Authentic Jesus 4/10 | Mark 2:1-17 | Nigel Beynon

Mark 2 v1-17

Part of a series about the authentic Jesus.

This week: how sin is our deepest problem, but Jesus has come to solve it. Recognising we are sinners and need His forgiveness is how we become Christians, and also how we stay Christians.

Please note: this is a recording from our Sunday service currently meeting in person and on Zoom. Apologies, no video this week due to a technical glitch.

Let Justice Roll 5/5 - Amos 9:1-4, 11-15 - Nigel Beynon

Amos 9:1-4, 11-15

Part of a series on the book of Amos.

This week: In this final sermon in our series in Amos, Nigel Beynon helps us to see how inescapable God's judgement is without Jesus, and how the New Creation God promises through Jesus is everything we've ever dreamed of.

Please note: this is a recording from our Sunday service currently meeting on Zoom.

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TRANSCRIPT to follow

Prayer Q and A (4/4) - Nigel Beynon

Romans 8: v15

Part four of a mini series by Nigel Beynon on prayer, looking especially at the phrase “by him [the Holy Spirit] we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ “

This week: Q and A. Nigel invited invited questions in advance and these were asked by our vicar Nat at our service.

Please note: this is a recording from our Sunday service currently meeting on Zoom. As a live Q and A, there is no transcript available this week.

Prayer by the Spirit (3/4) - Nigel Beynon

Romans 8: v15

Part three of a mini series by Nigel Beynon on prayer, looking especially at the phrase “by him [the Holy Spirit] we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ “

This week: ‘by him’. That is, by the Spirit. What does it mean to pray ‘by the Spirit’? Or elsewhere Paul talks about praying ‘in the Spirit’? What’s that? Can you have normal prayer – and then upgrade to ‘prayer in the Spirit’? 

Please note: this is a recording from our Sunday service currently meeting on Zoom.

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Transcript

This is the third and last sermon on prayer – next week is a question time. Thanks for questions so far – do send in yours if you’d like to.

We’ve been thinking about the phrase “And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’.”

We’ve thought about Abba Father – being children of God. Last week we talked about ‘crying’ – groaning in suffering. 

This week we’re focusing on ‘by him’. That is, by the Spirit. And so our question is - what does it mean to pray ‘by the Spirit’? Or elsewhere Paul talks about praying ‘in the Spirit’? What’s that? Can you have normal prayer – and then upgrade to ‘prayer in the Spirit’? 

It’s easy for questions like that – and talking about the Holy Spirit more generally - to make us feel insecure. We hear people talk about experiences of the Spirit – particular emotions or feelings – and we think - I don’t have those. And so we feel insecure – we have a sense of missing out or not being truly spiritual. We’ll come back to that. 

I want to make one big and general point about the Spirit’s work. And then we’re going to what that looks like in prayer. 

So – big point is this,

The Spirit makes it real

I realise that sounds sloppy – what is ‘it’? What does the Spirit make real?

Well here in v15 - ‘the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children’. So he is making being God’s children real to us. 

But can broaden that - the Spirit makes Jesus real, God real, being saved real. The work of the Spirit is to make these things true for us personally. Make them real. 

Let me use an old illustration about cold baths. Only to get this – you have to realise there was a time people used to think that having a cold bath was good for you. I don’t know why they thought that – I imagine you’re unconvinced – but they did. Imagine I said – I believe in cold baths. 

I could simply mean I believe that cold baths exist. I think they are factually true.

I could mean I believe not only that cold baths exist but if you have one – they are good for you. But I don’t ever have one myself. The cold baths thing is just theoretically true. 

Or I could mean – they exist, they are good for you and I have one every day. Personally true. 

Now imagine someone says I believe in Jesus. 

They could mean – I believe there was a man called Jesus who lived, died 2000 years ago. Factually true. But that’s it.

They could mean – not only do I believe the facts about Jesus but I understand Bible says Jesus died for our sins so we can know God. I don’t trust in Jesus – but I understand the theory.  

Or they could mean – I trust Jesus to save me. 

The facts about Jesus are crucial. The theory – the understanding – is vital. But there is another level when you move beyond the facts, and beyond the theory, and Jesus becomes real for you. 

The objective truth becomes subjectively true. The theoretical becomes personal. The truth out there – becomes true in here. 

And that move, only happens because of the Spirit. 

That is what I mean when I say the role of the Spirit is make it real. He takes the facts of Jesus, and the truth of Jesus, and brings inside. So we get it. Personally. It’s becomes real for us.

That is a general point about the Spirit’s work. 

I want us to see what this looks like with prayer. But before we get to that let me give an example from earlier in Romans so we get the idea. 

The Holy Spirit makes God’s love real

Back in Romans 5 Paul says ‘God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’

So Jesus’ death is an historical, objective demonstration of how much he loves me.

But Paul also says ‘God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’ This is internal, personal grasp of his love in our hearts.

That’s not separate from God’s love in Jesus’ death. 

It’s the same love of God. It’s demonstrated in Jesus’ death. But the Holy Spirit works in my heart so that I personally grasp God’s love for me. The Spirit makes God’s love – real. 

Now, main example,

The Holy Spirit makes calling God father real

V15, 16 again. ‘by the Spirit we cry Abba Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.’

The Spirit bears witness to our spirit, he gives testimony to us, to tell us – we are children of God. So he’s saying being God’s children – is real for us. 

We get more in v15 – you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption. 

Paul is saying – you were fearful of God – he was your judge who condemned you – it was like you had a spirit – a sense – of being a slave. But now you understand Jesus died for you – to bring forgiveness and acceptance. So you’re not scared of God now – you have peace with him – you have the spirit – the sense – of being his child. 

It’s the Holy Spirit who gives us that sense of peace and adoption.

Imagine I offended my brother. We’re having a zoom chat, I try and make a joke but it comes out badly and it’s rude and he’s right hurt.  I say sorry, but I can feel he’s upset. 

Later on – my brother thinks - Nigel, he is an idiot – but I forgive him. Writes me a card – says – don’t worry about it. 

Two or three days later – the post arrives – I open the card – and think – oh good. That’s better. 

Now – Graham forgave me days ago. But I was still worried about it. I’m feeling we’re estranged. I only got that sense of forgiveness – peace and acceptance – when his card arrives. That’s when it became real for me. 

That’s what the Spirit does. Through Jesus we are forgiven, at peace with God, adopted as his children. But the Spirit brings that home to me - makes it real to me. He testifies to our spirit so we grasp – I’m at peace with God, I’m accepted like an adopted child. 

So let me ask. Do you have any sense God forgives you? You have peace with him? 

Do you have any sense you are God’s child? You can call him father? 

I know it varies day to day. We go up and down. But if we have some grasp that is true – that is the Holy Spirit’s work. He has worked in us so it’s real to us. 

Couple of reflections

Before we finish let me make a couple of comments on the Spirit which I think are relevant here.

The Spirit usually works through his word. The Bible is described as the sword of the Spirit – it’s his weapon – it’s how he teaches us and convinces us and make things real to us. I say usually – because the Spirit is God and he can do what he chooses. But the way he says he works and usually works – is through his word. 

So for us to have this sense of being God’s child – and for us to grow in that – we should both ask his Spirit to make this more real to us. But we don’t just do that – we also look at his word, meditate on what he says, because the Spirit works through that. 

Second comment: the Spirit doesn’t draw attention to himself, so you might not notice him. In John’s gospel Jesus says the Spirit’s work is bring glory to Jesus and the Father. His role is shine a spotlight on them. Not himself. 

What this means in practice is we might have a very strong experience of the Spirit – but not call it that. Say we hear a sermon and we think wow – God loves me. He sent Jesus die for me, that’s amazing. Hits us afresh. 

Or we are talking with a friend and something they say makes us think – I’m actually God’s child. How wonderful. 

Well – those are happening because of the Spirit’s work - making it real. But – in my little descriptions – I didn’t mention the Spirit. And talking about it - you might just say – I had a real sense of being God’s child – you don’t mention the Spirit. 

That’s fine – the Spirit likes that. His role is to focus on the father and the son. Bringing glory to them. 

We must remember that because it means just because he isn’t mentioned – doesn’t mean he isn’t very involved.

So let’s say we have some sense we are God’s children. We can talk to him as our Father. And that leads us to pray – Father – I’m sorry for how I behaved yesterday please forgive me. It leads us to say – please help me today with what I find hard. It leads me to pray for others. It leads us to thank and praise. 

It’s not brilliant – it goes up and down – but to some degree – it happens. I pray. 

Why? Why is any of that happening? It’s because of the Spirit. He is making these things real to us and that leads us in prayer. We are praying by the Spirit, or in the Spirit. 

Three applications to finish. 

Be assured – if you trust in Jesus – you have the Spirit. You don’t need to feel insecure. Like you’re missing out. If you’re praying – if you have some sense of God as your father – you’re showing the signs of the Spirit in you. He doesn’t draw attention to himself – we don’t go on about him. But you can be confident – you’re praying in the Spirit – because he’s why you’re praying at all.

Secondly – let’s be thankful for the Spirit. I say we don’t go on about him – and in many ways that’s right – but we should be aware of what he does in us - and thankful for it. If I pray, call God father – it’s because of him. Left to myself I wouldn’t talk to God. None of this would be real to me. 

We should say to God – not only thank for Jesus dying for me – but thank you for your Spirit – working in me so I get it and it’s real to me. Everything we do as Christians – believing, trusting, obeying, serving – praying – it’s only happening because of him in us. Let’s open our eyes to all the Spirit is doing for us – and appreciate it – thank him.

Lastly – let’s seek to grow in this. We can grow in knowing God as our Father. That will lead to growing in prayer – talking to God as our father. That happens by his Spirit. Let’s pray this week – Father, by your Spirit – make these things more real to me. 

By your Spirit give me a greater sense you are my Father. Know your love and peace with you and  security of being your child. 

By your Spirit lead me to cry out to you and groan in my struggles. 

By your Spirit – lead me in thanking you, praising you, requesting from you. 

Would lead me forward in prayer – by your Spirit. 

Suffering and prayer - Groaning (2/4) - Nigel Beynon

Romans 8: v15, v18-27

Part two of a mini series by Nigel Beynon on prayer looking especially at the phrase “by him [the Holy Spirit] we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ “

This week: ‘Cry’ - Suffering and prayer - groaning to God.

Please note: this is a recording from Zoom. Due to a blip at the time of recording there is no picture throughout.

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Transcript

Good to see everyone. You may know we’re spending a few weeks thinking about prayer. Our last Sunday in June is going to be a question time. So if a question comes to mind – or you want to ask something else about prayer - please send it to me – email on the notices.

We’re focusing on this phrase in v15 – by him, the Spirit, we cry Abba, Father. Last week we thought about Abba Father, being adopted as children of God. 

This week we’re focusing on the word ‘cry’. By the Spirit, we cry Abba Father. Now I thought that word just meant ‘call out’ or ‘say’. But I’ve learnt that the word often means cry out in distress – or pain. 

And you may have noticed in our reading there’s a lot about suffering and pain. Back in v17 Paul talked about suffering with Christ. Then v18 we get our present sufferings, then creation being in the pain of childbirth and so on. Paul talks about suffering a lot - so it seems he is talking about crying Abba Father – in suffering. 

So we’re going to be thinking about prayer in suffering, but let me make two quick general comments at the start – the Bible says lots of other things about facing suffering – in addition to what we get here. So don’t think this is all the Bible says about suffering.

Secondly – don’t think life is nothing but suffering - elsewhere Paul talks about the many good things God gives us – family, friends, food, nature, art etc. He says we should receive those things as gifts, enjoy them and thank God for them. 

But here, in our verses, Paul is facing the reality of suffering. 

That raises the question – how do we respond to suffering or hardship. 

It’s a relevant question for now - coronavirus is causing great suffering – in illness and death. The news of racism – another death yesterday - makes us aware of unjust suffering. At a personal level – we might be finding lockdown has a way of taking the difficulties we already faced – and intensifying them. Our own failings. Relationships. Family life. Work – lack of work. 

How do we respond to all that? 

Some people can tend towards denial. They pretend it’s all good. Put on a brave face, don’t talk about it, try not to think about it. Distract yourself, keep busy. Don’t emotionally invest in anything for fear of being hurt. Various forms of denying the reality of suffering 

Others can tend towards despair. They don’t deny suffering - they focus on it - they look at the world – look at my life – it’s all bad. You can become cynical, think Jesus is a waste of time, feel hopeless. 

Denial – we try and run from suffering. Despair we’re overwhelmed by suffering.  

But Paul – he responds to suffering in a very different way. Before we get there I need to mention one other theme here. And that is hope. 

V18 ‘I consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.’

We’ll see Paul is talking about the glory of heaven or God’s new creation. But v24, 

Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

We don’t have this new creation yet – it’s a hope we wait for. 

Now – when you take suffering – combine that with this hope of glory. Put those together – Paul says that produces – groaning. 

We’re going to talk about prayer as groaning. 

In this chapter we get three things that groan. First of all,

Creation groans

In v22 ‘We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth’. 

Why – well v20 – ‘For the creation was subjected to frustration’ and v21 it longs for the day it will be ‘liberated from its bondage to decay’. 

Back in Genesis, when humanity rejected God - he says – now the earth is cursed - it will produces thorns and thistles. Creation isn’t not going to work right. As Paul says – it’s been frustrated.  

It’s not just thorns and thistles – we can think of earthquakes and tsunamis – or today of course we think of viruses and pandemics. Here’s the ultimate cause – creation is fallen or put in bondage to decay. 

But it longs to be right – it has a hope of being liberated to be what it was meant to be. Released from its lockdown if you like. And God promises one day there will be a new creation – and it will be perfect. 

And so now creation groans. 

Notice the two sides to groaning. There’s frustration with now. Creation says, I shouldn’t be like this. 

And there’s hope - longing for the future – one day I won’t be like this – I’ll be put right and be what I was made to be. 

We groan, v23

Secondly we groan, v23– ‘we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for …. the redemption of our bodies.’

We groan because we’re not right. In Romans Paul has described our problem with sin – our rebellion against God – the wrong we do. Even for the Christian cries out - I do what I don’t want to do. 

We also face the problem of our mortality – physical weakness, illness and ultimately death. 

The answer to both of those things is what Paul calls – the redemption of our bodies. Being raised with new bodies – sin free – disease free – perfect in every way. 

And so now we groan. Again groaning is expressing frustration – we shouldn’t be like this. And expressing longing – one day I’ll be what I was made to be. 

But with us there’s another element - notice how Paul says it’s we have the first fruits of the Spirit who groan. 

The picture of first fruits is – you’re growing crops and when it’s ready you pick the first bit of corn or whatever – that is the first fruits. And the point is – it shows you what is coming. It gives you a taste, a sense, a guarantee of what is coming – because here it is – the first bit. 

Well the Spirit is the firstfruits of being saved - we said last week the Spirit gives us life with God, he makes us new inside, makes us children of God. 

If you like – it’s a taste of heaven. There’s much more to come – new bodies – new creation – perfect world – but the Spirit gives us the first fruits of that – a taste of knowing God, being forgiven, being in his people. 

And Paul is saying – this taste of that future – makes us groan. 

I want to try and illustrate this – not sure if this is a bit contrived – but run with me on this. 

Imagine a situation where food is awful. Maybe – you’re in prison – hospital – don’t want to be rude – but imagine its bad food. Day after day. 

One day – someone from your family comes to visit you. They say – we’re really looking forward to having you home. When you come back we’re going to cook you your favourite meal. 

The thought of home food – the flavours – the taste – you can’t wait.  

Then they say – actually I brought you a snack – it’s a little bit of what we’re going to have. 

