20.2.2011 Why is it "All about Jesus"?

Why is it “All about Jesus”?

Hebrews ch.1

Sunday 20 Feb 2011.

Introduction…

God is reaching out through... (sending God)

Creation – nature it just happened

Creation – human we are not animals

Prophets (priest and kings) got it wrong many times – trust

Angels modern confusion (spirits, powers, evil influences

Jesus, Son of God, son of Man

He is the Radiance of God’s glory… v3. Simply put, we see God in Jesus. He is the exact representation of God. There’s no need to go outside of Jesus to know God, to understand God. This is why the Gospels are SO important to us. We can’t do any better than to read and study the Gospels over and over again because that is where we meet Jesus – nowhere else! (Not Shine TV, Radio Rhema, Bob Gass or Praise Be, Equip or Parachute). Good that all these are, they have their place for sure, but do not replace the personal reading of the life of Jesus for ourselves.

You see, the Gospels are His powerful Word to us and for us. Now I know there are some here who got a bit scared or switched off 2 weeks ago when I enthused over the No. 11. But friends, I put it to you, unless we grow in the Word, we will go nowhere. How are we to grow our Christian lives and make them more meaningful within our family and neighbourhood? There is no simpler, more effective way than to add 11 more minutes to your reading, to add 11 more verses a week etc.

Reading about Jesus will make us more like Jesus. That way your neighbour will see Jesus in you, as we see God in Him.

He made purification for sin…(v3), then He sat down. Can the finished work of Christ be put any clearer? No. As my eye surgeon said to me after my eye operation and follow-up treatment, “This is as good as it gets.” There is no other solution to the problem of sin. God in Jesus Christ has done it, and when God does it it is GOOD. Ref Gen 1 (creation)

The blood of Jesus flowing down that cross, from His head, His hands and His feet was (and please excuse the apt pun), THE SOLUTION to rid sin of its hold on all who will call on Him, turn from their sinful ways and believe in His power to save to the uttermost.

With nothing more that could be done for sin either then or now here today, Sunday 20th Feb 2011, is it any wonder that Jesus sat down? “It is finished,” was His final cry from the cross that day outside Jerusalem, and it still rings true down the ages. Do you hear it today? Do you believe it today? Christian, do you STILL believe it today? 1Cor 11:27-32: taking communion “without recognizing the body of the Lord”. Although we have a quarterly routine for communion at Calvin, it is no routine thing for God. He is still looking for that “broken and contrite spirit” that recognizes in Jesus’ dead body and the glorious resurrection that followed, the ONLY solution to sin and its blight on the human race.

We live in an age that often renames sin as “deviant behavior” or “heredity influence” or “social disease.” As Christians we must uphold the root cause and cure for all such so-called ills. There is no short-cutting the need for recognition and confession of sin before God and our fellow humans by kneeling at the Cross of Christ and returning to our maker for permanent healing.

He is at God’s right hand…v3. The Majesty in heaven is the God of all creation and of all people. Could this be the derivation of a “right-hand man”, the one we cannot do without, the one who gets the job done? Jesus is the Son of God. As such He has inherited the Majesty. This passage goes on to tell us God has put all things, including all His enemies, under His feet, v13. He has the mind of God (for our guidance), the ear of God (for our prayers), and the heart of God (for our allegiance). What more, who more do we need?

And I am blown away when I read on in v8-9 that all that Jesus has done for us, his life and death, his agony and rejection (by God and man), has ended up by bringing JOY. There is perhaps no more amazing verse in scripture than Hebrews 12:2: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” “Consider Him”, it goes on, and demands we answer, “Yes”, if we are not to grow weary and lose heart. Today there should be no greater mark of the Christian life than JOY. If this was Jesus’ experience in all He went through for us, surely we His children have inherited the same. I believe this is a very practical thermometer of our day to day Christian life.

