1. When you read the quote that Tony posted on The Hub, what do you feel when you read words like ‘upheaval’ and phrases like ‘tearing down and building up’?

2. What do you feel are the biggest challenges or barriers to being a welcoming community?

3. What prejudices do you have that you feel you need to deal with?

4. Everybody gets to play. Everybody gets to exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit. How can we encourage this?

5. Are you open to the Holy Spirt working through you? No matter how foolish you could look, how big a risk you would take, and not knowing what might be the outcome?

6. Are you serving in the church? Where could you serve to benefit the church?

Roots // Be Community

May 13th 2012

Grand Union Vineyard Church

This week is the second in our Roots series. This series is aiming to give an overview of our values as a church. What do we prioritise, and where is the focus.

Last week, I outlined the context. That we are a community of the Kingdom. We are vehicles through which God outworks his Holy Spirit.

And, as Tony commented on The Hub, to pray to God, “Your Kingdom Come” can be one of the most dangerous prayers to pray.

If we genuinely want to see his Kingdom come, we need to brace ourselves. We need to be courageous, we need to take risk, and we need to be expecting the unexpected.

This was the quote Tony posted, “I don’t think you could say more dangerous words than those found in the Lord’s Prayer. I don’t think you could pray a more radical prayer. Probably most of us, even in ministry, would hesitate to say these words if we really understood what we were saying. We would at least pause before repeating this prayer if we clearly understood that we were actually inviting upheaval into our lives and ministries. This prayer can’t be answered except through the tearing down and rebuilding of many things in our lives. Here are the radical words I have been alluding to: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10)’”

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a bit of risk taking.

I want to empty myself of myself again and be filled with his Holy Spirit.

Not for my own good, but to see his Kingdom come here on earth, just like it is in Heaven.

So this morning and over the next few weeks, I am going to focus in on the more specific values we have as a church.

In Psalm 133, it reads “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity….For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life for evermore.”

Where there is unity, God commands a blessing.

We are made for community. We were built to be in relationship, both with God and with others.

It’s in our DNA.

Most parts of the Bible were intended for communal readings.

The letters Paul writes to the various churches in the second half of the New Testament are all written to groups of people.

In community, there is support. In community, there is encouragement.

In community, there is strength, and in community there is hope.

But we are not a closed community.

This is not an exclusive club.

As a church we don’t have membership.

It’s not black and white that you’re in or your out.

In sociological theory, this is referred to as centred set and at the risk of boring you, I just want to explain the definition of centred set.

The centered set does not limit membership to pre-conceived boundaries. Instead a centered set is conditioned on a centered point. Membership is contingent on those who are moving toward that point. Elements moving toward a particular point are part of the set, but elements moving away from that point are not. As a centered-set Christian membership would be dependent on moving toward the central point of Jesus. A Christian is then defined by their focus and movement toward Christ rather than a limited set of shared beliefs and values.

John Wimber utilized the centered set understanding of membership in his Vineyard Churches. The centered set theory of Christian Churches came largely from missional anthropologist Paul Hiebert.

The centered set understanding of membership allows for a clear vision of the focal point, the ability to move toward that point without being tied down to smaller diversions, a sense of total egalitarianism with respect for differing opinions, and an authority moved from individual members to the existing center.

Another way of putting this, come as you are but don’t stay as you are.

We have to be a welcoming community.

We have to reject a safe and cliquey mindset.

This is not about building boundaries. This is about opening our doors and welcoming whoever comes through.

Of course it is also about the church going out into the community.

Being a valuable member of the community, and serving those around them, but this we will cover in a couple weeks.

Today I want to focus on be welcoming.

But again, remember that the church is not this building.

The church is you. It is people.

So when we say the church should be welcoming, I don’t just mean when someone rocks up on a Sunday.

You should be welcoming when the new neighbours move in.

You should be welcoming when a new member of staff joins the work team.

You should welcome those, the same way you have been welcomed into the body of Christ.

Another way of putting it, the way John Wimber often mentioned is to “belong before you believe”, he also said that at the Vineyard, “we clean up after we have caught the fish.”

There should be no person, no matter their colour, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or social status, that should feel unwelcome in this place.

No matter what you have done, no matter how ashamed you might feel, no matter how distant you might feel from God and from others, let me be very clear…..you are welcome here.

This is not simply pleasantries, when we say you are welcome here, we are absolutely delighted you are here, we know that it is not often easy to turn up in what may be a foreign environment, but we love the fact you are here.

Come as you are, but don’t stay as you are….

John 8, “At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered round him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’

If Jesus didn’t judge, who are we to judge.

Romans 3:23-24, “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God, we are all in the same boat.

But the good news comes in John 3:16 and 17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

So, as we have all fallen short, God so loved all of us (every single person) that he initiated the greatest rescue mission of all time.

In Philippians 2 it reads, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In Genesis, God looked at all his creation and he was pleased.

Paul talks about there being no separation between Jew and Gentile, man and woman. And I’m sure if he was here today he would add a few more up to date societal prejudices.

Let us welcome everyone as they are. Not as we would rather they be.

If you are accepted as you are, you can then allow God to work his transformation through you.

Church, it is not our job to change people.

It is our job to love people.

The verse does not read “change or alter your enemies”, it reads “love your enemies”, it is does not read “change your neighbour” it reads “love your neighbour”.

If we love people.

If we truly welcome people. Without prejudice.

We will then see God work through his holy presence.

C.S. Lewis once said, “The basic laboratory of knowing God is in the Christian community”

If we welcome people and show unrestrained and extravagant love, those people will go on a journey towards knowing God and experiencing new life in Him.

So we need to welcome.

But another aspect of this community is that everybody gets to play.

There is not a particular focus on hierarchy or elite in this church.

We are not about dictating the truth.

Everybody gets to play.

Everyone gets to outwork the call of Jesus on their life and experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Ministry is not based on age or gender or race or experience.

Ministry is based on the Holy Spirit, who will work through whichever person is willing to be a vehicle.

And sometimes, even if they are not willing!

The gifts of healing and prophecy, words of knowledge, and even prayer are not restrictive.

God wants to lavish these gifts upon us.

No matter if you have been a Christian for a week or a Christian for years, you can be a part of this, you can experience God’s holy presence working through you.

If we really grasped this, we would be amazed by what we would see.

Recovery of sight to the blind, the lame walking, the oppressed set free, the lonely, loved.

We will see this. I am convinced of it.

John Wimber’s church prayed for a whole year for various people to be healed and saw no results. No one was healed.

But as I said last week, success is not measured by the healing, success is in the obedience.

It is not a spasm of passion, but rather a long obedience in the same direction.

We’re all in this together and we can all be a part of it.

I believe we will soon see our children praying over each other and over the adults, and seeing healing and restoration. It may even be that they teach us a thing or two about what it is to be obedient in prayer and to have faith to believe.

So, we are a welcoming community, we are a community where everyone gets to play, and finally we are a serving community.

I remember when I first joined what was then the Milton Keynes Vineyard, what struck was that the majority of the church we involved in serving.

