Sermon - The Widow's Coins

The Widow’s Coins

Mark 12:41-44

1/6/08

Introduction

I love hearing stories of good things that people do for others. This week I was looking up stories of philanthropists. I don’t know what sort of person you think of when you think of a philanthropist – or even if you have heard of the word before! (It literally means someone who has a love for people, but it is normally used of those who are generous toward others.) When I think of philanthropy I tend to think of rich people who give some of their spare money to good causes.

I think of people like Bill and Melinda Gates, who with Bill’s father set up the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation which gives huge amounts of money to projects to help disadvantaged people.

"Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world" (www.gatesfoundation.org). They are involved especially in education, healthcare, disease prevention and community development.

The foundation has over 500 employees, and has assets of around AU$40 billion. It has given away over $16 billion in grants since it was formed, and in 2007 made over $2 billion in grant payments.

That’s impressive isn’t it!

Many of you will have seen Paul Newman in movies. He has been very successful as an actor. In 1980 he and a friend were making salad dressing in a bathtub to give away as Christmas presents. After filling all of the giveaway bottles there was lots left over, so they decided to bottle it and try sell it to some upmarket local food stores. Paul had been making his own salad dressing for years, and was quite a connoisseur. The salad dressing was a hit, and so a business was formed. As it grew, Paul decided to give the profits to charity, and since then over $200 million has been given away from profits of the “Paul Newman’s Own” brand.

That’s impressive too!

One more story…

In 1977 TIME Magazine carried an article about an ordinary, everyday person who was also quite a philanthropist.

Thomas Cannon, 53 was a postal worker in Richmond earning $16,000 a year, who in the previous five years had somehow managed to give away more than $33,000 of his own money. Most of it has gone, in $1,000 checks, to strangers whose misfortunes or good deeds he has read about. Some of his beneficiaries: a Colombian orphan who needed heart surgery; a couple who have been foster parents to 40 children; a civic-minded, wealthy businessman who quickly returned the gift. Why does he do it? Cannon and his wife Princetta believe that "the quest for money and acquisitions can be very self-destructive." So they give away as much as they can, while living in a house with a leaky roof and driving a battered 1963 Chevy.

That’s impressive too!

Recap: 16 billion, 200 million and 33 thousand. Very different amounts from people with different levels of resources, but all impressive!

Keep that in your minds as we turn to the gospel of Mark together this morning – Mark 12:41-44.

The Setting – Jesus teaching in the court of the women (John 8:20 also records Jesus teaching here)

Approaching the Passover. Jerusalem’s normal population of around 25,000 had swelled to around 100,000. Some of these people camped with relatives or friends in the city, others stayed in the villages surrounding Jerusalem. Jesus and His disciples stayed in the village of Bethany, which was a few kilometres to the east. Each day they traveled into Jerusalem and spent a lot of time in the Temple courts teaching and debating.

Mark 12:41-44

⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.

Along the wall of the courtyard were 13 chests for putting money into. They were known as “the trumpets”, because they were shaped like trumpets – narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. 2 of these “trumpets” were used for the compulsory giving of the annual tax for the upkeep of the temple.

The other 11 were for things such as money for the purchase of animals, wood and incense for offerings, other articles and furnishings of the temple. As you came to the temple you could purchase animals yourself to take to the priests for them to sacrifice on your behalf, or you could put money into one of the “trumpets”. Each day the money would be taken out by the priests and the correct number of animals would be purchased and sacrificed all in one hit.

The purpose of each of the trumpets was marked, so as Jesus watched people put their money in He would be able to see what they were giving the money for.

Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

Value of the coins: 1/64 of a days wages - in Australia today the equivalent would be about $2.50

That’s the story – that’s what Jesus saw. He then uses what He saw as an opportunity to teach His disciples an important lesson.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

So what is the lesson that Jesus was teaching, and why does it matter to us today?

I want you to know that God is very impressed when people give everything to Him. It’s not about money, it’s about giving ourselves. Romans 12:1 says that this is our “spiritual act of worship”. In Luke 14:33 Jesus says “any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

In verse 26 He listed father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—“yes, even his own life”.

This widow honoured God with everything she had to live on. She voluntarily placed herself in a position of complete dependence on God. He would either provide for her needs or not, but she worshipped Him with everything she had. Jesus was very impressed by that.

When I was a kid I would sometime notice what people put into the collection. Sometimes you'd see the colour of a note or hear the jingle of a large number of coins and be very impressed. Some churches even make special mention of the more impressive contributions that people make, even to the extent of naming buildings or putting plaques on things that have been purchased through the generosity of particular patrons. We love to notice the big givers.

Jesus was training His disciples to look at people the way He did. God once trained the prophet Samuel the same way when Samuel was looking to anoint the next king of Israel. He was impressed by what he could see in David’s oldest brothers, but God said to him “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

You know the great thing about this? It means that we can all be impressive!

We don’t need to be a Bill Gates or Paul Newman or Thomas Cannon, as great as what those people have done is. We don’t need to be a Billy Graham or Rick Warren or whoever else other people might be impressed by.

It is enough to give God everything you have, not whatever someone else has.

God doesn’t care about amounts, He cares about our hearts.

We can either say to God “You are my King and I give You my whole life. Everything I am and all that I have are Yours”; or we can say “God, I am Yours up to this point. You can have this much of my finances and this amount of my time. You can be present in these relationships and these places, but not these other ones. You can have my weekends but not my weekdays. You can have my home life but not my work life. You can have Sunday morning but the afternoon is mine.” However it is you say it you restrict the worship of God to a certain part of your life.

In Jesus' economy you can donate a million dollars to charity and still be a scrooge! On the other hand you can give a couple of bucks and be a big giver in His eyes. It's the condition of your heart in giving that is the point, not the amount which you give.

