Sermon - The Healing at Bethesda Pool

Click to Play

Click Here for Audio

The story of Jesus' healing of the invalid at bethesda pool continues John's account of the unfolding of Jesus' glory and increasing tension with Jewish religious leaders. In this 2 part message we look at 4 key points being made in this story of miraculous healing. In part 1 we discover a question and a command from Jesus which apply equally to us today as they did to the man by the pool: "Do you want to get well?" and "Get up, pick up your mat and walk".

Manuscript:

The Healing at Bethesda Pool
John 5:1-16
06/09/09

Introduction
The story of the healing at Bethesda pool contains many fascinating and much debated details. It was an event that caused much controversy when it happened and it remains controversial today in how it is remembered. We are going to touch on some of this controversy as we examine the story, but in doing so we are going to be careful to not get distracted on the relatively minor issues. There are four critically important points that John makes here under the inspiration of the Spirit, and they have incredible power to shape our understanding, our attitude and our experience of life if we will listen to what God is saying to us through this story.

Text:

5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda a and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.[and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had] 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him.


Now, some of you reading along with me may have been shocked to discover that there was a section that I read out that did not appear in your bibles. I’ll explain that in just a minute!

In the last message from John we briefly looked at the importance of understanding the context of any Scriptural passage we are studying, both the historical context of what was actually going on at the time of the events recorded; and the literary context of how God has shaped His Word to communicate meaning to us. God is a God of order not chaos, and each book of the Bible follows a structure so the readers and hearers can grow in understanding and in maturity as the story or the letter unfolds. Each part builds with what has come before, and lays a foundation for what comes next.

I want to talk first about the literary context of this story – the part it plays in the unfolding drama of John’s gospel. We’ve seen already that John is not concerned with filling up his book with all of the spectacular things Jesus did, rather by the Spirit he selected just 7, and told them in such a way as to make clear Jesus’ gradual revelation of His glory, which was designed to produce a response of faith in the people who witnessed His works and heard His message. However Jesus would not fit within the rigid boundaries of Pharisaic Judaism – He would not allow the work of God to be limited by human tradition and the misapplication of God’s law. So there is increasing tension through the gospel with religious leaders which finally climaxes with the crucifixion of Jesus. We will see how that unfolds as the last and most important point that John makes in telling this story.

But as we now look at some of the historical context of this story we run into a little bit of controversy, which doesn’t affect any of the 4 key points being made, but is still important to recognise and comment upon. It has to do with the part of the story which for many of you did not appear in your bibles, except as a text note.

The reason is that the oldest manuscripts we have available for us today do not contain what we now have as the last part of verse 3 and all of verse 4. A number of later manuscripts do, so some translations of the bible go with the older manuscripts and some go with the newer ones.

This situation occurs from time to time, which is the reason why there are small disagreements between certain translations. Some people get very worked up about this, and allege that there is a conspiracy to water down the message of the bible by leaving bits out. The fact is that there are very good reasons why most scholars today question whether some parts of those later manuscripts were actually in the original text which was inspired by God, and attribute them to later scribes who added little explanatory notes or made errors in copying. In any case the translations which make use of such scholarship generally include the disputed text as a note so that people still have access to it – it’s not being hidden away to deceive or mislead people.

So in today’s text the controversy is: did God really send an angel to stir up the waters from time to time, so that the first person who made it in got healed; or was this a little explanatory note added by a scribe as he copied out John’s gospel perhaps several hundred years later, to explain why there were all these people waiting around hoping to be healed?

I would love to know the answer to that! There are a number of different scenarios going on here, and each of them affect the way that you explain the story. But here’s the key issue – it doesn’t make any difference to the meaning of this story either way. The 4 key points are still the 4 key points! Those 4 points are found in 3 statements of Jesus and one from the Jewish leaders. So I don’t mind what your opinion is about what was going on in the stirring of the waters, don’t be distracted from the 4 big ideas that come from these statements:

1. “Do you want to get well?”

This might sound like a silly question! The guy had been an invalid for 38 years – of course he wants to be well! Why else would he be camped out here trying to get into the pool when it gets stirred up?

Actually, it’s not a dumb question at all, but a very important one. In our society we have a whole bunch of recognised illnesses that are brought on by the attitudes and actions of the sufferer – they produce their own misery. You may also have come across people who are quite content with the ailment that they suffer from. Sometimes it’s because it provides them with attention, or an excuse to be idle, or a way of expressing some other hurt, or the opportunity to control their own pain or the lives of those around them, or a way of avoiding responsibility, or even a way of earning income. In some parts of the world parents even maim their own children to make them better beggars. Sometimes physical sickness or immobility is a choice, and getting well must also be a choice.

Sometimes when the suffering isn’t your choice, it’s still a tough thing to choose wellness. Just ask Ross how hard it was for him to choose to do the physiotherapy he needed to do after the operations on his knees! It was so tempting just to lie back and not do what the physiotherapist described – but the desire to be whole and strong again overcame the desire to avoid pain.

