Sermon - God and Sex

Living to Please God pt 2 -

God and Sex

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

13/05/07

audio

Earlier this year the Washington Post conducted a very interesting experiment. Three days after world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell had sold out Boston Symphony Hall, with ordinary seats going for $100, they had him do some street busking near a Washington D.C. train station.

He played the same beautiful music, on the same rare Stradivarius violin. How would it be received in such a different environment?

Over the next 45 minutes over a thousand people streamed past. 27 of them thought that the music was beautiful enough to warrant a donation, contributing a total of $32.

In an environment where people were not expecting such beauty, and were too busy to really stop and listen, the quality of the music was almost wasted. In an environment where people were really paying attention and were eager to listen, the quality was very much appreciated.

The same music, but a different environment.

That is a key idea for us to keep in mind as we continue our exploration of the book of 1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

^3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ^4 that each of you should learn to control his own body^ in a way that is holy and honorable, ^5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; ^6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. ^7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ^8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Is it O.K. to talk about sex in Church?

Yes, because the Bible talks about sex! The letters of the New Testament were intended to be read aloud in churches, so of course it must be O.K. to talk about publicly.

In 1 Corinthians 12:23 Paul is talking about the human body, and he says: “And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty”. The same principle applies to sex. As we will see a bit later, sex is meant to be a private affair between a husband and wife, and it deserves to be treated with special modesty. That does not mean that it should be ignored, it means that it should be treated respectfully.

An article in “The Age” newspaper last year[1] reported that many teenagers and professionals are unhappy with the inadequacy of sex education within schools, which often only looks at the biological issues and does not address many of the important issues and questions surrounding sex. A survey of 830 girls from the ages of 13-15 by author Kaz Cooke asked where girls got their information about sex from. 49% got their information from friends, 46% got it from schools, 21% from magazines and 19% from home. A New Zealand study has shown that teenage boys get most of their information about sex from pornographic websites. That’s not very healthy!

The Church has a responsibility to provide good information about sex. If God has taken the trouble of providing that information for us in the Bible, why wouldn’t we pass it on to people who need to hear it?

Our passage today talks about the importance of avoiding sexual immorality. In other words, there is a morality to sex. There is a right and a wrong to it. We are being told to avoid wrong sexuality. Well, who decides what is right and wrong about sex? There are lots of people with lots of different opinions about that. Christians believe that only God has the right to set moral boundaries. It is God who determines right and wrong. So…

What does God think about sex?

Sexuality was created by God, therefore it must be good!

The only sexual relationship God intended was the exclusive, lifelong, loving commitment between a man and a woman. In this context, sex retains all of it’s inherent goodness.
(Note – all of those ingredients are important!) – Whiteboard – good!

Any sexual relationship outside God’s intention falls short of that goodness.

Because we are all corrupted by sin, we are all tempted to stray outside the boundaries God has established for sex.

What did most people think about sex back then?

Jews had clear rules from God about keeping sex pure.

Romans had very relaxed laws about sex except for in certain situations, but they didn’t like to talk about it! They didn’t really care what you did as long as you did it privately.

The main issue with Romans was whether or not a person was preoccupied with sex. This was seen to be a moral flaw. Men who were seen to be too concerned with sex were labelled as effeminate, which was the greatest possible insult to a Roman. In fact, one of their greatest generals, Pompeii, was labelled as “effeminate” because he was apparently too much in love with his own wife!

For the Roman, sexuality was just about satisfying animal urges, nothing more. So sleeping with a person was less significant socially than having dinner with them, as long as you were discreet.

Greeks operated under the same laws, but were much more sexually overt.

Gnostic teaching
Gnosticism is a term used to describe a number of philosophies and religious ideas that were becoming popular at this time in history and are still influential today. The Bible clearly condemns these ideas, one of which is that the body and soul are separate. According to Gnosticism, the body is evil, the soul is divine. This leads to…

2 extremes:

Deny bodily pleasures
We need to be freed from the physical world and it’s pleasures, so we will deny all physical urges and pleasures in an effort to release the mind from physical gratification. In extreme forms, this took the shape of self harm in an effort to punish the evil body and free the mind from it’s sensations.

Indulge bodily pleasures
If the body is evil anyway, why not do with it whatever you like? It doesn’t matter, only the mind matters.

Now that we understand the bigger picture of what God thinks about sex and what the common views were at that time, we are ready to step through our passage to see what it has to teach us.

^3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified:

That is, God does not want us to simply follow the values and lifestyles of the people around us. We are to be different. We are set apart as God’s people, and so we must care about what God wants for us and what will bring Him the honour that He deserves.

that you should avoid sexual immorality;

So it’s in the area of sexual right and wrong that God wants us to demonstrate our “different-ness”.

(Remember, God’s view of sex is pretty different to the accepted views of the day)

^4 that each of you should learn to control his own body^ in a way that is holy and honourable,

First of all, we need to learn to control our own sexuality. Studies have shown that as children are reaching puberty earlier, the rates of sexual activity among children in their early teens is rising dramatically. We all naturally have sexual urges, we need to learn to control our own bodies in a way that is holy and honourable.

