You May As Well Submit: Di Oliver

 Zephaniah 3:14-end, Luke 3:7-18

Good Christian Men rejoice
with heart and soul and voice
Give ye heed to what you hear
News! News! Jesus Christ is born today
He hath ope’d the heavenly door
Now ye need not fear the grave
Christ was born to save
Christ was born to save

So what’s the good news about Christmas?
Jesus: born a baby, dies a saviour, rises as Lord
So where do we get stuck?

• If we don’t actually get the good news for ourselves we don’t stand a chance of portraying it right
• If we do get the good news for ourselves why are we so rubbish at telling others

Johns message is one of repentance in our actions: don't just say sorry – do sorry.

• Selfless living
• Generous living
• Sinless living

And it seems to me that we often start here and stop here.
We teach our kids: be kind, be helpful, be truthful
schools have standards of behaviour, communities have laws of behaviour

John the Baptist says how it should be: generosity, equity, respect
But John doesn’t stop there

The law is not enough

the task is mission impossible

– the most important bit comes next
One more powerful will come – he will baptize (= saturate ) you with the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit refines and enables

Why do we fall into the trap of preaching good behaviour? I suspect it’s partly because unfortunately that’s what we’re suckered into trying to do ourselves:

People / Christians wrestle with God

• some because they don’t want to go on his mission
• some because they have intellectual issues - e.g. They don’t get how God seemingly allows tragedy
• lots who actually wrestle with God wrestle with the idea of grace – they won’t accept it! They believe they must earn or bargain a route to heaven by their good works by sharing clothes, food, money and honesty. They have to deserve it.
  
  They will not accept Gods Grace (when God gives us the things we don’t deserve).
  Such people need to prove their worth to God and wrestle, unlike Jacob who wrestled with God until he got his undeserved blessing, we are more likely to say,

“I’ll not let you bless me – let me go”

If that’s you – you know what? This morning you may as well submit! He's not going to let go!

Christ in the manger, came because only by his grace can you be forgiven and become acceptable to him

"I submit to Christ"
- by his grace you become free
- by his power you will begin to do things his way

It’s not

do and then get grace

It’s

get grace and doing will flow

The Zephaniah reading from the Old Testament is full of hope

I want us to learn vs 17 by heart:
"The Lord your God is with you,
    he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
    he will quiet you with his love,
    he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Hold onto that amazing idea: God is singing over you!

Final thought:

Once we, each of us, submit to Christ then we stand a chance of explaining to others

Most people out there have a sense of right and wrong; they know they’re not all right but they have no wish to be condemned especially by a church who tell them the advent message of John the Baptist and forget the Christmas birth of Jesus and his Easter death and resurrection.

They fear God watching them and condemning them; They try to do some worthy things so that in emergencies they have enough credit with God to bargain for his intervention when family are ill or friends are in danger. 

People out there think of God rather like Santa Clause – someone who knows if they are naughty or nice!

"He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been good or bad
So be good for goodness sake."

There are masses of colleagues, family, friends, neighbours who, like the population of Jesus’ time, need to hear the good news of Christmas

Watch this: http://vimeo.com/10ofthose/santa

Hands, Knees and .....

Isaiah 35  All Saints Allesley 18-12-12

Isaiah 1-39 is written to warn of a coming disastrous judgement by God on His people.

What do the people of God need help with as they wait for the coming kingdom?

How are they to maintain hope? Can you empathise?

The Abilities Hands are fantastic – how we manipulate our environment. How we care for ourselves – washing, clothing, pushing buttons, eating, defending. How we care for others – helping, greeting, supporting, caressing.

Knees are stupendous – how we stay mobile and responsive. Standing, walking, jumping, climbing, dancing. Adapting to shifting decks and uneven roads. Being flexible and responsive.

Hearts can't be beaten – pumping oxygen and other life sustaining elements to keep our bodies alive and healthy. But also a seat of our emotional life – love, compassion, passion, motivation. In scripture it is also the seat of rational thought.