I was so impressed. I had never been part of a church quite like it.

And this is something we are committed to continuing.

If you are a member of the GUV, we want you to get your hands dirty.

Service is a key value.

In James it reads, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”

We need to love one another, not just in word but in deed.

I know there are many people in this church who serve and I know many of you do it without reward and sometimes without acknowledgment. But that type of service is so powerful.

That’s a service not looking for the stage, not looking for recognition, but simply obeying what God has called you to.

Those who do the washing up after the service, those who vacuum, those who commit to teaching our children and young people about their faith and their God, those who organise midweek groups, those who contribute to meal rotas, those who babysit to allow others a night off.

This community should be a living organism of service.

Being completely honest, we have had people leave this church because we have asked them to serve in some way.

I do understand that there sometimes needs to be seasons for taking a step back and waiting on God.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t still serve in the meantime.

I can pretty much guarantee you, God will still speak whilst you serve. He’s not waiting until you are finished serving.

Some of you also do too much and you need to consider the balance between your church, your family, and your work and other commitments.

Let’s not become so busy that we lose any time to build relationship with those in our communities. Maybe our neighbours, or the tennis club, or coffee mornings, or Saturday morning football, or whatever it is.

The priority is serving those around us. We must serve those in the church, but we also must serve those within our community.

In Galatians 5, it says “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love.”

How are you serving your brothers and sisters in this room?

Examine your heart and ask God to highlight the areas where you have been selfish.

T.W. Manson says this, “In the Kingdom of God, service is not a stepping-stone to nobility: it is nobility, the only kind of nobility that is recognized.”

And the more we serve, the more we humble ourselves, the more natural it will become. The more we will take on the character of God and the more people around us will see something different in us.

Something attractive.

Something appealing.

Something that will draw them to you and allow you to share the work God is doing in your life and the grace and salvation He has given them.

We can be a radical community.

We can be a community where everyone is welcome.

We can be a community where everyone is a part of what God is doing.

We can be a community where everyone loves to serve.

Today I would ask that you make a commitment to choose to be a part of this community.

Even if you have been coming here for 10 years, I want you to have an honest examination of your heart and of you motives.

Are you ready to welcome anyone who comes through those doors? No matter what they look like, what they sound like, what they smell like, or your history with them?

Are you open to the Holy Spirt working through you? No matter how foolish you could look, how big a risk you would take, and not knowing what might be the outcome?

Are you ready to serve God and serve those sitting around you now? Giving up time, giving up your agenda, and giving everything to the one you call Lord?

If the answer is “yes”, we will begin to see His Kingdom come here on earth as it is in Heaven.

1. You are the vehicle through which God wants to see his kingdom come, through his Holy Spirit. When you hear that, what is your first response?

2. We need to move from being an audience to an army, what steps can we take practically to do this?

3. If you don’t accept Jesus as Lord, you don’t accept Jesus at all. What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord of your life? Have you accepted Jesus as Lord?

4. We need to be known for our generosity. Where in your life can you be more generous?

5. What has challenged you most about this week’s talk?

Roots 6th May 2012

Grand Union Vineyard Church

It’s two years, one month, and three days since Andi and I became Senior Pastors of this church. As I have said before, we took on this role reluctantly. We never really had even an inclination previously to lead a church. We didn’t have the right qualifications. We had variable experience.

But aren’t you glad that God doesn’t call the qualified. God qualifies the called.

Over the last couple years we have learned a great deal and we are continuing to learn. God has brought some incredible people into our church family. People who want to serve, people who are passionate about their faith, and people who love Jesus. I have to say it is a privilege to journey with you all. We have new people joining us regularly and as the church changes, so our vision and purpose must remain focused.

We have all been called to Milton Keynes for one reason or another. We are all called to play an active role in seeing God’s kingdom established in this city and beyond. The Bible says that the church is the bride of Christ and as John Wimber says, it is one big old bride! But when Jesus looks at his bride, he sees a thing of beauty.

Are we perfect? No. Do we deserve our status as children of God? No. But, we have been chosen by a living God who sent his son to take the punishment that our sin merited.

Jesus died, so you could live. Now we die, so He can live through us.

This morning, we are going back to basics. In this new series we are going to look at the values of our church. Some will be universal across the broader church, some may be more specific to the GUV. I am not going to drill into specifics this morning, but rather set the context. Why are we doing this? Because we need to equip ourselves.

We need to roll up our sleeves and start practicing what we preach. There are people in Milton Keynes who do not know Jesus, and until that has been rectified, we have a job to do.

Our target is 250,000 people. Audacious? Yes. Impossible? No. Not for a God who defeated Goliath through David. For a God who defeated the Midianite army, even though the odds were against Gideon’s men 450 to 1.

We spend a lot of time looking for the vehicle or programme through which to bring God’s kingdom, but He has already made it….you. You are the vehicle through which God wants to work. You are the vehicle through which others will find their freedom. You are the vehicle through which God wants to heal others. You are the vehicle through which God wants to outwork the power and presence of His Holy Spirit to see His Kingdom come here on earth, just as it is in Heaven. Think about that for a minute. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he prayed “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, just as it is in Heaven” “Just as it is”, exactly as it is in Heaven. May what we experience on earth, be increasingly like the experience of Heaven.

What is that like? It is a place without brokenness. It is a place without fear. It is a place without addiction or loneliness. It is a place where God is sovereign. So, when we pray for healing. It is not merely a nice little trick, and in the same way it is not a test of our level of faith. When we pray for healing, we are praying for restoration, as it is in Heaven. We are praying that God’s kingdom would increase in that moment.

We are not the kingdom. Heaven is not the kingdom. The Kingdom is not a place or a person. It is the person, the power, and the presence of God. And through his Holy Spirit, God has given the power and authority to see his kingdom come to us.

In Luke 9, we read “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal those who were ill.” We need to move from being an audience to an army. God has given us the power and authority through his Holy Spirit. We need to grow into our spiritual gifts, but we cannot ignore them.

We cannot just bury them and hope that we never have to get ourselves out of our comfort zone. In Matthew 25, we read….”‘Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.‘After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.”‘His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”‘The man with two bags of gold also came. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with two bags of gold: see, I have gained two more.”‘His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”‘Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”‘His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. ‘“So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

We have a mandate.

Matthew 28, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We are to go and make disciples. How can we do this? Because Jesus is with us always to the very end of the age. This is not about you. This is about Jesus. This is about the Holy Spirit working through you.

If you are shy, he will give confidence. If you are weak, he will give strength. If you are inexperienced, he will equip you. Do not limit your God. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, this is the God who can do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine.

We cannot measure what he can do through us. But in order to do this, we need to accept Jesus not just as our Saviour, but as our Lord. Lord of our lives. Lord over every area in our life. Some people think they can accept Jesus as Saviour, but not as Lord. Let me tell you this morning, if you don’t accept Jesus as Lord, you don’t accept Jesus at all.

We have to give him our all. As I said earlier. He died so that we might live. Now we must die to our selfish ambition, to our prejudices, to our own agendas, so that he might live through us. If we accept Jesus as Lord. If we allow him to live through us. We will see his Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. We will see healing. We will see salvation. We will see addictions broken. We will see families united. We will see joy replacing depression. Freedom replacing bondage.