Giving everything to God does not mean selling everything you have and giving it to the poor. It does not mean giving away your last few dollars. It does not mean working full time for the church for no pay or some pay. It does not mean going to some remote corner of Papua New Guinea to spread the gospel. It simply means giving yourself completely to God to shape and to use however He wants to. That’s not a once-off decision. That’s a decision that needs to be made every day, several times a day.

You can do that. You must, because that is the kind of worshipper - the kind of disciple – that Jesus wants. It’s the kind of worshipper that God delights in.

Richard Dawkins and the Johari Window

Richard Dawkins and the Johari Window

I've got a bunch of books on my shelf waiting to be read. Two of them are Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" and Alister McGrath's reply "Dawkins' God". The first one was given to me by a friend who is an atheist -although he doesn't agree with Dawkins' approach or all of his ideas. The second one I picked up from a Christian bookstore last time I was in Perth.

I've got to admit that I'm tempted to read the second (shorter!) book as a way of killing 2 birds with one stone. It would tell me what Dawkins is on about and why he's on the wrong track, all in one go. I think that's a dangerous path to go down though.

I think we've got to be able to hear ideas from outside our own perspective and listen to them with a sense of careful openness, even if those ideas might be uncomfortable for us to hear. Much of what we hear might be rubbish, but there might be some really important truths that we need to hear if we are going to connect with where people are at and how they are thinking. We also might need to admit that there are some valid criticisms of how we (the Church) have thought, spoken and conducted ourselves that need to be addressed.

One tool that I find very helpful is the Johari Window - do a web search to find out more about it, but here's one way of drawing it:


Most of the time, we look for people to tell us what we already know, or to tell us new reasons why what we already know and do is right! We buy books and listen to people who we already know we like and agree with. As a result we get stuck in patterns of thinking and behaving which stifle growth and maturity.

So I'm going to do my best to make time to read "The God Delusion". There'll be times when I agree with what Dawkins' is saying and there'll be times when I think I know better (He's wrong and he doesn't know it!). However there will be some things that I learn from him which may also be of great use to me in my personal and intellectual growth. I'll also acknowledge that there will be some times when both he and I don't know as much as we think, and by listening to guys like Alister McGrath I will gain valuable perspective outside that of Richard Dawkins and myself. In the process of this whole discussion I will be trusting God to guide me in right paths, and even though it doesn't attempt to be a scientific textbook, the divinely inspired truths of the bible will have final authority because they have been tried and tested and more than anything else in this life, I know them to be true.

Sermon - How Good is Good Enough?

How God is Good Enough?

The Story of the Rich Young Man

Mark 10:17 – 27

18/05/08

The Rich Young Man

^17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

^18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone…”

This man doesn’t realise that Jesus is in fact God the Son. He has accidentally affirmed the divinity of Jesus, but Jesus isn’t concerned about that. Jesus says to him “Don’t look at people – any people - and consider them good – only God is truly good.

OK, sure – no-one is completely good except God. You and I know that – “Nobody’s perfect” as the saying goes. I guess the question is “How good is good enough to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus continues…

^19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honour your father and mother.’ ^a”

Jesus lays out some of God’s standards of goodness – a selection from among the many that He could have quoted.

^20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Come on, does this bloke think that Jesus is going to swallow that? Sure, he might not have murdered, slept around or stolen, but let’s not forget that Jesus considers hating someone to be like murder, and looking lustfully to be like committing adultery. Does that change anything? Even so, surely this young man is not pretending that he has never lied, cheated anyone or been cheeky or disrespectful to his parents?

^21 Jesus looked at him and loved him.

Hang on. Jesus usually got pretty narky with people who were self-righteous. The religious leaders certainly copped a hammering from Jesus on many occasions. But it seems that this fellow is very sincere. He has done his very best to do what is right and good. He says with a truthful heart that He has lived by God’s laws since he was a boy.

“One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

^22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

What Jesus did here must have appeared incredibly strange to those watching on.

He gets approached by a man who is humble and sincere, a man who has a history of good deeds but who wants to know what else he must do to obtain eternal life. A man of great wealth. From the other gospels we know he was still a young man, but that he was considered to be a ruler of the people. What incredible potential as a disciple! What an asset to the team! What resources he could bring to the cause! Any rabbi would be ecstatic to have a disciple like this man – but what does Jesus do? He discourages him! He demands the one thing that this fellow will find too difficult to do.

I wonder how people felt as they watched this man – a man who was on the very top rung of the ladder as far as how people measured righteousness – I wonder how they felt as they watched his expression turn to disappointment. I imagine that he would have hung his head and slowly risen to his feet, turned and walked slowly back to his house or the town that he had come from.

^23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

^24 The disciples were amazed at his words.

Jesus contradicted the common way of thinking. Wealth was a blessing from God. Rich people had money to do good works with – they contributed much more to the temple and to charitable causes than other people could. Rich people had the opportunity to study God’s ways. They could afford the time to sit on religious councils and participate in discussion.

But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ^25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

The rich young man came to Jesus to inquire about what he must do in order to qualify for eternal life – how he could enter the kingdom of God. Jesus says that it is hard to enter the kingdom. So hard, that even for a rich person it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than to enter the kingdom of God.

^26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

If it’s that hard for a rich person, what about for those of us who don’t have their advantages? We don’t have their education. We don’t have the same resources for doing good works. We don’t have as much time to be involved in religious activities. We don’t have the chance to lead people in God’s ways. What hope is there for us?

^27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

¹

When we look around our community we see “good” people like the rich young man, and we see people who don’t seem so good!

Jesus wants us to stop looking at people that way. Only God is good. None of us are good. None of us are even good enough. We all need God to do the impossible for us to be able to enter His kingdom. Jesus achieved that for all of us in doing what we could not - He gave us His goodness and took from us all of the things which fall short, bearing their weight and carrying them to the cross. Only by turning to Jesus for forgiveness and new life can we enter God's Kingdom.

