John’s Passion - Jesus Arrested

Isaiah 53:4–7

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

John 18:1-14

Jesus Arrested

When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.

Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”

And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

“I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Jesus Taken to Annas

Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.

The authority, compassion and obedience of Jesus deliver salvation to all

There are some words that, to my mind, are very much over-used these days, to the point that we have lost the real sense of their meaning. One of my particular bête noirs is the word 'iconic'. The true meaning relates to an image that transports us in our minds – think of the religious icons of Russian orthodoxy. But it's been diluted down and is used now of anything that's impressive – from the 'iconic Atlantic highway' of southern Ireland to some iconic radio show or an iconic goal in football. Can a goal in football really transport us in our minds?

Another word similarly over-used is the word passion. It seems you can't have a hobby or an interest any more – it must be a passion. I have a passion for baking, a passion for gardening, a passion for fashion. The other day I was driving behind a lorry on the motorway with the sign 'Fred Bloggs haulier – logistics is our passion'.

But let's not forget the origin of the word passion. It's from the Latin word passionem, meaning suffering. Over the centuries the meaning has adapted, such that the proper sense now is of an overwhelming feeling – a passion masters the mind, so that the person becomes seemingly its instrument. There's almost a painful subjection to the feeling or emotion.

We can understand that in the sense of romantic passion – it overwhelms the heart and will. Sometimes love hurts. But when someone says they have a passion for growing vegetables, we need to ask ... is it really a passion? Or is it simply a hobby?

Today we begin a new sermon series that is about passion in its truest, original sense – the Passion of Jesus, as recorded in the gospel of John.

The word passion was coined by the French way back in the 10th Century specifically to denote the sufferings of Christ and later extended to express the sufferings of Christian martyrs. And from it we derive words like compassion – the feeling of sorrow or tenderness for one who is suffering.

And John leads us through Christ's passion, his sufferings, across two chapters in his gospel, which we shall be studying in instalments over the next seven weeks. We'll see how his passion reveals his character – his majesty, his love, his obedience, his victory – as well as the salvation that he won for us through his suffering.

This is a passion that occurred 2000 years ago, but whose impact is still as fresh and vital as the day the drama was cast. And today we begin with the overture to his suffering – the arrest in Gethsemane.

Gethsemane was a garden about a mile outside the centre of Jerusalem, across the Kidron valley on the side of the Mount of Olives. We don't know who owned it, but Jesus and his disciples knew the place well. On that Maundy Thursday evening it would have provided welcome tranquillity after the crush of Jerusalem city which was packed out with pilgrims celebrating the Passover.

From the other gospels we know that Jesus retired there with his closest friends to pray; John omits this hour of prayer and just cuts to the chase – his betrayal and arrest. So, what do we learn is this first instalment of the Passion of Jesus? Three things:

1. The authority of Jesus

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. John 18:4

Judas the traitor has arrived with a posse – the Temple Guard, and with them a detachment of Roman soldiers. The authorities had seen how the crowds had responded to this man on Palm Sunday just a few days ago. The soldiers were in town as they usually were at times of public gatherings when nationalist sentiment might flare into violence – so they were taking no chances. They came to arrest this unarmed man with the full might and authority of the Temple and the Roman Garrison. But their confidence and their pumped-up authority soon melted away before the authority of Jesus. At their first encounter, they drew back and fell to the ground. Why did they do that? Well, it's highly significant how the conversation went.

"Who is it you want?" asks Jesus. "Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "I am he," Jesus said.

In fact in the Greek he simply says 'I am'. And the grammar is emphatic: I AM! John repeats the phrase three times in his account to emphasize its importance. In a sense Jesus' reply is ambiguous: he could just be saying, yes, that's me... but equally it would not have been lost on the Jewish members of the arrest party that this was exactly how God named himself in Exodus 3:14, where we read this:

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

Whether it was the name, or just the dignity and authority of Jesus' presence, the men drew back and fell to the ground. They realized they were in the presence of no ordinary man.

And John testifies further to his authority in verse 4 – we read that Jesus knew all that was about to happen, and he took the initiative – he went out to meet the detachment of soldiers and to enquire who they wanted, knowing full well who they had come for. Jesus, remarkably, was fully in control of the events of that fateful evening.

And Jesus remains in control of the events that affect our lives today. Perhaps sometimes we fear that our prayers fall on deaf ears, or that the forces of evil are just too strong for the forces of good. We despair at the fate of our world, our loved ones, our own predicaments. But be assured, Jesus always has the authority – he is sovereign over the events of the world now, just as he was then.

But we cannot always understand his ways. His disciples – Peter especially – could not understand why he seemed to be giving up without a fight and even drew his own sword; but Jesus' plans were greater than Peter could ever conceive. Jesus would bring a far better and greater outcome from this torrid evening, that would be a blessing for the entire world for all time. And when we are struggling, we too must place our trust in the authority of Jesus – for in the words of St Paul,

...we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

2. The compassion of Jesus

Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me." John 18:7

Even at the point of highest tension, Jesus does not forget his disciples – charging the arrest party to let these men go. They must come to no harm, for he had prayed in the previous chapter before they set out for Gethsemane that God would protect his followers. And his compassion even extends to the man whose ear Peter rashly cut with his sword – healing it on the spot.

Jesus' compassion extends further than anything you or I might feel. Remember he wept over Jerusalem; he wept for his friend Lazarus. He is the good shepherd who is committed to his sheep. Wherever the metaphorical wolf might attack in our lives – in feelings of fear, or guilt, or inadequacy, or failure, Jesus commands: 'let my disciple go'.

As he drew the enmity of the arrest party fully upon himself, so that his disciples might go free, he provided a picture of the whole work of salvation. The culmination of this terrible 24 hours was to be his own execution – taking our place, absorbing our guilt and all its implications, that we might also go free.

3. The obedience of Jesus

They brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people. John 18:13-14

Caiaphas had unknowingly prophesied the fate of Jesus – that one man die for the people. John explains this in Chapter 11 of his Gospel – in the aftermath of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the Jewish authorities became excitable about where this would all end.

Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. John 11:49

Caiaphas didn't realize the cosmic implication of his prophesy. He just saw it in political terms – a way to avoid Rome coming down heavily on the Jewish nation. But what he unwittingly outlines was the salvation plan of God – that this one man, Jesus, would indeed die in the place of the children of God, to bring them together, to grant them forgiveness and eternal life. To atone for their sin and to grant them salvation.

Praise God for his words – spoken in ignorance, and yet offering blessing and hope even to us who sit here today. For Jesus did not shrink from obedience to that mission of atonement. He spoke these words to Peter:

"Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" John 18:11

What was that cup that he needed to drink? It was the cup of judgment. In the words of our psalm

it is God who judges: ...In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs. Psalm 75:7

Jesus did not shrink from drinking that cup, taking upon himself the punishment, the judgement that should have been ours. And he would drink it down to its very dregs, to the point that 'I thirst' became 'It is finished'.

The passion of Jesus is a dreadful thing – and yet also a glorious thing. Love hurts – and Jesus' love for humanity hurt to the point of death. In the words we heard from the prophet Isaiah:

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5

By his wounds we are healed. Do you know that in your heart? Can you say with me:

I will sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me
How He left the realms of glory
For the cross of Calvary

Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me
Sing it with the saints in glory
Gathered by the crystal sea

Episodes from Acts - Cornelius

Acts 10:1-6, 39-48

Cornelius Calls for Peter

1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

4Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

5The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

Peter at Cornelius’ House

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

47Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48So he ordered that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Matthew 8:5–13

The Faith of the Centurion

5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralysed and in terrible suffering.”

7Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”

8The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

The Gospel unites all who look to Christ to deal with their sin

One of the unexpected delights of the Christian Faith for me has been coming to an understanding of the global nature of the church. As a young medical student, I spent some time on placement in South Africa and became part of a lively suburban church there; it was still in the days of apartheid so, of necessity, it was an all-white church. But I was also invited to join a special evening meeting of the Nurses’ Christian Fellowship at the hospital where I was working. It was a mission hospital so most of the nurses were black Africans. Unfortunately, the evening wasn’t quite as uplifting as I had expected as the guest speaker gave an extraordinarily long talk - entirely in Zulu. To this day I have absolutely no idea what he was on about.

Over the years I have met enthusiastic and spirit-filled Christians from across the world - from Malaysia, South Africa, America, Portugal, Austria, France, Ghana, Jamaica. And the thing that strikes me about them is what we sometimes call the ‘bond of faith’ - it’s as if we already knew them when we first met them. We know where they’re coming from in terms of faith and world view. That’s often displayed as a warmth of character and an openness in friendship - what Paul referred to in Phil 2 as:

being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind

That spirit of trust, love, and unity is very special amongst Christians from across the globe.

But it wasn’t always that way - St Peter had to be educated about that, as we find in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

You see, the early church started off exclusively Jewish. At Pentecost, we read that the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jews. Luke tells us that those in Jerusalem were God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven, both Jews by birth, and converts to Judaism. Pentecost was essentially a Jewish event.

But God never meant the Gospel to stay restricted to the Jews. And as the gospel of Jesus Christ spread, it spread first among the Jews, Acts 2; and then to the Samaritans (who you might say were cousins of the Jewish faith) in Acts 8; and now, in Acts 10, to the Gentiles. And actually, Jesus had already charged his apostles with this three-fold mission in Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

You’ll know by now that we’re following a sermon series on various characters in the Acts of the Apostles - and today we come to Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, who with his family was the first Gentile convert to be recorded in the New Testament. So let’s see what happened and what we might learn for our own times. 3 headings

1. An opening of the mind

Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. Acts 10:34-35

We didn’t read the whole story of what happened between Cornelius and Peter, simply because it runs for some 48 verses. What we missed out was Peter’s vision which comes in the middle of the passage.

You see, just as Cornelius in Caesarea had his afternoon vision from God telling him to send for Simon Peter, who was 40 miles away in Joppa, so Peter had his own vision. His came the following day. It was noon, and Peter was up on the roof of the house in Joppa. He was hungry and he was waiting to be called down for lunch. And we read that in his vision,

He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." Acts 10:11-15

This happened three times. Peter was puzzled by what it meant, but then Cornelius’ men arrived and knocked on the door. At that point Peter had a second vision telling him to go with them to Caesarea. And as he arrived there, the penny dropped for Peter - that he was to preach to this Gentile centurion and his family and to share the gospel with them. As Peter himself says in v28

"You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean".

And so, as we heard from our reading, Peter explained the good news of Jesus Christ, culminating in the key line:

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." 10:43

Peter found himself pushing against an open door - Cornelius and all his household believed and came to faith in Christ there and then. They became the first Gentile Christians. So what changed in their belief?

2. An opening of the heart

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. Acts 10:1-2

Cornelius was a good man. He wasn’t a Jew, but equally he doesn’t appear to have worshipped the plethora of gods that were popular with Romans at that time. He was a monotheistic God-fearer, but still, in the eyes of the Jews, a pagan. And his vision came at 3pm - the time of Temple worship for the Jews. We presume Cornelius was praying as he received his vision. He was terrified, but he need not have been - for the angel tells him that

... his prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 10:4

The language echoes sacrifice and incense - that God is pleased with Cornelius’ devotion and that he will be rewarded. And the reward? That he shall hear what Peter has to say.

And, as we know, Cornelius came to faith through Peter’s message - he and his whole household had their own experience of the Holy Spirit and were baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. But the key point here is that Cornelius has moved from a faith that was about doing to a faith that was about believing. His devotion previously had been all about prayer and giving alms; his motivation was about fearing God.

What does fearing God mean in this context? It’s not about being frightened of God - rather, it’s about being aware of our standing before God. It’s about realizing his holiness and our sinfulness. Realizing how far short we fall from his standards. Cornelius knew that. But he didn’t know what to do about it - he thought he could make up the shortfall by good works and charitable acts.

And that’s the outlook that many share - it’s the outlook of traditional Judaism; and it’s the outlook of Islam. One of the endearing qualities of a true Muslim such as those I have known is their humility - that gentle humility borne of an awareness of their standing before God.

And along with Cornelius, our Muslim friends hope to deal with their sin and shortcomings in the same ways - by prayer (5 times a day); by giving alms; and of course supplemented by pilgrimage to Mecca, and by the annual Ramadan fast. Just as with Cornelius, it’s a faith of doing - always hoping that your actions are good enough.

But what Peter taught - and what the Christian gospel is all about - is that this devotion can never be enough, such is the gulf between us and God. We can never work our way to God by good works. But in Christ there is a solution:

.. the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name." 10:43

Forgiveness is the unearned, free gift of Jesus - we look to him to make up the shortfall by his death in our place on the cross. It is he who takes the punishment that should have been ours - he who takes the sting of guilt and death. Suddenly for Cornelius it made sense - he could never be good enough for the God he feared, but Jesus was good enough in his place. His heart - and the hearts of his whole household - were opened and they believed.

3. An opening for the Spirit.

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening to his message. The Jewish believers who had come from Joppa with Peter were amazed that God had poured out his gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speaking in strange tongues and praising God’s greatness. Peter spoke up: "These people have received the Holy Spirit, just as we also did". Acts 10:44-47

It was Pentecost Sunday all over again. And I think that’s very deliberate on God’s part - for this fresh outpouring of the Spirit confirmed that this gospel is for Gentile as well as Jew - uncircumcised and circumcised - all are equal in God’s sight. The Gentiles were having their own Pentecost experience. And actually, something similar happened to the Samaritan believers earlier in Acts.

So should we expect similar manifestations to happen routinely when people come to faith in Christ? Or was this just a one-off gift of the Spirit to demonstrate this sort of stepwise expansion of the Gospel?

I’m just reading a biography of the preacher George Whitefield, who was a Gloucester lad who was central in the great Evangelical Awakening that swept the UK in the 1740s. Whitefield found himself preaching to huge crowds in the open air - upwards of 20,000 or more - and similar Pentecost experiences happened at many of his addresses as people responded in faith.

Two other preachers who were closely involved in that same awakening were John and Charles Wesley, Anglican ministers whose teachings eventually gave birth to the Methodist Church. Listen to this account from Charles Wesley’s diary for March 1740. You might recognize the place names where Wesley was preaching:

Saturday March 29th, 1740. I came to Westcot; found Mr. Morgan hungering and thirsting for righteousness. They desired me to expound the lesson, St. Paul’s Epistle to Philemon… the Spirit was present in his demonstration. Brother Maxfield felt it; and told me, he knew Mrs. M. had received the blessing.

The following day Idbury church and churchyard were full. I showed them wherein holiness consisted; answered their objections, dividing to them the word of truth, both law and Gospel. Many were pierced to the dividing asunder their soul and spirit. One woman the commandment plainly slew; and she was carried off in a fit. O that all hardened sinners were so wounded in spirit! We hasted back to Westcot; where I preached the pure Gospel from the good Samaritan. Surely he was in the midst, pouring in his oil and wine. I adjourned to Mr. Morgan’s. His house was crowded as a Minister’s ought to be.

We can’t prescribe how the Spirit will be dispensed; but clearly these Pentecost experiences still happen from time to time when God has work to do, even in places like Idbury and Westcote! They aren’t just something confined to the Acts of the Apostles. But however, the Spirit is manifest - with spectacle and drama, or with a quiet warmth in the heart, be assured He is poured out on all who receive Christ.

The conversion of Cornelius was the first step in the spread of the Gospel across the whole Gentile world. And it lays the foundation for the world-wide church, being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind

It showed that for those early believers on Pentecost Sunday, for those first Samaritan believers, for Cornelius and his family and the Gentiles who followed on; for Wesley’s congregations in Idbury and Westcote in 1740; and for us in our day, the prophesy of Joel is still fulfilled:

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved Joel 2:28-32

Episodes from Acts - Saul’s Conversion

Acts 9:1-19

Saul’s Conversion

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Luke 19:1–10

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

---

 We need to glimpse God’s sovereignty and respond in obedience

From time to time we come across in life people who are single-minded in all they do. Sometimes that’s in a good way – I once worked for a consultant surgeon who was utterly committed to his work, utterly committed to his patients. He was quite hard to keep up with, because he expected the same single-minded outlook from his team.