This will be our reality.

But we are in a battle. As we punch holes in the darkness, the Devil will try to fight back. We need to be alert. We need to daily put on the armour of God.

Do you know, there are five references in the Old Testament to the Devil and three of those really have to be interpreted well to find them, but there are many references in the New Testament. The reason being that it took the Light to expose the darkness. It took Jesus coming to earth to expose the Devil. The Devil is real. He is active.

But He that is in us, is greater than he that is in the world. We have nothing to fear. If God is for us, who can be against us?

As a church, we need to get our fight back.

The church of Jesus Christ is not a wet, weak, irrelevant institution. The church of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. The church of Jesus Christ can be a powerful force in the battle against darkness. The church needs to be the head and not the tail.

We need to be innovative and creative, we need to be confident and proactive, we need to love extravagantly, loving those others have brushed aside. We need to prioritise the calling of God over material gain.

We need to give generously. Our money is not our money at all. It’s all Gods. Who are we kidding when we think we can store it for ourselves. Building empire, rather than kingdom. I want to challenge you this morning, are you giving generously? It’s been said that your giving should be a stretch, but not a stress. Are you being stretched?

Let us be known in this city as a generous people. Not tight. Not stingy. Not inward focused, just supporting our own. Let us be generous.

I mentioned earlier the Lord’s prayer. Technically it should really be called the disciples prayer. There is a line that Jesus prayer, “Give us today our daily bread” The translation from the original Greek is actually, “give us today, the bread of tomorrow”

If we are vehicles of the Kingdom. If we are vehicles of God’s Holy Spirit. We will begin to see the bread of tomorrow, today. We will begin to see glimpses of Heaven today. We will see God’s hand working through us and we will see lives transformed.

It is going to be such an awesome privilege to baptise 7 people in a couple weeks. To see the journey those individuals have been on, is such an inspiration.

But, I am looking forward to the day when we are baptising 50 people, 100 people, 500 people. There are people in this city crying out for a Saviour. Whether it is through friendship, an opportunity to pray for healing, a word of insight or knowledge, or simply serving, God enables and authorises us to do these things in His name.

Let’s not hide His light from this city. Let us stand up with the knowledge that he will empower us and envision us. Let us move from being an audience and stand as an army. Not fighting against people, but against the powers of darkness.

Let’s stop mucking around with this life and make a decision today to commit ourselves to something that really matters. In fact, the only thing that matters.

Let’s commit to offering our lives daily as living sacrifices, wholly and pleasing to God. This is our spiritual act of worship.

This is why we were created and this is our calling. Today His mercies are new. What you have done in the past, is in the past.

Today, God we say “Here we are, send us”, use us, may your spirit work through us, and may we see your Kingdom come on earth just exactly like it is in Heaven. Amen.

1. Is there someone in particular that you are walking with at the moment – if so what does that walk look like
and does this message help you?

2. Verse 28 says – Jesus acted as if he were going further – is there a biblical argument that says he would have
walked on? How does that apply to you today?

3. Is it important that if you have walked with someone, that you see them recognise Jesus?

4. Are there any practical things that the church could do to help you right now to show Jesus to someone
that you are journeying with.

————————————————————————————————————————-

Easter: Boiled Fish

29th April 2012, Grand Union Vineyard Church

If you were in church 2 weeks ago Jon Hyde explored the silence of Easter Saturday and Gareth Russell called us to be Easter people two weeks before that.  The vision of the church as a whole should be about growing the Kingdom and so today I am going to continue the Easter theme and look at the Monday after Easter as we walk on the Emmaus Road again and draw on the experiences of Cleopas and his un-named friend to explore what the walk might look like and also who we are walking with and why.

So to get some understanding what walking the Road to Emmaus looks like we need to see some aspects of the original 7 miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the late afternoon of Easter Sunday in AD 33.

This story takes place on the day of the resurrection and from the Words and tone of the opening verses there is a sense of disappointment in these men.

The King James bible records that Jesus says to them as he first joins them – What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

The NIV Bible says

That they stood still, their faces downcast.

The Message Bible says the following:  They just stood there long faced, Like that had lost their best friend.

The men go onto relate the story of Jesus being crucified  and I think the most telling words of this passage are – but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel –

Lets not forget that these 2 were not the only people feeling like this – there was widespread apathy, uncertainty and fear in the hours and days following the death of Jesus.

It is also probably safe to say that Cleopas and his companion were Jewish converts and this was not the Messiah they had hoped for – this was not the messiah that they had been promised –

this was not the messiah who was going to meet their expectations.

Jesus then gives these two an Old Testament lesson as he explains all that the prophets had said about him – prophecy that Jews would have been know

but had been misinterpreted –

The Bible also says that these two men were prevented from recognising Jesus and indeed in the other epistles there are a number of other references to people not recognising Jesus in the hours after the resurrection –

remember that these were people who had been with Jesus right up to his death and yet they did not recognise him – many theories have been put forward as to why this was – ranging from some kind of physical action, as related in this story, to the fact that Jesus was in his resurrection body and it was only as he revealed himself as he did and said certain things that people finally recognised him.

Lets also consider that there would not have been any printed versions of what we now know as the Old Testament and as most people could not read or write everything they knew of God and indeed Jesus the Messiah would have been taught to them in the synagogues by the Rabbis.  Jesus wanted these 2 men to be able to hear God speaking to them so that they could hear the prophecy about his son from God’s perspective not the perspective of the Sadducees and the Sanhedrin.  If they had recognised Jesus straight away he would have lost this opportunity.  Jesus carries on with these men and as they reach their destination the Bible says this:

Jesus acted as if he were going farther.

But something caused them to invite Jesus to stay with them and then at the supper table Jesus breaks bread and gives thanks.  Verse 31 says

Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him –

Again here is this suggestion that there was something supernatural that had been preventing them from recognizing Jesus.

These 9 words are critical – They recognised Jesus.  Their lives were changed in that instant that they recognised Jesus – up till that moment they were no better off than the Jews who were and still are waiting on their Messiah.  In that instant as they recognised the resurrected Jesus their Lives were Changed forever – that is the miracle of salvation.

This passage continues with the words of Cleopas and his friend:

Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us.

Even though they were in some way prevented from recognising Jesus his words still somehow touched their hearts as Jesus opened the scriptures to them.

Cleopas and his friend then run all the way back to Jerusalem to find the disciples locked in a room.  They burst in shouting that they have seen the Risen Lord and simultaneously Jesus appears to them and in one of my favourite phrases of the whole Bible he eats boiled fish with them – isn’t that so Jesus – GIVE ME A PIECE OF BOILED FISH.

That is a paraphrase of these verses in Luke chapter 24.  There is so much more in these verses and we will look back at some of these verses as we have a look at our Monday walk and our walking companions.