He is greater than angels and powers…

This book of Hebrews goes out of its way to emphasize the supremacy of Jesus, both at the visible human level and at the spiritual and at times mystical level. We will see this later in the book as regards Moses and Melchizedek. But here it is angels that are highlighted. One of the first issues faced by the early church was just where did Jesus fit in the commonly-held belief in the world at that time, that there existed a long chain of spiritual beings between God and man, between heaven and earth. Sadly the early church did lean this way at times. Even today there are churches that elevate saints to become intermediaries, or bishops who become all powerful. Primal religions are built around the placating of many, many spirits. Some of these spirits are real – messengers of Satan; others are generated internally through fears and indulging in known human dangers, as in the all too common drug scene.

We will talk more about this in later chapters. But for now we are told that angels are for us: – v 14 they are ministering spirits, sent from heaven to serve those who are serious about being saved. - Are you such a one? Have you ever been touched by an angel?

He will roll up earth and heaven…v10-14. Jesus is not only the beginning and creator, the present day sustainer and forgiver, he is also the end and judge of everything. We are so comfortable with our present- day situation, our homes, families, cars (not the BMW series 7), that we rarely stop and think about where all this is heading. The writer of Ecclesiastes had some insights 3,000 years ago when he wrote about the things we invest our time in as “vanity, meaningless, a chasing after the wind”. He, Jesus, will of course “remain the same”, v12, for He is God and remains in control and care of the very purpose of creation, namely us, His people, His children.

Where will you be at when all this happens? How well do you know Jesus? Events in the Middle East right now shout loud and clear giving an authentic echo of much Bible prophecy. You cannot shake Israel, Egypt, Palestine out of the equation. Jesus’ earthly life spanned all three of these countries. He remains at the centre of world-shaking events. Today, is He at the centre of your events, of your daily life?

I am giving you a moment to answer this question and then invite anyone who wants to connect or reconnect with Jesus to come to the front right hand side of the church while we close. Members are here to talk and pray with you.

13.02.11 - It's Not About Me

How many of you believe that you are dead?

The theme for today is: It’s Not About Me. You might think that on this, my last Sunday here, I am being terribly modest and saying that today is not about me. That is not what I am saying.

In my last three sermons here I have spoken about three things that are at the core of the Christian faith:

• Firstly: It is all about Jesus.
• Secondly: The calling on us is to be followers
• Today: It is not about me

“It is not about me” expresses a key biblical theme which, I think, many Christians don’t even know about. I regret that I haven’t taught it more.

Our society is self-absorbed. It is all about me. All of the time we hear about self-image, self-actualisation, self-respect, self-fulfilment, self-interest, self-sufficiency, being self-made, etc. We are obsessed with self. Our society is self-centred and self-ish.

Why should you buy L’Oreal products? Because you’re worth it. It’s all about you.

And yet the Bible talks about dying to self. In our society, it is all about me. The Kingdom of God attitude is that it is not about me at all. Dying to self means I don’t matter which equals “It is not about me.”

Let me give you some examples from the life of an average church. You tell me who it is all about.

• I didn’t get much out of worship today.
• I don’t want my church to grow because then I won’t know everybody.
• The church exists to meet the needs of me and my family. (A survey in the USA showed that 89% of Christians believed that.)
• I am going to go to another church. This one doesn’t suit me.
• I no longer go to church. Many years ago a minister was rude to me.
• Having a new member in our small group would change the dynamics. It has taken a long time for us to get to this point.
• I don’t want people to see that I am struggling or that our family is struggling

When I was considering resigning I faced lots of me questions. There is a certain prestige that goes with being the Senior Pastor of Calvin. My identity is linked to my position. Who would I be if I didn’t have a church? I might end up being a nobody. I had to face my tendency to think about myself.

Maybe we can all identify with those things because we are strongly self-centred. It is simple built into us to think first of ourselves. The old illustration is: when you are handed a photo of a group that you were part of, who do you look for first? We always look for ourselves. Have I been recorded? Will I be remembered? What do I look like? Our whole natural orientation is towards ourselves. It is all about me.