Someone once asked him how he dealt with the stress of life as a surgeon – his answer was that the only time he really felt stressed was when he was running two international medical conferences simultaneously! His single-minded approach to his work was hugely appreciated by his patients.

But sometimes people are single-minded in a less good way. I came across people in prison who were single-minded in their hatred of others – mostly based on religion or skin colour. And those types still sadly often appear on our TV news footage at so-called protests with their faces covered, and evil in their heart. Those men are hard nuts to crack, so deep is their hatred and their prejudice

And Saul of Tarsus was one of those men who was also single-minded, but in a bad way. For he saw it as his sole mission in life to persecute the Christian Church. And he did it with vigour and with emotion – he was really invested in what he was doing, really committed to his twisted cause.

We first met Saul in Acts 7:58, when he was described as a young man, who was looking after the coats of the men who were stoning Stephen to death. And we know from 8:1 that he approved of what they were doing. Then a few verses later, we read that a great persecution broke out against the Jerusalem church and the apostles were scattered – and we read this in Acts 8:3

But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

And then we pick up in chapter 9 with today’s reading:

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1-2

The irony was that Saul had no jurisdiction in Damascus – for Damascus was a self-governing city some 150 miles from Jerusalem. He had absolutely no right to be trying to police the church there, and yet that did not stop him. Saul was utterly single-minded in his desire to stamp out this new movement, this ‘Way’ as it was called. Why might that be? The nearest we get to finding out is Saul’s own account of his upbringing in Philippians 3:4:

I [was] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

He was a Pharisee – a strict, orthodox Jew. He was doing this for the sake of orthodox Judaism – he truly believed he was serving God. But he was soon to learn differently. Within a day or two his life was to be turned upside down. Before long his life was so changed that he would be moved to write this:

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. Philippians 3:7-8

So, let’s reflect for a few moments on what happened to Saul – what it tells us about God, and what we might learn for ourselves. It’s a familiar story, but let’s see if something new arises as we think through this passage. I have just two headings: sovereignty and obedience

1. Sovereignty

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:3-8

The last thing Saul was expecting was to be met head-on by Jesus on the Damascus road.

And it wasn’t a casual encounter: Saul was met with the full authority of heaven. The blinding light is a typical way that scripture describes the appearances of God or of the angels – and Saul immediately knew he was glimpsing the throne-room of God. He addressed the apparition as ‘Lord’ – the Greek word is Adonai, a title most commonly used of God – he knew he was in the presence of the Almighty.

Interestingly linguistically Adonai is a plural word – so it means literally My Lords, but it’s a grammatical device that doesn’t mean more than one Lord, but something more like ‘Lord above all Lords’. So, it’s quite clear that Saul knew he was in the presence of God himself.

So did he have a choice about how to respond? Could he have said, thanks but no thanks? In theory he could. For the apparition answers, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what to do. He could have said No.

But realistically I don’t think Saul had any choice in the matter. He was commanded by Jesus whom he encountered there and then as he lay blinded in the dirt on the road. He could do nothing but obey, such was the overwhelming sovereign impact of God in his life in that very moment.

Isn’t it the case that we often have a rather more watered-down attitude to God? We so easily see God as just a heavenly buddy, or as a sort of ‘my Jesus, my boyfriend’ character. Or worse, as a sort of good-luck talisman. I rather think we need a fresh grasp of the sovereignty of God – I speak for myself here.

In the Westcote home group we’re just working our way through the book of Job. Job, you’ll remember, was a very rich man who had lost absolutely everything at the instigation of the Devil, who reckoned he would curse God to his face given the depth of his suffering. But Job never does so: as the book proceeds, he finds an ever-more lofty understanding of God and his sovereignty. He says this:

The Lord moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. Job 9:5-8

And his thoughts culminate in this wonderful verse: Job 19:25-27

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; How my heart yearns within me!

Job had a right view of God: someone whom he held in great awe; but someone whom he also yearned to see in the afterlife of eternity. Saul glimpsed that same sovereign God: and Saul obeyed.

2. Obedience

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. Acts 9:10-15

Ananias was understandably a little wary of Saul – his reputation had preceded him. This is a very dangerous man that you want me to visit, Lord, says Ananias! But God is quite clear – Ananias is to be the first Christian to welcome Saul, and indeed not only will he restore Saul’s sight, but he will call him ‘brother’ and also baptise him. Wow – that’s quite some mission. Why does God choose Ananias? We don’t know; but I guess it boiled down to a question of obedience. God knew he could trust Ananias.

I’m just reading the biography of George Whitefield, who was an ordained Church of England Minister, one of the evangelical preachers along with John and Charles Wesley in the so-called Great Awakening of the 1740s in England, Scotland and Wales. He was a Gloucester boy – his family kept the Bell Inn right in the centre of town. He was converted in his early 20’s and at the height of his preaching ministry he was just 27 or 28 years old – preaching outdoors to gatherings of up to 30,000 people. He had a remarkably audible voice – said to be like a bell sounding – but his main quality was obedience – he constantly sought to be obedient to the call of God, whatever that might be.

He put that obedience before all things – even his relationships and his love-life – and God used him mightily along with John and Charles Wesley in the mass revival of the church. Many thousands found faith for the first time through his ministry – although the established church despised his zeal and enthusiasm. Thousands were converted to faith – Whitefield saw the sovereignty of God displayed week by week as he obeyed God’s calling to preach.

It was that obedience which God used to further his purposes in Whitefield’s day. It was the obedience of Ananias that God used to further his purposes with Saul of Tarsus. And in time it was the obedience of newly-converted Saul, whom of course the apostles re-named Paul, that enabled the gospel to spread far and wide among the Gentiles in those early decades of the Christian Church. And exposed Paul to suffering in his turn.

Sovereignty and obedience.

So, what of us? We don’t tend to see Jesus in flashes of blinding light. We don’t often get glimpses of the sovereign plans of God. And yet be assured God has plans for us – for our communities, our churches, even for our own humble lives. We must pray that we keep a godly perspective on life: for when we glimpse his sovereignty then we are prompted towards obedience. And obedience to his call is what Jesus most desires: that we fulfill our place in his church, that we play our part in his mission to our communities. That we serve him in whatever way he calls us.

And that is a calling for all of us – we each have a place to fill in God’s great economy. From the least to the greatest, every Christian is called to serve the living Lord Jesus, wherever that might lead us. And like Paul, that may lead us into difficult places: but it may also lead us into great blessing. Are you up for that?

Let’s pray that we glimpse his sovereignty; and let’s pray that he then grants you and me obedient hearts.

Episodes from Acts - Philip and the Ethiopian

Acts 8:26-40

Philip and the Ethiopian

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptised?” [Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may. The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and travelled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Mark 1:1-9

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
“a voice of one calling in the desert,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

And so John came, baptising in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan.

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Baptism signifies that the God-shaped void in our lives is being filled by Jesus

It’s a real joy to welcome Moses and his family and friends to this special baptismal Benefice service this morning. From our bible accounts we of course immediately think of another Moses floating in a basket amongst the bullrushes in the river Nile – but today we’re dealing with a rather different episode in water – the water of baptism.

Baptism features prominently in our scriptures, and in our two readings we’ve seen two different perspectives on baptism. We’ve read Mark’s account of the masses who came out to the desert to be baptised by John in the river Jordan; meanwhile our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles related the account of one man’s experience of baptism, happening not in the River Nile, or the River Jordan, but in an unnamed roadside stream or pool somewhere between Jerusalem and Gaza.

And today we’ll come shortly to baptise this Moses: not in a river, nor in a stream, but in water from an ancient font that’s half a millennium old, where countless others have been baptised down the centuries. So as we prepare to do so, let’s see what we might learn from our two readings.

I just have two headings this morning: something missing; something changing

Something missing

On his way [Philip] met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet … Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So, he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:27-31

Our Ethiopian was a long way from home – around 2,500km, probably over a month’s journey in his chariot. He was a powerful and important man, in charge of the Treasury of Candace, Queen Mother of Ethiopia who effectively ruled the country. Why had he come to Jerusalem? To worship, we read. He lacked for nothing (well, he was a Eunuch, so almost nothing). He was rich and powerful. He had servants and a chariot. So, what was going on?

Well, quite simply, he was searching for something that was missing in his life. He was searching for God. He’d been up to the Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, and on the way home we find him on the desert road heading towards Gaza, and his search continues: he’s sitting reading and puzzling over his bible in his chariot.

Now let’s not imagine this to be a fast, Ben Hur style racing chariot – it’s more likely an oxcart, nicely styled, no doubt, ponderously making its way at little more than a walking place along the desert road. And our Ethiopian is confused – he doesn’t understand what he’s reading in his bible, and he’s frustrated. He wants to understand. And, prompted by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Philip comes to his aid. Overhearing him reading out loud, he runs alongside his chariot and asks him if he understands what he’s reading. The Ethiopian exclaims: ‘how can I understand unless someone explains it to me?’

So, Philip climbs up alongside him to unfold the scriptures. But more particularly, to explain how this particular famous passage is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. We know from the scripture quoted that the Ethiopian was reading from the Old Testament prophesy of Isaiah, which explains how mankind’s greatest problem – yours and my greatest problem – is our sin; our rebellion against God.

If we were to turn up that passage ourselves, we would read this:

.. he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:5-7

The Ethiopian didn’t understand who the ‘he’ was, being referred to here. Well, as Philip explained, it’s none other than Jesus Christ. The passage prophesies how Jesus would bear our sin in his own body on the cross; that he would receive the punishment for sin that was due to us. How by his wounds we are healed – our sins forgiven, our relationship with God restored. Those are timeless truths.

Someone once said that we all have a God-shaped void in our lives. St Augustine wrote of God way back in 400AD

“Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.”

That’s what the Ethiopian man recognised. His heart was restless, he was searching for spiritual understanding that the religions of his own country did not supply; he had recognised that God-shaped void in his heart, and he longed to fill it. He knew something was missing from his life, despite his great wealth and power. And as Philip explained the good news of Jesus Christ to him, sitting by his side in that rattling chariot on a dusty desert road, he finally understood that in Jesus, his needs were supplied. The missing piece was found. The void could be filled. So, what happened next?

2. Something changing

[Philip] told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. Acts 8:35-38

Our Ethiopian wanted to do something to mark his new understanding. In that moment he had found faith in Jesus Christ, assurance that in Christ his sins were forgiven, and that he was put right with God. So … Let me be baptised, he cries.

Because baptism is the Christian sacrament, instituted by Jesus himself, to mark the passage from darkness to light – from old to new, from faithless to faithful. Baptism is a mark of a turning point – a point of change where something new is beginning. In our reading from Mark’s gospel, baptism was a sign of renewal: that the Jews themselves were experiencing a revival – confessing their sins in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah in their midst. But as John the Baptist declared,

“After me will come one more powerful than I, [that’s Jesus] the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:7-8

Something was changing for those Jews as they came out to be baptised to mark their desire to draw closer to God and find forgiveness for their sins.

Likewise for our Ethiopian: he wanted to mark this discovery of faith in his life. Something major was changing for him. His life would never be the same again.

Two headings: something missing, something changing. What then of young Moses – how does all this matter to him? Well, that God shaped void is present in all of us from birth – whether or not we recognize it. And it’s a void none of the material things of this life can fill – not riches, not power, not status. It’s a universal problem we all face.

Our Moses doesn’t know that yet, because he’s too young – and so very wisely his parents have brought him to baptism in order to set him on the right path, to claim those promises of forgiveness and new life that Jesus offers in baptism. We make those promises in the baptismal vows on his behalf, trusting that as he grows, he too will come to know and to trust Jesus in his life, to find that God-shaped void is filled.

So it’s important that you as parents and godparents especially help and guide him in his spiritual journey. As he grows older there will be times when, like our Ethiopian man, he doesn’t understand – so it will be your job, and the job of the church community wherever he finds himself in the future, to help explain and lead him, just as Philip did that day sitting in the chariot.

Because this is serious stuff; this is, as the Ethiopian and many since him have discovered, life-changing stuff. For the good news that Philip explained to that Ethiopian man 2000 years ago in a desert on the way to Gaza, is still true for us in our time.

For you and me here today, Jesus still deals with our sin by his sacrifice for us, once for all on the cross. That’s the missing piece of the jigsaw: the Ethiopian’s, and yours and mine also. Have we taken hold of that gift for ourselves? Have we found Jesus in our own lives?

Because this is about filling that God-shaped void in our lives. About discovering, with St Augustine, that our hearts truly are restless, until we find our rest in Him.

And it’s baptism which signifies that this is the journey which little Moses, and we, have begun.

’

Episodes from Acts - Stephen

Acts 7:48-60

Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:

“‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand made all these things?’

“You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

John 16:1-4

“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.

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The Fact That Divides

We’re continuing our journey through episodes in the book of Acts, and the incident between Stephen and the Sanhedrin was a clash of two groups of people. In fact, these are the only two groups of people into which humanity can fall: those who are Jesus’s people, and those who are not Jesus’s people.

So we are going to look at two things this morning: first, the fact that divides Stephen and the Sanhedrin; and secondly, the response that divides them.

The fact that divides Stephen and the Sanhedrin.

Our reading from Acts was recalling the end of a long sermon given by Stephen, recounting the whole history of God’s dealings with his people. And Stephen ends with a brazen condemnation of the Sanhedrin — that is, the religious leaders of the time. He says:

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: you always resist the Holy Spirit!”

And the reaction of the Sanhedrin at this point is, understandably, fury. But then Stephen goes one step further when he looks up to heaven and says:

“I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

And when they hear this, the reaction of the Sanhedrin crosses over from fury to murder. Before, they were really angry. But now they have gone beyond anger. They are so overcome with rage that the only thing they can do is instantly kill Stephen.

So what is it about Stephen’s words that flips a switch in their hearts and minds? Let us look again at what he says:

“I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Of course, the Son of Man is Jesus. And for Stephen, the fact that Jesus is standing at the right hand of God is the best possible news. It means that Jesus — in whom Stephen has put all his hope and all his trust — is not only utterly vindicated by God, but is reigning in power in heaven.

And this Son of Man language is also important because it reflects a prophecy from the Old Testament book of Daniel, in which Daniel sees God giving all authority in heaven and earth to this human-divine figure called the Son of Man. Stephen is saying: Jesus is that Son of Man. Jesus is the one who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. And for Stephen, this is amazing, because he has tied his entire identity — his whole life, with all its hopes and dreams — to whether Jesus really is who he claimed to be.

Imagine being so confident in a particular racehorse that you bet every single penny you own on that one horse. Nothing left in the bank. Nothing left in savings. You have staked everything on this one horse winning the Gold Cup. Now imagine the level of personal investment you would feel in whether that horse actually wins. You have bet your whole life on it. And now imagine the elation you would feel when you see that your confidence was well grounded — as the horse wins the race by a mile. That is the level of investment Stephen felt in Jesus.

So imagine how elated he felt when he saw with his waking eyes the fact that Jesus had won. And every true Christian feels this level of investment in Jesus. His people cannot be indifferent about his identity and victory. A true Christian is someone who has staked their whole life on whether Jesus really is who he says he is. So every Christian can feel elated at Stephen’s words of vindication.

But these words of Stephen are the worst possible news for the Sanhedrin. In the inverse way to Stephen, they have staked everything on Jesus not being who he says he is. If Jesus really is God’s judge, then they did the worst conceivable thing in killing him. If Jesus really is the Daniel Son of Man, then their whole religious system collapses. If Jesus’s followers are vindicated, then the Sanhedrin have been wrong their whole lives.

The response that divides Stephen and the Sanhedrin.

Now imagine with me a mother and her child. This mother pours her whole life into her child — all her time, effort, money, and reason for living. And then imagine that child becomes a teenager, runs away from home, and deliberately goes against everything the mother taught them. How can the mother not descend into the deepest kind of fury — the collapse of everything she has staked her whole life on?

