Sermons

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.

God wants us to live a life that would bring glory and honour to the son who saved us. God wants us to live a life that would be in keeping with who Christ is. Peter’s letter goes on to encourage us to see Christ as the example for Christian living. New Testament worship is not in itself simply singing praise, but listening well, obedience, acting well, serving well, living well. Every aspect of our lives should resound with praise to God. When suffering comes our way, we need to remember our privileges as Christians We have sins forgive in Christ. We have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.. in Christ. People talk about every cloud having a silver lining but we talk about the fact that the future glory far outweighs any suffering or disappointment we have now. Our privilege must result in praise and worship.

Many of us don’t like to be black and white when it comes to basically two kinds of people on earth. Many of us like to think that there are far more categories of people There may be some who are neutral. During WW1 and 2 in Europe there were some countries that declared neutrality. They didn’t want to be involved and they didn’t want to pick sides. Some, of course, would like to think that there are other categories for other religions and philosophies. Yet, Jesus reduces them to two categories and I think we must stick to the categories that Jesus gives us.

A teacher, preacher, evangelist’s role is to effectively sow the seed. In other words, he has to faithfully proclaim, to the best of his ability, the Word of God. Yet, he is not responsible for the germination and growth of the seed – God does that!  Unlike a salesman who is judged on sales, a kingdom worker is judged on his labour, not by his fruit. For you and me, our responsibility is to be sowers. We can do so in all kinds of ways to all kinds of people.For those who hear the gospel, the question is this, “Is your heart open to the gospel? Are you receptive to God’s truth?”

Although Anna never left the environs of the temple, she was aware that something was missing. For starters, all the temple extensions had been paid for by Herod, the King. He wasn’t even a Jew and righteous, he wasn’t. Secondly, the temple did not have the Ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies. In that sense it wasn’t the temple that Solomon had built, 1000 years earlier. Lastly, she would have noticed the ritualism and corruption that had become the part of the temples operation. The temple drew her each day, but she wanted something more – she longed for a Messiah – the one promised in the Scriptures. Anna was sick of second best and longed for something better and greater by far! Anna had been on the lookout for decades – waiting for the Messiah to come to the temple and then, there he was!

Each of these women, (Eve, Sarah, Rahab, Ruth, Mary) highlight for us what it is to be a Christian. Each of them brings out an aspect of the Christian faith that is essential. • Eve hoped for a Saviour that would defeat the hated Satan. We know that was fulfilled with Jesus was born into the world. • Sarah trusted in the Promises of God that one day she would have a child, a child who would be a blessing to the World. That Promise of God was fulfilled at Bethlehem. • Rahab was a woman that put her faith into action. She bravely put her life on the line for the people of God. She stands as a wonderful ancestor to the Lord Jesus who said to His Father, “Into your hands I place my Spirit.” • Ruth was a woman who expressed her faith in God and we know that Jesus taught his disciples the same thing and that each of us must be able to articulate the hope that we have. • Mary, the human mother of Jesus, fully submitted to the Word of God. Jesus when tempted by the Devil said, “Man does not live by bread alone but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus taught us all to build our lives on the rock of God’s Word.

When we pray in our need, and God answers our prayer in his grace, we have to see it as more than simply an answer to prayer. When God answers someone, heals someone, restores someone, grants work to someone we are seeing how God acts. When we see Jesus born in a manger at Bethlehem, when we see him born in humble circumstances there, we also know that after his death and resurrection, he rose up to sit at God’s right hand and to rule everything for the sake of the church. God works that way! God raises us up and grant us salvation, which should give us ammunition to praise God with our whole being. • Every time God lifts us out of the miry bog and puts our feet on a rock, we should praise our God! • Every time God acts our mind should move from our circumstances to the greatness of God and an even better understanding of how God operates.

14:20 “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” It is for this reason that Paul pleads with the Corinthian Christians to exhibit some measure of restraint, some measure of control. That is, I believe the primary reason for what Paul is writing here this here. It seems obviously that their worship services were run in a chaotic way. Multiple people speaking at once, no particular rhyme or reason for doing anything much at all! There are two basic situations that Paul is dealing with here. • Firstly, verses 1 – 19 deal with how Christians relate to one another and • Secondly, verses 20 – 25 deal with what kind of impression Christians make on those who are visiting or are non-believers.

Elimilech and family leave the promised land and Ruth makes the most beautiful profession of faith. Whenever a person reaches for the Lord we generally see a number of factors in play. We often see a profound disappointment with what life is currently offering and we see a real desire to come into fellowship with the God of Israel. During Jesus’s ministry on earth, many of his followers were leaving him. He asked the 12 disciples, “Why are you not leaving.” They said, “For you alone have the words of eternal life.” (John) For Ruth, this wasn’t a spur of the moment decision! It wasn’t a warm glow after a great Church service or rally. This was made on the dusty road. Her home, family, people were there behind her. Her uncertain future loomed in the distance. Yet, she chose the better path. She chose the path to the Lord God and I have to say that in one sense it was illogical and yet in another way, the most logical choice that anyone can make. Naomi thought it illogical and yet Ruth, through the mysterious workings of the Holy Spirit, drew near to God.  

Why did Rahab throw her lot in with the people of God? This “throwing one’s lot in” with the people of God wasn’t something that she did on a whim or because the spies had as much sex appeal as Ian Flemmings’ James Bond. She threw her lot in with the people of God because she knew that the Lord God had given the people of Israel the land of Canaan. In doing that she had turned her back on her own life, and her own people and indeed her own gods.

