Sermon: Philippians 4:4-9

This is a sermon I wrote for presentation at Allsaints Waitara. It doesn't always stay at 20 minutes... if you read it fairly slowly, it can stretch to 28 rather easily. I was asked to preach on the whole of chapter four. I think in 20 minutes that would be impossible. So I focused in verses 4-9 primarily, as I felt these held important truths for our church, and were a good summary of much of what is in the last chapter, whilst not going too much over stuff that had already been covered previously.

Philippians 4 – changing your mind (Allsaints Waitara)

Introduction

For those of you who don't know, I'm presently studying my Juris Doctor, which is just a fancy way of saying I'm doing a law degree. Last term I finished the introductory course in criminal law, where I learned that almost all crimes have two aspects, which lawyers call the actus reus and the mens rea because saying things in Latin makes you sound smart. They mean the guilty act and the guilty mind. So take a crime, like smuggling drugs. The guilty act is bringing a border controlled drug into Australia. But you can't be found guilty of smuggling drugs if you don't also have a guilty mind – that is, you needed to know that you were smuggling something into the country. You don't need to know that it's drugs, what kind, how much – you just need to know you're bringing something into Australia that you shouldn't. That way, if someone slips drugs into your bag without your knowledge, you're not guilty of smuggling. But you also can't be found guilty of a crime just for having a guilty mind – you have to perform some act to make it criminal. So in the crime of conspiracy to commit smuggling, just thinking about how you would smuggle drugs into the country isn't enough to get you convicted. You need to take some act towards putting that plan into action. Your thoughts alone cannot convict you.

And that's for a very good reason – because we can't read people's minds. However, Jesus tells us that God's court is not like a human court. God can read our minds, and he tells us that if you think angry thoughts against your brother, you're guilty of murder, and if you think lustful thoughts about someone who isn't your spouse, you've committed adultery. I'll be the first one to say that this is an impossibly high standard, and everyone is going to fail, because we are sinful beings, and I'll be the first to thank God that our salvation does not rely on us living a perfect thought life, because it is Jesus who saves us. Praise God! But because our thought life is so important to God, we have to look at how we live in our minds, what we think about and how we think about it, to keep ourselves accountable to God. It matters to God, so it should matter to us.

Changing our Mind – The Lord is Near

And so here in the last chapter of Philippians, Paul is encouraging the church to pay attention to their thought life, and to ensure that the way they think is in line with the truth about God, and how God wants us to think. The first major shift we need to make in our mindset is coming to an understanding that “The Lord is near,” in verse five. The Lord is near, whatever we might see happening, whatever we think of our situation. These words sit as a centrepoint to this passage, so that everything else in verses 4-9 revolves around it. And this knowledge that the Lord is near should change our attitude towards life.

The Lord is near – rejoice!

So verse 4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” This might just seem a cheery and pleasant thing to say to your fellow Christian brothers and sisters, the spiritual equivalent to, “Put a smile on your dial” or “Put on a happy face”. But think about the context of this letter. Paul is in prison, facing the death penalty for preaching the gospel. The Philippians would have been struck to the heart that Paul was in prison. Epaphroditus visited Paul and nearly died. They're under pressure from the Romans, under pressure from the circumcision group. Things are tough. But rejoice in the Lord always, because the Lord is near.

The Lord is near – be gentle!

This understanding that 'the Lord is near' should change our attitude towards each other. Verse 5 says, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” This gentleness is the outworking of our thoughts about other people. It means be gentle all the time, so that whenever people look at you, they see gentleness. It means standing up for Christ, and being unyielding in truth, being unashamed of the gospel, but not crushing people with it either. When you're picking fruit, you don't just grab it as fast as you can, you also need to handle it gently, or you ruin it. We have to harvest people for God, and do it gently. Why? Because the Lord is near!

The Lord is near – rely on him!

Finally, the Lord is near, so we should rely on him. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This was voted as a favourite verse by several of our confirmees last week, and I'm really glad for that, because relying on God in this way is so hard to do! And yet this is perhaps the most vital, foundation stone of all of these changes of mind we need. We must accept that we are powerless on our own, but mighty in Christ; that regardless of our circumstances, whether we are in trouble because we did something wrong or stupid; or whether people are treating us poorly because we are standing up for Jesus; or even just because some bad thing has just happened as so often happens in life, not only should we rejoice in the Lord, but we should rely on him.

And that reliance is done through prayer. We have to cultivate this mindset that no matter what happens, we can and must rely on God. God wants us to rely on him. God wants us to ask him. And God promises that his peace will be with us if we do. It should be a reflex for us – to rely on God for everything, to ask God when we are worried or anxious, and to recognise it's God's strength that allows us to do all things. It shouldn't be hard to call out to God and rely on him – after all, the Lord is near.

Fuelling our thought life

So understanding that the Lord is near should change every part of our mindset – how we think about our lives, how we think about people, and how we think about God. Now, Paul focuses on the thought life of the Christian. What should we allow to fuel our thoughts?

Fuelling our thought life – the Bible, Christian teaching, anything good

Paul says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Here we are given a list of good traits that should guide us in deciding what we fill our minds with. So what things fulfil these good traits? Firstly and perhaps obviously, we should have our minds full of the gospel of God's word and message to humanity. What could be more true, right, pure and lovely than the scriptures? If you question the value of the Bible in your Christian life, then feel free to come and talk to me afterwards and I'll happily debate the point with you, but I have the feeling the majority of people listening to me will agree that Paul certainly had the scriptures in mind when he was speaking here.