For the Sanhedrin, if Stephen is right, the result is not simply an alternative or interesting worldview. The result is a complete negation and dismissal of everything they have built their lives upon.

But here is the thing. Remember at the start I said Stephen and the Sanhedrin represent the only two possible reactions to the news that Jesus reigns in heaven. Often, in our minds, we imagine a third category. We think to ourselves: “Well, those nasty, vindictive, fundamentalist Sanhedrin — I would never react like that. They are the baddies.”

But in reality, the Sanhedrin were in a better position than most people, because they rightly perceived the implications for them of the fact that Jesus reigns in heaven. That fact profoundly contradicts the foundation upon which most people build their whole lives.

Because if Jesus really is reigning in heaven, then there is a final judgement. And it will not be on the basis of good deeds versus bad deeds, but on the basis of whether we truly love him or not.

And if Jesus really is reigning in heaven, then he is what we should be living for — not our families, not our community, not even our church.

If we are making anything other than him the deepest reason for living, that is not simply mistaken. It is the deepest kind of rebellion against him.

So Jesus reigning in heaven was the fact that divided Stephen and the Sanhedrin. But their responses divide them too. Let us look at Stephen’s final response to his vision. His last words are extraordinary:

“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

How on earth can Stephen say this of the people who are murdering him?

Well, if Jesus is the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the Father, then being lifted up into the closest proximity to God in heaven is not about whether you are a good person or a bad person. It is about having Jesus as your advocate. Stephen knows that his salvation is not because he is good, but because Jesus has had mercy on him. And so he can look even at those who are stoning him to death and pray that they too might receive Jesus’s mercy.

But conversely, for the Sanhedrin, if Jesus the Son of Man really is standing at the right hand of the Father, then proximity to God is not about being good or bad, but about having Jesus as your advocate. And for them, as we have seen, this is the worst possible news.

Because they have spent their whole lives trying to climb the ladder — trying to draw near to God through their own efforts, through being good, and most importantly, through being better than other people.

So, when Stephen challenges this, they have a choice. Kill their own self-identity and let Stephen and Jesus be right — or kill Stephen and let their own self-identity be right.

And each one of us faces exactly the same choice. We cannot become true followers of Jesus until we have killed our own sense of self-identity: all the things we are proud of; all the things we have built our lives upon; our deep-down sense that we are decent, respectable people. If that makes us uncomfortable, then that is probably a good thing. Because the Holy Spirit may well be working in us, helping us to lay our whole lives at the foot of the cross.

And if you can say: “I have been through the discomfort of killing my self-identity. I have staked my whole life on Jesus.”, then praise the Lord. You too will one day see him, as Stephen did, ready to receive you into eternal bliss.

Episodes from Acts - Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine. ”

John 16:12-15

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

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“You Will Receive Power and Be My Witnesses”

I don’t know about you, but I love films like The Lord of the Rings. I love the book, I love the films, and one of the great things about them is that it is really easy to tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.

If you’re an orc, you’re a bad guy. If you’re an elf, you’re a good guy. And guess what happens at the end? The good guys win, there is a wonderful victory, and everyone lives happily ever after.

But there is something deeply frustrating about that, isn’t there? Because that is not what real life is like. Real life is much more difficult and much trickier than that. It is a lot harder to tell who the good guys and bad guys are. There is not often that wonderful fairy-tale ending. It can be frustrating watching films or reading books like that and thinking, That’s just not real life.

And when we read the book of Acts, we can sometimes feel something similar. We read about amazing miracles, thousands of people coming to faith after one sermon — that might happen this evening, we’ll wait and see! We read of extraordinary miracles taking place, and even joy when the apostles were imprisoned and put to death. And we look at our own day and think, That’s a bit frustrating, because life just doesn’t seem like that for us.

So we are going to look at three things from our passage describing that first Pentecost together, to see how the Holy Spirit might begin to do something similar in our own day.

All together in one place.

In chapter 2, verse 1, it says:

“When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were together in one place.”

So — they were all together in one place.

God is, of course, everywhere. But there are situations where he is especially present to bless his people. That was the case in Eden. We are told that Adam and Eve walked in the presence of God in the Garden. But when they sinned, his special presence departed. Much of the beginning of the Old Testament is about preparing for God once more to dwell among his people — first in the tabernacle, then in the temple. But again, the Lord’s people turned away from him, and his special presence to bless departed.

The amazing thing about Pentecost is that this is round three. This is when God’s Spirit returns to bless powerfully — never, ever to leave again.

The Bible calls Christians God’s temple because we are all bricks, as it were, in the spiritual temple of God. God’s temple today is not a place; it is a people. And it is the Holy Spirit in us that makes us that temple. If you read the book of Kings, you will see that God’s presence did not appear in the temple until King Solomon had finished putting every stone in place. So it is no surprise that the first time the Holy Spirit came to dwell in believers was when they were all together — all the living bricks of this new temple united.

Near where I grew up in Wales was a place we often took visitors — a huge hydroelectric dam with a beautiful reservoir behind it high in the mountains. Would the water company have begun filling up the reservoir if the dam wall were incomplete? Of course not. Every brick had to be in place. Then — boom — the power starts flowing.

Perhaps we wonder why the Spirit seems less powerfully at work today than he was in the time of the apostles. But the book of Acts consistently links the unity of believers with the Spirit doing amazing things.

Of course, we cannot force the Spirit to do anything. But equally, we should not expect him to work wonders in our day if we are not unified as believers. This is why our first Sunday benefice service is so important. It is not just a pleasant opportunity to catch up with people. It is exactly the sort of place where the Spirit is at work — when we, as a body of believers, are all together in one place.

So, we have seen unity as one way the Spirit works powerfully.

The images of wind and fire.

We are told:

“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house.”

And then:

“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire.”

These physical manifestations of the Spirit at Pentecost are not merely special effects. They are not God showing off. They are crucial symbols of the power of the Spirit.

Wind and fire are elements of nature that provide power, aren’t they? Wind powered ships in the ancient world. Fire heats houses and cooks food.

These images tell us something profound about the Holy Spirit: like wind and fire, he provides power for the church.

That is a good thing. He is capable of surging his power into us as Christians, especially when we are all together working for the gospel. He provides power over sin, despair, fear, and doubt. But like wind and fire, he is not to be trifled with.

I think there are two opposite mistakes we can make when it comes to the Holy Spirit. The first is not to plug into his power at all. This is like somebody refusing to use any source of naturally generated power. No wind power. No fire. No solar. No nuclear. Instead, they say, “I shall power my house with my own exercise bike.” Perhaps the village as well!

But of course, you cannot do that. It is ridiculous. We all rely on power generated beyond ourselves.

And the opposite error is to think of the Holy Spirit as an endless power source we can simply switch on and off at will: “Zap — power — boom — healing!”

Now, no offence, but if some of our friends across the pond can occasionally lean towards that second error, we are certainly guilty of the first. We ask: Why does the Holy Spirit not seem to do those amazing things now as in the book of Acts?Perhaps much of the answer is that we are trying to power our spiritual lives ourselves rather than plugging into what the Spirit can do.

What does that look like? First, expecting him to do amazing things. He can still heal today. He can still do miracles. Secondly, asking for his help. After all, he is a person. Unlike wind and fire, he is not an impersonal force. He is the third person of the Trinity. And thirdly — perhaps most difficultly — not being afraid of losing control.

This is the big one, isn’t it? We do not like handing over the steering wheel of our lives to somebody else. We fear what might happen if we really allow the Holy Spirit to empower us.

But that is a bit like saying: “Well, either I generate electricity on my own exercise bike, or else Chernobyl will happen.”

There is a happy middle ground — letting the Spirit empower our ministry and lives.

So, we have seen the Spirit works through unity, and through these images of wind and fire.

Tongues.

We are told:

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Why do you think the first sign of the Holy Spirit coming in power was the ability to speak in lots of different languages? To answer that, we go back to Acts chapter 1, verse 8 — really the motto verse for the whole book of Acts. Jesus says:

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

You see; the Spirit came with an express purpose: to empower the early church to bear witness to Jesus throughout the whole world.

Think of a charity set up for one purpose — perhaps famine relief. Over time, perhaps, it becomes involved with all sorts of fashionable causes: climate change, social justice, gender issues. This is known as mission drift. And it nearly always results in donations declining, because people want their money to support the purpose the charity actually exists for.

We still ask ourselves: Why does the Holy Spirit not seem to work as powerfully now as he did in Acts?

Well, think of the Holy Spirit not only as the major donor but the only donor of spiritual power to the church. The Spirit gives power to the church for the purpose it exists for — witnessing to Jesus Christ and him crucified.

So, we should not be surprised if, when the church experiences mission drift, the Spirit appears less interested in donations.

Climate change? Important.
Saving the parish? Important.
Fundraising? Important.
Regular communion? Important.

But if those things become so central that they distract us from the church’s primary purpose — bearing witness to Jesus — we cannot be surprised if the Spirit’s power is less tangibly at work in our day.

Conversely, when we begin to make witnessing to Jesus our personal and communal priority, we may expect to see the Spirit provide power in extraordinary ways.

I will end by relating something that happened last weekend. I was at a men’s conference at which our own Stephen Blake was speaking. He was talking about his time as a prison chaplain at Long Lartin prison — a very difficult place. High security. Men who had committed truly heinous crimes. It was difficult because, as a chaplain, he could not be seen to be proselytising or converting anyone.

And yet he said something remarkable. Every week, miracles happened. Every week, some murderer came to faith. Every week, someone shared the gospel with another inmate, and three more men came to faith. Every week, impossible obstacles seemed to stand in the way — and yet the gospel advanced.

Why is it that miracles happen in Long Lartin, and yet we do not seem to see them happening so often in our own lives? Could it be our expectations? Could it be that the Spirit provides power when we are outside our comfort zone?

I have certainly experienced that. When I was training as a vicar, on mission, the Holy Spirit seemed to do amazing things in the most uncomfortable situations. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The Holy Spirit will be with us when we fly the flag for Jesus — when we courageously share our faith, and when we fulfil the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. So let us pray that the Holy Spirit would give us that strength, even in our own day.

Episodes from Acts - Matthias

Acts 1:12-26

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms,
“‘May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’
and,
“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Luke 22:24-30

Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

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The apostles, and we, are to witness simply to what we have seen in Jesus

Judas Iscariot cuts a tragic figure in the gospel narratives. We don’t know much about him, except that his father was called Simon and his surname suggests he probably came from Kerioth, a town down in the far south of Israel, in contrast to Jesus’ other Galilean disciples.

We don’t know how or when Jesus called Judas to follow him; he must have had potential in Jesus’ eyes. But soon it became apparent that there was something lacking in his devotion; he was the group’s treasurer, but John tells us that he would steal from the purse; and he is only ever recorded addressing Jesus as ‘Rabbi’, never ‘Lord’ like his colleagues.

And that lack of devotion turned into treachery, after the incident of the woman pouring expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet - it seems that was the final straw that prompted Judas to betray Jesus.

And let’s remember that was an act of choice - the Scriptures tell us that he was prompted by the Devil, never persuaded nor propelled. It was his choice to turn his back on Jesus and sell him over to the authorities.

Judas’ fate was gruesome - the detail is confused, for in today’s Acts passage by Luke he falls headlong and manages somehow to disembowel himself in a field; in Matthew he goes away and hangs himself.

We can’t explain that variance, but it’s not important, for his work was done - he had betrayed the Lord and sealed his own fate, while unwittingly providing for us and all Creation the path to salvation and forgiveness, to eternal life and to immeasurable blessing.

He was a man who walked with Jesus yet never knew him. His heart was hardened. He was a man who was lost - a son of perdition.

His death left a void in the lives of the disciples. So, let’s think that through for a few minutes. Just two headings this morning - and the first is: vacancy.

1. Vacancy

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” Acts 1:15-17

It was around 6 weeks or so since the crucifixion. The disciples had lived through the immeasurable emotional turmoil of the loss of their beloved Lord, then discovering he had risen back to life, and then the excitement of being part of his ongoing ministry for 40 days until he ascended back to heaven, as recorded in the first half of Chapter 1 of Acts.

And I detect a real sense of bewilderment and sadness about the fate of Judas in Peter’s words - he was one of our number and shared in this ministry. It’s as if Peter still couldn’t quite believe what Judas did.

The early church - the disciples and their associates - had continued to meet together in prayer to worship the Lord and seek out his will for them. Peter reflects further with the group on the inevitability of the betrayal, taking a reference from Psalm 69, a psalm about King David’s own betrayal by an enemy, linking it with another verse from Psalm 109:

“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms, “‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and ‘May another take his place of leadership’” Acts 1:20

Their prayerful reflection brings Peter to a conclusion: that Judas’ vacated place in the Twelve needs to be filled by another.

There are three good reasons for why this is so:

• First, the choice of Twelve as the number of disciples is highly significant, mirroring the 12 founding tribes of Israel, descended from Jacob’s 12 sons. Just as the nation was established through those 12 sons, so the new Israel, the spiritual Israel, was to be founded on these 12 disciples. 12 was the full tally.

• Secondly, the 12 are to have a role in the final Day of Judgment, as we heard in our gospel reading. Jesus told the disciples:

I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke 22:29-30

It’s not clear quite what that means, but it is clear that the 12 tribes of Israel will somehow be assigned the 12 disciples as their judges.

• Thirdly, there is work to be done: Jesus’ command in Acts 1:8 was that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them; and they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

They needed the full complement of disciples to proceed with that momentous task.

And so they nominated two men, Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias; and they prayed and cast lots for God to show them his choice. We may raise an eyebrow over the casting of lots; but there was a long Old Testament biblical tradition of casting pebbles or sticks to find God’s will.

But interestingly this is the last time in the scriptures that such casting of lots is ever mentioned - the reason being of course that within a few days the Holy Spirit was to be given universally to the early Church, and to all those ever since who have yielded their heart to Jesus.

From now on, such external mechanisms are no longer needed, for God speaks by his Spirit to our hearts and guides us in his will and his ways. As the book of Hebrews reminds us:

No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. Hebrews 8:11

So the choice was made - and Matthias was appointed. The group was once more complete, in readiness for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on them at Pentecost.

But we need to go back just a little and ask, why these two men? What was their qualification to become the missing member of the Twelve?

2. Qualification

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” Acts 1:21-22

It needed to be someone who had been part of the movement from the very beginning - someone who had witnessed the baptism of Jesus three years previously, been with him throughout his ministry up to his death; and then was still part of the band who saw first-hand the risen Jesus.

It’s likely both of these men were part of the larger group of followers known as the seventy two that Jesus sent out in twos to go ahead of him to every town and place on his route (Luke 10).

They were both men who knew the Lord first hand; who had experienced the miracles, heard the teaching and finally saw the resurrected Jesus for themselves.

So they were well-qualified for this new role, which Jesus commanded in Acts 1:8, as we have already heard:

‘.. you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The 12 Disciples - the word means one who follows - had become the 12 Apostles - the word means one who is sent.

And this qualification is important, not just for those twelve men, but also for us in our time. Because their primary qualification to be Apostles was simply that they knew Jesus.

These were not theologians, they were not rabbis, they were not intellectuals or philosophers or mystics - they were just men who had been with Jesus.

In a few weeks’ time I have the dubious privilege of doing Jury Service. I have two weeks set aside when I may be sitting in Oxford Crown Court hearing the testimony of witnesses. (Or, more likely, sitting around in a waiting room while they decide whether or not they need me!)

But the point is, the people standing in the box giving evidence will be simply there to tell the story of what they saw and heard. It’s not for them to decide whether the accused is guilty or not. They just tell what they know.

And it’s just the same with Christian witness. You and I are probably not called to be theologians, philosophers, experts in religion or mystics - we are called, just like those apostles, simply to tell what we know, what we have seen and heard.

It is not our job to convert people or persuade people - that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. He does the converting. We simply tell what we know - what we have seen and heard.