You eat the little morsel – and wow – the flavours, the depth, the richness – it’s wonderful. It kind of makes it worse – because it’s gives you a sense – of that meal you want. So it makes you long for it even more. You groan even more.

It’s something like that for us. We groan – frustrated with what’s hard now. 

We groan – longing for that perfect future.

And the Spirit gives us a taste of it now – knowing God as father, being forgiven and at peace, being changed to be like Jesus, the goodness of that - it’s like a taste of heaven – and makes us more frustrated, and more longing. 

Spirit groans

I said three things groan in this chapter – creation, us, but also the Spirit. V26 ‘we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.’ 

Sometimes we don’t know what to pray for. Especially in suffering.

Do I pray for my friend to get well, or to have patience while ill? Do I pray for my annoying boss to be moved on or for godliness to bear with it? Do I pray my missionary friends to stop being persecuted or pray they will be a great witness as they suffer? We don’t always know. 

But the Spirit helps us – as we groan he groans with us – and v27 he intercedes in accordance with God’s will – he knows God’s plan – so he prays the right thing. 

So even when we can’t find the words - our groaning is not wasted – the Spirit takes it and prays it to the Father in the right way.

So hope you’re still with me – to sum up - we face hardship or suffering. We have the certain hope of glory – everything put right. And we have a taste of that by the Spirit. That should lead us to groan.

What does this look like?

Thought I’d finish by trying to give a picture of what this might look like – I’ve got three. 

This morning I read about another shooting of a black man in the States. So I groan. Oh Lord, thinking of your perfect world where everyone is equal - makes me feel how wrong racism is. I grieve over it. And repent of what is wrong in me. Please help now – bring greater justice now – thank you that one day just and equality will be complete - I long for that day. 

Or maybe we’re struggling in lockdown. 

So I groan – Lord I’m struggling. Lost it with kids today trying to work and homeschool. I’m worried I’ll lose my job, I’m stressed about finances. I miss my friends, I’m lonely. Thank you that one day you’ll put me right and I’ll trust you completely - I’ll delight to serve you perfectly in everything I do. What a thought. One day relationships will be perfect and we’ll just enjoy and celebrate each other. One day I’ll be so rich and so secure – I won’t have a worry in the world. 

Thank you - I long for that day. Please help me now – change me by your Spirit – and help me live for you today. 

Or we think how Jesus said pray for God to be glorified. So I groan. Lord – it’s tragic how so many think so little of you. That is so sad and wrong. Thank you one day – you will be seen for who you truly are and will receive all the praise and adoration you deserve. I sense how good and right that is by your Spirit. So may you be praised today – help me praise you and praise you to others.

Well there are my rather poor efforts at what groaning might look like. I’d love to hear from you your thoughts of how we groan. Sometimes we don’t get to express words – it’s just a groan. I hope you get the sense of holding suffering and glory together – and that leads us in prayer. 

I asked - how do we respond to suffering?

Denial? – pretend it’s all good - not face up to it. Paul says – suffering is very much part of life.

We can despair – it’s all bad - think there’s no hope. Paul says that’s not right – there is hope. Certain hope of a new world – you can taste it now by his Spirit. 

I think Paul wants us to face up to the suffering and have a firm grip on our hope – as we get both of those – let it come out as a groan. This week whatever hardships and difficulties come – face them – think of God’s wonderful future – how it will answer everything. Put them together – and groan. 

Foundation of prayer - Adoption (1/4) - Nigel Beynon

Romans 8: 14-17

Part one of a mini series by Nigel Beynon on prayer looking especially at the phrase “by him [the Holy Spirit] we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ “

This week: ‘Abba, Father’ - Our adoption in Christ is the foundation of prayer.

Please note: this is a recording from Zoom. Due to a blip at the time of recording there is no picture until about 30 seconds in.

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Transcript

We’re going to spend 4 weeks thinking about prayer.  And our focus is going to be the phrase in v15 – ‘And by him – that’s the Holy Spirt – by the Holy Spirit we cry, Abba, Father.’ 

Let me start by asking – why do we pray? And what does that mean our prayer look like?

We can pray because we’re in trouble and need help. In that case prayer probably looks like a 999 call. The pressures of lockdown might have led to a lot of those prayers - Lord would you help me get through this.

We often pray because we want God to change something. So our prayer looks like requests. You might have prayed that kind of prayer this week hearing about the events in the US – Lord – change this situation.

We might pray because we feel guilty about what we’ve done – so our prayer looks like confession. 

Or we might say – to be honest I don’t really pray. 

Foundation of prayer - adoption

I want us to look at what I’ve called the foundation of prayer – the starting point – the heart of prayer. And that is adoption. Being adopted as a child of God. 

To sum up this sermon - what I want us to get is – if we’re going to pray – I want us to get to hold of – to be gripped by – being children of God. Because that is the foundation of prayer. 

So I’m going to talk about adoption for a while – and then we’ll come back to prayer. 

Adoption

I want to suggest that being adopted as a child of God is the centre of being a Christian.

Now – I made this point in a sermon from 1John a couple of months ago. I used an illustration of a judge and an orphan. You might remember it. We’re not doing that again – this time let me try and show adoption is so central by seeing how God’s actions to save us – have adoption as the goal. God acts to rescue us in various ways – but often – the purpose of it all – the aim - is to adopt us.

God chooses us in mercy – to be his children. 

So for instance - we could say in his rescue God chooses to have mercy on us. But listen to how Paul describes that choosing. 

Paul writes, ‘God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world – in love he predestined us to be adopted as sons or daughters – through Jesus Christ according to his pleasure and will’.

Now – we’re not going into questions about predestination and all that – what I want us to see is why God chose us – he choose us to adopt us . That was the goal – that’s the purpose. And I love that it says – this was according to his pleasure and will. So God before the beginning of time - took pleasure in saying – I want you to adopt you. The thought of you being his child – pleased him. 

So God chooses us to be his children.

Jesus died to redeem us or rescue us – in order to adopt us. 

Second example - God rescues us by sending Jesus to die for us. But listen to how Paul describes that. He writes,

‘God sent his Son, to redeem those under the law that we might receive the full rights of sons and daughters.’

So Jesus died for us – to redeem us or rescue us – but with the ultimate goal – of making us God’s children. That was the aim. 

There is the cost of our adoption – this is how much God paid to make us his children. His own Son. 

Spirit brings us new life to make us his children. 

So the Father chooses, the Son dies – thirdly – to rescue us, the Spirit brings us alive. We’re spiritually dead and he regenerates us – brings new life. But again – he does it – to make us his children. 

This is our passage from Romans. Paul has said the Spirit makes us alive – but v15 – he is the ‘Spirit of sonship’. Or literally is ‘adoption’. He is the Spirit of adoption. 

So he makes us alive – but with the ultimate goal of being adopted as God’s children. 

That’s why I say, being a child of God is the heart of being a Christian – because this is what God is working for – this the goal of God’s rescue. The Father choosing, the Son redeeming, the Spirit bringing life – it’s all with the aim of making us his children. 

I know a couple of people who have adopted children themselves. Through them I’ve seen it’s a long process. And a difficult one – interviews and assessments. Saw one friend have some big setbacks and disappointments. But they went through all that - because they wanted to care for a child. Look after them, nurture them – and know them, love them. They go through all this work – because they want them. 

Well, if you trust in Jesus that is how God feels about you. He wants you as his child. 

That’s why he went through all of his rescue - choosing – sending Jesus to die – giving you his Spirit – it’s all to make us his children. He does it all because he wants you. He wants you in his family. He wants to care for you and look after you. He wants to have you close and to know you. That is how he feels about you.

I want to ask - do we know that? Do we feel that? I know I often don’t. It’s very thin. But we need to grasp this, we need to grow in this. Because it’s the heart of being a Christian – and because it’s the foundation of prayer. 

Leads us to pray 

Paul goes on - we received the Spirit of adoption and by him we cry, Abba Father. In other words – being a child of God – leads us to call him Father, it leads us talk to him – it leads us to pray. 

I don’t know if you’ve seen any videos of reunions doing the rounds. People who have been isolated from their family because they are health care professionals – being reunited. I saw one of a nurse who had been isolated from her children for two months – being reunited. She comes up behind them and just asks – what are you watching? The little girl turns, and shouts, mummy. 

It’s a lovely moment. It’s so instinctive and natural. 

It’s the most natural thing in the world for a child to call mummy, daddy. 

Paul is saying that is what prayer is – if you’re God’s child – prayer is simply calling to your father. So in many ways it should be the most natural thing in the world. 

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray – he emphasized this. He said, when you pray – don’t show off to others – go into your room and pray to your Father. And when you pray – don’t go on and on trying to force God to do something – your Father knows what you need. This is how you should pray – Our Father in heaven.

Being his children - calling God father - it’s the foundation of prayer. 

Now, when I just said, it’s the most natural thing in the world to pray to God as your father – you might have thought – not for me it isn’t. Prayer doesn’t come naturally at all. So to finish let me make three comments on that. 

Some of us might be thinking – this isn’t helping me because from my father – my parents – I didn’t get loving, caring, nurture. I got disappointment and hurt. So thinking of God as my father doesn’t help me pray.

If that is you then I’m sorry. But I want to appeal to you not to give up on the idea of God as your father. The understandable hurt and pain you feel testifies to how we should have been cared for – or it points to how we need a father to care for us. And in God we find the father who is all the things our earthly parents failed to be. He will never let us down, forget us, hurt us. Rather he is everything a father should be. Perfectly loving, caring, understanding, encouraging. In other words – he’s the father we are crying for. Now there’s much more to say on that we don’t have time for – but do get in touch with me or Nat if you’d like to talk more. 

Second comment – calling God father doesn’t come naturally because often we don’t live like his children. We get things wrong, muck things up – we feel guilty – and that means prayer is last thing I feel like doing. 

Again – there’s lot to say on this but one comment - we must realise we’re secure as God’s children. Our sin doesn’t undo our adoption. When God choose us to be his children – he knew exactly what he was taking on. When Jesus died for our sin to make us his children – he died for it all – including what we’ve done today. And when his Spirit comes into us to make us his children – he says – I know what you’re like – but I’m not leaving. 

A while ago I heard this testimony about adoption:

“As a teacher’s assistant I often work with children in the foster system. Because of the transient nature of a foster home, many kids feel very insecure. They are allowed to stay with their foster family only if they perform correctly. 

God didn’t choose to be our foster parent. We don’t get kicked out of the family because of our behavior. When I accepted Christ I became a permanent member of his family. He died to redeem me. He signed the adoption papers with his blood.”

We are secure as his children. Even when we muck up – God is still our father. 

Last comment – calling God father often doesn’t come naturally – because we don’t realise we are his children. 

We probably know it – in our heads – but it’s a distant idea. We don’t really get it – we don’t feel it as a reality. That’s why I’ve spent most of our time on how God has worked to adopt us – because I hope that helps us get this. 

You can describe yourself in a variety of ways. I could say, I like rugby. I could also say, I’m married to Jo. Both are true but being a husband is a deeper thing than liking rugby. It’s more at the core or the essence of who I am.

Paul is saying, if you go really deep, go the centre of who you are. You find the Spirit of adoption making you God's child. That is, in essence, who you are. 

As we increasingly grasp that – as the Spirit makes that real to us - it will increasingly become natural to pray. To call God father. 

I asked at the start, why do we pray? Cry for help, requests for action, confession?

First answer, foundation answer is, we pray because he’s my father. 

There are still cries for help. We might cry to God about what we face this week, pressures we feel. But we do so as children crying to their father.

Yes, there will be requests – please change the injustice in society, overcome racism.  But we do that like children going to their father. 

Yes, there will be guilt and confession – but we do it like a child going to their father. 

Or maybe you rarely pray. Let me encourage you – look at who you are in Christ – see who God has made you - and then talk to your father. 

Pray

Quick comment – I said we’re having four weeks on prayer. The first three weeks are talks – we’ve just one the first one. The fourth week is going to be a question time. So if a question comes to mind from the sermons – or you’ve got another question about prayer – do send it to me? We’ll put my email on the notices in case you don’t have it – or use whatsapp. Then we’ll try and answer those in our last week. 

But the Lord - Nigel Beynon 3/3

But the Lord...Gen 12:10-20 (3/3 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Genesis 12:10-20

Part three of a mini series by Nigel Beynon: God’s plan for his world and our lives.

This week: But the Lord. How God can intervene to keep his plans on track

—

Years ago I went on an ordination retreat. There were about 30 of us – 4 of us were friends. It was a silent retreat – not allowed to talk. Bloke leading the retreat seemed he was very concerned that none of his personality should come across in his talks. He did very well making sure that didn’t happen – no expression at all. 

It was meant to be a special time away – but it turned out to be rubbish – and to be honest we reacted rather badly – we got together to pray breaking the silence rule – we made up games during his talks. One bloke drew moustaches on the photos of nuns. 

I want us to think about how we react when things are difficult. Now my example is trivial – it wasn’t very difficult. But we face much harder situations – pressures at work, demands of children, the disappointment of no children, illness or bereavement, struggles in our relationships. When things are hard – things don’t turn out as planned – if we believe in Jesus – how do we react?

I can say from my own experience – it’s easy to react badly. For your faith to fail in some way. On reflection I’ve realised the weakness was always there – but the situation – the pressure – brings it out and reveals it. 

Then the question comes - when we fail – how do we react to that failure? Do we say – that wasn’t my fault - it was just the situation. Do we say – I always do this – I’m hopeless – I should give up. Do we say – failure doesn’t really matter – who cares? 

That is what we’re going to think about from this passage – how we react to pressure and failure.

We’re going to walk through the story for a while. And then I’m going to try and draw out some lessons for us. 

We heard last week how Abram had been promised blessing - 12:2 – go to the land I will show you, I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. Abraham believed God – and went to the land. 

And so v10 comes as a surprise. ‘Now there was a famine in the land.’ 

God says – leave your home, safety, comfort – travel to this strange new place – and I will bless you. Abraham gets there – miles from home – lots of dependents to look after and – famine. That’s not blessing is it – that’s not how it’s meant to be. 

Be easy for Abram to think – I should never have trusted God. Those friends who laughed, said I was mad when I left – turns out they were right. 

It becomes clear that is where Abram was – this famine meant his faith was starting to fail. 

V10 READ. 

Now we’re not told if going to Egypt was a wrong move. Later in Genesis God positively commands his people to go to Egypt because of a famine – so it’s not intrinsically wrong. God has made us to make pro active decisions, choose what seems wise and best. So Abram could be doing that. 

But – we hear nothing of Abram praying, asking God about it – so might worry. And that’s confirmed when he gets there. V11-13 READ. 

As a speech to your wife he starts well doesn’t he? – I know what a beautiful woman you are – but then it really goes down hill. He thinks he’ll be killed so someone can marry her. So he comes up with a plan – say you’re my sister – and we’ll be alright. 

Actually that was half true – Sarai was his half sister – but it’s still a lie, hiding the fact they were married.

Now we just said - God has promised Abram – a land, a blessing, descendants. 

But on the other hand we’ve got Egyptians who want to marry Sarai – and might be prepared to kill Abram. 

So for Abram it’s God’s promise versus scary Egyptians. 

And in that moment - the Egyptians win. Fear wins over faith. Maybe he was already doubting God’s promises because of the famine. So rather than trusting God and his promises - he comes up with his own plan – to save himself. 

It’s easy enough to relate to though. Maybe one morning we’re reading the Bible – God’s promise of love and care feel very real to us. Later at work – we hear some people have to be made redundant – and we’re suddenly scared we’ll lose our job, we’ve got a mortgage to pay, family to look after. Then we find ourselves exaggerating what we’ve done to our boss, and doing others down. Faith fails. 