While we're dealing with easy and obvious sources of these good traits, Paul gives another trustworthy place to find them in verse 9, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.” Now for us, the example of Paul's life and his teachings are contained entirely in scripture, so that's already covered. But these words should come from the mouths of our leaders, our ministers, our experienced Christian brothers and sisters. Our minds should be full of their good example to us and their teachings to us. Regular, relevant Bible teaching and hardy, veteran Christians to learn from are two of the greatest reasons for coming to church. You're here, so use them!

But we should not stop our thought fuel there. If all Paul meant was “Read your Bible and listen to sermons,” he would have said that. Instead Paul says whatever is noble, whatever is admirable, anything excellent or praiseworthy, we should think about these things too. These are secular words he's using, the same words Greek philosophers would have used. There are things where we might see godly values espoused that do not have a Christian source or do not conflict with biblical values. An obvious one might be democracy, a Greek concept that predates Christianity by hundreds of years. Another more recent one would be human rights, or the rights of the child. God wants Christians to have an open mind, and to take the good from what the world has to offer. All good things come from God, even if they do not come in Christian packages.

Fuelling our thought life – don't be ignorant

We must also be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that because we are told here to think on these good things, we must therefore never think about bad things. Too many times have I seen misguided Christians telling people that we should avoid anything that mentions idolatry, violence, sexual violence, bad language, demons, magic, the occult, or any other number of topics. I'll say straightaway that these are not things we should condone, or be involved in, or glorify. But as God's people we can't afford to be ignorant of these topics either. We can't turn our back on the world's problems because thinking about them is unseemly. We have to acknowledge and deal with the evil in the world. The Bible does. We need to be aware of these things, both to be on our guard, and to help those who might be trapped in such situations. If we toss ourselves into ignorance on topics that are not fit for polite conversation, then we are not going to be able to help people who are in dire need, that we are called as Christians to show our gentleness to.

With those two truths before us – that we should fill our minds with good things, while not being ignorant of evil things – we come to the question inevitably arises from this topic is, “What about sex in movies? What about violence in video games? What about magic in Harry Potter?”, and I want to deal with this issue, because it's a big and relevant one for lots of people, whether thinking about their own activities, or those of their children or grandchildren.

There is a whole sermon here – there's a whole book here – but I want to cover three principles we can work from in this issue. The first is that calling for the destruction of televisions, DVD players, mobile phones, iPads, computers, gaming consoles or the internet is not the answer. These things are not evil. What we need to look at is content, not delivery systems. Kitchen knives are deadly, but banning them would make cooking a lot harder.

Secondly, what we use content for is important. The naked person posing for a pornographic magazine is no different to the naked person posing for a Renaissance portrait, but one is often used for inspiring lust, the other for appreciation of the beauty of the human form. If you find that coffee table books about Renaissance art make you think lustful thoughts, don't read them. But don't be surprised if other people can go to see Michelangelo's David without being inflamed with lust. Of course, most of us are consuming content for fun, relaxation or as a hobby. Which leads us to our third point.

Thirdly, don't leave your godly brain at the door when you watch a movie or play a video game or read a book or listen to music. The Lord is near, remember, so make sure your thoughts about your life, other people and God are in order, and look at content through that understanding. This means you can watch or read or play anything – Christian holiness doesn't need to be protected, we rely on God's strength and God's holiness. But remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “'Everything is permissible for me' - but not everything is beneficial.” What you might find is when you start consuming this content with your Christian mindset switched on, the casual violence of some computer games, or the flippancy towards sex in music, or the entire premise of some movie plots, just becomes distasteful or unbelievable because of the way the characters live, the way people are treated, or the general absence of God. It will likely still be thought-provoking, and great for discussion, but may not fill your mind with those good qualities Philippians 4:8-9 espouses.

Changing your mind - conclusion

When we talk about changing something, we can mean many different things. We can mean to make an alteration to something: so we might change hairstyle or change direction. We can mean to refresh or renew something: like we change a broken light bulb, or change a baby's nappy. We can mean we substitute something different: changing jobs or changing places with someone. We can even mean that we select a higher or lower version: as in to change gear or change focus.

Which are we talking about today, when we are talking about changing our thinking? Well, that really depends on you. Do you already know everything I've said, know how you should be thinking, and just need a refresher? Do you not take God seriously enough, and need to focus a little more? Are there some alterations you need to make to how you think in some parts of your life? Or perhaps do you need a complete substitution from ungodly to godly thinking? Take a moment to think about what God says in these verses, and what kind of change your mind requires to put your thinking and attitude in line with what God wants. But don't think you can simply wake up one morning and change how you think. Remember, the Lord is near, rely on him. Pray that God will transform your mind as necessary, and you won't be disappointed.

Sermon: John 18:1-11 - Jesus is arrested

John 18:1-11

# Jesus is the I AM, but he is also Jesus of Nazareth.

# What John puts in (I AM; name of slave;drinking the cup) , what John leaves out (healing the ear; Jesus' prayer in the garden; Judas' kiss)

# Jesus in charge – lets them take him, makes them not take the disciples, shows it is his will and not theirs that has brought them success (after their previous failed attempts).

We're looking today at the beginning of the end for Jesus. In the chapters preceding chapter 18, Jesus had laid out some significant information for the disciples, and he has prayed for his people both there with him, and throughout history. Now that this long exposition has been completed, Jesus is ready for the last hours of his life to unfold. Jesus, the man from Nazareth, the Son of God, is ready to fall into the hands of his pursuers.