The same is true in our spiritual life. A lot of people are spiritual invalids. Sadly, some people have been spiritual invalids for a very long time! I’m not talking about those who are spiritually dead – those who have not yet received life in Jesus – I’m talking about Christians. There are people who have areas in their life that are stunted, areas of pain, areas of weakness and immaturity that God wants to heal for them. The issue is not whether God can do it, but whether or not they want Him to!

Saying “Yes” to Jesus means handing over control of that area of your life to Him. A lot of people recognise that things aren’t as they should be – whether it’s in relationships or finances or personal holiness – yet they are determined to fix these things themselves because they don’t want to hand control over to Jesus. There is something about their spiritual illness that they don’t want to lose. Their sin does something for them that even though they hate it, they want it. It has a grip on them.

Jesus says “Do you want to get well?”

Is there an area of your life that is not well right now? Will you let Jesus heal it? Don’t let it continue to be part of your life. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been there, Jesus can deal with it if you will submit to His lordship and His saving power.

The invalid at the pool responds to Jesus’ offer by saying in effect “I’m trying, but I just can’t get there! I need someone to help me get into the pool before anyone else when the water is stirred.” We have no idea how often this might have happened. There are legends from other places that these events happened once a year, but really we have no idea.

I can only imagine how frustrated the man was with himself for being unable to access the healing that others seemed able to achieve. I have no idea how much he struggled with the injustice of seeing those more able than himself receive healing as they were quicker to the pool. I have no idea what resentment he may have felt toward any family and friends he had who never seemed to be there when he most needed them, no matter what else they may have done to look after him.

I have seen these sorts of things play out in many people’s lives in different circumstances. Maybe they were an issue here.

Whatever the case, it is this admission of helplessness that leads to Jesus announcement of help.

2. “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

The power of Jesus achieved in a moment what this man had not been able to achieve for himself in 38 years – he was immediately cured.

How often do we limit our expectations of what Jesus can do, because we are aware of what we have not been able to do? We see the problem instead of the solution. We see a giant who has beaten us down time and time again. A persistent sin, a moral weakness, a repetitive failure, a lack of wisdom – whatever it is, it seems like it’s got us beat and it will always prevent us from being well. It will stunt our relationship with God and with people, it will diminish our witness, it will bruise our hearts and load us with guilt, frustration, self-pity, jealousy of others and resentment toward them and so on.

I am convinced that Jesus is the answer to every problem. If you are struggling in any area of life Jesus is the one who will achieve victory for you. What you need to do is obey His instruction. It’s not a case of earning your own miracle, like the man was trying to do by being first into the pool. Rather, it’s a case of trusting Jesus to do what you cannot, and just doing what He has told you to do.

Jesus is both Saviour and Lord. Many people want Him to be Saviour without being Lord. They want Him to be like a genie in a bottle. Call Him out when you need Him or when you want something but keep Him locked away at all other times.

Do you want to experience the healing power of your Saviour? Follow Him obediently as your Lord! Do what He says you must do, for He always does what He says He will do!

I want you to recognise that you cannot save yourself. That’s true when it comes from saving ourselves from God’s righteous punishment for our sin, and it’s true when it comes to dealing with the weaknesses of our sinful nature. It’s true when it comes to overcoming the spiritual forces of darkness who desire to steal, kill and destroy. Our only hope is in what Jesus has done for us through His death and resurrection, what He is doing in us through His Spirit, and what He will do when He returns to judge the world and the ruler of this world.

If you want to be whole and well, if you want to live the abundant life that Jesus has promised and He will produce in you, then you must listen to what He tells you to do and simply do it. The victory has been won, now walk in it!

I want to ask you to evaluate your life as it is right now. Are you paying attention to what Jesus is telling you to do? Are you reading His word regularly? Are you being built up by other members of God’s church as they help you understand and obey the Bible? Are you spending time in prayer, not grocery list prayer, but time in fellowship with God when you are stilling your own voice and listening to the quiet voice of the Spirit?

Are you obeying what Jesus is telling you to do or are you making excuses for yourself? Are you telling yourself that it is beyond you? Are you focussing on the shortcomings of others instead of first paying attention to your own walk?

Do you want to be well?
Will you do what Jesus tells you to do?

When I look at my own life I recognise that I am far from being completely well. As the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

I sometimes get frustrated by my imperfections. Just as Romans 7 describes I see the sickness of my sinful nature and the way it holds me back from living out of the righteousness that I have been given in Jesus. My own failures produce a sense of hopelessness and guilt, even to the point of questioning how God could possibly love and forgive me. The wonderful truth of the gospel is that He does and He has!

When I start to focus on my own limitations and weakness to the point where healing seems impossible, that’s when I need to remember instead to look to Jesus, to listen to Him and do what He says, trusting in Him to produce in me what I cannot produce in myself. As I focus on Him, living by His Spirit and not my own strength, suddenly I am no longer held back by my weakness or by my strength. Instead He produces in me new life!

There is no longer any room for self-pity or for boasting! Rather in everything we glorify Christ by living obedient to His commands and witnessing to His transforming power at work in our lives.

