God’s presence delights us

Sunday 26th September by Revd. Margaret Massey

Readings: Psalm 84; Acts 4: 23-31; Mark 1: 32-5

This morning our discipleship series continues with the topic ‘God’s presence delights us.’

We are all unique and therefore delight in different things. For some it’s an early night with a good book, or a rousing concert, or a round of golf below our usual par, or something appealing our child might do. I think that we can guarantee that all Manchester City fans today will be expressing delight after beating Chelsea 1-0 yesterday. Whatever our preference we can all find things to delight in.

When you delight in someone, it means you desire that person’s presence. You don’t like unnecessary separation from them and will go to great lengths to be with them.

Recently I travelled to the North of Scotland to visit my parents and join in the celebrations for their 66th Wedding Anniversary. I always use every opportunity I can to see them. I will spend time, money and energy to travel -whatever it takes to be in their presence. I don’t do this out of duty, I do it because I love them am and know that I am so fortunate that I can still delight in them. They also tell me they still delight in me!!

In a similar way we should do whatever it takes to be in God’s presence, God has called us to delight in him. He takes great delight in us (Zephaniah 3:17)

It’s difficult to imagine that God, the invisible, holy, perfect and all—powerful ruler of the universe actually delights in and pursues our presence.

Ruth Gledhill, writer and long-term correspondent on religion for ‘The Times’, views that many of us find it hard to sit before God with nothing to offer.

She feels that this is probably because, growing up, we got the impression, rightly or wrongly, that our parents’ love was dependent upon what we did, not who we were. She considers that we often don’t realise that all God wants from us is to hold us in his arms of love and let us be. He doesn’t demand anything from us except that we ‘be still’ for a few moments so that he can delight in us. The climax of Psalm. 46 tells us ‘Be still and know that I am God.’

When we reflect on God’s word for this morning we see three different approaches to people seeking God’s presence.

The beautiful psalm (ps 84) like many of the psalms centres on the joy of being and living in God’s presence. The psalmist, a pilgrim, faced all sorts of trials to be in God’s presence.

(Acts 4:23-3 1) We heard a description of the early persecuted church in Jerusalem, on its knees in prayer, seeking God’s presence for help, comfort and protection, but also offering him thanksgiving and praise.

And in the Gospel we heard that Jesus, “In the morning, while it was still very dark, got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35 ). Jesus always saw the great significance in simply spending time in God’s presence. He didn’t desire sleep over a desire to be with God. If the Son of God needed time alone with his Father, how much more do we?

How do we understand God’s presence?

God’s word reveals to us that God is omnipresent, meaning that his presence is everywhere at all times. Therefore as God is present everywhere, when we talk about the presence of God we are really talking about the realisation of God's presence, being conscious of his presence.

Tony Campolo, American author and passionate follower of Jesus, tells a story about growing up in a city.

‘When he was aged 6yrs his mother paid a teenage girl who lived nearby to walk with him to and from school every day. After a year Tony resisted and said “I can walk myself home. I’ll be careful—and you can save the money.” It took a lot of pleading, but eventually Tony got his way. For the next few years he walked to school and back alone. Years later, at a family party, Tony boasted about his independence and told everyone how he’d taken care of himself as a boy.

Laughing, his mother replied,” Do you really think you were alone all that time? Every day, after you left, I followed you, making sure you didn’t see me. After school, I followed you home. I just wanted to be there in case you needed me.”

Campolo says that for him this typifies how God follows us, in the shadows, in case we want or need him.

How do we enter God’s presence?

The Old Testament teaches that God created us to live in his continual presence, but because of its sin, humanity has been separated from God, sent away from life in his presence, banned, exiled.

Throughout the history of the Old Testament, because of sin, there is a barrier in the way to the presence of the holy God. In the tabernacle and temple this barrier was symbolised by the curtain or veil.

God, who is love, sent his Son, as our Saviour into this hopeless situation to provide a permanent and effective way back into his presence. In the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke we learn that at the very moment Christ died on the cross, the curtain, which barred the access into the symbolic presence of God, was torn in two, from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51a; Mark 15:37-38; Luke 23:44-46).

Jesus removed the sin barrier once and for all, setting us free to enter the very presence of God. Through Christ we have the right to enter into God's presence. Confession and repentance of our sins prepares us to enter into his presence.

The presence of God is his gift to us, a privilege that we should never take for granted. We are always in his presence. We don’t move in and out of relationship with him. He is always fully present to us even though we are not always fully present to Him.

I recently read a story about a stressed executive who wanted to leave city life behind. He bought a farm and several milk cows. One day he complained to his animal feed supplier that his best cow had gone dry. "Aren't you feeding her right?" asked the supplier. "I'm feeding her what you've been selling me," said the man.

