aware that we are called to join forces with God and seek to lead people towards Jesus, the only one who can save us and protect us.

This is fundamentally what CS Lewis’ Narnia books are about. The children in the books become aware of a parallel world where they are called to fight for Aslan against the forces of evil.

As we come alive spiritually we come to recognise that Jesus is God and the bible will start to make more sense to us.

Jesus teaching and parables start to become clearer and Paul’s letters make much more sense from this spiritual perspective.

We experience life with God’s Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus living within us.

The Holy Spirit is very gentle and unobtrusive – sometimes frustratingly so – but as we focus our lives on following God he imparts power and love to us.

Power to start to live in a way that is pleasing to God, and love for those around us.

When we pray even though God can sometimes still seem distant we know in our hearts that 

He is listening to us.

Life takes on a new dimension and we start to see the world through a spiritual lens.

This is the life that Jesus is talking about, life in relationship with Him.

So to conclude John presents us with this eye witness account of the raising of Lazarus in order that we might believe that Jesus truly is God, just as he claimed to be.

And we see God made flesh telling us clearly that He alone is the resurrection and the life.

The raising of Lazarus from the dead is a miraculous sign that points towards the truth of Jesus claim for those who will accept it.

And this raising of Lazarus foreshadows Jesus own mighty resurrection and the eventual resurrection of those who will put their faith in him.

In the name of the living God. Amen

Talk at the Open Air Service – Sunday 2nd September 2012

Talk at the Open Air Service – Sunday 2^nd September 2012

One of the really sad things in life is surely that so many people think that Christianity is boring. And where do they get that impression from? Well, sadly, from some Christians and from some of the Church services they have attended. And I have a lot of sympathy with them.

But did you pay attention to our second reading from St. Paul’s letter? Let me ask you, did that sound boring to you? It is Paul’s description of what is involved, what is on offer, what is required, as a disciple of Jesus.

It may well to some of you sound a bit scary – struggling against evil in all its many devilish forms. But boring? I don’t think so. You see, sadly, so much of what Jesus and the Apostles taught about the Christian life, its nature and purpose, has been, dumbed down, sterilised and bottled up by the Church for more palatable consumption ....with the result that so many people meeting Christians or trying a church service come away thinking ‘How boring! ‘

In a few minutes I am going to be baptising Isaac into the Christian faith; and there is hardly a more suitable reading – chosen months ago before his baptism was arranged – for Isaac’s baptism; because in these verses from St. Paul (who faithfully spelt out what following Jesus means and involves) you and I, Isaacs parents and godparents, are being reminded of what the Christian life – as opposed to the comfort blanket of tame Anglican religion (in all its increasingly tarnished and ineffectively tepid glory) is really all about.

The Christian life is about whole-hearted commitment..... NOT to our religious fancies or fantasies but to the life-challenging, life-changing, and life-fulfilling Gospel of Jesus Christ; indeed to Christ himself. This passage spells out what the Christian is called to, what the ‘committed Christian’ (is there any other kind? Not that Jesus and the Apostles spoke of!) is going to face, and what are the vital resources our Heavenly Father can give us in order to be faithful and effective disciples of Jesus. It’s a really good passage to have by your bedside to read first thing every morning...before you get dressed!

It’s chockablock full of what you and I need to know about being a baptised Christian: but I want to draw your attention this morning to three key truths about this life and the life you and I, as Christians, are called to live.

1. We cannot live the Christian life in our own strength. Those who think they can either will end up with a major problem with the sin of pride OR they will end up disappointed and disillusioned. 

We simply CANNOT! And so, verse 1, St. Paul says ‘Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power.’ If we try to lead the Christian life without God’s help and not ’in the strength of his power’ we are going to come a cropper when faced with temptation  and be utterly useless when facing evil. So, his strength is always our default position.            

2. You and I, Isaac when he is older, are all of us called to ‘struggle’ against evil in all its forms – (often subtle and well-disguised). How do we discern what is evil? Well, the sure-fire test for evil is whatever is opposed to God, flouting  his commandments, or destroying or desecrating his creation or his creatures. 

We need to wise up! There are forces, often not visible, in this world that work in organisations and people that are fundamentally opposed to God. We are called to stand against them; but we cannot do this on our own: we need, verse 11, to ‘put on the whole armour of God’ –that is, those wonderful and powerful  spiritual resources our Heavenly Father gives us to defeat evil.           