Have you ever had to pursue someone? I don't mean like chasing after a wayward child, I mean really have to put in considerable and repeated effort to get to a person. If you are a police officer, then likely you can say yes. But perhaps you have had to pursue a member of the government public service – I certainly have. Maybe this sounds familiar to you – you are trying to get something done through the government – apply for something, pay for something, sort out something – and you are given the name of a specific individual. So you call to talk to this person, but they're not available. They're currently out to lunch. So you try again later, but now they're in a meeting. You try the next day, but apparently they've got the day off. You try another day, and you only get through to their voicemail. You leave a message, and they call you back when you're in the shower, and leave you a message asking you to call back. But even if you do so immediately, it seems that person has just stepped out of the office and you can't speak to them. You send emails, but they bounce back. You make more phone calls, but you get the run-around. Eventually, you go in person to the government office, only to be told the person you're looking for is on maternity leave, and you won't be able to speak to them for three months.

The public servant holds all the power. You don't know if they're really at lunch or in a meeting, or just not answering their phone. It can feel like you are being given the run-around. You have no way of checking. You have to wait until they are prepared to talk with you. This is precisely how the enemies of Jesus must have felt back in the day. In the book of John alone, we read over and over again about the times that the teachers, the Pharisees, the temple guards, and sometimes just the crowd sought to capture or kill Jesus while he was teaching. And every time, Jesus would elude them, escape from them, hide from them, or they would just not have the guts to grab him. So what makes this time different? Why is it that they succeed now in apprehending Jesus, when all of these other times they have failed? Is it because Judas betrayed Jesus, and led the soldiers to him with their lanterns and weapons? Have they finally outsmarted him by ambushing him by night, away from the crowds of people that loved him?

Those might seem like sensible options, but this little section of John makes it clear that they are absolutely baseless. Because Jesus, of course, has all the power in this situation, just as he always has. You'll notice that John does not mention the betraying kiss of Judas – instead, Jesus asks them who they are looking for, and when they say it is Jesus of Nazareth they seek, he answers plainly, “I am he.” Judas's betrayal in identifying Jesus is meaningless when Jesus openly admits who he is to his pursuers. Jesus is not hiding. They came at night, so that he would not be in the midst of all the people of Jerusalem, where it would be difficult to abduct him in full sight of the public. But Jesus gives the soldiers orders about who they are to arrest, and who they are to set free – and they obey him. Even after Peter cuts the ear off the high priest's servant, they do not arrest him! Because Jesus is in control of this entire situation. They come to him with weapons, even with a small military force, and with the authority of the high priest and of the Roman emperor, but when Jesus opens his mouth, they all fall to the ground. If there was ever any doubt that Jesus accepted his capture, went with his enemies willingly, it should be struck down by this passage.

Why does Jesus hold this power? The answer to anyone who has been reading John's gospel up to this point should be obvious, but Jesus has made it clear right here to his captors as well. This can be seen in what is possibly the most important section of this whole passage – Jesus' reply to the mob, “I am he.” They have come looking for a man from a backwater town, a popular and controversial teacher, an apparent blasphemer and healer. And that is who they ask for, “Jesus of Nazareth.” And Jesus is that man... but he is so much more. His answer, “I am he,” contains not just an admission of being the man from Nazareth, the adopted son of the carpenter, the preacher and the teacher.

Jesus has proclaimed himself to be many things throughout the book of John, and John has used the words “I am” to draw attention to these statements. John 6:35, “I am the bread of life.” John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.” John 10:7, “I am the gate for the sheep,” and John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd.” John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.” John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 15:1, “I am the true vine.” John 8:58 is the most important, “Before Abraham was, I am!” These words “I am” contain an authoritative statement of Jesus as God.

Why do these words hold so much power, so much authority? Why is it that when Jesus says this in John 8:58, the Jews picked up stones to stone him? Because these words, “I am”, are the same words God uses to name himself to Moses, way back in the book of Exodus, when Moses asks God, “Who shall I say sent me?” This is the name of God – not just a title, such as Lord of Hosts. God is the “I am” - because He Is. That is the defining nature of God – where as all other gods are not, he is. Jesus is claiming, both in John 8:58 and here in John 18, that he is the “I am” - that he is God. And so here we find in chapter 18 this great tension brought to stark relief – Jesus boldly proclaims, “I am he,” in answer to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter's son, but at his words “I am”, the people are thrust to their knees before the God of all creation. This is the God we worship – he is the I am, but he also took the humbling form of a man.

Why did he take this form? Why does Jesus finally allow his enemies to have this victory over him, even when he has the power to force them to bow at his feet? The answer can be found by looking at another time they tried to seize him. In John chapter 7 we read about Jesus teaching at the Feast of Tabernacles, teaching about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and religious leaders. In verse 30, it says this, “At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.” If you read chapter 7 as a whole, you will see they wanted to arrest him, they even sent temple guards out to capture him. The people know that the religious leaders want him dead, and because he is now there speaking publicly in the temple and they are doing nothing, they are asking themselves in verse 25, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?” The authorities obviously did not want people to think that Jesus had their tacit approval! But there was nothing they could do – his time had not yet come. They were not in control, Jesus is in control, both way back in chapter 7, and now here in chapter 18. Jesus was in control when he was not being captured, now he is in control when he is captured.

This can only mean one thing – that the capture of Jesus, the trial of Jesus, the sentencing of Jesus and the punishing death of Jesus are all part of God's plan. In fact, John makes this point even clearer here in chapter 18, where while he does not record the tearful prayer of Jesus to his Father asking that the cup be taken from him, he does give reference to it in Jesus' recorded words to Peter in verse 11, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Jesus accepts that this is his fate, for his death to pay the price of our disobedience and failure. We likely already know this, since we openly accept that Jesus' death was a sacrifice for our sins, freely given. But what does it mean for us? The death itself I'm sure will receive plenty of focus when you come to it. But the willingness of the sacrifice, the preparedness to be captured and placed into the hands of one's enemies, what can we learn from this today?