^5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;

Does this mean that we should not be passionate lovers? This is where unfortunately the Church has been influenced by the world’s view of sex. Just like the Romans, some early Christian leaders and writers viewed sex as an animal passion that did not fit with a life of holiness. It should only be tolerated for the purposes of reproduction. In fact it became quite popular to make sexual intercourse between a man and wife as unstimulating as possible in order to avoid the trap of being overly passionate. Some Christian teachers thought like the Gnostics that the body was evil, and nowhere is that more evident than in the area of sexuality. In fact, the female body – sensual as it is and tempting to men – was seen as being particularly evil. Women in general became a temptation and a snare to men.

Nowhere does the Bible encourage this sort of attitude. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 7 Paul encourages a healthy sex life between husbands and wives as the best deterrent of sexual immorality.

This verse says that we should not cast of self-restraint and just do whatever our urges demand. Sure, if you don’t know God and you can get away with it, why not? But if you do know God, you know that this is not how you should live. Boundaries are there for a reason. They protect what is good, and they protect us from what is not good. Don’t act as if you don’t know God or the boundaries He has established.

^6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.

Straying outside the boundaries has a number of consequences. First of all, it robs us of the goodness of sticking with God’s plan. Sex outside God’s intention will not be the blessing to us that sex inside God’s intention is. Regardless of what our physical urges, society’s values or the clever marketing of porn peddlers, God’s plan is always best. These verses contain 2 more important reasons to stay within the boundaries.

First, having sex with someone other than your husband or wife is to rob someone else. It robs your current or future spouse of their sole ownership of you, and it robs the other person’s current or future spouse of their sole ownership of that person. The Bible says that if God’s plan for us includes marriage, then our bodies belong to our spouse, whether we are married to them yet or not. Sexual experimentation or sampling before marriage does not make us a better lover in marriage, it steals from our future lover. It diminishes the precious gift of your body that you give to a person in marriage.

Secondly, God says that a time is coming when sins will be judged. In Greek and Roman society there was very little in the way of sexual accountability. In Judaism there were strict rules, but frequently people escaped punishment for a variety of reasons. Even in clearly proven cases, the penalty of death could not legally be carried out because they were under Roman rule. Paul says that God is going to judge all sin one day.

^7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ^8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

As in every other area of life, there is forgiveness and restoration when we fall short of God’s standards. God can heal us in the area of our sexuality, just as He can heal us in other areas of life where we have been damaged by sin.

But where we have a choice to make about what we will do, our responsibility is to choose to live a holy life. The Apostle Paul makes it clear that he is not imposing his standards on people, he is emphasising God’s standards. He reminds us that God gives us the Holy Spirit who reminds us of God’s commands and prompts us to obey them. To reject this teaching is to reject God.

Conclusion

Today we have stuck to the big picture in talking about God and Sex. It really is a huge topic, but we have pretty much stuck to the basics. Sex within God’s boundaries is healthy and good. Outside the boundaries, sex is degraded and there are unpleasant consequences to our actions.

Further Study

To learn more about good sex as God intended, there are plenty of good books and courses on offer. Make the effort to invest in your marriage!

There is no subject that Mike is not happy to discuss from a biblical point of view – just ask!

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[1] http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/think-sex/2006/05/28/1148754861223.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap3

Sermon - Living to Please God pt 1

Living to Please God pt 1 -

Who Has the Right to Tell You What To Do?

1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

6/5/07

audio

Introduction

“You can’t tell me what to do!”

Have you ever said or thought that? I have!

Most people are very sensitive about who has the right to order them about. Just recently an adult told Tim to do something, to which he replied: “You’re not my dad!”

In Tim’s mind, I have the right to tell him what to do, even though he doesn’t always like it when that happens. On this occasion, he didn’t feel that other person had the same right. I remember feeling resentment as a teenager at times when some adults felt they could order me about

Who has the right to tell you what to do?

For many people, once they leave home or even beforehand, the answer is “No-one”!

Many of us will allow some people to boss us around to a certain degree. The boss at work has the right to tell us what to do as long as he or she does it in the right way. A spouse can get away with it sometimes. Even our kids can get away with it sometimes.

But if you were to ask “Who has the right to tell you what to do at any time and any place for any reason?” The answer would nearly always be “Nobody”.

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

Paul says to the Thessalonian Christians “We instructed you how to live”. That’s more than saying “We taught you about Jesus” or “We gave you spiritual advice about how you should live”. Paul says “We told you what you should be doing. We instructed you how to live. We did this by the authority of Jesus Christ.”

Paul not only expects that they are following those instructions – he has heard that they are – but he even urges them to keep doing it more and more.

Just these 2 verses bring up some important questions for us:

1. Does Jesus have the right to tell us what to do?
2. Who is delegated the authority to speak on Jesus’ behalf?
3. How good is good enough?

Let’s start with number one:

1) Does Jesus have the right to tell us what to do?

Do you want the short answer or the long one?

The short answer is “Yes, He does!”

The long answer spells out the reasons that He has that right. Let me sum up just some of those reasons as they are found in Colossians 1:15-20:

^15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ^16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ^17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ^18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ^19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ^20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

A) Because He Is Who He Is

Jesus is God, we are not. The very nature of existence is that God has the right to be God. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is God and we are not, that is the order of things.