And for the Christian that story of course will be about Jesus - about the Lord who has won our heart. About the Lord who died and rose again for us, who forgave our many sins, who gives peace in our hearts, who gives us hope for the future.

The Lord whom sometimes we doubt, who often we fail, the Lord for whom our hearts are often lukewarm.

Our witness must be honest, with all its uncertainties. We don’t invent things we don’t feel, for anyone hearing our testimony may see straight through us if we lie about what we know.

But let’s begin at least where we are. As the man said in Mark’s gospel, Lord, I believe: help me in my unbelief. And the more time we spend with Jesus - in worship, through communion, by opening our scriptures, and in prayer - so the more we will get to know him. And the more it will be evident to those with eyes to see, that we have been with Jesus.

I trust the knowledge of Jesus in your heart is something you treasure, something that is important to you. I trust that you enjoy being with him. If so, it is something also that you must be ready to share with others.

We may be asked any sort of question - these days it’s mostly likely to be something along the lines of - Why do you go to church? Isn’t religion just a load of nonsense? Isn’t it irrelevant?

To which our answer is not an intellectual justification of faith - but simply an account of what we know, what we have seen and heard through being with Jesus.

And that’s all he expects of us.

Do you find that daunting? Take heart from the man born blind in John 9:24. The Pharisees challenged him about Jesus. We read this:-

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! “

Episodes from Acts - Ascension

From Ascension to Mission

We all know the rhythm of a good television series, don’t we?

One episode ends, the immediate problems are resolved, the music begins, and the credits roll. But that is not, of course, the end of the story. The characters remain, the story continues, and often the next episode opens up something bigger than we first imagined.

And this is a helpful way to read the beginning of Acts.

Luke wrote the first part of his report about Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, and we heard the ending of that as our first reading. We might think, “Well, there we go — story done. Jesus has done his work, the credits roll.”

But Acts opens by saying these amazing words: that Luke’s first book, the Gospel, was all about what Jesus began to do and teach. Acts shows us what Jesus then continues to do and teach — no longer visibly in Galilee and Jerusalem, but invisibly and powerfully from heaven, by his Spirit, through his witnesses, the apostles.

Acts is not really the story of Peter and Paul and Barnabas and all the others — or even of the early church. At the deepest level, the book of Acts, which we’re going to be studying in our sermon series over the next few weeks, is the story of the ascended Lord Jesus continuing his mission by the Holy Spirit through ordinary people who bear witness to him.

There are three things for us to think about this evening.

The continuing Christ

Acts chapter 1 says that Luke’s first book recorded all that Jesus began to do and teach. And that’s amazing, isn’t it? Because it shows that the earthly ministry of Jesus was only the beginning.

The ascension that we’re celebrating this evening does not mean that Jesus has gone away into retirement, as it were. It means he has gone to the throne. He is continuing his work, orchestrating salvation — but now from heaven.

So really, Acts is not the Acts of the Apostles in the strictest sense. That title is actually a bit of a misnomer. It is the acts of the ascended Christ through his apostles.

Imagine watching the opening episode of a great drama. The first episode introduces the characters, the conflict, the promise, the mission. And then, just as it ends, the words appear:
To be continued… That is what Luke is doing: Acts is the continuation.

And this matters for church and ministry today, because it shows us that we are not caretakers of religious memory. We are not museum custodians. We serve the living, reigning Christ, who still speaks through his word. Jesus began to do and teach amazing things during his earthly life, and that did not finish with the last chapter of Acts. It continues even today.

Jesus still does his work through his church — in the preaching of the word, in gathering sinners, in building up our faith, and in changing lives.

So when we pray, when we share the gospel with others, when we welcome people into church, when we study the Bible together, we are not trying to keep a dying institution alive. We are participating in the continuing mission of Jesus.

The confused commissioned

In verse 6, the disciples say to Jesus:

“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

And if you have been following Jesus’ mission through the Gospels, that should really be a face-palm moment. You think, “Oh disciples — have you really still not understood? Do you really still think Jesus’ mission is about restoring Israel as a kind of military power against the Romans?”

And yet, actually, it is not a stupid question because the Old Testament really did promise restoration. Jesus really is the king. But the disciples still do not fully grasp what his mission is really about. And this shows us that the missing piece is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had told them to wait for the promise of the Father. It shows they did not merely need more information — they already had more than enough knowledge. What they needed was illumination. They needed the Spirit to open their eyes and fit them for the task.

It is a bit like a problem I increasingly have with long-sightedness. Is anybody else here long-sighted? These glasses are only going to get thicker as I get older — that’s what it means — and my eyes will end up looking huge! When I pick up a book without my glasses, I can see there is writing on the page, but I cannot understand the specifics of what it says because it is all one big blur.

In the same way, the disciples knew there was a kingdom of God, but they needed the glasses of the Spirit to enable them to understand what it actually meant. And it is the same for us today.

That is humbling for us, because it shows we can be religious and still misunderstand Jesus’ mission. It can all remain blurry. We are not naturally able to understand what God is doing unless the Holy Spirit helps us understand what the Bible says about him. The disciples needed the Spirit not merely to make them bold — though they certainly did need that — but to make their understanding clear.

So our churches must not be driven by nostalgia, habit, or institutional survival. We need constantly to ask:

What is the risen Jesus actually doing?
What mission has he given us?
What would it mean to be led by his Spirit rather than by our own assumptions?

We need to make sure that we are putting on the glasses of the Spirit whenever we read the Bible, whenever we think about the world around us, and praying that he would do this for us and for others. Because Jesus continues his mission by his Spirit, and that means we must not assume we naturally understand what he is doing. We have to depend on the Spirit to realign our vision with his kingdom.

The world-wide witnesses

In verse 8, Jesus says:

“You will be my witnesses.”

Notice that Jesus does not answer the disciples’ question about restoring the kingdom by giving them a date. He says:

“It is not for you to know the times or dates.”

In effect, he says: “Don’t worry about exactly when the kingdom will come in fullness. But do concern yourselves with this — you are about to receive power from on high through the Holy Spirit. Your task now is to bear witness to me.”

Beginning in Jerusalem, then spreading out through Judea and Samaria, throughout the Mediterranean world — and wonderfully, by the end of Acts, Paul is preparing to go to Rome itself, the very heart of imperial power, to bear witness before the emperor.

And notice what the disciples are witnesses to. They are not witnesses to vague values — as if Jesus’ central message were simply try harder to be good.

No. They are witnesses to a person:

Jesus’ life.
Jesus’ death.
His resurrection.
His reign.
His mercy.
His salvation.

Think for a moment about what it means to be a witness in court. A witness is not there to entertain, speculate, impress, or show off. A witness simply says:

“This is what I have seen.”
“This is what I know.”
“This is the truth I must tell.”

And as the church, we too are meant to stand in the witness box before the world — not to look impressive, but to be faithful in telling the truth about Jesus. That gives us the shape of Christian ministry. We are not called to be successful, popular, respectable, busy, or useful. We are called first and foremost to be witnesses.

That means church life must always move outward — from worship to witness, from fellowship together to mission, from receiving the gospel to speaking the gospel to others.

So this new series through Acts should encourage us to keep asking:

• How does the ascended Jesus bear witness to himself through his people today?

• How is he calling us to join in that work here and now?

The ascension is not Jesus leaving the mission behind. It is Jesus taking the throne from which the mission goes forward.

Acts begins with three great truths:

First, Jesus has not stopped working — and that is still true today.

Secondly, Jesus’ disciples cannot do his work without the Spirit — and that is still true today.

And thirdly, the church exists for one purpose: to bear witness to Christ — and that is still true today.

So let us now turn to the Lord in prayer, asking that he would help us to do this: to open our eyes to his truth, and to give us the same boldness that he gave to the disciples. Amen.

Acts 1:1-11

Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Luke 24:45-53

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

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Psalms of Ascent - Psalm 124

Psalm 124

If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—

if the Lord had not been on our side
when men attacked us,

when their anger flared against us,
they would have swallowed us alive;

the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5the raging waters would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird
out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Mark 4:35–41

Jesus Calms the Storm

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

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Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

We have been in a sermon series on the so-called Psalms of Ascent, and we’ve heard Psalm 124 this evening in that series of psalms. The Psalms of Ascent are about a journey from a low place to a high place.

In ancient times, when the psalm was written, that would have been a physical journey from the lowlands of Israel, where most of God’s people lived, up into the hill country where Jerusalem was. Then, once you got into Jerusalem, there was another hill to get up — the Temple Mount — and once you were in the temple, you had to walk up some stairs to get to the place of worship. And so that was the ascent which inspired these psalms.

It’s not just physical, though. It is also a symbolic journey of ascent, because ascent — going upwards — symbolises the journey of our Christian lives, as we move from the exile of sin and return to heaven and grow in holiness.

Now, apart from the Bible, I think probably no book has had as profound an effect on English Christianity as this book, The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. The story describes the journey of the main character, Christian, through this life, always heading towards Mount Zion — that is, heaven.

And in this story, the journey of Christian the pilgrim is not straightforward. He gets into a number of threatening and dangerous situations. Psalm 124 is so important because it shows us that our Christian journey is not meant to all be plain sailing.

The psalm describes a time when God’s people Israel were attacked — probably ambushed on their way somewhere. Nobody is completely sure of the event this refers to, but the type of event is clear: a sudden military disaster.

Having described this attack as like almost drowning in overwhelming water, the psalm gives all the praise to God for the deliverance of his people. Clearly, the ambush by Israel’s enemies did not succeed, and God’s people were saved.

And so the psalm reminds us that the shape of the Christian life is not just a constant, smooth upward trajectory. It’s more like a square root symbol, if you can imagine that from maths. There is always a dip down before there is a higher ending.

The Pilgrim’s Progress describes many such instances. The vivid language of raging water in our psalm is used to describe the attack that God’s people suffered, and I think it enables us to relate to the psalm more easily.

Because I expect few of us will ever experience an actual military ambush. But we will experience moments when something in our lives feels like an ambush — a sudden illness, a stressful situation at work, or difficulties in family life.

Then we really can relate to the language of the psalm. It feels like the stress of the situation is water overwhelming us. It feels hard to keep one’s footing on the riverbed. The current seems so strong, and we wonder: Where is God in all this? Why is he not sorting the situation out right now?

In The Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character Christian experiences, at one point in the story, an amazing vision of what heaven is like. It comforts him so much to see this light in the distance.

But shortly after that, he is compelled to descend into the Valley of Humiliation — a word which, in John Bunyan’s time, did not mean humiliation in the sense of embarrassment, but being brought very low. Exactly what we have been thinking about — the lowest point of that square root sign, when we feel at our worst.

And for Christian in the book, to make matters worse, while he is in this valley he is accosted by the evil spirit Apollyon. Apollyon tries to tempt Christian into trusting him, and when Christian resists, the evil angel breaks out into a grievous rage and wrestles Christian to the ground.

We are told this:

Then said Apollyon, “I am sure of thee now,” and with that he had almost pressed Christian to death, so that he began to despair of life. But as God would have it, while Apollyon was fetching of his last blow, thereby to make a full end of this good man, Christian nimbly stretched out his hand for his sword, and caught it, saying, “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise.” And with that gave him a deadly thrust, which made him give back, as one that had received his mortal wound. Christian perceiving that, made at him again, saying, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” And with that, Apollyon spread forth his dragon wings and sped him away. Then Christian saw him no more.

So in this direst moment, Christian reminds himself of the words of the prophet Micah:

When I fall, I shall arise.

This is that square-root shape. Yes, we go down, but the Lord will bring us up again. This is the shape of the Christian life.

Not that God always immediately rescues us from overwhelming circumstances, but that sooner or later, we shall arise. Overwhelming situations may be short, they may be long, they may continue even unto death.

I myself have been through dark times when I felt overwhelmed, when I felt like God had abandoned me. And yet, to quote Psalm 40:

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

When we arise, like in our psalm, we will then praise the Lord who made heaven and earth for his deliverance.

Psalm 40, which I just quoted, mentions the pit of destruction. And indeed, it was out of the City of Destruction that Christian first set forth in Bunyan’s book.

So the first overwhelming situation we each need to make sure we have been lifted from is the pit of spiritual death. All who have not, like Christian in the story, laid their sin at the foot of the cross are spiritually dead.

Jesus’ most important message was the one with which we began our service:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.

To repent means to turn around towards God and away from ourselves. And it is to go through humiliation, because it is to turn away from trying to control our own lives. It is to agree with God that we are by nature sinners deserving his wrath. It is to accept that the only way to the heavenly city is to let Jesus pull us from the pit, since only he can remove from our backs the weight of sin that keeps us there.

And it does not seem like a pit when you are in it. It just feels like normal life.

At the start of the story, when Christian is still in the City of Destruction, he says, “I want to leave on a journey.” And his friends and family say, “What are you doing? What are you on about? Stay here. Stay with us. Don’t worry about that journey.”

But once you are out, you realise it is the difference between prison and freedom.

Every person who has been born again and become a true Christian will say that the humiliation was worth it a million times over.

Now I am free and truly alive.

So we need to make sure we have been lifted from that pit. If you are not sure whether you have been lifted from it, now is the time to be sure. Do not return home unsure. None of us knows when we will face our maker and judge.

But for those who have been lifted from this pit and are now on the journey to Mount Zion, there will be setbacks in our faith. There will be overwhelming situations.

But this we can always say, as Christian did:

O mine enemy, when I fall, I shall arise.

For:

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For our final arrival in eternal glory is not dependent on our strength and effort. It is guaranteed through the conqueror of sin and death, and he has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us.

Of us, he said:

I will lose none of those the Father has given me.

The wonderful thing about this is that it shows our arising after overwhelming situations is not dependent on our courage — or even on the strength of our faith.

I can personally testify that one can feel abandoned by God and utterly forsaken, and yet still be lifted up.

As our psalm said:

Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

So whatever you are facing right now, or will face, remember this:

• Jesus holds on to you — not the other way around.

• And nobody can snatch you from his all-powerful hand.

And so let us pray that he would give us grace truly to believe that with our whole hearts.

Psalms of Ascent - Psalm 123

Psalm 123

I lift up my eyes to you,
to you whose throne is in heaven.

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured much contempt.

We have endured much ridicule from the proud,
much contempt from the arrogant.

Luke 18:9–14

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

---

If you were to ask me who my all-time hero is, I would say the great Victorian preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon – often just referred to as Spurgeon.

The story of his conversion is a remarkable one. As a young man, he was deeply troubled. He had a real sense of his own guilt. He was restless, and he was unable to find peace with God. One Sunday, in the middle of a snowstorm, he couldn’t get to his usual church, and so he turned aside into a small chapel. He was pretty much the only one there. The preacher was speaking on this text from Isaiah:

Look unto me, and be ye saved.

Much to Spurgeon’s annoyance, the preacher kept repeating, “Look and be saved! Look and be saved!”

Then at one point during the sermon, he simply looked at Spurgeon – this unknown teenager who had wandered in from the snowstorm – and said: “Young man, you look very miserable. And you always will be miserable, miserable in life and miserable in death, unless you obey my text. But if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” And then he said it again: “Look, look, look. You have nothing to do but look and live.”

And in that moment, Spurgeon later said, it was like a light broke into his life – not because he had finally improved himself, not because he had figured everything out, but because he had stopped looking at himself and looked to Christ.

From that point on, it was ever Spurgeon’s joy to be photographed pointing upwards. I love those photos of him as a young man in his early twenties, preaching at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, always pointing upwards, as if to say, “Look up. Don’t look at me. Look up and live.”

Isn’t it wonderful that that phrase, which once irked him – Look and be saved – is what he wanted evermore to preach? And our psalm begins with exactly this notion. In verse 1 the psalmist says:

I lift my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.

So first, let’s consider this idea of lifting our eyes to God – of looking to him and living. Because, basically, the point of every sermon is this: lift your eyes to God.