I look at this church family and I see evidence of the grace and power of God at work in us. I also see ways in which we are not yet well.

The Bible tells us what we must do to be well, to be a church marked by love and maturity and effective witness. The question is whether or not we will obey.

I wonder how many of us feel a little discouraged when we think about the problems and challenges we face. I wonder how many feel resentment, jealousy, anger or other such emotions. I wonder how many of us are still thinking that our own efforts will make the difference in turning things around.

The only answer for our church is Jesus, and the only option is obedience to Him and complete dependence on Him.

If we do that, the future is glorious. If we do not, the future is ugly!

Next week (God willing) as we look at the final two points of this story, we will discover a very powerful and relevant message to where we are at right now as a church family, and where we have been for a great many years now. We will see some heart attitudes and behaviours strongly challenged, and a very serious warning issued by our Lord. May our hearts be ready. May we have chosen healing over sickness, trust and obedience over self-reliance or self-pity.

Operation Christmas Child Promo's and Info

It's that time of year - we're getting our shoeboxes packed and ready to send off as little ambassadors of the love of God!

Here's some good promo's and info movies that I found on youtube that might be of help for people in promoting OCC in their churches.

Packing a shoebox 101 - Aussie Clip

Promo Video from Canada - good quality

Promo Video for Aus/NZ

A short film about OCC featuring Marina Prior

Lejla Allison's Story - I used this last year. It's a great personal story that shows what OCC is all about. Hosted on Vimeo.

These are all really great vids that might help make people aware and show how we can be invovled. Enjoy!

Sermon - Healing the Nobleman's Son

Click to Play Video

Click to Listen to Audio (right-click to download)

Why did John include this as one of only 7 miracles he chose to record in his gospel? We discover John's point that miracles were actually signs to point people to Jesus and an invitation to place faith in Him. Jesus did not want people getting worked up about miracles, in fact he discouraged it. What He wanted was for people to discover the real miracle of eternal life through faith in Him. No matter what God in His grace chooses to do for our benefit in this life, nothing can compare to what He has already done in Jesus for our eternal benefit. We need to be careful that nothing distracts us from our focus on the person of Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord.

The Healing of the Nobleman’s Son

John 4:43-54

23/08/09

Introduction

I know that a lot of people were away last weekend when Chris and Trevor were here. I trust for those who were here that you enjoyed learning more about the subject of Living Water that John speaks about in his gospel. It is a real challenge for us to think about not only whether we have received that living water, but whether we are receiving it. Or are we like the people of Judah that Jeremiah spoke about who were digging their own cisterns and looking for life from other sources instead of God who is the true source? Are we living by His Spirit?

We are moving on now in our journey through the gospel of John, to look at the story of the healing of the nobleman’s son, recorded in John 4:43-54. Jesus has spent time with the people of Sychar in Samaria. These people who were despised by the Jews but John wants us to know that they have actually shown a much greater willingness to trust in Jesus than His own people have.

John 4:43-54

^43 After the two days he left for Galilee. ^44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) ^45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.

^46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ^47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

^48 “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

^49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

^50 Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ^51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ^52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

^53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.

^54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee. ^[1]

Why Does John Include This Story?

On Wednesday nights we are studying the book of Colossians together, and I’m really enjoying that! One of the things that has excited me is the wonderful way that the truths expressed in that letter complement the truths being expressed here in the gospel of John. Of course we should expect that to be the case since the one Author has inspired both texts. I want to spend some time before we study this story looking at the inspiration of Scripture as a foundation so that we’re ready to ask some questions and discover some truths that will be really important.

Understanding the Inspiration of Scripture

I remember when I was at Bible College and we were studying various books of the bible, that at first I was uncomfortable with the emphasis that was often placed on the authorship of various books. Lecturers would say things like “What John is trying to emphasis here…” (or Peter, Paul or whoever), and I would inwardly rebel! “It’s not about what John thinks or is trying to say, it’s about what God is saying!” I would think to myself. I would remember the wonderful words from 2 Peter 2:20&21…

^

^20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. ^21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

These verses affirm the divine authorship of the Bible. It is not an invention of human authors nor is it merely their best efforts to remember what they saw and heard. It is exactly as God intended according to His will, put into effect through His Spirit working through human agents.

However in my naïveté I did not yet fully appreciate just how wonderfully intricate this process actually was. I guess I had in the back of my mind images of a person being taken over by an external force that compels them to do certain things in certain ways. Their normal personality and self-will is suspended while this other entity maintains control.

While this may be the method of operation for the spiritual forces of darkness, it should not be confused with the methods of Almighty God. His ways are so far above theirs that no comparison is possible. Their ways are always a shallow counterfeit of His ways.

I want you to understand that when it talks about men speaking from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, it is not talking about some sort of trance or event where their minds have been taken over. Rather, it is God working in cooperation with them in making sure that what is said and written is exactly as He wants it to be.