^a Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20

^b Some manuscripts is for those who trust in riches

1The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mk 10:17). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

The Parable of the Vineyard

Bible Reading: Mark 12:1-11

He then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. ^2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ^3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ^4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. ^5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

^6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

^7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ^8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

^9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. ^10 Haven’t you read this scripture:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone ^a;
^11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ^b?”
^[1]

In it's original context this parable is specific to the nation of Israel, it's leaders and their relationship with God, but I think it also speaks to all of humanity. God has established us and given us a wonderful world to be stewards of and to enjoy. However we have usurped God's rule and pretended that we are accountable only to ourselves. Jesus came into this world in order to reconcile us to God, but many of us continue to reject Him.

God created the universe - it belongs to Him along with everything it contains. Unfortunately many of us are like 2nd, 3rd...25th generation farmers who by virtue of their residency assume the land belongs to them. They do not remember the tenancy agreement forged between the Creator God and the original humans.

Right now we are in a period of history after the Son has come but before the vineyard has been reclaimed. We as tenants are still carrying along our merry way ignorant of the fact that the Owner will return and judge the rebels. God has chosen to delay His return to allow the news of His Son to be spread throughout the world, so that people may choose to be reconciled to God and live in right relationship with Him. These people will be prepared for His coming, and will have cause for great celebration when it occurs. For those who continue to live in rebellious autonomy, the occasion will not be one for celebration, but judgment.

Reflection
We tend to shy away from these truths because they are antagonistic. People don't like hearing about judgment, or being accused of living in rebellion against God.
As someone who is a natural peacemaker, I tend to underplay this part of the gospel picture also. I naturally prefer to emphasize love, acceptance, reconciliation, the blessings of being reconciled to God and the hope of eternal life, rather than talking about the consequences of rejecting God.

However the Bible strongly teaches that God will judge the Earth. As confronting as that message is, it needs to be heard. Not to scare people into the pews, or to condemn people not in the pews, but to give people the opportunity to choose to be prepared.

---

^a Or cornerstone

^b Psalm 118:22,23

^[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mk 12:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

The Triumphal Entry

Reading: Mark 11:1-10

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ^2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ^3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

^4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ^5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ^6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ^7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ^8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ^9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna! ^a”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” ^b

^10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest!”

^[1]

The citizens of Jerusalem were excited about receiving their long-hoped-for Messiah. "Hosanna" they cried - this is the one who will bring God's salvation to us. They looked forward to the reinstatement of the Kingdom of Israel, restored by the power of God working through His servant Jesus. I'm not sure how many people had grasped Jesus' true identity but certainly they didn't grasp His true mission. Their idea of salvation had a very earthy feel to it - get rid of the Romans and make Israel a powerful nation again.

Jesus' mission was much bigger than that. He was about reconciling all of humanity to God, and that pathway involved rejection, suffering, death and then finally new life.

Jesus' agenda was so much better than what people wanted or expected, yet when it became clear that He was not going to give them what they wanted, many of these people turned their backs on Him. Some joined in the throng that yelled "Crucify Him" less than a week after they had shouted "Hosanna".

Reflection
Am I really interested in God's plan for my life, or do I just want God to bless my plan for my life?
How am I investing time in seeking God's will and being obedient to it?
How do assist others in discerning God's will and give them the encouragement and resourcing they need to carry it out?
Do we really believe that God's purposes are for our best, even when the pathway involves submission and suffering?
In what ways have our hearts hardened toward God when it became clear He was not going to give us what we wanted?

My Prayer
Lord, I believe that you have a great plan and purpose for calling our family here. Some of that has been accomplished already, but I believe much more lies ahead. Show me where my vision for myself, our family, church and community is not Your vision. Give me the courage and wisdom to choose Your plan instead of my own. Give me the heart to take up my cross and follow you, rather than seeking to have a crowd that adore me! Just as You loved the crowd who welcomed You into Jerusalem and the crowd who tormented You on the way out to Calvary, help me to love people who praise me and people who condemn me. Amen.

---

^a A Hebrew expression meaning ``Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 10

^b Psalm 118:25,26

^[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mk 11:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Group Correction

Reading: Mark 10:35-45

^

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,

40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.

42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mk 10:35-45). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Jesus answers James & John's request without really addressing the heart issues that motivated that request. He lets the situation play out in the whole group before getting them together to address the issue of ambition / ego in the Kingdom of God. To our natural way of thinking, the point of greatness is to serve us - to feed our ego or satisfy our lust for power or to provide material comforts. In the Kingdom of God the manifestation of greatness is serving others.

It's interesting the way Jesus lets the whole group get involved in the dispute before He exposes the difference between natural and Kingdom thinking. Maybe if He dealt with it with James and John immediately the other 10 would have felt quite self-righteous and maintained an indignance with James & John. By letting them buy into the dispute, Jesus demonstrated that we all suffer from the same disease - we are all in it for ourselves and we get upset when others try get in ahead of us! James and John weren't alone in what their hearts desired, they just had the confidence / naivety to go after it!

Reflection
What behaviours from others grate on me? How does that speak to my own heart condition?
How am I leading groups to discover their "natural" patterns and helping them to learn & apply biblical, "Kingdom of God" ones?

Sermon - Training Children for Wise Living

Training Children for Wise Living

Mothers Day 2008

11/05/08

Proverbs 23:24-25

“…parents who have wise children are glad because of them.

Make your father and mother happy;

give your mother a reason to be glad.”

What is it about your children that you take great pleasure in?

Sometimes it’s because of the funny things they say and do. Here’s some absentee notes that may have been written by parents, but I suspect that most were written by kids…

• Dear school, please accuse John from being absent on January 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33.
• Mary could not come to school because she was bothered by very close veins.
• My son is under the doctor's care and should not take fiz ed. Please execute him.