3. Verses 14-17 tell us what these resources are: let me paraphrase and interpret them; but keep them by your bedside! We need to seek the truth, to cherish it, and to practise it – to act truthfully (BELT). 

We need to be in a right relationship with God – something we can ONLY do by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord (BREASTPLATE). 

We need to be introducing (SHOES) others to Jesus, verse 15, so that they too may know the ‘peace’ that comes from knowing that they are right with God. We need to have (SHIELD) faith in the love and almighty power of God and NOT give in to or be led astray by doubts about him. 

We need to trust, verse 17, that the salvation  (HELMET) Jesus offers to anyone who will accept it is sufficient to keep us safe with God and from the opposition. And we need to immerse ourselves in the word (SWORD) of God so that not only may we deepen our understanding and trust of him, we can also use his teaching, his very words, to overcome evil with truth. 

And finally, it is the CONSTANT relationship of prayer with our Heavenly Father that binds this armour tightly and reveals to us how to use it more and more effectively.

Now does all this strike you as boring? No? Well then, let’s get our armour on! Get into the battle! By some act of love or standing up for Jesus and for the truth give the Devil a black eye today!

The Role of the Collects in the Life of the Church

The Role of the Collects in the Life of the Church

The role of the collects in the life of the Church is to help establish in the hearts and minds of worshippers that which is essential for sound belief. 

Now in the Christian understanding of that word ‘belief’ is contained the necessity of action or ‘practice’ because, as Jesus and the Apostles constantly remind us, genuine belief – as opposed to mere intellectual assent or wishful thinking about God or about the state of our own lives and souls – must deliver in terms of the two great commandments.  And of course these may only be ‘kept’, i.e. effectively ‘practised’, by commitment to Christ in discipleship of him. Jesus cannot use those Christians who are concerned only about their own goodness but only those who want to be effective for his name’s sake. 

Our collects then remind us of what is absolutely essential in Christian doctrine: sound belief creates sound practice and effective discipleship. The collects emphasise, first, the power and the love of God, as well as our need to respond to that power and love with faith and repentance. 

(I realise that doubt about such things is very fashionable in certain cultural, social, and even church circles these days; but Jesus came to bring truth, life, and a sure hope as regards what happens when we die.) The collects also insist on the absolute necessity of grace, and the prime virtue of love – though certainly not the definition of ‘love’ that is bandied about today in some very topical issues or debates! 

The collects confirm the passing nature of life here and the glorious hope of eternal life hereafter. Especially they make very plain the centrality of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the accomplishing of God’s will on earth as it is in heaven, and for the overthrow of all forms of evil that resist that will. 

Whoever says that ‘Christianity is boring’ either has never researched or understood what it entails in terms of human commitment, or else attended one of those schools or churches in which the liturgy, language, and preaching serve more to disguise than to reveal the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his calling. 

Our collect today is meant to be read, considered, prayed through with God, and then acted upon as he will show us and in the way he wants you and me to fulfil our calling. 

Remember, he is always more ready to hear, to forgive, and to give whatever it is we need in order to keep the two great commandments and to serve him and our neighbour more effectively. 

And whatever our track record to date, we must not be afraid - do not let your conscience tell you he cannot forgive you – because he is your loving Heavenly Father.

Luke 6; 46 to 49

Luke 6; 46 to 49

In the run up to today’s gospel reading Luke tells us that Jesus has spent the night on a mountainside praying and then he’s selected the 12 apostles.

On his way down from the mountain, Jesus comes to a level place where a great multitude of people have gathered to hear his teaching and to be healed of their diseases.

After healing many people, Jesus delivers what is commonly called his sermon on the plain which he ends with this parable about two men who build houses with different foundations.

Why does he end his sermon with this parable? Well I think Jesus is concerned as to whether people are actually taking on board what he is saying.

Lots of people like coming to see him and to hear his teaching, and no doubt rejoice at being healed.

But how many of these people actually then go away and put his teaching into practice?
In particular some of these people give the outward appearance of acknowledging him as Lord but they do not then actually do what he says.

I think this can be true of people today.

Jesus’ teaching reaches their ears but does not change their hearts because when it comes to it, they are unwilling to repent. Although they may call Jesus Lord, they do not want to allow God to direct their lives and to face the implications of what this might entail.

They’re quite happy listening to his teaching but in reality they want to keep God at arms length in their lives – at a safe distance from the cost of discipleship.