I daresay we can learn two things. One is that the God we worship is capable of turning the most terrible of situations into a triumph for his will. This is the power of our God – that he can take a bad situation and make it good. God does not take lemons and make lemonade. God takes lemons and makes pure gold. This is the God we worship – a God who has power over what is good and what is bad. No-one can work against him, for he can turn their works to serve him. They can march and arrest his son, they can crucify him and kill him – but God makes this serve his purposes, for the sake of his glory and our salvation. This is an awesome God.

The second thing we should note from Jesus' willingness to fall into the hands of his enemies is that this is a model for our lives we should follow. Paul makes this clear in the book of Colossians chapter 1 verse 24, where he says, “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. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.” It is through Christ's body that the world is saved, once for all. It is through our bodies that such salvation is made known to the world. You have heard the stories of those who travel to faraway lands, who cross cultural borders, who suffer to take the word of God to those who need to hear it. This is something we are all called to do. Because sharing the word of God with others will result in our suffering.

In Australia, it can result in people laughing at us, or refusing to talk to us, or even verbally attacking us and criticising us. So why would we do it, knowing that this might be the result? Because Jesus did it, and look at the result he accomplished! By God's grace and power, we can be his instruments in letting people hear the message of salvation. We don't need to worry about people's reactions either, no matter how negative. God can take even the most negative reaction to the gospel, and turn it into gold for him.

Let me give you just a tiny, tiny example, to show you how achievable this is for us. As you may know, I run a weekly gaming club out of the St Ives Community Church building, where we invite people we have never met to come and play various games with us, for fun. We use this to build friendships with the people there, so that through our lives and our words we can share the gospel with them. These people are just ordinary Australians – they come from different places here and overseas, they live, work, study or whatever. They drink, they smoke, they swear. The vast majority of them are atheists, and some of them quite militantly so. Although they don't make fun of you for being Christian to your face, usually, you have to put up with the constant jibes on Facebook, or in conversation, about religious people being dumb, about Christianity being baseless or outdated, about science being our saviour.

But I also get to discuss deep questions about philosophy, morality, spirituality with them, and show them that as a Christian I have logical and reasonable answers to their questions. I get to invite them to church – and some accept, even though most don't. I was able to put a copy of Luke into the hands of a death metal enthusiast, and he read it. All for the small price of facing some insults, putting up with bad language and making friends. Just as a side point, I don't even count organising all the games as a cost, because I would have done that anyway. I just decided to turn what I was already doing into an opportunity to share the gospel in a culturally appropriate way. Maybe you can think about the things you already do, and how you could do them in such a way that would allow you to share the good news to those around you.

When Jesus speaks the words, “I am,” people fall at his feet. But they must hear him make this claim. Because the time has not yet come where all must bow. When that time comes, for many it will be too late. But for now, Jesus is still calling to the lost to freely take him as their Lord. We have to make sure that we are acting in accordance with his plan, and we have to understand that yes, this will include suffering. And in this, we are blessed, because not only does it mean that we find ourselves following in the footsteps of Jesus, who was willing and prepared to make a sacrifice for the sake of others, but we will be blessed by seeing God take the negative situations we find ourselves in, and turn them into gold to serve his glory. In my mind there is little more miraculous than when God changes the hearts of those who are stubborn towards him.

Let's pray.

Sermon: Exodus 1-2

Exodus 1-2 (1:15-2:10): Standing Out

By Ben Carpentier

We are starting our series looking at the book of Exodus today, and likely focusing at least to begin with on the life of Moses – main character you may recall portrayed in the Disney movie “The Prince of Egypt”. Today, we get a bit of a peek into the kind of situation that Moses found himself born into – a member of God's people, living under an oppressive rule in a foreign land, where they were treated as enemies – and we can see how they acted in this hostile situation. Because it is not unheard of for us as Christians to find ourselves in a hostile situation.

Standing Out (Exodus 1:12 “The Egyptians came to dread the Israelites”)

It's uncomfortable to stand out as being different, and there is likely to be pressure to either push you out, or to change you so that you fit in better. I don't know about you, but I find that whenever I go somewhere, I try to blend in as best I can. For example, when I'm in the city I don't make eye contact, I dress how I like, I shake hands up close, and I speak quickly and to the point. But when I'm in the country, I speak more slowly, I take my time, I dress a little more conservatively, shake hands from far away (plenty of room in the country), and I take on more of a Aussie twang and drawl.

This discomfort and unease can happen on a small scale, like at a party, or it can happen on a large scale, like in a whole country. It was only last year that Muammar Gaddafi turned his warplanes on his own people in Libya, bombing civilian protesters in the capital city of Tripoli because he feared that they were going to rise up in rebellion against him.

Perhaps we should not be surprised when three and a half thousand years ago a political leader in Egypt, the Pharaoh, felt his nation was under threat, and so decided to do something about it. We are told here in the book of Exodus that he feared the Hebrew people. He feared they would grow in strength, and might join his enemies. So before they rebelled against him, he made sure to punish them. He oppressed them and put them into slavery. He worked them ruthlessly, but they continued to grow.