In verse 17 Cleopas and his friend are standing there with their faces downcast – they were miserable, lost, confused fearful.  And even as Jesus comes up to them they did not recognise him   It is a sad fact the many of us here this morning and in churches across the world know people that are just like this – maybe there are even some here this morning who are saying right now – YES THATS ME.

Cleopas and his friend would not have had the benefit of 2000 years of church teaching and history – they were right there when their Messiah seemingly failed them on the cross and they had not yet comprehended the resurrected Christ so who could blame them.

I had earlier said that there were other references in the Easter passages of Jesus not being recognised.  In Mark chapter 16 verse 12 it says of Jesus as he encounters the 2 on the road to Emmaus that he appeared in a different form – here in this passage of Luke verse 16 says – but they were kept from recognising him and in John Chapter 20 and verses 14 through 16 Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene – some-one who knew him so intimately and yet she took him for a gardener.

Is it little wonder then that so many today do not or cannot recognise Jesus – I had grown up in a Catholic home and spent many years in church but I had not recognised Jesus.

In the days before my planned suicide in 2002 I was still reading my Bible and as it was Easter at the time I distinctly remember reading the Easter passages in the days before I was going to kill myself but it was only when I had that amazing experience of coming face to face with Jesus that my eyes were opened and I knew him.  It was only in this personal encounter with Jesus that I could finally understand what Jesus had been trying to tell me for 42 years – I had been searching and my heart had been burning but I needed this very personal intervention before I understood.

Verse 27 says that Jesus, as he walked with them, had to explain the scripture to them – they knew Old testament scripture but these verses say that Jesus explained the scripture to them – he did not merely read it to them as would have been the case in the synagogue but he explained it to them. No one had properly and truthfully explained the scripture to them before and as such

They had a wrong understanding of what the Old Testament taught about his death and resurrection.

Jewish teaching was that the Messiah would free them from the oppression of Roman rule, that it would end their hardship and that they would once again rule themselves.

Is that why Cleopas and his friend and indeed most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem who called themselves believers were disappointed, fearful and depressed?

Is that not the reason that so many people who are in churches or on the fringes of churches are downcast.  Maybe they have been disappointed by church, maybe their understanding of what being a believer in Christ look likes and they eyes have not yet been opened.

Verse 32 says: Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us.

Clearly they had heard the scripture and even though they did not yet recognise Jesus still their hearts burned.  That verse finishes with the phrase – opened the scripture to us.  Again I look back at my own experience and I am sure it is an experience shared by many of you when I say that I knew scripture but did not know what it meant because no-one had explained it to me – Jesus had not talked to me personally.

Moving on I want us to now look at some of the things that Jesus did that Sunday afternoon and put them into a 21st century context that will help us as we walk with Jesus and perhaps more importantly help us to walk with those who have not yet met Jesus.

This passage clearly shows that Cleopas and his friend did not just happen to come across Jesus as they were walking – No Jesus takes the initiative and it is him that approaches them and engages with them in a very personal way.  Jesus listens to their tale of woe as they describe their Easter experience and if you were with us 2 weeks ago Jon gave us a picture of what Easter Saturday looked like and Cleopas and his friend are basically still in Saturday mode as they have not yet recognised Jesus.

What does Jesus then do – he walks with them and talks to them and explains what He Jesus really looks like as they walk the 7 miles along very rough and dusty roads to Emmaus – Jesus wants to know what is going on in your life and he is more than happy to walk the road with you but as the church today we as believers need to mirror that 7 mile walk and engage with people on a personal level and by our lives explain the Good news of the Gospel – not through preaching but through explanation.

Verse 28 then throws up a problem – in this verse it says: Jesus acted as if he were going farther – is it possible that Jesus would have been willing to just keep on walking and leave Cleopas and his friend in the blinded state.   I am not going to answer that question here but I am giving you a heads up – it is one of your questions for Thursday night Union Group.

In this story Jesus is invited to stay and from the verses that follow it is also clear that Jesus needed to share practical experiences with these 2 and still later on that evening with the disciples in Jerusalem.

So verse 30 tells us that Jesus allows himself to be invited into a home full of strangers – we have no idea whether or not they were converts, Jews or worse Samaritans but nonetheless he goes in and shares a meal with them. And as he sits down to the meal he takes it upon himself to take the bread, give thanks and then break the bread and as he gives the bread out so Cleopas and his friend immediately recognise Jesus and not long after they run all the way back to Jerusalem.

There are 2 pictures that we need to see here.  The first is obviously a reference to the Last Supper and our sharing of communion where we share a personal interaction with our saviour.  But there is also a picture of Christians being practical.  Meeting with non believers, sharing with strangers, feeding strangers and importantly GIVING THANKS as they do it.

Jesus had given these 2 men a theological lesson as they walked but it was not until he had allowed himself to be invited into the home that he reveals himself and then satisfied that he has been recognised he leaves.

There follows a 7 miles dash back to Jerusalem where they find the disciples discussing what had happened that morning but clearly they were still doubting and confused and even after Cleopas and his mate tell their story Jesus, when he enters the room, says to them WHY ARE YOU TROUBLED AND WHY DO DOUBTS RISE IN YOUR MINDS.

Can I just say at this point that if there is some one here this morning that still has doubts or someone that you know does not believe – Be ENCOURAGED – these men had spent three very intense years with Jesus and still they could not quite comprehend that he was THE SON OF GOD and THAT HE HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD AND THAT HE WAS IN THEIR MIDST.

Jesus then goes onto invite them to see and feel his wounds and still they did not believe.

How is it then that Jesus can reveal himself today all these year after Easter and in such a way that even when we do not see we still come to  believe.  That is the Kingdom mission that this church wants us all involved in.

My first slide shows the following words

Talking  -  walking  -  sharing  -  knowing.

The church and all believers need to mirror and reflect the life of Jesus – we need to talk with our family and friends.  We need to walk with strangers, be invited into their homes.

We want to share food and our life experiences and we want people to know who it is that we believe in.

It is an undisputed fact that that Jesus lived, was crucified and died  – but not everyone has recognised the resurrected Jesus and knows that he is living and the Son of God and our Saviour.

Union Groups are pivotal to practicing these skills to equip us to go out and Talk, Walk, share and know our faith and reveal Jesus as we do so.

Sunday morning is about equipping and refreshing for the Monday to Saturday.

Bible study is about understanding the message of the Gospel – the Good News.

Apologetics is about being able to explain your faith confidently and defending your beliefs.

But that does not just happen.  On the road to Emmaus it is clear that Jesus had super natural help and the Holy Spirit is central to being Christ Like – you can’t do that in your own strength.

It’s about relationships – and those have to be real relationships – Jesus took time and built up a relationship with 2 men before they felt that they could invite him to join them.  Without that relationship you are not going to be invited to stay and share.

Now you might be wondering why I titled this message Boiled Fish and I am going to finish on this point:

Can you think of anything more bland, more simple, more uninteresting  than boiled fish.

I not taking Smith style fine dining here – it is just boiled fish and yet Jesus, The Son of God, The creator of the Universe uses a piece of boiled fish to prove to doubters that he Jesus was indeed alive and in their midst..