Sometimes their funny adventures are also a bit hair-raising. Like learning to drive…(o/h)

but anything kids can do their dads can do better!

I love watching my kids enjoying themselves – Tim loves telling stories and Alyssa loves dancing

I love it when my kids want to connect with me – when Josiah studies my face wondering what on Earth this big fella is saying.

I love watching my kids develop and discover new things.

I love seeing them do the things that we are training them to do, like using good manners or remembering to stop and look before crossing the road.

I love watching them sleep. Every night I go in and give them a kiss and a prayer. I can feel my heart swell when I look at them sleep – it’s like an overflowing of love and tenderness for them.

If you are ever going through a rough patch with a child and they live at home, my advice is to go and watch them sleeping and talk to them softly. The problem behaviours and attitudes won’t be blocking your view, you will just see your child. Sometimes our hearts need to be refreshed by that view. Sometimes it’s easier to let go of anger or stubbornness when we see our child with fresh eyes.

This saying from Proverbs 23 is one that I have discovered to be true in my own life both as a child and as a parent. As a child I have heard the pleasure in my mother’s voice when she has commented on some positive behaviour or attitude. I have seen the respect in my father’s eyes and heard it in his tone when he has been pleased with the character I have shown. On the other hand I have also seen and heard the disappointment or even anger when I have been selfish or wilfully foolish.

As a parent I have also experienced these things from the other side. I think we all know the range of emotions you experience as a parent when you see how your children are living, no matter how old they are.

All of us want to see our children living well. We want to see them treating others as they would like to be treated. We want to see them grow in good character, learning the value of honesty, truthfulness, gentleness, respect, generosity, patience, self-control and so on.

We want to see our children happy. We don’t want them to ruin their chances at happiness by making foolish decisions. We don’t want to see them stuck in bad habits that control their lives.

There’s another piece of ancient wisdom from the Bible that talks about this…

Proverbs 22:6

Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their lives.

We cannot control what will happen to our children or how they will turn out.

However we can influence these things.

Parents are the most important influences in a child’s life. When a parent consistently and lovingly trains a child in living well, it makes a profound difference in that child’s future.

Training our children is not the responsibility of schools, day-care centres, babysitters, churches, relatives or friends – it is our job as parents. Of course all of those things can be a great help. Last week I saw a bit of the work the year 6/7 class was doing on dealing with difficult emotions, and it was excellent. However, the responsibility for training our children to live well is ours.

The issue of how to train children to live well is a big one, and I’m not going to cover it today. For today it’s enough just to invite you to challenge yourself to step up to that challenge, and if you’d like to talk more about it I can do that with you or recommend some good resources for you.

I want to close with one more piece of ancient wisdom from the Bible…

Proverbs 3:12

The Lord corrects those he loves,

just as parents correct the child they delight in.

We talked earlier about the range of emotions that we experience as parents as we watch our children and relate to them.

This verse is just one of many that describe God as being like a parent. The Bible says that God created people in His own image, and so the range of emotions that we experience as parents in many ways reflect what God is like.

It is true that we do not reflect God perfectly. We cannot love as purely or as strongly as God does. God is not hampered by the character flaws that we have – the selfishness or laziness or lack of wisdom that we struggle with sometimes.

But I want you to reflect on the love for your children that you have when you watch them sleeping; the desire you have to help them grow up to live well; your love of spending time with them; the pride that you take in them and your joy when you see their happiness; and I want you to realise that these are things that God feels toward you and I.

So go and study your children in bed, or look at some photo’s of special times that you’ve had with them, and remember that what you feel toward them is just a shadow of what God feels toward you. Maybe that will affect what you feel toward Him too.

The Request of James and John

Reading Mark 10:35-37

^35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

^36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

^37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mk 10:35-37). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

What is that I want from God?
What is it that people around me are asking / would ask from God?
What do those desires reveal about the condition of the heart?
How does behaviour reflect those desires or fears?

For me:

Fears / lack of confidence can lead to

• procrastination with certain pastoral tasks. Need discipline to "discharge all the duties of your ministry" - like Timothy (2 Tim 4:5)
• Tend to be too soft at times when hard questions need to be asked & principles shared

Love for God & others leads to

• hard work behind the scenes
• perseverance with people when I would naturally opt out of involvement

What do I want? I want God's Kingdom to grow (Matt 6:33). This desire is enough to make me choose behaviour motivated by love instead of behaviour motivated by fear, as long as I keep conscious of it.

The Journey to Jerusalem

Reading: Mark 10:32-34

^32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. ^33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ^34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mk 10:32-34). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Jesus is leading the way into a serious spiritual, emotional & physical battle; one which He knows is going to take a huge personal toll. There's a lot of anticipation and anxiety in the group, and Jesus seeks to prepare his core group by reminding them of what lies ahead.

Reflections:
How is Jesus leading me into "battle"?
Steady development of life experience & biblical wisdom to develop a realistic idea of what lies ahead and how I must prepare in order to do what I am called to do.
How am I leading others / how do I need to lead others?

• spending more time with people - pastoring
• seeking to apply basic biblical principles to life situations - being clear and direct about what the Bible actually says even if it feels confronting to do so.
• be realistic about the cost of discipleship, but also the hope of victory and new life
  

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Bringing People into God's Kingdom

Mark 4:26-29, 1-20; Matthew 9:35-38
27/04/08

The Relationship Between Desire and Cost
Tim and I went into a new camping superstore the other week – there was so much stuff there that we love – torches, tools, canoes, fishing gear, car gear, camping gear – all sorts of outdoorsy stuff. It was fantastic!

I could have easily filled a trailer with the stuff that I would have liked to bring home, but all I walked out with was a coil of rope – and Tim of course!

You see everything I picked up had a sticker or a tag or a barcode on it that said, “If you want me, you’ll have to give up this much money”. Fulfilling my desires demanded a price, and most of the time that was a price I could not or would not pay. We all know what that’s like, don’t we!