But our problem here is twofold. First, that we hardly ever look at God. Secondly, that sometimes we can’t see him even if we try. So let’s think about that second problem first. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians:

The unconverted person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. They are a load of nonsense to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Think about this. How does a colour-blind person know that they are colour-blind? The fact is, you can’t tell from inside your own sense of sight, can you? Because it just looks normal to you. You discover it through comments from others, perhaps through practical mishaps, or perhaps by taking the Ishihara test – those circles made up of red and green dots, where the number appears only if you can distinguish between the colours. If you can’t see the number, you’re colour-blind. So it would be pointless to say to someone who is red-green colour-blind, “Just try harder – tell me what number you see.” They can’t see it. They cannot distinguish the colours.

In exactly the same way, if someone is spiritually blind – that is, unconverted – it is pointless to say to them, “Just look up at the one true God,” because they cannot distinguish between the God of the Bible and anything else people might worship. We need the Holy Spirit to switch our spiritual vision back on through conversion. And then we can see what God is really like. And when we do, we realise how different he is – not just one option among many, but utterly unique.

But then we come to the second problem: even when we can see, we so rarely look. By “looking at God,” I mean spending time thinking about him – directing our attention to him.

I wonder, if we could have a printed breakdown of the subjects of our thoughts over the course of a single day, what would be at the top of the list? And where would God appear? Let’s remind ourselves of what that blunt preacher said to young Spurgeon: “You will always be miserable, miserable in life and miserable in death, unless you obey my text.”

Much of our misery comes from dwelling on things that are not God – and therefore cannot ultimately help us. That is why we need to set aside time each day to pray and to read the Bible. It is why regular Bible study with other Christians matters so much.

And this brings us to verse 2 of the psalm:

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us mercy.

Having thought about what it means to lift our eyes to God, we now see something else here: patience. Because looking to God does not always solve our problems instantly. He is the master, and we are his servants – not the other way round. The psalmist shows us the kind of patient attentiveness we need. He keeps looking – until the Lord shows mercy.

That word mercy is crucial. It can also be translated “favour” or “grace.” It means an unmerited gift. God is not a vending machine where we insert obedience and receive a predictable level of blessing in return. We do not deserve any blessing at all. So we cannot demand when it comes or what form it takes. Instead, we are to keep our eyes fixed on him – waiting for his mercy.

And this leads us into the final part of the psalm, where the psalmist cries out:

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured much contempt.
We have endured much ridicule from the proud,
much contempt from the arrogant.

Here we see the kind of mercy the psalmist longs for: deliverance from contempt. The word used here conveys scorn – a belittling attitude that places the speaker above others. And this is something Christians will always experience in this life. From the world, with its dismissive labels:

“Oh, you’re a fundamentalist.”
“You’re one of those evangelicals.”
“You’re naïve, outdated, judgmental.”

You only have to turn on the television to hear this kind of language. And from the evil one, who whispers:

“You’re too sinful to be forgiven.”
“You’re not a real Christian.”
“You’ll never make it.”

So what is the answer? We return to verse 1: “Look.” Look to the one enthroned in heaven.

First, make sure you are born again – that you have put your trust in Jesus to forgive your sins by his death on the cross. That was the whole point of our gospel reading. Two people appear before God. One says, “Thank you, God, that I am so good.” The other can hardly look up and says, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

When we recognise ourselves as helpless sinners needing forgiveness, God opens our eyes to his glory. And once we know him, we must keep looking to him.

When the world mocks us, we look to the King of the universe – the source of all beauty, goodness, and joy. When the evil one accuses us, we look to Jesus on the cross – the Lamb of God who takes away our sin.

So this week, when you are distressed – perhaps criticised for your faith, perhaps weighed down by your sin – pray:

I lift my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.

And I’ll end with words from a well-known hymn:

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Saviour,
and life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of his glory and grace.

Psalms of Ascent Psalm 122

Psalm 122

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Our feet are standing
in your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.

That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,

to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.

There the thrones for judgement stand,
the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.

May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”

For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

John 2:13–17

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Psalms of Ascent - Psalm 121

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

IsAiah 25:6-9

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.

7On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,

the sheet that covers all nations;
8he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tear
from all faces;

he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.

The Lord has spoken.

In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.

This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Matthew 6:25–34

Do Not Worry

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

---

We began last week a series on the Psalms of Ascent. This is a group of psalms towards the end of the book, and they are what might be called the Psalms of Pilgrimage. They are the Psalms of Ascent — psalms of going up.

This group of psalms was possibly sung by pilgrims on their journey towards Jerusalem. They may even have been chanted by Joseph and Mary on that memorable journey to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years old. These are the psalms of going up — a favourite phrase among the Jews: Shall we go up to Jerusalem? Even in December they would say, Next year, up to Jerusalem. So these are the Psalms of Ascent.

There have been many paraphrases of this psalm. It is one of the best known, one of the most loved psalms of the whole collection:

Unto the hills do I lift up my longing eyes;
O whence for me shall my salvation come?
For God does both come and be my certain aid.

I will lift up my eyes unto the hills.
From where does my help come?

It is a question mark. People usually read it and think that our help comes from the hills. But no — the psalmist is questioning: Where does my help come from?

What do the hills mean to you? Are they the wonder of nature? Are they photographically beautiful? Do you have an urge — or perhaps in the old days some of us had the urge — to climb and conquer the hills? There is that famous quote: Why do you climb Everest? — Because it’s there.

Do the hills represent shelter? Or a looming, frightening menace? They can hold danger. They can hold warnings of bad weather. In primitive times they were thought to harbour evil spirits, and so they became sites of sacrifice — to go to the top of the hill to appease the spirits believed to live there.

I lived in the Lake District for three years, many years ago, and I loved to walk and climb in those hills. They were a solace, and sometimes a terror — particularly in storms when lightning came down. But they were always beautiful, and they always seemed so calm. I loved the hills.

But there is a story of a Dutch couple who decided to visit Switzerland. So, as Dutch couples do, they got their mobile home out and drove across to Switzerland. Two days later they went home, and everybody said, “Why have you stayed so little time in Switzerland?” And they replied, “Well, we didn’t like it. We couldn’t see the view because all those mountains were in the way.”

I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from?

For the psalmist, the hills were neither a refuge nor a relief. He looks beyond them. They may be a symbol or a promise, but he knows that his Creator — my help — comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, the maker of those hills.

He will not let your foot slip;
he who watches over you will not slumber.

Mountains and hills can be treacherous. A journey through them needs planning and guidance. On more than one occasion I have been involved in a mountain rescue of somebody who slipped down a cliff face and had to be rescued. They can be dangerous.

So the pilgrims, on their way up to Jerusalem, had the assurance of God’s guidance and care. There were robbers and bandits lurking in the hills. Pagan rituals were still going on. The hills attracted people to the high places. And in that empty land, when Israel had been sent into exile in Babylon, others came in and took over with their religions. They went into the hills and offered their sacrifices.

The pilgrims indeed needed someone to look over them — someone who would neither slumber, doze off, nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you.
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

Imagine that. You can claim the Lord God as your parasol. He will keep you shaded in his sight. Never fear — he is close at your right hand, even in the night-time, when you might be moonstruck.

In ancient times it was thought that the moon caused irrational fears, night anxieties, and nightmares. So the care of the Lord was constant — even under the light of the moon.

He will watch over our lives.
The Lord will watch over your coming and your going, both now and forevermore.

In verse 7 it says:

The Lord will keep you from all harm.

There is a parallel here with the Lord’s Prayer:

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

In our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, the prophet sees these hills and mountains now in a benign light, and all threat of darkness has vanished as God prepares spiritual blessings and salvation for all the people.

This is further underlined by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:

O you of little faith, do not worry. Your heavenly Father knows your need.

Do not worry. If you look carefully, that phrase is repeated six times.

Do not worry, everybody. Worldly care, anxiety, doubt — our human condition — leave them all to him.

Cast your care on the Lord, for he cares for you.

Thus Psalm 121 becomes a dialogue for our times too. We, like the psalm writer, turn from the uncertain security of the hills to the Lord, who reassures us of his constancy. For he is the ultimate provider. He is the God of power, the all-sufficient one, who watches over us.

We have no need to look to the hills, even in their natural beauty. In this imagery the hills represent shelter — but for us, it is the Lord.

However, in certain parts of the world, the symbol of the hills is still there. We were in Peru a few years ago, in a small town in the foothills of the Andes. They had held a big religious festival and gone into the cathedral for Mass, and we were very impressed by this. Then our guide said to us, “Yes — but as sunset approaches, the same congregation will go up into the hills to watch the sun go down, and they will offer praise and worship to the spirits who live there.”

So for some, the hills still hold meaning — but not the meaning of the Lord, our maker.

However, in many ways our own hills are often the safe things that we surround our lives with, aren’t they? Our hills might be self-reliance, influence, insurance, financial security, keeping healthy and fit — the power we hope to have over our lives. We become so self-controlled that our hope in God the maker becomes diminished. We look instead to the hills for our help.

But is this self-reliance totally reliable? Are we prepared for the breakdown of our physical strength, of our material security? Do our hills block the view of God — like that Dutch couple, unable to see their ideal view?

My help comes from the Lord.

He is watching over us. It is an emphatic statement. But in our impatient lives we may be tempted to doubt this. Yet God, in his own time and in his own way, holds our life in his hands, for he has promised us a comforter and a protector through his Holy Spirit. Impatience and worry will not add a single hour to our lives, Jesus warns the crowd in his sermon. Worldly cares — and in our present time, mental health pressures — will wear us down. They bring limitations to the life God wants us to live.

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

How true that is for us. Christ has summed up our human existence in two lines:

Do not worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day, we know, has trouble of its own. So in this troubled, worrying world:

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, because he watches over us.

Five times this phrase appears: He watches over you. It is repeated again and again. Like a shepherd guarding his flock, he does not doze off, lose focus, or grow weary. As those pilgrims tramped through dry, hot, dusty places, God shaded them.

So too, when we are weary on the hot and dry stretches of our own life’s journey — when we are burdened by the world’s needs — we can find shelter and refreshment in a God who watches over our lives. He will prevent us, through the rough passages of life, from taking a tumble — either spiritually or mentally. For we do indeed have to negotiate a slippery world. We may even be diverted along a hilly path of our own making.

Ultimately, our spiritual journey — our pilgrimage — is under God’s protection, as we continue ever onward and ever upward. And we can say with confidence:

My help comes from the Lord, now and forevermore.

Psalms of Ascent - Psalm 121

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Matthew 6:25–34

Do Not Worry

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Our pilgrimage, watched over by God, is through this life to eternity.

Over the years I have had an ongoing battle in my head with what we call 'catastrophising' - that cognitive Achilles heel of getting stuck in negative thinking and expecting the worst to happen.

It's quite irrational, of course - but it's a common personality trait and you may well find yourself sometimes doing the same.

So for instance, when I was working in the very secure prison environment, each day on my arrival I would have an irrational fear that I would be turned away at the gate and my security clearance revoked, for some imaginary misdemeanour.

When I worked for the NHS, it would be about missing life-threatening conditions in my patients, which would probably lead to me being struck off.

And even now, in retirement, I still find it a temptation - if I pass a speed camera, I nervously check my speed and even though I'm within the limit I'm still sure that I probably wasn't for the few seconds I was in the camera's field of view.

Yes, it's completely irrational. But then, as someone once said, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get me!

But sometimes our fears are justified. As a young man I once walked blissfully through a rough area of South Africa after dark, on the edge of a black township, unaware that as a white boy that was quite a dangerous thing to do. When I got back to where I was staying people were horrified at what I had done - they seemed to think it remarkable that I hadn't been robbed or worse.

Maybe the answer is that we need to weigh up our circumstances and make a sensible rather than irrational evaluation of the dangers. In modern health & safety parlance, it's all about risk-assessment.

The writer of our psalm seems to be doing just that - making a risk assessment.

You'll know if you were with us at Holy Ascension last week that we're following a short sermon series on a collection of Psalms known as the 'psalms of ascent' - psalms that were used by pilgrims on their way to the Temple in Jerusalem for the major festivals.

The 'ascent' might have been up from the countryside to the hills of Jerusalem; or through the city to the Temple mount; or even the final ascent up the stairway to the Temple entrance.

Last Sunday Oliver led us through Psalm 120 and its concept of peace - shalom - both in our circumstances now and also in our future hope of peace for all eternity; and today we're considering Psalm 121 which focuses on the dangers our pilgrims might encounter on their journey.

So, let's see what we can learn - let's investigate the risk assessment that our psalmist makes as he embarks on his own pilgrimage

1. Orientation

I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

The KJV mistranslates this verse, as 'the hills from whence cometh my help'. But actually, it's a question - and the answer lies beyond those hills, to the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

We're not told which hills the pilgrim is considering. Hills were often places of danger in the middle east - they provided shelter for robbers and rebels, so the psalmist might be looking anxiously at those hills as he passes by.

But I think it's more likely that he's being inspired by the hills, especially if he's considering the countryside around Jerusalem, and Mount Zion itself on which the Temple rested.

I find there's something about mountains that helps me reset my perspective on life - if I'm in the Alps or in the Lake District the mountains towering over me seem to put the silly worries and catastrophes of my earthly life into perspective.

And it's the same for our psalmist - the majesty of the hills reminds him of who created them - and he lifts his heart in a song of praise to the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

For that's from where his help truly comes. That's his anchor point, his orientation as the psalm continues.

And it continues with the implications of his help being anchored in the LORD. He spells out three implications about God over the next three pairs of verses:

2. God is Watchful

He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:3-4

Did you notice we've gone from the first person - 'I' to the second person 'You'?

Our psalm reads a bit like a dialogue, possibly intended to be recited back and forth between different groups of pilgrims like a “question and answer” poem. Our first two verses are sung by one group, to set the scene - and then others come back with the implications.

And there's a theme that runs through all three of the implications, which is about watching. So here's the first example - God will not let your foot slip, for he watches over you, as he watches over Israel. He does not slumber nor sleep.

We're only too familiar with the account of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane who rebuked his disciples that they couldn't even keep watch for just an hour while he prayed.

You probably find the same in your own prayer life - how difficult it can be to concentrate. How flimsy our prayers can be. We are so easily distracted and led astray by our random thoughts.

But not so God. He is on duty 24/7 - he doesn't doze, he watches over us.

I love to pray in the middle of the night. You know, those times when you wake at 3am with stuff on your mind - and somehow that's when prayers come clearest for me. Maybe I have this idea that I'm the only one awake so I have more bandwidth in my connection with God!

But actually, the psalmist David found exactly the same:

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. Psalms 63:6-7

Singing in your prayers in the middle of the night may not endear you to your spouse but the point is, God is always available - always there to listen to us and always present to watch over us. Day and Night. And verse 3, He will not let your foot slip - not even where the way is treacherous.

3. God is Unfailing

The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.Psalm 121:5-6

Pilgrimage journeys in the middle east can be hot and sticky. I'm always dismayed to read about the number of people who die each year on the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca - in 2024 some 1,300 pilgrims died enroute, mostly from heat exhaustion.

But here God is promising something remarkable - that he will himself be the pilgrim's shade, protecting against the sun by day and the moon by night. Again, we're reminded the LORD will watch over him.

And the sun and moon are metaphors for everything that might distress or threaten the pilgrim, day and night. God makes a similar promise to the Israelites in the Book of Isaiah

They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water. Isaiah 49:10

But there's a problem: experience suggests this isn't always the case. Doesn't this all sound too good to be true? Don't Christians get persecuted and suffer terribly at the hands of others - in so many countries of our world? How then are we to understand these verses?

4. God is Eternal

The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:7-8

It's that word watch again - he will watch over your life.

It's plainly not the case that as Christians we don't experience difficulties from time to time.

But God never promised an absence of trials and tribulations - the psalmist David wrote about such times:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalms 23:4

Perhaps God doesn't promise an absence of evil, but rather that we be equipped by him to deal with it.

And if we are inclined to say psalm 121 cannot be true because we do experience harm, then maybe the answer is that we need to have a broader perspective.