Might be the fear of what others think of us – that makes us stay quiet about Jesus. Pressure of loneliness that leads us to drink too much. Or pain of illness or bereavement that leads to escape in fantasies.

All too often – we react to pressure badly – our faith fails in some way. That is Abram – there is famine and fears and his faith fails.

And then – things really go pear shaped for him. It’s likely Abram’s plan was to say Sarai was his sister – then when someone wanted to marry her – Abram as the brother would do negotiations which would take time – but before she’s actually married they leave. So he’s just buying some time. 

But then v14-16 READ. 

Pharaoh doesn’t need to negotiate and do due process in getting a wife – he just takes Sarai straight away into his harem in the palace. 

Now if Abram’s plan has gone wrong, God’s plan isn’t looking too good either. Remember we said last week – this is God’s plan to rescue the world – put everything right. It’s the promise of blessing - it starts with the promise of land and nation – but Abram has left the land and gone to Egypt instead. And now he’s lost his wife – so he can’t have any descendants and be a great nation. 

So Abram’s failure means God’s plan to rescue his world – is now at risk. 

And then we read V17 READ. 

Those first three words sum up this sermon – but the Lord. 

In the middle of the mess Abram has made – God intervenes - he steps in and acts. 

He sends some sort of plague on Pharaoh and his household. It becomes obvious Sarai is the issue – maybe she was the only one who didn’t get the plagues. Maybe she confesses. Anyway Pharaoh finds out the truth – she is Abram’s wife. And they are being punished by Abram’s God. 

And so v18-20 READ. 

The pagan king gives the man of faith a talking to. Abram – what were you playing at?! Why did you lie to me? How could you do this to me? 

That last sentence, here’s your wife, take her and go - literally are four words – here wife take go. You can feel the anger and outrage – how dare you behave like this.

And Abram says – well I tell you what he doesn’t say. He doesn’t say – but there was a famine – and we were really hungry – we had to come here. He doesn’t say – but the Egyptians are so scary so I had to lie or they’d kill me. It’s very tempting to blame your circumstances – very easy - maybe up until now Abram explained it to himself like that. 

But now – confronted - he says - nothing – because there’s nothing to say – his silence says – you’re right. I was wrong. I should have trusted God. But I didn’t – under pressure - I got it very wrong. 

Back on that retreat where we were misbehaving. Half way through the w/e the leader/speaker came and found us. Found us watching Wimbledon on TV actually – chatting – which we weren’t meant to be doing. 

He said – I know you’ve been mucking around in the talks. I know you’ve drawn on the photos. And now I find you doing this. 

And we didn’t have anything to say. In our little world, it wasn’t too bad, given the circumstances – it was understandable. But suddenly it was clear – the situation was no excuse – there was no excuse – it was down to us and we’d behaved terribly. 

Even more so Abram – he has no excuses – the truth was his faith failed.

But – v20 READ. 

So - he left Egypt. And he left with his wife. He left with this cattle and servants. And they go back to the promised land together. And God’s promise – God’s plan – is back on track. 

So – there’s the story – I want us to step back from it for a moment and think about what God is teaching us – about faith and famine and failure. 

I think there are two ways you could read this. You could say Abram failed – so the lesson is - don’t be like Abraham. Don’t fear and lie - instead have faith in God and obey him.

There’s something in that. Abram becomes the great example of faith in the Bible – and this was part of him learning to trust God. He would have walked home thinking – I should have trusted God – should have prayed, not lied, I should have kept God bigger than the Egyptians. And we learn that too. 

If we’re aware of how we’re failing in faith – making compromises – not trusting God – then don’t be like Abram – learn the lesson - you can trust God. 

However I think there is another way to read this which I want to focus on. Abram fails. But God intervenes – he steps in to get his plan back on track. So the lesson is - our failure – doesn’t stop God’s plan. 

This was first read by God’s people under Moses. Now it depends how good your Bible history is – but can you imagine that later generation reading this. 

They read Abram went to Egypt because of a famine. Well they’d have thought - that’s us – because years after Abraham – Jacob and his family go to Egypt because of a famine. 

They read Sarai is taken by Pharaoh. Well that’s us - as a nation we were taken captive by Pharaoh – became slaves. 

They read God sends plagues on Egyptians so Sarah is released. That’s what God did with us – sent 10 plagues so we were freed.

They read that Abram leaves Egypt taking all the animals and servants he’d been given. And they think – that’s what we did - when we left Egypt we plundered the Egyptians too. 

They couldn’t fail to hear the echoes – this is what God did with Abram. This is what God did with us. This is what God does – he is a God who steps in to terrible situations – a God who intervenes to keep his plan on track – he is if you like – a ‘but the Lord’ sort of God. That’s the big lesson from this. 

However there is a question how we apply this to us. First of all there is the big picture fulfillment – in Jesus. 

In the NT we read, 

“No one will be declared righteous…. But now, a righteousness from God has been make known.”

 “you were dead in your transgressions and sins … But, because of his great love for us God…”

“This is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son…”

We’ve all made a mess of life like Abram – we ended up imprisoned – not by Pharaoh but by sin and death. But God intervenes – as he sends Jesus who takes his judgment – so we can be forgiven. 

That is the big picture fulfillment of this – God steps in to fulfill his plan to put the world right. But the Lord. 

And as I’ve been talking we might be aware how we’ve failed in faith. Times we’ve been under pressure – and done the wrong thing. Well we should be comforted from this story – we have a - but the Lord - sort of God – we can look at Jesus and see how God has intervened to win our forgiveness and bring about his plan. 

But there is also little picture fulfillment – secondary fulfillment - in our individual lives. But here it’s a bit less clear – or a bit less black and white. 

But God intervenes with us - to bring us into his plan and keep us in his plan.

I expect most of us can look back and see how God acted – intervened - so that we put our faith in him. For me it was a friend at school who took me to his church where I heard about Jesus. God arranged that – the initial connection – the conversations – the invitation. He enabled me to realise my need of him – he intervened so I put my faith in him. 

And he continues to intervene in our lives – to keep us in his plan. Now I don’t mean that whatever mistakes we make – God will step in and make everything alright. Often we have to face the consequences of our actions. But he does act to keep us in his plan, keep his plan on track in our lives. 

Years ago I was with a couple of friends who weren’t Christians – something about Jesus came up and I didn’t say anything. But later one friend said something like – I’m surprised you didn’t say something about what you believe. I’d have thought you’d have a spiel to give. 

That made me say – well I do actually – and did a little gospel summary. 

I failed to speak – then God acted to help me do the right thing. 

I expect you can think of your own examples. We start to bend the rules at work – but our boss see what’s happening and says – we’re not doing that - overrules us. We feel rightly told off - but we’re back on track. We feel too tired or embarrassed to read the Bible and pray as a family – but one day our 4 year old innocently asks - ask why we don’t we talk to God – we are ashamed – and pushed into it. 

Now this does raise questions - why God doesn’t intervene more – why didn’t God intervene in that situation – why doesn’t he intervene in that person’s life? And we don’t know – there is some mystery here. 

But he promises to save his people – promises to intervene to bring us to believe – and keep us believing. So the people we meet, conversations we have, books, sermons, circumstances, emotions – they are God nudging us – shoving us sometimes – not to make every always fine and lovely – but to keep his plan on track in our lives. 

The other day – I found myself wondering what would be written on a plaque when I die. Probably just be name and dates. But what could it say. Well it should say something like – Nigel Beynon – he went his own way – even as a Christian he feared and failed. That would summarise a lot of my life. And then the plaque would say – ‘But the Lord’.

But the Lord – sent Jesus to die for me. But the Lord – sent me a friend to tell me the gospel. But the Lord – sent this friend into my life – and I had that conversation – and he gave me that opportunity – and that situation went wrong which taught me this lesson - and and and– God acted to keep me believing and repenting. 

That is a good caption for our lives – but the Lord. 

So let’s not be like Abram here – let’s trust God, obey him – but even if we fail – we take comfort - he’s a - but the Lord - sort of God. 

Searching for God's blessing - Nigel Beynon 2/3

Genesis 11v10-12v3 (2/3 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Genesis 11:10-12:3

Part two of a mini series by Nigel Beynon: God’s plan for his world and our lives.

This week: Searching for God’s blessing

—

Last week we looked at Genesis 11 – and followed the theme of unity through the Bible. I felt aware there was a lot of information so was a bit unhappy about that. This week – I feel that even more. Thought I’d let you know at the start. This is a big picture sermon – covering a lot of ground in the Bible. 

At the same time – it can be very exciting to see how the Bible fits together – I think it’s very encouraging how God’s plans develop and are fulfilled and come together. And seeing that can strengthen us in keeping going as Christians. 

Maybe we feel we need a bit of that – said we haven’t appointed a vicar this week – I think a good and the right decision. But disappointing decision. We may feel a weary. Struggling to keep going in this interim time. 

And of course there can be many other things that make us feel like giving up as a Christian. Moments when you think – wouldn’t it be easier if I wasn’t a Christian. 

Well I hope this big picture – God’s big plan – how it comes together in Jesus – will encourage us to keep going with Jesus. 

Now, we heard Genesis 12 read – promise to Abram. But to get the significance of what is being said here we’ve got to appreciate the flow from the start of Genesis – we’ve got to get the run up to this – only then will we get the hit of Genesis 12. 

So here’s the run up. First of all, 

Blessing

Back in chapter 1 God made the world – he made it beautiful and bountiful. And he made humanity – and we’re told ‘he blessed them’ – told them to multiply and fill the earth, to rule it and enjoy this paradise he’s given them – and to do that with God and under God. It’s a picture is of a perfect world – as the Bible says – “God saw all he had made and it was very good.” That is God’s blessing. 

The other night I was watching TV and then an advert came on – and you got these shots of sun, sand and sea. It was beautiful. And there were lots of smiley faces. Happy families. Wonderful food. It was paradise.  It turns out paradise only costs £2000 for a week – and it’s located in Turkey.

Lots of adverts offer us that perfect world don’t they – or a part of it - a lifestyle, a relationship, a home – which will be perfect. They offer us that because that is what we were made for – and so that is what we long for.

But of course we long for that world, not just because we were made for it – but also because we haven’t got it.  

That’s the next bit of the run up. 

Curse

In Genesis 3 Adam and Eve rebel against God – put themselves in charge instead of him. And that leads to curse or what we often call, the fall.

Curse is the opposite of his blessing. Relationships are spoilt - we hurt each other. Work is hard and frustrating. Most of all, rather than live in God’s presence and eating from the tree of life, Adam and Eve are thrown out of the garden, separated from God – and now will die.

I mentioned the advert of a holiday. Have you ever been on a holiday like that? It’s never what you hoped for is it? The sand gets in your food, you get sunburnt on the first day, the swimming pool hasn’t been built. Or even if the place is really nice, that doesn’t stop you having an argument with the people you are with. And no matter how good it is - it doesn’t last.  

We were made for blessing, we long for blessing, but we often experience curse. 

Third part of the run up. 

Hope 

God says to the serpent – Satan – who tempted Adam and Eve,

I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers: he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.

An offspring of Eve – will crush the serpent. And if he crushes the serpent maybe he can do something about sin and the curse. It’s not fleshed out but there is hope here.

And so we read on looking for this serpent crusher. Chapter 4 we get Cain & Abel – Abel seems good but gets killed by Cain. Sin & the curse are winning. Then we get to Noah – the world is flooded because sin is so bad. But after the flood it’s like a new start – fresh world – only then Noah gets drunk and disgraces himself – and you realise sin and the curse are still winning. Then we get the tower of Babel – this united rejection of God and so they are scattered. Sin and the curse are definitely winning. 

Then we come to our passage tonight. 

Now I don’t know what you thought when you heard the genealogy being read? It’s fun to see if the reader can pronounce the names – you did very well Marg – but it’s easy to think, what’s the point of this – how does this help? 

• Looking for someone, 11v10-26

First thing we have to notice is that this genealogy is linear. In most family trees you get a branch structure - one person – then their 5 children – and then each of theirs etc. 

Well a linear genealogy – follows one line down that tree. So we are told v10, Shem had a son called Arpachshad – then v11, it says Shem had lots of other sons and daughters but we’re not told about them –we stick with Arpachshad – and then to one of his sons, Shelah. He had other sons and daughters too – but don’t hear about then – just follow Shelah and on from him. We follow a line down the family tree.  

I’m sure you’ve been driving with someone else is giving you instructions? You don’t know where you’re going, but they do so they say – left here, and left again. And straight on – and now right.  

If they do that – it would be safe to assume they are taking you somewhere aren’t they? I mean they might being having a laugh. But turning left and right like that - the sense is – we’re going somewhere – we’ve got a destination.  

Well that is what is happening here. This genealogy isn’t just telling us some people had some children. It’s leading us somewhere – at each generation it says – this son – not the others – now this son – left, now right.  

There is a sense of being taken somewhere – or looking for someone. We’re looking for that serpent crusher. 

And the line takes us to Abram. And we read this: 12v1-3 READ.

Now having had the run up I hope we begin to get what’s being said here. 

Abram is promised a land – well God made Adam and Eve a place to live – a land if you like. 

I’ll make you a great nation – well Adam and Eve were meant to multiply and fill the earth – be great. 

Most of all - I will bless you – that’s like Genesis 1 & 2 when God blessed them. Blessing is the opposite of the cursing that’s been going on. 

So this promise – this is massive. This is nothing less than promising Eden again. We’ve gone blessing – curse – and now God promises blessing again. God is promising to undo the curse – to take us back before the fall. He’s promising to going to put everything right – and give us a perfect world again. 

Now I want to pause for a moment on this – because Paul comments on this verse in Galatians. Galatians 3:8 says, 

“The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’.”

This promise of blessing – Paul says is the gospel announced in advance. So this promise – Genesis 12 – is the gospel. 

We said last week when we think of the gospel – we usually think about Jesus bringing us forgiveness, having a relationship with God, place in heaven, that sort of thing. We said last week that’s individualistic – gospel is also God’s plan to reunite humanity. 

Now we see it’s bigger again – the gospel is nothing less than God’s plan to put the whole world right. To reverse the fall – to make everything as it was meant to be. To take us back to Genesis 1&2. 

Within that – there is forgiveness and relationship with God. Absolutely. Those things are central. But the gospel is much bigger than just me and my personal relationship with God. It’s nothing less than God’s plan to put the whole world right. For us to enjoy his blessing again. 

Question – how do we get that blessing? Because here – it’s just a promise. And Abraham doesn’t see much of this promise in reality. Then we get Isaac, he inherits the promise of blessing, then his son Jacob, then Joseph – but same goes for them. They’ve got the promise of blessing - don’t actually get the blessing. 

Then we get nation of Israel formed under Moses – so they become a great nation. Tick. 

And in time - they do get a wonderful land to live in – tick. And they become great and rich and prosperous under king David and Solomon – and you begin to think – this is good – this a bit like Eden – the blessing. 

But just as you think that - it all comes crashing down. Nation splits in two. Enemies defeat them in war.  And they end up being thrown out of the land.

Did you ever play pass the parcel as a kid? The music stops and you get the present for a moment – and you tear off as many layers as you can – until the music starts again. I always got very excited about getting the present but then got frustrated there was too much sellotape and paper - and I barely got started before the music started. Often ended in tears and I had to be sent to my room to calm down.

Imagine though if the present was totally covered in sellotape. Sealed in fact – it comes to the first person – but they can’t get anywhere. Music starts – passed on – stops at the next person - they can’t open it – and so it goes on.  

That would certainly lead to tears.

Well God promises his blessing to Abraham – and then the promise is passed on to Isaac, then Jacob - but no one can open it – and so the promise is passed on to the next generation and then the next – but no one can bring about God’s perfect world.

