Sermons

It was the famous missionary C.T. Studd who said, ‘One life to life it soon will pass, only what’s done for Christ will last.’ Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost. He has gone away for a while and has left us here for however long he gives us to continue his work of building the kingdom and investing the good deposit of the gospel so that it would bear fruit – that it would increase and multiply. We must ask if we believe that Jesus is who he says he is and if we believe he is going to do what he says he will do? Our response to these questions will determine how we will live our lives consequently. We find in the parable different reactions to the king: There is Rebellion which leads to Retribution. Faithful Obedience for which there is reward and then unfaithful disobedience which brought rebuke.

We read this… 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. The word “peddle” is not a complimentary kind of word but using an Americanism is can mean “Huckster” or for us “trickster” or “crook”. Perhaps in the old days they would be called, “Snake oil salespeople”. You see, some of those who had come to Corinth were simply presenting themselves as superior Christians but who were doing so for free room and board and who were hoping to profit personally from their presentations. Sadly, these people had received a warm and I would dare say, “profitable” welcome at the Corinthian Church.

It isn’t that we initially said “no” to God and then said “Yes” to God and proved that by our obedience. The point is that our works prove our faith as genuine. Words can be cheap but they are not always cheap. They are only cheap if there is no “obedience” or no “action” to match them.

What Paul is writing here is that although the smell is the same to both the victor and the conquered, their reaction to the aroma is different. For one the smell of the gospel is absolutely wonderful but to the person who has rejected Christ the smell is abhorrent. It signals their demise and ultimately their final destiny. Paul here is wrapped to be part of God’s victorious church, following in the footsteps of Christ and that overshadows all the pain and heartache that comes with being an Apostle of Christ.

The parable presents us with an Exceptional Invitation, but also says there are Exclusions and those who make Excuses. As a truly terrible dinner guest, Jesus contrasts the earthly banquet he attends with the Pharisees to the heavenly banquet.  Many who believed they would be honoured will not.  Many who also believe they would be there, ultimately will not.  To be invited to the heavenly banquet is truly exceptional and is an immeasurable privilege.  We must be sure that we are not those who will be excluded and neither must we make excuses in accepting Jesus or following him today.

Church discipline is important, and love should be at its root. Not saying something to someone who is living in a way that is not in accordance with the will of God is not loving. That is akin to watching someone walking over a cliff and doing nothing to stop them. It is the duty of all of us to lovingly rebuke and exhort each other to follow Jesus. I have to admit that when it comes to the rebuking side of things that it is extremely difficult. None of us like it but in obedience to the Lord Jesus we must.

The church has struggled and we all have struggled with the urgency of gospel proclamation. A disciple of Jesus has to be someone who is concerned for those who are not just dying physically but who are still in their sin and deserving of God’s judgement.

We can see what a mess Paul was in with all this tension with the Corinthian Christians and in fact how damaging this kind of conflict can be. Firstly, it is extraordinarily damaging for Paul himself and very costly in both time and resources. Secondly, the gospel suffers. Conflict always has a detrimental effect on the proclamation of the gospel. Here was an open door and yet Paul cannot go through that door because his mind is elsewhere.

While the dishonest manager secured his short term future by the use of wealth, so too Jesus challenges us to use our wealth for the eternal future of ourselves and others.  We have to ask ourselves if our wealth will be an idol or an instrument.

Every aspect of Christ’s sufferings, leading to the cross, on the cross, were designed by God to bring about our salvation. Christ’s suffering and death are immensely powerful and effective in God achieving his purposes in the world. In the same way our sufferings and even death can be used by God to his glory.

Here we examine the Character of the Judge, the Character of the Widow, the Character of God and the Character of Prayer. This parable gives us a character by contrast.  On one hand an unjust, uncaring judge who eventually and reluctantly gives justice – is compared to a loving heavenly father who loves to give good gifts to his children.  As the widow overcame fear and had confidence to use her position before the judge, so too are you and I to come before our Father in heaven as his beloved children in persistent prayer.  Are you praying?

In this parable, we see the prodigal planner and the party pooper. As the younger son returns with his pre-prepared plan to be a hired servant and hopefully work his way back into his father’s favour, the father contradicts his plan as he welcomes him and reinstates him into the family.  It is such a clear picture of the grace and mercy of God towards us.  We cannot get ourselves right before God – it is all his grace and mercy. The older son like the younger son is also lost although it is more difficult to see.  He refuses to come into the party, he does not believe his father is acting fairly.  He shows that he like his brother also only wanted what his father could give him rather than wanting the father himself.  

This parable reveals to us a Stifled Son who Spends and the Forgiving Father who offers Freedom. The dictionary defines the word prodigal as meaning…Wasteful or recklessly extravagant: lavish or lavishly abundant.  In understanding the word we can see how the younger son in seeking freedom lived prodigally.  But we also see that the Father, like our heavenly father is prodigal in his treatment towards his returning son.  He lavishes his son with love, mercy and forgiveness.  It gives such a clear gospel picture for all those who will repent and come to God.

The people of Israel have sacrificed to the Golden Calf and God desires to reject them as his people. He promises to fulfil his word and send an angel with them, so they can conquer the Promised Land but he is not going. This causes Moses to plead with God to come. All up, a relationship with God is what is important and desirable.

Jesus could have worked the Nazareth’ crowd and performed miracles there, and they would have loved him for it. The problem would be that he would have left them in their sin. They would have thought that they were the objects of God’s love instead of the objects of His wrath. Jesus wasn’t giving in to cheap popular-ism. Jesus was there on a mission, which is to comfort those who were struggling and to challenge those who are comfortable.