B) Because He Made Us

Jesus created all things and all things were created for Him. He owns us! However, humanity was given the opportunity to reject His rule, and we did. Does He still own us?

C) Because He Holds the Universe Together

Without Jesus, there would be no universe. In Him all things hold together (v.18)

D) Because He Bought Us with His Blood

The death of Jesus was the price needed to reconcile us to God, and His resurrection demonstrates the power of God to bring that reconciliation into effect.

OK, so if Jesus has the right to tell us what to do, how does that authority actually get used? Who or what has the right to speak on Jesus’ behalf?

2) Who is delegated the authority to speak on Jesus’ behalf?

A) The Holy Spirit has the right to speak to us on Jesus’ behalf

John 14:23-25

²³Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

B) The Bible has the right to speak to us on Jesus’ behalf

2 Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

C) The Church has the right to speak to us on Jesus’ behalf

This is evident because it is what is happening in our passage in 1 Thessalonians. Paul relates how he, as a member of the Church, has been entrusted with the authority to pass on the instructions of Jesus. We can read through the book of Acts for many more examples, as well as through all of the letters from Paul, Peter, John, James and Jude to see that this is what is happening. Paul said to Titus in Titus 3:15 “Encourage and rebuke with all authority”. But is it only certain people within the Church who have this right?

Leaders

Hebrews 13:17

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Everyone

Colossians 3:16a

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom

Different types of churches tend to emphasise one direction or the other – hierarchy or equality. The fact is that both are true and both are needed.

CAUTION – PROCEED WITH CARE!

Remember that Jesus reserved His harshest criticisms for those who presumed to speak for God, but in fact were out of touch with Him.

There have been countless examples in churches, communities and families where those who have claimed to speak for God have actually been way out of line. There has been abuse caused by wrong teachings, by disregarding right teachings or by legalistically applying teachings.

Ephesians 4:15 gives us the alternative to these errors:

“^ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

If we are to claim to speak on behalf of Jesus, we must first of all speak the truth. That is, what we say must line up with Jesus’ words and actions. We have been given the Bible to help us measure what we or anybody else says in order to check whether it is the truth or not.

Secondly, we must speak in love. If our motive is not love, we have no right to speak. Only truth delivered in love can build others up.

Let me give you an example of how this works. As a parent, I have the responsibility of disciplining my children. I can discipline in anger, or discipline in love. Often the punishments I may apply will not change, but the manner in which I apply them will be different.

I have noticed that punishing in anger tends to produce fear in my children. This may help them stop the offending behaviour, but it does nothing for our relationship. In fact, I have noticed that there is commonly resentment that follows, which then gives me something more to discipline.

On the contrary, when I first deal with my anger and discipline my children in love, I have noticed that not only is the discipline still effective in changing behaviour, but it is also effective in keeping our relationship strong. Tim has often spontaneously apologised to me or gone and apologised to Carolyn and sought to make things right. Angry discipline tends to produce more rebellion, loving discipline tends to produce repentance.

That is the sort of effect we are supposed to have on one another. Instead of causing resentment through what we say, we should be producing repentance and good deeds. We should be encouraging one another and spurring each other on.

But whether it is discipline or direction, people can still reject even the most loving attempts to provide any sort of guidance or correction. It seems that adults find this a lot harder than children, no matter how it is applied.

The result is an environment where often people are too afraid to address issues with one another. We might feel concerned for a Christian brother or sister and the choices they are making, but we never go as far as actually talking to them about it. Instead, we talk to others in the hope that someone else will do it!

Being free to share and receive the truth in love is something that we all need to work on.

1 Peter 5:5 says:

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.” ^

This means that we shouldn’t be too quick to speak, but we should be quick to really listen.

Conclusion

We discover in these few verses that Paul wasn’t an academic sort of teacher. He wasn’t just interested in imparting knowledge. He was interesting in imparting faith which produced changed lives.

He didn’t just instruct people in what to think. He told them what they must do.

Many of us are happy to hear teaching. Many of us will even listen to examples of how that teaching might be applied. Some people will accept being told what they must do. Not many people will tolerate being checked up on to see if they are actually doing it. We seem to have an idea that that is just between us and God. It’s not. It never has been.

If we really care about each other, we will take notice of each other’s lives. We will seek to meet each other’s needs. We will be available to speak the truth to one another in love, seeking to draw each other ever closer into relationship with Jesus Christ. As God’s Word dwells in us richly we will be qualified to teach and admonish each other with all wisdom. As we are clothed with the humility of Jesus, we will receive the truth and let it bear fruit in our lives.

That’s how it works in the Church.

Is that how it works for you?

Book Review - Longitude, by Dava Sobel

I’ve got to confess that I love Maths and Physics as well as a bit of Geography – so this book was always likely to fascinate me. However I’m not that good with mechanics, which turned out to be where I struggled most with the book.

I enjoyed the story of the scientific pursuit and the way that personalities and politics influenced the endeavour. I think you have to admire the dedication and focus of many of these people – some who painstakingly observed the heavens and others who meticulously crafted clocks, taking many years to finish a single model.