And the reason is – sin and the curse keep winning. We’ll see next week Abram struggles to trust God and so lies. Sin still wins. Then we see Jacob deceiving people or Moses getting angry. Sin is winning. Then king David commits adultery. Solomon worships other gods. Sin is still winning. And so the curse is thriving.

In other words we’re still looking for a serpent crusher. We’ve got the promise of blessing – but we’re looking for someone to open it – someone who can overcome sin and overcome the curse, crush the serpent. 

Let’s turn to another genealogy, Luke 3-4. 

Luke 3v23 READ – and so it goes on until we get to the people we’ve seen in Genesis – so v34 we get Jacob and Isaac and Abraham. Then v35 we get Shem, and then Noah and back to Adam. 

It’s another linear genealogy – showing us – this line to Abraham – actually goes through the OT – all the way to Jesus. 

Having identified Jesus if you like – we get straight way - Luke 4. Have a read, 4v1-2 READ.

Jesus faces temptation – like Adam and Eve – he now faces the serpent. The devil tempts him three times but Jesus responds each time by quoting the Bible – by staying true to God’s word – by putting God first. 

It’s taken me a while to realise how big this is. But this is – for the first time in ever – a human truly and fully obeys God. Ever since the garden of Eden, sin has won. Cain, Noah, Abraham, Moses, on and on – sin always wins. The serpent always wins. 

But now – for the first time in human history – someone overcomes sin – fully obeys God. 

To put this another way we could say – Christ lives for us. We’re going to say in a moment that Christ died for us. Probably more familiar with that. But Christ also lives for us – by that I mean that in his life he overcame sin – he fully obeyed God. If he gave in to temptation he would be yet another one defeated by sin. 

But he doesn’t give in – he lives a perfect life – for us. 

Not only does he overcome sin himself – he takes the curse himself. 

Back in Galatians Paul writes, 

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”

The curse our sin deserved – Jesus takes it himself – in his death. He lives the perfect life – he deserves nothing but blessing. But he then takes our curse. 

And you know Paul goes on, next sentence,

“He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.”

Jesus has taken our curse – so we can get the blessing. The blessing promised in Genesis 12 to Abraham – can come to us. 

That blessing starts now. Forgiveness – relationship with God. Receiving the Spirit – being part of the church. Many good things now. 

But most of all – his blessing will come in the future when we are part of that perfect world God’s renewed creation – Revelation says – 

“there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away…. No longer will there be any curse.” 

Everything will be as it was made to be. All we ever wanted. All we could ever imagine. God’s blessing. 

I said at the start we might feel a bit weary, discouraged. Maybe about the search for a vicar. Maybe with our situation. Maybe with our work, or children, or just ourselves. It’s easy for that to crowd in on us – absorb us – and make us feel like giving up. 

An antidote to that – is to see where we are going. To have a vision of our future. Genesis 12 gives us that – as it pushes us forward to Jesus and to God’s perfect blessing. 

In 1952 a woman called Florence Chadwick tried to swim from Catilina Island to the shore of mainland California. She has already become the first women to swim the English Channel both ways. The day was cold and foggy so she cold hardly see the boats alongside her. She swam for 15 hours and was really tired. She asked to stop but her trainer urged her on. In the end she’d had enough and just stopped swimming and was pulled out. The boats carried on through the fog and found they were just ½ a mile from the shore. 

The next day at a new conference she said, I found it too hard, but I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it. 

Two months later she tried again – bright clear day – vision was perfect – she swam the whole way. 

If we are feeling tired. Feel like giving up. Let’s look ahead. Look where you’re going. God has promised – I will bless you. Jesus has lived for you, died for you, to win you that blessing. Look where you’re going – all you ever wanted, all you could imagine, all you ever live for now, complete and perfect – God’s blessing. 

Unity and division - Nigel Beynon 1/3

Genesis 10 v1 - 11 v9 (1/3 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Genesis 10:1-11:9

Part one of a mini series by Nigel Beynon: God’s plan for his world and our lives.

This week: Unity and Division

—

While ago I read a book called The Warrior’s Honour by the journalist Michael Ignatieff. It talks about his experiences covering various ethnic conflicts. 

In one chapter he describes Serb-Croat conflict and how he sat one night with Serb soldiers in a village that has been cut in half by the conflict. He writes – “this is a village war. The men on either side of the front line once were neighbours. The Serbs on guard duty … once went to school with the Croats in the bunker close by.”

He then says – “I want to understand how neighbours go to war…. How do brothers become enemies?”

And it’s a question that multiplies as you go round the conflicts in the world – Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Nigeria, we could go on and on with places where brothers have become enemies.

Why is the world like that? And what hope is there for a world like that? How can enemies become brothers? 

That is where our passage is going to take us. Let’s start by seeing how Genesis 10 describes our world, 

First of all, as fundamentally united

10v1 READ – and then he lists the descendants of the 3 sons of Noah. As he does that what he’s doing is taking us around the peoples and nations of the known world. Not all of them – but he lists 70 names – the number 70 being symbolic for wholeness – so the idea is that this represents the whole world.  

The point is – the whole world comes from these three brothers. So the whole world is related – they are family.   

As I’m sure you know the ruby world cup starts on Friday – I know you’re all very excited about that. Anyway – England are in a group with France and we play in a few weeks. England France matches are always feisty. Love to beat the French.  

But imagine if we were told – yes the French, they came from your great, great, great, great, grandfather’s brother. You’re related. You’re family. 

Well that is what is being said here. All these nations – come from these brothers – they are one big family. They are fundamentally united.

And a family that is united is a wonderful thing – loving and supportive relationships – looking after each other. Having fun together. Enjoying each other. 

Well God made humanity to be one big family – wonderful, supportive, caring unity. 

But at the same time this chapter also shows we are tragically divided.

• Tragically divided, 10v5, 20, 31

V5 READ.  

And v20, READ.

And v31, READ.

At the end of each list – we’re told they are divided by clan – their family grouping. Divided by the language they speak. The area they live. And the nation they are part of. 

As one commentator puts it – they are divided anthropologically, linguistically, geographically and politically. 

We just said that England and France are united – we are one family. But the fact is – if we’re English – we still do really want to beat the French. And they’d love to beat us. We are divided.

And while on the ruby pitch it doesn’t really matter - off the pitch these divisions lead to the fans fighting – it leads to xenophobia, and racism and bigotry. It leads to Serbs fighting Croats. 

So here is our world – made by God to be united yet tragically divided. And so we come back to our question - why? How do brothers become enemies?   

Well the answer comes in chapter 11. The order of these chapters is rather odd. Because at the start of chapter 11 we read, v1 READ. If there is one language this must be describing something before chapter 10 when there are lots of languages. But it’s put here to look back at chapter 10 and explain how the world got like that.

So chapter 11 describes how the world got divided. First part of the explanation is that, 

Humanity united against God, Genesis 11v1-4

Let’s read v2-4 READ.

Now let’s be clear there is nothing intrinsically wrong with tall buildings. I quite like the Shard, the Pinnacle and the rest of them. The problem here isn’t the height – it’s the motivation. 

They want to make a name for themselves. We could think of someone at work or school – wanting to make name for themselves. Means they want to stand out - be number one.  

And they try and make a name for themselves by building a tower that reaches to heaven - where God is. So they want to make themselves number one – instead of God. 

You can see they are against God by their other motivation - they say let’s do this to avoid being scattered. God has said in Genesis humanity should spread out – they are to fill the earth. But they are like a group of rebels who say – let’s stick together. Safety in numbers.

Together – united - we can we can rule the world – instead of God. 

I said a moment ago that unity is a good and powerful thing. But now we see it needs to be unity around the right thing. We were made to be united – under God. With him in charge. But here humanity unite against God. It’s like a family – throwing the parents out. A team kicking out the captain. Work colleagues rejecting the boss. 

And that leads to humanity divided by God,

Humanity divided by God, Genesis 11v5-9

V7-9 READ.  

God confuses their languages so they don’t understand each other. 

The name Babel in Hebrew sounds like the word for confused – the place they hoped to make a name for themselves, they only end up with the name – confusion, babble.  

And because of that – they can’t work together – and so the thing they tried to avoid happens – they are scattered. Divided. And they become what we saw in chapter 10. Different language, clans, nations and lands.  

I imagine some of us went abroad on holiday this summer. If you’re anything like me you ended up having painful conversations trying to buy a loaf of bread – usually involves a lot of pointing – sometimes acting – and you end up with a tin of something you don’t want.  

That is because of Genesis 11 – God has confused our languages and divided us. Here is the start of nations, and tribes and all the divisions in society. 

Do you remember the riots in London back in 2011? Started in Tottenham at first and then in lots of places over London including Hackney. And then in different cities. Thousands of people were rioted  - about 3000 ended up in court. It was a very strange summer wasn’t it – normal law and order and society got ripped up for a bit.

But can you imagine if the whole of Tottenham rioted? Every person, from every house, every street – started attacking police and property. And just Tottenham – Hackney – Harringay – whole of London – not a few thousand but millions – rejecting law and order – doing what they want. 

That obviously wouldn’t happen – but just the thought of it is – frightening – bewildering. Because of the numbers and the unity. Everyone united in rebellion.

That is the sense here. God says – v6 READ. The potential here is frightening. Worse than the whole of London rioting. The potential of what humanity united – against God – could achieve. It’s frightening. 

And so God acts to frustrate that unity. To divide us. 

And of course it leads to more than confusion in buying bread – it leads to violence with football fans, it leads to racism, it leads to war. 

Now we’ve got to be careful how we say this – because saying God has divided us - could sound like God has caused the wars and fights we see in the world. 

So let me try and put this carefully. God has divided us – but what we do with that – what we do with our differences is up to us. And on the one hand those differences lead to different cultures – art, music, literature – the Bible celebrates that creativity and diversity. 

But those differences also leads us to fight with each other. Not that God makes us fight. The problem is – we still want to make a name for ourselves. Still want to be in charge – wanting our way. We aren’t united in that anymore – because God has divided us – so now that sinfulness is expressed against each other – in fights and conflicts. Whether it’s miscommunication in marriage, or competitiveness at work, or nations going to war. 

So this week if we hear about friends falling out, family argument, racism, hostility to immigrants or the war in Yemen – we should think – here is Babel being worked out. God has divided us – and we turn that into a fight. 

What I want to do now is ask - where this theme of unity and division go in the Bible. What happens to this world which was meant to be united – but is so divided? Or to put it another way – can enemies become brothers?

God is reuniting humanity through Jesus, Acts 2; Revelation 5v9,10

The letter to the Ephesians talks a lot about unity. It’s written to a church made up of Jew and Gentile – the two big people groups of the ancient world – the ultimate in racial division – but Paul writes,

“For Christ himself is our peace, who has made the two one (Jew and Gentile) and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two thus making peace.” 

He says, Jesus is our peace – that is, he brings us peace with God. Forgiveness and acceptance.  But that leads to peace with each other. In fact Paul says Jesus’ very purpose in dying was to create a new man – a new humanity – not Jew or Gentile but Christian. And so make peace.

There’s a story of an Australian bishop who was travelling with a group of white boys and aboriginal boys in a bus. The boys kept arguing about being light or dark skinned – in the end the bishop stopped the bus and got all the boys off. Then told them – you can only ride on this bus if you’re green. As each boy got back on the bus he asked – what colour are? Green. On you go.

They drove on and there was peace for a bit. Then a little voice said – right, dark greens on the right, light greens on the left!

The bishop tried to make unity by creating a third category. Not back or white but green. It didn’t work but he had the right idea. 

Jesus has created a new category. Not Jew or Gentile but Christian – at peace with God. And so at peace with each other. 

Paul goes on “Consequently you are no longer foreigners but fellow citizens with God’s people, members of his household.” Jesus makes us fellow citizens – we’re one nation. United. And Jesus makes us God’s household - one family – united. Of course a big image of the church is that we are one body – united.

And that unity will be completely fulfilled when Jesus returns. Listen to how John describes the scene at the end of time in Revelation. 

I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb… and they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.”

Every nation, every language is there – but they sing one song – salvation belongs to God. They are united around the throne. 

Unity is a wonderful and beautiful thing – but only if it’s unity in the right thing. Here at last - humanity will be united under God. And it will be everything we wanted – a perfect nation, a wonderful team, a united family. 

Let’s finish by thinking what this means in practice for us. I want to suggest to two things. We should spread this unity, we should live this unity.

First all we should spread this unity. By that I mean we should tell people about Jesus. But we often think of Jesus as bringing someone forgiveness. Or putting them right with God. And that’s true – but it’s very individual – very isolated. 

Actually the gospel of Jesus – isn’t just how someone gets forgiven. It’s God’s plan for world peace. It’s how God is uniting the world back together – as he intended.

I’ve got a friend called Rosanne who is missionary in Japan. She spends her time telling people about Jesus. But rather than saying she’s a missionary – I could say – she’s working for world peace. She’s part of God’s world unity project. Because as a Japanese person accepts Jesus - they become this new category of person – a Christian. They part of God’s people, his family, his body – one day will be around that throne – enjoying true peace and unity. 

And it’s not just missionaries in another country. This goes for us. 

I don’t know who you are going to meet this week. People you live with, work with, go to school with. Neighbours, friends. They might be very different to us. Different culture, different language. We might feel very different – divided even. 

But the truth is – they were once our family. We are very distantly related. And God is working to reunite his family. In Jesus. 

So sharing Jesus with someone – is how we join in with God’s world peace plan. If they accept Jesus they become part of God’s remade, united world. 

So – spread this unity. Secondly – live this unity. 

If we go back to Ephesians – having explained God’s plan of unity and peace, Paul goes on by saying, 

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There’s one body and one Spirit – one hope – one God.” 

Keep the unity of the Spirit – God has united you through Jesus – now you are to live that out. We’re to make that real in our lives. 

If someone is a bit rude to us this week – we don’t get proud and defensive – we are humble. 

When someone let’s us down – doesn’t come through - we’re gentle. 

When someone disappoints us again, yet again – we’re patient. 

When someone is hard work we bear with them in love.  

We support each other, we encourage, we’re gracious to each other, we forgive each other. 

We live out this unity. As we live that – it’s like St Barnabas will give a glimpse of that united heavenly gathering - a tantalising, appealing taste of that perfect unity we’ll one day have. 

Enemies can become brothers – because God is reuniting the whole world through Jesus Christ. 

Let’s see what God is doing and spread this unity. And live this unity. 

During the Peace

We’ve said Jesus purpose in dying is to make a new person – and so bring us to peace. We remember that now in these words. Let’s remember that as we take bread and wine. Often do it isolated – my relationship with God. Encourage us to be aware of each other – to think how Jesus died to unite us to each other. Pray for the person next to you. 

"I desire mercy" - Nigel Beynon 2/2

Matthew 9 v9-13 (2/2 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Matthew 9v9-13

Part two of a mini Series by Nigel Beynon on Matthew 9.

This week: “I desire mercy” (mercy for us, mercy for others)

—

A while ago I heard about someone who wanted to break the stereotype of ‘church goers’, so they said at the front of church – they knew people in the congregation who had committed adultery, lived in a lesbian relationship, had abortions, been addicted to porn etc. They didn’t name them – they just wanted to say – these are the sorts of people in our church.

I wonder how we react to that. 

I think in our society today there are two common reactions. Some people react by saying “what are people like that – moral failures - doing in church. Such hypocrisy.”  

It’s the voice of traditional morality. It’s the right wing tabloids – there is right and wrong – and of all people, the church should be a model of right living.

However others react by saying - what do you mean ‘moral failure’? How dare you judge someone else?  People can live as they like.