On Friday we commemorated ANZAC Day. The original ANZACS were not conscripted, they voluntarily put their lives on the line. There was a price they were prepared to pay.

I want to ask you a question today: “How many of you want God’s Kingdom to grow? How many of you want to see people in the Narembeen, Hyden and Kondinin region discover eternal life in Jesus? How many of you want to see our church and other churches in our town and region full to overflowing? How many of you want to see people going out from here to serve God in other places? How many of you want revival?”

Today is the Blessing of the Seed service at the Roman Catholic Church. We will be gathering with other parts of God’s family and asking His blessing on our agricultural season. We want Him to make us materially fruitful. This is good and appropriate. Are we asking even more fervently to be spiritually fruitful? If so, how can we be involved in bringing it about?

Mark 4:26-29
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Last week we learned that we cannot comprehend spiritual truth unless God reveals it to us. Therefore it is impossible for us to bring anyone into God’s kingdom by forceful argument or clever manipulation or diligent service.

So what must we do? There are only 2 things that are required in this passage – scattering the seed, then harvesting it when it is ready. How the seed produces that harvest is not our concern, our job is to spread it and harvest it’s fruit.

What is that seed that we’re talking about? And what is the harvest? Jesus had already explained this to His disciples, and it is recorded in the beginning of Mark 4…

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

Our job is to scatter the seeds, to sow the word. Elsewhere in the New Testament this is called the gospel – the good news about Jesus.

I believe that many of us have become far too economical with our seed! We don’t want to just scatter it about. We wait for an “opportunity”. We want to be sure people are ready and willing to hear the gospel before we speak it out. But because we speak it out so rarely, it becomes daunting and unfamiliar to us – we become unable to share it naturally with others as part of our everyday conversations. Because we are so out of practice, we don’t see those “opportunities” even when they present themselves.

We have got to become scatterers of seeds!

So if the seeds represent the message of the gospel, what is the harvest? It is the people who hear the good news about Jesus, accept it and become his followers – people who in turn share that good news with more and more people.

To reap the harvest is to experience the joy of seeing someone come to that point of accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. It’s to help someone begin the journey of following Jesus.

Sometimes people think that such an experience is the realm of evangelists and “ministers”. Not so. Let’s read…

Matthew 9:35-38
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Are you prepared to be a worker sent out into the harvest field?
We hear so many stories of how particular people have been used to lead thousands of people into a relationship with God that we think that is the norm. Most people who are Christians today did not come into a relationship with Jesus with the help of a big name preacher. Usually it is the combination of a number of influences until finally someone gets the privilege of helping them complete that journey to faith in Jesus. The seed had been growing away, and when the time was right it was harvested.

The Multiplier Effect.
Let’s imagine if we had a core group of believers who became really passionate about sharing the gospel with their family and friends, and God enabled each one of them to lead a person to Christ once every 5 years. Is that possible?

Let’s say there were 5 such people in our church…

(View powerpoint slides to see the multiplier effect in action)

This is the model of growth that God intended for the church. Of course God gifts certain people in the area of evangelism, and they are particularly fruitful. That does not excuse the rest of us from being faithful.

We started out by asking who wanted to see the kingdom of God grow. Seeing the Kingdom grow begins with right now with the handful of people who will take this challenge seriously. We all want to see the tremendous growth, but who will do the difficult and costly task of scattering seeds now? Who will pay attention to the signs that show the harvest is ready?

The Vision of William Booth

(William Booth was a founder of the Salvation Army)

As William Booth was travelling by train and thinking about the many people who are lost without Jesus, God gave him a vision…

I saw a dark and stormy ocean. Over it the black clouds hung heavily; through them every now and then vivid lightning flashed and loud thunder rolled, while the winds moaned, and the waves rose and foamed, towered and broke, only to rise and foam, tower and break again.

In that ocean I thought I saw myriads of poor human beings plunging and floating, shouting and shrieking, cursing and struggling and drowning; and as they cursed and screamed they rose and shrieked again, and then some sank to rise no more.

And I saw out of this dark angry ocean, a mighty rock that rose up with its summit towering high above the black clouds that overhung the stormy sea. And all around the base of this great rock I saw a vast platform. Onto this platform, I saw with delight a number of the poor struggling, drowning wretches continually climbing out of the angry ocean. And I saw that a few of those who were already safe on the platform were helping the poor creatures still in the angry waters to reach the place of safety.

On looking more closely I found a number of those who had been rescued, industriously working and scheming by ladders, ropes, boats and other means more effective, to deliver the poor strugglers out of the sea. Here and there were some who actually jumped into the water, regardless of the consequences in their passion to "rescue the perishing." And I hardly know which gladdened me the most - the sight of the poor drowning people climbing onto the rocks reaching a place of safety, or the devotion and self-sacrifice of those whose whole being was wrapped up in the effort for their deliverance.

As I looked on, I saw that the occupants of that platform were quite a mixed company. That is, they were divided into different "sets" or classes, and they occupied themselves with different pleasures and employments. But only a very few of them seemed to make it their business to get the people out of the sea.

But what puzzled me most was the fact that though all of them had been rescued at one time or another from the ocean, nearly everyone seemed to have forgotten all about it. Anyway, it seemed the memory of its darkness and danger no longer troubled them at all. And what seemed equally strange and perplexing to me was that these people did not even seem to have any care - that is any agonizing care - about the poor perishing ones who were struggling and drowning right before their very eyes . . . many of whom were their own husbands and wives, brothers and sisters and even their own children.

Now this astonishing unconcern could not have been the result of ignorance or lack of knowledge, because they lived right there in full sight of it all and even talked about it sometimes. Many even went regularly to hear lectures and sermons in which the awful state of these poor drowning creatures was described.