After ANZAC day we are particularly aware of the critical importance of being able to determine your position accurately, and we’ve probably forgotten how difficult an art that has been until quite recently.

My main disappointment was the lack of pictures! I would have thought that it was only logical to include the schematics for the various clocks and watches, and maps of some of the locations mentioned. My mind struggled to properly understand the mechanisms and their functions as they were described, since I had nothing to visualise. Because I couldn’t see how they fitted together, I didn’t get a full appreciation for the workings and the skill required to invent and assemble them.

I was grateful for the stories in the book that illustrated the need for the system of determining longitude, as the book would have been pretty dry otherwise. Even so, it’s still probably a book more for the curious tinker or historian than the average person.

A few piccies

Sunset at Roe Dam
We had a great Easter Friday campout at Roe Dam again this year. Tim and I camped overnight, while Mum, Alyssa and Aunty PJ went home to warm and comfy beds.

After a hard morning's play, Tim and Lyssy were ready for a good snooze!

Do I need a licence for this thing!
Tim's first experience of driving a ride-on lawnmower.

This was at the factory & shop for Margaret River Nuts & Cereals, owned by our friends Herman & Gabita. It's near the chocolate factory, and well worth calling in to for a look & taste of a wide range of nuts, cereals, condiments, biscuits etc. I highly recommend Gabby's Muesli for a tasty & filling breakfast!

Holidays in Busselton.
Who's that lazy bloke who won't help his wife carry the children?

Actually, Herman had to get to work before the rest of the group were ready for the photo, so I had to take a separate shot of him and pasted him in to the group photo later on!

We had a great few days staying with Herman, Gabita, Pieter and James in Busselton.

This is me catching a salmon!





Actually, it's me snagged on rocks, but the first story sounds better! Tim didn't care either way.

Getting Ready for Easter

audio

Introduction

Easter is less than a week away. If you’re like me, it feels as though the last few months have just flown by and suddenly Easter is upon us. Are we ready for Easter?

The Easter festival is a time of major significance for Christians around the world. It is the time of year that we most strongly reflect on the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In many Christian traditions, the observance of Lent is an important part of preparing for Easter. So what is Lent, and why have millions of Christians since the early ages of the Church celebrated it?

The word “Lent” is derived from an ancient word for “Spring”, since that is the time of year in which Easter falls in the Northern Hemisphere. It denotes a period of 40 days leading up to Easter. This 40 days reflects the time that Jesus spent in the desert preparing for His earthly ministry, as well as other biblically significant examples of the number 40 (such as the 40 years in the desert for the Israelites). It is a time devoted to fasting, prayer and giving to the poor which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Saturday. It actually covers a period of 46 days, as Sundays are not included in Lent (Sundays were considered to be the time of celebrating Christ’s resurrection and not appropriate for fasting). In some cases it was a time where candidates for baptism would receive instruction in the faith in preparation for baptism on Easter Saturday.

So Lent is essentially a time of preparation. Our church does not have a tradition of celebrating Lent, but we do have other ways of preparing ourselves to worship our Risen Lord and Saviour. Today we are going to be exploring the importance of preparing ourselves well.

Prayer

What are some of the Biblical examples of preparation, and what were people preparing for? There are a lot of examples we could look at, but I’ve selected just 2 key ones for us today:

1. Preparation of the Israelites to Enter the Promised Land

2. Preparation of Jesus to Commence His Ministry

1. Preparation of the Israelites to Enter the Promised Land

You remember the story of the Israelites who were rescued by God from the power of the Egyptians, who had held them in slavery for generations. God brings them out with many demonstrations of His power, and establishes a covenant with them at Mt Sinai. However even while they are camped at Mt Sinai, the people demonstrate that their hearts are not ready to be completely devoted to the Lord. While Moses is up on the mountain, the people revert to the sort of pagan worship that they should have left behind in Egypt. They have left the country of Egypt, but they have brought Egypt with them in their hearts. Not only in worshipping a golden idol, but in the way they grumble and complain and say that they were better off in Egypt. They are on the way to the promised land, a land of blessing and freedom, and yet for some of them the journey is too hard – they want to return to the land of slavery.

Finally they get to the land God has promised them. The scouts check it out and confirm that it is indeed a wonderful land. However instead of being thankful to the Lord and trusting Him to give them the land, they focus on the obstacles ahead of them. They complain again and again say they were better off in Egypt. All of this demonstrates that this group of people were not ready to inherit God’s blessings. They lacked reverence for God. They lacked faith in God.

So what does God do? He sends them back out into the desert for 40 years. Something within the nation of Israel had to die off before they would be ready to receive the promised land. That something was all of the people who had witnessed God’s deliverance from Egypt yet failed to trust Him and submit to Him. From that generation only Caleb and Joshua, who trusted God, would be allowed to inherit the promised land. Why? Because when they left Egypt they left Egypt behind. They left behind idolatry. They left behind rebellion. They left behind complaining and doubt. They were ready to enter the land.