Everything about what sort of people they were, what they saw and heard, what they remembered, how they understood it, how they put it into words – all of that took place exactly as God willed. He just didn’t take over someone for a while to act as a human spokesman, He shaped everything so that person was equipped and ready to do that task under the Spirit’s control.

In the same way there are good works planned in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10). God works in us and in our circumstances to prepare us to do them and to help us to do them.

The only difference is that as people who are not yet perfect, we make mistakes and we do not fully discern or submit to the Spirit’s control. The same was true for the Biblical authors – the Bible is very honest about that. Yet in His grace God made sure that when it came to the recording of Scripture, their normal human frailties that might have otherwise corrupted the text were kept from doing so.

As you get to know the Bible better you begin to appreciate more and more the way that God shaped each of the human authors and how their personalities and experiences in turn shaped how they wrote and spoke. We must not lose sight of that, nor must we lose sight of the fact that “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim 3:16). The human minds were active and the Spirit of God was active in producing Scripture. It is not one without the other. It is the mystery of God’s sovereign will working together with human freedom.

So when you hear me talking about the human author or asking questions about the thoughts and motives of those authors, don’t be concerned that I’m treating Scripture like a merely human writing. I’m not and it’s not!

So…!

Looking at the Context of the Story

Today I want to ask the question “Why did John include this story in his gospel?”. What is it that John wants us to understand from this story? How did he want his readers to respond?

Let’s remember that John was writing this as an account which people would read not in little chunks here and there, but right through. This story is part of a bigger story, and without understanding that bigger story we can’t understand this part of it. The story has a context.

When we look at context we want to understand first of all the historical context. What was going on at the time? Where did the events take place? What sort of people were involved? Understanding as much as we can about the events themselves is a great way to grow in our understanding of God is doing in that situation that we can learn from.

The next thing we look at is the literary context. The Biblical authors describe events differently on purpose. They place stories in different sequences because they are not fussing about being historians, they are painting a picture of Jesus. They choose different stories in order to show Jesus to us, because as John says later on in his book, there simply isn’t enough time or paper to record everything He said and did! This is all exactly as God intended it to be – every word comes from Him.

The Literary Context of John’s Gospel: Signs are for direction, they’re not the attraction!

When John describes the miracles of Jesus, his main focus is to look at the effect they had in producing faith. The miracle at Cana, not mentioned in the other gospels, was important because it was his first miraculous sign and it produced faith in His disciples.

John 2:11

^11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

At the end of chapter 2 we read that Jesus did many miracles in Jerusalem while He was there for the Passover, yet John doesn’t bother describing them to us, just telling us that many believed in Jesus as a result – he was more concerned with the effect than with the miracle. This is why he calls them miraculous signs. The miracles are not the point – believing in Jesus is the point. The miracles are just a signpost to point out to people who Jesus really is.

Imagine going on a world trip and then coming home with a whole stack of photo’s. You organise them into a nice powerpoint presentation, set up the projector and screen and invite a whole bunch of family and friends around to show and tell them about your trip. Everyone’s quite excited because they know how many great locations you visited.

So the lights are dimmed, the popcorn handed out and the first photo comes up on the screen – it’s a picture of the sign pointing the way to the Eiffel Tower. “Great!” everyone thinks, “The next pic will be of the tower”. But no, the next picture is the sign that says that the Arc de Triumph is just down the road! Then there’s a signpost pointing the way to French Riviera. The show goes on: signs pointing to cathedrals, castles, natural wonders, pyramids and so on. Signs in all languages, but just signs! That slide show is a dud – it’s not what people were really hoping for.

It doesn’t really matter what colour a sign is, or how big it is, as long as it does it’s job. It’s job is to point people in a direction, warn them of danger or give them information.

The point of Jesus’ miracles was to signify His divine nature. He was someone unlike any other human that had ever lived. Many of the Samaritans had already figured this out simply by listening to Him as he shared with them over two days.

Let’s look again at what happens afterward…

John 4:43-48

^43 After the two days he left for Galilee. ^44 (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) ^45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.

^46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ^47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

^48 “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

So when Jesus arrives in his home region he visits Cana, the site of His first miracle some time earlier. More people from Galilee have since heard about Jesus because of the many miracles He did in Jerusalem, as many Galileans were there at the same time celebrating the Passover.

Galilee was administered for the Romans by Herod, and one of his officials who has a son near death hears that Jesus is in Cana and decides to see if this miracle worker can help his son.

Is this man interested in Jesus? No, he’s interested in his son, and he hopes that Jesus can help him.

He needs help, and I suspect that he would turn to anyone or anything that could save his son.

Jesus’ response is pretty amazing.

^“Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe.”

Jesus seems to think that people believing in Him is more important than the wonder He is being asked to perform.

Jesus has no interest in becoming a travelling freak show for the excitement and entertainment of the adoring public. You can imagine if Jesus agreed to go to Capernaum that He would have been followed by a whole crowd of people eager to see the next miracle take place. So instead of doing that, he sends the man off with a promise of healing for his son. Healing from a distance of 20 miles or so away was unheard of. Surely Jesus would need to come and perform some sort of physical action over the boy to have any effect.