God's people, the Hebrews, were living in enemy territory. They didn't do anything offensive to make themselves enemies – they were simply different. They worshipped a different God and did it differently to the Egyptians, and the Egyptian Pharaoh felt they could not be relied upon to be loyal. Just their presence made the Pharaoh, and likely a good number of the Egyptians, uncomfortable. So Pharaoh gave orders that their baby boys were to be killed. It was a flexing of political power and dominance, a pre-emptive strike on the potential rebel forces of tomorrow, and an attempt at racial assimilation – as the boys were killed, a generation of girls would then be forced to marry Egyptian men. In other words, it was an awful, bloody way of seeking not to drive them away, but to change who they were, make them Egyptian, or at the least make them weak.

While there is not currently anyone calling for the slaughter of our children here in Australia, there are people who find what Christians believe to be unpalatable, or uncomfortable, and so seek to either push Christian thinking out of intelligent conversation, or to try and change what we think to make it more comfortable and acceptable. On the one hand there are people like Richard Dawkins, who says things like, “If people think God is interesting, the onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about. Otherwise they should just shut up about it.” He thinks teaching kids about God is ignorance tantamount to child abuse, and is hence trying to make sure Christians don't get a say in society's future. On the other hand, you have people like Cardinal George Pell, who apparently feels that the idea of unbelievers going to hell, while biblical, is not a comfortable truth, and so when asked the question “Do unbelievers go to hell?” on national television, his answer was, “No, no, no.” One trying to shut Christianity out, the other trying to change it to fit in.

This can happen on a personal level – you might already know friends, workmates, even family members that attempt to do this with you when you talk about what you heard at church on Sunday. It can also happen with people who we are not on equal footing with – your boss, a university lecturer, our politicians and lawmakers – people who can tell us what to do. The world is not always a nice place to live when you're standing up for your faith. It is inevitable that you are going to be expected to do things, to act in some ways, that are contrary to what you believe. It might be pressure put on you by friends or colleagues, or it might be a demand made by someone in authority over you. But it happens to all of God's people, because we live differently.

Standing Up (Exodus 1:17 “The midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt told them to do”)

It happened to the midwives of the Hebrews in Egypt. The Pharaoh came to them and told them to kill the newborn sons of their own people. It's a sneaky and sinister plan. It's likely that there were many children who did not survive the birth process, and so the midwives might even be able to make it look like an accident, or a stillbirth. We're not told if Pharaoh bribed the midwives, or threatened them, or just simply expected they would obey his authority. But whatever he did, it didn't work – the midwives simply did not do as they were told.

When they were asked why by Pharaoh, they made up an excuse about Hebrew women being vigorous childbearers. I call it an excuse, even if Hebrew women really were vigorous (we don't know), because we're told that the reason the midwives did not follow Pharaoh's order is, in verse 17, “They feared God.” Those midwives disobeyed the orders of a ruler who is prepared to kill babies - and so probably had no qualms about killing midwives - because their first allegiance was to God, and they knew what they were expected to do was not acceptable to God.

It's an old word, but the best way to describe what these midwives did is 'righteous' – that is, they did the right thing by God. Our society's morals are still fairly loosely based on a Christian ethic, so most of the time when we do the right thing, it is also seen as a good thing by those people around us. But there have been in the past, and are still today, cultures that do not value human life, or the life of a child, as highly as we do. Some people and places would say that these midwives did a bad thing – they disobeyed an authority figure put over them, they covered up the truth. They did not appease the god-king Pharaoh, they put Egypt's future prosperity and security at risk.

What was God's reaction to the midwives in verse 20? “God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.” God blesses them for their righteous actions – he gives them his stamp of approval.

Am I saying that their covering up the truth, or their disobedience to authority, is a pattern for us to follow? Perhaps I will surprise you when I say, “Yes.” What I'm saying is that God recognises when people make a decision to do what is right because they want to serve him, rather than because they want to fit in, or because they think it's a good thing to do.

So ask yourself the question: what are you expected to do in your life that makes you conform with how society wants you to live, instead of how God wants you to live? Are you inclined to have a few too many drinks because everyone else around you is too? Do you focus on financial success and comfort because that's what our society focuses on? You may not be asked to kill children, but there are plenty of people out there willing to tell you how to live your life apart from God.

Outstanding (Exodus 1:21 “because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own”)

Some will even try and force you to do things that you think are ungodly. In a recent survey on marriage equality held by Australian Parliament House, 13% of respondents said they believe ministers of religion, like Bruce, should be forced to marry same sex couples. If legislation was passed to force Bruce to marry people he did not believe should be allowed to be married in a church under God, should he follow the law, or follow God? I've asked him this question, and his response was as you would expect.

Some people might argue that it doesn't matter what we do, or refuse to do, because someone else will just do it instead. Look at Pharaoh – he had been foiled by the midwives, but that didn't stop him. He simply ordered that all male children of the Hebrew race were to be thrown into the Nile river. Young boys really were being killed, who knows how many. It happened for at least three months – it could have been much longer.

Yes, other people will do these terrible things. But that does not make them acceptable or appropriate for God's people to participate in. We don't do the right thing simply because it is good to do, or popular, or accepted. We do it because God wants it done that way.

It is into this culture, this situation, that Moses, the main human figure of the book of Exodus, is born: an enemy of the state simply because of his gender, but more importantly, his heritage as a Hebrew. His mother had to do the same thing as the midwives to save her child – she had to keep him hidden, disobey the authorities, and even still eventually has to float him down the river. Then his sister also used a little creative omission to not only encourage Pharaoh's daughter to adopt the baby, but to accept his own mother as the nurse. These sneaky Hebrew women! But again, God blesses their attempts, and Moses is adopted by royalty, raised by the daughter of the Pharaoh.