We so easily focus on this brief life, which pales into the blink of an eye alongside the perspective of eternity.

And maybe that's where the promise lies - as he watches over our coming and going, both now and evermore. The psalm is saying that our eternal future is secure, because God will guide us safely through this life - be that life short or long - into the peace and rest of eternity with him. As St Paul said:

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 1 Cor 15:19

And that's where we need to have our focus. For our eternal security is in the God who watches over us - whose protection is unfailing and eternal - and it is achieved through the ministry of Jesus Christ.

I had a minor cancer scare last summer, and as I catastrophised that this was probably going to mean my exit from this life, I was reminded of St Paul's words in Philippians 3:14 - that:

God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

For it was Christ who brought me into a living relationship with God - because he was prepared to take the punishment for sin that should have been mine and bear it on his shoulders to a ghastly and defiling death on the cross.

And he carried your sin too. But death could not hold him - for the LORD did not let his foot slip, he was his shade against the sun and moon and he saw over his life in all its comings and goings - until he defeated all these old enemies of death and evil by rising again to life for all eternity. Paul again:

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Cor 15:19-22

And that is the ultimate risk assessment that we need to carry in our hearts - that whatever we go through in this life, whatever perils and trials we may face, God is indeed watching over us - watchful, unfailing, eternal - to bring us safely home to be with him, through the merits of Jesus and his death on the cross.

Catastrophising? Yes, we're probably all prone to that from time to time. But the answer is that whatever we endure here, in hardship, illness, fear and death - there is a safe harbour awaiting us where we shall live in peace and dwell in adoration forever and ever.

And that's our real pilgrimage journey - through this life to eternity.

Psalms of Ascent - Psalm 120

Psalm 120

I call on the Lord in my distress,
and he answers me.

Save me, O Lord, from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.

What will he do to you,
and what more besides, O deceitful tongue?

He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,
with burning coals of the broom tree.

Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!

Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.

I am a man of peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.

Matthew 10:16–22

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

“Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

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We are beginning a new series now on the Psalms of Ascent, or Songs of Ascent. They are a collection of psalms associated with the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the main festivals of the Jewish calendar.

The ascent—the going up—in mind here might be going up from the low country around Jerusalem to the hill country in which Jerusalem is situated. It might also refer to walking up the Temple Mount once you get to Jerusalem. It might even refer to walking up the steps of the Temple that the priests used when they went to perform the sacrifices.

But whatever its exact historical context, the main theme of these psalms is starting somewhere low and ending up somewhere high.

Psalm 120 is the first of these Psalms of Ascent. The key verse, I think, for us this morning is verse 7 of the psalm, which says:

I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.

So there are two things for us to think about from this psalm this morning: first of all, longing for peace, and secondly, looking forward to peace.

Longing for peace

Before we dive in and think a bit more about that, we need to understand what the psalmist means by peace. The Hebrew word, of course, as many of us know, is shalom.

Shalom means a lack of serious lack, if you see what I mean. To put it another way, it means a healthy, complete, and harmonious unit—whether that unit is one’s inner life, one’s body, perhaps society, or even the whole human race functioning harmoniously. The great high priestly blessing given by God to Aaron in the book of Numbers says this:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.

And we retain the central place of peace in blessing at the end of our services, when the priest says:

The peace of God, which passes all understanding…

Yes, the lack of war is part of it, but shalom is more than that. It is the lack of long-standing grudges, for example. It is the lack of deceitfulness, lack of envy, lack of misunderstanding. And it is this that the psalmist longs for.

Remember, the Songs of Ascent are all about the journey to Jerusalem, and the name of the city means the city of shalom — Yerushalayim. So the psalmist longs not only for the literal city of Jerusalem, but for the broader place of peace in all of life. But this is certainly not where the psalmist finds himself. Look at verse 1. He says:

I call on the Lord in my distress.

That word distress means a tight, constricting place — a feeling of being forced into a situation you can’t escape from. Then look at verse 2:

Save me, Lord, from lying lips and deceitful tongues.

The psalmist longs for the harmonious integrity and truth-speaking that come along with shalom, and yet everyone around him seems fine with constant lying. Then look at verse 5:

Woe is me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar.

Now Meshech and Kedar were pagan tribes, not only geographically far from Jerusalem but also culturally far from the central place of Israel’s worship.

Perhaps the psalmist was literally living among these pagan tribes, these foreign people. But it is more likely he was living in Israel, yet it felt to him as though he might as well have been living in Meshech because of the behaviour of the people around him. Then look at verses 6 and 7:

Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.
I am a man of peace, but when I speak, they are for war.

Again, this need not be literal war, but rather widespread opposition to a shalom way of life. And the whole point of this psalm appearing at the start of the Psalms of Ascent is to give voice to a feeling of dissatisfaction with the world around us — and a longing for that place, that city of peace.

So I wonder: do we feel distress at the lack of shalom around us?

Our news outlets and headlines are full of distressing stories about the lack of peace in our world, in our country, even in the Church of England. But I doubt many of us would describe it as a deep, constricting distress like the psalmist. I think the key thing here is what we deep down feel is the standard.

I felt deep distress when I lived in Russia, because lying, corruption, and distrust were standard. Russians did not feel the same level of distress, because they accepted that standard. That was just the way life was. In the same way, we will not deeply long for shalom in our world, in our country, in our villages, or in our church if deep down we have accepted a lower standard. That is why we need to keep reading our Bibles, why we need to keep going to home groups to read our Bibles together — to remind ourselves of the standard of shalom that God expects.

We looked recently in our sermon series at Acts chapter 2, where we were told that the early church:

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.

That is the standard that God sets for the church. C.S. Lewis put it like this: we are often like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he can't imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday by the seaside. We are far too easily pleased, said Lewis. We won't long for the city of peace if we have accepted a lower standard of what shalom really means—the healthy, complete and utterly harmonious functioning of the family, the church and the world.

Perhaps this morning you are in fact keenly feeling a dysfunction, perhaps in your family, perhaps in your own body. Perhaps there's a situation in the news which is really disturbing you. Psalm 120 allows us to give voice to that pain, to say woe is me that I have to live in such a situation. It doesn't require us to put a brave face on it, but it does require us not to wallow in it, but to look forward to a better future.

And so now, secondly, let's look at what the psalmist says about looking forward to peace. So returning to verse 1, we see that at the outset the psalmist trusts and hopes that his distress will not be permanent.

I call on the Lord in my distress and he answers me.

And then as we look through the rest of the psalm, notice that the resolution to his problems is framed as being in the future in verses 3 and 4.

What will he do to you. Deceitful time.
He will punish you.

You may be thinking, well, hold on, wait a second. How is the solution to a belligerent mindset punishment with sharp arrows and burning coals? Well, the word punish isn't actually in the original. The idea is this. What is the comeuppance for lying and deceiving? Nothing good, says the psalmist. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. A culture of lying, deceiving, refusing to make peace may benefit those who practice these things for a bit. But sooner or later, the lying, the deceiving, the belligerence will hurt those who practice it too.

And we must not think this is some kind of karma, some kind of impersonal law of nature that what goes around comes around. Our Bibles include the words, he will punish you for a reason. The psalmist has cried out to the Lord, save me from deceit. and the salvation of peace, of shalom, will come when justice is carried out.

Think back to Russia. Why is it that they all just accept that you have to pay the university if you want good grades for your kids, or that it's part of life to pay protection money to the mafia? Why do they just shrug? Because these people get away with it and they're never justly punished. Sadly, it's human nature to get away with it as much as you can before justice is brought to bear.

I think of Neville Chamberlain and his famous declaration that he has secured peace for our time after the Munich agreement with the Nazis. But now we know, and many at the time knew full well that the Nazis were lying. They were seeing how much they could get away with.

Churchill was no saint, but he knew that when it comes to deep evil, shalom peace requires justice being seen to be carried out. Because remember, shalom means a healthy, complete, and harmonious unit. And sometimes this requires the removal of whatever is preventing such health and harmony.

So at this point, we need to consider several things. First of all, we were created to be in a healthy, complete and harmonious whole with other humans and with God. But sin entered in and it threatens to prevent such health and harmony between us, between other people, between us and God. Therefore, sin had to be removed.

Like the Nazis, it had to be seen to be publicly brought to justice and defeated. So for God, there were two options. Bring sinful humans to justice or take the punishment upon himself. And he chose the latter on the cross.

Christianity is all about peace. It's all about shalom with God. It's about the fact that we were the ones who have lied about God and refused his offers of peace. He was a man of peace and we instead preferred war with him.

So the central question of Christianity is this, are you at peace with God? Do you admit that you are by nature his enemy? Do you accept that peace is only possible on his terms, because only he can secure it? So each of us must ask ourselves that question this morning.

We must also remember the Psalms of Ascent are about movement from a low place up to a high place, from disharmony to harmony, peace and shalom. Psalm 120 is a freeze frame of being in that low place, when the high place of shalom seems a long way off.

Perhaps that is you this morning, feeling not at all in a place of harmony, but longing for it. whether in your body, in your family, or in the world. Psalm 120 reminds us, God will. God will bring shalom. He's promised it. He's God, so he will do it. He will bring us to the eternal Jerusalem, the heavenly city of everlasting peace. Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

So this morning, let us be those who long for peace, who long for the completeness of perfect shalom. Let us not be content with a lower standard. Let's make sure we're not those who have lying tongues or who prefer to keep conflict going rather than to resolve it. And let us make sure we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. And let us hold to our sure and certain expectation that one day we will enter into our master's rest, where sorrow and sighing will flee away, and he will wipe every tear from our eyes.

Feeding Faith - Fellowship with Other Christians

Acts 2:42–47

The Fellowship of Believers

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

John 13:34–35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

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The church grows through committed believers being fired up by their love for Jesus

It was just after Pentecost, and the new Christian church was growing rapidly. On the day of Pentecost itself, some 3,000 new believers were added to their number. And the early church kept growing - every day new people were coming to a living faith in Jesus.

Now these new believers were from all sorts of backgrounds - most were Jews, visiting Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, but coming from all over the Mediterranean. And no doubt many returned to their home provinces and countries once Pentecost was over. But a core remained in Jerusalem. And they found themselves part of something new and vibrant - part of that fledgling church, as we saw in our reading from Acts. They gathered together, they learned together, they grew together.

Now you often hear people in our day declare 'You don't have to go to church to be a Christian'.  I often said it myself in the days before I found my own faith. Well, it sounds entirely reasonable, doesn't it? Surely faith is a private thing between me and God, and church is just an optional extra?

Well, of course it's absolutely true that you don't need to go to church to be a Christian. Any more than you don't need to go to matches to be a footballer, you don't need to join in an orchestra to be a violinist, you don't need to go to Scout meetings to be a boy scout. Yes, of course you don't need to do any of those things. But your growth and development in all those activities - and your enjoyment of them, and your flourishing in them - will be the poorer for not doing so.

Today we're continuing our sermon series on 'Feeding our Faith' - and today's topic is Christian Fellowship. We're talking Church. The early church clearly appreciated the need to stick together, so it will be instructive for us in our times to consider what exactly that means.

Because sometimes it seems that our modern-day understanding of church has changed a little since those early Pentecost times. Circumstances have changed, and society has changed - have we lost something of the spark of the early church in the process?

Years ago, when I was working as a junior doctor, I had a physiotherapist colleague who was part of the Jesus Army. You may have heard of them - they were a Christian church, based in a village a few miles from where we both worked at Northampton General Hospital. The Jesus Army tried to recreate what they understood to be the pattern of first century church living, based on the accounts in the Acts of the Apostles. Members pooled their resources and lived together in a big old manor house as one huge family community. I visited my colleague a few times there for meals and found them to be extremely welcoming and friendly.

But in time their leadership went off the rails, and the organisation folded under a cloud. There were abuses of power and an excessively rigid control over individual lives and finances. Frankly, it was all a bit too wacky. Which is a shame, as it started off so well.

So, what were they trying to emulate? And what can we learn from our readings about church here in our benefice? Two headings today: 1. A pattern for church and 2. the fruit of church

1. A pattern for church

Their life together as church was expressed in two things: Worship and Lifestyle

a. Worship

Acts 2v42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. v46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

The Apostles' teaching, sharing Holy Communion (breaking bread) and prayer were the backbone of their church life. And really that hasn't changed for our churches over the past two millennia. If you look at any church that is growing and thriving, those three items will still be at the centre of their church life. Churches that neglect any of those - dismissing good-quality biblical teaching, or neglecting to share Communion, or being lax in prayer - those will invariably be ailing churches. Fortunately, the CofE in its wisdom has these things built into its very structures. And we must be diligent, as church members, to participate in those three things.

Oliver and I are forever encouraging our congregations to get stuck into bible study together - and it's a joy to see our new group here in Icomb thriving. Our Lent Group looking at the Parables has been a source of great inspiration for us, accompanied by a lot of laughter in good company. We grow together as we nourish our faith through biblical teaching - which after all is what the Apostles left for us. Let's take our faith seriously and enjoy pushing our understanding as we grow together.

And it's been exciting to see how our new monthly Benefice Prayer Meeting has taken off - our numbers are never huge, but we usually gather 8-10 people each time we meet just for half an hour of concerted prayer. And we should be in no doubt that God will honour our prayers. Again, let's take our faith seriously and support that monthly meeting - let's be ready to see God act and indeed bless our churches if we are serious about our prayer life. And of course Holy Communion is central to our worship - and we can access this easily. At least one of our seven parishes offers a communion service each week so we can easily join in on a regular basis wherever we prefer to worship.

Here in this early church was a group of Christians who met together in more than one venue - they gathered, as we read, in the Temple courts, to observe the daily worship that continued there. That was natural as they were mostly from Jewish backgrounds - many would have been used to attending Temple over the years so they continued to do the same. But they also broke bread in their homes - they had no church buildings at this point so simply used one another's homes for worship and teaching together. This was where their more specific Christian worship would proceed.

But then alongside their worship was their:

b. Lifestyle

Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

The Jesus Army followers took this to mean that they literally sold everything they had, pooled their resources, and all moved under one roof together. And maybe that's the truth of it. And there was a precedent in Jesus' day. The Qumran community, which generated the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, had already been established as a monastic community, although those followers were devout Jews waiting for the Messiah, rather than Christians. And their pattern was very similar to Acts 2:44 - selling their possessions, living together, devoting their life to worship and teaching.

But I don't think that was necessarily how the early church lived - they could have been together simply in the sense of being a close community who looked out for one another's needs. The community of Icomb lives together and is close-knit, but you're not all under one roof.

Equally the notion of selling possessions and having things in common could easily be in the sense of things being available for common use: not that there was necessarily a common purse. The early Christians may simply have been generous-hearted and prepared to be sacrificial in their giving as needs arose.

What we can say about this lifestyle, whether it was a semi-monastic community or just a bunch of supportive and close-knit Christians, was that they were committed. There was no nominalism here - which is the bane of the church of today - but rather these were people who literally put their money where their mouth was. And were committed to a radical lifestyle, alongside heartfelt and devoted worship.

2. And the fruit of that church?

a. miracles happened

Acts 2:43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

This was a vibrant community at the very dawn of the church. These were Pentecost people. God was establishing this church from scratch and so, perhaps not surprisingly, the Holy Spirit was very much at work there in miraculous signs and wonders.And it's true to say that wherever the church has been in particular need down the centuries since then, growth has similarly been accompanied by signs and wonders. The Anglican church in Baghdad, for instance, after the Iraq war, saw a stream of miraculous happenings in the face of terrorist attacks and persecutions.

On a less dramatic note, during my time in prison chaplaincy we saw frequent miracles - God was very much present in that raw and violent environment by his Spirit, working miracles in the lives of individual men as well as in the humdrum of our daily chaplaincy routines. When the church is growing, miracles happen, even today. But there was a second fruit:

b. joy

Acts 2:46-47 They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.