We read from verse 50…

“The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ^51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ^52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

^53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.

^54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

What is the miracle here? A sick boy got better, healed by a word from Jesus from 20 miles away. That’s impressive. The real miracle though, was that a whole household came to faith in Jesus. That’s what mattered to Jesus, and it’s what mattered to John as he tells this story.

Skip ahead with me to chapter 20 of John’s gospel. We’re going to remind ourselves of the key them of the book as we read about the risen Jesus’ encounter with Thomas, who has not yet seen Him nor is he convinced of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

John 20:24-31

^24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ^25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

^26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ^27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

^28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

^29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

^30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ^31 But these are written that you may^ believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

In this situation, much like with the nobleman of chapter 4, Thomas cannot believe until he has seen a sign. In Thomas’ case it is the marks of the nails and spear on Jesus’ body that will convince Him that Jesus really is the risen Saviour of the world. Jesus graciously provides him with this sign, but then tells him to stop doubting! “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus tells him.

John chooses this point to tell his readers why he has written this gospel – so that we might “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”.

That’s the real miracle – eternal life through Jesus Christ. No healings or anything else seen or experienced in this life can compare to eternity with Christ in the next. That’s the miracle that God wants to perform again and again and again!

Salvation – The Real Miracle

There is a real danger that people can become like many of the Jews of Jesus’ day, and just be looking for more miracles to keep us amazed and to give us the help we want from God, as though God is our servant whose job is to keep us safe and healthy and wealthy! Paul responds to this sort of attitude when he says to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:22-24

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ^23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ^24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

In Romans 10:14 Paul asks these questions: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

What is God’s chosen method of producing the miracle of eternal life? It is through the proclamation of the gospel – telling people the truth about Jesus. It’s not through “signs and wonders”, but through the good news about Jesus Christ.

But having said that, our God is a very gracious God. Sometimes, just like Thomas and the nobleman, our own doubts or concerns are uppermost in our minds need to be dealt with in order for faith to flourish.

Jesus did that for both these men. He still does it today.

Yes, it should be enough for people to hear the gospel and respond in faith. Yes, that is the way that God has set forth as His pattern for bringing about salvation. Yes, that is what Jesus described as the way of blessing.

But sometimes God does produce powerful signs in the lives of people to help them along.

Ari told an amusing story on Wednesday night that he’d heard in South Africa, where a man had come along to church reluctantly because a friend invited him. He heard the message, and thought to himself “OK God, if you really exist have someone do a cart-wheel at the front of church”. A cheeky and irreverent prayer if ever I’ve heard one! A woman sitting near the front suddenly got up and said “I don’t know why, but I believe God wants me to do a cart-wheel in front of the church”, and she did! I suspect she felt very silly, and I’ve got no idea what the minister might have thought at this point! But she did it, and that man’s socks were knocked off! It was the sign he needed to convince Him that God was real, listened to his prayer and wanted him to be saved.

I’ve heard many other stories of signs that have helped people come to faith in Jesus or built up people’s faith in Jesus, but that’s perhaps the wackiest!

We often get very excited by such things happening, and many of us sometimes wish that we had such experiences that we could hold on to, to show that there is something solid or spectacular behind what we believe.

Don’t make signs and wonders into an idol. Don’t look for more signs, believe in Jesus!

That’s what Jesus taught, and it’s what the Bible emphasises.

What do we need to do as a result of today’s message?

· Worship Christ alone. Instead of looking for what God can do for us, let’s focus on what He has done for us in Jesus. The only right response is for us to live for Him.

· Reaffirm our commitment to preaching the gospel. It is God’s established method of producing salvation by faith.

· Pray that people may be saved by believing the gospel.

· Pray that God by His grace will provide whatever other signs will help people come to that point of faith in Jesus.

· Be prepared to do whatever the Spirit leads you to do, even though it might not make a lot of sense to you at the time.

· Be excited by the miraculous things God does, but never lose sight of the real miracle of salvation or the supremacy of Jesus.

---

^[1]All Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Sermon - Mission is Seeing the Cross

Mission:

Not Crossing the Sea,

It's Seeing the Cross!

What is Your Passion?

Do you know what it’s like to have something that captivates you? Something that takes over your life, even for a short while? Something that excites you and troubles you, fills you with joy and frustration, a great passion that overwhelms all others?

Let me tell you a bit about my week…

Carolyn is in the process of starting up a small business called “Kindermusik with Carolyn”. She has become a licensed Kindermusik educator and is going to be running some classes over the next few months in Narembeen. Last week I decided that I would help out by setting up a database for her so she could record details of people who had expressed interest or enrolled, send out letters and information lots of different tasks like that. It grew from something simple into something increasingly complex and grand. In fact, it took on a life of it’s own! I was poring through the internet to find out how to set things up the way I wanted, I was redesigning forms in my sleep to make them simpler and more useful. I was jotting down ideas on my desktop that would come to me in the middle of preparing my Scripture lessons! Carolyn or the kids would speak to me while I was working on the laptop and I would be completely tuned out to them because I was concentrating so hard on what I was doing. Coffees went cold, bedtimes got late, family got a little ticked off!