The whole message of Exodus is about God saving his people from this oppression and slavery, and revealing himself to them as his covenant people, separate from the world. He gives them the Law – not just to guide them in how to live righteous lives for him, but also to separate them from the pagan nations that would surround them.

That message is still the same for us. Our devotion to God should be in such stark contrast to those around us, they can't help but seeing how different our lives are through the decisions we make. This is what should separate us from our neighbours – that we live so holy, so differently from those around us, so untouched by sin and selfishness, that they can't help but acknowledge that we are different. Even if they accuse us of stifling freedom, or being intolerant, or perpetuating old beliefs, or being irrelevant, let's make sure they cannot accuse us of being hypocritical, or half-hearted, and ensure that we are always letting God's will guide our actions, rather than what people think we should do.

Sermon - John 14:15-31

I've got to say, this is one of the harder passages I've had to preach on. Finding a serious and rock-hard application for it, and getting to the bottom of some of the issues (I still don't delve deeply into some!) was a real challenge. Interestingly, when my minister heard I was preaching on this, and I said it was hard, he thought I was joking! So perhaps I'm the only one.

John 14 –

True Indwelling

Part of the Family

God in Trinity

Jesus is the fullness of revelation of the Father – the Spirit is not revelatory, but explanatory

* The world we live in is post-Jesus – sort of

* We have to understand where we fit in the trinity

* We need to accept the responsibility that we actually reflect God, not just reflect Christianity or Christianness

15-21: Those who follow God's commands will receive the Spirit of Truth to live in them – and will realise that Jesus is in the Father, they are in Jesus, and Jesus is in them. Jesus will reveal himself to those people who love him (love = obey commands).

22: Judas's question – why reveal yourself to us, but not the world?

23-24: Jesus repeats 15-21 (love=obey; relatedness of Father, Christ and people; authoritative words from the Father)

25-27: The role of the spirit (explainer, not revealer). Jesus is going, but don't be troubled or afraid.

28-31: Love again is selfless (we want Jesus to go back to the Father). The father is greater (Father is God as commander and sender, Son is God as sent and obedient). He reveals the truth about his going back so when it is seen, it can be believed. Yes, Jesus is about to be crucified, but they should know that this is not a victory for the devil – it is a revelation of Jesus' position as sent and obedient.

We are looking at the latter half of John 14, which puts us partway through Jesus saying farewell to his disciples before he is betrayed, crucified, and buried. There is a lot Jesus wants to tell his closest followers, things he wants them to know, things he wants them to remember. In many translations, this section has a title like 'Role of the Holy Spirit' or 'Jesus promises the Holy Spirit'. It is true that if you were to look at chapters 14, 15 and 16 together, there are several statements about the Holy Spirit, and putting them all together you could likely have a very informative talk on that subject. But where we are focused here, on this latter half of chapter 14, the mention of the Holy Spirit is subsumed into a bigger theme – the nature of God as a relational God.

What I mean by that is God, by his very nature, is a god who builds relationships. And as we look at this passage, it is my hope that we will be able to deepen our understanding of God. We will start in these verses as observers, looking at the nature of God in relationship with himself. Then, we will see what the different persons of God do in their roles for us in the trinity. Finally, we will see that God's relationship in the trinity is not shut off, but in fact it is open to us to join in relationship with him. With them.

Interestingly, this is very similar to my interactions with my wife's family. I've never really been close to my family. I'm the youngest child, and there are big gaps between us kids – my closest sibling is my brother, who is nine years older than me. So by the time I had left home, my other siblings had long gone their separate ways, my mother was off living her own life of freedom (my father had left years before), and we now only stay in contact via emergencies. We don't do birthdays, we don't do Christmas or Easter, family gatherings or get-togethers of any kind. Years go past without us hearing from each other.

So when I first met my wife, Penny, I observed her family interactions with some interest. She is also the youngest sibling, and her brothers had both left home when we met. But there is only two years separating each of her siblings. They had all gone to the same high school. They get together for Christmas, they meet up and have a meal for each other's birthdays. If Penny's parents are in town, they want to drop in and visit, she has lunch with her brothers from time to time, they have semi-regular phone conversations, and they organise occasional activities together. Her parents aren't divorced, so that is a big difference to my experience, and they even have extended family gatherings occasionally – absolutely unheard of in my family. All this I observed like a bit of an outsider whilst Penny and I were dating.

There are lots of different ways that theologians try and explain the the three in one nature of our God in the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. But to describe it at least partly as a family is not a bad way to start. Jesus calls God his Father, and God the Father calls Jesus his Son. In one way, those titles are useful to us, to show us the unfathomable relationship between God and Jesus in a way we can understand, that we can see in our own lives – fathers and sons. But more truthfully, it is the relationship between God and Jesus that informs the relationship between fathers and sons, imperfectly, here on earth. God and Jesus are the original Father and Son.

What does that Father and Son relationship look like between God and Jesus here in John 14? It is mentioned several times in this passage. Firstly we see that God the Father is the provider. Verse 16, Jesus requests from the Father, and the Father gives (this is repeated in verse 26). In verse 20, Jesus tells us he is in the Father, not the other way around. In verse 24, Jesus makes it clear that his words have authority because they belong to the Father. Jesus states plainly in verse 28 that the Father is greater than himself (in position, of course, not godhood – as it has been said, I might say the queen is greater than I am, but it does not make her more human, or me less human. In the same way, the Father is greater than the Son, but that does not make one more god, or one less god). Finally, in verse 31 it is clear that Jesus loves the Father, and does whatever he commands. The Father gives commands, the Son is obedient to them. Where does the Spirit fit into this relationship? Well, the Holy Spirit is only mentioned twice in this passage, and both times in terms of being sent by the Father. We can't extrapolate too much from those small mentions, but it is clear both that the Spirit is sent by the Father, and is requested by the Son.