"Are you milking her every day?" "Just about. If I need a pint of milk for my cornflakes at breakfast, I go out and get it. If I don't need any, I don't get it--I just let her save it up."

If you know anything about farming you’ll know it doesn't work that way. With cow's milk, as with God's presence, you take all that's there, or you may eventually have nothing. Asking for God's power in pint doses, or when we feel like it, only at our convenience, may mean we stop communicating with God and the source dries up.

How do we now experience delight in the presence of God?

We can experience delight in God’s presence in countless ways, and many will be unique to each of us. When we talk to God in prayer, when we join in worshipping him we can enter his presence. There is of course a special powerful presence “when two or three are gathered” (Matthew 18:20) and during the ordinances of the sacraments, but that’s a further discussion for a later date.

Although prayer is often expressed in words, it is not the words that God recognises, or the cry of the lips, it is the cry of the heart that God hears. We are living prayers. Paul tells us in (2 Corinthians 2:15) that our lives are the aroma of Christ rising before God continually as a sweet-smelling offering.

Whether silent, speaking aloud, or singing— whether alone or with others—when we pray, we are engaging in a conversation, an exchange with God. We also experience God’s presence as we spend time reading and meditating on his Word, listening for what he will say to our hearts.

Spending time with God doesn’t mean we must get away from our daily routine in order to worship God. Of course, as Jesus modelled, we need time alone with God, but that is only a fraction of our waking hours. Everything we do can be spending time with God if he is invited to be a part of it and we stay aware of his presence.

Brother Lawrence, a humble cook in a French monastery wrote the classic book on learning how to develop a constant conversation with God. ‘Practicing the Presence of God’, was written in the seventeenth century but remains relevant to us today.

Brother Lawrence was able to turn even the most commonplace and menial tasks into acts of praise and communion with God. He said that the key to friendship and delight with God is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. What you normally do for yourself you begin doing for God, whether it is eating, working, relaxing, or studying. Brother Lawrence found it easy to worship God through the common tasks of life. And this I’m sure is God’s ideal.

I’d like to finish by reminding us of the great Christian hope that someday we will be in God’s presence forever; by grace, however, we can delight in his presence right now. God is with us all the time; no place is any closer to God than the place where we are right now.

I pray we all have a delight-filled week in God’s presence.

Questions:

1. Reflect on when you feel God’s presence most?

2. Can you find ways to increase the time you spend in God’s presence?

3. Reflect on what it means to you to know that God delights in you?

God’s love fills the community

Sunday 19th September by Alan Walden

Reading Luke 9:1-6,10-17

One of the most enjoyable and satisfying experiences which we can have as human beings is working together as a team, or failing that, watching others in a team. For the last 2 nights here in church many of us have enjoyed one of the wonderful jazz concerts. I was particularly struck how a jazz group work together, in what could be a model of Christian co-operation. We saw 6 talented musicians, all skilled in their own instrument, joining together to make music. Sometimes they would all play together, sometimes one would play a solo, often with gentle backing from one or 2 of the others. They allowed each other space to use their own particular gifts and talents, obviously enjoying each other. And of course they followed the band leader, who chose the music, set the style and ethos, and brought each musician in to play at just the right moment.

When Jesus formed his disciples into a team, in our Gospel reading, he was showing them how to be an effective Christian community. It is interesting to see how he did it, because it can help us to understand the nature and importance of Christian community life. First he gave them the gifts which they needed to do God’s work. God’s love provides everything which the Christian community needs. In his case it was not musical gifts, but power over evil, and the ability to minster God’s healing.

The basis of the Christian community which Jesus formed was God’s power, which was then displayed by them as they worked together, obeying Jesus commands and trusting in him. He was very keen that they did trust him rather then in their own resources. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic.’

I always like to be prepared. If you saw how we travel as a family...! We don’t seem to be able to go anywhere without a car full of equipment, spare clothes, toys, buggies, food etc. And that’s only a trip to the park! But Jesus was calling for a great level of trust that he would provide what was necessary out of his resources. God’s love provides everything which the Christian community needs. And Jesus twelve disciples were blessed in their mission to the community: they brought good news as they spoke clearly about the Kingdom of God, and demonstrated God’s power by healing the sick. We too are called to proclaim good news by what we do and say.

And just in case there is any doubt about his ability to provide what is necessary, we have this even more striking demonstration of it in the feeding of the 5000. The disciples, having not learned the lesson of trust, wanted to send the crowd away, using their own resources to get the food they needed. But Jesus knows that it is not necessary, because God’s love provides everything which the Christian community needs.