Contrast that with Jesus saying, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Jesus said three things are required. Denying ourselves means saying no to ourselves. We have desires and appetites. We desire comfort and ease, possessions, other people’s praise, security, pleasure. Advertising appeals to those desires. Our society says “If you want it, have it. Satisfy your desires.”

Jesus says the opposite. He says, “Deny yourself. Say ‘No’ to yourself.” Sometimes we are called to deny even legitimate desire – for example, by fasting – in order to say Jesus comes first.

Our society doesn’t understand self-denial. Many would mock the idea of denying yourself. On the other hand, when we see people do it – when we see parents sacrificing to look after a disabled child or we think of our war dead, or those who donate organs – we admire those who deny themselves.

Secondly Jesus says His followers must take up their crosses daily. The disciples would have known what he was talking about. Anyone who took up his cross was walking to his death. It wasn’t just about carrying a heavy burden. It was about dying. Taking up one’s cross meant accepting your death - daily.

Thirdly, Jesus requires people to follow Him. Following means surrendering our independence. If I follow another person I no longer choose where I will go or what I will do or what I will believe.

And so Jesus says, “Deny yourself. It is not about you. Take up your cross. It is not about you. Follow. It is not about you.” With three powerful images, He says repeatedly that is it not about us. Anyone who would follow Jesus must die to himself or herself – must adopt this attitude that it is not about me.

In these Biblical examples, is the person involved was saying “It is about me” or “It’s not about me”?

• Ruth said to Naomi, “Where you go, I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die and there I will be buried.”
• Daniel prayed, even under threat of death.
• John the Baptist said, “I must decrease and He must increase”.
• Peter denied knowing Jesus.
• The rich young ruler couldn’t give up his possessions to follow Jesus.

The rich young ruler had asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus said, “Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor.” But he couldn’t do it. By clinging to his possessions he missed out on eternal life.

We read Luke 9:23 before. Look at the next verse. Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (v.24)

Everything in us screams out against dying to ourselves. Everything in us wants to protect ourselves, accumulate for ourselves, defend ourselves but while we do that we miss out on the life that Jesus gives. The rich young ruler chose life now - and missed out on life eternal. The greatest blessings await those who deny themselves. Jesus said that those who had given up homes and family and possessions would not fail to receive a hundred times as much. When we die to ourselves we don’t lose; we gain.

Let’s recap. Jesus said that dying to ourselves is essential. We cannot be disciples without it. He also said that those who do, will be greatly blessed. But how can we? When self-centredness is so deeply ingrained in us, how can we? It is impossible. We cannot do it. We would have to change our very nature to do it. Can a leopard change his spots? Can we change who we are? No, not to that degree. We can change superficial things but we cannot change who we are at the most basic level. We are self-centred.

Here is the good news. This is the bit that I think is so little understood. You are already dead; just believe it. When we become Christians – and particularly when we are baptised – we die. We share in Jesus’ death. The Bible says we become one with Jesus and in His death we also die.

More than that, when He rose to life again, we rose to a new life. The old person died and a new person began living a new life. The only way to live this new life is in Christ.

2 Cor 5:17           ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here!

Paul talked about this experience.

Gal 2:20              I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I want to read Romans 6:1-4. It is a little bit complicated but listen for these points:

• In baptism we shared Christ’s death
• We also share his resurrection. We have been raised to live a new life
• When we died, sin lost its power over us. The old person was a slave to sin but that person died. The new person is free from sin.
• We therefore should say “no” to sin, and, instead, live for God.

READ Romans 6:1-14

Please note v.11: count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

If we are baptised Christians, then we have died and been raised to a new life. That is true but for it to do us any good, we must believe it. So Paul says, “Believe it. Count yourself (or, consider yourself) dead to sin but alive to God. God says that it is true. Believe that it is true and live as if it was true.”

So, for example, if you are a Christian but you struggle to give over control of your life to Jesus; you still like security; you still like possessions, what can you do? You can try to change yourself but you will fail. Then you might be discouraged by constant failure and conclude that it is useless; you’ll never make it.

Or, you could remember that you are dead and, as a result, things have changed! Sin has no power over dead people. I don't know if you have noticed, but dead people don't sin. And sin has no power over people living the new life.