Matthew also records this parable in Chapter 7 of his gospel.

He tells us that immediately before telling this story Jesus says to the crowd of people listening to him; "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

So initially we can interpret this parable in the context of judgement.
The rock in the story can be seen as Jesus himself. The bible refers to God as a rock in both the 
Old and New Testaments. For example the Psalmist says; “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.”

Thus the first man who hears Jesus’ teaching and acts on it, survives the day of judgement.

He has taken Jesus seriously, repented, and made the effort to put his words into practise. He is able to stand on the day of judgement, because his life is built on a firm foundation, on God himself.

The second man has also heard Jesus teaching but he has failed to act on it or put it into practise.

When judgement comes his life is swept away because it has no foundation.

Jesus words therefore are supremely important because how we respond to them will determine whether we stand or fall on the day of judgement.

What he says is of eternal significance to our lives. We can hear what he says but unless we take his words seriously and put them into practice we are in danger of one day going to hell.

So what did Jesus say?

In short he claimed to be God and said that people could only be saved by repenting and believing in him. He also said that one day he would one return to judge the world.

This is why it is so important for us not only to listen to his words but also to act upon them.

This why Campbell and I encourage you to read your bibles, particularly the gospels, and to study them.

This is why Campbell has produced weekly study notes for us.

Jesus’ words are of vital importance not only for our own eternal destinies but also for the eternal destinies of those we love.

And this is why those who are Christians should make every effort to reach out with Jesus’ words and his love to those around them.

Sadly though many people are so focused on this life and this world, that they fail to understand the significance of eternity.

Our lives in this world are mere flashes in the pan compared to what awaits us in eternity.

Jesus words have the power to save both us and those we love eternally, but only as we take him seriously and do what he tells us to do.

In the same way that we can read about dieting, unless we put the diet into practise, it won’t do us any good.

The person who hears his words but doesn’t act on them is a fool because he fails to recognise the tremendous importance and eternal significance of what he is hearing

However this parable is not just about surviving judgement day. It’s also about surviving the trials and tribulations of life.

As we take on board what Jesus says and apply it to our lives we will be better able to stand the storms that life throws at us.

My old vicar used to say that when he came across people with bibles that were falling apart he generally found that they weren’t.

In his letter, James says; “Do not merely listen to the word ... do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

“But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

So as we study and put Jesus’ teaching into practice in our lives, we will be blessed. Although we may face all manner of troubles, as we walk in obedience to Christ and to his teaching we will be able to navigate these troubles and survive them.

Christianity is fundamentally about a relationship with Jesus. We come into that relationship by acknowledging his sovereignty in our lives and we continue and grow in that relationship by seeking to live in obedience to what he teaches and asks us to do.

As we seek to walk in obedience to him he blesses us, and as we study and apply his word we get to know him better and come to understand his love for us better.

In life part of the way we get to know people is by the words they speak. The words that come out of their mouths reveal their characters. It’s the same with God.

He’s given us His word in the bible so that we can get to know him better by studying it and doing our best to apply it to our lives.

Of course it’s not easy to do this and we very much need the help of the Holy Spirit to help us to live as God desires.

But the better we get to know him the more secure we feel in his love and the more we are able to trust him with our own lives and the lives of those we love.

King David was able to say; “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for your rod and staff they comfort me.”

As we come to realise how much God loves us and to recognise his faithfulness and goodness we can start to face whatever life throws at us with a tremendous inner confidence.

I was very impressed by a lady vicar I met when I was doing my Reader Training course. She clearly had a vibrant relationship with God and she told us how she’d reacted when she found out her daughter couldn’t have children.

She turned to God and asked him to guide them through this problem and to help them to learn anything that He wanted them to, from it.

Her attitude was that God loved her and her daughter and that he knew all about this problem. She had faith that God was in control of the whole situation and could open her daughter’s womb at any time if He so desired.

She knew from reading her bible that God is an expert at opening the wombs of women who struggle to conceive.

Obviously she and her daughter were upset but this lady’s faith was in God and she was confident that He would see them through it.

I mention this story as when we know that God loves us and that our lives and destinies are secure in His hands, what would sometimes seem insurmountable problems from a worldly perspective, can take on a different light.

God can heal and deliver us, or give us words of promise to see us through situations that without him would seem very bleak indeed.