I have always said that the occupants of this platform were engaged in different pursuits and pastimes. Some of them were absorbed day and night in trading and business in order to make gain, storing up their savings in boxes, safes and the like.

Many spent their time in amusing themselves with growing flowers on the side of the rock, others in painting pieces of cloth or in playing music, or in dressing themselves up in different styles and walking about to be admired. Some occupied themselves chiefly in eating and drinking; others were taken up with arguing about the poor drowning creatures that had already been rescued.

But the thing to me that seemed the most amazing was that those on the platform to whom He called, who heard His voice and felt that they ought to obey it - at least they said they did - those who confessed to love Him much were in full sympathy with Him in the task He had undertaken - who worshipped Him or who professed to do so - were so taken up with their trades and professions, their money saving and pleasures, their families and circles, their religions and arguments about it, and their preparation for going to the mainland, that they did not listen to the cry that came to them from this Wonderful Being who had Himself gone down into the sea. Anyway, if they heard it they did not heed it. They did not care. And so the multitude went on right before them struggling and shrieking and drowning in the darkness.

And then I saw something that seemed to me even more strange than anything that had gone on before in this strange vision. I saw that some of these people on the platform to whom this Wonderful Being had called, wanting them to come and help Him in His difficult task of saving these perishing creatures, were always praying and crying out to Him to come to them!

Some wanted Him to come and stay with them, and spend His time and strength in making them happier. Others wanted Him to come and take away various doubts and misgivings they had concerning the truth of some letters He had written them. Some wanted Him to come and make them feel more secure on the rock - so secure that they would be quite sure that they should never slip off again into the ocean. Numbers of others wanted Him to make them feel quite certain that they would really get off the rock and onto the mainland someday; because as a matter of fact, it was well known that some had walked so carelessly as to lose their footing, and had fallen back again into the stormy waters.

So these people used to meet and get up as high on the rock as they could, and looking towards the mainland (where they thought the Great Being was) they would cry out, "Come to us! Come and help us!" And all the while He was down (by His Spirit) among the poor struggling, drowning creatures in the angry deep, with His arms around them trying to drag them out, and looking up - oh! so longingly but all in vain - to those on the rock, crying to them with His voice all hoarse from calling, "Come to Me! Come, and help Me!

And then I understood it all. It was plain enough. The sea was the ocean of life - the sea of real, actual human existence. That lightning was the gleaming of piercing truth coming from Jehovah’s Throne. That thunder was the distant echoing of the wrath of God. Those multitudes of people shrieking, struggling and agonizing in the stormy sea, was the thousands and thousands of poor harlots and harlot-makers, of drunkards and drunkard makers, of thieves, liars, blasphemers and ungodly people of every kindred, tongue and nation.

Oh what a black sea it was! And oh, what multitudes of rich and poor, ignorant and educated were there. They were all so unalike in their outward circumstances and conditions, yet all alike in one thing - all sinners before God - all held by, and holding onto, some iniquity, fascinated by some idol, the slaves of some devilish lust, and ruled by the foul fiend from the bottomless pit!

"All alike in one thing?" No, all alike in two things - not only the same in their wickedness but, unless rescued, the same in their sinking, sinking . . . down, down, down . . . to the same terrible doom. That great sheltering rock represented Calvary, the place where Jesus had died for them. And the people on it were those who had been rescued. The way they used their energies, gifts and time represented the occupations and amusements of those who professed to be saved from sin and hell - followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The handful of fierce, determined ones, who were risking their own lives in saving the perishing were true soldiers of the cross of Jesus. That Mighty Being who was calling to them from the midst of the angry waters was the Son of God, "the same yesterday, today and forever" who is still struggling and interceding to save the dying multitudes about us from this terrible doom of damnation, and whose voice can be heard above the music, machinery, and noise of life, calling on the rescued to come and help Him save the world.

My friends in Christ, you are rescued from the waters, you are on the rock. He is in the dark sea calling on you to come to Him and help Him. Will you go? Look for yourselves. The surging sea of life, crowded with perishing multitudes rolls up to the very spot on which you stand. Leaving the vision, I now come to speak of the fact - a fact that is as real as the Bible, as real as the Christ who hung upon the cross, as real as the judgment day will be, and as real as the heaven and hell that will follow it.

Look! Don’t be deceived by appearances - men and things are not what they seem. All who are not on the rock are in the sea! Look at them from the standpoint of the great White Throne, and what a sight you have! Jesus Christ, the Son of God is, through His Spirit, in the midst of this dying multitude, struggling to save them. And He is calling on you to jump into the sea - to go right away to His side and help Him in the holy strife. Will you jump? That is, will you go to His feet and place yourself absolutely at His disposal?

A young Christian once came to me, and told me that for some time she had been giving the Lord her profession and prayers and money, but now she wanted to give Him her life. She wanted to go right into the fight. In other words, she wanted to go to His assistance in the sea. As when a man from the shore, seeing another struggling in the water, takes off those outer garments that would hinder his efforts and leaps to the rescue, so will you who still linger on the bank, thinking and singing and praying about the poor perishing souls, lay aside your shame, your pride, your cares about other people’s opinions, your love of ease and all the selfish loves that have kept you back for so long, and rush to the rescue of this multitude of dying men and women.

Does the surging sea look dark and dangerous? Unquestionably it is so. There is no doubt that the leap for you, as for everyone who takes it, means difficulty and scorn and suffering. For you it may mean more than this. It may mean death. He who beckons you from the sea however, knows what it will mean - and knowing, He still calls to you and bids to you to come.

You must do it! You cannot hold back. You have enjoyed yourself in Christianity long enough. You have had pleasant feelings, pleasant songs, pleasant meetings, pleasant prospects. There has been much of human happiness, much clapping of hands and shouting of praises - very much of heaven on earth.