They were glad, and they praised God. Not only that, but the early church was also in favour with the surrounding community. Perhaps those outside could see how genuine and positive the early church members were - how caring they were to their fellow Christians. There was a real sense of life and joy in this early church. It flowed over in praise to God. And it flowed over, finally, in one more thing:

c. growth

Acts 2:47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Did people join because this church was so attractive, looking in from the outside? Or were they added because its members simply couldn't stop themselves from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so much was their joy in what they had discovered? Probably a bit of both. They very much lived up to that command of Jesus, to:

Matthew 28:19 go and make disciples of all nations

And the church grew. Every day.

So, there we are - we've seen the early church in its pattern and its fruit.

And in our days of often dwindling church congregations, I find this a very exciting model of church. For the church of our day, and the church of 1st Century Pentecost Palestine, are really not that dissimilar. We have a very similar pattern of church; and we can expect to see very similar fruit.

What was their secret? It was commitment - dedication to their faith. Radical wholeheartedness. They were fired up. What was it that fired up those early believers such that their church had so much impact? It was simply their love of the Lord Jesus; their gratitude for the salvation that he had won for them in his death on the cross. And, of course, empowered by the Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit to equip and lead and energize this fledgling church. They wanted to glorify him in their worship and in their lifestyle. They were committed to following and serving him. Nominalism just didn't feature in their life of faith. They were all out for Jesus. And their fresh faith was transformational - it literally changed their lives and the lives of those around them. How exciting was that.

And how exciting that it can still be so, even in our times. Can our love of the Lord Jesus - our faith - yours and mine - achieve the same in our villages, in our day?

Feeding Faith - Personal Prayer

Luke 11:5–13

Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’

“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jeremiah 31: 31-34

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Hebrews 4:14–16

Jesus the Great High Priest

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

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Jesus encourages us to be bold in prayer

Today we're thinking about prayer. Lots of books have been written about prayer. If you search Amazon online with the title ‘How to pray’, it generates 7,000 hits. And here are the top 4 hits:

1. How to pray in Islam, a step-by-step guide

2. The Power to Pray: prayers and scriptures that work

3. Spiritual Warfare Prayers for Men: Prayers to Conquer Fear, Lead with Courage, and Stand Strong in Faith

4. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People

No doubt some of these books are helpful but isn’t it remarkable how such an apparently simple process - praying - has generated so much literature? Well today, we turn to the Master himself, Jesus, for our guidance.

We're continuing in our series of how to Feed our Faith - and this week we find ourselves in Luke's Gospel. That chapter begins like this:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1)

It was a bit of a Jewish thing to seek wisdom from the Rabbis. They were esteemed and respected, and individual rabbis would have their disciples who followed them and looked to them for guidance.

And so too with Jesus' disciples. These men wanted to know how best to pray. And so Jesus teaches them the Lord's prayer - we didn't read that part because today we're going to be concentrating on the verses straight after that prayer, as Jesus continues in his teaching.

The Lord's Prayer itself is for another day, another sermon - maybe a series of sermons - all I plan to say about the Prayer itself today is that it's a radical prayer for a Jew because it assumes that God could be spoken to as a Father, with intimacy.

‘Abba, Father’. The Scribes & Pharisees hated that, for in their eyes God was remote and holy. And yet here's Jesus effectively calling him ‘Daddy’. And so John tells us:

For this reason, the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (John: 5:18)

Jesus' teaching about prayer was fresh and radical. So as we follow in the footsteps of those first disciples, we also come before Jesus and ask, 'Lord, teach us to pray'.

I'm assuming we are familiar with the Lord's Prayer. But we're thinking for a few moments about what came next in Luke's narrative. How did Jesus follow up his prayer? What did he want the disciples to grasp that day? And what about us in our turn?

Well, we can sum up what Jesus taught in our Luke reading in one word: Boldness. He was teaching boldness in prayer - that our prayers be bold, genuine, true, wholehearted.

1. Boldness

Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. (Luke 11:5-8)

Jesus loves a parable. We're enjoying our Lent series on Parables at the moment - if you haven't come to one so far, why not join us - each evening is a standalone discussion on a famous parable. And we're really enjoying what we're learning.

And here's a parable that may or may not be familiar. A visitor arrives late at your house. It's midnight; maybe he got delayed on his journey or perhaps it was just more comfortable travelling when the heat of the day had died down. But he's arrived and Middle Eastern custom dictates that you must offer him a meal - but the cupboard is bare. No matter, Joe up the road is bound to have some bread so I'll go and knock him up and see what he'll let me have.

But it's midnight and Joe's been tucked up in bed for hours. It's a real imposition asking him to disturb his whole household to find some food - our bibles use the word 'boldness' in that request, but the Greek word is nearer to 'shamelessness'. Have you no shame, waking up this man's whole family at an unearthly hour demanding bread for your visitor?

But Joe obliges, not because he's our friend but simply because of the boldness - the brass-necked cheek of the man - disturbing the whole household at such a ridiculous hour.

So, what's the lesson? Well, it's one of those ‘if you… then how much more God’ parables. If this man gives in to the request for bread because of his friend's effrontery, then how much more will God answer our requests. It's about the request being bold, not lukewarm or tentative - the man didn't tap very lightly on his friend’s door and then whisper, 'Oh no he's already in bed I'll creep back down the garden path and close the gate really quietly so as not to wake him'.

No, he hammered on the door and woke the poor man and all his family and the dog and the animals. He was intent on getting an answer to his prayer.

It's about a bold, wholehearted request - a genuine request, from the heart. This is something I really need, even at this late hour, so I will ask loudly until I get an answer. It's about boldness. Secondly:

2. Certainty

Jesus continues:

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? (Luke 11:9-12)

In the light of this story about asking boldly, what will be the result? Simply that God will answer. He will not let us down. He will hear and respond.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

God will answer. He won't necessarily answer in the way we expect; for it's not always best for us that we actually get what we ask for. From time to time we'll simply ask for the wrong thing. But there will be no duplicity. Maybe God won't give us a fish every time we ask for one - but what he won't do is give a snake instead. His gifts, his answers are always good.

The point is that we are not praying into a vacuum - God will answer. And God's answer may be a clear No as much as a clear Yes. Both represent answered prayer - even if the answer is No.

We may trust God to answer in accordance with our good. And of course the Lord's Prayer itself encourages us to ask for our daily bread - our daily need for sustenance. Ask God for it, encourages Jesus. He will not give you a stone when you asked for bread. Just make your prayer wholehearted, bold, and expectant. And he will answer. Although sometimes it's only with hindsight that we understand God's method.

3. Generosity

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)

It's another ‘if … then how much more’ construct. If you earthly fathers, with all your limitations - yes indeed, your sin - can give good gifts, how much more will God? How much more will God what? … Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

It's fine talking about bread and fish and eggs and so forth, but what needs to underpin all these things? The Holy Spirit of God indwelling our hearts.  

The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift that God offers in response to our prayers - and he promises to give his Spirit freely. For it's through him that we really get to connect to God. It's through him that we get to know God as our personal Lord and Saviour. In the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD.

And it's the Holy Spirit who is the engine of our prayers:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. (Romans 8:26)

It's the Spirit who prompts and leads our prayers. And the more we are aware of his leading, the closer our prayers become to aligning with the will of God.

So, three lessons about prayer: Boldness, Certainty, Generosity. So what do these look like in practice? We need to overcome three pitfalls in prayer:

1. Hesitancy: I wonder if sometimes we are a bit hesitant, a bit tentative with prayer. We're a bit scared to ask in case we don't get what we hoped for. We're like the man going to his friend for bread but only knocking softly then creeping back down the garden path because 'he probably won't hear me'.

Jesus is saying, no, come and ask me... tell me what's on your mind. If it matters to you, then it matters to me.

When I conduct a wedding, we always have a rehearsal the evening before. We walk the service through and then I pray with the couple and their friends before we go. And I always pray that there will be some sunshine for the great day - at least for their photos. Is that a risky prayer? Maybe. But I can't tell you how often that prayer is answered in the affirmative. Let's not be hesitant in prayer. Let's be bold.

2. Vagueness: we often hedge our bets and pray something vague rather than something specific. Perhaps that's easier for God to answer.

When my mum was languishing in the John Radcliffe recently with a fractured pelvis, I prayed hard that she would be transferred to Moreton hospital to rehabilitate before she went home. Instead, she was moved to the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre where she got specialist care before she was discharged. With hindsight, it was a better outcome. My very specific prayer was answered with a No. That's the danger with specific prayers.

On the other hand, a friend of mine once prayed for a new motorbike.... and his specific prayer was answered with a Yes. Lucky man. Let's be bold in praying specific prayers.

3. Persistence: Jesus tells parables elsewhere about being persistent in prayer. Persistence in prayer is surely all part of this boldness that Jesus encourages - we're not to be shy in telling God more than once what our concerns are.

I know of people who have prayed every day literally for years that a family member might come to faith - and eventually after decades that prayer is answered. Again, it's about how much something matters to us - if it's important, it's on our minds all the while, and I think God is pleased that we share that with him. Let us not give up or lose heart in prayer - persistence is part of boldness.

So: Boldness, Certainty, Generosity.

Prayer is, at the end of the day, about relationship: it's about sharing our concerns and our joys, our hopes and our fears with the God who loved us and gave himself for us. And Jesus himself encourages us to be bold as we do just that.

Feeding Faith - Personal Bible Study

Psalm 119:9–16

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you, O Lord;
teach me your decrees.

With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.

I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.

I delight in your decrees;
will not neglect your word.

2 Timothy 3:10-17

Paul’s Charge to Timothy

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Luke 24:27, 32

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

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Delighting in the Word in which we meet Jesus

I imagine that there have probably been individuals over the years who have had a lasting influence on your life. I'm talking about those people who have encouraged you and inspired you – those special people who have played and perhaps continue to play an important part in who you have become as you have grown and matured. And for Christians, they will often be people who have impacted our faith in some way - brought us to faith, spurred on our faith, challenged our faith or stretched our faith.

There have been a small number of such people in my life – most notably two friends who were instrumental in establishing me in the faith way back when I was a young medical student. And when I look back at our friendship, I am struck by how much both of these two young men were motivated by their love of the Bible.

As a young man I had occasionally attended church but I never really got what the Bible was about.  It seemed a dry and slightly spooky book that we studied in RE at school but which had little relevance to my life. But all that changed when I got to know a fellow student called Bill, a quiet and reserved man who gave me a bible in modern language and suggested we might read one of the gospels together. It was a transformational experience and led to me finding a living faith of my own within a few weeks.

My second great influence was Paul – a lively Geordie friend who went everywhere with a copy of the New Testament in his coat pocket.   When we were supposedly studying in the library I would often glance across and see that Paul was in fact reading his bible rather than his lecture notes. His pocket bible was constantly in use, and pretty dog-eared as a result. He was hooked on the scriptures.

What was it that made these two young men value the scriptures so highly? Were they just a bit weird? 

Well, as I explored my own developing faith I began to understand what these two friends saw in the scriptures. As I opened and read them, I found the words came alive. This was a book that moved me, inspired me, taught me, strengthened me. It was more than just words on a page.  Many times, passages that I was reading seemed to speak directly to situations I was facing.

And before long I too found I couldn't get enough of this book. And others have agreed with me. Decades later, working as a Prison Chaplain I met lifers who also could not get enough of the Bible. One man managed to reduce one of our chaplaincy bibles to rags in just a few weeks because he couldn't stop reading it; another told me he had literally sat up in his cell the whole night reading his bible because the words seemed so alive and so relevant to him.

So why is this book so compelling? Simply because it's a book like none other – as we heard in our NT reading from the Letter to Timothy:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  

All Scripture is God-breathed. You see, the Bible is where we hear the Word of God. It's in these written words that we meet the Living Word – we begin to understand who God is, what is our relationship with him, and what his call is on our lives, both now and for all eternity. These scriptures are the bedrock of our understanding.

Today we're continuing a short series of sermons on Feeding our Faith - what measures can we take to deepen and strengthen our faith. And today's topic is Personal Bible Study. And to explore that, our set passage is actually the psalm we read at the start of our service – Psalm 119. It's the longest psalm in the bible, extending to 176 verses, but today we just have seven to consider as you'll see on your sheet.

And in those seven verses the author explores the value of studying the scriptures. The psalm is more of a prayer than a piece of instruction – he is reflecting in prayer on the importance of scripture in his life. His own personal bible study. And as he does so, he uses no less than ten different verbs in relation to his understanding of the scriptures. But I want to consider just six of these, under two headings:

1. Taking in - Live, seek, meditate:

2. Giving out - Recount, rejoice, delight

Taking in - Live, seek, meditate

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119: 9-11)

We don't know who our psalmist is, but we can see that he's a young man who wears his heart on his sleeve. He's a real zealot for the faith – there are no half-measures here. His over-riding desire is to keep his way – his life – pure. He desires that sort of innocent purity that can stand before God without guilt or shame. He wants to be good, but in the best sense of the word. He wants to avoid moral taint. How will he do that?  How will he live well? By seeking God with all his heart; which means for him living according to God's will as revealed in the scriptures. 

His choice of Hebrew words behind our passage particularly has in mind the promises of God regarding his plans for his people. His intention is to 'hide the word in his heart' – to become familiar with it, to learn it, for it to be second-nature to him. And there's one particular way he'll achieve that:

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. (v15)

He'll ponder these scriptures, he'll think them through, he'll reflect on them and consider what they mean to him. 

Meditation doesn't always get a good press in Christian circles – we often associate it with Eastern mysticism, Buddhism and the like. But we need to recover the Christian practice of meditating on the scriptures – for the word itself comes from the Latin meaning devout preoccupation, private devotion, prayer. We need to recapture the notion of quietly reflecting on bible passages and allowing God to speak to us through them.

There was a time when children were encouraged to memorize bible passages. That seems old-fashioned now and all too much of an effort when we can simply dial them up on our smart phones. But that level of familiarity with the scriptures can be invaluable when we face challenges – as God prompts those stored passages to the forefront of our minds when we need them most to guide us through whatever besets us.

Understanding the scriptures is a life work for any Christian. I have been studying the scriptures now for just over 47 years but I feel like I am still scratching the surface. And yet some of what I have studied has stuck – I find it easier to apply scriptural principles to things in life, to see the world through the lens of God's will. It's easier to live, to seek, and to meditate on these words now than it was when I started – but still I am a novice.

But there were three other verbs:

Giving out - Recount, rejoice, delight

With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. (vv13-14)

Rejoicing is not perhaps a natural word to associate with the scriptures. Especially when you read some of the harder, bleaker books of the Old Testament. But here is a young man who not only rejoices in what he reads, he wants to recount it – to tell it to those around him.

My friend Paul would love to do just that – he would come up to me in the library and show me a verse in his pocket New Testament and tell me how brilliant it was – some truth about Jesus that had got him excited. That sort of enthusiasm is infectious. And the psalmist also delights in what he reads v16 - I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Perhaps the delight is a kind of inward glow at what he's reading; and the rejoicing and the recounting is a more outward expression. Have you ever felt that kind of delight and rejoicing when you have read the bible? We have a collection of home groups now across the Benefice and I'm glad to say we often do delight and rejoice in what we read – as we discuss and ponder, our passages draw us closer to God and we marvel at his purposes for our lives and our church. And that delight inspires us to study more – v16 - I will not neglect your word. 

There's no doubt the psalmist loves to immerse himself in the scriptures. He's pursuing personal piety – a way of living a pure life, pleasing to God, and living faithfully for him. But what, then, is our overall goal with this sort of personal bible study? Is it simply to learn commands and precepts, rules & regulations?

Our psalmist was clearly a pious young man.   But the kind of piety we see in here is true piety: a love of God not desiccated by study but refreshed, informed and nourished by it. And that works for one reason: because the scriptures reveal the character of God.  

As we said at the start, it's this written word that leads us to the Living Word – God in Jesus Christ.   For the scriptures reveal the salvation story of God – his rescue plan for a wayward human race and a tainted universe. And the culmination of the scriptures is the Lord Jesus Christ - he is the focal point of all that we find in our bibles, both Old Testament and New Testament, even in those puzzling and difficult passages.