For the Christian there is also an eternal perspective on the problems life throw at us.

As Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians, “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

In the context of eternity and one day living with God in heaven, the problems we face in this life are by comparison light and momentary.

Ultimately even when death comes it is the gateway to heaven – a place of perfect peace and happiness.

I remember seeing Roy Castle who was a committed Christian, being interviewed before his death from cancer.

He said that he’d had a wonderful life in this world but he was expecting heaven to be better by far. He wasn’t afraid of death because he’d built his life on Jesus.

So this parable tells us that the wise person builds their life on God and seeks to live in obedience to him. Doing this will not only help us to stand when we face problems in this life but will also ensure that we stand on the Day of Judgment.

The foolish person ignores Jesus teaching and finds that not only may they be overwhelmed by the problems life throws at them, but also when judgment comes their lives will be swept away.

So the final question to ask is, are we wise or foolish?

Do we come here week by week and listen to what Jesus says but then fail to apply it to our lives, or do we take his words seriously and give them the proper attention that they deserve?

We are fortunate to have this parable and others like it as it is a warning to us.

Whether we heed the warning or not is up to us.

God loves us and wants to bless us but this can only happen as we take his words and teaching as recorded in the bible, seriously, and with the help of the Holy Spirit make the effort to apply it to our lives.

In the name of the living God. Amen.

Psalm 34

Happiness has been in the news recently with the government publishing its happiness index. 

Most people are motivated by a desire to be happy in life and accordingly they try and do and achieve things which they think will make them happy.

Many seek happiness in money. If only I could earn more or win the Lottery then I’d be happy. It’s true that a lack of money can cause unhappiness. The trouble however is, that those who do earn lots and win the Lottery frequently find that it doesn’t really make them happy and sometimes in the long run it actually brings them unhappiness.

Many seek happiness through their career or life style – by achieving status and living in a nice 

house, but find that a certain emptiness deep within remains, and lasting happiness eludes them.

And of course many young people today seek happiness in celebrity culture. If only I could be famous and get my picture in Hello magazine then I’d be happy. The trouble is that many celebrities aren’t happy.

As we seek to please ourselves and satisfy our own desires, although we may find temporary pleasure, in the long run we are often disappointed and a deep emptiness and longing for something more fulfilling remains.

The Psalmist has different ideas about where true happiness can be found and that is what I believe today’s Psalm is essentially about.

According to the Psalmist our happiness comes not from leading self-centred lives, but from leading God-centred lives. “Happy are those who take refuge in him,” he says in verse 8.

And in this Psalm I believe the Psalmist presents us with a key. It’s a golden key, a precious key that can unlock happiness and those things which will make us happy.

It’s a key to answered prayer and to deliverance from our fears; it’s a key to lacking no good thing; it’s a key to many days to enjoy good; and it’s a key to being rescued from our troubles and afflictions.

It’s not a key to avoiding trouble or affliction, but it is a key to being delivered from them.

So the question for us is how do we lay hold of this key? What do we have to do to unlock this happiness that the Psalmist describes?

The first thing the Psalmist suggests we should do is to learn to thank and praise God for all the good things he’s done for us and given us.

“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” – that’s verse 1.

We should adopt an attitude of gratitude. Thankyou Lord for my life and for creating me. 

Thankyou for my family and friends. Thankyou for food and shelter. Thankyou for the beauty of the world around me. Thankyou for all the good things you have poured into my life. Thankyou for dying for me on the cross.

Bless you Lord for your love and goodness to me.

Adopting an attitude of gratitude is part of the key to happiness. Being thankful to God builds up our faith – like a tyre being inflated with air – and enables us to receive things from God more easily.

If we moan at God about everything that is wrong with our lives and forget to thank him for the good things it makes it harder for us to receive from him.

Adopting an attitude of gratitude opens our lives to receive blessings from God as an open flower can receive sunshine.

The next thing the Psalmist says we should do is to seek the Lord and look to him - verses 4 and 5.

Nowadays lots of people seek solutions to their problems by reading self help books, by meditating or doing Yoga or by visiting mediums and spiritualists.

They are looking in the wrong place for help. In fact visiting mediums is likely to make our problems worse and open our lives to negative spiritual influences.

No, we should seek the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the Holy one of Israel, the creator of the Universe.

As God says in the book of Isaiah – “Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no saviour.”