Paul says, “Count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” You can say, “Those things used to have control over me but they don’t now. I used to be a slave to sin; I used to be powerless but now I am dead to sin and living a new life in Jesus. I am no longer a slave. I am now free. I am free to say no to things. I am free to trust Jesus for my security – and I am going to. I am going to live by faith.”

Things change radically when we put our faith in Jesus. Sin now has no power over us. We are free to live the new life. “Count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” That one truth will change your life. If it doesn’t quite make sense to you yet, prayerfully mediate on Romans 6 until it does.

Once we believe that we can live the new life, then we should! Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and empowering to live a life free from sin.

Now, how many of you believe that you are dead?

Calvin, over the last 20 years we, as a family, have been blessed beyond our wildest expectations. This has been a fantastic time and you have been fantastic people. Being on this journey with you, with all its ups and downs and all of the times when we seem to have caught the wave and other times when we have had to stop and re-think and pray hard, has been an enriching adventure. I have learnt so much from you. I was 34 when I arrived here. I am a much different person and a much richer person now and that is because of having had the privilege to do this thing called church with you.

I pray that the journey continues to be rewarding for you. For what it is worth, my last appeal to you as I leave has been the theme of these last three sermons:

• Keep it all about Jesus. Don’t let it ever become a system or an organisation.
• Be followers. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Learn from Him. Become like Him. Do what He did.
• And finally, If you are a Christian, believe that you have died and that you have been raised with Jesus to a new life. You have died to sin and are alive in God. In an average church people still think it is all about them. Don’t be an average church. Let it be all about Jesus.

06.02.11 - Pressing On Into 2000 + 11

Phil. 3:7-16    A collective paraphrase

Alan Benntt

3 introductory remarks…

Follows on from what Ken shared from Phil 1 last week.

Change the “I” to “We” and “Us”   Told to imitate God and Paul !(4;9 and 1 Cor.4)

We are now in year 11 of the 21^st century.  11 is a progressive number, it takes us beyond the plateau that 10 can easily become. (our 11^th grandchild is due this week!)  To me it sets us on an exciting journey across an unknown gap before we come to 20. Using the words of Francis Schaeffer, an inspiring Christian apologist of 40-50 years ago, it is a “Great leap of Faith”  I want to see Calvin CC excited about launching into that leap this year. We have the security of knowing that God has brought us through 10 years of this new century intact and with our heads held high. Remember all the doom and gloom of Y2K, computers crashing and planes falling out of the sky.! That negative thinking is way behind us now.

I want us to move on from there with a spring in our step, with faith burning in our hearts and with the number 11 in our minds, hearts and on our lips.

1. We want to know Christ (more).  Closer relationship.  More than 10 years ago. More than last year. How much more?  +11 minutes more, 11 times aware of Him per day more. 11 more verses per day Bible reading. Whatever way we can measure our relationship with Jesus, let’s add to that in some way that will bring GROWTH in that relationship. This relationship with Jesus growth is foundational for all else. For several weeks now Peter has left us with the phrase, “It’s all about Jesus” ringing in our ears. Today it is a collective response these verses are asking for, WE want to know Jesus more.

Power of His resurrection surely means the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yes Lord, we want more of that too. What would happen if Calvin church experienced 11% more HS activity through this year?

That could be an interesting goal in the light of the Ian Malin’s seminars coming in March 25-27. We need to be sure that all of our church based activity is HS led, has resurrection like power at it’s heart.

Fellowship of sharing.  Christ suffered in order that the Church would come into being. The church will go on growing as we fellowship more and more. Share more and more together,  perhaps spend 11 minutes more chatting after church before going home..

Like Him, reminds us that it is a sacrifice.   This same verse reminds us that our lives are not wasted. Christians and the church spend their lives looking forward (11) to eternal life with no regrets.