The time for  signs and wonders and miracles was past.  Jesus used something as simple as boiled fish and that should be our encouragement as we walk, share the gospel and explain scripture – it will only take a piece of boiled fish to convince some people.

Simon’s blog:  http://drivelikejehu.blogspot.co.uk/

C S Lewis, Surprised by Joy - ISBN 0006280838

C S Lewis, A Grief Observed - ISBN 0060652381

Allen Lewis (no relation to C S as far as I know!), Between Cross and Resurrection: A Theology of Holy Saturday - ISBN 0802826784

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Easter: Silence In Between

15th April 2012, Grand Union Vineyard Church

JON

So, the teaching series timetable got a little out of sync with reality and before we knew it, we were still supposed to be teaching on Easter, the week after it. So where does one go to find something to teach on Easter after the event? Well, I want us to reflect on a part of the Easter story that often gets overlooked.

Consider with me for a moment the first Good Friday, an unbelievable, chaotic day. We watch with trepidation how it goes from the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’ arrest, then the trial with the Sanhedrin, then He’s before Pilate, then there’s the crucifixion. Everybody has a different agenda, and it’s like all this darkness comes out.

All that came out. Jesus knew. Jesus chose. Friday is the day He died. Friday is the darkest day in the history of the human race.

Then Sunday is this amazing day when the stone gets rolled away and this man comes back to life. Nobody saw Sunday coming. Sunday is the most death defying, grave-defeating, fear-destroying, hope-inspiring, awesome, life-giving day in the history of the world. The world has still never really recovered from what happened on Sunday.

Pentecostals still shout about it. Charismatics still dance because of it. Baptists still say “Amen!” over it. Vineyardians eat food through out it. Methodists still toast it with sherry. Our world has not gotten over it yet. Anybody here have any problems? Anybody here need a little hope? Anybody here want to know how this one day changes your life and eternal destiny forever? Well, hard luck!  Today isn’t about Sunday. It isn’t about Friday.

This is Saturday.

The day after the cross but the day before open tomb. The day after a prayer gets prayed but before it gets answered. The day after a soul gets crushed down but before it gets at all lifted up. It’s this kind of strange day, this Saturday. It’s the silent in-between day. Not Friday. Not Sunday. In between despair and joy. In between utter confusion and blinding clarity. In between bad news and good news. In between darkness and light. In between hate and love. In between death and life. It’s the in-between day.

SIMON

It was wild. D got more and more manic; M got more and more grief stricken. Both wanted to go back to their carers. We could barely keep up with D; we got more and more worn down, but he showed no sign of slowing. We soon lost that “Christians coping with adverse situations” vibe- we tend to use that for Parish Council meetings, and plumbers quotes- but it wasn’t going to work here. This was going to need so much more than a getting- through- the- moment mentality, because the moment was looking more like a lifetime of moments.

In our rose tinted insanity, we had put a child’s cot either side of our bed in our bedroom. We had assumed this would be a winning sleeping arrangement; when a child cried out in the night, one of the parents would offer a kind hand, pray in the Spirit for a second, and the peace of God would land and bring healing sleep to all parties. But as they say, assuming Makes An Ass Out Of You And Me.

That first night was pretty much like this; we put D into his cot, where he bounced and screamed and threw all component parts at us. The only way to pacify him was give him the juice he was accustomed to at his carers; and he must have guzzled at least 2 litres of it before passing out, his nappy so full it was like an airbag.

In between all this, we had to tell the carers we had got home safe, and try and put a positive spin on the howling misery and hyperactivity all around us.

Meanwhile M cried and cried and cried; there was no stopping it. She crawled continually back to her buggy that had come from her carer, because it smelt of home and in there she would calm for may be twenty minutes of so before breaking her heart again. We soon worked out she would calm if next to me, if I held her fingers. So that first few weeks I would sleep downstairs with her, in the front room. I was on a narrow sofa bed, with her either in the buggy or next to me. If I removed my fingers from hers, or moved a tiny bit, she would begin howling. It was heavy. My wife came down the next morning, and I was as stiff as the aforementioned dead cat. I had to walk with my arm outstretched for days.

And our new routine had begun. At face value, we had the family we had always dreamt of.

JON

It’s kind of odd because so much is happening on Sunday. So much is happening on Friday. Nothing happens on Saturday. At the heart of Jesus’ story, at the heart of human history are these three days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. The first day and the third day are so packed with action, event, emotion, drama, detail, we could literally talk for a year and not scratch the surface. Some of the brightest people in the history of world have devoted their lives to these two days. They are literally the two most studied, written  about days in human history.

Then there’s Saturday. Even in the Bible (outside this one little detail about guards being posted to watch the tomb), we’re told nothing about anything happening on Saturday.

On Good Friday our sins get paid for. On Easter Sunday our hope is brought to life. Saturday is the day with no name, the day when nothing happened. How often do you ever hear a message on Saturday? Before writing this I can count on one hand how many sermons I’ve ever heard on Saturday.

So today you and I look at Saturday not from our perspective, not from the other side of Sunday, but as it was for the people who lived it. Because there’s a reason for Saturday. It’ll matter to you.

When Saturday comes the disciples had not slept for a couple of days. You might remember there is Thursday night, Passover, the Last Supper, then the garden, then the trial before the Sanhedrin while it’s still night, then Pilate, and the crucifixion. So they had not slept for two straight days by the time they collapse Friday night. They wake up Saturday morning. The city that was screaming for blood the day before is quiet. Crowds have disbanded. Jesus is dead. Jesus is dead. What do you do on Saturday?

Being good Jews, and it being the Sabbath, they gather, quietly.  They do what came naturally which would be to get together with those with whom they had shared three unbelievable years of their lives.  They remember.  It’s what people do.  Things He said. What He taught. Things He did. People He touched or healed. They remember what it felt like when this Jesus, the most brilliant man they had ever heard, said He wanted them. They are called ordinary, unschooled men, but He said, “I want you. I want you. I want you.” They remember what that felt like. They remember their hopes and dreams. They were going to change the world. Maybe they talk about what went wrong. What in God’s name went wrong? None of them wants to say this, but in their hearts they’re trying to come to grips with this unfathomable thought: Jesus failed. Jesus ended up a failure. Noble attempt, but He couldn’t get enough followers. He couldn’t convince the chief priests. He couldn’t win overRometo make peace. He couldn’t get enough ordinary people to get it, to understand His message. He couldn’t even train his disciples to be courageous at the moment of great crisis.

The worst moment (the worst moment, the one they don’t even want to talk about) came on the cross. When He’s on the cross, this was not this serene death. He did not say from the cross, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” He didn’t say from the cross, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” He did not say from the cross, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” What He said was, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” And then He died. They can’t stand that because if the best man in the world, if the person closer to God than anybody who ever lived can know this kind of failure, this kind of rejection, and this level of humiliation and then feel abandoned by God and then die, where is the hope in that?