 We can call him Father or Lord or simply Jesus.  However we address him, He is the only one who can answer our prayers and save and deliver us from all our fears and predicaments.

About 18 years ago I had a nasty lump under my arm which was removed in a 2 hour operation. 

By the grace of God I’d felt  the evil in the lump leave my body before the operation, but the experience rattled me and I was afraid it could happen again, so I sought the Lord and asked Him to deliver me from my fear.

A few months later on Easter Day I walked home from Church alone – as my family had stayed at the Church - and when I got home I felt that God wanted me to read Psalm 41. As I did so, He spoke to me through it.

He told me that he would protect me and preserve my life, that he wouldn’t abandon me to the power of my enemies, and that when I was sick he’d restore me to health.

He removed my fears and like the Psalmist, I rejoiced.

I can think of other occasions in my life where God has delivered me from my fears, not because 

I’m special, I’m most certainly not - but because I sought and looked to Him and because He is loving and gracious and kind and He longs to bless us.

As the Psalmist says in verse 5, “Look to him and be radiant, so your faces shall never be ashamed.”

Look to the one true God, the creator of the universe, because He can save and rescue you and enable you to rejoice and be happy.

The next thing the Psalmist says we should do to find happiness, is to fear the Lord.

“O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.” (verse 9)

To fear the Lord is to have a healthy respect for Him which leads us to trust in Him and to obey Him.

To fear Him is to realise that everything we do and every thought we have is laid bare before his eyes, and therefore we seek to live in a way that is pleasing to Him, because we know that one day we will have to give an account to Him for how we have lived.

To fear the Lord is to seek to live in a morally upright way that honours God.

As the Psalmist says in verses 11 to 14; “Come O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Which of you desires life and covets many days to enjoy good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

Why should we do this? – because as the Psalmist says in the next verse –“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their cry.”

God’s ears are open to the cry of the righteous.

To be righteous isn’t just to be morally upright however.

Righteousness is a humble openness to God and to his will, to be seeking to walk in obedience to God by faith.

Paul says in his letter to the Romans that righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

So if you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are walking with God by faith, He sees you as righteous and his ears are open to your cry.

I wonder what your cry to God is ?

Perhaps you need delivering from a fear or a desperate situation. Perhaps your life is a mess and you are in despair and you want God to reach down from heaven and change your circumstances.

Perhaps you are a poor soul such as one described by the Psalmist in verse 6 – not one who is necessarily materially poor – but one who recognises that you don’t have the resources to bring about your own deliverance

If that’s you and you are walking with God by faith – rejoice because his ears are open to your cry.

He hears the cry of your heart and he will act. He will respond to your prayer.

And it’s OK to cry out to God as the Psalmist puts it.

It’s OK to be honest with Him and to share our hurt and fear and disappointment. It’s OK to let our tears fall before Him.

God responds to that sort of prayer.

Do you remember what the writer to the Hebrews says about Jesus’ prayer life?

“During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”

Of course as I said at the start of this sermon – the Psalmist doesn’t promise a life without trouble or affliction but he does promise deliverance and rescue from them as we put our faith in God.

As he says in verses 17 and 19; ‘When the righteous cry for help the Lord hears and rescues them from all their troubles... Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord rescues them from them all.’

Sometimes God may rescue us dramatically. He may speak a Word directly into our lives that sets us free from our fear or He may send someone to minister His love and healing to us.

Sometimes He may speak to us through a dream or a vision and then we know in our hearts that all will be well.

Often the rescue is over a period of time – sometimes several years – and then one day we wake up and we realise that those things that once hurt and distressed us are now not nearly so significant in our lives and we realise that God has been acting gently and slowly to heal and deliver us.

However God chooses to rescue us, we become aware that the Creator of the Universe has intervened in our lives and changed our situation and like the Psalmist we can turn to him in and praise and bless him for his deliverance.

And as we go through the afflictions the Psalmist talks about in verse 19, we can be confident that God will enable us to cope with and live through whatever we are experiencing, in the knowledge that He is working for our good.

As Paul says in his letter to the Romans; ‘we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’

One of my favourite passages in the bible is from Isaiah chapter 43 which speaks of the same deliverance the Psalmist is talking about;

‘But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour... (and) you are precious in my sight, ... and I love you.’

We may go through all sorts of difficulties and trouble in life but we will not be overwhelmed or destroyed by them as we put our faith in God.