This is the voice of the post-modern, liberal, relativist – how you live is up to you - all that matters is that you accept everyone’s choices - and of all people the church should be a model of acceptance and welcome.  

Our question tonight is – as we look at Jesus in this passage - which one of those is the right reaction? Which gives us the right picture of church? 

Let’s start with the central point of this passage, 

1) Jesus came for sinners

Let’s start in v9 - READ.

Now to get this we have to understand that being a tax collector meant you were a moral and spiritual disaster.  

Matthew was a Jew but worked for the Romans, so he was a traitor – not only of his nation, but his God because he was working for Gentiles, the enemies of God. Worse still tax-collectors over charged their own people – to line their pockets.

If we could imagine a member of the Taliban in Afghanistan, working for the Americans, who then ripped off his fellow Afghans – we’d begin to get an idea of Matthew. He was a moral and spiritual disaster.

But Jesus says to him – follow me. 

And it’s not just Matthew. V10 READ.  

The term ‘sinners’ is being used in a particular way here. The Bible is clear that we are all sinners – we have all rejected God. But here it’s referring to those like tax collectors - prostitutes, cheats, drunkards. The out and out, obvious moral and spiritual failures. 

I suppose today it would be the obviously bad people in our society – the ostracised - the paedophile, the sexual harasser, the greedy dodgy banker.

But those are the people Jesus has supper with - and in his day, eating meant acceptance and relationship.  

So the Pharisees say v11 READ.

But Jesus says v12, 13 READ.

There is the point - Jesus has come for sinners. 

This fits with what we saw last week - he’s come to offer us forgiveness - our greatest need.

So now – who is Jesus interested in? 

Well obviously people who need forgiveness. People who have mucked up, people who have made a mess of things. Sinners. 

He illustrates it by saying he’s like a doctor – obviously doctors are interested in the sick. That’s what they are all about. Well Jesus is interested in the spiritually and morally sick. That’s what he’s about. 

And if Jesus is a doctor - that makes church a hospital. Full of sick people. Full of moral and spiritual failures.

You get the point - Jesus came for sinners.

Now that really is the main point here – that’s pretty much all I’m going to say. But I want to chew this over a bit – by asking two questions of ourselves. First question,

2) Do we come to Jesus - as sinners needing mercy?

V11 READ.

Now the Pharisees worked very hard at being good. They were respectable, religious and upright. Morally and spiritually they were A*, or grade 9 students.

So when they say v11, it’s not really a question – why is he with them - but an accusation - he shouldn’t be with them. He ought to be with good people, religious people, like us.  

I don’t know if you are someone who goes to the gym. I’ve always found them rather intimidating places because there is always an in-crowd. Do you know what I mean – they are the people who whenever you go, they are always there. They call the staff by the first names. They even know how the machines work. They don’t spend ten minutes pressing the buttons randomly. Most of all of course they are fit – strong and impressive.  

And when someone turns up – unfit, overweight, weak – you can imagine them smirking. What are they doing here? Get off my urg or what ever. The attitude is – this is my place. I topped the performance chart last month.

Well the Pharisees were like that. They worked hard at being good – they looked good. I guess they wouldn’t say they weren’t perfect but compared to these tax-collectors they were very good. 

This reminds me of my parent’s generation – maybe your parents. Traditional morality – there’s right and wrong. And while we’re not perfect - we’re not bad. 

If someone thinks like that – they won’t get Jesus. They think Jesus is about being good. So they’re confused - why is Jesus with these bad people? What are people like that doing in church? Jesus should be with decent people like us.   

Now, to be clear, when Jesus says “I haven’t come for the righteous”, he’s just making a contrast with sinners. He doesn’t mean there is a group who are righteous and good. He’s made that clear earlier on in Matthew – back in the sermon on the mount Jesus talks about how we should live – and he makes it very clear - no one is righteous.  

So when Jesus talks about not coming for the righteous but sinners – he isn’t saying - there are good people and there bad people. No, we’re all bad. The only difference is there are bad people - who know they are bad. And there are bad people who think they are good. That’s the Pharisees or the moralist today, who think they are OK.

That is a terrible position to be in. It’s like a person with a life threatening disease but thinks they are healthy. And thinking they are healthy won’t go to the doctor for help. They think they are good – so won’t go to Jesus – not as a sinner needing mercy. 

That’s why with friends or family – who are like this – I pray for conviction of sin. I pray they might realise they are sinners – in trouble – sick. In some ways it’s not a nice prayer – I’m praying they’ll feel terrible – because they see how bad their sin is. How wrong it is. How serious it is. But that’s what they need - to grasp their true state – because then they will get Jesus. And how good he is. 

Because when we do realise we’re sinners – as I’m sure most of us have - then Jesus becomes wonderful news – because he has come for sinners – he’s come precisely for someone like us. To give us what we desperately need - mercy. 

Mind you as well as bad people who think they are good. You also get bad people who think they are bad – but they also think Jesus is about being good. Rather than mercy.

I remember talking with someone who said they didn’t want to come to church, or do God stuff.  I asked, why not? Because I’m not that sort of person, I’m not good enough.  

They thought coming to God was like a job interview – you dress up smart, and then try and impress them with how great you are. But they knew they weren’t great so thought they shouldn’t bother trying.

If I had thought of this passage I would have said to them – do ever do that with the doctor? Try and look really healthy – and impress him with how well you were?

Of course not. I remember a while ago not being well – and called for an appointment but the person said, I’m not sure if we can fit you in today.  I said, “Oh, I would really – cough, cough, ohh, really appreciate it, cough.”

Now that is me being silly – but the point is to see the doctor – you just need to be ill.  

It’s the same with Jesus. The only qualification we need for him is to be sinner – and we all qualify. We don’t have to clean up our lives before we can come to him. We can come to him as we are – he came for sinners. He came to give them mercy – to accept and to forgive. 

Now at this point the liberal ‘anything goes’ relativist – I mentioned at the start - they will be happy because this sounds like Jesus accepts everybody – doesn’t matter what you’ve done – you’re welcome. 

Well it’s certainly true Jesus will accept everyone. But there is a big difference. Liberalism says we should accept everyone because it doesn’t matter how we live – anything goes. Don’t judge - just accept. 

Saying – live as you like – is like a doctor who says to the chain smoker on 40 a day – you’re doing fine. Don’t worry about the cough, you carry on as you are and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It is an unprincipled acceptance.  

But Jesus has principle – he says it does matter how we live. And he’s straight with us – he says we’ve done wrong and we’re in trouble. And so he offers us – not unprincipled acceptance - but mercy. He says, you’re not fine – but I’ll deal with your wrong, I’ll win your forgiveness and put you right with God. 

That means this acceptance for sinners is no excuse for sin. By accepting sinners Jesus isn’t saying sin doesn’t matter. Far from it – he had to die for our sin. 

And we could add, while Jesus accepts as we are, he doesn’t leave us as we are. He calls Matthew to follow me – following Jesus will lead to change. Hospitals are there to help you change – to make you better. And Jesus’ mercy – accepts us – forgives – and then works in us to change us, make us more like him. 

So our question is – do we come to Jesus as sinners for mercy. Not as good people but sinners. Not coming for easy free acceptance. But mercy – that says our wrong matters, and leads us to follow Jesus.

Second question,

3) Do we welcome sinners – with mercy?

Let’s go back to the Pharisees for a moment – you know I don’t imagine they went around saying, I deserve a place with God because I’m so great. But when they see Jesus welcome these sinners – they think - what are you doing with them? Their reaction to out and out sinners shows their true attitude. 

And Jesus says v13 READ. 

It’s a quote from the OT, where God is saying - it’s not saying that sacrifice, or other religious performance is wrong, but he’s all about mercy. And he desires mercy in his people. As we’ve just been saying we need mercy from God to us – and should then lead to mercy from us to others.  

But of course that is exactly what we don’t see in the Pharisees. Stick a moral and spiritual failure in front of them and they react not with mercy – but morality and judgement.

Well what about us? How do we react to sinners?

If someone says to us – I’ve really mucked up. I got drunk at the weekend. This week I’ve been consumed by envy and greed. I had sex before marriage. Whatever it is. How do we react?

I remember talking to someone about admitting sin to each other and how we react. And they said – I suppose the problem is – if someone says, I’ve mucked up and we say to them – it’s OK - it sounds like sin doesn’t matter. But if we say sin isn’t OK then sounds like morality and judgement.

As we’ve said, often those feel like the only two options. Morality - say there is right and wrong – but that leads to judgement. Or free acceptance but that leads to accepting sin. 

I hope we’re seeing how wonderful different Jesus is. He offers mercy. 

And as we just said - mercy means sin matters. If you need mercy then you must be in trouble – you must have done something wrong. So when Jesus says to the sinner – there is mercy for you – he’s not condoning sin. He’s not saying it doesn’t matter – they need mercy for it.

But at the same time Jesus is saying there is mercy. Saying sin is wrong doesn’t lead Jesus to then condemn us. No in his mercy – he offers us acceptance and forgiveness.  

The challenge for us as a church is to model that reaction. To be a community of mercy. Not a gym where we work hard to impress and look down on those who fail. But not a free for all where everyone is accepted because it doesn’t matter how you live - you can do what you like. 

But a hospital for the sick – a hospital of mercy. 

So a friend says – I’ve really mucked up. We don’t think – how awful – I’d never do that. We don’t think – you can do what you want. 

We think - here is someone just like me. Here is the patient in the hospital bed next to mine. Maybe I’ve been in the hospital a bit longer – I might have recovered from some of my symptoms – but really at heart I’m just the same as them. A sick person needing mercy. 

So we say to them – great you’ve come to church and you’re with us. Sorry it’s been a bad weekend. 

I struggle too – but I hope you know God forgives. 

I’m sad to hear it’s not been good – but Jesus is full of mercy. Is there anything I can do to help?

Jesus came for sinners - to give us mercy. Mercy that recognises sin as sin, but overcomes sin with forgiveness and grace and acceptance. 

So let’s come to him – come to him this week - as sinners – and receive mercy.

And let’s accept sinners with that mercy.

"Your sins are forgiven" - Nigel Beynon 1/2

Matthew 9 v1-8 (1/2 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Matthew 9v1-8

Part one of a mini Series by Nigel Beynon on Matthew 9.

This week v1-8. "Your sins are forgiven."

—

You could sum up this sermon – or the take home message - in four words – your sins are forgiven. If you trust in Jesus – your sins are forgiven. 

As you hear those words – as you hear the conclusion of where we’re going – what you think?

Some of us might think – I know. I’ve heard those words often. Grown up with them maybe. They are part of the furniture of my life. And with that there is the danger of assuming them to be true - taking them for granted. 

Some might think - what sins? – why do I need forgiveness? 

Others might think – if only. I’d love to know, to feel I’m forgiven. But I don’t, I feel guilty. 

I hope by the end of this sermon those four words will be the most precious words we could hear. Or if not the most precious – more precious to us. More prized and valued. Words that - whatever else is happening in life - bring joy to us & put a smile on our face or on our heart.

We’re going to start by thinking about 

The priority of forgiveness

V1, 2a READ.

Up until this moment in the gospel Jesus has been healing people of everything and anything – so if you have a friend who’s paralysed it’s pretty obvious what to do. You pick him up and take him to Jesus to be healed. 

Only then Jesus says, v2 READ.

It’s not hard to imagine the friends thinking – what? We didn’t bring him here for that. Or Jesus’ disciples rather embarrassed – whispering to Jesus – legs, look at his legs.

But of course this is no mistake by Jesus – rather he’s showing us he has a different set of priorities. For Jesus – forgiveness takes priority over healing.

That’s not to do this man’s situation down - Jesus would have been well aware of how terrible paralysis was – no welfare state to help – a constant burden on his family. The emotional and mental turmoil.

But as he lies in front of Jesus – maybe the pain on this man’s face summing up all his need and anguish – Jesus looks at him sees something more important. Forgiveness. 

Now why is that? 

I think it helps to see how this fits with what comes before. In Matthew 8 we’ve seen Jesus deal with the different elements of this broken world – he’s overcome sickness, natural disaster, demons – and in doing that he’s been giving us a picture of heaven – a trailer of how he’ll put this world right one day and establish his perfect world.

And he could do that again here - but it’s as though Jesus thinks – we’ve done enough demonstration now - now it’s time to move from the symptoms of this broken world – to the heart of the problem in this world. And that is our sin.

When my sister was a student she rented a room in a house which was pretty rough. On one wall of her room the paint was cracked and peeling off. Hope this isn’t sounding too familiar. She told the landlord – he had a simple solution – repaint the wall. The new coat of paint looked good – for a while. But then it started peeling again.  

Imagine my sister got round a builder & surveyor - he examines the house and says – what you need is to get a plumber. Plumber – but what about the wall?  Exactly he says, behind that wall is a leaking pipe – causing damp – making the paint peel. And if you don’t fix that you’ll have far bigger problem than peeling paint – the whole wall is going to come down.

Well we face many problems in this world - but they are actually symptoms of a deeper problem – and here Jesus comes to the heart of it – it’s our sin.  

Now when I say sin we’re in danger of thinking of wicked acts – immoral actions. But we must remember fundamentally sin is how we have treated God – how we have ignored and rejected him.  

And that is the heart of the problems in our world. Sin is what has thrown our world into it’s fallen mess. And more than that – sin will destroy us. Ignore the leaking pipe and eventually it will bring the wall down. Well sin eventually will bring us down.  We will face God – and will face his judgement.

And that means Jesus can look at a paralysed man – and in the face of all his suffering say – there is a deeper problem here – there is something you need more than healing. There is something more important than walking. You need forgiveness. 

Now, that is quite a challenging thought. 

There are all sorts of things that compete for our attention aren’t there. From global issues – destruction of the Amazon – spread of ebolla – Brexit chaos. Or personal needs - problems in relationships, bereavement, health, loneliness, stress, depression, pressure at work, a place to live, and we could go on and on. And understandably, they are very often the priorities we have.

But Jesus is showing us here – in the face of all those needs, there is a bigger need – a higher priority – forgiveness.

Now - I’m aware that if I say - forgiveness is what really matters – that’s easily is heard as – as forgiveness is the only thing that matters. As though those other needs don’t get a look in. 

So let me be clear I’m not saying that. Those other needs in our world and our lives – do matter. And God cares about them and thinks they are important. Jesus has just been healing people and solving problems in like that. And he cares about the problems in our lives and helps us with them. 

But - imagine if you could ask this paralysed man what was more important – healing or forgiveness. What would he say? Well surely he’d say something like - 

Being healed was great – I could walk, run, work, play with my kids. Life changing. But being forgiven. To be accepted by God – accepted into heaven. To be with him – enjoy him – serve him. That’s eternity changing – that’s in a different league. What’s more important – are you joking?!

There’s the challenge to us. Issues in our lives and the world are important – forgiveness is more important. While those other issues do matter – forgiveness matters more. 

So we need to ask will we see forgiveness of sins – as Jesus does? In our what we value and care about, in what we pray for and long for, in what we dream about, in what gives us joy - will we make forgiveness the priority. Jesus says it is.

Secondly we need to think about. 

The authority to forgive

v2, 3 READ.

They see a man in front of them claiming to forgive sin – but they think that is something only God can do. And they are right. 

I guess some of us drove here this evening and parked on the street. Imagine if Al was late and so he screamed round the corner and crashed into your car. This didn’t happen by the way – it’s OK.

Then Al comes in and explains to you what’s happened – and I overhear it and then interrupt and say - that’s OK Al, I forgive you.

How are you feeling? Well you’d be outraged wouldn’t you? How can I forgive something against you? Only the person offended can forgive.

Well we’ve said sin is fundamentally a rejection of God. So only God can forgive sin.

But here is Jesus – forgiving.  