Jesus instructs the disciples to organise the people - they do the work. He thanks God for the food, and then gives it to the disciples to distribute. It is as the disciples distribute the food that they discover there is enough for everyone - not only that but there is enough surplus for each disciple to come back with a basket - as much as they can carry - of surplus from God’s abundant provision. Not only has God’s love filled this community, they are overflowing with bread to spare.

Now one way in which the Christian community is called to work together is in supporting and encouraging our Christian brothers and sisters in other denominations. This week the country has been blessed by the visit of the Pope. Of course, he is not a man with whom we would agree on everything, and it would be possible to choose to highlight the differences. But I think God calls us to seek unity and look for where we can support and affirm the Pope’s message. His key message this week has been that Christianity should not be marginalised in ‘the public square’, that we should stand up to ‘aggressive forms of secularism’, and not accept that Christian beliefs should be excluded from public discussion. Rather, all Christians should be working to reconcile the demands of everyday life and the call of God. That is something with which we should strongly and vocally support. Gods love is not something which should be contained, kept to ourselves, but it is meant to be shared and made known to the whole community. We should be prepared to speak out with any and all other Christians so that the good news of the Kingdom of God is heard clearly in our world, which needs it so much.

And we can also look for ways to work with other Christians to offer practical help and support to our community. When we look around at the needs which exist in the world, it is easy to be overwhelmed, but when we work together, we can be confident that God will bless our efforts, however insignificant they may seem to us. I continue to be encouraged by hearing of the work of national and local groups - the Church Urban Fund, T@3, Churches Together Holiday Club etc. If you are involved - be encouraged - if not, why not look for something in which you could be involved - it is the most rewarding and worthwhile thing to do.

Our discipleship includes working together, with those around us here, and with all other Christians, to show God’s love to the world. We can be confident that as we do this, we can rely on God’s power, displayed through Jesus Christ. Then, like a Jazz band full of experience, and with the greatest possible leader, the whole church under Christ will indeed make beautiful music together.

For discussion:

1) How have you seen God at work through other members of your group or the wider church?

2) What opportunities are there for sharing God’s love by acts of service or speaking about your faith?

3) How does your understanding of Jesus relationship with his disciples encourage and challenge you as a member of the Christian community?

God’s power renews our lives

Sunday 12^th September by Mavis Wilson

Readings: 2 Kings 4:1-37; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; John 20:19-23

What is the difference between life and death? Quite simply the difference between being alive and being dead is breath. Anyone who has seen a dead body will have been struck by the stillness of a corpse – there is no longer the gentle movement of breath filling the lungs. At the other end of life the first sign that a baby will live is that it breathes on its own as soon it emerges from its mother and if it doesn’t then frenetic activity breaks out all around it until the breath and the first cry are heard. To breathe is to live.

The story from the OT this morning in 2 Kings 4 is a dramatised example. As Elisha stretches himself across the dead body of the beloved only child he breathes, - his mouth upon the child’s mouth – perhaps. the earliest documented piece of mouth to mouth resuscitation, - although it is much more than that. As Elisha waits the child sneezes –only someone who is alive can sneeze! The child is alive – he breathes All through this story Elisha, the holy man of God has been listening to God and obeying God and now brings new life out of death by the power of God’s breath; God’s spirit working through him. In the OT the breath of God is called in Hebrew ‘ruach’ the same word for breath and Spirit. Gen. 2.7 then the Lord God formed man –a human being from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

What is true physically is also true spiritually. We breathe to live; we breathe in God’s Spirit to become the people God wants us to be and to do the things God wants us to do. God’s Spirit is the power of our Christian lives and that power is freely available to us; receiving is as simple as breathing and needs to become just as much of a habit.

In the first sermon in this series last week Alan spoke about the confident hope which we have even in suffering because we are sure that God loves us and we know it ‘ not just in our heads but in our hearts’ The integration of what we believe in our heads and what we feel in our hearts is based on the experience of God’s Spirit within us and at work in our lives.

Jesus gave his disciples an experience of his life as he breathed on them in that upper room - at the end of an exhausting three days which had culminated in a day of conflicting hopes and fears. They thought he was alive but weren’t sure. Their heads must by now have ached with tiredness and with trying to work it all out. Their hearts were alternately sad and joyful, fearful and yet somehow hopeful. As they huddled in that locked upper room Jesus came quietly in and stood there right in front of them. And he breathed on them. In breathing on them he was offering them his risen life, the life of the Spirit; the Spirit of God the Father who had raised him from death, and his own Spirit, the Spirit of the Son who had brought life and resurrection by being willing to die. We pass over it perhaps without thinking every Sunday in the Creed – We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life (breath) who proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the very life of God in us coming from the Father and from Jesus. God is no longer ‘out there’ but ‘in here’.