He used to talk about how the kingdom of God belonged to people who loved their enemies. He used to say the meek will inherit the earth. He loved his enemies. He was meek. It got Him lifted 6 feet in the air and then buried in a stone tomb. Peter (who said, “Jesus, no matter what everybody else does, I’ll stand by You.”) remembers three times he said, “I do not know the man.” “I do not know the man.” “I do not know the man.” They remember how when the chips were down and Jesus needed them most they all responded when the soldiers came: “Then everyone deserted Him and fled.”

They remember on Saturday. Saturday is the day your dream died. You wake up and you’re still alive. You have to go on, but you don’t know how. Worse, you don’t know why. It brings up this odd question, this strange story: Why is there a Saturday? Why is there a Saturday? It doesn’t further the storyline. If Jesus is going to be crucified then resurrected, why not get on with it? Just die on the cross then boom, resurrection. Why is it just those two events but over three days?

There is a reason. There is a reason for Saturday.

In fact, the apostle Paul writes, “For what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance…” This goes way back. This letter toCorinthis maybe the earliest New Testament writing we have. Paul says, “These words I’m giving to you now, I didn’t even write. These come before this letter. They were given to me.” “…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day…” Then he used this phrase a second time. “…according to the Scriptures.” There’s something deep going on here.

It turns out the Old Testament Scriptures are filled with what might be called third-day stories. Third-day stories. You’ll see some of them here. Genesis: Joseph’s brothers get put in prison, and they’re released on the third day. In the book of Joshua, Israelite spies are told by Rahab to hide from their enemies, and then they’ll be safe on the third day. When Esther hears her people are going to be slaughtered, she goes away to fast and pray. On the third day, the king receives her favourably. When Abraham is afraid he’s going to have to sacrifice his son, Isaac, he lifts up his eyes and he sees the sacrifice that will save his son’s life on the third day.

There’s more of these. It’s such a recurring pattern that the prophet Hosea says, “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces…after two days He will revive us. On the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence.”

There is this structure according to the Scriptures. This is how life goes, these stories. It’s a three-day story. On the first day there is trouble, and on the third day there is deliverance. On the third day there is good news. On the second day, there is what? Nothing. Trouble. Deliverance will come on the third day, but it comes from God. God is the One who brings it. We can’t make it happen. We can’t force it. It’s this odd second day of trouble.

Now here’s the problem with third-day stories. In a third-day story, you don’t know it’s a third-day story until what day? Until it’s the third day. When it’s Friday, even when it’s Saturday, as long as you know… deliverance is never going to come.

Now Jesus has to experience the agony of Friday, and then comes Saturday. I said before Saturday is the day when nothing happens. That’s not quite right. Something happens on Saturday. Silence. That’s what happens on Saturday. After trouble hits you, after the agony of Friday, you call out to God. “God, help me! Hear me! Listen to me! Respond to me! Do something! Say something! Rescue!” Nothing. On Saturday, in addition to the pain of Friday, there is the pain of silence and absence of God.

When C.S. Lewis wrote his memoirs about coming to faith in Jesus, he called it Surprised by Joy. It’s a great book if you’ve never read it. He got the title from a poem by Wordsworth. It’s about how his love of joy, of longing desire, is what led him ultimately to faith in Jesus. There’s a little more to the title than that, kind of a back story. When he wrote the book, Lewis was a lifelong confirmed bachelor, 57 years old. He had recently met a woman, who in his late 50′s (after the book was published), he ended up marrying. Anybody want to guess what her name was? It was Joy. So his friends said to him, “You really were surprised by Joy!” They thought it was a very funny joke.

Then after a lifetime of waiting for Lewis, he’s given this gift, this unexpected love, only for a couple of years of happiness. It was really fleeting. Tragically she got cancer and died a lingering, very painful death. So Lewis wrote another book. This one is not called Surprised by Joy. This one is called A Grief Observed. This is a Saturday book. This is what he writes. “When you are happy, so happy you have no sense of needing God, so happy you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be—or so it feels—welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become…What can this mean? Why is He so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble?”

SIMON

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” These strange but incredibly accurate words of CS Lewis in his last book, “A Grief Observed” ring true. And in the first week of the children arriving, all of us were feeling the most intense grief we had ever felt.

The children were grieving the loss of their foster carers, who as far as they were concerned, being one and two respectively, were their parents. They had been taken one afternoon, and once they had got to bedtime in our house that first day, had realised something strange and agonising was happening. They weren’t going home.

My firstfruit of grief happened in the first week. The first of many dawnings about what had been lost. I released that I was never, ever, going to be thirty something and free again. The freedom of coffee in a coffee shop with a book or Wifi. The freedom to “catch a film” in that offhand, sports casual way we do. The freedom of wandering around cobbled backstreets with my wife, looking at antique cabinets and books. Whatever. The freedom to be spontaneous about holidays or last minute night plans, or stay up suicidally late watching Lost.

I was looking out the upstairs window, grabbing a literal two minute breather from the chaos downstairs, and watching the people and cars going by with this detached disbelief. There had been a time when I used to be part of the world, and used to believe that my undivided attention to a thousand work projects, deadlines and people was important. Nothing like illness, death or newly arrived children kills that notion off. Those entities combine harvest through your dreams, your schedules, your equilibrium, like a hot knife through butter. Nothing I had been doing mattered now. Nothing I had been doing had the same intensity or grip it once had.

JON

I wonder what your Saturday is?  Join us during any given cafe church and you’ll hear some Saturday stories.

You lose a job. You lose a friend. You lose your health. You have a dream for your child. You have a dream for your life. And on Friday, it all hits the fan. What do you do on Saturday? According to the Scriptures, it’s a third-day story.

In our world trouble comes on a Friday. You can choose despair, and a lot of people do, or chose denial, act like everything is just fine.

Or there is this third option: You can wait. That’s a killer, isn’t it? Wait on the Lord. Not just wait around. On the Lord. Now this has nothing to do with passivity. It means whatever I do while it’s Saturday, I do with Him. I learn to work with Him even when He feels far away. I rest with Him. I try to learn from Him. I ask questions of Him. I complain to Him. If I cannot connect with Him in any other way, I complain to Him. Oddly enough, in the Psalms (this amazing prayer book in the Bible), they put them in different categories. The single most common type of psalm is called a song of complaint, a psalm of lament. A Saturday song. God, act! God, why aren’t You listening?

I’ll tell you a secret. You can actually be with God on Saturday in disappointment, in failure, in pain in a way you can’t quite on any other day because on Saturday you know He is our only hope of rescue. This is what silence in-between looks like.

Think of the guy on a trapeze who has let go of one bar and is waiting to be caught but has not yet been caught. Henri Nouwen writes about this as a picture of faith. There are two kinds of trapeze artists. There are flyers (those are the guys who let go and fly through the air), and then there are catchers. A flyer told Henri Nouwen one time, “People think the flyers are the stars because we’re doing somersaults in the air and it looks cool, but the real star is the catcher. A flyer has to fly. A catcher has to catch. The flyer must trust with outstretched, still arms that the catcher will be there waiting for him.”

I found a picture that captures how scary waiting is.  Sometimes we wonder, what if the catcher is not strong enough? What if his fingers are sweaty? Do we honestly believe that if we hold out our arms long enough then we will be caught?  Well that’s Saturday.