That means he’s either blaspheming – he is a man pretending to be God - acting as only God can. Or, he isn’t just a man, he’s God. 

Those are the two alternatives aren’t they? I say that because often people think of Jesus as a nice man, with some good ideas but they wouldn’t accept him as God. Might be you’ve thought that – or have friends who think that.  

But what we see here rules that option out. He doesn’t say, I’m a prophet sent by God to let you know he forgives you. Or – let me share my insight into how God forgives. He says – I’m forgiving you now. He talks like he’s God.

So you can’t say he’s a nice bloke with some good ideas. His idea is that he’s God. So he’s either a blasphemer – a fake. Or he’s not just a man. He’s God.

Let me sum up this point by quoting the writer CS Lewis who puts this so well. 

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Jesus claims to be God – and so claims to have the authority – the right – the power – to forgive our sins. 

Again, I think it might help us to set this into the context of what’s been happening. Do you remember we talked about Jesus coming early. Back in 8v29 the demons say – READ. They know there is a future time – judgement when the world will be put right and they will be destroyed. But they say – why are you here now? Why have you come early?

Well answer one – he’s come to show us he’s the king who will bring about a perfect world – gives us a demon – a trailer – of that future. 

But now – answer two - he has come early to offer us forgiveness. 

That gives us just a sense of what is happening here. Jesus is the king of the world, he’s the one we’ve rejected and offended, he’s the one who would rightly judge us as he puts this world right. 

But he has come early - in advance - not to tell us off, or give us a hard time, but to say “Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.”    

It’s very loving isn’t it – very tender – “take heart, my son.”  I know you’re guilty, I know you deserve judgement – judgement from me in fact - but I’ve come early to forgive you.

Jesus is the one, the only one, who has the authority to give us what we really need – the forgiveness of our sins.  

Let’s finish by thinking about, 

The proof of forgiveness

v4-7 READ.

Jesus’ purpose is clear – v6 READ. 

Jesus wants to prove to us – to demonstrate - he does have the authority to forgive sins.

However, the logic of how he proves that isn’t quite so clear. Actually this is something I’ve changed my mind on. I used to understand it by emphasising the word “say” in v5 – Jesus asks, which is easier to say? I thought it’s easier to say ‘your sins are forgiven’ because no one can tell if it’s happened. It’s harder to say ‘get up and walk’ because it’s obvious if that happens or not. 

However, I think that puts too much weight on taking ‘say’ in that particular way. And it’s not obvious Jesus uses it with that sense.

I think a more natural reading is that Jesus is simply asking – which is easier - to forgive or heal?  Answer is simple – both are impossible. Both are things only God can do.  

But it’s true that forgiveness is a hidden thing and healing a visible thing – and so Jesus says – in order for you to know I can do an impossible hidden thing – I’ll do an impossible visible thing. I’ll heal so you know I can forgive.

In fact remember illness and sin are connected – we’ve said illness is a symptom of sin – in a general way. So Jesus here says – I’ll prove I can sort out sin – by sorting out the symptom of sin – illness. 

It’s like with that leaking pipe – the plumber says – I’ve sorted the leak out. You think – all plumbers are cowboys – how do I know? But then he says - I know you can’t see the mended pipe – but look the damp has gone. The symptoms going – prove he’s sorted the problem.

That is what Jesus does here.

Now we’ve got to be clear – while Jesus offers us forgiveness today – that doesn’t mean we’re healed from all illness. He doesn’t promise to overcome all the symptoms of sin today. He promises he will in the future but not today. But he does it here to show us – to prove to us – he really can forgive sin.  

That’s his aim – he wants us to know – to be sure – he has authority on earth to forgive. 

I wonder how confident we feel about being forgiven. 

Some years ago when the evangelist Billy Graham was interviewed he was asked, 'Dr Graham, what do you believe will happen to you when you die?' And Billy Graham replied, 'I'm quite certain that I will go to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven.' To which the interviewer said, 'Isn't that a very arrogant thing to say?'

In our culture being confident about something is often taken as arrogant. Maybe we think being confident about forgiveness – a place in heaven – is arrogant.

And it would be arrogant if we were sure because of anything to do with us – because we’d lived well enough, were good enough for God, better than others etc. But if you think you get to heaven through being forgiven by Jesus – question is simply – can I trust Jesus?

Here is Jesus saying – let me show you I can forgive sins. Let me demonstrate to you I have the authority to forgive sins. I want you to know, I want you to be sure – I can forgive your sins. 

So it’s not arrogant to be confident – actually you could say it’s arrogant to think, no, you’re wrong Jesus, you can’t forgive my sin. I’ve sinned too much, too often, too badly. So I have to go round with a nagging doubt, and sense of being a failure. 

That sounds humble – to be down on yourself - but actually it’s a weird form of arrogance – because you’re saying you know better than Jesus. Won’t accept what he says.

Humility – means we believe what Jesus is showing us – we’re humble enough to accept what he is saying to us. 

And Jesus is saying to us tonight – if we have faith in him – he’s saying - take heart, your sins are forgiven. He’s saying that to us individually and personally - take heart April, your sins are forgiven. Take heart Dave, your sins are forgiven. Take heart – put your name in – take heart – your sins are forgiven.

It’s your greatest need – your highest priority – I’m God, and I’ve got the authority to forgive you.

Are you sure Jesus? Is that really true? 

Oh yes – look at this man walk – I did that so you might know this is true. True for you. 

Four words. Precious, valuable, joy giving, eternity changing words. 

Your sins are forgiven.   

Matthew 8 v28-34 - Nigel Beynon 4/4

Matthew 8 v28-34 (4/4 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Matthew 8v28-34 SBD 30 June 2019

Transcript

At end of this sermon I’m going to ask what we want in our lives – which direction we want to take - Jesus or evil?  

I realise that question is very bald and stark and might not make much sense. I hope by the time we get to it you understand a bit more what I mean.

But how you react to that stark version – Jesus or evil?  

We might think – what do you mean – evil? Or course I don’t want evil – that’s evil. That’s bad. Who wants that?!

 I hope we’ll see while that’s right – evil is evil – terrible – but at the same time what the Bible calls evil can masquerade as something appealing – something we find attractive. And so something we want.

 Or maybe we think – well I’m a Christian – so of course I want Jesus. That’s what I’m about.

 Again – that’s right. Jesus is very good - wonderful to have in our lives. But he’s also disturbing – he changes things – so it’s not as simple as of course I want him. We’ll see there are times we don’t want him. 

Maybe we thought – I don’t really want either Jesus or evil. I just want to do my thing. Well, fair enough, but I hope we see – as we talk about what we mean by those terms – actually we can’t avoid that question. Every choice this week – will take us in one direction or the other. 

But before we get to our question - we need to go on a bit of journey with these men we meet in our passage.

1) An Evil World

So let’s start with v28

 Now we’ve immediately got a problem here because for us, today, the idea of demon possession is a joke. It’s conjures up images of films like “The Exorcist” or “The Omen”, with Damien as the child of the devil. It’s just not something we take seriously. 

It’s true that in these men we get a very extreme case of the devil’s influence – we’ll see later that usually the devil works in much more subtle ways – much more behind the scenes. But here it’s full on - so it looks very unusual and bizarre to us.

In fact some people say these two men were suffering from epilepsy and Matthew mistakes that for demons. Actually in chapter 4 Matthew distinguishes epilepsy from demon possession. So he knows the difference – and he takes demons seriously.

More than when the demons speak through these men Jesus doesn’t say – you have a psychiatric complaint I will cure – he talks back to the demons as demons. So Jesus takes demons seriously.

The rest of the Bible is the same – while not telling us that much about him – it is clear the devil is real, personal, evil.

So while it may feel a bit odd to us – and go against our culture – we should take demons, the devil, the reality of the force of evil – seriously. 

In particular I want us to see what the devil is seeking to do. And because these men are such an extreme case – they show us pretty clearly what he’s trying to do. In word – he’s out to destroy us. 

These two men have clearly lost their self-control and reason – their humanity is being destroyed.

We’re told they are so violent no one can pass that way – they seek to destroy others.

They live among the tombs – the place of death.  And when Jesus casts them into the pigs they kill them – showing us that is what they are about – they want to kill us.

The devil’s aim is destruction – the destruction of us in ourselves, the destruction of relationships with others, and ultimately the destruction of a relationship with God.

And that is what he’s working at today. This plays out a bit differently for those who are Christians – those who are not. We’ll come to that. But in simple terms the devil is active today – seeking to destroy us. Destroy us as people, with each other and with God.

I saw a Robbie Williams documentary some years ago, with him talking about alcohol and drug abuse – think things are better now – but he said, “I ingest things that aren’t good for me, I bend the rules on my sobriety, which isn’t good for me.”

He does things that destroy him. That can be true of all of us - it might be the obvious visible things like drugs, pornography, self-harming. Or it might be more hidden – critical thought patterns, lust, lack of discipline, laziness, indulgent habits. Things which aren’t good for us.

The same goes for relationships with others. Being over sensitive, proud, selfish, taking someone for granted, taking offence, getting your own back – it destroys relationships.

And the same with God. We can ignore God. Don’t listen to what he says. Do our own thing.

Now if we’re Christians, we would usually just call all that – sin. Or doing things wrong. And that’s right.

But actually the devil is involved in this. He wants to destroy us – so he encourages all of that. He whispers in the ear – have another drink, did they really do that to you – take offense. You deserve better. Don’t bother with praying, you’re too tired to go to church.

He encourages – evil. It’s not what we’d call evil. It’s not murder or abuse. In many ways it might be very acceptable or attractive. It’s just living for ourselves, doing what we want. But it’s actually destructive to us – breaks relationships – most of all it’s against God – and so the Bible calls it evil.

Now this doesn’t mean we’re helpless victims. We’re responsible for what we do. And quite how our responsibility and the devil’s temptation interact is difficult. But while there is some mystery here – the Bible is clear - as well as sin being a reality, the devil and his temptations are a reality – suggesting - encouraging – destruction.

So what we see here in these men – while it looks very far away from our lives. Actually it’s an extreme version of what the devil is seeking to do to all of us.

Destructive behaviour – breaking relationships - ignoring God – what the Bible calls evil. It’s a reality for all of us.

So having said that much – let’s see what happens. V29.  Two things we should see from this – first of all,    

2) Jesus will end all evil

The demons say – have you come to torture us before the appointed time – in other words they’re expecting a future time – when they are going to face Jesus.  

They’re right. The Bible is clear there is an appointed time when Jesus will return and put this world right.

We’ve referred to this over the last few weeks. God’s promise to put the world right – that party from Isaiah – what we often call heaven. Or a new creation, a perfect world.

But of course to make heaven – to make things perfect - you’ve got to get rid of what is wrong in the world. Get rid of evil. That’s what the demons are talking about – the time God has appointed to end evil.

And notice Matthew wants us to know it’s certain.

The demons are in no doubt about it. “Have you come before the appointed time” - they know there is a date in God’s diary – marked – judgement – end evil. They are sure about it.

And there’s no doubt Jesus can do it. V31-32

Jesus speaks one word – the demons obey. There is no effort on Jesus’ part. He doesn’t raise a sweat – as he destroys evil. 

In previous weeks we’ve seen him end disease and death. We’ve seen him overcome natural disaster. We said they were pictures of the future – a trailer – a promo of his perfect world. This time he overcomes evil. So we can be certain - one day Jesus will speak and violence, murder, hatred, prejudice, injustice - everything that spoils this world will end – as Jesus ends all evil.

But there is a second thing to notice here. V29.

Jesus is going to end evil in the future - they know that – their question is – what are you doing here now? Why have you turned up early?

The answer to that is – he’s come to rescue from evil.

3) Jesus wants to rescue from evil

Let me try and illustrate this – I’m afraid I can only think of a rather contrived and unrealistic scenario – I apologise for that – but you’ll get the idea.

Imagine a company accused of gross negligence. The court date is set – and the judge announced.  Everybody gets ready for the trial.

And then one day the judge walks into the accused company head office. Everyone looks up from their desk – what he’s doing here – the trial is months away yet. 

Then the judge spreads out his papers – showing the evidence. And it’s obvious – they are grossly at fault – and are going to lose. The company is over.  

But then the judge says – if you admit your negligence – if leave this firm today – then when we get to court nothing will be brought against you. You won’t even be in the dock – you’ll be acquitted.

Now obviously that wouldn’t happen – but that gives us a sense of what Jesus is doing here. He is the judge of his world – and the court room date has been – when he will judge all evil. 

But the judge has come to his world early – what’s he doing here ask the demons. Answer one - he’s showing us he will end all evil. You can be certain of that.

But more than that – answer 2 – he come early to rescue from evil. That’s what he does with these two men – hopelessly in the grip of evil – he rescues them. He puts them right – so they can live as they were made to live. Be what they are meant to be. Know others again – have relationships. Know God. And on the future day - not in the dock on the side of evil – but standing with Jesus, and part his new world.

That is Jesus’ offer to us – to rescue us from evil.

That rescue happens when you become a Christian. The devil encourages you to ignore God, say no to Jesus – and then you are rescued from that – enabled – freed – to turn to God – put your trust in Jesus. So if we’re Christians – we’ve been rescued from evil.

And then the devil can’t posses us like these men. He can’t be in charge of us – Jesus is now in charge.

But as I was hinting earlier – the devil is still active – tempting us. And so there is a sense that we go on being rescued from evil by Jesus.

Say we’re struggling with jealousy. Porn. Pride. Ambition. Gossip. Bitterness. It’s our responsibility to fight that. But in that fight - the devil is encouraging us – whispering in our ear – lying to us, making evil seem attractive.

So we should pray – Jesus – rescue me. Help me with this struggle. Empower me. Strengthen me. Help me see through the devil’s lies. Help me know evil will one day end. Help me see your way is better and to live for you.

That doesn’t mean life is magically transformed and it’s easy to do the right thing. But it is possible to do the right thing. It’s possible to overcome those destructive habits. It’s possible to treat others better. It’s possible to relate well to God. Because Jesus can rescue us.

However the question we must finish with is, what do we really want?

4) What do we really value?

V33-34 – well what would you expect it to say? 

They pleaded with him to stay so they could thank him for overcoming evil? They pleaded with him to rescue them from the evil in their lives? 

No - v33-34 - they say – “Jesus – please – we beg you - go away and leave us alone.”

Why do they say that?

Well one reason is the pigs. There were a lot of pigs – worth a lot of money – probably owned by people from the town.

So while two guys rescued are from evil – for them pigs are more important than people. 

It can be the same today. Imagine if the message of Jesus spread so thoroughly through the London that there were no dodgy bank deals, no one was addicted to instagram and binge drinking stopped. Wouldn’t many bankers, advertisers, pub owners - say – Jesus please go away. Stop mucking things up for us.

Never mind that people are stopping destructive habits and evil is being defeated. They value money more than people.

Mind you – I think it’s a bit broader than that.

I think these people would have realised that having Jesus around means change. As they heard what had happened to these two men – how Jesus changed them – rescued them from evil – they must have thought to themselves – what will he do in my life? If he’s that powerful to change them - if he’s turning lives around – how will he change me?

So they say - look Jesus – push off will you? Because they are happy as they are. Happy with this world and their lives with it’s – evil. They wouldn’t call it evil – that’s a bit black and white – but happy with living for themselves and ignoring God.  

I heard the other day of a student who heard the Christian message, and then said that he couldn't find fault with the reasons or evidence. 'But,' he said, 'I'm not going to do anything about it. Because I want to keep sleeping with my girlfriend and drinking too much.' He was a student. In 20 years he could have said – I want to keep spending my money as I choose, and putting my career first.

In essence saying - please go away Jesus – I prefer things how they are, thanks.