Now, that may sound very strange to you, but for the last week making a whiz-bang database has been a consuming passion! What has been your passion this week? What is the consuming passion of your life? What gets your mind racing and heart pumping?

It could be your work, your relationships, sports, hobbies, studies or something else. Sadly, for some people the thing that excites the most passion in them is their sin, which is why they struggle so much to overcome it. I’ve been there, and it’s not a nice condition to be in.

I want to suggest to you that the secret of mission is in finding a passion that produces action. What we care most about determines what we most do.

Let’s look at the example of Jesus to see how this worked for Him…

Philippians 2:1-11

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ^2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ^3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ^4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

^5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

^6 Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

^7 but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature^ of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

^8 And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

^9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

^10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

^11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father. ^[1]

This is a wonderful passage, which has a lot to teach us. I want to focus on what it says about the attitude of Jesus Christ. He was in nature God, yet He did not consider His position, powers or privileges as something that should be held on to, He made himself nothing, taking the nature of a servant – and not even an angelic servant, a human one! He became the lowest of the low, even to the point of dying a criminal’s death, enduring human scorn and divine wrath as He took on Himself the penalty for the sin of the world.

Why would He do something so extremely degrading and difficult?

We know that it was not something that just happened to Him, with His followers trying to make the best of it afterward. It is something He chose to do. He even told us of it hundreds of years beforehand…

Isaiah 50:6-7

^6 I offered my back to those who beat me,

my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;

I did not hide my face

from mocking and spitting.

^7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,

I will not be disgraced.

Therefore have I set my face like flint,

and I know I will not be put to shame.

Here we see the attitude of Jesus toward His mission – “Yes it is tough, but I will not turn away from it.”

Again we ask, why? What is the passion that would cause Him to endure so much. What cause is so great as to be worth this sacrifice?

To find the answer to that question let’s hit fast-forward and go to a time foretold in the Bible, a time fast approaching but not here yet, when Jesus will receive what is spoken of in Philippians 2 as God the Father publicly exalts Him to the highest place over all creation.

Revelation chapter 5 tells of the scene in Heaven when Jesus begins the process of taking ownership of this rebellious world, which is symbolised by a scroll – a title deed to the Earth. As he does so those present take up this song:

Revelation 5:9-10

“…You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slain,

and with your blood you purchased men for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation.

^You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,

and they will reign on the earth.”

We take up the story in Revelation 21, as the process of judging the earth has come to an end.

Revelation 21:1-4

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ^2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ^3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ^4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

I want you to picture in your mind what it must look like for God to see a world racked by sin and death. To grieve for a world in rebellion which experiences so much darkness, pain and struggle because of our independence from Him. To see acts of violence, hatred and greed which offend His nature of goodness.

Then contrast that picture with this picture of Heaven. No longer are we separated from Him, no longer do we scuttle around in darkness living lives that are like a vapour – here today and gone tomorrow. Instead there is eternal live and fellowship – no more sadness or mourning, pain or death. The old order is gone, the new is here.

In God’s picture of Heaven there are people from every tribe, every language, every people, every nation. They are there because they have heard the news of salvation in Jesus and they have believed. They have trusted God for eternal life and He has delivered.

Jesus came so that this picture of Heaven could become our reality. In His mind it was worth the struggle of His life, death and resurrection in order to bring that about. And we gratefully say “Thank you Lord that you felt that way”! “Thank you that you deemed our salvation to be worth Your sacrifice”.

And as we come before Him in thanksgiving we hear Him say – “Now you must have the same attitude”. Paul says “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus”

In Hebrews 12:1-3 we read…

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ^2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ^3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Jesus looked beyond the struggle and saw the joy set before Him. Follow His example, be encouraged by His example. You will never face what Jesus faced, yet His Spirit is within you helping you to overcome. Fix your eyes on Jesus!

Mission, my friends, is not crossing the sea to serve God. Mission is seeing the cross and being so captivated by it that everything else pales in comparison.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:2

“I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

We get another glimpse of Paul’s attitude when we read his letter to Christians in Colossae who he’d never met personally. He’s just been talking about how they had been saved through Christ’s death on the cross for them, and he goes on to say…

Colossians 1:21-24

^24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

The phrasing is a bit unusual here and sometimes people miss the point of what Paul is saying. It’s really pretty simple. The suffering of Jesus is what purchased our salvation. That work is complete and not lacking in any way – what remains is to give people an opportunity to receive it and grow in it. That is the work that Paul was called to – to proclaim Jesus so that the church may grow in number as people are saved, and so that the church may grow in maturity as Christians get to know Jesus better and follow Him more closely. That work of proclaiming life in Jesus is tough, but the struggles are worth it, just like Jesus’ struggles were worth it.

Paul is doing what Hebrews 12 tells us all to do – he’s running his race with his eyes on Jesus, and that’s what gives him the passion to run well and not give up.

I want to ask you this morning - is Jesus your passion?