The Problems

Feeble Hands – Its hard if you develop carpel tunnel syndrome, if you are affected by organo-phosphates: your small motor actions are debilitated. Getting dressed. Jar opening. Cooking. Caring. All become difficult or impossible. Even wrapping your hands in thick gloves for protection limits function. Are your hands feeble?

Weak Knees – A "weak-kneed" person is one lacking in moral fibre. If your knees are dodgy you will be less able to cope with rough ground. Having sat down its hard to get up again leading to  – inertia – playing safe – inflexibility- unresponsiveness – avoiding challenges...

Fearful Hearts – hearts are not just not just emotion but intellect – fearfulnesss leads to us being overwhelmed by self concern – its all about “me” - a tendency towards pessimism – demotivation – disengagement.

The Help

How do wedo what Isaiah was charged to do?

Strengthen feeble Hands: Get people to take the gloves off, get your hands dirty, get to grips with reality, feel your way in, risk damage. Cut your decorative nails. Don't see yourself as insulated by city walls, tradition, family connection, priest or temple. If your spiritual life limited to a set pattern of church services be more intentional and adventurous in prayer, in fellowship, in serving.

Steady weak  knees: Use sticks, proper exercise, enough rest. If your knees are clogged with debris from previous trauma or arthritis you may need atheroscopic flushing or even a complete replacement. In other words: use the support network that is there for you already: Cell – church fellowship – prayer board – healing team – bible note. They can all be sticks to support us in our weakness. Sometimes its getting up off your settee and doing things so you don't seize up. For others its about knowing that we need to get on the settee more and rest to renew strength. Yes for many of us we do need remedial work. Our flexibility is hampered with the debris of previous unresolved hurts and failures. Bitterness and resentment are like bits of torn cartilage or arthritic swellings that painfully restrict our movement. Confession, repentance & forgiveness can flush these out. Or we may need the deeper surgery of conversion.

Encourage fearful hearts: Look what can be achieved. Look what God has already done. “Whatsoever things are good.....think on these things” advises St.Paul. Remember the cloud of witnesses on your side. Watch your “diet” , balance the secularist agenda of the media with Christian input. Look out for opportunities to celebrate what God is doing: youth prayers, CHIPS visit, APCM, Archbishop, wider church.

CONCLUSION: It's not just about feeling guilty. It's not just about telling ourselves “Shape up!”. We need to know that God calls us and the He will enable us. We may have to wait (The exiles waited a generation) but God's promise is sure.When you are going through it - remember that He goes through it with you.

Are you perfect? 

What do you want God to do for your feeble hands, weak knees, fearful heart?

All Saints Word: Advent - Jim Currin

Advent 2012 Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36

Have you done any work on their ancestry? Did you find any skeletons in the cupboard?

 

My mother is a ‘silver surfer’ and produced a great big file, on both sides of the family, that goes back several generations. So I now know that: In Leicester, my great, great Grandfather on my mother’s side (William Jennings) is buried among the great 100 in the Welford Rd cemetery. On the day we visited we could hear the crowd roar at Leicester City Football club, just down the road, fitting as William Jennings was the founder and first director of Leicester City Football Club.

Currins have a history of being Irish including , a canal navvy and a disputed descendant of King Edward III.

Ancestry is important – it says who we are. It can make things difficult if you don’t know, especially at Christmas.

Read Luke 1, to see the ancestry of Jesus

Where does it connect with the reading from Jeremiah?

Jeremiah was called aged 20. he was a prophet for 40 years. Not sure if he was paid, probably didn’t make any profit as a prophet! If you wanted to be rich as a prophet you made sure that you prophesied positive things for the wealthy and powerful. Oh, Jeremiah! You wouldn't have lasted long on “The Apprentice”.

According to worldly values of achievement and wealth Jeremiah is a failure.

40 years God’s spokesman in Judah, but when he spoke no-one listened. Imprisoned in ch 37; down a cistern ch 38; taken off to Egypt ch 43. Rejected by neighbours 11:19; and by family 12:6; opposed by false prophets 20:1,2 and ch 28; abandoned by friends 20:10, and his audience 26:8; and finally by the kings 36:23.