When I look at Penny's family, I see similar relationships. There is a mother and father, two sons and a daughter. More than those simple family relationships, though – the mother is the communications person keeping people up to date about family matters, the father is a voice of reason, the oldest brother finds the best restaurants, the middle brother is the cook, and so on. What does this picture in John show us, from the ways that the Father, Son and Spirit interact in these verses? God is a god of relationship. He exists in a relationship with himself, a relationship of order and structure.

Each member of the trinity has a role to play, and those roles become all the more visible when we look in these verses at how God relates to us. God the Father is obviously interested in revealing himself to us. He is the authority, the commander and sender. The Father sends Jesus to us. Jesus asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to us, rather than Jesus sending him directly. Jesus speaks, but affirms that his words are not just his, but the Father's. God has a message he wishes to share with us, with humanity.

How does he choose to share it? Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 tells us clearly, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” And this is what we see here in John 14. Jesus is the Son, he is sent from God with God's message. He teaches God's commands, and expects those who love God will obey them. Jesus is the revealer. His role, as he makes clear, is to reveal the true nature of God to people, to show God in his own life and teaching, in ways that have not been done before. When I talk about revealing, I mean as in revealing the nature of a mystery. If I perform a magic trick, and then tell you how I did it, then I am revealing the trick's mystery. If I open and close my Bible, I can describe how I do it, but there is not really any mystery I am revealing, because it is obvious.

Jesus gives us commands to reveal God and himself to the world, as we can see in in verse 22, where the other Judas asks the question, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” and his response is, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” Jesus' teaching is one of the ways he shows, or reveals, God. We should remember revelation is not simply through miracles. God's commands and Jesus' teaching reveal God to us.

Even when Jesus speaks of his death, he shows that it is an act done to reveal God, saying that we may “learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me” in verse 31, so that we know that this is not an act merely that Jesus seeks to do, but he is going to his death because God the Father has commanded it. Our salvation by Christ's sacrifice on the cross is a command of God, to which Jesus submits. Those people who think that Jesus is loving, and God is a vengeful lightning thrower in the sky, need to read this verse. God commanded Jesus to take away our sin.

The Holy Spirit's role is also revealed by Jesus. The Son is not to remain on earth forever, and his ministry of revealing God's mysteries to us is therefore finite. However, while those revealed truths may not change, the world does change, humanity changes, culture changes, and from generation to generation, there are always going to be questions that need an answer about those revelations. So it is that the Spirit of Truth, as it is named in verse 17, is sent to us, to live in us, and to teach us about and remind us of the truths Jesus has revealed, as we learn in verse 26. The Holy Spirit is not primarily a revealer of truth, as Jesus is. Revelations such as those Jesus made really only need to be made once – we do not seek to crucify Christ every time we wish to explain God's love for us. But we do need to be reminded, we do need to have spiritual truth explained. This is the role of the Holy Spirit.

In outlining all of these roles, we can begin to capture an appreciation for the lengths to which God has gone to reach out to us. God the Father has given a command, and sent his Son. The Son has come to reveal God's mysteries to us, in obedience to the Father. The Son has then petitioned the Father to give to us the Holy Spirit, who explains those revelations to us, and reminds us of them.

This all makes a fantastic theology lesson, as we consider the roles and interactions of the three members of the godhead, and no doubt Jesus wished to reveal an element of this mystery to us in John 14. But the real question we should be asking, the real point Jesus is making in all this, is why God seeks to reveal this message to us at all!

Turning to Jesus' words, the answer cannot be clearer – if we love God, and obey his commands as set out to us by Jesus, we are welcomed into a close, personal relationship with God. In verse 17, the Holy Spirit will live in us, in verse 20 Jesus says, “You will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. Anyone who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” He repeats it in verse 23 in response to other Judas's question, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

The truth of these statements can sometimes pass us by. The Holy Spirit resides within us, reminding us and teaching us of the mysteries of God. Jesus, the obedient Son of God, and divine revealer of God's mysteries, who is in the Father, is also in us, and we are also in him – a profound mystery that could in fact stand more explaining. What's more, Jesus says that the Father himself will come to us and make a home with us! The creator, sustainer, commander of the whole universe, the Lord almighty, would come to live with us! That is how closely accepted into God's family we become – we live with the triune God: every part of the trinity lives with us.

When Penny and I got married, I was accepted as more than just an observer of the family relationships – I was brought into the family, became one of the family. It took time, but over the years I too have come to play a role in the celebrations, and to be included in the little rituals that take place from year to year. God holds open to us a similar invitation. Not to become a god like him – but to join with him in his family. As the author Robert Webber writes in his book, The Divine Embrace, the trinity is like a big, warm embrace, a group hug between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit – but it is not closed off from others joining in the embrace. Through a love of God shown by obeying his commands, we can not just come to understand God better, but become wrapped up in the relationship he has with himself, and expands to include us.

That is the mystery of Christ in God, God in us, and us in God – we become included in not just any relationship with God, but the same kind of relationship shared within the trinity. As Paul tells us in Romans, we all become adopted as sons, heirs, inheritors. If we think of the divine godhead not as a misty being somewhere up there, separate from us, doing things at us or toward us, but instead think of God in three persons who are all intimately relating to us, seeking relationship with us, open to taking us into them, just as they are willing to abide in us, then we will surely be driven to consider how we live our lives in two important ways, and both are to do with love.