Friday is behind us. Crucifixion happened a long time ago. The resurrection has not come yet. Not for me. Not for you. Not for our world. The ground still produces thorns in our world. We still face Pilate and Herod and the crowds. Our bodies still bleed, still age. The people we love die. We live between Friday and Sunday. We live on Saturday. This is Jesus’ story.

There is a little line in an ancient, ancient creed. It’s called the Apostles’ Creed. It says Jesus is crucified, He was buried, and He descended into hell. A lot of people wonder, What exactly does that mean? The apostle Peter has this intriguing little verse in his letter. He says, “Christ was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago.”

Now of course there’s a lot of mystery there. It goes way beyond what you or I can unpack this morning. But, but, but somehow, somehow what Jesus did on the cross, what Jesus did in the tomb goes so deep, goes so wide, goes so broad, is so big that it can save not only those who come after Jesus, but somehow those who lived and died before Him. Somehow, somehow no suffering you go through is suffering Jesus will not endure in order to save you.

This goes about as deep as we can go. Jesus is God incarnate. Now from a human standpoint, we think of the miraculous day as Sunday, the day the man Jesus is risen from the dead. From heaven’s standpoint maybe the great miracle is Saturday. Remember when Jesus is born the skies are filed with the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest!” because that little baby is Emmanuel, God with us. Somehow God in a manger, somehow God in a stable, somehow God on earth.

Now on Saturday the angels look down and see what? God who died on a cross. God buried in a tomb. The miracle of Sunday is a dead man lives. The miracle of Saturday is the eternal Son of God lays dead. So He defeats our great enemy death, not by proclaiming His invincibility over it, but by submitting Himself to it.

So, so, so,Grand Union Vineyard Church, if you can find this Jesus in a grave, if you can find Him in death, if you can find Him in hell, where can you not find Him? Where will He not turn up? Where does He not consider it to belong to Him? So whatever your pain, whatever your rejection, whatever dream has died, whatever longing has not been fulfilled, whatever your failure, whatever your regret, whatever your shame, whatever your disappointment, it is not the end. It’s only Saturday and deliverance is coming. So don’t you give up. Don’t you despair. Don’t you waver. Don’t give in. Don’t quit.  He will catch you.

SIMON

Amazing things have happened with D, gradually since the beginning of the year. He is no longer anti social. He rarely gets hyper, and never to the level he used to. He can receive praise and is more tactile. He busted me the other day when we released he could read- he just picked up a primer book and read it cover to cover.

Generally he is calm and can sit and watch a film end to end. He is almost always “good” at school and his club, and in Guvinos at church. He has little friends for the first time. I cant tell you how this has brought hope. This has happened only through prayer, mainly the prayer of others. Still major issues but God has done something that will not be taken away.

There is an amazing season in the Langley house- and as usual its Gods counter intuitive special. I’m a full time carer for the kids no longer working (and hence no more identity in being a well paid social care manager), downsized from our big house, no money (although always enough for teens college fees, food, crystal meth etc). But I’m at my happiest ever! And I’m getting changed and de programmed from religion and striving. I’m excited and this year is going to be amazing. Thanks to my amazing family and friends and church. And the God of Love we follow.

JON

Here’s what I want to do. I’d like to end this message with a prayer. It’s from a book, a fabulous book. It’s called Between Cross and Resurrection: A Theology of Holy Saturday, written by a guy named Allen Lewis. Really, really bright guy. Took him years and years to write it. While he was writing it, he was diagnosed with the terminal cancer that would kill him. It didn’t get published until after he died. He wrote it in between Friday (the shadow of death) and Sunday (the day of resurrection). It ended up being not just a book about Saturday. It was his Saturday. These are the closing words from a dying man. They are our prayer.

“Oh heavenly Father, hear our prayer for a world still living an Easter Saturday existence, oppressed and lonely, guilty of godlessness, and convinced of God-forsakenness. Be still tomorrow the God You are today and yesterday already were: God with us in the grave, but pulling thus the sting of death and promising in Your final kingdom an even greater victory of abundant grace and life over the magnitude of sin and death. For Your blessed burial into which we were baptized, may You be glorified forever and ever, amen.”

1. In this passage, Jesus shows his humaness. How much pressure do you feel to show that you have “got it all together”?

2. Put yourself in the shoes of the disciples. After all that had happened over the previous 3 years, how would you have reacted to Jesus display of anguish?

3. Jesus receives a “no” to his request. How should this frame our reaction to God’s responses to our prayers?

4. In the private battles, Jesus overcame through his understand of the Word and his intimate realtionship with his Father. Where are your private battles? How can you better equip yourself in those battles?

5. Where do you find solitude with God in your own life?

6. How is God’s grace exhibited with the disciples? How does this show us God’s grace for us?

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Easter: Gethsemane

1st April 2012, Grand Union Vineyard Church

As you know over the past few months, we have been exploring the Kingdom of God and what it means for us as a church.

This morning, we are beginning a new mini series on Easter, but the two are not mutually exclusive.

The Easter story is intrinsic to the Kingdom of God and my hope is that we will build on what we have learned over the last few months.

And, we are going to start in what may be perceived a slightly odd place in the Easter story.

This morning we are going to explore Gethsemane.

Let’s read Matthew 26: 36-46.

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, Sit here while I go over there and pray. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour? he asked Peter. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. He went away a second time and prayed, My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!

For me, this is one of the most absorbing, powerful, and challenging passages in the Easter story.

It is a passage that shows the extremity of the pain Jesus endured, it is a passage that shows the depths of love for His Father, and a passage that underlines just how far he would go to love.

In verses 40 and 41, we read “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour? he asked Peter. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

This morning I want us to grasp, what we see when we keep alert and keep our eyes firmly focused on Jesus.

Firstly, if we focus on Jesus we see being human is ok.

Many of us struggle to show our weakness. We feel an expectation and a burden to project the impression that we have got it all together.

And I have to say as a leader, that only increases.

If you show signs doubt or fallability, it is perceived to be a flaw or a deficiency.

But we are not called to be heros. We are not called to be superhuman. We are called to be vessels of the living God.

We are conduits, we are the vehicle through which God can show is love, power, and grace to those around us.

It is not our job to be perfect.

This week, I was watching Al Jazeera and there was a fascinating deabte on transhumanism. Now for those of you who don’t know, transhumanists believe scientists should actively steer the evolution of the human species by using nanotechnology, genetics, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence and other augmentations.

By combining biotechnology with advancements in engineering and medical technology, transhumanists believe in modified “posthumans” who will overcome both physical and mental limits imposed by nature. Some also believe that through advanced medicine and cures for age-related diseases, the maximum lifespan for a human could conceivably reach 125 years or more.

They had some videos on there showing US soldiers with robotic appenditures to their legs that, the exerts said, made them super soldiers.

Part of my was fascinated. Part of my frightened.

As human beings, we are constantly striving to prolong life, to build strength, and to prove worth.

Verse 39 of the chapter we are reading today shows a different story, “Then he said to them, My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Let’s not forget, Jesus was and is the Son of God.