The Corinthians were an enthusiastic but immature church. The funny thing, however, is that they felt superior to others as if they had it all together as a church community. They looked at their ministries, their cleverness, their knowledge of Greek philosophy, their insightful members, their particular set of gifts and they actually thought that they had made it. That they were as perfect a church, as there could be. There was a smugness about them as a Christian community. Somehow the Corinthian Christians had misunderstood what maturity was. Maturity or perfection is to be like God, to be like Christ and what characterises God and Christ is the word “love.” Christian maturity and Christian love go hand in hand.

Are you a man or woman of faith? Do you believe in the Promises of God to you?  Eve’s disobedience brought untold misery to the world. Yet, I believe we will meet her again in heaven, for only one reason. She was a woman of hope. She believed in the Promises of God. Surely that is what it is to be one of God’s people!

The love Christians demonstrate to each other is immensely powerful. It is simply a wonderful testimony to your faith in God. It is very attractive in a person. If members of a church exhibit love to each other, it makes the church massively attractive. On the other hand, if we act like little children, we can be immensely unattractive to the community around us. In this sermon we look at various attributes of love.

Now imagine that we had a drummer here today just hitting the cymbals continuously. Ding, ding, ding, ding. I wonder how long you would put up with it. It would drive you crazy. The problem with a cymbal or a gong is that they are simply a one note instrument. A Christian that ministers to others, without love, even in the most impressive ways is simply a loud and unpleasant noise, in the ears of God!

Thus, when it comes to ministries in the church, there has to be a deep appreciation of what others do, as well as a modesty/humility in regard to what we do! None of us should think to ourselves that our ministry is the only one that counts. All of us have been granted ministries by God to be used for building up the body. The only sin here is not to use what God has given us.

My thoughts have progressed over the years from… “Spiritual Gifts” given only after our conversion or coming to an age where we understood the Christian faith. “Spiritual Gift” becomes “Anything” (ability) used in a way to build up God’s Kingdom and bless his church. The Holy Spirit calls and places us into “various ministries” that build up the community that he has formed.” Kenneth Berding has influenced me here and I believe we have misunderstood the Greek terms used by Paul and translated them badly as “spiritual gifts”. I have come to believe that when we talk about “spiritual gifts” that it simply leads to pride and that instead we should concentrate on the ministries and opportunities that God has given us.

The Lord’s Supper, which was meant to be an earthly picture of a heavenly reality, had become disfigured and was now a really ugly picture of Christ’s Church. Paul, in that sense says, “It does more harm than good…” (v. 17). He suggests to the rich that if they are hungry they eat at home, but don’t humiliate those who have very little (v. 22). The words the Apostle Paul uses in verse 22 are “despise” and “humiliate.” One of things that ought to stand out in a church, a community of grace, is that divisions between people ought to be very small! It doesn’t matter whether you are a new Christian or an old one. It doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor. Your ethnic background ought to make no difference! Nobody should be despised or humiliated in God’s Church! We are all saved by the same Lord and master.

True spirituality is not seen in the what we do or in ecstatic experiences but in love for the body and obedience to the Lordship of Christ. There is a great problem with the Corinthian query or fixation about “spiritual things/persons” because it shows that the Christians at Corinth were looking around too much. They were comparing themselves with each other and making conclusions that they wanted Paul to verify for them. Paul does his best to simply divert their attention away from what they are doing or how they are doing it to speak about life in the church, which he describes as a body and the importance of faith, hope and love.

Sometimes we can feel superior, like we would never fail ourselves, in a sense flirting with the devil and it is at that point that we fall again into sin. In terms of 1 Corinthians 8 you might feel very confident that you would never think of idol worship as anything. In fact, you could easily go to the temple, even eat there, and be totally unaffected by what happens there. Yet, Paul tells us that this is precisely where we can fall! It could be a bit like a happily married man flirting with a woman in his office but confident that it would only remain flirting and that it would never go to another level. Isn’t he risking a great deal doing that!  It could be like a reformed alcoholic going with his mates to the pub and thinking that he would never be tempted to pick up a drink – despite the atmosphere or his mates urging him on.

Paul demonstrates that Christian ministers deserve material support, while at the same time saying that he is forgoing that support for the sake of the gospel. Now, this whole area demands Christian discernment and that is what Paul is pleading for in chapter 8. The thing is that perhaps some in the Corinthian Church thought to themselves that Paul was being hypocritical. After-all, he wasn’t there and he perhaps was still eating steak and roast lamb! Perhaps they wanted to use the “It is not fair” card? Why should they be told not to eat meat sacrificed to idols when Paul himself was probably choosing what kind of gravy to put on his steak! Yet, chapter 9 clears this up! Whatever sacrifices the Corinthians were making in regard to not eating food sacrificed to idols was nothing compared to what the Apostle Paul was sacrificing. For the sake of the gospel he was even willing not to take any means of support for his work as an Apostle and teacher.

The important thing is to exercise the freedom we have in Christ in a loving and sensitive way. I don’t believe a person can say to you, “Well I have a weak conscience, so you have to give up doing something.” Rather, I think the onus is on the person who knows they are not doing anything wrong to think, in this area, I can compromise for the love of my brother or sister. I sometimes say, “You can be absolutely right and yet absolutely wrong.” The reason I say that is that you can be right in what you think and believe but lack wisdom in how you apply that knowledge in a situation.