2. Not that we have already obtained.  That’s right. We have only got to 10, Here we must stock take. Just like shopkeepers and farmers and even politicians! One of the many legacies Pastor Peter leaves with us is a “Healthy Church” chart with helpful insights into Calvin’s growth so far. But this year is no longer 2010, it is eleven.  God doesn’t want us to just roll year over year. We reflect on the past and set sails for the future. We get out No. 11 sail for the winds of 2011. (illus..Americas Cup yachting)      We press on to take hold of our future in Christ.  Jesus took hold of us. How many years ago was that? (more than 11 perhaps!)

Jesus planted this church here 50 years ago.  Pastor Peter has led this church forward over past 20 years.  Jesus not only contacted us but He also contracted with us to grow His Calvin Community Church. We dare not pull back and deny Jesus the direction and purpose He has for this church.  His purpose is growth. 11+, 11x, 11%. Certainly not 11-

So how do we advance, make progress through 2011 ?

3. One thing we do…  actually 3.things…

a)      Forgetting the past.  Learn from it and then leave it. We must put 2010 and all previous years behind us. We are now in 2000+11  (Illus from TH )

In Christ, God forgives and forgets – sins in the deepest sea.

b)      Strain towards..application of mind and muscle. Ref Col 3  “set your minds…..set your hearts…on things above.

c)      Press on…into 2011 and beyond .  To be positive.

A word about being positive…NOTE. I am not preaching PPT !

“Hello, how are you today?,    “Not too bad”  = means “good”   because the prize ahead is heaven.   I fear that on arrival there and Jesus shows us the mansion He has prepared for us we will say “not too bad” !!

4. All about being mature in Christ.  This dosen’t mean dowdy or satisfied, proper and respectful. God forbid that a mature church is looked upon as being middle aged. I don’t want it ever said that Calvin is middle aged (fat, flabby and past it’s prime) as it could easily be labeled  by comparison with the human frame. Rather it means we are progressing in Christ, still growing, still learning, still excited about being a dynamic Christian church in this Gore community.  I want to cheer and encourage every member here today, fresh back after the summer break, who are picking up the ongoing activities of this church and giving their time and energy once again in service to God. They are well into their 11+ exams and are going to be blessed with an 11x+ or % increase in fruitfulness and joy in their hearts.  Let us all join them and…

Live up to v10… what is already attained by rejoicing in what has been so far achieved .here at Calvin and everyone of us being involved and doing that same 11 bit more across every avenue of ministry that this church is doing and that is yet to be added to.  May God energise us as we start with our Great leap of Faith into 2000 +11

30.1.11 - To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain.

Sermon preached at Calvin 30/1/11 Ken Williams

Philippians 1:18b-26

• I want to begin by asking you a question. Well, actually it is several questions. How important is your life? How much do you personally value your own life?

• Just take a moment and ponder the question.

• Ready for a challenge? Right – Philippians ch.1 – Paul is in a Roman prison and he is writing to the church in Philippi.

• Now we are looking at the verses v.18b through to v.26. Now this passage is pretty tight, compact – full of theological content. It becomes easier if we break it into two parts.

• READ (vv.18b – 20)

• In this first part, Paul states his conviction that whatever the future holds for him, he will not be deprived of his joy, it does not matter whether he lives, it does not matter whether he dies - because Christ will be exalted, will be lifted up in him.

• Paul was living his life for Jesus and nothing else really mattered.

• In the second part, Paul provides the reason for this unusual perspective and states what he believes the outcome of his circumstances will be.

• READ (vv.21-26).

• Living in comfort-conscious New Zealand we are not exempt from the implicit rebuke of Paul’s attitude toward death. Reread vv.21-22.

• It will be a rare believer who can read this passage, grapple with it seriously, and come away satisfied that he or she is following Paul’s example.

• He is committed to the extent that his own life is of secondary consequence.

• Paul speaks of his own affairs only as they touch on the progress of the gospel – his own life, his circumstances and situation were secondary to the progress of the gospel – can any of us honestly say the same.

• Paul is a hugely challenging character to us.

• Can we really say – my life doesn’t matter! It is Christ that counts!