Now then, go to God and tell Him you are prepared as much as necessary to turn your back upon it all, and that you are willing to spend the rest of your days struggling in the midst of these perishing multitudes, whatever it may cost you.

You must do it. With the light that is now broken in upon your mind and the call that is now sounding in your ears, and the beckoning hands that are now before your eyes, you have no alternative. To go down among the perishing crowds is your duty. Your happiness from now on will consist in sharing their misery, your ease in sharing their pain, your crown in helping them to bear their cross, and your heaven in going into the very jaws of hell to rescue them.

The Baptism of Jesus pt 1

The Baptism of Jesus

Mark 1:9-11

13/04/08

From 1890 came this incident: A noted wild beast tamer gave a superb performance in London. As a closing act, he introduced a boa constrictor, 35 feet long, which he handled for 25 years when it was still two or three years old, and supposed it to be harmless.

The curtain rose on an Indian woodland scene. A rustling noise is heard and a huge serpent is seen winding its way through the undergrowth. It stops. Its head is erect. Its bright eyes sparkle. Its whole body seems animated. A man emerged from the heavy foliage. Their eyes meet. The serpent quails before the man. Man is victor.

Under the man’s signals and guidance, the serpent performs a series of frightening feats. At another signal, it slowly approaches the man and begins to coil its heavy foils around him. Higher and higher they rise, until man and serpent seem blended into one. Its hideous head is reared above the man.

The man gives a little scream and the audience unites in a thunderous applause, but it freezes upon their lips. The trainer’s scream was a wail of death agony. Those cold, slimy folds had embraced him for the last time. They had crushed the life out of him. The horror stricken audience heard bone after bone cracked. Man’s plaything had become his master.

That guy was a little too comfortable being wrapped up by a snake, but by the time he realised he had a problem it was too late. That reminds me of how a lot of people view sin. They are comfortable with it. They even enjoy it sometimes. They think they are in control of it, but let me tell you…

You are either dead in sin, or dead to sin!

Romans 3:23 reminds us that the wages of sin is death. It doesn’t say the likely result of sin is death. It doesn’t say that sin frequently leads to death. The wages of sin IS death. If sin is a part of your life then death will be the result. So you are either dead in sin, or else you are dead to sin.

If you are an honest person though you will understand that no matter how hard you try, you still sin. You still do things that you should not do – things that fall short of God’s standards, His character, His plan for your life. You will know that as attractive as sin seems at the time that it always leads to painful consequences in your life, yet you still do what you shouldn’t and fail to do what you should. You will know that when you stand before a righteous God that He will have every reason to condemn you for the sin that has marked your life.

Is there any remedy for sin? Is there any way to defeat this snake that constricts us and squeezes the life right out of us?

We are journeying through the book of Mark together, and last week we looked at John’s baptism that is described in the first part of chapter 1. We discovered there that there were baptisms taking place where people would confess their sins and commit to turn their lives around – what we call repentance. God in response would forgive people’s sins and cleanse them – helping them to live free from the defilement of sin. I want you to understand that the forgiveness and cleansing that those people experienced was not yet complete, because something still needed to be done in order to break the power of sin and remove the consequences of sin – which is death.

What happens next in the story explains what must happen. I’m predicting though that many of you here today will be quite surprised when you discover what this next part of the story has to say about that.

Pray

Read: Mark 1:9 & 10

Why did Jesus need to be baptised?

John’s Baptism involved confession and repentance – that’s what it was for. Jesus didn’t need to confess anything or to repent from anything, so why be baptised?

John himself asked that question. In Matthew chapter 3:13-15 we read:

^13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ^14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

^15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

John said “Hey, I know that I am a sinner – I need to confess and repent; I need forgiveness and cleansing from sin. But you? You don’t need that at all! Why are you coming to me to be baptised, when it’s me who should go to you?”

Jesus answers in effect “You won’t understand this now, so just do as I ask. But know that this is an appropriate thin for us to do in order to fulfil all righteousness”.

So what makes baptism appropriate for Jesus as part of fulfilling all righteousness?

1) It confirmed the ministry of John
Jesus placed His seal of approval on John’s ministry by participating in baptism Himself. People would see that and know from His example that Jesus was in total agreement with John’s message and ministry. It would reaffirm for others that they needed to confess, repent and be baptised as a public declaration of that decision.

2) It announced the beginning of Jesus’ priestly ministry
We talked a little bit last week about how important ceremonial washing was for priests in their ministry. Jesus is about to begin His priestly ministry, and in doing so submits Himself to an appropriate ritual.

3) It set an example for future believers
Jesus wanted baptism to not just remain an Jewish ritual, but a Christian one. He therefore sets an example for His followers throughout the ages. This leads us to…

4) Jesus was pointing forward to His death and resurrection as the victory over sin and death
In baptism today we look back to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Based on passages like Romans chapter 6, we understand Christian baptism to still be a baptism of repentance as it was in John’s time, but also a baptism of faith in Jesus. Let me explain…

John’s baptism was a public confession of sin and declaration to change. So is Christian baptism. Christian baptism adds a whole new layer of meaning to that because we now understand what Christ was pointing toward when He was baptised in the Jordan river.

We understand that Jesus died for our sins, and by being immersed in the waters of baptism we are stating publicly that belief. By faith we know that Jesus rose again to new life, and our rising out of the water is a sign of that new life. Our baptism shows that Jesus has died for our sins and given us eternal life with God. It is also our pledge that we have died to sin, and have committed ourselves to live a new life which is dedicated to God. This is neatly summed up in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 which says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ^18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ”

Today I’d like to show you just a couple of examples of just how incredible God’s plan is. I want you to see how from before the world began God had a plan of redemption. Just as Jesus’ baptism points forward to His death and resurrection, God had already provided some other signs of the same wonderful truth.