If we ask about how accurate his prophecy was he was a success.

His words about an ‘army invading from the north’ is attested by history. Read the account of the fall of Jerusalem in ch 52. His prophesy about the Branch of David as the ‘Lord our righteousness’ came true with the coming of Christ.

And by God’s values of faith and obedience Jeremiah was also success!

He was given an unpopular message and he didn’t understand what he was talking about! God did, but he didn’t, just had to be obedient. Jeremiah didn't ask “Will the be popular?”, “Will this be heard?” “Will this be effective?”. He just spoke out.

What does he speak out? He talks about:

a) David’s line – still important for the people of God in Israel. All are ‘sons of Abraham’, but you are special if you can trace your ancestry to David’s line – Read what the angel says in Mt 1:20 re Joseph.

b) The ‘Righteous branch’ of David, and compares the worldly King with a Godly King. Worldy King David had his failures – to get Bathsheba he murdered her husband Uriah and mounted a cover up, lying and using war as a smokescreen. If they had had phones in those days he would have hacked them.

c) The Godly King (Jesus.) The passage in Jeremiah, almost same as Jeremiah 23: 5 – refers to perfect King of David's line who will reign wisely – and what was engraved on the cross of Jesus?– King of the Jews.

Advent is all about the coming kingdom of God in Christ, the righteous branch of David. Spiritual king. Spiritual kingdom. God’s kingdom. We are called to help to re-establish God’s rule where we are today. We pray, ‘Your kingdom come’ asking for that to be real, ‘on earth’ as in Heaven.

It is Advent: the King is Coming! It is a season for reflection, prayer ,reading and fasting. But its not just about a personal inner spiritual cleanliness. 

For Christians, peace in the Middle East isn’t just about people getting on together, it is also about a right interpretation of the words of the law and the prophets – and God’s rule where all repent and acknowledge him. We should engage with this situation now.

Loving your neighbour isn’t just about being nice to people like Jesus said, it is also about the most important value of the kingdom, and first fruit of the spirit ‘love joy peace’. We should engage with these situations now.

Respecting people of other creeds, colour and nationality, isn’t just about trying to get on together and appreciating each others gifts, it’s also about the kingdom value where there is neither male not female, Jew or greek, slave for free. We should engage with these situations now.

Creating community in the village of Allesley isn’t just about making it a nice place so we keep our house prices high, and school reputation good, it is also about God, Father son and Holy Spirit being three in one – community is at the heart of God. We should engage with these situations now.

Work, rest and play are not just what we need to pay the mortgage, put our feet up, and enjoy ourselves, it is the pattern established by God at the beginning of creation – if you like the start of his kingdom. Some of us need to work harder and others rest more. We should engage with these situations now.

Coming to church isn’t just about enjoying the worship or keeping a heritage, it is about trying to live out the kingdom of God together, here , meeting to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We should engage with these situations now.

Reading the Bible isn’t just about beautiful poetry and an amazing account of the history of the world, it is also an description of God’s kingdom rule, illustrating who did and who didn’t put God first – and the consequences as Jeremiah prophesied. And this is to help us to engage with the coming of the Kingdom of God for which we pray.

So, you see, the Kingdom of God isn’t just about church and religion its about everything. Concern for the Ice cap and rain forest, isn’t just about climate change and earth resources, it is also about God’s world and our stewardship of his creation as a place for all God’s creatures to live. 

The Leveson enquiry isn’t just about catching up with criminal activity, it is about the seeking God’s kingdom values of truth and justice 

The Foodbank isn’t just way of helping the poor and the dispossessed, it is also about sharing our wealth and valuing the other person who can also be part of God’s kingdom.

That is our ancestry, our DNA. It is a great challenge – but a great encouragement. When you wonder if we are really up to this, remember: 

It's in our blood. 

Capt Jim Currin C.A.