• Let’s think about the words of a song that we sing here sometimes – I lay my life down at your feet. (One Way)

• I think Paul could have sung this song – to me it is a very challenging song – but are we always completely honest as we sing the words.

• We sing it with passion and enthusiasm – but are we really willing to lay down our life – I think it is a great song, but it really is challenging, hugely challenging.

• So are many of our songs and maybe we sing through them, without really reflecting on the implications.

• Our culture - This culture of the Western world, with its elevation of personal freedom and individual rights above virtually every other ideal, doesn’t provide a friendly environment for the development of the notions that Paul expresses here.

• This passage should challenge us, should make us feel uncomfortable – we are products of the culture of the Western world and we have to resist the temptation to soften the impact of this passage.

The Choice to Live

• Paul states something in here that can easily go unnoticed in our culture.

 • He genuinely considers his choice to live, rather than to die, to be the more difficult and sacrificial choice.

• We live in a culture that thinks of physical death with such dread that society’s highest goal is the postponement of death as long as possible.

• We don’t talk about death, we shun it, we push it away – we all know it is coming – but we don’t talk about it.

• SO... for us who are products of such a society, we will inevitably find Paul’s notion that remaining alive is a sacrifice and death a gain, difficult to understand.

• To live or to die, Paul hopes for the outcome that, in his opinion, will most clearly advance the preaching of Christ.

 • This can only strike us as strange in the modern church, if we have allowed the comforts of our present existence to steal the place of Christ in our lives as our chief priority.

• If we are to let this passage speak to us on its own terms, we will need to stare Paul’s astonishing indifference toward death, squarely in the face and ask ourselves whether our attitude toward death imitates his.

• Along with the Philippians in times past, we need to look to Paul as a model.

• Christ is more important than life itself to him, and the joy and progress of his fellow Christians more important than departing to be with Christ.

Our Attitude Towards Life and Death

 • It has been observed that death is an embarrassment to modern Western culture.

• Prior to the first half of the 20th century, when extended families often lived near each other and even in the same house with one another, it was not uncommon for children to observe death firsthand and to learn to cope with it from older family members around them.

• Today, however, people die in hospitals or resthomes more frequently than homes, bodies are quickly removed from hospital to morgue, and the embalmers art rapidly restores the body to a lifelike appearance.

• Our way of coping with death seems to be to deny its existence.

• Paul, however, faced death with the same firm resolve that marked his approach to life, for both death and life to him meant service to Christ, and service to Christ was his primary goal.

• Perhaps more than at any other time in history, the church needs to adopt Paul’s perspective on life and death.

• With most people in the world around us refusing to talk about the subject of death, out of stark terror, and with the philosophers who do speak of it often claiming that the notion of life after death is only wishful thinking, it is tempting for the believer to live as if there were nothing beyond the grave.

• But this can only cause us to clutch our material possessions more tightly for the security they can give and keep us from risking our lives in the service of God.

• Are we prepared to give our all, our everything for God or... when it comes down to it – do we put a higher priority on other things – our reputation, our status, our security, our finances, our comfort, our time.

• Iran is a country where many Christians have learned Paul’s perspective on death.

• Maybe like Paul, they can provide an example for us in the West... Read section from Commentary on Philippians p.89

• The test of faith that Paul experienced nearly two thousand years ago is repeated in the modern church today.

• We in the West are insulated from it, but it remains a reality for believers who live under anti-Christian totalitarian regimes.

• Now the reality is most of us here, will never have to physically die for our faith. But that is the depth of faith and attitude that Jesus wants us to grow into.

• So what sort of faith is this?

• It is the sort of faith that produces a passion within us.

• It is the sort of faith that says I will do whatever it takes to obey my God.

• It is the sort of faith that says I am not afraid of failure.

• It is the sort of faith that says I will not care what anyone else says or thinks.

• It is the sort of faith that says I will refuse to be ashamed by the comments and criticisms of others.

• Because the faith, the attitude, the mindset, that Jesus wants me to have is faith that says I will do whatever it takes to follow my God.

• To live is Christ, to die is gain.