Are you prepared to add your sufferings to those of Jesus and Paul and every other Christian who has ever served God for the sake of His Church?

Do you think about what Jesus thought about – that heavenly picture of people from every tribe and language and people and nation together in an eternal kingdom? Do you think about the awful alternative of eternity without Christ?

Do you remember that you are not your own – that you have been bought at a price?

I know what it’s like to be caught up in lesser passions. I’m the guy who gets excited about building a database for crying out loud!!

I know what it’s like to be caught up in sinful passions.

I want to be caught up in the passion of knowing Jesus and making Him known.

I choose to be caught up in the passion of knowing Jesus and making Him known.

Will you?

What evidence will we see of that passion in your life?

Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus “became obedient to death – even death on a cross”

Paul was obedient to his commission to preach Christ to the Gentiles, even though it lead to floggings and shipwrecks and imprisonments and eventually execution.

What will you become obedient to?

What is God calling you to?

· Pack some Christmas shoeboxes?

· Join the team of Craft Group…?

· Offer to teach Scripture in a local school? – Our government has asked for more Scripture teachers but the churches can’t supply them!

· Join a home group?

· Reach out to someone who’s lonely or in need?

· Show a Christian movie to your kids and their friends, or yourself and your friends.

· Take your relationships at work to a deeper level?

May your passion for Jesus cause you to do what seems beyond you. May you see the cross, and may it drive you forward to continue the mission of Jesus in bringing salvation to the lost.

May you set your face like flint, determined that nothing will hold you back from obeying your Lord. Knowing that the Sovereign Lord will be your strength and shield.

May what you fear pale into insignificance beside the glory of the One you love. May His eternal kingdom be of more worth to you than the pleasures and possessions of this life that soon fade away.

Amen.

---

^[1]All Scriptures from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Meeting the Woman at the Well pt 2

Click to Play Video
or...
Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manuscript

Noticing the disciples' surprise at seeing Jesus talking to a woman, we examine our own attitudes toward others. Who are the people that we naturally shun or condemn, and who are those who we might naturally feel more inclined to include and accept? How often have we found ourselves unconsciously contradicting the message of the gospel and the example of Jesus in how we treat others? Jesus goes on to show us the importance of changing our perspective from our own earthly needs and desires in order to be aware of the Kingdom business that God has called us to be about.

Meeting the Woman at the Well

Click to Play Video
Click here for sermon text (pdf format)
Click here for audio

Have you ever struggled to get past a dividing wall of hostility in your relationship with someone? Have you ever found yourself preferring to keep people other people at a distance? Walls can build up for all sorts of reasons, but how do we bring them down? In His encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well, Jesus demonstrates how to avoid being sidetracked by contentious issues, and reveals to us the secret of peace with others and peace with God.

Sermon - Take a Spiritual Health Checkup!

Spiritual Health Check-up

26/07/09

Last week was one of those great times where God seems to be bringing a lot of truth together to be a really powerful message in your life. As I went from preaching at Kingsley on Sunday, teaching Scripture on Wednesday, Bible Study on Wednesday night and Young Adults Group on Thursday night as well as other conversations during the week there was an incredible overlap in what the Scriptures have been saying that I’ve really enjoyed.

I want to share some of those things with you this morning, and I hope that you will be challenged and encouraged by them as much as I have been.

I want to start with this morning by reminding you of the classic passage that describes what a healthy and active church looks like – Acts 2:42-47.

Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)

^42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ^43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ^44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. ^45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ^46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ^47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

^[1]

When we read about this church we see what it’s like to be right at the beginning of a new work that God is doing, before Satan has a chance to infiltrate it and attack it, and before it is weakened by all of the frailties and failures of the people who are a part of it.

The church in Acts 2 is not yet a mature church, but it’s heading in the right direction. If they keep up with what they are doing here there will be no way that the gates of hell will be able to stand against this church.

They have not yet had to contend with serious opposition. They have not yet had to stand firm against temptation and false teaching. They have not yet had to protect their hearts from becoming colder with the passing of time as their initial enthusiasm naturally wears off.

When we read the rest of the New Testament we find that the going was not always easy for the church, and they failed often. As the church grew and spread we see different congregations struggling with different issues.

Listen to what Jesus said to the church at Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2

Revelation 2:1-5 (NIV)

“To the angel^ of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: ^2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ^3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

^4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ^5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

So here we see a church which was doctrinally more mature than the church of Acts 2. They had a greater grasp of the teachings of Jesus, the measurement of truth. They had persevered through trials and their faith and purity had proved genuine. They are a hard working church, and have not grown weary of doing good deeds despite the opposition they have faced.

Yet, they are threatened with spiritual extinction! They are a dying church! Jesus says that their witness in Ephesus will be removed unless they change course. They need to repent and do the things they did at first.

What could be missing? They are faithful. They are hard working. They have pure teaching and love the truth.

But they have forsaken their first love.

What is their first love? Simply love for Christ and for others. Love of truth has replaced love of God and love of people.