So we come to our question. What do we really want? Jesus or evil?

That’s the question for someone thinking about following Jesus. Do we want Jesus – rescue – change? Or do we prefer how things are – us in charge.

And it’s the same question for Christians.

I remember when I was praying to God about something – I asked for his forgiveness and then said – please help me change. As I said it the question came into my head – do you really want to change? Do you really want to give up that sin? And it was a real question and issue.

So let me ask, are there sins that are precious to us – habits – comforts - reactions – so that we are in danger of saying to Jesus – about that part of our life – please leave, I like it the way it is.

The devil and evil is real – it sometimes appears to be attractive – but in these men we see evil for what it really is – it brings destruction. 

The devil and evil is real – and can seem strong – but here we see Jesus will end it forever. 

The devil and evil is real – but wonderfully Jesus has come early - to rescue us from evil. He can do that today.

Question is - what do we want?

Communion – remember the heart of how Jesus rescues us – be dying for us. So come and be reminded of his rescue. Be reminded of how good he is, how for us he is.

As we take bread and wine – let’s use it as a way of saying – I want you Jesus. Or if we can’t say that – can we say - I want to want you. As I remember your rescue, how you’ve loved me – please help me choose you.

Matthew 8 v23-27 - Nigel Beynon 3/4

Matthew 8 v23-27 (3/4 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Matthew 8v23-27

SBD 23rd June 2019

A few years ago I read an article in the Guardian with the title: “Are we having more natural disasters?”

It went on to talk about hurricanes, floods, earthquakes – we might think of Hurricane Florence in the US last year – the wildfires in Greece last summer – or the tsunami in Indonesia.

The article said in one year there were 128 major floods, 121 hurricanes and 42 earthquakes and tsunamis. If you add avalanches, forest fires and locust plagues then there were 360 official natural disasters that year.

The article comments – “Watch television a lot, and you would think that the world is lurching from one disaster to another.”

Now in this country natural disasters are thankfully rare. And so they can feel rather distant and removed from us.

But it can happen - the falling tree, black ice on the road, fire at home.

I remember reading about Abbie Livingstone – who died when she was 3 years old – digging a hole on a beach with her brother - when a hole collapsed and they couldn’t get her out. Strangely - I read about that when I was on a beach and Jacob was a toddler – and it immediately look up – where is he? Is he safe?

It’s rare but this is our world – and it could be us who are hit by disaster.

So tonight we are going to look at Jesus and see what he has to say about disasters.

The storm

V23-24 READ.

This is like a scene from “The Perfect Storm” – have you seen that film? George Clooney as a fisherman – goes fishing – they hit a storm. It’s pretty simple plot line. But it’s got terrifying scenes of the power of the sea - waves swamping the boat. That’s the sort of thing we’ve talking about here – look at v25 READ.

I remember being taken sailing years ago – the wind blew, the boat started to lean really far over – so I leant over the side - trying to balance the boat – getting really worried - meanwhile the others were just chatting – relaxed – seemingly unaware that I was saving us all from drowning.

My point is I’d never been sailing before – I scared very easily. But some of these guys were professional fisherman – their experienced opinion was – the boat was going down and they were going to die. So we’ve got a serious storm here.

Now I want to pause for a moment and do something a bit different – and reflect on how we talk about and understand our world and disasters like this?

Jo and I have just been to the Wye valley for a night. Beautiful area. As we walked I was thinking about this sermon – and made me think – why is I’m enjoying this view – the hill, the sunlight, the trees? How is it I find a flower beautiful. Or water and reflections, and wood and forests and all that.

Similarly – why is it we call this storm a disaster? What story of the world have we got which explains why we find some things a delight, or some things a disaster?

I was talking to a friend of mine a while ago – he’s an atheist – believes in evolution, science, but there’s no bigger story of the world than that. I asked – I’ve forgotten exactly what it was but it was something like – why do we find someone attractive – or why do we enjoy the Wye valley?

He said – I suppose it must give us evolutionary advantage.

I thought – wow – your story of the world can only give a sort of functional – utilitarian - explanation of things. Aside from whether there is any evidence for that evolutionary explanation – I was struck by that was the only terms he had on offer.

For him life is an accident. Time passes, science does its thing and some adapt and survive. That’s the story.

So when it comes to a disaster – or a delight – you can’t really use those terms – or not with any deep meaning – because what really matters is the affect on evolution.

I find the Christian story much more compelling. We don’t have time to get into this very much – but a creator who makes us – via evolution – but he creates us like him – so we have his values, appreciate his creation, we are creative ourselves. That explains why we enjoyed the Wye valley. It’s not just a functional advantage – the way we’re made means we love the world and how it reflects something of our creator.

And then in the Bible’s story we get rebellion against God – so that the world is thrown out of synch – and you get storms – disasters. Which we can then describe as disastrous – not how things were meant to be.

Now – that also raises big questions – why does God allow these disasters – which we certainly don’t have time for tonight. My point is – the Christian story much more compelling in how it enables us to talk about the world – and talk about things being a delight or a disaster.

Now was a pause. Back to the story – we left it when a huge wave was about to hit the boat and the disciples think they are going to die – v25-26 READ.

2) Evidence of the king of the world

Jesus speaks to the wind and waves like he’s telling off a child. Only when we say ‘stop it’ to a child doesn’t always do much - but here Jesus says ‘stop it’ – and the wind and waves stop.

Imagine what it must have been like for the disciples. One moment they are terrified as a huge wave charges towards them – then a voice speaks – and the wave goes flat and the sun comes out.

And so they turn from the wave – ex-wave – and look at the person next to them and say – v27.

And if you know the Bible the answer is clear. Psalm 89 says “O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You rule over the surging sea, when its waves mount up, you still them”

The only one who can control creation – is the one who made it. Only God can do this.

Some people are cynical about Jesus’ miracles – they talk about David Blaine or Dynamo doing some tricks and Jesus’ miracles being a bit like that. Well with respect to those magicians – they didn’t turn up in Florida and stop hurricane Florence. I don’t blame him for that.

My point being - this is of a different order. This is no clever trick. This is authority over creation itself – this is giving the elements orders – and very simply it is evidence this man Jesus is God himself.

If you’re not sure about Jesus – what to make of him – I’d start here. Here’s a man acting like God – showing us he’s God. I know we probably want to ask how can trust this account and that sort of thing – and there’s lots to say about that. But I hope you can see there’s no one like Jesus – acting like God – giving us evidence he is the creator – your creator. And so I’d urge you to look into him more – do ask me if you want some more on that.

However, Jesus isn’t just showing us he’s the king of the world – he is also giving us,

3) A picture of a world put right

The disciples are about to die – Jesus speaks – the sea goes flat, wind stops. Jesus rescues them from disaster – rescues them from this gone wrong world – and for a brief moment they enjoy the world as it was meant to be.

After this the storms carry on – but for a moment we get a picture of a world put right.

We’ve said over the last two weeks God has promised a perfect new world – remember the party from Isaiah – where everything is put right. A perfect world with no death.

Here Jesus is giving us a picture of that future - a glimpse, a proof – he can make that happen.

For a while I lived down in Borough and there was a huge amount of flats being built. They always follow the same pattern. The building site starts – it’s a mess – cranes, and mud everywhere. And then while it’s still chaos – a sign appears – show home open. And you can walk through the scaffolding, and the mess, and there is a flat – finished. And it looks fabulous – and you really like it – mainly because they’ve filled with stuff you could never afford.

The point is - you can see what the whole place is going to be like - from the show-home. It’s chaos at the moment but here in the middle is an example of how what it will be.

Well Jesus has promised he will put this world right – it will be wonderful.

But he doesn’t just promise – he then gives us a picture.

We’ve seen that picture in the healings as Jesus defeats disease and death. Now he does the same with a disaster - as he calms the storm - it’s like a show-world. The rest of the world is messy and chaotic, but here in the middle we get a taste of the future. A picture of what Jesus will do when he puts this world right.

I was thinking about disaster movies this week – and rescue scenes. I don’t know if you’ve seen Volcano – if you haven’t I wouldn’t bother. It stars Tommy Lee Jones, and a volcano just outside LA. At the end of the film the volcano has erupted and Tommy Lee Jones is trapped with the lava flowing towards him – in a matter of moments he will die. But they lower a ladder from a fire truck – and he is hoisted to safety just in time – as the lava flows on.

That is typical of rescue films isn’t it – someone pulled to safety just in time.

It made me think how different Jesus’ rescue is. So often rescues are about escaping disaster. Getting out of the way of disaster. But Jesus doesn’t air-lift the disciples out of the storm. He doesn’t ride ahead of the storm to safety.

No - he stands up and tells the storm to stop. So he doesn’t just escape from disaster – he overcomes disaster. He reverses disaster. He speaks and changes this world – and makes it what it was meant to be.

And that is what he will do one day - he will speak and storms never take lives. He will speak and there will be no earthquakes or hurricanes. There’ll be no need for disaster appeals, of food parcels. The phone will never ring in the middle of the night and you find out your loved one isn’t coming home. His rescue is complete – he will create a world where the accident, the disaster – never happens.

It’s a lot to believe isn’t it? But here is the evidence – here is the show-world. “Stop it” and “it was completely calm.”

Let’s finish by thinking how we should respond to this?

4) Is there evidence we trust the king?

V26 READ

Here are the two possibilities for the disciples – fear or faith. And they flow from whatever is more real to them – the threat of nature – disaster. Or Jesus – the king – who will bring a perfect new world.

Now the disciples do have some faith - they do go to Jesus for help. But their faith is little – they are afraid of disaster. The storm is more real than Jesus.

Jesus calms the storm, shows them he’s the king – he’s in charge. Shows them what he’s going to do – gives them a tour of the show-world.

And so - v27 READ. They are amazed at him – Jesus gets bigger in their minds – he’s bigger than the storm - Jesus as king gets more real to them. As he gets bigger their fears get smaller.

So what do we see in us – faith in Jesus or fear of this world?

As we ask that we have to be clear what we’re trusting Jesus to do for us. Because this isn’t promising that Jesus will save us from all natural disasters today. I imagine there were Christians killed in the hurricane Florence or in fires in Greece. Jesus doesn’t promise to rescue us from all disaster today.

As we’ve said this shows us Jesus is king of this world – in charge. And it shows us Jesus will one day put this world right.

So do we trust as that – the king now – who will put things right.

Say we read about natural disasters around the world do we just feel depressed at the relentless horror of this world? Or do we think – this is terrible but I know Jesus is bigger – and one day he will speak and it will all end.

If our friend, loved one, is late coming home one night and we wonder what has happened to them – as we feel the fear of that – can we say - I know someone who is bigger than this – I know someone who is king – and I know a new world is coming.

If the phone rings in the middle of the night do you feel nothing but terror – or do you think whatever this is – I know Jesus is king now – and will one day overcome it.

In other words which is more real to us – this world’s disasters? Or Jesus – and his future perfect world?

If you’re anything like me it’s often this world – we have little faith.

So let’s look at Jesus tonight with the disciples and marvel at him. Let’s dwell on him so that Jesus being king isn’t an abstract idea, or concept, but we feel he really is the king of this world – bigger than all we can see.

And so we know that one day he will speak and every storm will stop and this world will be right.

Let’s not be afraid, let’s have faith.

Matthew 8 v14-22 - Nigel Beynon 2/4

Matthew 8v14-22

SBD June 2019

I read an article this week that said extreme poverty in the world could be ended with £175 billion dollars. Other experts challenge that figure and it certainly got complicated – how you defined extreme poverty – what level of income would end it – how many people were in that situation etc.

But with that much money you could do something about changing poverty – changing the world.

When you think about it, a lot of people, spend their time changing things in the world: medics, social workers, politicians, charities, NGO’s, law enforcers, counselors, educationalists, lawyers. All dealing with problems in the world – and solving them make this world a better place.

I say that because we’re going to look at Jesus making the world a better place.

And in particular – I want us to think about - what does it take to make the world better in radical and foundational way – what do we need to truly change how things are?

So let’s look at our passage and first of all we get a picture of a truly changed world. A world put right.

1) God’s king – who will put this world right, 8v15-16

We read in v14 READ. Fever in her day almost certainly meant death.

But v15 READ.

There’s no convalescence - she immediately gets up and starts cooking dinner.

And then we read v16 READ.

It’s not surprising is it? Once you hear what Jesus is doing – if you know someone who is ill - you get them to Jesus. And he healed all them.

So for a moment in Capernaum – the GP surgery was closed. The hospital was empty. The crematorium was silent. For a moment it really was a changed world – a radically different world.

We said last week this is a demonstration. It demonstrates Jesus is the king - the one in control of this world. And it demonstrates – one day Jesus will put this world right.

We saw that in Isaiah God has promised a perfect world – a party – where death is swallowed up. Here Jesus gives us a picture of that – it’s a like trailer for it – showing us he can change this world and put everything right.

Now I said last week I’d say something about Jesus healing today. But as I prepared something on that I was aware it’s a big topic and a sensitive one – it really deserves a whole sermon. And I decided my comments were too brief to be very helpful. So I’m going to leave that for another day – feel free to ask me about it if you like.

The big point here is – here is the king who will put the world right. Jesus is demonstrating he’s the one in charge and that one day he really will change the world – and put it right.

The question is – what will that take? How can you change the world like that?

2) The king puts this world right by taking our wrong

Well - having said v16 – Jesus healed everyone – Matthew says – v17 READ - that is a verse from Isaiah 53.

So I’d like us to turn there if you don’t mind - and see what is happening in Isaiah 53.

• God’s suffering servant, Isaiah 53

Just to put this into context, Isaiah talks about two characters. He talks a lot about God’s king or ruler – the one that will rescue God’s people and put this world right – it’s the promise of Isaiah 25 of the party where death is swallowed up.

But then Isaiah starts talking about God’s servant – and he is a rather different character. V2 READ – he’s unimpressive.

V3 READ - he is someone who suffers so terribly – people can’t watch.

But the heart of this is – why he suffers. V4-6 READ.

Transgressions, iniquities – that is how we have rejected God, and lived our own way. And so we are in trouble with God – we face his judgement.

But I hope you picked up – this servant has taken our trouble for us. V4 – he took our infirmities. V5 he was pierced for our transgressions. V6 the Lord has laid on him our iniquity.

The suffering servant – takes our wrong – v5 says he takes our punishment and so brings us peace.

Let me try and illustrate this. I remember sitting with my brother watching a Cowboy and Indian film once – and half way through it he decided he wanted to join in. He was on the side of the cowboy’s of course – this was well before the days of political correctness – so the cowboys were the goodies, and the Indians were baddies. And so to join in – he got out his marbles – and every time an Indian appeared – he threw the marble at him – and tried to hit him. It was great. Pelting the TV – got another Indian.

Wasn’t so good for the TV. Small craters in the screen. Became rather like the surface of the moon….

Imagine my parents hear the noise – coming into the room – seeing the cratered screen – marbles – and they are rightly furious.

Then I say, ‘It was me – I did it.’

So my parent’s anger then falls on me. Go to your room, no pocket money for a month, no TV for a year.

Actually, I didn’t say that. I’m not that nice. In fact, what actually happened was – I was throwing marbles too.

But if I had been, innocent and very loving – I could have taken by brother’s place. I could have put things right for him – by – taking his wrong for him.

Well, that is what Jesus has done. He is innocent and very loving – and so he comes to earth as one of us and says to God, about all we’ve done wrong – it was me, or rather, let it be me. He takes our place – takes our wrong.

Upon him was the punishment that brought us peace – he’s the suffering servant – fulfilling Isaiah 53.

And what I really want us to get is – that is what will bring about a perfect world.