The rest of the nation took 40 years to prepare. During that time there were several occasions where people were disciplined for rebellion. Korah and his followers were swallowed up by the earth. Another group of leaders who complained against Moses and Aaron were consumed by fire. On several occasions the people were struck by plague for disobedience or rebellion. Still another group were killed by venomous snakes for persistent complaining. Finally that disobedient generation had all passed away, and their children had learnt the importance of honouring God as they ought to. For forty years they had experienced God’s sustenance as He cared for their needs, and they had experienced His correction when they strayed from His ways. Now, finally, they were ready to enter the promised land.

2. Preparation of Jesus for Ministry

Read: Matthew 4:1-11

Straight after being baptised by John and being publicly affirmed as God’s son by a voice from heaven, you would think that Jesus would strike while the iron was hot and start straight away the process of selecting disciples and teaching the masses. If He waited too long the buzz about the voice from Heaven would die down and possibly become little more than a rumour. Yet Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert for a time of solitude and fasting.

What was this time for? It was preparation for ministry. But look at verse 1 again – what was the purpose of Jesus’ time in the desert? He was there to be tempted by the devil. He spent 40 days and nights in preparation for temptation. Did that preparation make it easier or harder to withstand temptation? Verse 2 tells us that after this time he was hungry. That’s the opportunity Satan seizes and dives in with his first temptation.

With each temptation Jesus demonstrates that He is not in this for Himself. His desire is to serve and honour His Father. We talked about this last week. Sometimes we picture Scripture as a sword which we can wield against Satan in order to drive him off. However when the Bible describes how it is used, it is clear that the purpose of Scripture is to be used on ourselves to enable us to stand firm against Satan. It is a sword which is used to cut away anything in us that Satan could use against us. Then we are able to stand firm and resist the devil and he will flee from us.

Jesus uses each of these Scriptures in this manner. When tempted to provide food for Himself, Jesus shows that He believes the Scripture which says: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. Therefore that temptation has no power over Him.

When tempted to cast Himself off the corner of the temple, Jesus shows that He believes the Scripture which says “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”, and so He would not test the Father by doing what Satan requests.

When tempted to worship Satan in return for power Jesus says “You have no claim on me Satan, for I will obey the Scripture that says ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

It wasn’t the fact that Jesus could quote Scripture that made Satan flee, it was the fact that Jesus showed that He believed and obeyed Scripture that made all of Satan’s attacks futile. As a result it says in Luke 4:13 that Satan left Him until a more opportune time. Was Satan hoping that Jesus would become forgetful of what Scripture says? No. Satan was hoping that at some point Jesus would have a change of heart – that there would be some doubt or desire that Satan could use against Him. It never happened.

It is significant that before Jesus commenced His earthly ministry, God purposed for Him to be first tested by Satan. Was there any doubt in God’s mind about Jesus’ preparedness for ministry? No, but it is a good example for us. We read in 1 Timothy 3:10 that Deacons for example should be tested before being approved to take on that ministry.

Today I want to ask each of us to consider how we are being prepared by God in each area of life.

For example

• How do you prepare yourself to worship God as a family here on Sunday? Do you remind yourself of the purpose of getting together? Do you come seeking to honour God and serve others? Do you have barriers between yourself and others that need to be addressed? Do you have unconfessed sin in your life? Do you allow superficial things to distract you from worshipping God? Do you come eager to learn from God’s Word and eager for the Holy Spirit to refine you to be more like Jesus?

• How do you prepare yourself for each day? Do you start each day with a desire to please God? Do you acknowledge His presence with you at the start of each day? Are you being nourished by reflecting on His Word?

• How do you prepare yourself for an argument? Do you just go in with a determination to get your point across, or do you remind yourself to listen and care for the person you are in a disagreement with? Do you honestly seek God’s perspective, or do you care more about getting your own way?

• How do you prepare yourself for service? Do you remind yourself that you are actually serving God in what you do for others? Do you strive for recognition or reward? Do you take short-cuts or serve begrudgingly?

• How do you prepare yourself to spend time with people who do not know Jesus? Do you pray for opportunities to share? Do you think about ways that you can provide opportunities for others to express an interest or curiosity about what you believe? Do you think about ways that you can show an interest in what they believe or what is happening in their lives?

I’m not sure if you noticed, but every single question I asked springs from Scripture. As we get to know the Scriptures well the Holy Spirit is able to use them to refine us in every single area of life.

You see, even in the midst of worshipping here on Sunday or serving in some ministry during the week, it is possible for Satan to be working away and preventing you from really worshipping or really serving. Just like the Israelites of the Exodus were robbed of receiving the blessing of the promised land because of unprepared hearts, it is possible for us to robbed of the blessings of worship and service because of our unprepared hearts. It is possible for our witness to be tarnished. It is possible for us as a church family to discourage and pull each other down instead of encouraging and spurring each other on. It is possible for us to get caught up in sin.

However when we are giving the Holy Spirit the opportunity to prepare our hearts we guard ourselves against Satan’s attacks and we are able to stand firm.

Going back to the subject of Lent, remember the whole purpose of Lent is to have a season set aside for prayer, fasting, study and service in preparation for Easter. Of course, people can go through the motions of Lent without really doing any of those things, but at least the opportunity is there for those who are willing to take it up. The same can be said of anything that churches do.