In hearing a good teacher, applying God’s Word, we hear both wonderful ancient truths and new truths. Or ancient truth applied in a fresh way! These truths are not brand new or have never been heard of before but truths that touch out hearts and lives in a fresh and vigorous way. Truths that remind us that God is working in this world and has everything in his hand.

In this parable we see 2 men, 1 storm and 2 outcomes. Digging down deep to lay foundation like the wise man is hard, and in the parable the hearing and then doing the words of Jesus are compared to the energy of digging down deep enough to find solid rock.  Our obedience to God’s word and specifically to what it says about salvation will ultimately determine our eternal destiny.  Those who have built their lives on Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross will stand in the final day. There is also a challenge to Christians to be obedient to the whole word of God and not just that word for salvation.

In this section of Scripture, Jesus is pictured as he really is. He is pictured as a King, coming in all his glory with his angels. He then calls the nations before him and he is placing all humanity into two distinct camps. He is separating the sheep from the goats. On the day of judgement, we will be placed in one camp or the other camp, we will be separated to be on his right or left hand. So, what puts one among the sheep? What puts one onto the right side of Jesus and he give us the answer in our text.

In this parable we see that something is going to happen and that therefore there is something we have to do. Jesus has come once and he’s coming back again.  When he returns, he will take with him to heaven, to the marriage supper of the lamb, all those who have accepted him as their saviour.  Knowing he is coming back then, we must be ready for that day.

What Paul is addressing here is something that the church has had to face many, many times. The Christian Church has had to face attack after attack upon the very centre of its faith, which is the claim that Jesus did not rise physically from the dead.

Joseph, was one of those men who was in the top echelon of Jewish society. He was one of the 70 men who made up the Jewish supreme council. He rubbed shoulders with all those who were in power. He would have had access to the High Priest and in fact, as we read here, he had access to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. Joseph, was a man of power, a man of means and as the gospels tells us he was a man who was also good.

In this parable we find a servant as a debtor, a creditor and finally a prisoner. Having been forgiven so much he should have forgiven the one in debt to him.  For the Christian, having been forgiven such a great amount we must also forgive others  For the Christian forgiveness towards others is not only possible, but it is necessary.

No doubt those who heard this parable, especially the disciples who were fisherman, knew exactly what Jesus was talking about when he spoke about a dragnet. Once the fish were brought to shore, a judgement would have to be made about the fish. Which one’s made good eating and which ones did not! The good ones would be collected and the bad ones were just discarded as being of no value. Jesus simply says that this is how it will be at the end of the age! The angels will come forth and separate the wicked from the righteous.

Many of those who followed Jesus then leave – perhaps in dribs and drabs. If Jesus wasn’t going to give them more to eat and perform other amazing miracles they were out of there. At the end Jesus is left only with the twelve. While the great crowds were curious about Jesus – even wanting more miracles from him, they were not prepared to put their faith in him.

In this parable we examine the character of the king, the conduct of the subjects of the kingdom. The Master in the parable, like Jesus, incarnates his deep concern for the poor as he shows costly love.  The master’s generosity and compassion give the labourers great hope which we likewise must show to others, that they might find hope in this world.  The Master’s treatment of his workers prompts those hired last to ask whether he has been fair to them?  As Christians we might also ask whether God has been fair to us in certain circumstances.  In light of the gospel however we know that he has been more than fair to us.

What does the church need today? The church needs men and women who are strong and courageous and in terms of Joshua 1, do not turn away from the Word of God, to the right or the left (Joshua 1:7). We especially need that of our leaders in the church. We need leaders who are determined to serve the Lord faithfully, sometimes at great cost to themselves.

Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of God is like a treasure. It is something of unsurpassed value. The discovery of it is fabulous and leads to joy. In simple language, a relationship with Jesus is simply something of unsurpassed value.

What makes Andrew so interesting is that Andrew was someone who hungered and thirsted for a Saviour. He was super keen on finding out more about God and finding someone who could speak into his soul. Andrew started as a follower of John the Baptist and although he loved John’s message he hadn’t come to that point in his life where he knew what it was to experience forgiveness and grace.

While the world says that Christianity is irrelevant and that this or that movement is far more significant, the truth is that the Kingdom of God is something that grows and we look back at 2000 years of history and we know that! This is a parable of hope and speaks of growth and hope. Even in countries where Christianity has gone backwards, there can always be revival and new beginnings. The fact that the Kingdom of God grows from small beginnings is hugely comforting for us because our efforts are often small and yet God can do great things.

Strangely, because of the culture we live in, the word “submission” irritates us and gets us worked up, hot under the collar. Yet, in reality I believe we actually find submission attractive. Just a few example! We have all been to the supermarket and watched the child do a tantrum at the cash registers. Yesterday, I was at an Ice Cream parlour and the high pitch squeal from the child could have been used as a weapon. The child of course was protesting about the flavour of the ice cream he was given. Standing there, you don’t think to yourself, “That was attractive.” In the same way – when you see a married couple bickering or people throwing stones at the Police in a protest – the word “attractive” isn’t the first word that comes to mind. When chaos reigns in a country we don’t think to ourselves – “Yes, I want to go there.” Killing, mayhem and chaos don’t attract most people. A society can only work if there is submission to those in authority! Families can only work that way. An absence of authority leads to chaos. “Submission” is a great theme of Scripture. Submission to God appointed authorities and it is part of doing good and attracting people to the gospel.