 As we adopt an attitude of gratitude, as we look to him and seek him, as we fear him and walk in righteousness before him and as we cry out to him, he will rescue and deliver us from our troubles and we will have many days to enjoy good.

Life may throw all sorts of things our way but as we trust and walk humbly and obediently with God with a song of praise on our lips we need fear no evil because the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel will be on our side.

And ultimately we will be happy.

So today I invite you in the Psalmists words to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good.’

 I invite you to take hold of the precious golden key outlined in this Psalm – a key to answered prayer and to deliverance from our fears; a key to lacking no good thing;

a key to many days to enjoy good; and a key to being rescued from your troubles - as you put into practise the advice of the Psalmist.

Just as the disciples managed to weather the storm because Jesus was in the boat with them, so we too can weather the storms of life if Jesus is in the boat with us, if he is in our lives, and we are trusting in him.

Jesus commanded the storm to be still and he can do the same for us.

Ultimately the true place to find lasting happiness is in a relationship with the living God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Luke 10 verses 1 to 11 and 16 to 17 - Jesus Sends Out the Seventy two

I’m a harvest worker and I remember that day so well. It was hot and dry and dusty. The teacher had been in a strange mood the past couple of days. He’d spent the whole night in prayer and he seemed sombre and quiet. Not full of joy like he usually was.

 Now of course I understand why. There was an urgency about the task he was about to give us. He wouldn’t be passing this way again and he knew this might be the last opportunity for the people and villages he was sending us to, to hear his message.

He called us forward in pairs, 72 of us in all. The Pharisees didn’t like that. 72, the number of families descended from Noah recorded in the Torah, who populated the world after the flood. ‘Who does he think he is,’ they said. ‘He doesn’t just want to pollute Jerusalem with his teaching. It’s the whole world now.’

Of course we didn’t understand the significance either then. We thought he’d come to save Israel. We always thought it was strange that so often he seemed to single out gentiles for praise. Anyway I diverge. He called us forward and laid his hands on us and prayed for us. I remember his words: “Father empower them as you have empowered me. Work through them beloved Father as you work through me.” I felt a sense of power and love come upon me. So did my companion.

He said we were going out to gather a harvest. Again at the time we didn’t really understand what he meant. But we do now.

He said we were going out like lambs among wolves. This worried me a bit but then I thought - he’s always kept me safe up to now. He told us not to take any provisions. 

Again my head told me this was silly, but my heart said trust him, so I did.

And then he sent us off in pairs, to support and encourage each other. We weren’t to stop and talk to anyone on the way. He wanted us to sense the urgency in our task. No time to stop and chat. He didn’t want us to be diverted from our task in any way.

So off we set not really knowing what to think or expect. As we arrived in the village a lady came up to us and said, “I’ve been expecting you.”  This really surprised us. But then my companion reminded me of the time Peter had got the tax money from the fish’s mouth and I remembered the time when the master had fed all those people. 

Perhaps it wasn’t so strange.

The lady took us into her home and welcomed us and set a meal before us. “Stay with me as long as you need to,” she said. My companion nudged me. “Peace” he said; “we haven’t asked for peace to rest on this house,” so we did. As we spoke the words I felt a sense of power upon them. It was as if the master was speaking through me.

We went out that evening to the main village square. We didn’t really know what to say but then we remembered the master’s words. ‘Do not worry about what to say. Words will be given to you,’ so we spoke in turn and the words just flowed. They poured out like a stream from our mouths. We spoke about Jesus and what he’d said and done, about his kingdom.

And then a man came up with a crippled child. “Please” he said. “I heard you have come from the teacher, the one in Jerusalem, Jesus. I’ve seen that God is with him. Please pray for my child.”

 I looked at the man and the little girl wrapped in his arms and I felt an overwhelming sense of love for both of them. I placed my hand upon the child’s forehead and said, “In the name of the God of Abraham, be healed”– the same words that the master used. I felt power in the words I spoke and I knew the master’s power had been in that moment. 

The little girl felt it too. “Put me down Abba, Daddy” she said. “I can walk.” The man placed the child on the ground and she stood up, hesistantly at first – like a new born lamb.

Well that was it. Our little mission took off. The whole village came out to see and people started queing up, asking us to touch them and pray for them. Sometimes we sensed people had demons tormenting them so we commanded them to go just like the master did, and they went.

We returned to Jesus overjoyed.