You might have heard people speak of giving something up for Lent. This is meant to be a reminder of Jesus’ fasting in the desert.

Today I am going to ask something a little different. I’m going to go further back to the time of the Exodus. Remember a whole part of the Israelite community needed to die off before the nation was ready to enter into the promised land. I want you to ask God if there is something in you that needs to die off completely in order for you to be better prepared to fulfil God’s plan for your life. Not just something to give up for a season, but something that needs to be given up completely.

It might be a grudge that you have held on to. It might be a doubt that keeps nagging at you. It may be a desire for recognition or reward. It might be opinions that you hold strongly. It might be sin that you seem to keep coming back to. It might be habits that get in the way of what you should be doing. It might be ambitions that you have. Whatever it is, is it something that gives Satan a way in to your life – a way to tempt you, to tie you up and stop you from being a fully committed follower of Jesus.

Easter is the time where we particularly remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – He gave His life that we might live. What will you give up, so that you might really live?

Book Review - The Last King of Scotland

I was looking forward to reading this book, hoping to learn more of the story surrounding the infamous tyrant Idi Amin. As such, I found the first stages of the book a little bit laborious. I enjoyed the descriptions of the African landscape and people, but I didn’t find the character of Nicholas Garrigan very compelling. As the book went on, I felt like I appreciated the complexities of Garrigan’s situation and could empathise with his situation, but I didn’t develop any liking for him as a person.

Idi Amin remains an enigma. There was a fair amount of historically accurate or consistent information about him in the novel, as well as plenty of embellishments (like the comical trapped gasses incident). Do we know him any better after reading this book? Are we any closer to understanding what went on during his reign of terror?

I think it’s important to try and understand characters like Idi Amin. History has been filled with people who have risen to positions of power on the basis of natural charisma and radical ideology. Some of these people achieve genuine greatness and leave humanity richer, some of them leave a trail of destruction and horror.

Thinking of Idi Amin, I am struck by the similarities between him and Adolph Hitler. Both started in humble positions in society, found advancement through their military service, and their natural charisma and passionately held beliefs inspired people to follow them no matter where that led. They were able to tap in to the disillusionment and disempowerment of common people and sell them a dream of a better future. They were adept at bullying and seducing people, often using a mixture of both to bend people to their will.

But what made them this way? What madness inspired their genocide? How did they develop such a skewed morality? Was it simply psychological illness such as megalomania or schizophrenia? Was it just that they were a product of their own beliefs?

If you look at Adolph Hitler, his terrible policies were the natural result of his personal philosophies. One reason that he was a credible leader was that he had solid intellectual backing for his madness. But we’re talking about Idi today!

One of the things that interests me about Idi Amin is his apparent sampling of a range of different religious and cultural ideologies. He worldview is a mishmash of Christianity, socialism and Islam jumbled together with traditional African sorcery and folk wisdom. It’s no wonder he seemed confused at times! He worked on a utilitarian approach where he would use any philosophy that justified his mad impulses or served his purposes. He succeeded in deluding himself first of all, and was so was convinced of his own lies that he considered it only natural for others to agree with him also.

His mind was unable to admit it’s own self-deception, so as reality began to catch up with him he became increasingly erratic and bizarre. His subconscious mind was forced to invent ever more ludicrous scenarios to explain the events around him.

When you read of things he said and did toward the end of his rule, you must conclude that he was insane. I would argue that he had just reached the natural conclusion of his approach to life. It wasn’t a medical issue, it was the mind’s reaction to living by beliefs that don’t fit with the real world.

The issue for us is whether or not we are in danger of being in the same situation. Popular culture is promoting a utilitarian approach to religion and belief which says that it’s OK to believe whatever works for you. It denies that there is such a thing as absolute truth, right and wrong. While most people are never going to go to the same extremes as Idi Amin, many people are actually making what I believe is the same mistake. I believe that truth matters, and finding the truth about life’s big questions is one of the most important issues in life. The fact is that reality will one day catch up with all of us, and no matter what we believe, we will be confronted by what is true. The Bible says that this means that one day all people will bow before Jesus and acknowledge Him as the rightful ruler of the universe. Regardless of what they thought of Him prior to that moment, when they actually see Him in all His glory the truth will become obvious. At that time Jesus will judge every person according to what we have done. For those who have accepted forgiveness for everything they have done that falls short of God’s standards, it will be granted. For those who have not, they will receive justice according to God’s standards, not our own.

But that is what the Bible says. Is it actually true?

I believe it is worth doing all we can to make sure that we have carefully examined the evidence and made an informed decision about this. What’s true is true, regardless of whether we think it’s true or whether we want it to be true. What matters is that what we believe fits with what is true.

Attacks Against Christians

Attacks against Christians – Where do they come from and how do we overcome them?