This gospel to-day is John’s account of Pentecost, the experience which utterly changed the disciples. In the corresponding account in Acts 2 the breath of God, strong as a mighty wind, filled them and literally blew them away with power from on high. So too it can be for us. We do not have to live feeble and pale Christian lives, worshipping a God who is remote and unfriendly. God will breathe upon us too if we ask. To breathe in the Spirit is to be alive spiritually.

In the Epistle reading St Paul reminds us of all the gifts which the Spirit beings, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing. miracles and in parallel with that, in Romans 12 he mentions other gifts of leadership, prophecy, ministry or service, giving and so on. These gifts are given to us not for our own pleasure or importance but for the common good. The breath of the Spirit is there for the church as a whole and for each of us as members. Just as Jesus came for others so we are filled with the life of God for the sake of others and God’s world. Jesus said as he breathed on the disciples ‘As the father has sent me so am I sending you’. Pentecost was given for mission and it is no different now.

So how do we receive the riches of God’s Spirit? Quite simply - ask. We ask at baptism- Sanctify this water that by the power of your Holy Spirit this person may be cleansed from sin and born again. Renewed in you image may they walk by the light of faith and continue for ever in the risen life of Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray for God’s Spirit to get to work in that child or older person to make disciples and lifelong followers of Jesus out of them. We ask at Confirmation Defend O Lord these you servants with your heavenly grace, that they may continue yours for ever, and daily increase in you Holy Spirit more and more. We pray at ordinations Send down your Holy Spirit upon….for the office and work of a deacon or priest in your church. We pray at Communion grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine may be to us his body and his blood. We pray it so often together because it is so important. But do you pray for yourself ‘Come Holy Spirit? We need God’s life and breath in us continually. Charles Spurgeon, a famous Baptist preacher once said ‘ I know that I have been filled with the Spirit, the trouble is, I leak.’ We need to ask again and again.

So what stops us from asking to be filled with the Spirit? Could it be fear that we might suddenly become one of those enthusiastic hand waving Christians? God is actually interested in freeing us to be the people he wants us to be and there is no evidence in Scripture nor church history that we all have to be the same. We simply need to love one another with all our differences.

Maybe you fear that you might receive some of the spiritual gifts which St Paul talks about? Well you almost certainly will receive some, but they will be exactly the ones which you will need to fulfil the task to which God is calling you. Praying for the Spirit means being willing to trust God and gratefully receive what you need to be a blessing to others.

The thing most likely to stop us from receiving is that we are not really hungry for God. We are satisfied with what we have. We enjoy coming to church sing hymns we like, talk to people with whom we are comfortable, maybe help a bit and give something to charity. But there is more, much more to being a disciple of Jesus. It is when we are at the end of our resources longing for more of God and really desiring God’s power and God’s help that we get to the place of asking God to breathe on us – then as we are open, just like the empty vessels and jars in the first part of this morning’s story about Elisha, then anything may happen. We may be blown anywhere (like Philip in Acts who found himself in Azotus not apparently having planned to go there). But it will be worth it because we will have a growing love for God and a deeper care for God’s people. We will have an experience of God which will be different for each of us, but we will want to share it. We will find ourselves praying in faith for more than we ever dreamed of. We will know God’s peace and the joy of God’s loving presence. We will be alive to God. We will be set on fire.

There is a prayer which comes at various points in the daily liturgy of the church-

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people and kindle in us the fire of your love. We can make it our own. Let me know what happens if you pray that prayer because if we are serious something will change. I am convinced that as we also pray it together God will be able to do amazing things among us. Are we willing to try it?

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Questions –

1. Can you recall a time when you were very aware of the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? Describe it for others if you wish.

2. Are you aware of having any spiritual gifts which you have received for the benefit of others and for God’s mission?

3. Are you hungry for God? What will you do to satisfy that hunger?

4. The Spirit is given for mission. How are you engaged in God’s mission at present?

God's gracious call

Sunday 5th September 2010 by Alan Walden

When I consider who has most inspired me in my Christian life, I would have to say it is people close to me whom I have seen going through difficult experiences, and are still living by faith. People like my friend and one time vicar Michael Wenham, who has Motor Neurone Disease. Despite being unable to continue as a vicar (because has lost the ability to speak, together with the ability to walk, among other things), he has continued as a firm disciple of Christ, and has expressed his faith most recently by publishing his second book, ‘I Choose Everything’ about embracing life in the face of terminal illness. He has written it with a lady called Jozanne Moss (a mother of 2 young children, and also suffering from Motor Neurone disease - in her case a quite aggressive form - more of her later).