Is that possible? It shouldn’t be, because the truth clearly tells us to love. The truth tells us that love is the very character of God. But throughout history we have seen very often a swing between groups who do well at loving others, yet are soft on the truth, and groups who do well at standing for the truth, but tend to have a low regard for people, and little awareness or care for their impact on people. The Bible speaks again and again on the importance of truth and love existing together, and only then are both made complete.

So as we return to Acts 2, we see there a church that is not yet mature but a church that is alive and growing. That is the type of church that we want to be. A church that is alive and growing.

On Thursday night I asked the young adults to look at each of the things that those early Christians were doing, the things that the Ephesians of Revelation 2 were told to return to, and I asked them to evaluate themselves by that list. Are they devoted to and doing the same things as these early Christians? In effect what I was asking was “Are we a healthy and growing group, or have we forsaken our first love?”

A couple of weeks back I took our car up to Merredin to the place where we bought it for it’s 90,000km service. It took most of the day, and in the middle of a busy period that was a real nuisance. But I know that if I don’t pay attention to maintaining the car it’s not going to last the distance.

Our spiritual life needs regular check-up’s too. I’m not talking about the regular work of fueling up, cleaning out and so on – you know, things like reading our bibles, praying, serving and so on. I mean every now and then taking some time to take a close look at every part of our lives to see how it is going. To give our spiritual life a thorough going over.

Galatians 6:4-5 (NLT)

⁴ Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. ⁵ For we are each responsible for our own conduct.^[2]

I have brought along a couple of things which I hope will be of help to everyone as we each pay careful attention to our own conduct. The first is a Spiritual Health Check Up that I found on a website during the week. This one comes from Sugar Grove Church of Christ in Texas (www.sugargrove.org). I started putting one together, complete with lots of Bible verses, but I realised that it was too much for most people to get through! But I discovered this one and I think you’ll find it helpful. I encourage you to make some time to go through it this week. Be prayerful and honest and I am sure that God will bring some things out for you to work on.

Now before I show you the second thing I’ve brought along for you today, I want to remind you of what was going on in Ephesus as Jesus describes it in Revelation 2. Some things were very good in that church, but their diminished love meant that their church was doomed. It would die, and their witness in that city would be gone.

It didn’t need to be that way. Jesus gives them the remedy – repent! Change course and start doing the things that you have stopped doing. Reignite that passion that has grown cold.

Some people look at the church of Acts 2 and say “It’s unsustainable! You can’t keep meeting together every day for worship and fellowship, teaching and prayer. You can’t keep selling off possessions to give to the poor. Life just isn’t like that!”

I disagree! I think you can choose to love God and love others no matter how long you’ve been a Christian. I think you can be enthusiastic and excited about Jesus all the time. I think that passion does naturally cool off, but God has given us everything we need to keep that passion alive – we just need to choose to do so.

On Thursday night with the young adults I spoke a bit about how much I had enjoyed Bible Study the previous night at Ari & Wilma’s house. I really enjoyed studying the Bible together and praying. We had a great time of sharing stories and enjoying lovely food & drink. It was just a really good night. It was a good night because some people chose to come and other people chose to open their home. It was a good night because people chose to have a good attitude. They chose to be interested in the Bible and in each other. They chose thankfulness to God.

As I mentioned earlier I looked at the website for the Sugar Grove Church of Christ during the week, and had a glance at their calendar of events. Do you know what? There was stuff happening practically every day! Every day groups are getting together for all sorts of purposes, just like in the early church. Are the same people going to all those events? I don’t think so! Did all of those 3000 and more early Christians attend events every day with other believers? Probably not!

The point is that they were devoted to it – whether once or twice a week or some other frequency, they got together as often as they could in order to be the church for each other. Did all of them sell their possessions and give to the poor in the first week? Nope! Acts 4 tells us that these things were happening from time to time as some had need and others had opportunity to meet that need! I’ve seen exactly the same thing happen here in this church, where people have sacrificially given money, goods and time that would have been very helpful used on their own needs, but they’ve given for the sake of others’ needs. Not a big broadcast to advertise it, but it happens.

I believe that we see Acts 2 churches all the time – not perfect churches, but growing churches. Churches marked by a vibrant love for God and each other. Churches that value teaching, fellowship, prayer and generosity. Churches that focus their people on Jesus. Churches that are seeing evidence of the work of the Spirit in their members. Churches to whom God is adding those who are being saved.

My question for you today is what role do you play in all of this? Are you doing what you need to do in order to make us an Acts 2 church?

The second thing I’ve brought along for you today is a list of “One-Another’s” of the Bible. It’s a resource for you to be able to get a quick overview of what the Bible says about how we should be connecting with one another. I’m sure that as you read it you will be very challenged about the role that you have been called to play in relationship with other Christians. It will convict you of some things that you need to get right with God and with others. It will show you things that you can do to make us an Acts 2 church.

Link 1: Spiritual Health Check-up from Sugar Grove Church of Christ
Link 2: The "One-Another's" of the Bible from memoryverses.org

---

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

^[2]Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Ga 6:4-5). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.