1 Thessalonians 2:13 – 3:13

25/03/07

audio + powerpoint

Introduction

Have you ever felt like you were under attack? Welcome to normal life as a Christian! One of the least loved promises of the Bible is found in 2 Timothy 3:12 - In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (o/h)

As we journey together through the book of 1 Thessalonians, we come to a section in chapters 2 and 3 which raises the issue of attacks against Christians – where do the come from and how do we overcome them? (o/h)

Read: 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – 3:13

Open in Prayer

Part One – Where do attacks against Christians come from?

Before we answer the question of where do attacks against us come from, we need to quickly identify what they look like (o/h). Attacks against us take 2 basic forms:

1) Opposition (2:14-16)

This type of attack normally comes through people. It might take the form of a rival religious group, or an oppressive government, or harassment in the media, slander and gossip in the community, mischievous lawsuits, underhanded business dealings, discrimination in the workplace and so on. It’s when Christians are being treated badly because of their faith.

Paul says the goal of the Jewish agitators was to try and stop the message about Jesus from being proclaimed to the Gentiles. They were trying to protect the purity of their own religion and also stop a rival religion from being established. You might recall others who stirred up persecution against Christians, such as the metalworkers in Ephesus. Their goal was to protect their income and the status of their goddess, Artemis. Or persecution from the Roman Empire, which was attempting to maintain the unity of the empire by insisting that the emperor must be worshipped along with whatever other gods people chose. Each of these sources of opposition had different motives, but one goal: they wanted to stop the message about Jesus from being shared. As long as Christians were being fairly quiet and keeping to themselves, they were safe. As soon as they started sharing the message publicly and seeing people’s lives changed through accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then persecution would inevitably follow. In fact, as Paul pointed out in his letter to Timothy, even living a godly life – which is a witness to Jesus – is enough to make you a target for opposition.

2) Seduction (3:5)

This type of attack is one that seeks to use our own sinfulness against us. Even though Christians are saved from sin, we are not yet completely saved – it is a work in progress that will only finish when Jesus returns in power to destroy sin and death forever. Until then, we are susceptible to making wrong choices that take us away from God’s good plan for our lives. Choices that corrupt our witness and prevent us from living a godly life.

Temptation is the art of making garbage look delicious. It is the ability to tune in to a person’s desires and use them against him or her. Satan tried to discover desires within Jesus that he could manipulate. He tried to find a desire for power, for physical satisfaction, for reassurance and respect. All he found was that Jesus desired to please His Father.

Before receiving Timothy’s report, Paul was worried that Satan had managed to tune in to the desires of the Thessalonian Christians in order to tempt them from the faith. Did some crave wealth? Did some chase respect and the good opinion of others? Did some crave physical pleasures?

This has brought us to the point of answering our main question: Where do attacks against Christians come from? (o/h)

Attacks against Christians stem from Satan (2:17-18)

When Paul describes how his travel plans were thwarted by Satan, he does not go into details about how that occurred. It was through opposition of some sort. It may have been because of the Jewish agitators still present in Thessalonica. It could have been because Jason and others had posted bond, and would lose it if Paul came back – a form of financial opposition. Whatever it looked like, Paul says that it came from Satan.

The Bible portrays Satan as the head of an organisation of angels who rejected God’s authority and are at work in the world to usurp His rule and His plans. For that reason they stand against the church, and seek to destroy the church in any way they can, through opposition and seduction. Satan is not like God – he is not everywhere and doesn’t know everything. However he is the ruler of the spiritual forces that stand opposed to God and God’s people.

As a result, around the world we see all sorts of different strategies being used against the church. In some places it is the fear of litigation for speaking the truth, as has been the case in Australia recently when 2 pastors accurately taught about some of the less well-known teachings within the Qur’an and were charged with religious vilification. In others it take the form of kidnappings, tortures and murders. Sometimes it is being excluded from opportunities in business, sporting or social groups. Sometimes it involves being the target of jokes or offensive behaviour. When things like this happen we tend to look at the people who are doing it as though they are responsible. The Bible never spells out exactly how it is that Satan and his angels exercise their control over the world systems, but it is clear that this world is under Satan’s control, and that the people of this world need to be rescued from the dominion of their hidden master.

Ephesians 6:12 says this (o/h)

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

So if this is the case, what are we to do about it?

The Apostle Peter explains in 1 Peter 5:6-9:

^6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ^7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

^8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ^9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

James the brother of Jesus echoes the same truth in James 4:7:

^7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

So what is the first step. Peter said it was to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand. James said that it was to submit ourselves to God. The same truth in different words. In Ephesians 6:10, Paul starts his discussion of spiritual warfare on exactly the same note.

“be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

The first lesson in overcoming Satan’s attack is that we are not the point. It’s not about our strength or our desires. People who demand to be in control of their own lives actually belong in Satan’s kingdom. People who think that they can make it on their own belong in Satan’s kingdom. God’s kingdom consists of those who have accepted that Jesus is Saviour and Lord. As our Saviour it is His strength that we need to survive. As our Lord it is His will that we follow. And so instead of trying to be strong in ourselves we submit ourselves to the one who has already overcome Satan.

(o/h) – We must stop focussing on ourselves.

This is easy to say but tough to do. To stop focussing on yourself leaves no room to wallow in self-pity. It leaves no room to do your own thing. It leaves no room for treating others badly, no matter how they might have treated you. On the positive side it leaves no room for wallowing in guilt either, because your failures are no longer the point.