Suffering is so common that it is pretty much certain for all of us, at some time in our life. So if our faith is to mean anything, it must cope with the hardest of times. And that is the subject of today’s reading, Romans Chapter 5. It starts by reminding us that we have access to God’s grace through Christ’s reconciling action. The foundation for our discipleship is what God has done - providing Peace and Hope in Christ. We can rejoice in the certainty of our hope, even through the hardest of times. As Paul puts it in v1 of Romans 5: ‘Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

Paul is especially interested in the concept of justification, that is God’s act of forgiving the sins of which we are all guilty and counting us as righteous. In Romans, Paul teaches that God justifies us freely, by an act of grace, which we can receive through faith in Christ. It is not by what we have done, not by good works, or obeying God’s teaching and moral code. Rather, through the redeeming death of Christ, and the shedding of his blood on our behalf.

Justification is not making us good (either by our own efforts, or by God’s work in us), but counting us as if we were good, despite any evidence to the contrary! Justified is sometimes translated : reckoned as righteous. When I am justified - it is just as if I never sinned! Justification is at the heart of the good news! And being justified brings peace - peace with God, because Jesus has removed any basis for separation and conflict with God. Instead of cowering fearfully before God, we can stand confident before him - justified. This is a pure act of God’s grace, and is the foundation of our Christian discipleship.

In our reading, Paul writes that part of our response is ‘Boasting’ - which sounds rather strange! Clearly it is not the kind of arrogant boasting about our own achievements, because it is not our doing. Rather, it is boasting in the sense of confidence, and of joy. Holding firmly onto the hope is what we do as we worship God. In worship, we express joyful confidence because we have a firm hope of a share in God’s Kingdom.

Then Paul goes on to say in v3: ’And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings.’ We might feel powerfully encouraged by the hope we have in Christ, but when we think of what is going on around us, it doesn’t take long to identify where there is suffering, perhaps in our lives, or in the lives of those close to us. We might feel that that we do not have ‘peace with God’ if we are suffering from sickness, conflict, danger, fear, bereavement and other kinds of suffering. But if we have a firm faith and a solid grasp of God’s grace, we can indeed find strength for hard times.

I want to go back to Jozanne Moss, the gravely ill mother of 2 children. They are Luke (12) and Nicole (9). She has little chance of seeing them reach adulthood. Naturally, as a mothers she is concern for them, but this is writ very large because she knows she won’t be around with them much longer. She wants to do the best she can, but she realises that she cannot protect them from all suffering, and from the consequences of living in a broken and fallen world. She writes, ‘The biggest and most important thing which I can do for my children is... to teach them about God’s amazing love for them, and Christ’s saving grace. I can prepare them by teaching them about eternity and about their purpose here in this life. I cannot shield them from pain and suffering, but I can teach them who to turn to and where to find their strength. It is in our suffering that we grow!’ she says.

Her attitude relates to what Paul writes in V3 ‘suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.’ That is a pattern of growth for Christians: suffering - endurance - character - hope.

We live in a very damaged world, in which suffering is all too common. But the best response is to prepare for that, by understanding God’s love and grace, his actions in the world, ultimately in the suffering of Christ. When we suffer we can learn endurance, the chance to build a strong Christian character, where hope burns brightly in the darkness.

And what is more God is still at work still. As it says in v5: ‘hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.’ Our journey of discipleship is one in which God is at work with us. We have the gift of his Spirit, to guide us and to comfort us through suffering. That is his loving gift to us for the journey. Our confident hope is based on assurance that God loves us - not just knowing it in our heads, but feeling it in our hearts. The sacraments pay a key role in this - Holy Communion is a sign of God’s love for us, and regularly receiving communion is a key part of our discipleship. As we pour out the wine, God pours out his love! He does it extravagantly, generously, freely. When we allow ourselves to rest in that love, we find strength for the journey. The hope we have in Christ does not disappoint us.

The fundamental inspiration for our discipleship is the Lord Jesus. It is he who is the Living God who became a human being, sharing our life with its joy and it’s suffering. It is he who gave his very life for us. It is he who defeated death for us by his resurrection, and opened the way for us to have eternal life with God. That is the Christ we follow - God graciously calls us to follow him, confidently, through times of celebration and through suffering, as we approach the time when we will be in glory at his side.

Questions for personal reflection or group discussion

1) How has you own experience of suffering affected your relationship with God?

2) In what ways does Jesus’ suffering and death relate to your own suffering?

3) What might you do to be spiritually well prepared for difficult times for you and for people around you?