And that's why these scriptures are alive to us, why they excite us, delight us, make us want to rejoice and recount what we read. That's why they make us want to live and seek and meditate on the words we read. For it's here that we meet the Lord Jesus; it's here where we our see own frailty and understand our rebellion against the God who gave himself for us. It's here that we find that God so loved the world that he gave his only son to die in our place on a cross for the penalty that should have been ours.

And here's the point: In the scriptures we don't study rules and regulations, but we meet Jesus, the person whom we need more than any other.

But we need to close. We meet Jesus in these precious, life-giving scriptures. So how shall we best approach bible study for ourselves? I want to suggest four simple rules:

1. Get a bible in a language you can readily understand. There are some who insist that the only 'proper' bible is the King James Version; but it was translated from the original Hebrew and Greek scriptures in 1611, and consequently it can be a struggle to understand in the Jacobean English of that time. It's beautiful language, but not always the most accessible if you're looking for strength and guidance as you explore your faith and its impact on your life. So if you love KJV, get a modern translation to read alongside.

2. Read little and often. A daily dip into the scriptures may sometimes seem sterile but over time – maybe 47 years or so - things will begin to link up for you!

3. Find help with what to study – there are many bible study guides available online or in print. Or join a home group where you can be encouraged by others as you dig and delve into the scriptures together.

4. And above all, meditate on these words, as our psalmist taught us – pray over them, ask God to help you to understand, and help you to see what they mean in your life.

And you too, I promise, will soon delight in God's words.

Feeding Faith - Listening to Sermons

Romans 10:14–17

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Luke 10:38–42

At the Home of Martha and Mary

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

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As a vicar, people sometimes say to me, “I wish I had your faith.” And that’s a really nice sentiment. But behind it sits an assumption that the faith I apparently have is something that one can only wish for — like several houses in Barbados, or a couple of Ferraris in the garage, or whatever it is.

I can imagine somebody saying to their personal trainer, “I wish I was as fit as you are.” What does the personal trainer say back to that? “You can be. That’s why I’m here — to help you be exactly that.” And so also, as a vicar, I feel like saying that to people who say to me, “I wish I had your faith.” You can have a high level of strong faith.

Faith is a lot like a muscle. If you feed it right, if you work it out, it will get stronger. And if you don’t, it won’t. That’s why we’re beginning a new series of five sermons during Lent called Feeding Your Faith. The first subject today is feeding your faith through listening to sermons. It’s funny to preach a sermon about sermons, but that’s what I’m doing this morning.

The principle is this: faith grows where Christ is heard.

This is going to be less of a “how to listen to sermons” and more a “why to do so”. Why is listening to sermons so important for feeding our faith?

First of all, let’s consider our reading from the book of Romans. St Paul says, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” We cannot see God in this world, so the primary way we get to know him is through hearing.

Paul is speaking about how saving faith begins, but the same principle applies to how such faith grows. That principle is that faith comes from hearing. Faith grows where Christ is heard.

Notice what Paul says needs to be heard: the message, the word about Christ. This is, of course, the gospel message, which Paul sums up in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: “What I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Notice that the death and resurrection of Jesus are grounded in the Scriptures, in the word of God. You may notice — I hope — that preachers like me always try to reference in every sermon this gospel message: that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures. That’s because we are convinced that Paul is right here. A Christian’s faith is powered up by hearing the message about Christ.

I’ve already said that faith is a bit like a muscle. Of course, faith is a gift. It’s not a result of our direct effort; we’re given it by God. But if you really want to bulk up the muscle you already have, you have to eat protein. Protein is what feeds muscles. You can’t build them without it.

In the same way, you can’t build up and strengthen the gift of faith that God has given you without hearing the message about Jesus Christ. And note that this is not a kind of generic message about God in general. If you feed your faith wholly on generic religion, you won’t build that faith muscle. It would be like trying to grow bodily muscles using only carbohydrates. We need to be hearing about Jesus Christ and him crucified. We have to be hearing about the cross. Faith grows where Christ is heard, not just where religion is going on.

I was always told growing up — and you probably heard this as well — “Starve a fever, feed a cold.” Have you heard that old maxim? But when a doctor hears this, they may gently sigh and say, “That sounds good, but actually there’s no solid evidence that you should eat less with a fever or eat more with a cold.” When you’re ill, the real advice is simply: eat if you feel able, stay hydrated, listen to your body.

In the same way, I often hear people saying, “Preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words.” And I gently sigh and say, “That sounds good, but neither Paul nor Jesus would wholly agree with it.” Acts of love are, of course, important. But listening to the word about Jesus is much more important.

Our reading from Luke’s Gospel shows us that. It’s a well-known story. Jesus goes to visit Martha and Mary. We hear that Mary is sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he says. But Martha is distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

So Martha comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me.” And how does Jesus reply? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — indeed, only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”

The one thing that is needed is relationship with Jesus. And, as Paul said, this comes from hearing about him.

Martha was busy with good things, but Mary was busy with something better: the beloved voice of Jesus. Jesus does not rebuke Martha for her service per se. He’s not saying, “Don’t ever do anything useful.” What he rebukes is anxious distraction. Listening is foundational, and service must flow from it — but not replace it.

So I wonder whether you feel more like a Martha or a Mary. Do you find yourself busy with lots of things? Do you sometimes find it hard to stop and hear the message about Jesus?

I’ve heard a number of people say to me, “I would come to church, but I just don’t have the time.” Well, clearly that’s not you, because you’re sitting here in church. You’ve made the time to come along this morning. But do we have time to be Christians outside of a Sunday? Do we have time to listen to sermons not on a Sunday?

That’s an idea. Graeme expends a decent amount of time uploading the sermons we preach to the website. And I know I myself need to get better at listening to them when someone else preaches.

None of us has to listen to sermons. But as we’ve seen, the Bible is clear: faith grows where Christ is heard. I’m sure we all know that a more confident Christianity is needed now more than ever. Confident faith comes from hearing the message about Jesus Christ.

There are so many good sermons out there these days, so many books of excellent sermons. We don’t need, of course, to be constantly listening to them. But my challenge for all of us this week is to listen to one sermon that isn’t this one. Two if you’re feeling particularly keen.

One caveat: there is a lot of junk out there — like junk food. A lot of sermons might sound insightful. But remember, without the word of the Bible and the message of the gospel of the cross, they just won’t feed your faith. They’ll be carbohydrates, not protein.

Ultimately, faith doesn’t grow because sermons are impressive. Faith grows because Christ is beautiful. When his death and resurrection are held before us again and again, the Spirit quietly strengthens our trust in him.

So this Lent, don’t just do more religious things. Feed your faith. Sit at Jesus’ feet. Listen to his voice. And trust that, as you do, what Jesus promised will be true for you as well: it will not be taken away from you.

John’s Prologue - The Word Revealing God

John 1:16-18

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (AV)

Exodus 33:17-20

And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

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And so we’ve come to the final part of John’s prologue from John’s Gospel, which we have been studying for the last few weeks. These last few verses are so full of content that it is quite difficult to speak on them, but I will do my best.

John had made that amazing statement, that amazing claim: In the beginning was the Word, and that the Word was not only with God, but was God from the beginning. I remember being in the British Library some years ago, and there was a special exhibition on it. There was a tiny, tiny piece of manuscript — I think it’s called Papyrus 66 — normally, I believe, in Geneva. Whether this was just a copy of it or not, it was quie small and it contained the very first few verses in Greek of In the beginning was the Word. I think it was second century. I thought it was an amazing thing to see.

So John makes this claim, and then through his Gospel he gives his reason for that claim. In the opening verses he brings God into focus through Jesus. Who is the person of God? Is he out of focus, shadowy, unreal, unapproachable? Is he to some an impersonal force? Or even irrelevant to modern thinking? Has AI overtaken all our spiritual needs? John’s claim is that God revealed himself in flesh and blood in the person of Jesus Christ, who lived among the people. They were witnesses of his life, his words, his passion, his death, and above all his resurrection. And more than everything else, they were witnesses of his abiding word.

John reveals Jesus Christ as a life-giving force which those who come to believe in him can also receive. He said, I am come that they might have life, and have it to the full — not life in merely physical terms or experiences, but as children of God, receiving God’s gift of grace and experiencing his love.

It is a mystery, this revelation that God should reveal himself in human terms. Our problem is so often that we rely on the visual. To see God himself, the Bible warns us, would turn us to dust. Yet we live in a seeing world. We like our screen time. We like instant rolling news, the camera on the spot as events unfold. I think Jesus would have been very newsworthy if cameras had existed. And yet we are given no physical description of him. What we receive is his word.

John describes his glory and the experience of God coming out of the shadows, out of the cloud of the Old Testament, through being in the presence of Christ. God was coming into focus. In verse 16 John writes, From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

The disciples had the privilege of sharing Christ’s physical presence and the sound of his voice as he taught, preached, and sometimes admonished. They fed on his word and later brought it back to memory, guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit. They felt blessed to be in his presence, not realising at the time how everlasting that experience would become. Gradually his nature was revealed, and finally at the resurrection they knew that this mystery was not for them alone. His blessings were not just for them; they had to be shared.

God’s grace is not a once-for-all gift; it is continually renewed. We have all received blessing after blessing. It is an undeserved gift — a gift of kindness and love. So why do we refuse such a gift?

In verse 17 we read, The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Two important words there: given and came. God gave the law through Moses, as we have been studying in Leviticus. It was holy and just and good, but the people were not obedient, and the law became a burden and a death sentence. As Matthew tells us, the teachers of the law tied up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders.

Grace, however, came through Jesus. God’s kindness received those who would otherwise have deserved separation and death. There were no external requirements — no “do this” or “do that”. All that was required was a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the living Word from the beginning. Now we should live as God intended.

In verse 18 we read that no one has ever seen God. Even Moses had to hide from his presence. Isaiah saw God’s glory but not his face. When the disciples experienced the transfiguration, they saw his radiant features, but then a cloud enfolded them. It was only a glimpse.

The King James Version speaks of the Son as being in the bosom of the Father. It is an image of closeness and intimacy. Sometimes I sit on our two-seater sofa with one of the children or grandchildren and we snuggle up to look at a book or watch something. We are close — not side by side, but in the bosom of the family. That is the image here: the closest place to the heart. The Son, close to the heart of God, reveals what is in the heart and mind of the Father.

God remains invisible, but he has come into focus. He is no longer unknown or unknowable. From this point John begins to record the will and purpose of God made known through Jesus Christ. His Gospel is more than a portrait of Jesus’ life. Jesus makes claims about himself: I am the way, the truth, and the life. Real life is not in the quality of the here and now; it is eternal life given to those who believe in him.

So we are in Lent. Some of us give things up — chocolate, whisky, and so on. It may be good for health and well-being, but taking something up may be even more worthwhile. Bishop David Sheppard once said that instead of giving something up, why not take something up? A good start would be to read the rest of John’s Gospel — always familiar, always revealing something new and true — and by reading it we can further put God into focus through Jesus Christ.

A final word from John’s letter: We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make your joy complete.

John’s Prologue - The Word Incarnate

John 1:14-15

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”

Exodus 40:34–38

The Glory of the Lord

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.

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Sometimes one little word can say so much - much more than we think on first sight.   For instance, 'promise', 'possible', 'love', 'simples’. And sometimes we find powerful little words in our scriptures.   One of the challenges of the scriptures is that we are not reading them in the languages in which they were originally written - our OT was written in Hebrew, and our NT mostly in Greek, with a little Aramaic here and there. And in our translations, it's sometimes difficult to render certain original Hebrew or Greek words into English without losing some of the nuance of meaning.

We're continuing our little series from the prologue to John's Gospel, and this evening we find ourselves thinking about just one really important verse from John chapter 1. And in that verse, v14, one of those meaningful little words appears, one of those words that has lost its nuance in translation. We read this:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

It's that little word 'dwelling'. He made his dwelling - he dwelt - among us.

Dwelling

You see, what we miss in English is that the Greek word behind this derives from the word for a tent.   So literally,

The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us.

Why does that matter? Well, John chooses his words very carefully.  He is the master of brevity.  And he likes to echo the OT.  He's already echoed the first verse of the book of Genesis in the way he opens his Chapter 1: in the beginning was the Word. And now he echoes the OT again - the Word (God) came to pitch his tent among us.   How does that echo the OT?  

Well, where in our bibles do we find God dwelling in a tent? Only in the Exodus, in the desert, in the midst of the Israelites whom he has called out of slavery in Egypt. Remember that in the OT God met his people - he figuratively dwelt -  in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, the portable temple that travelled with the Israelites as they wandered those 40 years towards the Land he had promised. His presence was symbolised by the pillar of smoke by day and the pillar of fire by night, moving with then through the desert.

And yet they could never see his face.  They were his people, and he was their God, but he remained remote, distant, a frightening presence characterized by thunder, lightning and smoke. Moses never got to see God; the nearest was when God allowed him to be tucked into a cleft in a rock while he passed by.

The LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand". (Exodus 33:21)

For no-one could see God, no-one could see his glory and live.

But now? John tells us, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. This was God in human form, who could be touched, spoken with, laughed with, adored, worshipped. Jesus, who declared to Thomas: Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. And in Jesus, the Word made Flesh, v14 tells us:

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.   John 1:14

Moses and all those OT characters would have given their right hand to be able to see God - but in Jesus Christ, God made man - we have been given that immense privilege. God has made himself known in Jesus Christ, personally, first to the people of 1st Century Palestine, and now, through his Spirit, down the ages, to us. Even to you and me.

And what do we discover about him from this same verse?   That he was full of grace and truth.   Two very particular attributes.

Truth

John often refers to Jesus as 'The Truth'.   He is the way, the truth and the life. John records Jesus saying repeatedly, I tell you the truth.  He is full of grace and truth. Jesus is the ultimate truth - in him there is nothing false, nothing conditional, nothing that will shift like the sands.   His word is rock-solid; his judgments are true.

We find it shocking that certain powerful people, even world leaders, bend that word to their own purposes. For them truth is something of their own design, something to be defined as such so long as it suits them. And then revised for convenience. But with Jesus, truth is absolute - for God does not lie. Jesus prayed to the Father for his followers:

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17

But truth is a two-edged sword - for the truth can be great news, but it can also be devastating. And for us, as we approach Lent, the truth is not always something we want to hear. Because, in truth, we have fallen below God's standards in our lives and our thoughts. The Apostle Paul wrote that:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

David the Psalmist wrote that:

there is no one who does good, not even one.

The prophet Isaiah wrote that:

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way

And that's something we especially recall on Ash Wednesday as we repent of our wrongdoing.

So we have a predicament.  If Jesus, the Word of God, came and dwelt among us bringing only truth, then our predicament would be terrible - for our sin is ever before us. But the good news is he came from the Father, full of grace and truth

Grace

We often forget the meaning of grace in everyday speech. If I say someone is full of grace you're more likely to imagine them as having great poise, delicacy of movement, maybe someone who is charming and polite. But the scriptural meaning is entirely different. In the bible, in God's language, grace is the free, unmerited gift of God's favour.

You can easily remember it if you think of it as an acronym - the letters GRACE meaning 'God's Riches At Christ's Expense'.

You see, God's Truth tells us that we have fallen short of his standards. That there is a gulf between us, caused by our rebellion and sin.   We have a huge and life-threatening problem. But God's Grace deals with our problem - not by pretending that it doesn't exist; not by sweeping it under the carpet; but by dealing with it head-on.

Sinful man and holy God cannot co-exist, any more than light can co-exist with darkness. So God deals with our sin by a great cosmic exchange - our sin is transferred to Jesus, and his holiness is transferred to us. Someone has to pay the price of sin - and God allows his own Son, fully God, to carry our sin on his shoulders on the cross where he died in our place.   Isaiah tells us:

he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

So, three little words that say so much.   Three powerful words to hold close to our hearts this Ash Wednesday: dwelling, truth and grace. For:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.