To stop focussing on ourselves protects us from temptation because we are not focussed on our own desires but on pleasing God. It protects us from opposition because it reminds us that God is the only one with the power to affect eternity and our destiny. No matter what Satan throws at us we are safe in God’s hands. The Bible says that God has the power to take Satan’s attacks against us and turn them around so they actually work for our good! The greatest attack Satan ever mounted against God’s kingdom was when He succeeded in having Jesus nailed to a cross. Imagine the victory that Satan thought he had won. The all powerful Creator of the Universe, invulnerable to anything that Satan might concoct, dares to take on human form, and in doing so makes Himself vulnerable. Satan seizes the opportunity and succeeds in having the God-man killed. VICTORY!! THE FORCES OF EVIL HAVE OVERCOME GOD HIMSELF!

But then God the Father raises Jesus from the dead, and in doing so rescues millions upon millions of people from the kingdom of darkness and brings them into the kingdom of light. Satan’s greatest victory is turned into his greatest defeat. That’s the power of God at work! That’s the power that we can access when we stop focussing on ourselves and start focussing on Jesus.

The second part of this lesson is that it means that other people are not the point either (o/h) – we must stop focussing on others. Instead of getting angry and bitter toward people and how they have attacked us or tempted us away from Christ, we begin to see them as victims of a more malicious enemy. It means we can replace anger toward those people with sadness and even mercy. Instead of a desire to retaliate or seek revenge or punishment our desire becomes more to seek their salvation. The story of Paul and Silas with the Philippian Jailer is a good example of this principle. However we don’t just seek salvation for people who don’t have it, but also for those who do. Salvation is something you receive and something you grow in. When Christians sin against us, we must also seek to help them grow in their salvation (eg. 2 Tim 3:16).

So if we must not focus on ourselves or on others, what should we do?

We must stand firm in our faith (o/h)

In other words, as we have already said, we focus on Jesus instead. What did Paul do when he feared for the wellbeing of the Thessalonians? He wasn’t sure if they’d crumbled under opposition or been seduced by temptation.

He sent Timothy to strengthen their faith.

1 Thessalonians 3:2-3

We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker ^ in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, ^3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials.

In Ephesians, 1 Peter and James the exact same language is used: “Stand firm” “Resist the devil”. It’s referring to a faith which is solid, unmoving. No matter what Satan does to you, no matter what cunning lies he tells you, no matter what tempting enticements he offers you – do not move from what you know is true. Stand firm in your faith. Keep looking at Jesus. Keep remembering what He has done for you. Keep thinking about what He has in store for you. Keep hold of His promises.

Sometimes in life we go through intense trials and temptations that make it really hard to keep our eyes on Jesus. I have gone through such times of discouragement that I have even doubted my own salvation and the work God has called me to. I have been knocked about and Satan at times has seemed to have been on the verge of victory. I have almost given up on the church because in my depressed state of mind it has seemed as though the church is no different to any other club. I have almost given up on preaching because it doesn’t seem to make any difference to how people actually live. I have almost given up on leadership because no matter what I do it seems someone is pulling in the other direction. I have almost given up on visiting because people still seem to think I don’t care. I have almost given up offering biblical counsel because people will always find some reason not to do what the Bible says anyway. I have doubted my salvation because of my despair over sin.

What is it that has kept me safe? The first thing is that my faith is based on the Word of God. No matter what Satan is able to achieve in my circumstances - or even within the church - that creates doubts in my mind; even when I have felt so low that it has been hard to sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life; still I have a faith that is grounded in the truth. And so I come, much like King David in the Psalms, with an anguished heart and I meditate on the Scriptures that point me to Jesus. And slowly God heals my wounds, encourages my heart, teaches and grows me and helps me to stand firm.

Finally, we must devote ourselves to prayer (o/h)

It is no coincidence that Paul closes this section of the letter with a prayer for the Thessalonians. Prayer is powerful and effective in the spiritual battle that we are in. 1 Peter 5:7 says: “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

Ephesians 6:18 says:

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

We have already talked about the importance of prayer at the beginning of this series in Thessalonians, so I won’t go over it again. There is also an article in this week’s Friendly Messenger on that topic.

We need to recognise that we are in a spiritual battle. If we really want to stand firm against all kinds of attacks against us, and if we want to see other people coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we have to be people of prayer. Prayer is not something we do at church and Bible study, or even during our daily devotions. Prayer is the constant communion of spirit that we have with God as we recognise His presence in our lives. It is talking with Him as our constant companion. It is allowing Him to exercise His role as our Lord as He is given the opportunity to influence our thinking and behaviour. It is relying on Him as our helper and also the helper of those we pray for.

Do you want to be able to stand firm as a Christian no matter what? Do you want to overcome the attacks of your enemy? Stop focussing on yourself or on others. Focus on Jesus by standing firm in your faith and devoting yourself to prayer.

I want to close by reading Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:15-23:

^15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ^16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ^17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ^18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ^19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ^20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ^21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ^22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ^23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Jesus can handle whatever it is that you are facing! Trust Him.