If anyone could describe themselves as transhuman (with the bionics and robotics), it was Jesus.

But he didn’t.

Jesus is fully God and fully human.

And in this moment, he shows his humanness.

We can only begin to imagine the effect on the disciples of the sudden change that came over Jesus in Gethsemane.

Until that moment he had been in control: planning, directing, teaching, guiding. He has always been ready with a word or action.

Now, in this moment, he shows vulnerability and he is warning them that they are also in danger of collapsing around him.

As Tom Wright says, “The scene is so intimate and frightening that we almost feel embarrased to be onlookers.”

Jesus’ own horror and the disciples sleepy dismay are raw human emotion.

When the great Greek philosopher Socrates went to his death, he was calm and in control throughout the process. His followers, though distraught and in tears, remembered his steady teaching right up until the end.

Not so with Jesus.

The story is neither a Greek-heroic tale nor a typical Jewish martyrdom. It is unique.

But as we enter into it, we begin to understand the human depths (and theological depths) of this story.

Jesus was in utter turmoil. His stress was so intense that he sweated drops of blood. This condition is called Hematidrosis, and is a very rare condition in which a human being sweats blood. It may occur when a person is suffering extreme levels of stress.

Dr. Frederick Zugibe (former Chief Medical Examiner of Rockland County, New York) is quoted as saying, “While hematidrosis has been reported to occur from other rare medical entities, the presence of profound fear accounted for a significant number of reported cases including six cases in men condemned to execution, a case occurring during the London blitz, a case involving a fear of being raped, a fear of a storm while sailing, etc. The effects on the body is that of weakness and mild to moderate dehydration from the severe anxiety and both the blood and sweat loss.”

So not only are his stress levels acute, but Jesus also shows his humanness as he prays three times for an alternative plan.

When he receives a “no”, he returns to the disciples to face his captors.

If even Jesus received that answer to one of his most heartfelt prayers, we should not be surprised if sometimes that it’s that way for us too.

He emerges composed and in charge once more. He is ready to do the will of his Father.

Secondly, if we focus on Jesus we see the Kingdom.

You know, if I stand here week in week out and preach from the Word of God, but don’t act it out in my own life, there is a problem.

A quote that we posted on Facebook this week from John Wimber, “Read to obey. If we only learn about God but never act on what he says and who he is, we risk coming under Jesus’ judgment of the Pharisees.”

In this moment, in Gethsemane, there is a snapshot of all that has gone before.

Jesus has spent the previous three years teaching about the Kingdom of God. Rebuking those who are calling themselves religious and not living it out. Opening the Kingdom to those who had previously been excluded.

But, in this moment, we see those words come to life.

The words he had spoken previously, were so intrinsically linked to his character that we see time and again through this passage, recollections and fulfillment of what he had preached and what he had promised.

Jesus could see, as though it was before his very eyes, the cup. Not the cup he had spoken of at the Last Supper and given them to drink, around an hour before. This was the cup he had mentioned to James and John in Matthew 20:22-23.

“You don’t know what you are asking, Jesus said to them. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

This was the cup the prophets had spoken of, the cup of God’s judgement.

And, although he didn’t want to drink it, he knew that this was a part of the fulfillment of God’s rescue plan.

Again, when Jesus goes back the second time to ask that he may be released of this task, he puts into action the words he had taught his disciples to say when he used The Lord’s Prayer.

He prays, “if it has to be, your will be done”.

The disciples probably didn’t realise that, when Jesus gave them the Lord’s Prayer, this much of it would be directly relevant to him.

He had to live what he taught.

Even the whole Sermon on the Mount which we looked at a few weeks back, this teaching also seemed to be becoming a reality, as he himself faced the suffering and sorrow of which he had spoken.

He was on his way to being struck on the cheek. To being cursed. And he responded with blessing to His father.

This was the second time that Jesus had to fight in private a spiritual battle that he needed to win if he was to stand in public and speak, and live, and die for God’s Kingdom. The first being the temptation story in Matthew 4.

Just like Jesus, we must pursue holiness and intimacy with our God.

To project an image that you have it all together and even to read and study the Word of God, attend church, and turn up to the right meetings, none of that is of value, unless we are striving to win the spiritual battles.

We must equip ourselves, we must pray that the Holy Spirit guides and strengthens us.

But we must want to win those battles.

Which battles are you facing in private that you have either lost the energy or lost the desire to win?

Some of you here today have a struggle that you know is stopping you from experiencing true freedom, but you are addicted or you are tired or you are confused about how to fight it.

Jesus equipped himself.

He spent time alone with God. He knew the scriptures inside out. He was a practitioner of healing and teaching. He exercised his gifts.

And we must do the same.

Like I said last week, in Luke 5, it tells us that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed”.

If we want breakthrough. If we want freedom. If we want intimacy.

We need to follow the Jesus model.

We OFTEN need to find solitude and pray. Spend time with God. Not with Rick Warren or Tozer or the latest Christian book – not that they are bad, but they are not a replacement for time with God.

As spend time with him, we will take on his character and we will approach life the Jesus way. Living out the Kingdom in Milton Keynes.

The final point I want to make is that when we focus on Jesus, we see grace.

I just want us to go back a few verses and read from verse 26….

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take and eat; this is my body. Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom. When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus told them, This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee. Peter replied, Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will. I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, this very night, before the cock crows, you will disown me three times. But Peter declared, Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you. And all the other disciples said the same.”

Jesus knew that not only Judas would betray him, but that each one of the disciples would scarper once he had been arrested.

But even though Jesus knew they would run, we read in verse 36 that “Jesus brought them to an olive grove called Gethsemane.”

He brought them with him. He kept them close. He kept loving them. He saw beyond their upcoming temporary rejection of him, and displayed grace that superseded their flaws.

It was common in those days to not only arrest the rebel leaders but those who were associated with him, were also arrested, tortured and killed.

It was vital that this didn’t happen to Peter and the others.

Jesus would fall, but he mustn’t drag them down with him: his vocation was to give his life for his sheep, not to have them killed as well.

They were the ones who would cParry the mission forward.

There is also an echo of grace more specifically for Peter.

Jesus went back to pray three times.

Peter denied Jesus three times.

Jesus then later forgave Peter and empowered him to go three times.

This snapshot shows that God’s grace extends across every flaw.

In the moment that Jesus most needed support, the disciples were nowhere to be seen.

Jesus was mocked.

He was beaten.

He was chastised and made to wear a crown of thorns.

He was publicly humiliated.

He was made to carry a wooden cross, that would ultimately be his death sentence.

His hands were pierced by metal nails.

He was killed.

The disciples were not there with him.

But Jesus knew they would not be there. He knew that this was a road he had to walk alone.

And despite knowing that they would leave him, he brought them into the garden with him as trusted friends and as a group of men who he would later pass on the mantel to go out into all the world baptizing and making disciples.

That’s how all encompassing God’s grace is.

Jesus did not simply show grace. He was grace.

And he is still is today.

Whatever you have done, grace is enough.

Let’s pray.