We see that in Isaiah actually – do you know what comes after Isaiah 53? Well unsurprisingly it’s Isaiah 54 – but Isaiah 54 is another description of that perfect world. Another description of God’s party – the world put right.

And it’s happened because of Isaiah 53 - the suffering servant taking our place. That leads to this perfect world.

We’ve said - Jesus is the king who will put this world right.

But Jesus is the servant – who puts this world right – by taking our wrong.

Let’s pause for a moment and ask – why is this? Why is it Jesus’ death – that brings God’s perfect world?

We said last week the ultimate cause of what is wrong in our world is our rejection of God. That’s not the immediate cause – we don’t get ill or things go wrong for us - because of a specific wrong we did. But in general terms the brokenness of the world flows from humankind rejecting God.

So to put the world right – you’ve got to deal with us and God. You’ve got to deal with our wrong before God. That’s the heart of it issue.

If you like – to really deal with the effects of sin – you’ve got to deal with sin itself.

That’s why saying it will take £175 billion to end poverty is only a start. To actually end poverty as well as the money we need to overcome selfishness and greed.

Or to change the world - we not only need better laws – we need to change people’s hearts so they don’t steal. We not only need better education so we know what’s right – we need to be changed so we want what is right. We not only need to make people better but for illness and disease to end.

Now we’re right to work at these things – better laws, education, medicine – they are good things. We should work at them and encourage them and celebrate the change they bring.

But we could say – they are only dealing with the symptoms. If you want to really change the world in a fundamental way – you have to deal with the cause – the heart of the problem - sin and rebellion against God.

And to do that you need someone to take our place. Someone to take our sin and all that that deserves.

That is what Jesus does - ‘It was me, I did it’. ‘He was pierced for our transgressions, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.’

That is how he brings about God’s new world. He puts this world right by taking our wrong.

3) Following God’s servant king

We’re going to finish by looking at two people who want to follow Jesus. And so show us what following him is like - and I want us to see that what following him is like – flows from who he is – that he is a king but he is also a servant.

Let’s start with second bloke here – where we see that following Jesus means putting him first.

• Putting Jesus first, 8v21-22

V21 READ.

Now it’s probably not that his father has died and is waiting for burial. He’s probably saying – I want to follow you Jesus - but let me wait until my father dies – so I can fulfil my responsibilities to him.

Jesus says – v22 READ.

Which is pretty strong isn’t it.

Jesus isn’t saying we shouldn’t ever go to funerals. Rather it’s an overstated contrast.

It’s like when he says – you can’t follow me unless you hate your father and mother. But elsewhere he says love your parents. So when he says you must hate them – he’s saying – in an over the top way - I come first.

And it’s the same here – you want to follow me but your father comes first. No – I’ve got to come first.

And that’s because of who he is – he’s the king – in charge – absolute control and authority - so he comes before anything and anyone.

But following Jesus means putting yourself out to serve others.

• Putting yourself out to serve others, v18-20

V18-19 READ.

Maybe this guy has been watching the healings – impressed by Jesus power – and he wants in – I’ll follow you.

But Jesus says v20 READ.

You want to follow me. Do you know what that means – because I don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight. Even animals have homes. But I’ve given up my rights. Because I’ve come to serve – to suffer - to die.

So following me – well I’m the suffering servant – and so following me means the same for you – it means copying that - putting yourself out – giving up your rights – to serve others.

Jesus says the same to us today if we want to follow him. I’m the king – so it means putting me first. And I’m the suffering servant – so it means serving others.

So if we believe in this Jesus – if we follow him - the question for us – the challenge – is how are we doing on putting him first and putting ourselves out serving others?

I want to say what that looks like in practice – rather than just a general statement like put him first – I want to talk about our time and energy and values and money and hobbies – because this affects everything. But if I start to say this means doing this with your time – come to church every week or whatever - or doing that with your money – it’s starts to sound like rules. And it’s not rules. It’s about a relationship with Jesus.

But it’s a relationship that effects us – it’s a relationship with a king – who has served us. And that shapes us. So let me put it like this.

Imagine someone examined your life - looked at your diary - looked at your bank statement. How you spent your time and energy. Listened to your conversations and read your messages. What would they think?

Would they say – I’ve got a weird one here. I’m mean, it’s normal enough life – they go to work see friends and all that – but it’s like someone else in their life. I look at other people’s lives and they are all about their relationship, or they are after popularity, or driven by career, or looking good, or being comfortable. Those things control them. But this one – last week they gave some money to a missionary – then they told the truth even though it didn’t go well for them – why do that – it’s like they are living for something else – someone else. Someone else is in control.

And sometimes they say no to things which would be really nice for them – last week they didn’t stay in with Netflix but travelled across town to see a friend who was down – and was no fun at all. They keep putting themselves out – for other people. There is a servant thing about them.

Now nothing wrong with Netflix sometimes. Or having fun. And the truth is our lives will be very mixed at best.

But my point is - would they see something of the shape of Jesus. See the shape of a king who is in charge. See the shape of a servant – where you put yourself out for others?

Years ago I worked with a guy who was football mad. Gary. He loved football – Fulham was his team – there every week. Just to give you an idea - once I said – I remember Southampton winning FA cup and seeing the parade. He said – 1976 – Southampton vs. Manchester United – 1-0 – goal scored by Bobby Stokes. He loved football.

One world cup - he went to every England game in their group. And that got you the right to a ticket to the final. And it was 1966. Which if you don’t know – was when England won the world cup.

But he didn’t go – because he went on a children’s summer camp, to tell kids about Jesus.

I love that. Don’t get me wrong – he could have gone to the game – no rules. Good to enjoy football. But for him, in that situation, it was him putting Jesus first. And he put himself out to serve those kids. That’s a Jesus shaped life – there’s someone who knows a king, and a king who choose to serve him.

Jesus is the king who will make the world right one day. Jesus is the servant king – who dies – takes our wrong to make the world right.

Following him means your life has got a king in it, and it’s got a servant in it.

Matthew 8 v1-13 - Nigel Beynon 1/4

Matthew 8:1-13

Over next few weeks we’re going to be looking at different problems in our world – and Jesus’ answer to them. Today – we have a leper whose body is decomposing. And a servant paralyzed suffering terribly. Death won’t be far away for them. So today is the problem of disease and death. In future weeks we have natural disasters and the problem of evil. 

I realise that doesn’t sound a very cheery series. So let me say – we are looking at answers Jesus gives. And we need answers – because while not cheery, these problems are real. 

Many of us here will be well aware of that. We’ve experienced first hand, or second hand – the awful reality of disease and dearth. Or we’re facing it now in some way. 

I want to start by asking how we react to this reality of illness and death? What emotions does it bring?

There’s obviously a spread. At one end there can be a sort of acceptance. I get a chest infection – it’s annoying but it’s just how things are. You hear on the news about an incident where people died – but it feels far away and you hear so many stories like that. Someone old dies – and get phrases like – they had a good inning. It’s a sort of acceptance – this is the way things are in this world.

It’s very different though when it’s not a small illness nor a distant reality. When it’s close and personal - serious illness – someone we love - someone who dies young. 

Do you know that poem by WH Auden: 

“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum. Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good.”

Death can bring that sense nothing can come to any good. It’s absolute despair. 

Acceptance – despair. We could add anger and hurt – and questions of why and why me and why now. As we said it’s a huge and awful reality in our world.

So let’s turn to the Bible and see what difference Jesus might make to all of that. 

First of all I want us to step back from our passage and see how the Bible views disease and death. Then we can see what’s going on here more clearly. 

1) We live in a not right world – because the world isn’t right with God.

For instance take this leper. 

God said to his people in the OT, live in relationship with me and enjoy my blessing, but if you turn against me – it’s like I’ll turn against you and your enemies will defeat you, crops won’t grow – and leprosy. 

So at this time - one of God’s people suffering leprosy isn’t just a physical condition - his body isn’t well. It actually points to a spiritual condition of things not being well with God.  

Actually if we stand further back in the Bible’s story – we find in a general sense - that is true of all sickness and death. 

Back in Genesis God made this world perfect. But then Adam and Eve say to God, I want to be in charge - run my life, my world, my way. 

And that rebellion – brings disaster into our world.

Imagine a goldfish in its bowl on top of the TV. It’s bored. Checked out most corners of this bowl – Thinks - I want to get out more – I want to live out there in lounge, and watch the TV for once.  

So it takes a running jump – or waggle – and up – on to the lounge carpet. Where it discovers it’s not going to live at all.

Its natural environment was water – that is foundational to its existence. Change that and it’s a disaster. 

Well our natural environment is living under God’s loving rule. That is foundational to our existence – and as it’s rejected – its disaster - every part of life is affected and spoilt. Relationships, marriage, work – and our health – sickness and death.  

We could sum it by saying – we live in a world that isn’t right – because the world isn’t right with God. 

You may have experienced someone dying – and feeling – it shouldn’t be like this. This is so wrong. 

The Bible agrees – God didn’t make us for this. We live in a not right world. The Bible calls it a fallen world, a cursed world. A gone wrong world. And it’s all because humanity as a whole – rejected God. 

Now let me be clear. I’m not saying that if particular person falls ill – that’s because they’ve done some specific thing wrong against God. It’s not directly causal like that. Rather sickness and death are the result of sin in general, not my personal sin in particular.  

And that is part of the difficulty of it all – we don’t know why this person, why this illness. It’s because we’re caught up in this not right world. 

And if we’re Christians, while we’re forgiven and right with God through Jesus – we’re still live in this not right world. And suffer the falleness of it. 

We live in a not right world – because the world isn’t right with God. 

I said at the start in certain circumstances we can be accepting of disease and death - that’s the way things are. And in one sense that is right – that is the world we live in. But we should never forget – this isn’t how things were meant to be. 

So if I get a chest infection, while I’m feeling terrible and drinking lemsip - I should be reminded – this shows the world that isn’t right. This week we drive past a hospital – a GP surgery – we see an ambulance on the street – it should remind us – this is all because the world isn’t right with God. It’s a sign – evidence – of this dislocation with God. 

Now at this point you might be thinking – looks like despair is the only reaction to death.  But then we read - v3 READ. Or v13 READ.  

When it comes to disease and death clearly Jesus has answers. 

But it also raises more questions – does this mean Jesus will always heal illness? Should we expect him to heal like this today?

I want to come to that question – Jesus healing now - next week. For now I want to give a big picture answer as to what is going on here. It’s a big picture of this whole chapter actually so hope it will help us to see it. 

To see that big picture – we’ve got to get one more thing clear - and that is -

2) God has promised a perfect world – where everything is right

• A perfect world, Isaiah 25v6-9

When Jesus talks to the centurion here he talks about a future day – 8v11 READ.

When Jesus talks about a meal in the kingdom of heaven – he’s referring back to promises in the OT – of a perfect world.

Let’s me read one from Isaiah 25 

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples,

A banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines. 

In other words God is going to throw a party – and it’s going to be fantastic.

Years ago I went to the wedding of an old university friend. Since university he had made lots of money in the city – and this wedding was extraordinary.  

When we went into the hall to eat – people were gasping at the forest of flowers. During the 5 course meal – my neighbour took pictures of the food – because it was so beautiful. Fantastic wine for each course.

We didn’t have time for the petit four and coffee – because we had to go to our boat that was taking us dancing down the Thames – he’d got in Carol Decker from Tai Pau – China in your hands, and Howard Jones – what is love - anyway. Which if you were a teenager in the eighties was a treat. If you weren’t you thought who’s this!

On top of all that – it was lovely to see friends, talk and laugh and celebrate together. 

But I did think – half way through – God is going to throw a much better party. This is just a taste – a glimpse of the heavenly party.

Food – wine – enjoying each another, celebration. 

And the best thing – Isaiah goes on:

On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations, he will swallow up death forever. 

My friend’s wedding was a lovely celebration of a marriage. But one day sickness and death will come. 

But in God’s party that is swallowed up. So nothing will spoil it, there will be no tears. It will be perfect.  

It’s a promise of what Jesus calls the kingdom of heaven – or what I’ve called God’s perfect world.

It’s an amazing promise isn’t it? Unbelievable. 

In fact that is just problem – the idea that one day we’ll rise with new perfect bodies that will never die and enjoy God and his people in an eternal party – frankly is a lot to believe. 

Most people would laugh at that. If we are Christians we may believe it to some degree - but it’s easily not that real to us. It can be a rather vague dream – a distant hope. 

Only then we read v3 READ. And v13 READ. 

A man claiming to be God’s king – is healing in the most amazing way. There is no examination, no prescriptions, no surgery, no drugs, no physio, no out patients visits.  

With just a touch or a word – it’s like the sickness is banished. Swallowed up.   

It’s like a little taste of that perfect world. 

3) A picture of that perfect world

In fact – that’s just the point. In this healing Jesus is giving us a picture – a foretaste – a trailer - of that perfect future from Isaiah. That’s the big point here – this is a picture of that perfect world. 

The other day I came across a promo video from a holiday company. The blurb went like this:

“A paradise of tropical sea, the fragrance of pine trees. Undefiled paths surrounded by a thousand flowers. Colourful countryside, an unreachable dream. Magical and beguiling, that’s IBIZA.”

Well – I didn’t know – but if you don’t believe it – you can watch the promo video. The strapline was: 

“See where you are going before you arrive.”

That is the sense of what Jesus is doing here. He comes into our world as God’s king - the one who will bring God’s perfect kingdom. And so he gives us a picture of it.  

As he touches the leper and the sickness is banished. As he speaks the word – and the servant is healed – it’s a glimpse of the future. It’s a moment of heaven now. It’s proof to us that one day Jesus will speak – and will bring about Isaiah 25 – and the dream will be reality. 

In the face of death despair can feel like the only option – as the poem says “nothing now can ever come to any good.” Feeling like that isn’t wrong – that’s what it can feel like in the middle of grief.

But there is an ultimate answer to sickness and death – there is a king – who will bring about God’s perfect kingdom. And here is a picture – here is proof. See where you’re going before you arrive.

Let’s finish by thinking about how we should react. 

• Entry & exclusion to God’s perfect world, 8v8-11

V10 READ. 

When Jesus says many will come from east and west he’s saying many people will be at God’s party who you wouldn’t expect – like this centurion.  While – those who would expect to be there – the subjects of the kingdom – are thrown outside. 

So this sounds serious – there is entry to the party and there is exclusion from the party. 

And the difference – the reason you get in - in a word is – faith. V10 READ. 

This centurion shows us the heart of faith is trusting Jesus above what you can see – which in his case is disease and death. 

V8b-9 READ. 

In the Roman army they had a system of delegated authority. Emperor at the top with supreme authority – then his authority is delegated down various layers - down to the centurion. That meant when the centurion spoke – he spoke with the authority of the emperor. 

He sees that Jesus is like that. He realises Jesus is from God – he’s God’s king - so he speaks with God’s authority. 

So while he can see his servant is desperately ill, there’s no hope - he can say to Jesus ‘only say the word and my servant will be healed.’ He trusts in Jesus as God’s king – in his power – in the face of disease and death. 

Same goes for us. Will we trust Jesus – beyond what we can see. 

It’s like we’ve got two things to weigh up. On one hand we’ve got the reality of disease and death. So often an overwhelming reality. Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good.”

On the other side we’ve got God’s promise of a world made right. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, he will swallow up death forever. 

Which of those is bigger to us – which is more real? So often it’s disease and death isn’t it – that’s what we see and experience. 

But in the middle there is Jesus. God’s king – God’s authority – the one who will put this world right. It’s as though he’s saying to us tonight, you’re struggling to believe that amazing future. Death feels too big and real. Let me help you. Be clean – go it will done.

Look at me. See what I can do. See where you’re going before you arrive. Have faith.