Ephesians 1:3&4 says:

^3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ^4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

God chose to love you, to forgive you and cleanse you from sin before sin had even entered our world. God chose to bless you with every spiritual blessing, knowing everything that you would do that should disqualify you from receiving them. Today as we see some of the incredible scope of God’s plan I hope that like Paul, you will stand back in wonder and say “Praise God”!

I want to show you just two examples from the Old Testament of how God’s people could be cleansed from things that had defiled them. Both of these methods involved the use of cleansing water.

Leviticus 14:1-7

14 The Lord said to Moses, ^2 “These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: ^3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, ^4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. ^5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. ^6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. ^7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields.

Basic Process:

• This person has been tainted by his or her disease, and needs to be made right with God and restored to fellowship with the community of believers. Here’s how that happens…
• Take 2 clean birds – clean, pure, undefiled.
• Kill one of those birds over fresh water – remember fresh water is a symbol of God’s cleansing
• So the blood and water would mix. Blood is a symbol of atonement for sin. Remember that the wages of sin is death – blood symbolises the price for sin being paid. So we have atonement and therefore forgiveness, and cleansing. Sound familiar?
• The live bird, together with the other items, is then dipped in this mixture, and the person is sprinkled 7 times. Why 7? It is the number of completion. That’s an interesting study for another time, but for today it’s enough to know that sprinkling 7 times is a way of proclaiming the cleansing complete.
• The live bird is then released – it has been immersed in death yet lives on. It becomes a symbol of renewed life for the cleansed person.

This is a weird ritual right? Why did God do such weird things and make such strange rules back then? Because He had a plan, and when that plan reached it’s climax He wanted it to become very clear just what that plan was. The Old Testament is full of imagery that points forward to Jesus. God the Father was already testifying about His Son long before Jesus was baptised in the Jordan.

Jesus fulfilled the role of both of those birds. What those birds achieved symbolically He achieved in reality. He atoned for our sin so we could be forgiven. He cleansed us from sin so we could live in renewed fellowship with God and one another.

I want to read you another example of a cleansing ritual. This one is far more wide-reaching than the one we’ve just looked at, which mainly focussed on restoration from defilement from skin disease.

Numbers 19

19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ^2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. ^3 Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ^4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. ^5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and offal. ^6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. ^7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. ^8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

^9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. ^

^

…. (information on some of the things that make people ceremonially unclean – namely any sort of contact with a dead person)…

^17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. ^18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or someone who has been killed or someone who has died a natural death. ^19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify him. The person being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and that evening he will be clean. ^20 But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the community, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, and he is unclean. ^21 This is a lasting ordinance for them.

This is a very important ritual. Of course people were going to come into contact with a dead person at some stage – even having someone die in your tent or house, or entering the dwelling where someone died was enough to make you unclean. You were not allowed to worship at the Tabernacle (later on at the Temple) if you had not been made clean in the manner described here.

So you can imagine how important it was for the nation of Israel to have a good breeding stock of red heifers! How many unblemished and unworked red heifers do you think would have been killed over the years in order to make the special waters of purification?

From the time this command was given until the Temple was destroyed in AD 70, there was roughly 1500 years that this ritual was required to be practised. I reckon at a bare minimum they would have needed 3 of those perfect red heifers each year, since there were 3 major occasions that Jews from everywhere would descend on Jerusalem and the Temple. There would have been many thousands of people each time who would have required purification after some contact with dead bodies or places where people had died. This would require at least 4,500 of those perfect red heifers! Of course, ideally people would have been purified straight away, which would mean that there would need to be supplies of red heifer ashes all around the country. Who knows how many hundreds of thousands of animals would be required for that!

What’s my point?

Do you know that Jewish Rabbi’s have kept a rough log of how many unblemished, unworked red heifers were used in this ceremony. Do you know how many there were in total?

Nine.

Nine unblemished red heifers in 1500 years. That is nowhere near enough for what was needed.

An unblemished red heifer is in fact very difficult to come across. It cannot have a single hair of any other colour but red. The hairs across it’s shoulders must be straight, to show that it has never borne a yolk.

In fact, there are groups today who have committed considerable resources in trying to breed just such an animal. There are groups who are committed to restoring Temple worship in Jerusalem, and they believe that this sacrifice of an unblemished red heifer will be essential to prepare the Temple site – which has itself been defiled by thousands of deaths – as well as those who will seek to worship there. This quest has been going on for decades, but has not yet resulted in a single acceptable beast. There was a lot of excitement in 1997 when one animal was found, but then it grew some different coloured hairs. The same thing happened in 2002.

What’s the point?

The red heifer sacrifice is what is known in Judaism as a chok – a biblical law which must be from God, because there is no way that it makes sense to us humans! It’s impossible to live up to.

I reckon that’s great! 1500 years before Christ’s death and resurrection, God was already demonstrating that it was beyond our ability to meet His requirements. Through Moses He gave His people a task which they could not complete, in order that when the time was right He would complete the task Himself.

Hebrews 9:13-14

^13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ^14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Remember the story of the snake? Sin leads to death. The message of baptism is that Jesus died for our sins, and He rose to life again. He is the one who makes us clean in God’s sight. It’s the same message contained in the rituals of the two birds and the red heifer that were commanded by God some 1500 years before Christ would eventually fulfil that meaning. Those aren’t the only 2 rituals that contain that message either, we could list example after example.

Have you accepted forgiveness and cleansing from sin through Jesus Christ? Have you been baptised as a public declaration of that belief, and a commitment to leave sin behind and live for Christ day by day? If you have done these things, are you living up to that commitment through the grace of God and through your own self-discipline?

Sin is serious. It required a serious and wonderful remedy that was incredibly costly and precious. It required the blood of Jesus. Now the choice is yours – You are either dead in sin or dead to sin.

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^a Traditionally leprosy; the Hebrew word was used for various diseases affecting the skin—not necessarily leprosy; also elsewhere in this chapter.