The first is how we are obeying God, and thus fitting into this embrace. Jesus makes it clear that it is those who obey his commands that are accepted. Well, that might be how we first read it. But in fact, what Jesus says is that anyone who loves him will obey his commands. The relationship is not one of simple obedience like a dog to a master. It is loving obedience, far more like that between a husband and wife, or a son and father. We do what God wishes because it is right, but also because we love him, and we want to serve him willingly. Obedience is something with which we will always struggle – but Jesus has taken care of that for us. If we are struggling to live our lives as we ought, we should not feel as though we are going to be kicked out of God's family. We should go back to the source of our desire for obedience – our love for God - and remember that our obedience will flow out of our understanding of who God is, and in response to our love for what he has done for us.

If you are struggling with sin, if you find that you feel like you are distant from God because of things in your life that are holding you back, turn your eyes to the cross, and realise that your sin has been done away with, and that because of Jesus, there is nothing keeping you from God, from being embraced by the trinity, from having the Holy Spirit and Christ and God dwell within you. And be thankful. From that thanks springs the well of love that will guide you to obedience.

The second consideration, perhaps most important, when we are considering the open nature of the divine embrace, is to realise that if it is open to us, it is open to others, and we should want them to join in too. Once again, I think it is important for us to realise that love is the key – simple obedience is not enough. For a long time, many in the church have been focused on changing people's actions – saving them from their own lives, as it were – rather than saving them from their separation from God. In a way, there is a lot of good that can come from this – helping someone to stop smoking, or limit their drinking, or to stop beating their spouse, to overcome drug addiction, or to properly manage their money, is a way of showing a real, genuine love for that person. Their actions are doing them damage, and because we love them, we seek to minimise the harm they do to themselves. But sometimes we focus so much on the negative behaviour that we forget it is not the root of the problem, only a symptom.

When we start attacking people's lifestyles because they are ungodly, it stops being about helping them to love God, and starts being about forcing them to obey his commands, like we might seek to train a dog. But Jesus says that love comes first, “If you love me, you will obey my commands.” The church has some sins it likes to turn into punching bags. One that continues to make headlines today is homosexuality, because many homosexuals in our society today are pushing for marriage equality. I will make it clear that the Bible tells us that homosexuality is a sin – it is disobedience to God. But forcing someone into following God's commands does not make them more godly. It does not bring them into the divine embrace. It does not make them more willing to listen to you about God's love for them, and does not open their heart to God in return.

What does open their hearts to God? The gospel of Christ crucified, an acceptance of salvation, an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God does not wait for someone to become perfect before he lives within them! Instead, he makes them perfect by atoning for their sin, and transforming them by the power of his Spirit. We can introduce people to God, because we are already in the divine embrace, the group hug of the trinity, the family of God. Let them observe us and see how God works, let's include them so they can see how God responds to them, and let's accept them to show that God is in fact inviting them to join with him, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and us, in loving relationship.

Let's pray.

Mark 16

vs 1

Having not thought, obviously, that there was a big rock in the way. I suppose grief does that to people. Still, it does seem just a little strange.

vs 2

I suppose you would want to do it early, before the crowds (on the street, not at the tomb).

vs 3

They do ask the question, but not until they're almost there. This is what gets me. Perhaps moving the stone is not as difficult as one thinks - maybe they just thought they'd bring some men, and forgot.

vs 4

Someone had beat them to it?

vs 5

After all, he could have been a ghost, or a really well-dressed graverobber.

vs 6

That's not fantastically comforting, either. Did someone steal the body?

vs 7

Without this message, it could have been an invasion of body snatchers. But the angel is telling them Jesus is alive, and is going to see them and talk to them. A huge claim.

vs 8

This is a crazy ending to this book. It ends with the women not telling anyone - which of course, they must have eventually, or else how was the book written? Or was it written by one of the women? Nah, that's silly talk. Perhaps Jesus told them later? Could be. Still, the book just seems to go nowhere with this ending. Apparently books did this back in the day. But someone decided to stick on a few extra verses at some point in time.

vs 9

So after the women ran away, he appeared to one of them first? That is just extraordinary. Not Peter, not John... Mary Magdelene.

vs 10

So they didn't tell anyone about the empty grave... but then when he appears, it's time to spill.

vs 11

Unsurprisingly.

vs 12

A precis of the road to Emmaus, I assume.

vs 13

And again, more disbelief. You would think people would at least start to ask questions now.

vs 14

My oath. I mean, sure, I wouldn't have believed them either, but hey!

vs 15

Again, a pretty good summary of what he said in Matthew.

vs 16

Ouch. The condemnation bit is newly added, I think (from the Matthew type bit I mean). It's a fairly succinct and clear reminder, though, of what we're all playing for.

vs 17

Interesting that signs become part of the equation too.

vs 18

Is this the only bit that speaks of the snake thing? I wonder. Looks to me like it is. Hardly worth starting a snake handling cult over really. But it raises the question that if Jesus said this, why did he say it, and if he didn't, why add it in? Very strange indeed.

vs 19

Ascension summary, nothing wrong with adding that in. It's in the creed, I believe, so why not? Makes for a well rounded out gospel.

vs 20

See, that seems a far more well rounded and befitting end to this gospel. It might not be kosher, but at least it gives closure. Verse 8 is scarily abrupt in comparison. Apart from verse 18, I don't really have any problems with it - it's all attested to elsewhere.