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So this passage is about going out into the world as Christians and extending God’s Kingdom with both words and deeds. It’s about reaching out because the harvest is plentiful. It’s about being a harvest worker.

And although the passage may seem at face value to be aimed mainly at travelling evangelists, I think the principles it embodies, as I’ve tried to show with the story I told, have relevance for our own lives and evangelistic efforts.

Let’s look at just a few of these principles.

The Lord...sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go

The disciples are to go in pairs. They should not be all alone. If we are going to be effective in sharing the gospel we also need to be united with other Christians. We need to be part of a team, part of a church. We need the support and prayer and encouragement of others.

In practice this means that as well as going to church regularly, ideally we should belong to a bible study or housegroup where we can meet with other Christians, and as well as studying God’s word, develop bonds of friendship. We should have a network of Christian friends who can support us and pray for us and encourage us. Our mission is to be grounded in a team effort.

The harvest is plentiful and workers are needed in the harvest field.

We each have our own personal harvest field to work in. Who’s in our field? It’s our family and friends, our work and social colleagues, and anyone else God chooses to lay on our heart. It’s the people around us that we know of and meet and care for. It can be the lady in the newsagents, our cousin abroad, our nephew or niece, the shy man we sometimes see at work, or even the celebrity in the paper for whom God has given us a particular concern.

Every Christian has their own harvest field to work in. Obviously it’s not possible to pray for everyone we know. God however can see how ripe each individual ear of corn is. We therefore need to ask God to lay on our hearts those he wants us to reach out to and pray for.

Heal the sick who are there

Our task as harvest workers is not just to share the gospel and our faith with words but also with deeds. As Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.“

We are not only to preach the gospel but also to heal the sick and to cast out demons as Jesus and his disciples did

This may sound a bit daunting but it’s what Jesus tells his disciples to do in this passage. “Heal the sick and tell them the kingdom of God is near.”

Healing is a very complicated area and we do very much need to be walking closely with God in order to sense when His Spirit in us may be leading us to pray for someone’s healing. We also then need to have the courage to step out in faith and offer to lay hands on them and pray for them.

Years ago I went to an event designed to encourage Christians to pray for people’s healing. The emphasis of the day was to be open to the possibility that God might want to use us in this way and to have the courage to at least offer prayer to someone if you felt it was the right thing to do.

Shortly afterwards, our office secretary came to work in pain with a kidney infection, something she suffered from a good deal. I did feel prompted to pray for her so somewhat reluctantly I asked her if she’d mind if I laid hands on her and prayed for her. 

To my surprise she said she wouldn’t mind at all.

We went to a quiet room and feeling embarrassed and hoping I’d got it right, I prayed a very quick prayer, asking God to heal her and take away her pain. To my surprise she stayed in an attitude of prayer herself for what felt like a long time but was probably only 30 seconds or so and said she’d felt the most amazing sense of peace and that her kidneys felt better.

I mention this as it just goes to show what God can do if we are prepared step out in faith. I felt embarrassed and really unsure that I’d got it right, but God was able to work through that.

Remember that God is the healer not us. If His Spirit is living in us why shouldn’t He be able to work through us in the same way he did with these 72 disciples?

Tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.

Speaking out about our faith is also very important. A lady at my previous church who had come to faith after a length of time told me about her neighbour. For many years she’d had this neighbour who was very kind and helpful, but who had failed ever to mention she was a Christian.

The lady I spoke to said there was something lovely about her neighbour, but because she never mentioned her faith it was of very little benefit to her and in fact if she’d known she would have liked to ask her questions. She only discovered her neighbour was a Christian when she met her at a Christian event some time later.

Of course we should try and lead lives that will attract people to God but we must speak out about our faith or the example of our lives may be wasted.

We don’t need to be theological experts. A simple willingness to share why our faith is important to us is all that is needed.

How many of our friends and neighbours and work colleagues know that we’re Christian?

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I’m a harvest worker and I will always remember those days. But of course those days haven’t ended. Since the master left us, the healing and the preaching have continued. 

That’s what I do now. His Spirit is with me and every day of my life I am a harvest worker. Everyday I tell people about my wonderful Lord and the things he said and did.

Many days I have the opportunity to pray for the sick and the tormented and I do. That’s what He calls each one of us to do. Of course it’s still Him doing the work. I just offer Him my life and seek to follow Him as best I can.

In the name of the living God. Amen